Yep it's a mouthful of a title, but its quite possible the greatest thing I have ever made. I am sure I am not the first person to think of a banana bacon bread, but this sort of evolved for me from scratch.
I had a package of bacon that I needed to use up. I was originally going to crisp up the bacon and make chocolate covered bacon. Just to have around as a snack. Why not? But then I had some bananas that needed to be used. Banana's for some reason, do not last more than a day or two in my apartment without going brown. Banana bread was obviously on the table and then I thought, what if I crumbled bacon into the banana bread? What if I made a sour cream banana bread? And what if I put honey pecans on top? Later, in a last minute decision, I put two pinches of kosher salt into the glaze to add a double punch of sweet and salty like the bread itself. And that's how it happened. That's how the greatest creation of my life came to be.
I didn't expect this recipe to be so coveted. A bunch of people have asked for this because I told Mario Batali I was planning this on twitter. Thanks to his RT, and some friends on FB, the recipe is going up now. The pics were taken with an iphone since it was only an experiment. Forgive the quality.
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins | Active Time: 20 mins | Makes: 1 (9-inch) loaf
This banana bread starts as a thick, tangy batter full of mashed banana, and emerges from the oven with a golden-brown crust and a moist, almost cake-like texture.
Game plan: We tested this recipe using a stand mixer, but it could easily be made by just stirring all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup sour cream
**Added Ingredient: One package of bacon cooked crispy, and crumbled.
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess. Whisk together the measured flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
Place the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and sour cream and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, the top is golden brown, and the bread is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the pan, invert to release the bread, and cool completely on the wire rack before serving.
** Once it's cooled, place on a large serving plate or cake display with plenty of room for honey pecan glaze to drizzle over the top and sides.
Notes:
I tweaked this recipe by using 3 bananas and a little more sour cream. Be mindful of the baking powder. I used a brand new tin of baking soda and it caused the batter to spill over a bit while it was baking. So, put your banana bread pan on a sheet pan to catch anything in case it does spill over.
**Added Ingredient: 2 pinches of kosher salt or large granualed sea salt.
Chop half cup of pecans and leave some peices whole.
In a heavy saucepan, add the butter (chopped into 2 pieces), sugar, and honey. Bring these to a boil over medium-low and stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved.
**Turn off the heat. Toss in the pecans and salt and stir. Allow to cool but still be slightly runny so you can pour over the top of the bread.
Spoon the mixture on top of the cooled banana bread leaving most of the larger pieces on top of the bread. Allow it to drip down the sides.
Just wanted to post some fun food pics taken from my phone. Yeah, yeah. Some of these were taken with my old phone. Okay most of them were. But I have long since retired that phone. Bare with me as we go back into last summer with some of these pics.
Buttermilk fried chicken with mashed potatoes, sawmill pan gravy, and peas and corn. Look at those huge breasts in that first pic! Shit was banging yo!
Green Street: Fry of the day of Queso Fresco Taco and the Charcuterie of the day Pork Rillette.
I just spent a spectacular weekend in New York. Did some pretty awesome food touring. I did bring my good camera down with me, but unfortunately there were some technical issues with the camera and I wasn't able to get high resolution images. I did have my iphone with me though. Sadly it's first generation and it just doesn't do any of these places justice. But we will get through it as best as we can.
A quick flight from Boston to NY and we took a tour of Union Beer Distributors as our first stop. One of the largest warehouses for craft beer. Then we were whisked off to grab a quick lunch at this amazing taco joint near the warehouse. Los Hermanos. A tortilla factory in Bushwick where they have begun to include making some tacos, quesadillas, and tortas.
A little carnitas and pollo tacos. These were delicious.
Then we went to the Astor Center for a quick class on cocktail infusions with oils and hydrosols and some distillation demonstrations. Taught by Dave Arnold, Director of Technology, FCI and Audrey Saunders, Mixologist and owner of Pegu Club.
This was a fun class to taste how you can distill flavors into alcohols like peanut flavored bourbon, and assam tea flavors with chocolate, and blue cheese flavors infused. To the instructions of how oils are to be used in cocktails and what exactly are hydrosols. Johnny Iuzzini, the Executive Pastry Chef of Jean Georges and from Top Chef: Just Desserts came and sat in on the class as well.
I thought Audrey Saunders was extremely knowledgeable and gave a great presentation. Dave Arnold was a crack up. Trying to focus on talking to the class while maintaining his distilling device. Shows how much I learned I can't remember the devices proper name.
We skipped the mingler after the class and went straight to Momofuku Noodle bar. All I am going to say is that we were treated very well here. The food is amazing. It's a ramen noodle bar with some off centered offerings that don't exactly fit with a noodle bar theme but still rock non the less.
Jars of pickled veg and kimchi.
Hamachi and Arctic Char plates.
Amazing beat salad with bacon and a yuzu yougurt and chicken wings.
The greatest thing on planet Earth. Pork Buns Momofuku style. Two pieces of pork belly with pickles and sauce wrapped up like a taco with a steamed bun. Un-fucking-believable. Trust me.
Spicy sausage and cashew ramen and Momofuku house ramen with pork, nori, fishcake, and poached egg.
The aftermath. We decimated our food. Great hospitality at Momofuku and amazing food. For some reason I didn't take pictures of dessert, but yes we did have some. Apple pie cake truffles, and pecan pie ice cream with spiced pecans at the bottom. Salty pecan pie ice cream was amazing, and the apple pie truffles were pieced of pie, battered and deep fried. Once again, simply amazing food.
Katz's Deli.
Saturday afternoon at Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side is a fucking mad house. It must said. It's organized chaos of rude, fat, pushy assholes all cramming in for a sandwich and a knish. But it's a classic iconic place and once you get a bite of that hot pastrami on rye, you would soon rather kick a kid in the eye just to get back inside and grab a sandwich. The place is legendary.
And yes it's the place where Meg Ryan had her orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally.
Psssht. You betta ax somebody. Hot pastrami on rye with mustard. Matzo ball soup and a sweet potato knish.
Sunday Morning we took an awesome tour of an underground train system found in Brooklyn to be the oldest in the world. Amazing tour and a great way to say you know Brooklyn inside and out. This was us going into the tunnel by the Trader Joes on Atlantic Ave.
After this we went to Prime Meats in Brooklyn for a late brunch.
Punch of the day and house made warm pretzels with butter.
Poached egg on mushrooms with bratwurst and toast, spaetzel and mushrooms.
Steak and frites and grilled German Leberkäse with eggs an frites. Note the orange yolk color of these beautiful farm fresh eggs.
Thick cut bacon.
Red cabbage and celery salad.
Prime Meats Manhattan. Probably the best Manhattan I have had in a while. Even Sara Hougaboom would approve.
A little Underberg never hurt anyone.
And some chocolate cake and creme brulee. And despite all this food, we didn't feel gross or weighed down after the meal. That's how you roll in Brooklyn. Full bellies full of fine food and amazing drinks. And then you are ready to rock it for the night.
Monday comes along and it's time for a radio interview on Cathy Erway's show Let's Eat In. Shane and Todd took the reigns for this one.
And since the radio station is at Roberta's, we stayed for some banging pizza.
And that is a fine way to eat through New York. One thing that is missing from this post is a special trip to Manhattan to Sushi Yasuda for some of the best sushi in America. That deserves it's own post though as there are so many pictures of the most delectable sushi I have ever had in my life.
Lord Hobo is offering brunch now and doing it well. Kegs & Eggs every Saturday and Sunday starting May, 29 at Lord Hobo. 10 am to 3pm for Brunch. Then bar service only until 5pm, when they normally open for dinner service.
They offer tons of entrees featuring eggs like skirt steak and eggs, egg benedict with smoked speck, frittatas, mushroom sautees with eggs... Oh and did I mention beer? 40 taps ready to go with your eggs. Also sangria red and white, mimosas, bloody mary's and breakfast beer cocktails.
Fried oysters with pickled cabbage.
Duck liver pate in the left corner, Vietnamese spiced pork pate right corner, smoked chicken liver in the top center, mustards, cornichons, and a cherry reduction.
Pork Belly Hash with sunnyside up eggs.
My husband Todd got an omelette with home fries and sausage. There was a side of an english muffin, and a few Bloody Mary's and Green Flash West Coast IPA's not pictured either.
Yeah, that's a whole skillet of pork belly with peppers and onions and two eggs on top. This is exactly the right thing after a long night of drinking on a Saturday night. Fatty and meaty pork chunks with runny yolk eggs. A side of sausage and english muffins. Fantastic!
Our friend Tyler, who joined us for breakfast thought that maybe the skillet should have had some potatoes in it. I agreed. It could have handled a starch, but there was enough meat on the pork belly hunks that it was fine as just the way it was.
The oysters were fat bellies and nicely fried, but kind of small. However, they were packed full of flavor and the pickled cabbage strands were excellent.
The charcuterie plate was excellent as well with the cherry reduction, smoked chicken liver pate, and duck liver pate. But I thought the best was the Vietnamese pork. It was so tasty, I could have honestly had a whole plate of just that with the cherry reduction.
I saw lot's of egg's benedict plates being served and I did see the frittata both of which looked excellent.
Kegs & Eggs was great and this kind of brunch is needed for a place that has 40 taps of craft beer.
Back from a five day trip to Anchorage, Alaska. We were invited up for The Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival. Todd and Jason Alström were asked to be judges for the Barleywine competition. They were also invited to speak at The Great Northern Brewers Club. A massive group of homebrewers from the great state of Alaska.
There is a lot to say about Alaska. I really enjoyed visiting Anchorage even in January. It was pretty chilly outside but we missed the worst of it before we arrived and after we left.
Alaskans love their beer. They love big, bold flavors in their beers and they are not scared one bit of experimentation with their beers or styles be it professionally brewed, or concocted in their kitchens. Alaska has an an amazing beer culture. Everyone knows each other, everyone homebrews, and everyone supports their local beer scene with a protected pride in their home grown offerings.
They should be proud of what they have going on up there. I have never seen such a tight knit community of beer lovers. The people of Alaska are also some of the most generous, friendly, welcoming group of people I have ever met in my life. We were welcomed into their fold and treated like family members. I will forever be grateful for the way we were looked after and treated by the good people of Alaska.
The first thing we did when we landed in Alaska was attend a beer dinner at Sub Zero owned by Billy Opinsky. I am holding off on posting about that here in this post because it deserves it's own post.
The next morning we woke up refreshed and I, myself was finally free from a terrible jet lag induced headache, we decided we need a big hearty breakfast to set the mood right for our beer trek through Anchorage. I heard about this place down the road from where were staying called Snow City Cafe. I saw their menu online before we came up to visit. I had completely forgotten that Alaska is all about halibut, king crab, and salmon. When I saw that they have king crab cake eggs benedict, I would not stop until I tried them.
I had an excellent Almond Joy Mocha to wake myself up. And then I ordered the King Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Picture came out a little dark, but it gets the message across.
These were awesome except for one thing. The poached eggs were hard boiled. I hate that. I want runny yolks with poached eggs. The king crab cakes made up for it. They were meaty with real king crab. That might sound strange to an Alaskan to say real bits of crab. Everywhere else you go it's faux crab meat. Or real crab meat that's mostly filled with more breading than actual crab meat.
Jason ordered an omelet and got a side of reindeer sausage. This is a very popular side dish for most breakfast joints in Anchorage. It tasted like smoked sausage but spicier and more rich in flavor. I haven't had reindeer meat before, but this was tasty.
We left this place very full and happy. It was snowing and the sun light doesn't come out until 10 or 11 am. It begins to set again around 2 or 3 pm. The best thing you can do for yourself if you are used to sunny situations is eat and drink yourself silly. It's a lot like Las Vegas. You never know what time it is, but who cares as long as there is beer?
We walked back to our hotel to get some last minute BA Magazine work done. While Todd and Jason were sorting that stuff out, I noticed that the hotel we were staying in was mentioned in some articles that it's haunted. Oh goody! Historic Anchorage Hotel.
The bottom picture are actual accounts that some of the guests have made about encounters with so-called spirits. One story reports that a couple came back to their room on the second floor and their door was blocked by a little kid sitting in the doorway. It turns out that there were no kids registered in the hotel at the time. Other stories say that the guests reported kids playing in the hotel when there were no kids registered. Apparently a little girl was shot in the hotel way back in the day and later died of a mysterious illness. Another little boy had drowned in a bathtub in the hotel.
Guest reports of seeing a man in a police uniform walking the hallways. The first police chief of Anchorage was murdered near the hotel in the 20's with his own gun and he refused to say who shot him in the back before he died.
The best story comes from the ghost hunters who came to the hotel armed with a tape recorder. The two ladies were talking in the recording, when you could hear loud breathing in the background. Then
a creepy voice said "don't move that." Then it said "chocolate"
and you could hear a chocolate bar wrapper being opened. Then the voice
said "do her!"
Yeah, I am not quite sure what "do her!" meant either but it's pretty damn hilarious. Hilarious in the sense that it happened to them and not me. I did have a sheer moment of panic however, leaving my room when I saw two little boys in their pj's just staring me from the other end of the hallway. I found their parents down stairs in their pj's too eating a quiet breakfast. The boys came and joined them. I relaxed after that.
This is from the hotel's website:
Our Haunted Hotel – Where Ghosts Are More than Just Stories
Curtains rumbling, shower curtains swaying, pictures flying . . . it’s
all par for the course at the Historic Anchorage Hotel. Stories of
ghostly happenings have been circulating at the hotel for many years,
all thought to be related to the death of the first Chief of Police,
Jack Sturgus. On February 20, 1921 at 9:15 p.m., Anchorage's first
Police Chief John J. "Black Jack" Sturgus was found shot in the back
with a bullet from his own gun, steps away from the Historic Anchorage
Hotel. It is rumored that his ghost returns to the scene of the crime
each year, haunting the location of his untimely death, seeking justice
for a crime still unsolved to this day.
Sightings
are so frequent that we keep a ghost log in which a number of our
guests have shared their encounters. In addition to the ghost of Jack
Sturgus, there are several different specters that past guests have
seen make their way through our halls and facilities. A more detailed
account of some of these ghosts were featured on Today MSNBC.com.
While
an abundance of paranormal activity may scare some, we can assure you
that the rich and interesting history of the Historic Anchorage Hotel
will make for an unforgettable stay.
Awesome, but kind of not. Good thing the people who were working in the hotel were once again some of the kindest and friendliest people. If I had seen a ghost, I don't think they would have minded if I sat in their laps curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb and crying for my mommy.
We tried a ton of good beers here. I found and fell in love with Specialty XXX. A Black Double IPA brewed for their distributors 30th anniversary. It was so hoppy and good. Dry finish, roasted malts still fighting to hang on amidst the onslaught of big hops. The perfect beer for me. I took a couple of the bottles home with me, but the bottles are barrel-aged.
We also tried Gluttony, a triple IPA and theoretical 200 IBU beer. Theoretical in the fact that the human palate can't really taste more than 100 IBU's. But supposedly this beer is about 200 IBU's. I tried the Kodiak Brown Ale as well and many other beers that afternoon.
*For the Midnight Sun crew: Hot Peach Cobbler is the winner for a food pairing with this beer. Peaches braised in tons of butter and brown sugar, a nice crumble on top of the peaches.... Pure vanilla ice cream with it. There is more that can be done. We came up with a few combinations, but I thought I would elaborate on the "I am thinking peaches" comment. I had it in the bottle after we got back and roasted malts were more apparent. Much bigger flavors than when I tasted Kodiak with a shot palate after drinking Specialty XXX.
Visit Midnight Sun's website and scroll through their profile of beers. It's a pretty stunning line up and some of the most creative beers from any brewery I have seen in a long time. Their beers are not just a couple of one off's that don't fit a certain mold. Their whole profile is off the chains.
One of the highlights was Bathtub Gin. A gruit style ale with juniper berries, grains of paradise, and other herbs. This beer was made by lead brewer Ben Johnson in honor of the Phish song Bathtub GIn.
Ben, I didn't know you were such a dirty hippy! That changes everything about our friendship.
If you haven't guessed, that's Ben on the label. Bathtub Gin was very cool. Crisp, dry finish, and big spicy nose and flavor. Again, very Alaskan with big, full flavor and a complete distortion of what is considered to be classic styles. I love it. They do what they want, make whatever beer they want, they don't give a shit about traditionalism because they don't have too.
Alaskans are living in their own quiet little world up there... Only it's not so quiet. They are making some noise up there and when you come into town, you either get on board or get out of town. It isn't hard to get on board with the delicious beers being produced up there. I love that kind of mentality. Who says you have to play by the same old boring rules? Midnight Sun is a perfect example of do what you want. Make the beer you intended to make no matter how big, or obscure, or undefined and the masses will follow you. It's so American, and I love it.
Later that day we made our way back to Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse. Owned by Billy Opinsky and shares the same kitchen with Sub Zero. Billy O had taken such good care of us during the whole time we were there. Taxiing us around, piling good food unto us to try. Like the amazing halibut fish and chips appetizer at Humpy's, and later treating us to sushi where we experienced White King salmon for the first time.
When we got to Humpy's we were in the mood for some beers we have never tried before and appetizers. Smoked Salmon spread, Alaskan oysters, and King Crab bites.
All of these choices were great choices for an afternoon snack. I will say that the salmon spread needed more salmon chunks in it to balance out the cream cheese, but it was very smokey and tasty. And Hallelujah they give you a good amount of bread to go with it. I can't stand places that give you dips or pate and only two pieces of bread or toast points.
The crab bites had good pieces of crab in it. Served piping hot and great with some squeezed lemon. Perfect Alaskan bar food.
Upon further inspection of their menu, we saw this little note on it.
I would like to see someone take this challenge on up close. You can see the challenge on Man v. Food here.
Later that night we went over to the Sleeping Lady Brewery for the Great Northern Homebrewers meeting. Todd and Jason were invited to be guest speakers at their meeting. Todd thought it would be around 40 people. More like 120 people were there. Armed with their homebrews, and fresh imperial stouts pouring from Sleeping lady Brewery, we had a good old drunken night.
Getting a little Double Wit Bier from the tanks at Sleeping Lady. Dennis Sessler, President of the Great Northern Homebrewers Club kicking things off with Dr. Fermento ("Dr. Fermento is the alter ego of Anchorage Press and The Celebrator Beer News beer columnist James Roberts.")
What are those two weirdos doing? Jason and Todd Alström.
That was our downfall right there. Jason and his multiple trips to get the Sleeping Lady Imperial Stout and Smoked Porter from Alaskan Brewing Co. The homemade meads certainly contributed a fair amount to our downfall as well.
Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi Brewing Co. in Eugene, Oregon with his geek tattoo of a D&D dice. You had to be there and hear Jason's reaction when Jamie mentioned his geek passion for D&D.
Uh oh. Here comes trouble. I am just kidding that is Barb Miller of Midnight Sun. She is the main reason we came to Alaska in the first place.
People were getting down to Tom Dalldorf's band the Rolling Boil Blues Band. The older gentleman in the picture was having himself a good old time. He was fun to watch.
There were a lot of homemade meads being tasted out and many homebrews being passed around. All I can say is that it is probably good for everyone including myself that I didn't take anymore pictures after this point. Alaskans throw down. We'll just leave it at that.
Here are a few pictures of the judging for the first round of the Barleywine Competition and the Winter Seasonal category.
Day one, first round Barleywines and Winter Seasonals.
Second day, round two, two tables one for Winter Seasonals and one for Barleywines.
The winner for Winter Seasonals: Glacier Brewhouse, Eisbock
The Winners for the Barleywine: 1st Place Lagunitas, Gnarleywine
2nd Place Midnight Sun, Arctic Devil
3rd Place Pizza Port, Blonde Bombshell Barleywine.
I did not take pictures of the festival itself for the two sessions I attended. It was quite a good time. A bit too crowded (much more room in the connoisseur session) and a bit too much puke on the sidewalks after the fact. But still a good a time. As I said, Alaskans like big, full beers. These people like to get crunked. It's my kind of town.
I also didn't get pictures of the incredible sushi we had at Sushi & Sushi or the tasting of all 18 beers at Moose's Tooth Pizza. That was certainly a good moment. Enjoying 18 different beers with Thai pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, and a McKinley meat pizza. That was heaven.
We ended our 5 day excursion back at Midnight Sun for a relaxing afternoon that spanned into the evening. We drank Good Mojo, Specialty XXX, more Gluttony, and Earth. We drank awesome beers, had good food, and said good-bye to our new found friends of Alaska.
I didn't get pictures with some of my new good friends in Alaska. Julie and Tim McDonald, Billy Opinsky (Humpy's, Sub Zero), Dena and Dennis Sessler, Ken and Shauna Pajak (Cafe Amsterdam), Barb, Mark, Ben, Gabe, Jeremiah, Gary, and Seth (Midnight Sun). All of these people made our trip to Alaska fantastic. The Generosity, the laid back and cool attitudes, the welcoming nature into their worlds. I have said it over and over again, I will forever be grateful for their tremendous hospitality.
Edit: I don't want to forget what a gem Tom Dalldorf is and what a terrific sense of humor he has. I knew we would get along good when he brought up the idea of prank calling Lisa Morrison!
Just a quick post about breakfast I made for dinner with some modified buttermilk cheese biscuits with sausage gravy, and fried eggs.
The biscuits were modified by using lemon juice in milk and letting it sit for a bit to compensate for not actually having buttermilk. And with the addition of a cup and half of shredded cheddar cheese.
I was told by several people, if you want to get the best buffet on the strip in Las Vegas it's either at the Belagio or at the Wynn. We went with the Wynn. We did not lose on this deal. And although I haven't seen the Belagio's Buffet, I feel confident enough to say that Wynn Buffet was the best.
The Wynn hotel is amazing. It's gorgeous, has all the high end shopping and beautiful gaming areas. The only problem I had with the Wynn is that you can't win on their video poker machines that well. Their Black Jack video poker removed the double down feature. Total bullshit and scam. Nothing was paying out for me over there.
But this post isn't about the gambling. It's about the food.
The Buffet at the Wynn is huge. It has a whole separate room for just desserts. Of course it has meat carving stations, but everything is super clean and steril and broken down into regions. Asian section, American food, Italian, ect.
Before we went over to the brunch, we stopped to have a drink at Up Parasol while waiting for a friend to join us. I was in the mood for a Dirty Martini and they made me the best Dirty Martini ever. It was so smooth and tasty and I could have had 50 of them.
Up Parasol is a beautiful lounge in the middle of the gaming area. It's bright, colorful, and comfortable with sofas and couches everywhere. The waitress was the friendliest person we had come across in Vegas. And that's saying something because everyone is cool in Vegas. At least to us anyway.
Our friend finally came and joined us and it was off to the buffet. Keep in mind it was a Sunday at noon and the lines to get into the buffet were long. It didn't take too long, but be prepared anyway.
They also offer a cool deal. For $60 bucks you can eat there all day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's a good way to economize while you blow all your money on gambling or drinking.
I went the hot route first.
Okay there is a lot going on on this plate. Let me break it down. Sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, french toast, pancake, waffle, eggs benedict, stir fried shrimp, cornish game hen in southwestern sauce and corn, pulled pork with cole slaw on corn bread, and a cheese and beef enchilada.
Every last bit of it was awesome! And you better believe I ate it all.
The cold route.
Shrimp cocktail, Mediterranean tuna ceviche, Tropical scallop ceiche (in cup), sushi rolls, Chow Shao Bao, and smoked salmon.
There was so much more food to be had, but my belly only had so much room. My husband managed to get some carved meats. Although I wanted them, I am glad I didn't get any carved meats. It would have sat like a lead brick in my belly and I wouldn't have been able to taste all the desserts we had.
Now for the dessert. A small disclaimer is that I did not, I repeat did not eat all that is pictured. I had a bite of each and shared. After the last two plates, there is no way anyone could eat all things I am about to show you.
Grasshopper Mint Slice and Banana Cream Slice.
Blueberry tart and Oreo Mousse slice.
Bailey's Panna Cotta and Hazelnut Chocolate Decadence.
Caramel, Chocolate parfait and Lemon Meringue Pie Parfait , Mango and Lychee Parfait with Tapioca Pearls, and Strawberry Parfait.
And Caramel and coffee ice cream. The coffee ice cream came highly recommended and was amazingly good and creamy.
After this we were the walking dead. Zombies who have succumbed to the dreaded food coma.
When Todd and I got married in Las Vegas 4 years ago, we stopped one morning to grab a bite to eat while walking around the casinos at America in New York New York. We decided to revisit the place while hitting up Las Vegas for my 30th Birthday.
When we got to Vegas 4 years ago on a whim to get married, we arrived late at night, got cocktails and beer ordered to the room, and crashed. We woke up the next morning and visited the surrounding casinos. America at New York New York was cool for us to get a quick bite and an early morning cocktail. Love the 24 hour a day access to booze. It's the way the whole country should work.
Anyway, in going back we made a huge mistake. We ordered too big. I screwed up my whole day, but eating a massive meal, having a giant Pina Colada, and then trying to walk around some more. I ordered ham steak and eggs with a side of bacon. Did I really need that side of bacon? Well, no. But who knew I was getting a whole hog for a piece of ham steak? Another situation where the plate or portion of food was bigger than my two hands fanned out. Unbelievable.
Not even cigarettes, or another cocktail like a lychee martini at the MGM Grand would help settle me. I had to go back to the hotel room and lay down for a bit. Then shower up and hit the strip again.
Don't get me wrong, the meal was great, despite being so big. And I would have been fine had I not had that damn giant Pina Colada.
I have been told over and over by friends that I must check out Hash House A Go Go while in Las Vegas. Well, I went last week and it was the best thing ever. Apparently it is a California chain that has made it's way to Vegas.
This is my kind of place. The portions are insanely massive, and the food is completely amazing.
I started with one of their famous coffee drinks, The Smore's Mocha.
Just look at that sticky mass of coffee and burnt marshmallow mess. It was so delicious.
Then I asked about the Chicken and Waffles. I was told to order this monstrosity from friends who know I am soul food addict. I wasn't scuured until it came out.
As described from their website: Sage Fried Chicken with a hardwood smoked bacon waffle tower, hot maple caramel and fried leeks.It's 4 waffles with bacon cooked inside the waffle. And I am talking about a big crispy strip in each waffle. Two large pieces of fried chicken on top as well. It's unbelievable.
And just in case you are not sure how big this plate is, It's bigger than both of my hands fanned out. I found this image of some guy who looks horrified by the size of the plate while searching for a picture of the building and thought this was a good image to show you just how massive it is. I am in the second picture, a Twitpic my husband took with me in the background. Notice my hands in the second pic.
My husband looked and around and saw pancakes as round as basketballs. He decided to play it a little safer and get the smoked salmon skillet.
He wasn't let off the hook size wise. This thing was massive too and completely loaded with salmon. So many times with salmon you get the shaft on how much they give you. Not at Hash House A Go Go. They also had homemade jam on the table made with pears and strawberries for the biscuit. Nice touch.
And then I finished up with a double shot Bloody Mary. With pickled beans in it as well. I am starting to think that if there are no pickled beans for the Mary's, then they are probably not worth it. I love pickled beans so much and especially in Bloody Mary's.
Hash House also carried Stone. Todd drank a few Pale Ales and I was torn between the Bloody Mary and an Arrogant Bastard. With Las Vegas being a beer wasteland for the most part, any chance to get good craft beer should be taken advantage of. So not only can you get awesome food, but you can have an Arrogant Bastard with it too.
This place is off the beaten path from the strip. It will cost you just over 20 bucks in cab fare if you don't have a car. But there is a cool little brew pub with video poker down the street called Big Dog's. You can eat and then walk 2 blocks down, trust me you will need to walk after this meal, and play some video poker and wash it all down with some fairly decent beers. Big Dog's had a good Pumpkin Ale and a West Coast Style IPA on hand while we were there.
Whatever you do in Las Vegas, take the time out to visit Hash House A Go Go. Trust me.
I don't know what comes over me when I get ideas to bake things at 1 am. I should learn to tell myself that it is okay and they can wait until tomorrow, but when I got to make something, it has to be done right away. Well I got the urge last night and made Krispy Kreme donuts. I was originally going to make Chocolate Eclairs. I probably should have after realizing too late that my kitchen wasn't hot enough to proof my donuts and they wound up taking a few more hours to make versus 2. Live and learn.
Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.
*I don't have a proper donut cutter. I used a biscuit cutter and an attachment from my pastry bag to cut a hole in the center.
(Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.
Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
Cut with floured doughnut cutter.
Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350°.
Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface.
Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain.
Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled spread chocolate frosting on top.
Dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.
*Forgot to snap a pic of adding the powdered sugar.
Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
*I only had a few ounces of milk chocolate. My images reflect that I had to use cocoa powder and butter and sugar to compensate. Then I added the amount of butter the recipe called for. I didn't get a shot a of the finished product though. I can say that the way I made this glaze, it tasted just like hot fudge glaze. A most excellent effect.
Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
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