Las Vegas Weekend

I just so happened to be able to spend a fun 3 days away in Las Vegas this past weekend ! Believe it or not, I spent a whole 10 minutes gambling in a three day time frame. Not that I was broke, but because we were all having such a great time doing other things. We ate, we drank, we danced ! Our fun loving group of 7 got to see two shows that we had not been to before. Saturday night it was Rita Rudner, and on Sunday we were treated to Bette.

Rita is by far one of the most subtle comedians still performing. She leads you through her show one liner at a time and constantly makes you LOL. And then there's the Divine Ms M. What a fabulous production. Nothing but gorgeous ladies, feather fans and lots of Diva on this stage ! Saturdays dinner was at a little known but very impressive restaurant by the name of The Range at Harrah's. They had a Jazz combo up front at the bar and the music resonated throughout the dining areas. Sundays meal was at  Nero's  along Cleopatra's Way in Caesars Palace. The food was delicious and the service was expertly delivered. Our wait staff really knew how to make our time there memorable.

As for gambling, well, the comedian George Wallace has it just right. Craps is just as easy as BlackJack. You put your money on the table and they take it. I believe the same could be said for the C-note I put on the Roulette table.

But the best part of my time spent there was the group of friends I was with. They love life and living it the best way they know how.

After coming back from all that rich food and drink, I was pleasantly surprised to learn fom the Wii that I had only gained just over a pound. Must have been the dancing. Lot's of that. So after all those great meals, I just had to make something to compare. I started a pot of Great White Northern beans Tuesday morning in the crock pot.

Great White Northern Beans Recipe

• 3 small bags dried beans - rinsed and sorted
  
• 1 Sweet Onion - diced
  
• 1 clove Elephant Garlic- minced
• 4 Jalapenos - sliced
• 8 oz sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
• 1/2 pound Pork shoulder - whole
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves- no stems - lightly chopped
• 2 tbls Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp clarified butter or olive oil
  

Combine rinsed beans and 12 cups of water in crock pot. I like to preheat the water in the microwave before putting it in the crock. It always takes so long to heat the crock, and I don't enjoy wasting time and electricity waiting for things to get to the right temperature for cooking.

Dice the onion, mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms and combine in a large skillet. Heat on high with the butter or olive oil until the mushrooms begin to get limp and the onions are translucent. Blend mixture into the beans with the rest of the ingredient list. Try to insert the pork cut towards the bottom of the pot. It cooks better down there and adds more of it's flavor to the top half of the pot that way. Stir occasionally.

 The Veggies and Seafood

While the beans are cooking, prepare 1 & 1/2 dozen Baby Brussels Sprouts. Pare off the cut stem ends and any discolored leaves. Baby Brussels are sweeter than the larger ones, and they finish up more tender inside. In a medium bowl, combine:

• pinch of cumin
• pinch of ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground Cardamon
• 1/3 cup Virgin Olive oil

Toss the sprouts in the spiced oil mixture until well coated. Remove from mixing bowl and set aside.

Toss 1/2 dozen Baby Bella mushrooms, 1 small Zucchini - quartered-  in the spiced oil bowl, (add more oil if needed) until lightly coated. Set on a piece of foil.

Peel 2 defrosted Jumbo Shrimp and marinate in Crystal Pepper Sauce. (Referenced post)

Preheat your grill to 400 degrees, place Brussels Sprouts on foil on an upper rack in the grill. (see photo)

Grill for 22 minutes, turning 4 times. They may char on the outside, but you can remove those outside leaves if you want. Grill the mushrooms and Zuc's for 12 minutes. Turn once. I also like to add a rinsed and lightly oiled Jalapeno to the grill to cook alongside. Next I added a 1/2 pound fillet of Salmon to the grill. Grill the seasoned fillet  for approximately 15 minutes, skin side down, depending on thickness. The shrimp will grill very quickly so they should be tossed directly onto the grill during the last five minutes of the process and only turned once.

When you are all done with the grilling, you should have a dish that looks something like this:

It is just enough to fill two people up without getting stuffed. There is also the added benefit of all that healthy food that really does taste great.  And if you're still hungry afterwards, well then there's lot's of beans left !

Katrina paired this with a bottle of Justin Cabernet. For me -- Tequila with Lime & seltzer.