CraftSteak is Tom Colicchio's steakhouse in the MGM. It's got serious company/competition, because MGM has a collection of restaurants laid out by the best of the best: Emeril, Wolfgang, Robucheon. CraftSteak has a gorgeous interior. Rough leather seats, spacious layout. The service was impeccable. Our waiter was extremely knowledgable, gave me a number of great recommendations, and didn't try to get me to buy the most expensive thing on the menu.
Which...I considered buying the most expensive thing on the menu. CraftSteak features some of the highest quality steak that you can get in an American restaurant. As the waiter informed me, the Japanese rate beef on a 12 point scale. American beef usually rates a 3 on this scale. CraftSteak offers Grade 7 and Grade 10 beef, in a number of cuts. The most expensive of these is a $150 Grade 10 filet mignon. Which I deeply considered ordering. You only live once, right?
Well, the waiter talked me down. So I went with a Grade 7 skirt steak. I also ordered the quail to start, and Brussels sprouts on the side. Starting with the quail, I thought the quail was good. But nothing amazing. I was a little disappointed, because I love quail, and had such high expectations for CraftSteak. And the quail had good flavor, but I didn't feel like they had added anything to it.
Here's my fantastic tip of the day, and you'll do well to remember this. My grandparents were with me, and for their 61st Anniversary, I bought them the dinner and a show package at MGM, which included a 3 course meal at CraftSteak for 2 and 2 tickets to KA. The value on this package is unbelievable. My grandparents' meal started with a bed of fresh greens with a light dressing, a full plate of prosciutto with a bit of fig preserve on the side, and a plate of roasted red peppers. With the starters they also served drop rolls in an adorable little cast iron pan. These rolls were so good! They had been brushed over the tops with salted butter, so they had great flavor. And they were served warm, and stayed that way courtesy of the cast iron tray. A lovely and delicious touch.
I took this little detour to describe the dinner-show package, because CraftSteak served the entrees family style. Which was a wonderful touch, because it allowed us all to share the fantastic variety that the show package provided. My grandparents' meal included baked chicken, hanger steak, a couple of scallops, pureed potatoes, and marinated mushrooms. It was....SO MUCH FOOD! Everything was delicious, but it really was way too much food. I ended up taking it on the plane with me the next day!
In a brief run down, the chicken was wonderful. I never get chicken, because its usually boring, but this was simple, moist, and incredibly flavorful. The scallop was well prepared. The hanger steak was great, with a little char on the outside. And the Grade 7? It was very lightly seasoned, so that it was really about the flavor of the meat. It was perfectly prepared. A great steak.
Oh, and the sides? Awwwwesome. I love Brussels sprouts, and these were pretty fab. They were all small in size, and were roasted until they had a nice crisp outside. The mushrooms were great with the steak. And I loved the potatoes, and was sad that we ended up sending so much of them back, because there was just no more room!
Finally. And this has been a long post to get to the finally. Dessert. They served us a personal size new york style cheesecake with a blueberry compote. The compote was big on the blueberries and scant on the sauce, which I prefer. That dessert was pretty good, although nothing I haven't had before. But the other dessert....MONKEY BREAD! What a great treat! They served us an individual sized bundt of monkey bread, with a side of vanilla bean ice cream, drizzled with caramel. I want that bundt pan! But I could also go for this dessert again, because it was warm, gooey, and delicious. Loved it. And, because this restaurant rocks my socks, they wrote "Happy Anniversary" on the plate! I didn't even tell the reservationist that I was doing this for my grandparents anniversary, just mentioned in passing that I had forgotten to call because their anniversary was the day before I made reservations. How thoughtful! And delicious!
So, CraftSteak definitely gets my seal of approval. Great service, great food, lovely ambiance. Everything you want in a fancy steakhouse!
Enjoy!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Roasting: Quick and Easy Way to Make Steak
I've been experimenting with meals that are easy to make for my post work life. This one is great. Easy, delicious, filling, and it takes less than an hour total.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (toasted and ground), 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1 large clove of garlic, mashed into a paste. Add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Rub the mixture all over the steak, and set it aside at room temperature.
For a large single serving, I used 4 medium size carrots and a 1/2 lb skirt steak. Rinse the carrots and cut them lengthwise, then chop them. Toss the carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp sugar. Spread them on a baking sheet, and roast them for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pull out the baking sheet, stir the carrots, push them over to one side of the baking sheet, and put the steak on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a meat thermometer read 130 to 135. Stir the carrots at least once during the roast time.
Remove from the oven, and cover the steak with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thin before serving.
I also made some couscous (from a box) while the steak was roasting. So everything comes together at the same time.
Great flavor, really easy. Awwwwwesome!
Tom Colicchio's got NOTHIN on me. Well....maybe not. But I'm working on it!
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (toasted and ground), 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1 large clove of garlic, mashed into a paste. Add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Rub the mixture all over the steak, and set it aside at room temperature.
For a large single serving, I used 4 medium size carrots and a 1/2 lb skirt steak. Rinse the carrots and cut them lengthwise, then chop them. Toss the carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp sugar. Spread them on a baking sheet, and roast them for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pull out the baking sheet, stir the carrots, push them over to one side of the baking sheet, and put the steak on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a meat thermometer read 130 to 135. Stir the carrots at least once during the roast time.
Remove from the oven, and cover the steak with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thin before serving.
I also made some couscous (from a box) while the steak was roasting. So everything comes together at the same time.
Great flavor, really easy. Awwwwwesome!
Tom Colicchio's got NOTHIN on me. Well....maybe not. But I'm working on it!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Pear Cranberry Crostada Fail
You win some, you lose some. And this was...a draw?
I'm going to have to make this again, so I'll post the recipe at that time. But for some reason I really struggled with this one. I was rushing, and didn't really want to be in the kitchen. I couldn't get the crust to roll out, and got frustrated with it. It was too thick on one end, not thick enough at the other, which became a pretty big problem when I tried to fold up the pie around the filling.
During the baking process, my crust sprung a little leak. Bummer. The filling pretty much stayed in the shell, but, well, this thing was ugly. Franken-stada. See for yourself...
It still tasted delicious. And, thankfully, this recipe made twice as much of the dough and almond cream as it took to make the crostada. So all I need to do is buy a few more pears, and try it all over again. Woot?
I'm going to have to make this again, so I'll post the recipe at that time. But for some reason I really struggled with this one. I was rushing, and didn't really want to be in the kitchen. I couldn't get the crust to roll out, and got frustrated with it. It was too thick on one end, not thick enough at the other, which became a pretty big problem when I tried to fold up the pie around the filling.
During the baking process, my crust sprung a little leak. Bummer. The filling pretty much stayed in the shell, but, well, this thing was ugly. Franken-stada. See for yourself...
It still tasted delicious. And, thankfully, this recipe made twice as much of the dough and almond cream as it took to make the crostada. So all I need to do is buy a few more pears, and try it all over again. Woot?
NUT BUTTER WHOA!
I love peanut butter. And now I can love all sorts of other nut butter, because I discovered that it was beyond easy to make. I got this recipe from Fine Cooking, and I cut it in half, but I'll give you the full recipe because I can tell that the half recipe is going to last me less than a week!
Ingredients:
2 cups raw pecans, toasted almonds, or toasted and skinned hazelnuts
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 to 4 tbs canola, vegetable, or other neutral-flavored oil
1 tsp honey (I didn't cut this in half for mine, so I might double this next time for a full recipe)
Directions:
1. In a food processor pulse the nuts until roughly chopped.
2. Add the salt and begin to puree.
3. Add only as much oil as needed to make the nuts break down. I added the oil in teaspoons, usually 2 at a time, and I did it 3 times for a half recipe.
4. Add the honey and pulse to mix.
5. Transfer to a jar. It stores 6 to 9 months in the fridge, or 2 months in a "cool dry place," as if it will last that long!
I didn't puree mine until it was completely smooth, so it was a little bit chunky, but another way to make truly chunky nut butter is to coarsely chop 1/4 cup of the original 2 cups of nuts, and then mix that into the smooth nut butter by hand.
So easy. So delicious. My life has been altered!
Ingredients:
2 cups raw pecans, toasted almonds, or toasted and skinned hazelnuts
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 to 4 tbs canola, vegetable, or other neutral-flavored oil
1 tsp honey (I didn't cut this in half for mine, so I might double this next time for a full recipe)
Directions:
1. In a food processor pulse the nuts until roughly chopped.
2. Add the salt and begin to puree.
3. Add only as much oil as needed to make the nuts break down. I added the oil in teaspoons, usually 2 at a time, and I did it 3 times for a half recipe.
4. Add the honey and pulse to mix.
5. Transfer to a jar. It stores 6 to 9 months in the fridge, or 2 months in a "cool dry place," as if it will last that long!
I didn't puree mine until it was completely smooth, so it was a little bit chunky, but another way to make truly chunky nut butter is to coarsely chop 1/4 cup of the original 2 cups of nuts, and then mix that into the smooth nut butter by hand.
So easy. So delicious. My life has been altered!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Brussels Sprouts! My favorite!
Man, I really love them. And if you'll remember, in August I had some truly awesome ones at Perbacco, a fantastic Italian place in San Francisco.
So, last night I attempted to recreate them. Last time I tried recreating something, it didn't turn out so well. But I had a pretty good beat on these.
So what did I do? I rinsed, trimmed, and halved some fresh brussels sprouts. I melted some butter, and tossed the sprouts in with the butter. Then I mixed together honey and Dijon mustard in about equal amounts (I didn't make very many brussels sprouts, so I used maybe 1 tsp of each) and mixed it in with the brussels sprouts. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted for 20 minutes at 450. I mixed the brussels sprouts a few times, so that they browned evenly.
Totally delicious. Giant win!
So, last night I attempted to recreate them. Last time I tried recreating something, it didn't turn out so well. But I had a pretty good beat on these.
So what did I do? I rinsed, trimmed, and halved some fresh brussels sprouts. I melted some butter, and tossed the sprouts in with the butter. Then I mixed together honey and Dijon mustard in about equal amounts (I didn't make very many brussels sprouts, so I used maybe 1 tsp of each) and mixed it in with the brussels sprouts. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted for 20 minutes at 450. I mixed the brussels sprouts a few times, so that they browned evenly.
Totally delicious. Giant win!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Review: Taste of Colorado
I had the great pleasure of hitting up Taste of Colorado with three fantastic friends who were willing to try, and share, 12 hours of tasty treats! I jotted down comments while we made our rounds. I'm leaving out many of the unremarkable items.
1. Lora's Donuts: I had the old fashioned, and it was tasty, but nothing special. I definitely prefer the Cville farmer's market donuts better.
2. Dave's Famous BBQ: This was one of the things I was really looking forward to. Chocolate covered bacon! But, apparently I was looking forward to it too much. The bacon was thin cut, and the chocolate overpowered the bacon flavor. But at Dave's we also tried the pulled pork, which was really delicious. The devil's spit sauce was nicely spicey. Not impossibly hot, and with a delicious flavor.
3. Mustard's Last Stand: these were chicago style hot dogs. The toppings were great, and I'll definitely do chicago style again, but the dog itself was unremarkable.
4. Divine Donuts: These were lovely! They were like mini funnel cakes, which made them wonderful, because a full funnel cake is always too much. But a few little funnel cake rings? Perfection!
5. Rosa Linda's Mexican Cafe: I tried the cactus burrito. And, ya know, I really enjoyed this. It had the texture of red bell pepper. I think that it had been pickled, but that made the flavor interesting. I would definitely do this again.
6. Bayou Bob's: Fried alligator is dissapointing EVERY time I have it. Never having it again. Done with it. This stuff was awful. Blech.
7. Cookie Indulgence: Deep fried cookie dough. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. What do I need to say about this? Heart attack in a little container. Delicious, wonderful, ooey-gooey heart attack.
8. Randolph's: Golden beet gazpacho was delicious, refreshing, and had a very pretty golden yellow color.
9. Assignments Restaurant: We tried the white gazpacho and it was...disgusting. The flavors were fine, but the texture was really grainy, and it wasn't refreshing like a gazpacho usually is. It was bean and cream based, which just really didn't work out for me.
10. The Cork House Wine Restaurant: The lamb meatball was just great. It was moist, delicious, and a little gamey in a great way. It had so much more flavor than your normal run of the mill meatball. It was served with tomato sauce, and some feta. Tasty!
11. Grand Lux Cafe: OMG BEIGNETS! I've had these before, and they are always out of this world delicious. If you ever have the opportunity, these are a must have. They always come with delicious dipping sauces, and are served hot and fresh. Probably my favorite thing we had all day.
12. Xing Tea: This is a Colorado based tea company that makes canned iced tea. This tea was great. Not too sweet, like most canned teas (think Lipton's). And all natural. Very nice.
13. Hard Rock Cafe: The twisted mac n' cheese was a giant dissapointment. It had zero flavor, and was not made with flavorful or good quality cheeses. The only little bright note was a little bit of heat from the crushed red peppers they used. I'll remember that for the next time I make mac n' cheese, which will be endlessly better than this junk.
14. Tocabe: The frybread was just awful. We had a couple of bite each and threw it away. Flavorless. Just bread with cinnamon on it. Not even cinnamon sugar. Blech.
15. Saltwater Cowboy: This was our dinner. And a WONDERFUL dinner it was! We had an elk brat and a wild boar brat. These were delicious. The boar brat was nicely spicey, and the elk brat tasted like the hot dog of your dreams. It had big, bold flavor all the way through. I wonder if I can have these shipped to me, because this would take tailgating to the next level....?
16. Gigi's Cupcakes: The final item of what was a truly delicious day. Cupcakes! They had cupcakes in this perfect mini size. They were each four bites of delicious fattiness. The buttercream frosting was wonderful. My favorite combination the chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. What a perfect ending to this epic eating day!
1. Lora's Donuts: I had the old fashioned, and it was tasty, but nothing special. I definitely prefer the Cville farmer's market donuts better.
2. Dave's Famous BBQ: This was one of the things I was really looking forward to. Chocolate covered bacon! But, apparently I was looking forward to it too much. The bacon was thin cut, and the chocolate overpowered the bacon flavor. But at Dave's we also tried the pulled pork, which was really delicious. The devil's spit sauce was nicely spicey. Not impossibly hot, and with a delicious flavor.
3. Mustard's Last Stand: these were chicago style hot dogs. The toppings were great, and I'll definitely do chicago style again, but the dog itself was unremarkable.
4. Divine Donuts: These were lovely! They were like mini funnel cakes, which made them wonderful, because a full funnel cake is always too much. But a few little funnel cake rings? Perfection!
5. Rosa Linda's Mexican Cafe: I tried the cactus burrito. And, ya know, I really enjoyed this. It had the texture of red bell pepper. I think that it had been pickled, but that made the flavor interesting. I would definitely do this again.
6. Bayou Bob's: Fried alligator is dissapointing EVERY time I have it. Never having it again. Done with it. This stuff was awful. Blech.
7. Cookie Indulgence: Deep fried cookie dough. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. What do I need to say about this? Heart attack in a little container. Delicious, wonderful, ooey-gooey heart attack.
8. Randolph's: Golden beet gazpacho was delicious, refreshing, and had a very pretty golden yellow color.
9. Assignments Restaurant: We tried the white gazpacho and it was...disgusting. The flavors were fine, but the texture was really grainy, and it wasn't refreshing like a gazpacho usually is. It was bean and cream based, which just really didn't work out for me.
10. The Cork House Wine Restaurant: The lamb meatball was just great. It was moist, delicious, and a little gamey in a great way. It had so much more flavor than your normal run of the mill meatball. It was served with tomato sauce, and some feta. Tasty!
11. Grand Lux Cafe: OMG BEIGNETS! I've had these before, and they are always out of this world delicious. If you ever have the opportunity, these are a must have. They always come with delicious dipping sauces, and are served hot and fresh. Probably my favorite thing we had all day.
12. Xing Tea: This is a Colorado based tea company that makes canned iced tea. This tea was great. Not too sweet, like most canned teas (think Lipton's). And all natural. Very nice.
13. Hard Rock Cafe: The twisted mac n' cheese was a giant dissapointment. It had zero flavor, and was not made with flavorful or good quality cheeses. The only little bright note was a little bit of heat from the crushed red peppers they used. I'll remember that for the next time I make mac n' cheese, which will be endlessly better than this junk.
14. Tocabe: The frybread was just awful. We had a couple of bite each and threw it away. Flavorless. Just bread with cinnamon on it. Not even cinnamon sugar. Blech.
15. Saltwater Cowboy: This was our dinner. And a WONDERFUL dinner it was! We had an elk brat and a wild boar brat. These were delicious. The boar brat was nicely spicey, and the elk brat tasted like the hot dog of your dreams. It had big, bold flavor all the way through. I wonder if I can have these shipped to me, because this would take tailgating to the next level....?
16. Gigi's Cupcakes: The final item of what was a truly delicious day. Cupcakes! They had cupcakes in this perfect mini size. They were each four bites of delicious fattiness. The buttercream frosting was wonderful. My favorite combination the chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. What a perfect ending to this epic eating day!
Banana Pudding
I had some bananas that were beyond the point where I was willing to eat them on their own. Usually I make banana bread when that happens. But I'm bored with that. So I decided to find something new to make.
I started out thinking banana cream pie, because then I could make pie dough again. Turns out you need 9 bananas to do that. I had 4. So instead I ended up doing banana pudding.
The pudding was amazingly easy to make. Who knew?! I mixed together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1/4 tsp salt in a sauce pan. Then I whisked in 4 egg yolks, keeping the whites for later. Once the egg yolks were thoroughly mixed in, I whisked in 1 cup of skim milk and 1 cup of heavy cream. I put the sauce pan over medium heat and whisked constantly until the mixture thickened (about 10 minutes). Took it off the heat, whisked in 1/2 tsp vanilla, and continued whisking until the mixture cooled down a little.
Before I started with the pudding I sliced the bananas and put them in a tupperware with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, occassionally turning it over to make sure the lemon juice was evenly distributed. Using an oven proof glass bowl, I layered pudding, crumbled vanilla wafers, and bananas, and then repeated that, finishing with a layer of pudding on the top.
The final touch before popping this combo in the oven was making a meringue. I've never made meringue, but it was soooo easy! Just put four egg whites in my stand mixer bowl, added a pinch of cream of tartar, and then turned the mixer on to medium/high. While the mixer was going, but before the whites had started to peak, I added 2 tablespoons of sugar. Once the whites came to hard peaks, I stopped the mixer and spooned the meringue over the pudding.
Baked the pudding at 400 degrees for a little less than 10 minutes. And out came this...
Pretty, easy, and delicious! You could probably make all sorts of combos using this as the foundation.
I started out thinking banana cream pie, because then I could make pie dough again. Turns out you need 9 bananas to do that. I had 4. So instead I ended up doing banana pudding.
The pudding was amazingly easy to make. Who knew?! I mixed together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and 1/4 tsp salt in a sauce pan. Then I whisked in 4 egg yolks, keeping the whites for later. Once the egg yolks were thoroughly mixed in, I whisked in 1 cup of skim milk and 1 cup of heavy cream. I put the sauce pan over medium heat and whisked constantly until the mixture thickened (about 10 minutes). Took it off the heat, whisked in 1/2 tsp vanilla, and continued whisking until the mixture cooled down a little.
Before I started with the pudding I sliced the bananas and put them in a tupperware with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, occassionally turning it over to make sure the lemon juice was evenly distributed. Using an oven proof glass bowl, I layered pudding, crumbled vanilla wafers, and bananas, and then repeated that, finishing with a layer of pudding on the top.
The final touch before popping this combo in the oven was making a meringue. I've never made meringue, but it was soooo easy! Just put four egg whites in my stand mixer bowl, added a pinch of cream of tartar, and then turned the mixer on to medium/high. While the mixer was going, but before the whites had started to peak, I added 2 tablespoons of sugar. Once the whites came to hard peaks, I stopped the mixer and spooned the meringue over the pudding.
Baked the pudding at 400 degrees for a little less than 10 minutes. And out came this...
Pretty, easy, and delicious! You could probably make all sorts of combos using this as the foundation.
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