Camarones con Rajas

Camarones con Rajas

Camarones con Rajas

Don’t get me wrong. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at Javier’s in Las Vegas, but I simply wanted to serve the dish with more shrimp, and more rajas! So here I re-create a version of that fabulous Camarones con Rajas at home. It’s overloaded with succulent Alaska spot shrimp atop poblano chile strips and onions smothered in a garlic butter cream sauce.

Rajas con crema is a popular Mexican dish consisting of strips or slices (rajas in Spanish) of roasted poblano peppers in a cream sauce.

At Javier’s, we dined on aguachile del rey with bay scallop, shrimp, and octopus; empanadas de camarón; chile verde with braised pork and tomatillo sauce; and the camarones con rajas – all accompanied by their hand-shaken signature margaritas. This stunning upscale Mexican restaurant is located in the Aria Resort right next to the casino floor where hundreds of rope strands form an impressive canopy in the bar area.

Javier's Las Vegas
Javier’s dishes with Camarones con Rajas (top right)

While Javier’s prepares their dish with Mexican white prawns, I am elevating my dish with Alaska spot shrimp.

Alaska Spot Shrimp are sweet and plump. And if cooked correctly, they are luscious and much more tender than the Mexican prawn variety. With their slightly briny hint of the sea, spot shrimp taste like a sweet-buttery cross between lobster and Dungeness crab. They are just heavenly served over the poblano garlic butter cream.

Receta de Camarones Con Rajas

Continue reading “Camarones con Rajas”

Crème de Tomates en Croûte

Cream of Tomato Soup in Puff Pastry

Crème de Tomates en Croûte
🍅 🍅 🍅
Cream of Tomato Soup in Puff Pastry

Crème de Tomates en Croûte is a jaunty soup inspired by Bistro Jeanty, a charming French restaurant in Yountville, CA. Warm spices and smoky chiles elevate my humble tomato soup recipe. Crowned with a golden dome of  buttery-flaky puff pastry…this is an elegant, yet easy first course for a dinner party or perhaps even Valentine’s Day?

Recette de Crème de Tomates en Croûte

Continue reading “Crème de Tomates en Croûte”

Crispy Duck Panang

Crispy Duck Panang

Crispy Duck Panang

We recently had an extraordinary dinner at their newly opened location in the Red Rock Casino…at what is widely agreed to be the best Thai restaurant in Las Vegas, Lotus of Siam.

Since 1999, Chef Saipin Chutima and her family have owned and operated this world-renowned restaurant. Chef Saipin’s cooking revolves around the Northern Thai recipes passed down from generations of her family. She received the coveted James Beard award for Southwest Region Chef in 2011.

Lotus of Siam’s 3rd location at Red Rock Casino Resort opened in November 2022, with Saipin’s daughter, Penny, at the helm. The design of the restaurant is casual yet breathtaking, and everything one would expect from a new Red Rock concept. Eater Vegas chose their Chiang Mai-inspired style as the Best Design of the Year.

The elevated food is obviously not your local hole-in-the-wall Thai menu (although there is nothing wrong with that!).  And the award-winning wine list and service are impeccable. We enjoyed a bottle of the lovely HeavenSake with our meal.

We shared several dishes – all excellent – some highlights included Chilean Sea Bass with Sweet & Sour Sauce, Penny’s Ceviche, Garlic Prawns, and of course the Crispy Duck Panang.

By the way, their base sauce recipes are a secret. Only three people know the recipes according to Chef Saipin in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Craving the exotic flavors of Lotus’s stellar dish, I set out to create my own version of Crispy Duck Panang.

Lotus of Siam, Red Rock Casino

Lotus of Siam, Red Rock Casino

Lotus of Siam, Red Rock Casino

Crispy Duck Panang Recipe

Continue reading “Crispy Duck Panang”

Smoked Sablefish

Smoked Sablefish

Smoked Sablefish & Watermelon Radish
Masia El Altet Olive Oil
Capers, Lemon Zest, Red Onion, Beet Microgreens

Starting the New Year off with a deliciously vibrant and easy brunch! This super-delightful appetizer or brunch course is made with sliced smoked sablefish layered with crisp watermelon radish, dressed with the best olive oil.

It is garnished with capers, lemon zest, red onion, beet microgreens and a bit of fresh ground black pepper to finish. Served with a toasted poppy seed bagel on the side, the silky buttery fish is heavenly paired with the crunchy mildly-peppery radish.

Smoked Sablefish

Smoked Sablefish & Watermelon Radish Recipe

Continue reading “Smoked Sablefish”

NoMad Library – Not Your Average Chicken Dinner

NoMad Library, Las Vegas
NoMad's Roast Chicken

NoMad Library, Las Vegas

Dine among scholarly opulence…all the books on all the shelves are real, and you are encouraged to take them off the shelf to peruse…while sipping on your favorite beverage or waiting for your dinner courses to arrive.

NoMad Library, Las Vegas
NoMad Library, Las Vegas

Monday nights are for library dining. The NoMad Roast Chicken is offered as part of a generous three-course curated dinner for two for $100. And if that isn’t enough of a great value, Mondays also feature half price select bottles from the wine cellar. (not valid on holidays)

Note that this NoMad roast chicken recipe is not the same as the famous New York original developed a decade ago by Chef Daniel Humm stuffed with foie gras and black truffles. It’s not nearly as fancy, it’s more rustic – with chorizo, saffron rice, and mushrooms – but still really quite exceptional!

The NoMad Library is a soaring space, inspired by the iconic Library of NoMad New York. NoMad is named for the neighborhood NOrth of MADison Square Park. The robust Las Vegas menu celebrates American classics in a grand and continental way. In addition to the chicken, another Specialty of the House for Two is an American Wagyu Prime Rib rubbed with porcini and black garlic.

Situated on the top four floors (29 through 32) of the former Monte Carlo Casino Resort building, the NoMad Hotel shares the space with its sister property, the Park MGM Las Vegas.

From the beautiful, luxurious ambience – to the impeccable, genial yet professional service – to the impressive dishes that well exceeded our expectations for a humble chicken dinner – the entire experience was fun, cool, and accessible. And those fabulous popovers were an outstanding surprise to boot!

NoMad Library Chicken Dinner – For Two $100
Gruyere Popovers

unsalted butter

Truffled Deviled Eggs

crispy chicken skin & chive oil

The Roast Chicken

stuffed with lemon, rosemary, parmesan & brioche
served with chorizo, saffron rice & mushrooms

Chocolate

malted-milk ganache with chocolate fondant & malt ice cream

NoMad Library Dinner

Continue reading “NoMad Library – Not Your Average Chicken Dinner”