Thanksgiving Shrimp Sliders

In my quest to win the thanksgiving cooking contest at work this year, I tried out a new recipe with some of our favorite ingredients from this sweet Holiday. I made a few shrimp sliders topped with homemade potato chips and yam chips and served with a cranberry and cilantro sauce. 

I made the shrimp patties by putting chopped shrimps and onions, cilantro, parmesan, flour and a small tomato in the food processor and turned the mix into a shrimp paste. I fried the patties until they were golden brown on both sides. I then deep fried the slices of yam and potatoes which gave a nice crunch on the first bite. I put a nice amount of my mix of cranberry sauce, mayonnaise and cilantro and served them with toasted sweet rolls.

They were absolutely delicious and I can't wait to share them with guests at Thanksgiving.

"Tender" Steakhouse - Las Vegas

A little more than a month ago my mother flew from France for two weeks to visit me. Since we hadn't seen each other in a few months we decided to do something fun together to celebrate my birthday and we bought tickets to Las Vegas at the last minute to gamble some money, drink by the pool and enjoy a good celebration meal. After looking at all our options we took a nap and headed straight to the Luxor and give their Steakhouse a shot. 

When we got to the restaurant they told us there was a 10 minutes wait. It seemed long enough to go buy a pack of cigarette, sit at a slot machine for a few minutes to get a free beer, play a few dollars and chain smoke about ten cigarettes in a row. One hour later we walked up to the host again and sat at our table, sneaking in a drink from the casino in my mother's purse. The steaks looked gigantic and the decor was inviting.

Here's what we had for diner

soup tasting trio: split green pea and smoked ham hock soup, Maine lobster bisque and wild mushroom soup

Angus beef carpaccio

surf and turf sliders 16

Kobe and foie gras meatloaf sliders and Alaskan king crab medallion with truffled onion and artichoke aioli  

wild game tasting, broken arrow ranch, texas 36

Nilgai antelope osso buco, axis venison medallion and wild boar loin with farro, fig chutney and cranberry demi-sauce

Creme Brulée

Everything was delicious and I surprised myself wanting more of the soup that my mother had ordered. They were all succulent. I was a bit disappointed that the waiters didn't attempt to sing "Happy Birthday" when they brought my desert but it was so good I forgot about that mishap 

See more of their fabulous menu on their website

http://www.luxor.com/restaurants/tender.aspx

"Laurel Tavern", Studio City

 

Lunch breaks can get expensive when you like food and beer, and right around the corner from my editing bay, "Laurel Tavern" serves both. They have a good menu with fresh produces and you can get unusual items such as roast marrowbones or a chorizo fondue and you can share plates such as the "prosciutto and burrata" or the mussels as an appetizer. They have fantastic burgers, the atmosphere is always casual and the crowd usually young. If you go on a Friday evening you might be able to spot a celebrity in the crowd.

Our drinks came fast and the gorgeous waitress was the perfect amount of nice: Nice enough that we don't have to look for her every time we want something but not too overly nice that it becomes obvious she's only being friendly for her tips and that we want her to get off our back.



The Racer 5 has become one of my favorite beers, but I'm not sure it's a goo choice with an actual meal. It's s full bodied beer that will give you a buzz in no time but it tends to overpower the tastes of  food, even though the chorizo sliders were quite strong and well seasoned. 


The second beer.....as a dessert....was probably not necessary but then again maybe the first one wasn't either. However, both beers contributed to the awesome culinary experience that is "Laurel Tavern".