Vegas for the Holidays

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s December. This year has just gone by too fast! These past few months, we have visited Seattle, Washington and Las Vegas. In Seattle, we went to Pike Street Market (of course) and visited every booth over a period of two days. Other than Reading Street Market in Philadelphia and Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, I think Pike Street is the best. The restaurants in Seattle are amazing and we sampled from as many as we could.

Las Vegas continues to be unbelievable. There are way too many restaurants to choose from, but this time we visited the Wynn, and one night dined in their tapas restaurant called La Cave before going to the theater to see Le Reve – The Dream. Each scrumptious little bite was perfectly paired with a flight of wine. Chuck and I shared four plates and we were very happy! Another night, we had dinner on the terrace at SW Steakhouse and were treated with a whimsical light show at the beautiful fountain. We also visited Giada de Laurentiis’s new place: Giada’s. The décor is New York chic and the staff is too! She has a great menu as well. Our favorite brunch continues to be at The Wicked Spoon. Jaleo and Comme Ca continue to be favorites, but we have still been unable to get into the elusive and exclusive “E” inside Jaleo’s. We hope to some day. 

I get so inspired as I walk these booths and talk to these vendors and visit all of these restaurants. So, today I decided to celebrate brunch a la Vegas with a recipe for my French toast for Christmas Morning and a small bite honoring La Cave’s small plates for New Year’s Eve paired with Amy’s (our sommelier) Kentucky Orchard Spritzer. YUMMMMMMMM!

Nancy’s Brunch French Toast

Serves 5 People

One loaf of day-old French or Italian bread, sliced

(Sometimes I use Challah, sometimes baguettes)

2 cartons of heavy cream

4 eggs

Dash of nutmeg and cinnamon

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup of confectioner’s sugar

(Optional) rum extract

Oil for frying

Mix cream, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar thoroughly. Arrange bread in a baking sheet and pour mixture all over the bread. Make sure it is well coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bring to room temperature and fry in oil heated to a consistent 365 degrees so the bread is crispy and not soggy. Be careful not to overcrowd—only fry 2 or 3 pieces at a time. Also, be careful not to splash, as you will be frying a wet product. Take care to step back. Keep finished pieces warm in a 275-degree oven, uncovered, until all bread is fried and ready to serve. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve with warm maple syrup. Yummmmmm!

Seared Sea Scallops with Nancy’s Bacon Brittle and Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

Serves 4 People

Step One: Prepare bacon brittle.

Bacon Brittle

1 ounce butter

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon of baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup apple-smoked bacon, rendered and chopped

Method:

In a medium saucepan, cook first 4 ingredients to a light golden brown. Add baking soda and salt off of the fire, mixing constantly. Add rendered bacon and spread on sheet pan with parchment and allow to cool completely. It can be processed coarsely or to a fine powder.

Step Two: Prepare vinaigrette.

Fresh Orange Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon lightly packed, finely grated orange zest

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 egg yolk (leave this out if you are uncertain that you want to eat a raw yolk)

1 teaspoon Spanish sweet smoked paprika or to taste

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 drops hot pepper sauce, such as Sriracha

Kosher salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk the orange zest with the orange juice, sherry vinegar, egg yolk, paprika, sugar, hot-pepper sauce and ¼ teaspoon salt until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is well blended. Season with additional salt to taste and set aside.

Step Three: Sear sea scallops on both sides in a hot pan.

Assembling the plate:

Brush vinaigrette on a plate. Place hot seared sea scallops on top of vinaigrette. Garnish with bacon brittle.

Note: you can process the brittle in a food processor to make a dust and place on the plate in a mound to make it look really professional.

Prepare Amy’s Spritzer to serve with this dish.

Amy’s Kentucky Orchard Spritzer

2 oz. Jim Beam Black Label

3/4 oz. local honey

1 oz. fresh-muddled Meyer lemon

1 oz. fresh-muddled Granny Smith apple

2 oz. Angry Orchard Hard Cider

1 sprig of fresh mint (garnish)

Muddle lemons and apple with honey inside shaker. Add ice and bourbon. Chill ingredients and strain into a Collins glass (without ice). Top with cider and garnish with a lemon wheel and a fresh sprig of mint.