Marinade Prep

I’m always looking for shortcuts to meals during the week.  A few years back I started marinating meats and chicken when I purchased them.  This was incredibly helpful after a long day of work not to mention it infused the meat/chicken with so much flavor!  For some reason I stopped doing this, but now with twins in tow and going back to work soon I must find a way to simplify our weeknight meals without sacrificing flavor.  Give yourself a hand during the week, once you purchase your meats simply season and separate them; place in freezer bags, label each bag with the meat and marinade and freeze.  Be creative, Italian, BBQ, garlic, teriyaki, etc… Each flavor will encourage a different meal and best of all you simply defrost and cook!  The hard part is done, not to mention the meat will be full of flavor since it has been marinating for a while!  A great benefit is being able to portion out your meats especially if you buy in bulk.  This is helpful if you’re cooking for one or ten.

Buen Provecho!

Sinatra – Las Vegas

Sinatra – Las Vegas.

Vanilla Berry Cake

This year for Easter I volunteered to make desserts for our potluck brunch.  I do have quite the sweet tooth (although I contain myself), but from time to time I can’t resist a vanilla pastry, especially vanilla cake with a berry filling  (and brownies, who can resist a brownie)!    This recipe is all about the French Vanilla Cake with Triple Berry Filling.  I must admit, I took a shortcut and used boxed cake mix (shame on me), I did add a few enhancements to give it the homemade touch.  The result, a moist and delicious dessert. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Box French Vanilla cake mix (ingredients as listed; eggs, oil, water)
• 1 Jar triple berry preserves/jam
• 4oz  Applesauce
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• Strawberries (3 whole, about 10 sliced)
• Butter cream icing

 Directions:

Make the cake as instructed on the box, when adding the water only add 1 cup and add the applesauce in place of the remaining water.  This will add the moistness of the cake.  Bake the cake as instructed on the box.  I used a round 9″ baking pan but feel free to use square, rectangle or cupcakes. 

Once the cake is cooled, using a cake leveler cut the cake into two layers.   Slide the top layer onto a plate or cookie sheet and put to the side.  Using a piping bag and plain tube cake decorating tip (larger one) create a border on the bottom layer (with the butter cream icing).  Once your frosting border is set, spread the preserve/jam onto the bottom layer.  The frosting helps contain the preserves/jam to avoid it from slipping out and mixing when you’re decorating.  Now place the top layer nicely centered on top of the preserves/jam.  You’re now ready to frost your cake, this step I will leave up to you and your comfort/ease with frosting/decorating desserts.  

Once you’ve mastered the frosting process you’re ready to top your cake with the strawberries.  Place the strawberries on the cake when you’re ready to serve, in order to avoid having water on your frosting from the strawberries.  Be creative in your decoration, top your cake with sliced strawberries, place them around the cake, etc…possibilities are endless.  You can also add all the berries found in the preserves/jam.

  

My Tips:  Substitute half of the water with half fruit juice in the cake mix; it’ll add another level of flavor and moisture.  This would be a great cake for a 4th of July party, you can use the 9×13 baking pan and place blueberries on the corner as your star section and line the rest with raspberries or chopped strawberries. 

 Mini cupcake verion (also filled with berry preserves/jam). 

 

Wilton’s Butter Cream Icing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Makes:  About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions:

Step 1:  In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Step 2:  For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Step 3:  For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Step 4:  For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

My Tips:  Sifting the the powdered sugar is a must, if you skip this step you may end up with clumpy and heavy frosting.  I use regular vanilla extract which gives the frosting a soft cream color, which I personally prefer.  

Sally’s On The Water

Sally’s Seafood on the Water located at One Market Place, San Diego, California; can be found in Seaport Village across from the many boat rental vendors. Sally’s has a new Chef-de-Cuisine, Laura De Martin from Bressanone, Italy and sushi master Chef Ilyuk “Kaz” Kim.  The view is wonderful if you’re sitting outside or even at the bar.  Look towards the left you see the Coronado Bridge, to the right the San Diego bay and boats galore!

  

I decided to appease my palette and join Sally’s Seafood on the Water while attending a conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The restaurant is a good size and has a large outdoor area. Their bar section is also large and there’s a painting of a face hanging in the middle of the bar area.  It’s rather intriguing, mysterious…truly catches your eye. There was a bit of dust on the table, which could simply be due to the fact that all the windows/walls/doors are open all day long.  There was a dead cockroach on my way inside which almost made me turn around however, I decided to keep moving forward and remind myself that it was outside and it’s part of nature, a rather nasty part but a part nonetheless. 

The staff at Sally’s was very pleasant and courteous. They brought my beverage along with a wooden platter holding two rosemary ciabatta buns with a side of butter and sea salt. The ciabatta was warm, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The butter slowly melted inside creating a silky bite.

I asked the waiter what he recommended and instantly he mentioned the Fish and Chips. Not wanting a plate of fried goodness I moved on to the second option which was the Baja Crab Club Sandwich. The meal is served as follows; stone crab, pancetta, tomato and avocado served on brioche with choice of sweet potato fries or house salad.  Apparently I wasn’t aiming for a “healthy” lunch so I opted for the sweet potato fries.  My meal arrives and it’s nicely displayed.  The sweet potato fries arrived in a small tin pail with two side of dipping sauces the traditional ketchup and a chipotle mayonnaise.  The sandwich was very well proportioned, honestly big enough to share (at least in my opinion).  I proceeded to cut my sandwich in half and took the first bite. It was tasty but overall not what I was expecting.  The pancetta was not pancetta, it was traditional American bacon.  The pieces could have been thicker the saltiness seemed to disappear between the crab and avocado which would have been a wonderful crunchy balance between all the creaminess.  The bread was delicious; in case you can’t tell I seem to have an underlying fascination with bread!  It was a traditional egg bun; buttered and toasted, of course.   

  

All in all I wasn’t overly excited with my meal, but I would definitely return to give other items on the menu a try. The service and view are worth a visit. Possibly next time I’ll take the waiter’s recommendation; the table next to mine ordered the Fish and Chips and they did look absolutely amazing!

P.S. Sally’s is doggie friendly!

Sinatra – Las Vegas

Nestled between the Wynn and Encore hotels in Las Vegas is the fabulous and decadent Sinatra Restaurant.  I wanted to surprise my husband with an amazing meal for his birthday and after extensive research, I stumbled upon what may now be my favorite restaurant on the strip; Sinatra!  I’m completely baffled by the notion that I had never heard and or been to Sinatra on one of our many visits to Las Vegas.  How could this be? We both love Italian food, Frank Sinatra and fine dining…so where have we been?  Needless to say, we have found it and will unquestionably add Sinatra to our “must” list every time we are in Vegas. 

   

Sinatra of course, pays tribute to “Old Blue Eyes” in a classic and timeless way.  The music plays in the background and memorabilia is displayed throughout, however nothing feels overwhelming.  It’s almost as if there are “hints” of Frank Sinatra speckled throughout, yet you feel as if he’s there with you.  Sinatra feels comfortable and inviting, you do not feel as if you are in a stuffy pretentious restaurant.  It is on the higher end of the price scale, it isn’t called “fine dining” for nothing and you are in for an absolutely delicious and memorable meal.

 

From the moment I made the reservation I knew we were in for something special.  I informed the hostess we were celebrating a birthday when I made our reservation and requested outdoor dining.  Due to weather we were unable to sit outside, if you have the opportunity go for it.  There are 3-4 tables outdoors which are set it the cutest most fairytale type patio.  There’s a fire place which makes you feel as if you’re indoors.

As we were escorted to our table, the hostess very discretely made eye contact with me in order to single out the birthday boy and kindly sat him in front of the birthday card which had been placed on the table.  First impressions are the most important for me, so far we were off to a good start. 

After our sommelier presented his recommendations for a bottle of red; our celebration had officially started!  Our waiter recommended several appetizers and went over the specials, everything sounded exquisite.  We began with the Polpettine; housemade meatballs and polenta fries, delicious! The meatballs truly taste homemade, moist, tender and flavorful.  The polenta fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, perfect.  Our second appetizer was the Caprese; mozzarella di bufala, heirloom tomatoes, red onion and basil; how can you go wrong.  It’s light, refreshing and all the flavors blend well.  Everyone at the table enjoyed the appetizers, and it was onto the main course.  The birthday boy ordered the Veal Parmigiana; thinly pounded veal chop, melted mozzarella, pomodoro sauce and a side of penne pasta…WOW!  The veal was incredibly tender and moist.  It was an enormous piece of meat which practically took up the entire plate, trust me you will eat it all.  I ordered the Ossobuco “My Way;” braised veal ossobuco, risotto Milanese and gremolata.  I was in heaven…that’s all I can say.  The ossobuco was incredibly tender, moist, flavorful and simply decadent.  The bone marrow was amazing, the risotto was delectable.  I will say; it is a heavy dish and if you plan on painting the town red afterwards your plans may need adjusting.  I honestly cannot recall what our two friends ordered, but I do recall they both said their food was delicious and definitely well worth it.  The food tastes homemade, the Chef’s love radiates in each dish. (Don’t mind the bite taken from each dish, we couldn’t resist)!

   

Upon devouring our meals the table was cleaned off and our waiter brought the birthday boy a special treat; tiramisu with a candle and “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate; molto adorable!  Tiramisu is one of my favorite Italian desserts, it was delicate and wonderful.  We also ordered the cheesecake which was topped with a raspberry sherbert, the presentation was delightful and the sherbert complimented the cheesecake very well.   

  

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Restaurants/FineDining/Sinatra

The Salt Lick

When you think of Texas you think of two things, the saying: “Everything’s bigger in Texas” and of course Barbecue aka BBQ!  When you’re looking for BBQ there are plenty of choices, however nestled away in Driftwood, Texas is “The Salt Lick BBQ.”  Whenever hubby and I are in San Antonio, we make the drive and it never disappoints.  Bring cash as the restaurant is cash only (there is an ATM on premise) and BYOB…you read that right, BYOB!  They have begun making their own wines and have the most adorable vineyard on the property.  I was more focused on the meat, so cannot speak about the wine.

Driftwood is a little over an hour from San Antonio and about 45 minutes from Austin, there are two other locations; Round Rock and Austin airport, please make the drive to Driftwood.   The roots of The Salt Lick run back to Mississippi, visit their website for the bio; http://www.saltlickbbq.com/pages/About.html all I can say is, the family did it right!

As you round the corner before pulling into the dirt parking lot you’re engulfed by the aroma of the pit as the brisket, sausage, turkey and ribs smoke away (my mouth waters).   Immediately upon parking you take notice of the monstrous BBQ smoker. 

 

The building on the right houses the food and to the left, the wine!  Upon entering (on the food side), your eye instantly looks right to the BBQ pit where the meat is being marinated in their own sauce; the smell will consume you, it’s amazing!!!   

 

Seating options are inside or outside on picnic style tables.  As for food options, there’s a menu but I highly recommend the “family style” option.  You will eat A LOT, that’s a good thing.  The price can’t be beat, $19.95 for three meats (turkey is extra) and your sides, beans, coleslaw and potato salad (bread, pickles & onions upon request).  Trust me your plate will be filled as many times as you ask; and you’re welcome to take any extra’s you may have.  The brisket is tender and moist, you can ask for it wet or dry.  The turkey melts in your mouth and the ribs have amazing flavor.   The beans weren’t my favorite (sorry Salt Lick).  The potato salad is on the drier side but it compliments everything very well.  The coleslaw is vinegar based which makes it light and another great accompaniment.  We never save room for dessert, but the pies are made on premise and I hear they are well worth a bite.  All in all The Salt Lick has my heart when it comes to BBQ in Texas; the smell, the ambiance, the customer service, the moist and decadent meats, I love it all!

    

Don’t leave without purchasing your copy of The Salt Lick cookbook and sauce, salsa and dry rubs! Oh, by the way; you can order their BBQ online and yes, have it delivered to your home!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins

 

As the saying goes…“everything’s better with bacon!” For the most part, I have found this to be a true statement. I was staring into my fridge looking for a quick and tasty weeknight meal when it dawned on me; wrap some bacon around chicken! Voila mission accomplished. You can truly use any seasoning you prefer on your chicken, the bacon will add tons more flavor. I normally buy center cut bacon as I prefer more meat than fat on my bacon. Feel free to use maple, thick cut, etc…the choice is yours and the options are endless!

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 6-8 boneless/skinless chicken tenderloins (or thighs/breast whichever you prefer)
• 8 bacon slices
• 4 tbsp Chicken seasoning (your preference)
• 1 tbsp Onion & Herb blend (I use Mrs. Dash)
• Toothpicks

DIRECTIONS:

Season chicken with listed ingredients (or your choice of seasonings) and let marinade for 20-30minutes. Preheat a grill pan on medium heat. Wrap each piece with a whole piece of bacon, unless it’s a small piece of chicken, you can cut the bacon in half. Secure the ends with a toothpick or two, depending on the chicken size.  Place each piece of bacon wrapped chicken on the pan and cook until done. Times will vary greatly depending on the size of chicken you use. Once done I placed the tenders in the over on the broil setting for about 3-5 minutes so the bacon could crisp a tad. Personally I like my bacon on the softer side, but hey…you’re eating the meal so cook it your way!