Food & Drink

Fiery Cajun Shrimp

2 cups (4 sticks) melted butter
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons ground pepper
2 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Texas Pete)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
5 pounds unpeeled medium shrimp
2 lemons, thinly sliced
French bread, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, hot sauce, garlic, and salt. Pour half this mixture into a large heatproof dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in the dish; then form a second layer with the remaining shrimp and lemon slices, and pour remaining sauce into the dish. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink, stirring twice. Pour off the sauce into individual serving dishes. Serve the shrimp with plenty of French bread for dipping in the spicy butter sauce.

Yield: 8 servings

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The flyer advertising the event promised over 100 wines from around the world for this two-hour event. The actual offering in close, though under 100 wines, but it was more than enough. We were greeted with a Champagne toast and set free on the food and wine. The food was good, but not great. They had fruit, some cheeses (which came in handy later in the night) and three different pasta dishes.

The wine was placed on nine tables. I would have loved to see them organized by region or light-to-heavy around the room, but that would have been too difficult. They were, instead, arranged by nine different wine distributors who sell to Red Wagon, and each brought basically whatever they wanted. Each wine at the event was wine that Red Wagon sells. For the night of the event only, each bottle was offered at a discount.

When we checked in before it started, we were given a complete list of the wines available at each table. We had time to go over the list and note which ones we didn't want to miss, but we had enough time to really try every wine they had.

The distributors' participation extended beyond supplying their wine. Each remained stationed at its table and was available to pour and discuss the wines. They were all personable, helpful and very knowledgeable.

The ticket price was $50, which is expensive. But it was a great value when you consider that there were so many wines available to taste, food was included, each person received a Riedel wine glass to keep, and a portion of each ticket was donated to charity.

The crowd seemed to be enthusiasts, professionals, casual drinkers and first timers. Dress code was advertised as casual, but business casual was more appropriate.

I look forward to the next event.

Magic Hat #9

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The Blue Duck Tavern welcomes you with wholesome American fare prepared through simple, time-honored cooking methods such as roasting, braising, preserving and smoking. The new contemporary neighborhood tavern, designed by Tony Chi, evokes the warmth and convivial setting of a residential kitchen and gathering place.

Fresh produce and ingredients, arriving daily from regional purveyors and artisans, are an integral part of the seasonal menus featured at the Blue Duck Tavern.

Executive Chef Brian McBride and new Chef de Cuisine Michael Santoro prepare many dishes in the wood-burning oven, a focal point of the inviting open kitchen and the heart of this restaurant.

If the restaurant owners actually cared about this review, they couldn't be happier with the night I was there. It was an absolutely beautiful spring evening which allowed us to have dinner seated outside at Blue Duck.

Blue Duck features one of the more interesting menus that I've seen. You have appreciate the freshness that comes with the seasonal ingredients they feature, but I'm a little gunshy about a few items offered (e.g. "hot pigs trotter"). And I definitely was thankful for the plate of freshly sliced prosciutto that was given to us shortly after our basket of bread.

I'm not normally one to indulge in the seafood selections when I have other options, but I figured when I'm that close to Maryland I would do myself a disservice by not getting the Jumbo Lump Crabcakes. The crab cake entree was two substantially-sized crab cakes with plenty of crab meat in each. They were very good, but I must admit that they were nothing compared to the Wood Fired Diver Maine Scallops, which were easily the best scallops I've ever eaten. Consider that I've already stated I don't eat much seafood, but I love scallops.

For sides we went potato times two. The Roasted Fingerlings with bacon and onion were maybe a little under seasoned, but nothing that couldn't be addressed table-side. Or maybe they were very good but overshadowed by the Hand Cut BDT Triple Fries which were delicious, though I did wonder what might be a fun dipping sauce for them.

When you walk into Blue Duck, you are conveniently herded past the station where their popular apple pies are prepared. They recommend one to share, and it is plenty big enough for two people. "Would you like vanilla ice cream with that?" Of course I would. A small, nearly-personal pie with a delicious caramelized brown sugar top served with three big scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I guess I should mention the bottle of 2005 Montes "Alpha" Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile that we had. It, as well as everything served, knocked my socks off.

2006 Chateau Bianca Pinot Noir

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Washington is probably my favorite region right now. I've tried a few different wineries, including the two that are almost synonymous with Washington wine. One of them, Chateau Ste. Michelle, gives us Orphelin - a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Souzao and Touriga.

The blending of nine (9) different grapes makes for a complex wine, but almost an intimidating one as well if you are the new guy on the wine block like I am. I expected the wine to dance across my pallette and thoroughly confuse me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth this wine is. I would drink this as a great everyday wine, though I'm not sure if it is one that would spark much conversation amongst dinner guests.

This bottle cost $20 at my local wine shop. I'm not sure I would buy it again for more than $15. And I feel bad saying that since I liked the wine so much, but I have had a lot of good wines at $10-12 recently so it is hard to justify the extra money for this one.

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2004 Red Blend Orphelin

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1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Butter, for pan
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.

(This is a Paula Dean recipe.)

This was a crowd-pleasing breakfast. It was delicious and I am so glad we made it earlier this week. The only things that we did differently from the recipe were to leave off the pecans and use a bigger dish. I was the only one who wanted pecans on it, so I lost this time. But I am definitely curious to try it with the pecans. And I accidentally used my 10x14 dish instead of 9x13 which I am sure changed the dish, but only slightly. There was more than enough to go around, and we would have had leftovers if we hadn't picked at it up until lunch time. It is even good cold.

This is something I will definitely make again.

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 halves)
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup all purpose flour for dredging
1/4 cup clarified butter
2 small garlic cloves, mashed
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Florio Sweet Marsala wine
1/8 cup dry white wine
1 Tbls. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbls. whole butter

Step One: Prepare chicken breasts

Remove the tenders from the breasts if they are present, the long finger-like strips. Trim all fat and sinews and remove the thin membrane covering the breasts. Butterfly the breasts starting from the plump lobe side. Press firmly with the palm of your hand to achieve uniform thickness. Do not pound with mallet.

Step Two: Sauté chicken breasts

Place a 10", heavy bottomed sauté pan on high heat and add enough of the clarified butter to coat the bottom. When fat is hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle, immediately dredge the chicken breasts in the flour plate, shake off excess and place in the pan. Add the mushrooms at this point. Shake pan frequently to avoid sticking and continue until bottoms are golden brown. Turn breasts in the pan and reduce heat to medium. Add mashed garlic and immediately deglaze the pan with chicken broth. Chicken broth should be at least 1/2 inch deep in the pan. Add the Marsala wine, dry white wine, and whole butter.

Step Three: The finish

Continue cooking until chicken is done. If all is perfect the pan sauce will form at the same time the chicken and mushrooms are done. If the pan sauce has not yet come together, remove chicken and mushrooms from sauté pan and place on warm plates, turn heat to high and quickly reduce pan sauce to the proper consistency.

- http://www.parshift.com/ovens/Secrets/secrets021.htm

This is the recipe that I modeled my chicken marsala after. It was a great guide which turned out some very tasty results. I varied only slightly.

My local grocer offers chicken breasts that have been pre-sliced to uniform size (offered by a big-name chicken producer), which I like because they save me a little extra work. They worked perfectly for my marsala dish.

I did as directed and dredged the chicken before tossing it into a pan with a light butter coating and lightly cooked it on both sides before adding mushrooms and my sauce (chicken broth, marsala, white cooking wine and garlic). The site from which I grabbed the recipe suggests porcini mushrooms, but I had a limited selection. I opted for shiitake mushrooms which I thought were really great with the dish.

I erred on the side of caution and had my burner over a lower temperature so I wouldn't burn my chicken or the butter which just meant that I had to remove the chicken and reduce my sauce, which was no problem at all. I got a little antsy and didn't reduce as much as I should have, but I know that for next time.

I prefer chicken marsala served over mashed potatoes to pasta, so that was how I served it. If this had been less of a last-minute dinner idea I would have liked to do a red-skin mashed instead of the instant mashed (scoff all you like, I LOVE instant mashed potatoes.) I also roasted some asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper and a sesame seed finish which I think was more for garnish.

The meal went very well and there were no leftovers, which I took to mean my guests enjoyed the meal. Tips for next time: Reduce the sauce longer and make much more chicken; I was looking forward to those leftovers!

This steakhouse is located within Caesar's Palace and is not contained in the Forum Shops. We have eaten many times in the Forum Shops and wanted to try something "local" to the casino.

I had obtained a reservation for 7:30pm through the toll-free number provided by Caesar's to reach any restaurant in the casino. After wasting time sitting at the bar we were finally taken to our table shortly after 8:15pm! We were basically ignored and had to constantly ask when our table would be ready. I can be as cool and care-free as the next guy, but this was a business dinner, so I thought the wait was excessive. (To be fair, they eventually did get the manager who came to us and offered to buy the round of drinks we had in front of us. This was a kind gesture, but we wished we had ordered cocktails instead of the round of Cokes. And to that, we would have just preferred our table.)

I would like to say that once we were seated our experience improved, but I cannot. I have been to nice restaurants when there is an understanding that it will be a long meal and you may as well get comfortable. Neros is not that type of a place, but our meal took forever. They may have been understaffed, but it was impossible to get ahold of our server.

I started my meal with a bowl of the Lobster Bisque, which was the only highlight of the night. To credit Neros, it might be the best Bisque I have had in Las Vegas and was certainly one of the best I have ever had.

I had my "go-to" bone-in ribeye for dinner. I was very glad that it was served with the house steak sauce because the steak was dry. That is the restaurant's fault. What is not necessarily its fault was the fact that my steak was just a bad cut. I happened to get a piece that was replete with "bad spots" that were too tough to cut through and certainly not edible. That happens and I may have said something if the service had been better or if that hadn't been futile once before in Las Vegas.

I spoke with a few other people who had eaten there and their feelings were better than mine but lukewarm overall. I cannot see any reason why this would not be my ONLY dinner at Neros. There are too many good restaurants in Las Vegas to go back to one where you have had a negative experience.