db Brasserie

To start off our night with Celine, we had dinner at db Brasserie. It was a comfortable French restaurant, with guests in fancy attire. Not sure if that was the requirement or because people were all also headed to a show. But the outfits in Vegas all seem to be..basically naked or formal!

We began with a bottle of white wine for the table, and the charcuterie board. There were rillettes, a couple of terrines, some salame and prosciutto. Slices of baguette and some other loaf lined the board. For the most part everything was tasty, but the salame had a weird aftertaste, to me at least.

Then it was time for business. We all had the duck in some form or another. I chose the duck confit, because I will always choose the duck confit when I can. Duck fried in its own fat? How can I not? The duck was so tender, and the skin was so crisp. It was laid across some braised kale, pearl onions and white beans. So juicy…I am sure my eyes rolled back at some point. I ate the whole thing. Perfect portion.

We had to end our meal quickly to catch our show so there was no dessert! If I had the chance, I would go again to try out all the other things on the menu. Scallops perhaps?

What are some of your favorite places and meals in Vegas?

Posted on April 25, 2016 by miemo 0

Blue Apron

The hardest thing to think about during my work week is always, what’s for dinner. You spend all day at work, sometimes you don’t pre-plan your meals and you just want to eat. Then you go down the hole of eating out always. I think that is where 20-30 year olds spend their money.

Well, as someone who is 8 months pregnant and has no energy after a full work day, let alone enough strength to stand in the kitchen, I fall into that hole. Lucky for me, my husband cooks as well. He mentioned that his coworker who is also a new parent uses Blue Apron, and thought we should give it a try. This eliminates: 1. food waste because they give you just enough to make your dishes, 2. grocery shopping because they send you the main ingredients and 3. figuring out what to eat because they send you 3 meals, you just pick what day you want to cook what.

They send you a box with ingredients and recipe cards for 3 meals. They’ve got like 3 ice packs in there and it should be good until you get home. But refrigerate right away! Our first week’s subscription landed on Cinco de Mayo, so they sent Mexican food for that week. Fish Tacos, Mole Chicken Quesadillas, and Pozole.

I loved how everything was packaged. I felt like we were getting a Chopped basket…except without the challenge! The fish tacos were sooo delicious and full of flavor. I was definitely impressed.

If you aren’t that great of a chef, fret not. The recipes are simple enough, and it will help you sharpen your skills. The challenge for me, is forcing myself to eat what is there and try new things. Surprisingly enough, I’m a picky eater. Well maybe not picky, but particular. I never had a raw golden beat before. Nor do I like raw onions and shallots. But I went ahead and ate everything in front of me.

I like that they only offer 3 meals. I think it is the perfect amount, because maybe you have leftovers Monday, and want to go out Friday! The produce that comes in looks fresh and healthy, which is more than I can say about produce found in our local grocery stores. Overall I am happy with this service. This will come in handy when we’ve got a new born in the house as well!

Posted on May 15, 2015 by miemo 0

What’s For Dinner: “Fancy” Jar Spaghetti

I’m excited that it’s September. Temperatures should start cooling, and yes, it’s time for comfort food. Next up for this round of “What’s for Dinner” is what I like to call Fancy spaghetti. Why is it fancy? Because it’s a dressed up version of your jar spaghetti sauce. No time to get fresh tomatoes and make your own sauce from scratch. But with all these additions it will give you that fresh taste you need to please your family.

I brown hot Italian sausage as my base. Lots of flavor in there!

Then I add the extras. Green bell peppers.

Sauteed onions and mushrooms.

I then add my favorite jar of spaghetti sauce. Ragu in traditional.Let them simmer together. If your family likes meatballs you can throw those in too. Sometimes, if I don’t feel like meatballs, I’ll brown ground beef, and throw in slices of Italian sausage instead.

How about that for a quick way to fancy up a jar of spaghetti sauce?

Fancy Jar Spaghetti

Ingredients
2TB Olive Oil
1/2 a sweet onion, diced
1 Small package of white mushrooms, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb Italian Sausage (I use hot, you can pick what you like)
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
45 oz jar of Ragu Traditional (or your favorite jar sauce)
1 pkg of spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions on box

Directions:
In a large saute pan, toss olive oil, garlic and mushrooms until tender and onions until clear. Set aside. In a large sauce pot, brown Italian sausage. Add in the green bell peppers, onions and mushrooms. Stir until well mixed. Season if you’d like. Top with spaghetti sauce. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve over noodles with garlic bread.

Posted on September 10, 2014 by miemo 0

Bacon Wrapped Mini Meat Loaves

I don’t really eat meatloaf. But in order to feed the hungry men in my house and get them to eat vegetables there needs to be a substantial hunk of meat involved. This is my hunk of meat…wrapped in bacon. I took a pound and a half of lean ground beef, added a lightly beaten egg, some lawry’s, nature’s seasoning, tomato paste, A1, Italian breadcrumbs, a chopped onion and mixed it all together to a nice consistency. Then I shaped out mini loaves. And browned all the sides in a pan.Then wrapped it in bacon, stuck it in the oven until the bacon was crisp and the inside was cooked!

I made a side of spinach, sauteed in ghee and garlic slices, seasoned with a little black pepper, and mashed sweet potatoes. The end!

Posted on May 23, 2014 by miemo 0

Honey Soy Braised Ribs

I wish you could smell this. It smells amazing. And it was simple! I would put this under “Whats for dinner” except for the fact that it takes about two hours to make, and well… “ain’t nobody got time for that”.

Ingredients for the braising liquid.

Boil the ribs in ginger and water for about 30 minutes, skimming off the fat. Rinse in cold water, pat dry.

In a heavy pot, brown it in a little oil, salt & pepper it.

Now the fun part. Let it simmer in the goodness for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.

I took the ribs out, strained out the braising liquid into another small sauce pot. Added honey and let it reduce down into a glaze, then served it over brown rice topped with green onion and sesame seeds. YUM.

Honey Soy Braised Ribs
(exactly from Spoon Fork Bacon)
Serves 5 to 7

Ingredients:
3 lbs. pork spare ribs, cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 cups dry sherry
1/4 cup superfine sugar (granulated is fine)
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
honey-soy glaze:
2/3 cup braising liquid
1/4 cup honey
garnishes:
thinly sliced green onion
toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Rinse rib pieces under cold water and place in a large pot. Fill with water and add ginger. Place pot over high heat and boil for 30 minutes, skimming the fat from the surface as it forms.
2. Drain and rinse rib pieces in cold water for a second time, removing any excess fat, debris and ginger.
3. Place a large Dutch oven, or heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat and add oil. Add ribs and season with salt and pepper. Brown for about 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to the pot and stir together.
4. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover.
5. Simmer mixture for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender.
6. Scoop 2/3 cup of the sauce into a small pot (skimming off any excess fat) and stir in honey. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture has reduced by 1/3. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
7. Brush glaze over rib pieces and serve over white or brown rice. Top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.

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I love this site for dinner/party food ideas!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by miemo 0

What’s for Dinner?

This happens to me a lot. It's after lunch, and I have nothing for dinner ready. Nothing marinated. Nothing prepped. No rice made. This is a normal occurrence. From my instagram and blog, you're like oh Miemo cooks every day. Well, I do cook often, but if it's Lao food, it's preplanned and I've made a trip to the ethnic super store.

During the week, I get flustered thinking about what am I going to make that isn't going to take me 3 hours to cook. I'm no Rachel Ray, dinner is never ready in 30 minutes (because, HA, jokes on you Rachel, none of us have our mise en place ready to go when we get home).

So I've decided, as much as I am on pinterest and on instagram checking out #dinner. You probably are too. And since you've already seen me cook it on instagram you probably want the recipe. Well now I will share!

Seared Pork Chops, Mac n Cheese and Fresh Green Beans

In this meal, I'm pretty sure that the thing that took me the longest to make were the green beans!

Grocery List
4 bone in pork chops
1 lb of fresh haricot certs, french cut green beans
1 box of mac n cheese mix (and ingredients needed for it)
5 slices of thick cut bacon
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
sliced roasted almonds
butter
olive oil
kosher salt & black pepper

Instructions
1. Boil 1 cup of water. Add 3 tbsp salt and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat. Add 2 cups of cold water and the 3 smashed garlic. Lay the the pork chops in a 13×9 in pan in one layer. Pour the now room temperature water, salt, garlic brine over the chops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. While the chops are brining, bring another pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the greens for 2 to 3 minutes until tender but crisp. Immediately drain and plunge in an ice bath. Drain and let dry completely. Set aside.

3. Set up your ingredients. Mince shallots, set aside. Measure out 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Zest half the lemon into another small bowl.

4. Cook bacon. Drain on paper towels then chop into bite size pieces. Make mac and cheese according to box. Stir in bacon. Set aside.

5. Preheat the oven to 400F. When the oven comes to temperature, place a cast iron skillet, or oven safe skillet into the oven for 10 minutes. While this is preheating, remove the pork chops from the brine. Dry with paper towels. Rub a little olive oil on pork chops and season with salt and pepper or favorite seasonings. When preheated, carefully bring the skillet to the stove top. Over medium high heat, sear the pork chops on one side for 3 minutes. Flip over then carefully put the skillet back in the oven for 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness of chops) until the meat thermometer reads 145F at the thickest part. After cooked, remove chops from skillet and let rest while you make the green beans.

6. Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Add the shallots in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes until brown. Toss in the green beans and coat well with oil and shallots. Add the lemon zest and juice. Sauté 1-2 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and toss with almonds. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Plate your chops, mac n cheese and green beans, enjoy!

If you don't want to follow the instructions (to include multitasking) and just want the individual recipes. See below!

Easy Pork Chops and Haricots Verts

Posted on November 1, 2013 by miemo 0

Pistachio Pesto

This new vitamix is crazy. I love it. One of the first non smoothie thing I made was pesto. This thing is a champ. I didn’t have to prechop anything. Just threw in the nuts, garlic, basil, olive oil gave it a whirl and it was beautiful.

So much so, that I had too much pesto. And of course I had to make 2 things, pizza and pasta!

Pesto goes great with grilled chicken. Always handy to have it around. And look at those grill marks. YUM. Thank you Le Creuset.

Pesto is fairly easy to make, fresh and delicious. I got this recipe from my friend Anna. But you know me, I don’t measure! So this recipe is straight from wherever she got it. Hope it works for you!

Pistachio Pesto

Ingredients:
1 cup shelled pistachios
2 cups fresh basil
2 large cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of olive oil

Directions

Process the first 4 ingredients then slowly add olive oil to your desired consistency.

Posted on September 30, 2013 by miemo 0

Curry Chicken and Coconut Rice

Yum! It's been awhile since I cooked something during a week night, but this one made this list. I used Shutterbean's recipe and its awesome.

Rosie came over for our monthly dinner/catch up night. She brought all the ingredients, she watches me cook dinner, and washes dishes. Then we eat and she gets to keep the leftovers for the week. That's our deal and I love it. I get to try out new recipes and I don't have to eat it all week! If you need me to do this, I am willing haha!

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the process because I made a video from it, but it smells great. The only thing I would change is use chicken stock instead of water for more flavor. No one else thought it was bland though, just me. Maybe because I was getting a cold when I made this.

Definitely will make this again!

Posted on August 28, 2013 by miemo 0

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Bacon Sprouts

Yep. That really happened. What we have here is a bacon wrapped pork loin, with a jazzed up bbq sauce and bacon sprouts. Yes BACON SPROUTS. The best way to get your man to eat veggies (if you have that problem, I don’t).

The best part? It was pretty easy.

It all started, because I found these at our local Trader Joes. I had NO IDEA that brussels sprouts came from a stalk. Nuts! It was 3 bucks so I was like hmm, why not?!

I didn’t realize I was going to end up with so many sprouts. Chopped in half and I had twice as much…I literally only make about 10 sprouts at a time. I was intimidated. But I calmed down and just made a meal of it. Everything tastes better with bacon right? And that’s how it all began.

This is the first time I cooked a perfectly moist pork loin. My chops always end up dry. But this is why I like cooking over baking. Baking is an exact science, where as with cooking, I just put my heart into it, and it always works itself out. No recipes needed!!

What have you made lately? I am always curious to try out new foods!

Oh and remind me, that my sauce is just bbq sauce, vanilla apple cider, and chipotle hot sauce. WIN.

Posted on October 17, 2012 by miemo 0

The Cajun Experience

…not really. Out of all the cajun restaurants I’ve been to in DC, looking for a taste of home, this was my first disappointment. After coming down from my personal mardi gras 2012 party, I was having high hopes for a professionally done Mardi Gras dinner. I was looking for the Cajun Experience, pun intended.

Lets start off with the food, because that, to me, is always where we should start! I love food. Instead of offering their regular menu tonight (which is what I was hoping for), everyone was getting the buffet. The place was set up nicely, and had a great, fun zydeco band with a tiny dance space available if you wanted to get down. I did enjoy the vibe and I like the space.

Abita beer was unlimited that night, which was awesome considering the $45 price tag. The food however was sub-par. I really expected better, but I won’t be too harsh, since it was massed produced for the crowd. There was a variety of traditional cajun entrees, gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee..and mac and cheese and hushpuppies. The jambalaya tasted like tomato sauce from a jar with sausages thrown in. There was no hit of cajun spices. The etouffee was good, I prefer my cajun dishes a lot spicier, but I understand that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. However there were no spices on the table to help it out. You were confined to your styrofoam divider plate and your plastic cups.

Needless to say, I only had one plate, and spent the night enjoying the music, and my company and $45+ worth of delicious abita beer. I also felt overlooked as a customer. Our server was very sweet, could be a little more attentive, but nothing blatantly wrong with the service. The guy who might have been to the manager seemed to talk to every table and dropping off goodies such as masks, and drink cozies, and didn’t even make eye contact or attempt to say hello to our table… but made a point to say hello to the surrounding tables. Make note that I wasn’t even in a corner table. And no, I wasn’t a quiet mousey, no eye contact patron either. I joked with the table next to us, clapped and cheered to the live band and was trying to make it a good experience. Overall it was not.

I will give it another shot on a regular day, their brunch menu sounds awesome. But I won’t be attending their Mardi Gras party again in the future.

Posted on February 22, 2012 by miemo 0

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