David Ross

Kill me now, that lasagna looks delicious! Give me some info on your 'lasagna' recipe. What kind of cheese is that melted on the top?

Tonight I did a butterflied leg of lamb on the Weber grill outside. I used a recipe from one of Tom Douglas's cookbooks-"Bengal Spice Lamb." The lamb is marinated in all sorts of Middle Eastern spices and fresh herbs and olive oil. I served the lamb with a cucumber raita, steamed rice and some grilled zuchinni that I dressed with olive oil and sherry vinegar. For dessert I had vanilla ice cream, Tillamook brand, with some fresh raspberries. Originally I thought of putting the raspberries between layers of pastry like a Napolean. Then I got lazy and instead of the Napolean I decided to just cut out some 'cookies' from the puff pastry dough. I brushed each puff pastry cookie with melted butter and sprinkled the baked cookies with powdered sugar. They actually turned out wonderful, light and puffy and crispy. (I think for the Holidays I'll make them and stuff them with some kind of jam).

David, is that a teeny tiny squid tucked into that mussle shell, or a standard sized on in a really HUGE mussle? ← It is the tiniest of tiny squid. I wanted to make sure I got the little tentacles in the photo so I stuck the little devil on the edge of the mussel shell. I buy the baby squids frozen from a local Asian market. They are just wonderful for presentation and add just the tiniest bit of fishy flavor to soups and stews. Since they are so small I just stir them in the final stew to heat the squid up before I ladle the stew into bowls.

Good Lord if I didn't already have dinner planned I would make that PASTA! Pasta made by hand-how wonderful. You are to be commended for both the pasta and that delicious looking strawberry sorbet. Is there some sort of caramel topping on the florentine?

Last night I did a classic bouillabaisse with baby red potatoes, halibut, prawns, mussels and baby squid. Oh, and lots of garlic, both in the fish broth and in the red pepper rouille that I spread on toasted bread. I'm lucky to have a market that gets fresh bread from Nancy Silverton's La Brea Bakery flown in about 3 times a week. I toasted slices of their baguette to serve with the bouillabaisse. I have to say though while the bouillabaise was good, I prefer our beloved West Coast seafood stew-'Cioppino' much better. Here are a couple of photos for you:

Thank you so much for the recipe and the lesson in Tom Collins cocktail-ology. It's now on my list for this summer.

I am having trouble finding 'Collins Mix' in the markets in Spokane. I am drinking a 'fake' Vodka Collins right now because I substituted the Collins with Squirt. It is a close approximation of the classic cocktail but not the same of course. Can I make a quasi Collins mix at home starting with Squirt? Years ago, in the 60's actually, my Grandfather used to love a good 'Tom Collins' aka with gin, at his country club. I think it was one of those summer drinks of years gone by that has gone out of fashion against the Mojitos and Martinis. Any ideas?

Holy Moly! I want to cook everything that everyone has posted the past week. All of it. I was busy last week hammering out a little blog for the site. I hope you had a chance to read it. Now I'm back to posting and talking about Dinner! Last night I made some delicious fried Razor Clams, simple roast potatoes and green salad. We get very fresh seafood from the Northwest and Alaska at our local Costco. It is really good quality. I think they must go through a whole lot of fresh seafood at Costco every single day. If you aren't familiar with Razor Clams they are pretty good size, small ones are around 8-9" long. The piece of clam meat is very big, almost like a clam steak. I dust them in a seasoned fry mix and saute them in hot oil for about 2 minutes per side. You have to cook them quick so they stay tender. I made a sauce of fish stock, butter, capers, thyme and a bit of cream to serve with the clams. Hope you like the photos:

I catch this show on BBC America on my days off. What I really like is the beautiful camera work. They shoot the food really closeup so it creates an image you can almost taste. The colors are very rich and the shots are really in focus. I think that for me that really sets the show apart and makes it once of the best cooking shows on television right now.

I thought it would be appropriate to end a blog from the Pacific Northwest with a mention about James Beard. You probably know that James Beard was a native of Oregon. I too am a native Oregonian even though I now live in Washington. I've always taken great pride in knowing that a man who became a legend in American cooking came from my home state. One time back in the late 1960's, our family was meeting some cousins that were flying in from Wisconsin. As we were walking into the Portland airport this large, bald-headed man in a huge black raincoat walked past. My Mother said "do you know who that was?" I was probably no more than 10 at the time so of course I had no idea who he was. Mother said "that's James Beard." As I got older I learned who James Beard was and I also learned of the impact he made on how Americans ate at home and how we ate at restaurants. Today I took photos of my small collection of books on Beard: This paperback book was published in 1984 in conjunction with the Beef Industry Council. Beard got a lot of criticism for his commercial associations. In the case of his association with the Beef Industry he seemed to avoid the criticism. The cookbook is a collection of recipes from famous chefs using beef in Mr. Beard's honor. My Father worked for the Oregon State Department of Agriculture and he got this book for me through his association with the Oregon Beef Council. A wonderful photo of Beard that captures his spirit. Evan Jones wrote this biography of James Beard that was published in 1990. It is a very interesting read. Beard wrote this cookbook in 1981. The book was published by Alfred A. Knopf, the same publishing company who worked with Beard's dear friend Julia Child. I especially like Mr. Beard's chapter on 'Offal,' more commonly known as the "innards" of the animal. This cookbook was published by Beard's estate in 1993. This is the most cherished cookbook in my collection. James Beard wrote this cookbook in 1949. It is special to me because it was my Grandmother's-like Mr. Beard a native Oregonian. Grandmother bought Mr. Beard's cookbook in 1949. These photos depict some of the color illustrations in the cookbook. Finally, I close my blog about my life in the Pacific Northwest and my world in food and cooking with one of the last photos taken of James Beard in Oregon-a lone walk along Gleneden Beach where his family owned a Summer home for many years. The Oregon Coast gave Mr. Beard great pleasure and it was the place where he learned so much about the food and cooking of the Northwest.

Tonight is my last dinner of the week to post for you. I'm sad that our week is coming to a close. I've learned a lot from everyone and I hope you had some fun reading along with my journey this past week and that you enjoyed some of my writing and musings on food and cooking. Thanks to SnowAngel for giving me the opportunity to write my blog. And Little Ms. Foodie, I won't forget your huckleberries this Summer. Here is the rack of lamb that I showed earlier. I sear the lamb in olive oil in a hot skillet for about 7 minutes on the fat side and then turn it over and put the skillet in a 450 degree oven to roast the lamb. I roast the lamb for about 15 minutes to medium-rare. I don't use a meat thermometer to test it for doneness, I just poke the lamb with my finger and I seem to know when it is done. Rack of lamb with fried potatoes and rhubarb chutney. I guess that says Northwest and Summer at the same time. The rhubarb chutney is tart yet sweet and has a hint of spice. The chutney is a wonderful condiment for rich lamb. I'm not done yet, I've got another post for you tonight.

It's very interesting when you hear of programming in different parts of the country. I am currently watching Next FoodNetwork star, and I am on the west coast too. Not sure if Dish Network determines the difference or not. ← I'm not sure but it might. I have the local Comcast feed up here. The "Star" show is coming on our channel at 9p tonight. Maybe with Dish Network you are getting the East Coast feed? Rachel Ray is aggravating at all times.

God save our country. Right now on the Food Network in Spokane Rachel Ray is singing karaoke in Maui! Kill me.

I'm starting that tommorrow-putting clipped recipes in my binder. I've got this ragged old manilla folder on the kitchen counter with awful looking pieces of recipes I've clipped in recent years. I am glad you have enjoyed the blog. I started to worry that I was jumping too far out there by talking about cooking on television and the Las Vegas dining scene. It's been a busy week with the blog and work but it's been really rewarding to get so many kind comments. Thank you.

I love to make ice cream. It is very easy but it takes a couple of days and you need the right equipment. I start by making a custard of egg yolks, sugar, milk, cream and vanilla bean. I heat the milk, cream and vanilla bean in a saucepan. In a bowl I stir the egg yolks with the sugar. You add some of the warm milk to the eggs and stir quickly to temper the eggs, then pour the egg mixture back into the warm milk in the saucepan. You cook the custard for about 15 minutes or until it thickens. I strain the custard into a container and let it cool, covered, overnight in the fridge. This is my cuisinart ice cream maker. It is heavy and load and cost a few hundred bucks, but it is really quick, only 20 minutes or so to cool the custard to ice cream. You don't have to freeze the bowl ahead of time because the unit has a built-in freezer. You just pour the custard in the bowl sitting in the unit and let it go. After the ice cream is thick, I added some Bing cherries that I macerated in Cherry Liquer. It's important at this stage to spoon the ice cream into a container and cover it and put it in the freezer for about an hour to set up. These are the ingredients I put in the rhubarb chutney I made last night. I wanted to serve it with the duck confit yesterday, but it was too hot. The chutney needed to sit in the fridge overnight so it could thicken. (Instead of using apple cider vinegar I used 'Verjus' from a winery in Central Washington). This is a copy of my recipe for the rhubarb chutney. I know, I'm obsessed! I copy any recipe I write and put it in a 3-ring binder. The plastic sleeves protect the pages from getting dirty in the kitchen. It's a great way to record your favorite recipes and have them at the ready. This is the rhubarb chutney just starting to stew. I cook the chutney over medium heat for about an hour. The rhubarb will break down and the chutney will be the consistency of very thick jam. These baked potatoes are the ingredient in the 'Pommes de Terre Macaire' that I had with the duck confit last night. You bake a potato and then let it cool overnight in the fridge. The cooling process helps the starch and sugars to relax. I then scoop out the flesh of the potato with a spoon. Here you see the scooped out potato flesh. I freeze the potato skins and used them as shells for stuffed baked potatoes. So dessert is going to be Cherry Ice Cream. Dinner is Rack of Lamb, Rhubarb Chutney, Fried Potatoes and some mixed salad greens. I buy Rack of Lamb at Costco. They always have fresh Rack of Lamb at my Costco and it is cheap, $9.99 a pound today. It usually runs $11.99 a pound. We rarely see rack of lamb in our big groceries stores in Spokane. If we do see rack of lamb in the meat case, it's probably the Holidays and the price is around $15 a pound. The lamb at Costco is from either Australia or New Zealand. Spokane is only about two hours drive East from Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg is home to a big lamb production facility. I haven't really found out why we can't get Ellensburg lamb in the big markets in Spokane. We can get local lamb, but you pretty much have to search the classified ads in the paper for a local farmer who will sell it to you. I guess they ship our Washington lamb to other parts of the country.

Thank you so much. Las Vegas really has more good restaurants in a short amount of land than any other city in the country. The top restaurants are concentrated in just a few miles up and down the strip. You never tire of the choices because there are so many to choose from. You might find this story about dining in Las Vegas kind of fun. It's dated now from when I wrote it for fun about 5 years ago. The restaurant scene in Las Vegas changes every month so what was written last year is old news by now. http://www.themediadrome.com/content/artic...e_las_vegas.htm

Yesterday was frantic. I had to deal with some computer problems that slowed me down, but I wanted to make sure I delivered on my promise to you to talk about the state of cooking on television. Oh, and the trip to the farmer's market and dinner. I make duck confit about 4 times a year. I can eat duck confit anytime of year. While we normally think of confit as a cold-weather dish, it is too tempting to resist a dish of duck confit, fresh morel mushrooms and papperdelle pasta in the Spring. I but duck leg quarters at the local Asian market. I can't get them at any other market in Spokane. When you ask the meat guy at Safeway for frozen duck quarters he looks at you like you are crazy-"who eats duck legs." I do. Asian markets are great for hard to find cuts of meat like duck leg quarters or pork belly. Other stores don't sell the stuff and the prices are so low at Asian markets you think they aren't charging you enough. I usually pay no more than $1.99 a pound for duck leg quarters. I think that is pretty cheap. I usually marinate the duck pieces for three days with a mixture of sea salt, black peppercorns, crushed juniper berries, sliced garlic and sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary. Then I rinse off the marinade and put the duck into melted lard. The traditional recipe calls for duck fat, but it's expensive and I don't like to have to order it online so I use lard. Lard works just fine. I melt the lard in a Le Cresuet deep stockpot and put in the duck pieces. I cover the pot and put it in a 200 degree oven for six hours. I made this batch about three weeks ago. After the pot is taken out of the oven I let it cool and then I put the pot in the fridge. I let the duck sit and 'confit' in the lard until it is ready to use. To serve the confit I put the stockpot into a 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the lard melts and I can easily take the duck pieces out of the fat. Then I put the duck on a cookie rack over a sheet pan and into a hot, 450 degree oven. This helps to heat the duck. I always put some water in the bottom of the sheet pan so that the dripping duck fat doesn't catch fire. After about 20 minutes I turn the oven to 'broil' and give the duck a blast of heat from above to crisp the skin. I served the duck with some 'Pommes de Terre Macaire,' which is a recipe from Jacques Pepin. You bake a russet potato and then let it cool in the fridge overnight. The next day you scoop out the potato flesh and saute it in a skillet with butter and olive oil. It is kind of the French version of hash browns. Delicious. I served the duck with fresh peas, carrots and pea shoots. My rhubarb relish wasn't ready to serve so I drizzled some Marionberry around the duck. I started dinner last night with a slice of the fig bread I bought at the Farmer's market yesterday. I put some crumbled bleu cheese on a thick slice of the bread, then broiled it in a hot oven to melt the cheese. After the cheese was melted and the bread was toasted, I added some of the candied hazelnuts I made a few days ago. I served the bread with a salad of greens with olive oil and lemon juice.

The only event I had planned on Saturday was a private winemaker's lunch at 'Alex' at the Wynn. Chef Alex Stratta was hired by Steve Wynn as the head chef at 'Renoir' restaurant when it opened at The Mirage. When Mr. Wynn opened his new resort he supposedly paid dearly to sign Chef Stratta to join him. I didn't get any photos of the lunch at Alex. I will tell you that the room, the service, the wine pairings and the food were divine. When there a restaurant in Las Vegas is reserved for a private party, they put a sign out front that says, "reserved for private function." The decor of Alex is totally opposite of Guy Savoy. Savoy is small and stark with an intense focus on food and service. It was fun for me to walk past the gawking tourists who were standing out front of Alex wondering what 'debutante' was going to walk by. No debutante, just a guy from Spokane who was hungry for lunch. The decor at Alex is just what you would imagine from the reviews you might have read. There is a huge staircase right out of "Hello Dolly" that carries you down into the dining room. The walls are dark wood that with lots of moulding. The windows are draped in silk and damask. Chef Stratta was at the base of the stairs to greet us with flutes of champagne as we stepped into the dining room. This is the menu and wines that were served. Sorry, I didn't do as thorough review of Alex like I wrote for Wing Lei or Guy Savoy. I was on day four of a five day tour of gluttony and on this day I just wanted to enjoy the experience. Reception-Wattle Creek, Methode Champenoise, Yorkville Highlands, NV 'Spring Vegetable Crudites' with Black Truffle Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese Gratin' served with 'Wattle Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, 2006.' 'Roasted Live Santa Barbara Spot Prawns with Sweet Corn Custard, Fava Beans and Tomato Confit.' The wine served was 'Wattle Creek, Viognier, Alexander Valley, 2005.' 'Roasted Quail with Pancetta, Porcini Mushrooms and Asparagus Gratin' served with 'Heitz Vineyards, 'Martha's' Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2001.' 'Hazelnut, Chocolate and Caramel Crunch, Praline Ice Cream' with 'Heitz Grignolino Port, Napa Valley, 2003.' And the last touch were 'Petits Fours' and 'Warm Madelines.' The final day of my trip to Las Vegas was Sunday, May 20. I went to Wynn for the Sunday brunch at the 'Buffet.' The Buffet at Wynn is much smaller in terms of size and selection than the buffet at Bellagio, but I think the quality of the food and cooking is better. The buffet isn't cheap, with tax and tip I think it was about $35 for brunch. I didn't have the apetite to try one of the cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles, but I'll try that on my next trip to Las Vegas.

On Friday afternoon I had reserved a seminar on the food writing scene in Las Vegas. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about food writing and I love Las Vegas so I figured this was the best seminar for me to attend. The seminar was held in a private dining room at 'Sensi' in the Bellagio. Sensi is a very good restaurant but it doesn't get the notice of some of the other fine dining restaurants in Bellagio like 'Picasso' or 'Le Cirque.' Sensi is casual in terms of the atmosphere and dress. The basic concept is that you can order from four different kitchens and craft your own meal. Like live seafood from the seafood kitchen or grilled meats from the grill kitchen. A word of caution about restaurant prices in Las Vegas while I am thinking about it. Please take some time to visit the forums in eGullet and to check out the restaurant website while you are planning a trip to Las Vegas. If you don't do your research you may be shocked at the sticker prices on the posted menus when you get to town. The high-end places like Guy Savoy or Robuchon run upwards of $300 per person for a tasting menu. If you go to Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM you can expect to pay around $100 bucks per person for three courses and a few glasses of wine. The hosts of the talk about the restaurant scene in Las Vegas and the art of food writing were Barbara Fairchild, Editor of Bon Apetit, Alan Richman who writes for lots of national publications like GQ, Max Jacobsen who writes for Las Vegas life magazine, and my friend John Curtas. I'd like to personally recognize John. John is a fellow eGullet man. He is an attorney in Las Vegas by trade, but he has written about food and restaurants in Las Vegas for over 25 years. John is the host of "Food for Thought" on the local NPR radio station in Las Vegas. Check out his podcasts on the KNPR website. I first met John via email after I had read some of his posts on eGullet. Since we met in Las Vegas, John has graciously given me free critiques of my writing. Thank you John and we will definately do the 'after party' next year! I wanted to mention today some thoughts I have on the topic of 'bloggers' that was raised by the panel at the seminar. Barbara seemed to accept the fact that bloggers are a part of today's food world. Alan Richman was the most apprehensive to accept food bloggers. We no longer live in a culture where people read restaurants once a week in the Friday, entertainment section of their newspaper. We love to get our montly food magazines, but that has also become somewhat a relic of the past. Today I think people have a craving for information about restaurants and food and cooking and they want the information now. It's hard for the food journalists who grew up in the past to accept the bloggers of today. Max and John agreed to Alan's point, just not as harshly. I respect Alan's work and experience. I am actually trying to go to one of his writing classes in New York. By his own admission Alan agreed that a blogger who has a knowledge of food, wine and cooking is a good thing. I agree. I also agreed with Alan when he said that a blogger without experience in a chosen field can damage all food writers and restaurant critics. As I mentioned before, I found Alan to be a likeable man and he has a counter full of Beard Awards for food writing to prove his talent. I am sure Alan would encourage you to disagree with his opinions but have a respect for the fact they are his opinions. One other point that Max and John made at the seminar was that they don't include anything about service when they do a restaurant review. Alan sort of agreed. Barbara totally disagreed with the point. I side with Barbara. Max feels that service isn't important to his readers. I disagree. If I read a review on eGullet that says the service at Prime steakhouse at Bellagio has terrible service, I probably won't go there. The steaks may be prime but if the service isn't, I don't want to waste my time. Friday night I had dinner at Wing Lei at Wynn. Thank you doc and moltoe for the recommendation. It was outstanding. Here is the post on eGullet that I did after dinner at Wing Lei. Jun 8 2007, 06:07 PM Post #11 I would like to thank my fellow e-gullet writers who encouraged me to dine at Wing Lei. I had dinner at Wing Lei, table for one, on Friday, May 19. This is an excerpt of a review I wrote about my experience. I write restaurant reviews just for fun and for practice to work on my writing skills, so this is part of a larger review. Enjoy. I have to apologize for not getting any photos of the dining room or the dishes that were served. I had pre-reserved the Seasonal Tasting Menu for one. It is normally only served to a minium of two people but they had no problem accomodating my request. Course #1-"Grilled Beef Salad with Rice Noodles." This was a simple description to describe a simple dish. It was simple merely because there were only a few ingredients-but the flavors were anything but simple. The salad was a light and refreshing introduction to the heavier flavored dishes to come. The beef tenderloin had been lightly grilled to medium-rare. The rice noodles were flat and thick like pappardelle pasta. The salad was dressed lightly with soy sauce and rice vinegar and garnished with shredded green onions and sweet red pepper. Course #2-"Chicken Soup." The description of the dish on the menu was almost too humble. Then again, maybe the chefs were trying to fool me? List a dish simply as "Chicken Soup" and you probably are thinking it isn’t fancy enough for a restaurant like Wing Lei. ‘Shouldn’t they be serving me Bird’s Nest Soup with Gull’s Eggs?” The waiter brought a covered porcelain bowl to the table. He placed a wide gold spoon next to the bowl of soup. He removed the cover from the bowl, releasing a fragrant cloud of chicken steam. Soft little dumplings that enclosed a center of chicken mousse floated in the 'essence' of chicken broth. A few strips of julienne carrot and zucchini squash were the only garnishes. Course #3-"Live Santa Barbara Spot Prawns." The waiter told me that the next dish was Spot Prawns that had been brought over from Santa Barbara that morning. "I like these prawns better than lobster” he said. “They have a sweet yet delicate flavor. And Mr. Ross, you know they were swimming in the live tank in the kitchen just a few moments ago." Two large prawns were served on a small, rectangular plate. The prawns had been taken live from the tank directly into a pot of simmering liquid and then gently braised for a few moments to keep them moist. They were served with the head on and the ruby red roe running down the tail. There was a tiny, whole mustard green served on the side. The mustard green was steamed and garnished with a little fried garlic. The idea was for the bitter mustard green to counter the flavor of the sweet prawns. Course #4-“Miso Glazed Salmon, White Bamboo Mushroom Fungus and Pi Leaf Greens.” Miso is salty and can overpower the delicate flavor of salmon if too much is slathered on fish. In this case, the Miso added just a hint of salty taste and the characteristic scent of miso and soy to the tender, medium-rare, salmon. Not too much, not too little. There are hundreds of different types of greens used in Chinese cuisine, but tonight the chef had chosen the leaves from the tender ‘Pi Leaf’ green. The steamed Pi Leaves served as a bed for the salmon. Another foundation for the salmon were shoots of Bamboo Fungus. The waiter told me that “Bamboo Fungus is usually stuffed with dried shrimp or mined pork,” but tonight the chef had only braised the tender, white cylinders. The fungus had a delicate, yet crisp texture and a hint of bamboo flavor. A sauce made from reduced soy sauce and miso was drizzled around the plate. Course #5-“Jasmine Tea-Smoked Chicken, Soy Reduction, Shanghai-Style Pan-Fried Noodles.” A baby chicken had been smoked with the tropical flower scent of Jasmine tea. The chicken was then braised in a sauce based with soy. There must have been a final cooking stage in a hot oven to crisp-up the golden brown, shiny skin of the chicken. Shanghai-Style noodles are thin egg noodles that are the size and texture of angel hair pasta. The noodles were stir-fried with sliced, fresh shitake mushrooms and a mixture of other vegetables. There was a ribbon of reduced soy sauce around the chicken. The sauce was thick, gooey and sweet. It was so delicious I thought I would name it ‘Chinese Molasses’ and bottle it. Course #6-“Dessert Trio.” At one base of the trio was a finger of creamy chocolate mousse encased in a chocolate shell and served with milk chocolate sauce. Next to the chocolate mousse was fresh strawberry sorbet served with poached fresh Lychee fruit. Lychee fruit are juicy little white orbs that taste like a cross between apple, pear and pineapple. The exotic scent of the Lychee smells of roses and tropical orchids. The third side of the trio was a tapioca based dessert. A small glass held tiny pearls of tapioca suspended in mango mousse with a base layer of coconut. The mango mousse was topped with a little scoop of icy mango sorbet. The trio of desserts was just the right balance of sweet, refreshing and refined flavors and light textures.

On Friday morning I went to breakfast at "Bouchon" at The Venetian. I try to go to Bouchon for breakfast every time I am in Las Vegas. There is a wonderful thread on Bouchon, Las Vegas in the dining forum. Unfortunately I think that the cooking and service at Bouchon has slipped in the past year. Maybe Chef Keller needs to come to Las Vegas more often to insure that his standards are being met. I choose Bouchon when I am in town, because it is one of the few fine dining restaurants in Las Vegas that serves breakfast and I like the cool, quiet setting outdoor on the patio. I ordered the "Ouefs au Gratin" or baked eggs au gratin. The eggs were served in a small cast iron skillet and were garnished with a topping of cheese and panko bread crumbs. The bread crumbs were the best part-crisp to a golden-brown color. The eggs weren't done. The whites were undercooked and the yolks were raw. I like my eggs 'Sunnyside' up but these eggs were basically cracked into the dish and sort of heated in the oven. My other gripe with breakfast at Bouchon was the cold butter. I hate cold, ice cold, butter served at restaurants. It ripped the crap out of my dainty slices of toast. The setting was good. The food so-so.

Now the crowning end of the meal at Guy Savoy was the "Dessert Cart." Our table was the last to leave, and the last to get the Dessert Cart. We were really, really enjoying the evening, and the wine, and we kept seeing this dessert cart being wheeled by our table. When we asked the waiter he said the cart was on the way and we would be the last party of the evening to enjoy the plethora of sweets. The card held forth blackberry marshmallows, strawberry lollipops, lavendar ice cream, chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream, cotton candy, mint madelines and pistachio madelines. And that only describes a third of what was offered. The waiter served everyone individually from our personal selection of treats. Being the last table at the private party to still be eating, we just had to finish off the last bottle of Banyuls. Then we staggered out of Savoy knowing we had just experienced something that few people will ever have the chance to enjoy.

The cold jellyfish dishes I get also have another crucially important ingredient: sesame oil. Did this one lack the sesame oil? ← You know that is a very good point. Come to think of it now, I don't think there was even a drop of sesame oil. I think it would have certainly given the salad more flavor.

On Thursday night in Las Vegas I had a reservation for an event I had been waiting for since February-a private dinner at Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesar's Palace. While I had high expectations of the meal, I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined how memorable the dinner would turn out to be. I haven't worn a suit and a tie to work in over 10 years. The suits I have hanging in my closet haven't fit me for 10 years. So with the encouragement from my co-workers, I bought a dark blue suit, blue shirt and tie especially for this event. I worried I would be overdressed, but it turned out that the gentlemen who didn't wear a tie were underdressed. God, I was actually nervous walking up the staircase to Guy Savoy! To get to the restaurant you walk to the left of the main lobby at Caesar's and enter down a hall to one of the new hotel towers. There are few signs that you are heading toward one of the top French restaurants in the world. I walked up this huge winding staircase to the second floor. To the right are the Caesar's wedding chapels and to the left. To the right you see a pair of gigantic, dark wood doors. As I was sitting for the staff to open the restaurant to our private event, Alan Richman walked out of the doors. Now I haven't weighed in on the Alan Richman thread at eGullet and the criticisms of the piece he did on the San Franciso Ferry Building. But in that short moment I found Mr. Richman to be very friendly. He walked up and introduced himself and shook my hand. He said that "Guy Savoy is really one of the best French restaurants in America." Coming from a guy who I knew to be at the top of the food writing world I took that as a great compliment that I had chosen this private event. Alan was off to host another private dinner sponsored by Bon Apetit at 'Rao's' in Caesar's Palace. At 6pm, we walked through the church doors into a temple of fine French dining. We were greeted by Frank Savoy, Guy Savoy's son and the Manager and host of the Las vegas restaurant. Frank is a very young man of no more than 35 and he has the style and grace that I remember from Maitre d's from fine 'continental' dining rooms in the 60's. Just past Frank, standing in waiting to greet the guests, was the master himself. I actually had goose bumps. Chef Savoy warmly offered his hand. (He reminded me of Chef Andre Soltner. Both are very friendly, warm and totally unpretentious.) I counted no more than 40 people total that would enjoy dinner. The event was hosted by Barbara Fairchild, Executive Editor of Bon Apetit. Chef Savoy had ordered a staff of nearly 30 into the kitchen that night-almost one cook per customer. I learned later that we happened to be dining on the one-year anniversary of the opening of the restaurant that welcomed Guy Savoy to Las Vegas. The President of Caesar's was there to congratulate Chef Savoy and his crew. You can't go to Las Vegas without seeing a 'celebrity' and I met one. The minute I heard his voice I knew it was 'Robin Leach' of "Caviar Dreams and Champagne Wishes." Yes, the man who shot to fame on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' The dining rooms is very small. Not a lot of lavish decoration. The focus is on the food, not the decor. There were no more than 20 tables. There is a small semi-private dining room on one end of the room. We were served Rose'Champagne out on the small patio that overlooks the front of Caesar's Palace. They served us two little bites during the champagne reception. One was a tiny little burger of Kobe beef and foie gras served on silver spikes. The second little snack were small squares of buttered brioche with foie gras. I've heard that Guy Savoy only buys his truffles and foie gras from a vendor in France. I believe it. Now you will get a laugh at my expense for what I did as I was sitting down at my table. I spilled my champagne! That's right, the guy from Spokane who was at the dining event of his life knocked a crystal flute of champagne all over the table at one of the top French restaurants today! The staff couldn't have been more gracious. You know what they did? They didn't just pull off the service and replace the table cloth. They literally picked up the entire soiled table and took it away. Then they brought a freshly set table out from the back! My God that is service! I was seated at a table of four. And while we began as strangers, we quicly bonded through our mutual love of food. One man was from Chicago and was a serious home cook with an interest in fine restaurants. Another man was a Las Vegas resident who owned a company that sets up AV equipment at trade shows. His wife wasn't able to come to dinner because she was "at her belly dancing lesson." Our fourth guest was a lady who is the Director of Food and Beverage at the MGM. She was at Guy Savoy partly for personal pleasure but also professionally so she could check out the competition. This is a lady who counts Joel Robuchon and L'Atelier at the MGM as part of her stable of restaurants. The 'Amuse Bouche' was a sampling of three tiny bites served on a tiny, Asian style spoon set on a glass plate. This is a 'Tuna Tartare.' Mind you, I was new to the digital camera world, I had plenty of champagne, and I was still nervous that I was dining at such a prestigious event. I had gotten over soiling the table, but I still didn't get good, clear photos. Hey the photos weren't as important as enjoying the event. A second champagne was served with this course. Sorry, didn't get the name or vintage. This is a crispy little escargot. My favorite of the three was this tiny little 'Lobster Roll' with a spoonful of lobster foam on top. This is "Colors of Caviar" served with "Moet, Millesime Blanc, Champagne, 1999." Our third different champagne by the way! The green layer was a puree of green beans. You don't really notice the layer of Iranian Sevruga Caviar under the top cream layer. Delicious. "Peas All Around and Poached Egg" served with "Lucien Albrecht, Cuvee Romanus, Pinot Gris, 2005." You have never tasted such intense, Spring pea flavor. The clear pea essence in the bottom of the bowl was a 'pea jelly.' This was my favorite dish, "Crispy Sea Bass with Delicate Spice" served with "Joseph Drouhin, Meursault, 2004." I asked the wine steward if he was familiar with the Joseph Drouhin winery in Oregon and he said that "Yes, Mr. Ross, it is the same family but this is one of their wines from France." The little rows of spices on the edge of the plate were intended for dipping with the fish. There were a few tiny fresh shitakes and the white vegetable you see are braised stalks of chard. This doesn't look as good as it tasted. It is "Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup, Toasted Mushroom Brioche and Black Truffle Butter." Dear God! Kill me with more brioche, butter and truffles! The slices of truffle in the soup were huge. They poured a "Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet, Monthelie Les Duresses 2002." And we aren't even at the 'main' entree yet! Before they carved the main entree, the waiters paraded through the dining room with huge wooden cutting boards. Each board held a Rack of roasted Veal. There were a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary adorning the veal. The waiter came to our table and bent down so we could view the veal. Imagine that. They wanted to have our approval of the rack of veal before they carved it. The veal was served with Spring vegetables and Black Truffle Mashed Potato Puree. Shoot me now. I have probably eaten $500 dollars worth of French black truffles already. Two waiters came to the table a few moments after the entrees were served. One waiter held a small copper stockpot of the potato puree. "Would you like more potatoes Mr. Ross?" The other waiter offered me "more sliced veal and veal jus for you Mr. Ross?" "Roasted Veal Chop, Black Truffle Potato Puree, Young Vegetables," served with "Jean-Luc Colombo, Cornas, Les Mejean, 2001." Throughout dinner, a waiter strolled through the dining room offering the guests selections from 'The bread cart.' Yes, Guy Savoy has a bread cart. There were too many choices to try them all, but the most unusual bread was made with fresh seaweed. It was quite good with the Sea Bass course. We didn't have the pleasure of enjoying the Savoy cheese cart, but we did have three dessert courses. Two were listed on the menu. The third dessert was very special and wasn't on the menu. The first dessert was "Chocolate" served with "M. Chapoutier, Banyuls, 20003." There were three different variations of chocolate on the plate but I honestly can't remember what they were. I will mention that throughout dinner the waiters were more than generous with the wine pourings. When you order the wines that accompany a tasting menu you often find the waiter limits each wine to about three fingers in the bottom of the glass. Not Savoy-they graciously refilled your wine glass when it was empty and we are talking about very expensive wines. The second dessert was "Raspberries and Litchi Like a Vacherin." Ahh, a chef who knows the fragrance of a fresh Litchi. The dessert was served with "Domaine de Coyeus Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, 2003." This was a dinner to remember for a lifetime.

My Mother, who is now 83, would be someone who would have put canned, diced pineapple in coleslaw. I don't know if she got the inspiration (if that is what you would call it), from Beard. I love pineapple in cole slaw; for me good cole slaw is creamy and a little sweet; dear Mr. Beard considered adding pinapple to be "an abomination". And, by me, NO onions in it either! ← I'm not sure I'll try pineapple in coleslaw, but I sure would never call it an "abomination." Some of Mr. Beard's musings on food were pretty opinonated, and funny.

I usually go to a buffet for breakfast when I am in Las Vegas because it is quick and convenient. I usually start the breakfast buffet with salmon lox and a bagel. I don't indulge myself that type of breakfast when I am at home. I should have stuck with my normal breakfast buffet routine on Thursday morning. Instead I went down to the 24 hour restaurant at The Venetian, The Grand Luxe Cafe. The Grand Luxe Cafe is an upscale version of the Cheesecake Factory. I should have told the hostess I wanted to sit in the main dining room and order off the menu. Unfortunately I was led to a table in a small room to the left of the main dining room. I should have realized this wasn't going to be a good breakfast when I saw all the people around me had convention badges around their necks. The Venetian owns the old Sands Convention Center. It is one of the largest convention venues in Las Vegas. The Venetian has a steady stream of conventioneers staying in their suites, gambling in the casino and eating in their restaurants. I'm not knocking people who attend conventions. I attend conventions. But in the morning most convention attendees want breakfast quick so they can head out for the day's business. The waitress recommended I try the Express Buffet. It was awful. A limited choice of bacon, eggs, a few pastries and cereals. I'd make up for the poor breakfast with dinner on Thursday night.