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"CELEBRITY CHEF CONNECTION" BLOG & homepage by Barbara J. Nosek, barbara@writesource.net
March 10, 2010
This week . . . Italian lunch news, St. Pat's food/wine pairings, guest buzz, recipes and tidbits
Yay. Rao's Caesars Palace, here in Las Vegas, is now dishing up some of that famous cuisine at midday. The offering is called "Pizza in the Park," but in fact the menu also makes room for pasta, salads and more as well. And that "in the park" part refers to the fact that it's all served on the restaurant's new indoor patio. Do lunch there Wed.-Sun, 11a-3p.
For those unfamiliar with its origins, Rao’s is a century-old, family-owned Harlem icon legendary for its Italian classics and colorful clientele. The place is so over-the-top popular that it’s “mobbed” every night, and now on its way to setting a similar standard in Las Vegas.
Also check out the recipe for their signature lemon chicken, originally featured in my "One Great Dish" column in Las Vegas Woman.
RAO's Famous Lemon Chicken recipe
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Congrats to Martorano's now celebrating its third anniversary of selling south Philly food at the Rio in Las Vegas. Really, really good here . . . the eggplant "short" stack.
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Lift a glass on St. Patrick's Day. But maybe filled in a way that might surprise you. Las Vegas chef and Blog friend Les Kincaid suggests these wine, yes wine, pairings with some traditional Irish dishes . . . - Corned beef & cabbage / Pinot Noir - Boiled bacon & cabbage / a classic Burgundian Chardonnay - Irish stew / Cabernet Franc - Grilled veggies / Rosé
A quick side note . . . my experience with Irish "bacon" at the wondrous restaurant Nine Fine Irishmen in New York-New York here in Las Vegas is that it is not what Americans know so well, but rather like the best ham you've ever had.
Les also sent along this recipe that sure sounds like a great match for any Irish repast . . .
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Congrats to Bellagio and hurray for all vino-philes in Las Vegas because that stylish hotel/casino has now raised the (wine) bar by becoming the only hotel in the world with four Master Sommeliers at a single property. Cheers.
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"ccc" guest buzz
- Paragon Pools owner Joe Vassallo, who gave us the big scoop on fun and fine backyard design, along with pr & photo pro Mary Vail won two major awards for their book, "The Al Fresco Life: Pools, Spas, Bars & Kitchens," available at www.schiffer.books.com. The tome also includes recipes from Master Chef and chef/proprietor of Spiedini and The Cigar Bar in the JW Marriott in Summerlin, Gustav Mauler. There are drink recipes too, all crafted for outdoor living.
- LBS: A Burger Joint, in Red Rock Resort on the west edge of the Las Vegas valley, and with oh-so-good burgers, recently raised more than $8,000 in support of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada. Nice going.
NOTE: If you've been featured on "Celebrity Chef Connection" and have an update not shown over the past weeks (see below), send the news along to barbara@writesource.net
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I get this. A story by blogger Elizabeth Berg that appeared in last month's issue of Good Housekeeping addressed preparing food you are and aren't comfortable with, in connection with cooking for guests. Because you know, she wrote, ". . . food is like a horse: if it senses you're nervous, it will misbehave." (!)
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MARCH 3, 2010 This week . . . Cocktail class, awesome recipe, foodfest, more guest buzz Is there homework? The fabulissimo Dos Caminos in Palazzo begins its 2010 series of classes with a cocktail and cooking edition you can attend on March 13 or 14, 11:30a-2:30p. The corporate parent's master mixologist Eben Klemm, irrepressible Dos Caminos Corporate Executive Chef Scott Linquist, and Executive Chef of Dos Caminos Las Vegas Roberto Hernandez will teach "students" all about entertaining with cocktails and also demo festive fare from little bites to big finish pastries. The $65 fee includes welcoming coffee and Mexican chocolate, cocktail and cooking demo, Q&A session, a lunch tasting of the demo-ed foods, two cocktails, and a signed copy of Klemm's "The Cocktail Primer." And that book is quite a perk. Subtitled, "All You Need To Know To Make The Perfect Drink," it arranges classic cocktail recipes according to style and technique, from simple to complex. Here's another perk, and an immediate one at that. Dom Caminos has given us the recipe for the restaurant's justly famous and hauntingly good guacamole . . . === This is interesting . . . a recent issue of Good Housekeeping reports that "an impressive 21 million children ages 17 and under watch the Food Network" . . . so no shortage of FITs, Foodies in Training. === a star studded foodie event takes place next month and, as a bonus, in a spectacular setting. It's the "Third Annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine," April 8-11, 2010. The lineup of 60 chefs includes such LV-connected culinary luminaries as Hubert Keller, Thomas Keller, Alex Stratta, Wolfgang Puck, and Paul Bartolotta, as well as TV notables Tyler Florence, Masaharu Morimoto, Jacques Pepin and Ming Tsai. And that means don't miss the demos and the dinners. Some of the participating 250 wineries will stage seminars on a variety of topics, and also in this realm the ever-fascinating sommelier blind tasting. The site shows the delectable day by day events. www.pebblebeachfoodandwine.com === A new way to drink in style is coming to LV as Dann Feinstein, well known for his Viper Room in West Hollywood, opens the Crown Nightclub at the Rio in May or June. === "CCC" Guest Buzz - Everyone's Irish, native or honorary, at J.C. Wooloughan Irish Pub in the JW Marriott in nw LV - where St. Pat's isn't just a day but rather an almost-week-long celebration starting on Mar. 12, and continuing with daily festivities. www.jwlasvegasresort.com - Chuck Baker, who regaled us with tales of military "cuisine" and who edits and publishes Nevada's Veterans Reporter, has now been named editor of the bi-monthly Purple Heart magazine, the publication of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. www.veteransreporter.com - Noted Las Vegas chef and show favorite Les Kincaid is leading food and wine tours to Italy June 16-29 and Napa Valley Oct. 8-10. Details and sign-up at www.leskincaid.com - Late last year Ethel M's primo chef Jin Caldwell was named one of the top 10 chocolatiers in North America by Dessert Professional magazine. www.ethelschocolates.com === Pro Note . . . The definitive CaterSource 2010 hits the Las Vegas Convention Center on March 9 & 10. www.catersource.com * * * * * February 24, 2010 Audio & Video . . . Little Anthony cooks & shares the recipe, a reader Q, what have they done for you lately, and more Another honor. Consummate rock legend Little Anthony took a break from his still-very-busy schedule to step into the "Celebrity Chef Connection" kitchen and prepare some awesome shrimp patties and also spend time chatting about the recent induction of Little Anthony and the Imperials into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, and as well about their musical history, a conversation helped along by the almost-encyclopedic knowledge of our videographer Mark Richards and our very own Debbie Hall. Little Anthony and the Imperials, still together after 50 years and sales of over 60 million records, topped the charts early on with the classic "Tears on my Pillow," followed by "I'm Outside Looking In," "Hurt So Bad," "Take Me Back," and so many more. Just last November the group was part of the stellar lineup for the historic event and TV special, "The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert." And if you would like to see them in concert, be in Las Vegas April 30, 2010, when Little Anthony and the Imperials headline at the Las Vegas Hilton, www.lvhilton.com Also click below for Little Anthony's Aunt Sara's shrimp . . . Listen to our chat with Little Anthony (audio)
Watch Little Anthony make the shrimp
patties (video) Little Anthony's Shrimp Patties recipe www.littleanthonyandtheimperials.net
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And can you always get what you want there? . . . "Nation's Restaurant News" reports that "Rolling Stone Magazine" will be in a partnership scheduled to open a 10,000-sq. ft. Rolling Stone concept restaurant in the Hollywood & Highland shopping center in Los Angeles next summer. www.rollingstonela.com
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reader Q - Looking for a recipe from years ago. It had angel food cake (broken up), Jell-O and whip cream in it. Do you have something similar? Also looking for good dessert for trifle bowl (without liquor).
The first part of your question led to an interesting journey through my cookbook collection with the path leading again and again to an old time dessert called Charlotte Russe. Let's take a closer look at a tome by an equally mature, as in over a century old, recipe source and that's Fannie Farmer. The perhaps more familiar version uses ladyfingers but this one instead calls for thinly sliced sponge cake, which like angel food cake, is in this book under the heading of cakes made without shortening (or for that matter, other fats). As noted in FF, the classic is made in a cylindrical mold lined with the cake and then filled with a mixture created by preparing the gelatin, chilling it until it's thick and syrupy, and then folding in heavy cream that's been whipped to the soft peak stage. It's then chilled until firm.
If the dish you were envisioning keeps the whipped cream and Jell-O separate, then you could in effect serve it as your trifle, simply layering cubes of the prepared cake and Jell-O and topping with the whipped cream. For other trifle suggestions, check out a site my ever-resourceful stepdaughter Colleen told me about and that's allrecipes.com. Enter "trifle" into the search box and you'll find any number of possibilities, many in fact made with angel food cake and sponge cake and the more traditional pound cake, and the inventive chocolate chip one made with cookie dough, this one among those that do not include alcohol. If you make that one, my address is . . .
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Big congrats to Eva Longoria Parker, who recently opened Beso Steakhouse and Eve nightclub in Aria at the new CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip, and who even more recently was the recipient of the Distinguished Business Leadership Award from the local Latin Chamber of Commerce. Guess where she celebrated??? www.evethenightclub.com
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guest buzz. Here's what some past visitors to the "CCC" microphone have been up to lately . . .
- Maybe you've already caught up with this . . .the best-in-the-universe Neil Diamond clone Jay White, may have concluded his years-long run at the Riviera here but the good news is he can hardly keep up with his corporate and concert appearances that he now has the time to accept, and he'll also be polishing something he told us about months ago, his theatrical production based on the life of Neil Diamond.
- Renowned furniture retailer and interior designers Robb & Stucky who gave us a tour of a spectacular showplace they designed and its even more spectacular kitchens (plural!!!) has created a cookbook based on a premise dear to our heart - that the kitchen is the heart of the home - and it's filled with staffers' family favorites from across the country, meanwhile benefiting the American Cancer Society.
- Sierra Gold ultra taverns here in LV, featuring cuisine from ultra chef Joe Romano, has introduced a bar-raising Happy Hour menu, 5-7 M-F, featuring half-off drink specials and pizza specials and also such signatures as Sierra Gold wings, popcorn shrimp with too many sauces, plus big burgers, wraps, and paninis. Go, Joe!
- Among the recent notables at BB King's Blues Nightclub, one of this blogger's most favorite ever wits, the irrepressible Lewis Black, just one of the many stars that routinely shine at this big 'ol place in the Mirage that also just happens to have some of THE best ribs in town.
- Another celeb magnet in LV is Lavo restaurant and its upstairs Club Lavo, both at the Palazzo, recently visited by R-star Stormy Daniels who, according to Norm Clarke in his Review Journal column, uncovered a more cerebral side with talk of a possible run against conservative David Vitter, the Louisiana senator who has his own R-tales to tell.
- RA Sushi in Fashion Show mall is now offering bachelorette party packages.
* * * * * February 17, 2010 How perfect. World renowned and everyone-acclaimed Chef Hubert Keller, who was the very first featured chef on "Celebrity Chef Connection" when it debuted in September of 2007 - is now the very first featured chef on this brand new Blog, and what an honor that is! It's a wonder he even had time to visit "CCC-land," given that he now helms Fleur de Lys in Las Vegas and San Francisco, Sleek Steakhouse and Ultra Lounge in St. Louis, and Burger Bars in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and St. Louis. What else is on his very full platter? Tune in as this culinary master chats about his White House experience, his "Secrets of a Chef" TV show on PBS, his "Top Chef" stint on Bravo, his take on not wasting food, his new dishes, and his recent and coming cookbooks. Click on the Recipes page below for Chef Keller's Smoked Salmon "Raviolis." www.celebritychefconnection.com/Recipes.htm === Well here's some good news. The e-newsletter for the industry publication "Sante" reports that the National Restaurant Association's comprehensive index of restaurant activity rose to its highest level in 22 months in December. www.isantemagazine.com === Isn't this interesting. Sushi fans already well know the term "Omakase," which basically means let the sushi master assemble an array for you of his or her specialties or selections based on what's freshest right now. Well, according to an fascinating piece in a recent issue of "Nation's Restaurant News," that concept has now hit the bar, so to speak, as mixologists cited in Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, and Portland, Oregon, revel in crafting original cocktails for individual customer tastes. We actually had the pleasure of indulging in the custom creations of a forerunner of this trend at Fiamma at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where the pros specialized in this kind of thing. When folks would order "the usual" they were asked what kind of flavors they liked in general, then offered a drink that genuinely reflected those preferences in liquid form. Just one sip, and few people handed the drinks back! The most memorable of those samplings was the libation based on raspberry cheese cake. Oh my !!! === Vegetarians, look away. Believe me I have nothing against vegans and their varied counterparts and in fact can claim part-time-ness myself, but this is just so clever. . . twice! A story by Susan Koeppen in an issue of Parade earlier this year gave a great hint about saving on premium beef by teaming up with other folks to share large quantities from, e.g., LocalHarvest. com. What did she call this practice . . . cow pooling!!! === Guest buzz. Here's what some past visitors to the "CCC" microphone have been up to lately . . . - Tivoli Village at Rampart in Alta in LV, future home of first class shops and a restaurant array that is to include a place by Martin Yan (as in "Can Cook") is reportedly back on track for a December 2010 opening - One of "CCC's" favorite chefs, Michael Mina, was cited in a Nation's Restaurant News story about upscaling traditionally downscale food & drink for his Prime and American Kobe burgers, lamb burgers and salmon burgers with artisanal toppings, and also for the adult malts, at Bourbon Steak in Scottsdale. - And one of our favorite "Stars at the Stove" guests, Las Vegas comedy magician Mac King, appeared on "Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood" and also on the PBS series NOVA scienceNOW where he was interviewed by renowned American astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and he also performed at the 53rd Annual "It's Magic" event in Hollywood. - The lovable Louis Osteen, a James Beard "Best Chef Southeast" and late of Louis's Las Vegas and Fish Camp in Las Vegas, returned to his East Coast roots to intro his unique take on Southern cuisine at Lake Rabun Hotel in northern Georgia. - Chipotle Mexican Grill is creating, to our mind, an interesting challenge as it looks to take its "locavore" approach to, e.g, London, Paris and Munich. Meanwhile we continue to enjoy that kind of bounty in Las Vegas and beyond. More guest updates next week . . .
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