The triumphant, if slightly inconspicuous, return

When you’re a busy law student who has the bright idea to start a blog with your equally busy law school friend, a lot can happen over the course of a year. You can both graduate. You can both spend months on end studying for, and ultimately pass the bar. You can both get jobs, and then one of you can move away. You can swear that you’re going to make this blog work as one that specializes in both Northern and Southern Nevada, and maybe even those smaller cities in between. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I still hold out hope that we’ll be able to work something out. 

In the mean time, last night I had a dining experience that was so incredible that I was compelled to dust off the old keyboard and log in to the blog. Frankly, it was a good thing that I had my password saved, because I’m not sure that I would have remembered it off the top of my head.

Yesterday marked my 33rd birthday, though I don’t feel a day over 32. The last week has been amazing – my wonderful friends treated me to lunch on two separate occasions, I got a free latte from one of my favorite coffee shops, my manicurist gave me a discount…this really has been a wonderful week.

The culmination of this great time was my birthday dinner. For years, I’ve been hounding the Hubster to take me to Sage at the Aria Resort Hotel & Casino, and last night I finally got my way. After being seated and selecting the four-course Signature Tasting Menu, we were presented with a complimentary amuse bouche – artichoke puree, lamb tartar, and parsnip crisp.

Small bite with a huge flavor.

The puree was lush and creamy, the lamb was distinct and flavorful, and the parsnip was the perfect counterpart to the smooth textures of the underlying components. It was the perfect introduction to the spectacular meal that was yet to come.

 

Almost too much to handle – almost.

For my first course, I ordered the wagyu tartar with slow poached egg yolk, crushed caper aioli, pickled mustard seed, and crispy chocolate. This was one of the most decadent, rich, incredible dishes I’ve ever tried. It was served with buttery toast points, as if I needed more reason to start looking for a good cardiologist. Everything about this dish played into my love of creating the perfect bite, with the combination of fresh radish and chocolate being the perfect punctuation to a complex dish. 

The Hubster ordered what I thought might be a boring beet salad, but not only was it (a) surprisingly delicious and interesting, and (b) beautiful to look it, it was also (c) gone faster than I could take a photo. Honestly, for the rest of this post, just insert (c) for everything the Hubster ate.

The second course was something my friend recommended – scallops with braised oxtail, wild mushrooms, and salted caramel reduction.

Objects in the photo are actually as large as they appear.

Those gigantic scallops were perfectly seared and wonderful, but no joke, as the Hubster surmised, they were nearly an impediment in the dish. I’m not ashamed to admit that I would have taken a big bowl of the sauce with some bread and been perfectly content. That’s how amazing the sauce was. I practically licked the plate.

Before I can even talk about the third course, I have to explain something about my upbringing. My grandmother is German, and therefore, I am no stranger to sauerkraut. In fact, one dish that was a staple in the house was pork ribs or chops in the slow cooker with sauerkraut. It may be a long time staple of my childhood, but it is also one of my least favorite dishes of all time. 

So imagine my surprise when our third course, bacon wrapped Iberico pork loin with celery root panna cotta, asparagus, and smoked apple slaw had me immediately thinking back to childhood, and my hated dish. 

The childhood impostor.

The pork was sweet and luscious, with just the right salty note from the bacon. The celery root panna cotta was the upscale callback to to the mashed potatoes we would have with grandma’s pork chops. The smoked apple slaw was a sophisticated take on traditional sauerkraut. This dish was everything I grew up with, nothing like I had ever tasted, and it was incredible.

Sometimes, with a meal this good, dessert is an afterthought or a disappointment. Not the case here. Chocolate-Earl Grey panna cotta, scalded milk gelato, crisp madelines, and blackberries – good to the last painstakingly designed perfect bite.

Whoa. Just…whoa.

As if we hadn’t been spoiled enough over the course of this meal, we were presented with a hot white chocolate basil soup to complete our experience. The combination may have sounded strange, but it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted.

Despite the lengthy rambling nature of this post, I hope that it will be the first of many moving forward. And, because I’ve basically taken over the blog, I hope that L will chime in as soon as inspiration strikes.

Husbands and the Art of Negotiation

The Hubster is a good person to have around. He doesn’t really want for much, he understands my terrible schedule, accepts my tendency to overcommit myself to a million tasks, and generally supports me as much I could ever want or ask him to do.

One strike against him, however; when he is in relaxation mode (read: playing a video game), getting him out of the house for food is a Sisyphean task that I’ve long since abandoned. Instead, I’ll scrounge the cupboards and refrigerator for sustenance, generally appeasing myself with crackers and cheese or cereal. (Of course, with the advent of this amazing website (seriously – have you seen this?), I may no longer have to survive on pickles and saltines when my laziness threatens to outperform my hunger, but I digress).

One lazy Sunday, Hubster had been helping around the house, and upon finishing chores, sat down to play a video game. My hopes of eating out were dashed, or so I thought. I knew that I wanted to grab lunch, but I didn’t want the same old fast-food. I was dreaming big…dreaming of something unique, slightly off the beaten path, and exotic.

I was dreaming of Buldogis.

Menu Specials.

So much to choose from!

Buldogis is a Korean hot dog place I read about in a Desert Companion “best of” list. The description of Angry Kimchi Fries (sweet potato fries with cheese and kimchi say wah???) had me hoping I could convince the Hubster to take a drive.

So I hatched a plan. I decided to negotiate my way into exotic hotdog deliciousness.

“Hey [Hubster], I’m thinking we should grab some lunch, but I haven’t been grocery shopping, so we should pick something up.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“No, no, you misunderstand. You don’t have to leave – I’ll go pick up lunch for us.” There it was, simple, brilliant. The one way I knew I could get my way on restaurant selection. Offer to go out myself, and I can usually get what I want, until…

“What are you planning to pick-up?”

I hadn’t accounted for this question because he’s usually amenable if it means he doesn’t have to leave, so I had to think quickly.

“It’s a surprise.” OK, so not my finest moment but he had caught me off guard. My negotiation prep skills suck.

“…A surprise? What does that even mean? Where are you going?”

My whole plan was unraveling before my eyes! Finally, I decided to switch negotiating tactics and go a little more aggressive.

“Well, I just know that I am usually the one who has to go get us food, so I thought for once I could make the decision. It’s not as though I don’t know what you like. I’m just sick of the same stuff, and I want to try something different. Exotic even!”

He finally gave up and just sort of shrugged warily.

I returned about an hour later, triumphantly carrying in my bags of culinary goodies. Hubster heard me come in and immediately came in to the kitchen to investigate.

“So…what did you pick up?”

“Buldogis. It’s a Korean hotdog place that has bulgogi meat and Asian flavors incorporated into their hot dogs and burgers.”

As the look of relief washed over him, I had to ask, “What did you think I was getting?”

“Well, I don’t know…after all that talk about it being a surprise and you wanting to try something different, I started to get worried you were coming home with bull testicles or something.”

And that was the day that Hubster left me speechless.

Beef Bulgogi Dog

As for Buldogis, well…it was worth every suspected testicle.

Angry Kimchi Fries

The case of the good idea chicken and the bad idea brownies.

Every so often, though not as much as I’d like, I try to make a home-cooked meal. Sometime around early August I decided to plan a Labor Day get-together with some friends.  Why on earth would I need to do that three weeks in advance?  Because I had the bright idea that I would make a grand attempt at Thomas Keller’s fried chicken, and I needed that lead time to mentally prepare myself.  I mean, have you seen Ad Hoc at Home?  It’s a massive tome that outweighs many of my law school text books.

Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home v. Secured Transactions

Thomas Keller is an extremely well-respected chef, and I’ve always wanted to eat at his restaurant, The French Laundry, but alas…$270/person prix fixe menus are not quite in my student budget these days.  I have been thrilled to own this cookbook because I had grand plans of using the recipes and tips inside, but in two years of owning it, I’ve only attempted three recipes, all of which were delicious, but all of which required a lot of prep work and time.

Lies, Chef Keller. This is a tome of lies.

Within the pages of this beautifully photographed book is a fried chicken recipe that I’ve dreamed about trying since I first opened the book.  However,  first the chicken requires a 12-hour brine, so it’s not exactly a weekday friendly meal. The second consideration is the sheer amount of food it would make, so having people over seemed necessary. (And let’s be honest…I’m not above being a show-off when the situation warrants).

I finally decided that I would make my first attempt at this chicken over Labor Day since a) I would have a long weekend to prep, and b) I felt safe ignoring school work for a day or two of the long weekend.

I set out to purchase my ingredients, and already ran into problems in the produce section when I looked for fresh thyme for the chicken brine. For whatever reason, there was a run on thyme, and the store was completely out. I picked up a package of “poultry herbs” instead, figuring that Chef Keller would appreciate my ability to improvise. I grabbed the fresh parsley, lemons, and other various produce before heading to the meat section.

Truth be told…I’m a pretty lazy person, so my first instinct was to grab an already butchered chicken. Unfortunately, the only butchered chicken available was skinless chicken breast and a pack of drumsticks, and both of those packs were super-expensive, so I decided to bite the bullet and get a couple whole chickens that I would break down myself. I felt reasonably confident, especially since the cookbook has beautifully detailed photos, complete with instructions.

Warning, you are being set up for failure…

That evening I set out to create the brine since the chicken would spend most of the next day in the lemony sauna I was creating.  Everything was going well, I added all the lemons, peppercorns, garlic…and cilantro? Yes, years of cooking with cilantro apparently seeped into my unconscious and rendered me incapable of selecting parsley from the produce section. I threw the herbaceous impostor into the pot, along with some sage and rosemary that Chef Keller did not ask for.  I figured I was already veering off-course with the cilantro, why not go whole hog, or hen, as the case may be?

Yum…salty lemon water.

The next day I got up bright and early to work out my frustrations on my whole chickens. I felt like Julie Powell in Julie & Julia when she “confronts the duck” toward the end of the movie. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the lilt-y stylings of Julia Child guiding my hands, so I ended up with a butchered chicken…literally.

Apparently my chicken didn’t want to keep its skin.

Apparently my chicken knew that I normally eat it both boneless and skinless, so the skin started jumping off of it the further I went along. What the heck good is fried chicken without the skin?

This is an actual text I sent after finishing the chicken.

But this is the case of the GOOD idea chicken, so this incredibly long-winded story has a happy ending. Despite the errors along the way, the chicken was incredible, if I do say so myself.

Holy crow…that’s some good chicken!

The batter, despite my chicken skin issues, was crispy and savory, just like friend chicken should be. The meat was moist, salty from the brine, but bright from the lemon. There was a hint of herbs, but none of the cilantro. Overall, the chicken was a huge hit, and I was thrilled with the outcome.

The overall meal of the night was a success, complete with an Ad Hoc pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.  The nice thing about chefs is that they often have simpler dessert recipes since they aren’t pastry chefs, so the cake was nothing I couldn’t handle.

Oh yeah.

So you may, if you’ve actually been willing to read this far, be wondering about the bad-idea brownies I’ve promised in the title. Well, those came the next day, on Labor Day proper, the day I had promised myself would be dedicated to study and schoolwork. A few pages into Secured Transactions, I decided I needed chocolate sustenance to get through the rest of the day, and decided to make brownies. I justified this decision by telling myself that it would only take me about half an hour to throw the batter together, and the baking time would give me an opportunity to go back to reading.

Brownies…::drool::

My friend sent me the Baked cookbook as a thank-you gift over the summer, and I had been eying the brownie recipe for a while, so this seemed like the perfect day to try it out. When I started pulling out ingredients, something in the universe was trying to tell me to turn back. Go back to your reading, said the voice in my head. Pish posh, I said back to myself. This won’t take long. Who cares that I don’t have the right about of baking chocolate…I’ll just sub in cocoa powder.

That’s a lot of butter…and only 3/4 of the chocolate I was supposed to use.

And so, undeterred, I pressed on in my quest to make homemade brownies from scratch on the one day I planned to study. Short on chocolate, I went on, adding more cocoa powder in its place. Then I went to the sink and started washing some of my utensils as I went along, until I realized the dogs were licking something off the floor.  I looked down and realized I was standing next to a puddle of water. Cringing, I opened the cupboard under the sink to find it flooded. Apparently our garbage disposal had a crack, so when I dumped water down the drain it had been leaking into the cupboard. Hubster came in to assist in the clean-up, which took about 20 minutes to finish.

The aftermath of the clean-up.

Too little chocolate, 20 minutes lost to clean-up…these were mere speed bumps in my quest for brownie goodness. I continued on making my brownie batter until it came time to add the espresso powder, and I suddenly realized it was missing.

I searched high and low and couldn’t find my powder, so I decided to improvise. I had espresso-roast coffee beans in my coffee grinder, so I thought I would just grind it at a finer setting and add in the fresh powder.  It seemed like a brilliant idea until I couldn’t get my grinder setting to go below my normal coarse setting.

Oh grinder, usually you’re so good to me…

For those of you keeping track at home, I’ve now had a small flood, lost an ingredient, came up short on another (sort of vital) ingredient, and now my grinder was impeding my process even further. I thought there might be a jam in the gears, so I decided to empty out the well of the grinder before trying to reset it. That worked well enough that I was able to get to a medium grind, so I decided I could live with large grains of coffee beans. I added the beans back in and went to work.

Then, and I have absolutely no idead what possessed me to do this, I picked up the grinder for something, and spilled the beans everywhere.

Yep. That is a quite a mess.

It was official…the universe was punishing me for my decision to put my desire for fudge-y deliciousness over my need to study for class.

In the end, those were the best freaking brownies I had ever made, and it was worth the entire 90+ minute time that it took me to do it. When faced with the choice between brownies and categorizing chattel, I’ll choose chocolate every time.

Heaven.

I just may plan ahead next time. -J

Once upon a time…

…there were two students who both liked food.  And when I say “liked” food, I mean really liked food.  L. has made it a point to visit every hole-in-the-wall, highly rated restaurant in the greater metro area, and I have Restaurant Week marked as a holiday on my calendar.  Eventually we realized what we had in common, and after a brilliant blog-title suggestion from another friend, L. and I set out to write a food blog.  After all, we reasoned, L. has journalism experience, and I (much to the Hubster’s chagrin) document practically every dining experience I have.  What could possibly be a better idea than a co-written dining blog?  So off we went to WordPress, registering the blog name and gearing up for the great summer of posting ahead.

And then we remembered another important thing we both have in common – we’re not really regular students.  We’re law students, meaning that every time we think we have free time, we’re sorely mistaken.  That free time is quickly filled with assignments, reading, work, family, or friends.  And so, the great blogging summer of 2012 came and went with nary a blog entry, as Arbitrary & Delicious sat empty.

Until now that is.  Yes, that’s right, what better time to actually write the blog we’ve started than during our third and final year of school?

Before I get started, let me just apologize in advance for my crappy photography skills.  As I mentioned, the Hubster is not fully on board with my need to document awesome meals, so I don’t drag a camera when I go out – I surreptitiously sneak out the phone to try to stay inconspicuous…or not, when the flash is required in super-dark places.  But yeah, no pro photos here.

Unfortunately (though fortunately for my bank account), I’ve only had the chance to hit up two Restaurant Week places this time around.  If you don’t know, RW is a time when a variety of places create special three- and four-course menus for certain price levels, usually between $20.12 – $50.12/person.  If you dine at one of these establishments and select these special menus, a portion of your cost is donated to Three Square Food Bank.  Honestly, it’s a great way to try new places, and especially to try places that you wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

This was the first time I was able to do a breakfast menu, at the suggestion of my supervisor, no less!  Instead of meeting at the office, we met at Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro at the Palazzo hotel.  Morels offered a $20.12 three-course breakfast, starting with a fresh fruit plate, and ending with house-made jelly donuts.  You were able to select your second course, which was essentially your main breakfast: All-American (eggs, bacon/sausage/ham, hashbrowns, & toast), Banana-Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast, Classic Benedict, or Huevos Rancheros.  Forgetting this was a French restaurant, I went with the Huevos Rancheros.

Fresh Fruit Plate at Morels

Let’s be honest here…it’s hard to screw up a fruit plate.  If you serve seasonal fruit that’s ripe, you’ve got a winner.  So this was a great plate.  Fresh, sweet, and a little tart, it was a great way to wake up the palate.  I didn’t anticipate there being yogurt with the fruit, so that was actually a nice surprise.  Even better was the flavor – not too tart, not to watery, just perfectly vanilla.

When the second course came out I was super-excited.  I’m a Texas girl, so Huevos Rancheros are old hat, and one of my favorite breakfast entrees.  I love the classic interplay of the spiciness of the sauce, creaminess of the eggs, and earthiness of the beans.  Morels is definitely a more up-scale version of what I’m used to, and I missed the normal heat you get in most places.  That’s not to say this version wasn’t delicious, because it certainly was.  The perfectly poached (not over-easy) egg laid on a bed of creamy and delicious black beans, smothered in a nice tomato sauce, topped with sour cream, micro greens, avocado, and crispy tortilla strips.  The whole thing was bedded atop a thick and crisp tostada shell, and it was a great plate overall.  Just not quite what I was expecting.

Huevos Rancheros…French-style.

I had kind of forgotten, amidst the fruit, egg, and coffee-goodness that I had donuts coming!  When they came out I was kind of excited, but mostly relieved that “donuts” actually meant donut holes.  I’m not sure I would have made it through the whole thing otherwise…though I would certainly have tried. 😉

Jelly-donut holes of awesomeness

Do you see those little holes of deliciousness?  And that whipped cream of awesomesauce?  Holy crap is what I’m trying to say.  Those were seriously amazing, and I would have licked that serving dish of cream clean if I could have figured out how to do it in a way that wasn’t crass and how to fit my head in it.

Overall, Morels had a pretty great breakfast, all high-quality ingredients put together in tasty ways.  However, should you decide to partake in a Restaurant Week breakfast menu, let me give you some advice…do NOT, under any circumstances, do a three-course breakfast if you have to go to the office afterward.  I almost fell asleep at my desk at multiple points during the day, almost succumbing to a food coma as I worked on my assignments.

With Restaurant Week winding down, I knew I wanted to hit at least one more spot before it ended.  Hubster and I had tickets to the matinee showing of WICKED at the Smith Center, so I figured I would find a place for dinner after the show.  I happened upon the three-course dinner at Mood at the Artisan Hotel for $30.12/person, and when I mentioned the desserts, Hubster was totally and completely on board.  Given that he’s not a huge sweets fan, that meant something.

We had never been to the Artisan Hotel before, and I’m not sure what I was expecting.  The surrounding area is…not the best.  Put it this way; we parked in the “self-park” lot, across from the hotel, which was a dirt lot next to a Gentlemen’s “Cabaret” advertising in-house tattooing.  Once you cross over to the hotel, the entry is completely tree-lined, blocking out any view of the highways that surround the location.

The inside of the hotel and restaurant are very dimly lit, covered in oil paintings and prints of famous artwork.  My favorite part was being directed to the restaurant “just past the Mona Lisa in the corner.”  We were there fairly early, around 5:30, and I had the distinct impression that this was more of a late-night dining spot.  We were the only two in the whole restaurant for most of the meal, but the staff was friendly, the chairs were comfortable, and the wine was flowing.  We both started with the mixed green salad, which had a nice vinaigrette on it, and I ordered the blackened salmon pasta, while Hubster ordered the pork chops with purple potato mash.

Mood at the Artisan – Seriously…so good.

Apologies in advance for the photo quality.  The pics are going to belie the quality of food because of the crazy flash on the phone, and the super-dark atmosphere of the restaurant.  No matter how it looks. that was some of the best restaurant salmon I’ve had.  It was lightly blackened, and nicely moist inside.  The flavor was phenomenal, and not fishy at all.  And I don’t care what Scott Conant says…I LOVE cheese with my pasta, regardless of whether there’s seafood involved.  The interplay of the sweet red peppers, savory parmesan shavings, and lovely fish made for a dish that I finished before I knew what happened.  My intention to take some home promptly went out the window.

Grilled chops with purple mash

From what I could tell, the pork chops were apparently tasty, but I didn’t reach over for fear of losing a finger.  By the time Hubster offered me some purple mash (which he described as “pleasantly sweet”), I was stuffed full of pasta and waiting for dessert.  I’ll take his word for it that everything was awesome.

Dessert was what had decided our plan for dinner in the first place, so I was definitely looking forward to it.  The choices were Bourbon Pecan Pie and Ginger-Apple Crisp, and we ordered one of each.  The pecan pie disappeared so fast I couldn’t snap a pic, but I did get a bite.  Holy moly…that was a good pie!!

The apple crisp was amazing.  I love ginger, so the bite of ginger was a welcome addition to a homey dessert.  I think I’m going to try grating fresh ginger into the next apple dessert that I make because it just adds another layer of flavor that brightens up the whole dish.  I loved the crunchy crumb topping on it as well.  Overall, it was just a great meal in a slightly weird but enjoyable atmosphere.

Nomnomnom…

So after a slow start, I feel like I’ve written an epic novel of a post.  So sorry for that…hopefully future posts will be slightly more brief, unless they’re anything like the law school definition of a brief, which is never brief.  In the future we’ll have more restaurant write-ups, and probably some home-cooked meals and recipes along the way.  The real goal for now, however, is to make sure that a second post makes it up before graduation.

Until next time… -J.

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