Author: Tracey

James Beard Foundation Taste America and Greek Food Festival

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This last weekend, we found ourselves with almost too many things to see and do in town!  The stars aligned and Las Vegas was host to three major food events–Bite of Las Vegas, James Beard Foundation’s Taste America, and the 41st Annual Greek Food Festival!  We didn’t make it to Bite of Las Vegas this time, but we did get to experience some amazing dishes at Taste America and the Greek Festival.  So much fun! The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America took place at the Mirage Hotel and Casino Pool and featured tastings from nine world class restaurants and James Beard Award winners.  It was a gorgeous night!  The highlight of my evening was meeting Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!  Chef Morimoto offered a dish of Big Eye Tuna loin and Japanese Wagyu beef.  It was a perfect bite! I’d have to say that my favorite tasting dish came from local James Beard Award Winner Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam Thai restaurant.  She featured two Northern Thai dishes: Khao Soi Beef, beef stewed in a …

Fagioli, Cipolle e Tonno — Grilled Tuna and White Bean Salad

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I first had this very simple tuna and white bean salad at Chef Carla Pellegrino’s Neapolitan restaurant, Bratalian.   It was so delicious that I had to ask the manager what was in it.  I was shocked to learn that the simplest ingredients: lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, were what made it so good!  After having it at the restaurant, I set out to recreate the dish and now it’s a weekday staple dinner for us.  The base of the salad is peppery arugula dressed with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  The main part of the salad is juicy grilled tuna paired with creamy cannellini beans, crisp red onion and celery. This salad is crazy-good and amazingly simple to make.  I usually use canned whole white albacore tuna for this dish, but today I used fresh tuna, because I had a thought that it would be even more amazing–and it did not disappoint.  I think from now on I will use fresh tuna whenever possible. …

Coq Au Vin

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The first time I ever had Coq au Vin was during the summer semester before my senior year in college.  One of my favorite professors, who was also a gourmet cook, made this dish and shared it with me and forever changed the way I thought about food.  I remember biting into a beautifully browned mushroom bursting with red wine and feeling that I was eating my first adult meal.  I also remember wondering if it was ok for me to eat it since I wasn’t yet 21 (I was both very sheltered and very, very square in college)!  I remember how special I felt after that first bite–that my professor had thought to share such a lovingly prepared, and to my inexperienced palate, decadent, dish with me! Now I realize that the dish itself is not so much decadent, as it is classic French, rustic, country food, but was every bit lovingly made and incredibly delicious. To this day, this is how I love to cook and why I celebrate the Autumn season with …

Say Hello to My Little Friend//This Means War!

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Hello.  My name is Tracey and I’m the worst gardener ever.  Welcome to my support group.  I didn’t set out to be the world’s worst gardener; it was not because I didn’t have good intentions or a pure heart or unwillingness to give it “the old college try”.  It’s not that I forgot to water or fertilize or get rid of caterpillars.  I think it’s just good ole’ Murphy’s Law and really bad luck. So, I told you last week about the rats that invaded the garden less than 12 hours after I planted the fall/winter vegetables.  We set traps, and for the first couple of days, they seemed to work.  We caught three big, ugly rats and thought that our problem might be coming to an end.  But, the rats kept coming and you know what? They are getting smarter!  They are actively avoiding the traps.  They don’t take the peanut butter that we set out as bait.  They went after the most vulnerable plants in the garden and They Ate Everything.  Remember all …

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

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Sometimes there’s just nothing better than a piping-hot bowl of soup.  I think I have a little alarm bell in my stomach that starts ringing for soup any time the weather dips below 85 degrees or there are clouds in the sky–and if it rains, forget it! You can be sure I’ll be having soup for dinner.  That being said, I made soup last night when it was well above 85 degrees and sunny, but it so happened that I had an exciting event to attend yesterday evening and I needed to make a really quick dinner before heading out.  This chipotle black bean soup comes together very quickly, thanks to the use of a few convenience foods, such as canned black beans and tomatoes.  If you have a food processor, then you can really save some time chopping the onions, garlic and chipotle peppers.  Like any soup, the flavor is even better the following day, so if you have the time to make it ahead, definitely do so. The inspiration for this soup came …

Starting Fresh in the Garden and PESTS!

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Lemon Thyme My little cinderblock garden has pretty much been dormant for the last two months, but this week, with the brunt of the summer heat behind us, it was finally time to clear out the old and bring in the new!  So, starting last Monday, I began pulling out all of the dead and dying summer zucchini, cucumber and tomato plants in order to get ready for our fall and winter plantings.  This sounds like a pretty simple plan, right? Well, because it’s me and nothing ever comes easy, let me assure you it wasn’t simple! First off, the zucchini plant.  As I approached the plant, I couldn’t help but notice that the topmost leaves had turned completely black!  I thought, “wow, these are in worse shape than I thought” but continued toward it to put it out of its misery.  As I grew closer and reached my hand towards the stem, I saw that what I thought were withered, black leaves were actually covered with a swarm of horrifying beetles! I, of course, …

Spicy Asian Chicken Wings

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There are times when I look for any old excuse to make chicken wings:  Game night?  Monday Night Football?  A weekday ending in the letter “y”?  I never know when the craving for chicken wings is going to strike, but when it does, you can be sure that it will be for these sticky, spicy-sweet, Asian-style wings.  Today just happened to be a weeknight ending in the letter “y” and so it was the perfect excuse to whip up a batch! Unlike chicken wings from a restaurant, these wings are baked in the oven and then coated with a thick, smoky sauce that’s just spicy enough to make things exciting!  They couldn’t be easier to put together on a weeknight. I brined these wings for about an hour in a very simple brine of water, salt, lemon and garlic.  It’s not necessary to do this step, but it does add a base layer of seasoning to the chicken.  If you don’t have time to brine your chicken, you can simply season it well with salt, …