Potato Pancakes – Squeeze and Be Squeezed

These sexy looking potato pancakes would sure make a nice looking first course for your Valentine's dinner. Here you can see that I've finished them with a little smoked salmon, sour cream, and dill, but you can use them as a base for many other combinations.

If you want to splurge a bit, maybe a dollop of caviar, or if you want to go the other direction, simply garnish with applesauce and sour cream. Some other ideas I really like are crab salad, sautéed mushrooms, and caramelized onions.

But, before you get to the big decision of what to top these golden-brown beauties with, we have to talk about squeezing. The one and only way to not get perfectly crispy potato pancakes is to not squeeze them properly.

I just finished the written recipe that will go in the cookbook, and when I looked at it, I couldn't believe how long and wordy it was. I mean, potato pancakes are a very simple recipe, but for some reason it takes a long time to describe how to prep the potatoes.

More than half the procedure was dedicated to grating, soaking, draining, and squeezing the potatoes. If you don't thoroughly squeeze all the liquid from the potatoes, the pancakes just won't crispy up as well.

Once cooked, you can keep these crispy in a warm oven until your, what I'm sure will be a very memorable, Valentine's dinner is ready to begin. Besides making a great appetizer, these are fantastic for breakfast. In fact, you could use that as a little leverage later in the evening, if you know what I'm saying. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds russet potato, peeled
1/2 yellow onion, peeled
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
vegetable oil, as needed
3-4 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
4 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

Eating Las Vegas

This was going to be a top 10 list of favorite tastes from my recent culinary tour of Las Vegas, but as I started going through the over 700 photos I took, I realized there was no way I could pick just 10.

I lost count on day two, but I estimate we sampled about 130 separate dishes – and don't even get me started on the drinks! You really have to go there to truly appreciate it, but the staggering array of world-class food, eye-popping restaurant design, and army of star chefs, all in such close proximity makes Las Vegas foodie heaven on earth.

The dining scene in Vegas has become so grand that you almost forget about the sex, gambling, and other more established forms of debauchery...almost. It's still Sin City, but the sins are less about morality, and much more dietary in nature. Go ahead – have a second slice of foie gras, who's going to know?

As I washed my hands in the restroom next to Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas, I listened to a French language lesson over the PA. I learned that, "Est-ce que c'est un éclair dans votre poche, ou êtes-vous simplement heureux de me voir?" means, "Is that an éclair in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?" That, as the kids say these days, is so Las Vegas 2010.

So without further ado, here are my favorite food moments from the trip. Enjoy!




I love seeing and tasting new things, and this butter/olive oil spread really tickled me. What a great idea. Shallow wells pressed into a dish of butter, filled with olive oil, then garnished with peppers, herbs, coarse-ground black pepper and flaky sea salt. I shall try to hide my disappointment the next time I'm served plain butter, or just olive oil. Why can't I have both?

This was enjoyed at a great luncheon hosted by Vegas Uncork'd at Vintner Grill.




Passed hors d'oeuvres before a big meal are supposed to serve two purposes. First, provide a little bump in blood sugar so you can effectively keep up with that, "Are short ribs the baby arugula of meat?" cocktail conversation. Second, to tease your taste buds and stimulate your appetite without filling you up. This crab salad on apple chips, also from the Vintner Grill, was perfect.




So that I could feign at least a small amount of journalistic integrity, I was really hoping this limoncello sorbet-topped oyster would be as terrible as it sounded. Sorry, but it totally worked. I'll admit, I did only use about half the amount scooped on top, but the icy lemon slush on the wet, briny oyster was delicious. I had three, but could have easily eaten a dozen. This was served at Aureole in the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.




If you're going to do a tartare these days, it better be great. This exquisitely presented Waygu beef tartare was. Some wondered whether the fattier beef would work in a raw presentation. It did. Garnished with a perfectly poached egg yolk, pickled mustard seeds, and crispy chocolate wafer, this offering from Chef Shawn McClain at Sage in the Aria Resort, was an easy choice for this list.




From the same meal at Sage, this magnificent plate of smoked sturgeon, honey crisp apple, bacon chips, and fromage blanc proves once and for all that people who say fish and cheese can never be served together are idiots.




I was really hoping I would run into Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace. I felt that given the opportunity I should probably apologize for all those chipotle jokes I've done over the years at his expense. All kidding aside, this blue corn pancake filled with barbecued duck, garnished with habanero chile-star anise sauce was inspired. In the true test of a great first course, every bite was as good as the first.




Before a memorable lunch at the Fiamma Trattoria & Bar in the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, master pasta maker and chef Carlos Buscaglia gave our group a hands-on pasta making class. He demo'd how to make gnocchi, angelotti, and ravioli, and said after we were done, they'd cook what we had made, so we could enjoy eating the fruits of our labor. Not to disparage the pasta making skills of my fellow food writers, but thankfully he was kidding. This pasta trio of lobster and truffle gnocchi, butternut squash angelotti, and short rib ravioli was otherworldly.











As some of you may know, I used to teach in the Le Cordon Blue program at the California Culinary Academy, so I was excited when I found out we were going to get a tour of the LCB Las Vegas. After our tour we had a great scallop dish created by Chef Jason Labahn, who used a locally grown squash in three ways; fried, pureed, and as a foam. How good was it? When was the last time I featured something with a foam on this blog?




Super chef Hubert Keller, co-owner of Fleur de Lys Restaurant at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, served a truffled onion soup that was beyond delicious. I tried to sip as slowly as humanly possible, and when it was gone I was actually sad.




This extremely slow-brasied beef short rib with bacon and mushrooms, from Chef Sean Griffin of Prime in the Bellagio, is the least creative thing to make the list. By the way, that's no insult, in fact, I think it's quite a compliment. It was just a beautifully cooked piece of meat – perfectly seasoned, perfectly sauced, and paired with a bright green chive spaetzle. Contrary to popular belief, less is rarely more, but in this case it was.




Why in the world haven't I done a chimichurri sauce video yet? It's such a great accompaniment for grilled meats, and was stellar on this huge, dry-aged, bone-in filet of beef at Botero, a truly gorgeous restaurant in the equally impressive Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. The little tart of caramelized onions was a perfect foil to the tangy, herbaceous sauce. My only regret is this wasn't the kind of dinning room where you can just grab the bone and gnaw off the last scraps of succulent meat. Oh well, life is a compromise after all.




If you're keeping score at home, this is the third offering from the Vintner Grill. This braised wild boar tagliatelli was so mind-blowingly good that had one of the servers spilled an entire pot of boiling hot coffee in my lap, I would have finished the plate before going to the hospital. Simply the best wild boar preparation I've ever had.




I'm not a huge fan of savory ingredients in sweets. I always feel like the chef is trying too hard when I see things like bacon and smoked paprika on a dessert menu. But no one could argue the perfect logic behind this combination of pear tart, black pepper crisp, and blue cheese ice cream. This was also from Sage in the Aria Resort.




Finally, what better way to end my list than with this chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream, served in a wooden naked lady lollipop holder? This very happy ending is modeled after the huge fertility goddess sculpture by Columbian artist Fernando Botero, which is the centerpiece of the restaurant. When I move to Vegas to start my food-based religious cult, this will be one of the first idols we worship.

So there you have it. My woefully inadequate, yet earnest attempt to recap an amazing week in Las Vegas food. I want to thank my very gracious and generous hosts, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, for sponsoring a trip I won't soon forget. I also want to thank all the restaurants and hotels (especially Palms Place, which rocked) mentioned in this piece for providing me with such excellent food and service.

Last, but not least, a heartfelt thanks to all the other culinary journalists (real journalists, not bloggers like me) who provided such great company; and the talented professionals from R&R Partners, Aerial, and Rooster for their expert guidance, and endless patience and grace. Thank you.

Creamed Spinach – King of the Steakhouse Side Dishes

While in Vegas, I had a marvelous steak lunch at the Strip House, located in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Along with the beautifully aged steaks, we enjoyed two stellar sides.

One was a potato dish called Potatoes Romanoff, which Executive Chef John Schenk says he learned from his mother back in Buffalo, NY. I've posted the written recipe for Potatoes Romanoff on my American Foods site, in case you want to give it a go.

The other was my favorite non-potato steakhouse side dish, creamed spinach. Since creamed spinach is one of the side dishes I have to do for the cookbook, and since I haven’t had a new video up in a while, I decided to film this recipe while its creamy deliciousness was still fresh in my mind.

There is only one real secret to great creamed spinach…you have to really squeeze out all the water after you wilt it. If you do, the buttery béchamel sauce coats the spinach to form a thick, satisfying pile of greens that you can almost stand a fork up in. If you don’t, you will be amazed at how the water from the spinach turns your thick, tasty sauce into a pool of pale green disappointment.

Creamed spinach is an easy recipe, but it used to require quite a commitment to make, since washing and picking spinach is tedious and really no fun at all. Nowadays, big bags of pre-washed, baby spinach are common at the supermarket, which makes this recipe a snap. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
1 stick butter
24 ounces baby spinach
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 whole clove
4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper, to taste
large pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

We've Made the ABC News Top 10 Super Foods for Super Bowl Sunday!

Our little slider recipe video is number six on a list of 10 Super Bowl foods as chosen by the ABC News / Health + Wellness Center! Okay, so don't let the name fool you – it wasn't picked for its nutritional value, but for its proven ability to rock your game day buffet table.

Since this is ABC's Health channel, in addition to the recipes, you can check the caloric value of each item so, as they say in the post, "you'll know just how many hours you'll have to spend in dance class, miles you'll have to bike and laps you'll have to swim to work off Sunday's food fest." Don't worry, it will be totally worth it.

This list was written by Monica Nista, and keeper of Mona’s Apple. Enjoy!

Don't forget we have our own list of Super Bowl snacks, including some of the best chicken wing video recipes, ever.

Super Bowl Griling and BBQ Crash Course

Thanks to my just concluded trip to Vegas, I'm still a day or two away from a new recipe video. I've been catching up on my cookbook recipe production and photography, as well as finishing off a very delicious looking "best of Vegas" recap.

In the meantime, here's a series on grilling basics by Chris Lilly. I met Chris while attend Kingsford University last year, and in addition to being a heck of a nice guy, he's a very good teacher. I don't really do cookbook reviews, but I'm a big fan of Chris's Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book, and have added a link here in case you want to check it out.

Here are some simple, beginner-level instructions for cooking seafood, chicken, pork and beef. Since Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest non-summer grilling day of the year, I figured some of you may pick up a tip or two by checking these out. Enjoy!

Home Sweet (Neon and Sequins Free) Home

I'm finally back in San Francisco after six magical days in Las Vegas. I just started going through the over 700 photos I took, and hopefully a handful will be good enough to share with you. A million thanks to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for hosting such an amazing trip. The food and drink were over-the-top great, and I can't wait to finish the recap. Stay tuned!

Huddle Up! It's Your Official Food Wishes Super Bowl Party Planner

Well, since all the other food blogs are doing Super Bowl recipe collections, I figured I should too. Below you'll see some of my favorite football food, perfect for making your game day buffet a winner. Just click on the link and you'll be taken to the original recipe post, complete with video and ingredients. Enjoy!

Sweet and Hot Mustard-Glazed Chicken Wings

Pastrami Chicken Wings

Clifton Springs Chicken Wings with Sticky Ginger Garlic Glaze

Candied Bacon

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

Spicy Orange Bison Balls

Beef Sliders

Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick!



Three Cheeses in Three Minutes



Chicken Caesar Springrolls



Stuffed Piquillo Peppers



Prosciutto Wrapped Prawns



Savory Chocolate Crustini with Maldon Sea Salt Crystals