David Ross

I didn't get to a steakhouse last weekend when I was in Las Vegas, so I've been craving steak ever since I got back home. No better place to cook a great steak than in your own kitchen- Beer-Battered Walla Walla Onion Rings with Preserved Lemon Basil Mayonnaise- Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce- Fried Potato Balls-

Last week I spent a long weekend in Las Vegas dining at some old favorites and visiting a few new restaurants. The original purpose of the trip was to meet up with some local friends and Food Writers to celebrate one last meal at Valentino at the Venetian. I'll report on the meal at Valentino a bit later, but we got some good news while I was in town--Valentino's lease has been extended and the restaurant will stay open until the first week of November. Apparently it's going to be a few more months before all the paperwork and construction plans for DBGB, (Daniel Boulud Gourmet Burger), will be ready to proceed. (Here's a tip, if you love fresh white truffles from Alba, head to Valentino in mid-September when the season gets going and you will be treated to the most earthy, fragrant, elusive truffles found anywhere in the world). I stayed at The Palazzo during this trip, a sort of faux Italian, marble-plated, upscale type of hotel. The Palazzo and its cousin the Venetian are linked to the Sands Convention Center, so during the week both hotels are rife with stampeding conventioneers. You can't miss 'em, they're the folks with the dangling ID badges that expose their identity, the city from whence they came and the order of their business in Las Vegas. But during the weekend, (especially Friday and Saturday), the throngs go home and the hotel typically has plenty of rooms available at incredible rates. As opposed to other Strip hotels that don't rely as heavily on the convention trade, The Palazzo actually lowers their rates on some weekends, a huge bargain if you can find it since all the rooms are large suites, (real suites, not those silly boxes they call suites at Holiday Inn Express). Day One, Lunch- The first restaurant I went to when I arrived Friday afternoon was Grimaldi's in the shops at The Palazzo. In addition to a rash of steakhouses and gourmet burger joints, pizza is all the rage in Las Vegas. Since the base of all great pizza is formed in the dough, I figured an authentic, 100 year-old New York pizzeria that hangs its hat on pizza cooked in a coal-fired oven just had to be good. Unfortunately, I had a long experience at Grimaldi's yet never tasted their pie. For a guy who has spent the better part of 34 years in the customer service business, such things as attentiveness to diners, (even at a pizza joint), make a difference. The hostess graciously took down my order-to-go for a basic pie with pepperoni and anchovies. "It'll be about 10-15 minutes Mr. Ross and I'll come get you when it's ready." (She knew my name because I charged the pizza to my room, a wonderful convenience afforded to guests staying and dining at The Palazzo and Venetian). Ten minutes go by, no pizza. Fifteen, twenty, thirty and forty-no pizza. All the time, said hostess is having what apparently is a deep, thoughtful conversation with a guy drinking bottled beer at the bar. As numerous waitresses and other hosts walked by, not one acknowledged my plea for a pizza. And then……..I left. Should you wish to tempt fate and test the service at Grimaldi's, this is the link to their website and menu: http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Restaurants/Casual-Dining/Grimaldis/ Day One, Dinner- Based on the recommendation of my good friend John Curtas, author of the blog http://www.eatinglv.com/, I made a reservation at Emeril’s Table 10. I’ve eaten at Emeril’s other restaurants in Las Vegas for years and I’ve never been disappointed. Emeril and Wolfgang Puck are two celebrity chefs who stand out in Las Vegas for consistently delivering top-notch cuisine and service. Some of their contemporaries don’t hold a candle to these two gentlemen and their talented staff. Leave the TMZ columns to Gordon Ramsay and his minions, the group at Table 10 puts the food first. The kitchens at Table 10 are led by the young and talented Chef de Cuisine Tim Doolittle. Young in terms of age, Chef Doolittle is a veteran in terms of experience. Chef and the crew quietly go about crafting a menu of new American cuisine using fresh, seasonal ingredients with Emeril’s signature Louisiana accents. The menu is reasonably priced in comparison to other fine dining establishments in Las Vegas and this summer Table 10 is offering a four-course menu for the very comfortable price of $45.00. Everyone raves about the Candied North Country Farm Bacon appetizer, but I started with the Fried Great Lakes Smelt with Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise ($ 10.00). . Listed under the “Snacks” portion of the menu, what came to the table was an overflowing paper-lined cone filled with enough fried fish to feed a family of four. I remember eating fried smelt caught with a dip-net out of the Columbia River when I was a kid living in Oregon. They were fairly large as smelt go, up to 5 or 6 inches. The Great Lakes Smelt at Table 10 were about half that size, crispy little who fish no more than 3 inches in length. The mayonnaise lacked the salty tang characteristic of preserved lemons, but that was a minor off note for what was otherwise a unique and delicious opening dish. The bar makes deep, strong drinks like the classic Sazerac that I drank while nibbling on the smelt. The list of entrée’s at Table 10 explore a number of flavors, textures and seasonal American products in dishes like Gulf Flounder “Meuniere” with Shrimp and Dirty Rice, Rotisserie Kurobata Pork Rack with Weiser Farm Carrots and Anson Mills Grits. I went Southern in celebration of Emeril’s time in New Orleans and ordered the Creole Duck with Abita Beer Glaze, Garlic Sausage, Hush Puppies, Sour Apples and Green Beans, ($ 35.00). The duck had been marinated in the beer, then sautéed and roasted to a perfect medium-rare accented by the sweet flavor of the reduced beer glaze. Emeril no doubt sources a large species of duck as it was a very large portion, akin to the Magret duck breasts favored by the French. Unfortunately, the garlic sausage had a mushy texture and lacked proper seasoning, heat and spice. The sour apples missed the mark--two thick slices of apple tasted as though they were merely sautéed in butter and sugar. Apples and duck are a classic accompaniment, but something mis-fired in the kitchen and the line cook apparently forgot to order tart apples and hold off on the sugar. The disappointment over the sausage and apples was tempered by the incredibly crisp, moist and flavorful hush puppies. In the mind of a Northwesterner, I had always frowned upon these deep-fried cornmeal balls, owing mainly to having tasted hush puppies at the Kentucky State Fair years ago. Chef Doolittle had stuffed the hush puppied with corn nuggets and diced jalapeno for a bit of heat and they were delicious. While the orders of Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Shavings, Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream were whisked to other tables, I couldn’t bring myself to eat another bite. Dessert at Table 10 will have to wait. http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Restaurants/Fine-Dining/Table-10/

Off to Las Vegas tommorrow for a long weekend. I'm staying at the Palazzo, so I might just anchor myself there all weekend for my dining. Dinner tommorrow night at Table 10 at the Palazzo. Emeril has installed an up an coming young Chef and he's finally getting the attention of the local critics. The highlight will be dinner, one last Saturday dinner (literally), at Valentino. After 14 years, the Venetian did not renew Valentino's contract and this is the last weekend of service. After Sunday, the restaurant will be shuttered and the construction begins on Daniel Boulud's DBGB Las Vegas. Both a sad day and a re-awakening.

We don't often think of cucumbers in cooked dishes, but I use them in a Chinese dish with black wood ear fungus and scallops. The cucumbers give a crisp, fresh flavor that balances the richness of the scallops and the wood ear fungus has a crisp texture. The sauce is a basic mixture of oyster sauce, soy sauce and a bit of chicken stock. I haven't used cucumbers in other savory dishes, but I think they would be good in a vegetable stir-fry.

Personally, I think Voodoo donuts is more fad than fabulous donuts. Sure, they do the bacon maple bar thing and the cute donuts dunked in fruit loops, but for old-fashioned baked goods and donuts, I would head to Beaverton Bakery in the westside suburbs or the beloved Helen Bernhardt bakery in N.E. Portland. Some would call them retro bakeries, but they've been in business so long that retro is now popular. Both have wonderful donuts and classics like bear claws and butterhorns, but of course the selection varies daily. The Beaverton Saturday Market is also fabulous, and this time of year Oregon has wonderful strawberries and raspberries. You might see the early marion, logan and blackberries.

One I forgot to mention is Dan and Louis Oyster Bar. It's downtown in a questionable area, open since 1907. Forget the trendy, funky, tatooed Chefs of Portland and go for what are the most delicious little fresh Oregon oysters you can imagine. I prefer the pan-fried oysters, but any of the dishes are wonderful. A great taste of the Oregon Coast.

I was thinking about a few recommendations, but a broad list can be found at Oregon Live, the online version of the daily Oregonian newspaper. It's a great guide to some of the best, (and affordable), restaurants in Portland- http://www.oregonlive.com/northwest-life/index.ssf/portland-restaurants/best-restaurants-downtown-portland.html

Thanks. I usually wait for the hype of the Copper River Salmon to wane and then I go in on the fresh Alaska Sockeye. It's just as good as the Copper River salmon, it just swims in a different river this time of year.

I was so hungry I didn't pay attention to taking great photos. Fresh Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, grilled and then served with a cannelini bean, dry-cured olive and radish salad. Delicious.

It wasn't inconceivable after all, today Wal-Mart dropped Paula Deen- http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-walmart-drops-paula-deen-20130626,0,1518850.story I suppose her parting words with Matt Lauer on the Today Show this morning speak volumes as to Ms. Deens character- "I is what I is and I'm not changin."

What some other food personalities and Chefs have to say: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/paula-deen-reactions_n_3490940.html

Smithfield drops out: http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/gaming/paula-deen-re-scheduled-for-today-on-wednesday/nYSyW/ Rainbow/PUSH Coalition drops in: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/23/paula-deen-scandal-continues-employees-tell-rainbow-push-alleged-discrimination_n_3484607.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

This is the link to the Times piece. Very well written: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/us/in-the-south-many-are-willing-to-forgive-deens-racial-misstep.html?from=us

or Oh come now. This info was leaked by the plaintiff in the suit looking to get money out of Deen. The allegations will never be proved, because they are not part of the case. They are completely peripheral. The leak was to press her into settling, which is hardly an uncommon tactic in civil suits with celebrities. So don't talk about her "actions" hurting these poor little people. Blame the attorney and plaintiff. The leak is the proximate cause of their potential misery. As I mentioned, whether it's proven in a court of law or not, the damage to Paula Deen's reputation has been done and "it remains to be seen how deep the damage will go." It's my view that Paula's actions could potentially affect people who work for companies that produce goods for the brand. Is it inconceivable to imagine the CEO of Walmart saying enough is enough and pull her products from the shelves? Nothing is off the table at this point, regardless of how utterly ridiculous and unintelligent it may sound. Sure, Food Network will survive and prosper and the next Guy with spiked hair and flip flops is just one diner away. Paula's make-up artist will get hired by Kim Kardashian to put mascara on her daughter North and Ms. Deen will rise again. Sadly, some peope will have been hurt along the way.

No doubt the industry will survive, but it's the individual employees at all the different vendors that support her brand that I would be concerned about.

Another point to consider is all the innocent people behind the scenes that may become victims of Paula Deen's actions. Whether it's proven in a court of law or not, the damage is done and it remains to be seen how deep the damage will go. We already know that Food Network canned her, so let's hope that the people who worked on her shows will be moved to other Food Network programming. If the public outcry grows, it could endanger the rest of the empire including the cookbooks, cookware and food products, potentially affecting the printer, the delivery driver, the stocker, on and on and on. Of course, someone who uses bad judgement and puts themselves in a position of getting to this miserable state is someone who doesn't consider how their actions may affect the hundreds of people who work supporting the brand.

Looks like it has a lot of deep flavors. Tell us a bit more about how you prepared your dish.

I too have a history in television, having appeared on both PBS and local television cooking programs over the course of many years, so I take a keen interest in issues concerning cooking and the media. I want it be about sharing a common passion for food and cooking. My viewers expect it. While I am far, far away from the celebrity status of Paula Deen, I am acutely aware of how the public views someone who appears on television. When you step into the public realm, you have to understand that people will hold you to a high standard just as they should. In my view, it's not a matter of trying to justify the behavior, it's standing up once and for all and saying that it has to stop. It should have stopped way before Don Imus used derogatory language to describe the Rutgers University Women's basketball team, yet here we are with Paula Deen using cruel language to mock African Americans. We deserve better. With the exception of PBS, (which isn't primarily driven by profits), Food Network is a commercial venture and they retain the right to terminate the contract of any personality that in their view has damaged the brand. The brand is the impetus of what drives ratings, which in turn brings in revenue the more the viewer supports the brand. Yet more importantly, in my opinion Food Network did something I applaud them for--standing up for what should be intolerable at all levels of society. Something bigger than the brand of Paula Deen.

I agree with you that it has nothing to do with the media--yet Paula was the one who blamed the media in the second version of the video she posted on You Tube yesterday. Quite frankly, I get terribly frustrated by celebrities who themselves are members of the media, yet blame the media for anything bad that comes their way. While the lawsuit is still pending in the courts, Paula clearly admitted in her sworn, taped deposition that she used that language so yes, I would support Food Network not renewing her contract. I suppose it's a matter of semantics and how you parse the words, but I agree that "divisive" is a more clear word than "decisive." I'm merely one voice. The public who buys her products and watches her on television will be the final Judge of whether or not her choice of words and the work environment she fostered for her employees will end her career as a celebrity of the food world. Russ Parsons piece in the LA Times gives a historical perspective on other celebrites of the food world who fell hard and fast. Some, like Robert Irvine, resurrected their careers. Others, like Jeff Smith, didn't survive. http://www.latimes.com/features/food/dailydish/la-dd-paula-deen-past-food-scandals,0,3641631.story

Just blame it on the media--as Paula did in "video #2-edited," yesterday.

Oh Paula, how the mighty rise--and fall. Paula Deen rose to the peak of the mountain, developing a multi-million dollar "brand" with a foundation rooted in multiple shows on the Food Network showcasing her "aw shucks, y'all, butter is better," form of scripted Southern hospitality. A line of cookbooks, cookware, restaurants and crates of Gooey Buttercakes sold in Walmart would follow. The world of the celebrity "Chef," (more appropriately titled "Food Personality"), would at first glance seem to be the last province of media attention. I mean really, how can cooks be as popular as the Kardashians? Certainly, recognizable cooks on PBS, people like Hubert Keller, Lydia Bastianich and their cousin from the BBC, Rick Stein, would never allow personal foibles to overwhelm their public personna--they are, by definition, experienced, talented, creative and passionate teachers. They most likely live with the regret of having once said something they would now take back, yet they seem to understand, (without much effort), that it is the food and the cooking that matters the most in the end. They haven't allowed themselves to get caught up in the trendy celebrity culture of the day--a cuture that builds one into an indestructible icon only to feast upon their sudden and irreparable downfall. Now we have poor Paula Deen, the "Food Personality," the woman who overcame personal phobias and broken relationships to rise up to become the next Rachel Ray. From what we see, Paula surrounded herself with a bumbling gaggle of media representatives, fawning personal assistants and nervous network executives worried more about how the public perception could damage the brand rather than seeing the proof was in making a good butterscotch pudding. All we wanted was Paula's butterscotch pudding. But this charming woman from Savannah, Georgia, the Grandmother with the sassy laugh and pronounced Southern drawl, fell in a flurry of criticism stoked by the modern machinations of the media storm in which she flourished. It started a few years back when she was diagnosed with diabetes, yet her appetite for feeding the "brand," (making cheeseburgers sandwiched between donuts), was more important than being truthful to her congregation. Shilling for a drug company seemed to be Paula's answer for quieting the criticism of a public outraged that she was pushing fat-laden foods on people suffering from diabetes. "Eat what you want, a shot a day will fix that" was what we were told. You could hear the voice of Jimmy Swaggert singing from the choir-"Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned," and platters of fried chicken were passed around as repentance for all. When you get through the tangled web this situation has become--the sudden cancellation of a confessional in front of Matt Lauer on the Today show, the stunning dismissal from Food Network hours later and the attorneys bum-rushing the doors to the courthouse--you are left with a sense of sadness. At the heart and soul of this beloved Southern woman in her 60's seemed to be a deep-seated cultural ignorance of the most devisive issue in American history. By her own admission, she had a fluid use of one of the most abhorrent words ever spoken, yet her ignorance that her behavior was nothing more than a joke was just as striking as the words she uttered in a court deposition. It seemed as if she thought the characters portrayed by Hattie McDaniel 70 years ago were still relevant today and tragically, the promise and joy Paula Deen brought to so many by cooking comfortable food suddenly ended.

I have a couple of thoughts. Blackberries will seep out more juice than blueberries in my experience and they won't hold up as long in the oven while baking. Here in the Pacific Northwest we make cobblers with blackberries, loganberries, marionberries and boysenberries. All very similar berries. As for buckle, I make it with huckleberries in very late summer, but my version of a buckle is more like a coffee cake.

Grilled Skirt Steak, Chimmichurri and a Radish and cucumber Salad-

Great lamb burger and thank you for the compliment. As cooks we all hope to inspire someone to try out our dishes.

Thanks for the kind comments on the burger. I've been perfecting my burgers for about 4 years and I think I'm finally there.