Monthly Archives: December 2019

German Apple Almond Cake Recipe based on Milk Street Magazine Recipe

I got my Milk Street Magazine and I thought the German Apple Pie looked really great and I wanted to try it. When I looked at the recipe I thought that this is too much dessert for me so I cut the recipe in half and it still seemed like a full size dessert recipe to me. I simplified the Milk Street Recipe by making it into a one bowl recipe since it seemed very basic to me. The only thing I’d do slightly different is to not to add the one teaspoon cinnamon that I added to the recipe because it makes the dessert too dark. I did notice that many other recipes for German Apple Almond Cake do call for apple jam to brush on the apples and almost none of the recipes call for cinnamon since it makes the cake too dark…Oh well live and learn. The other BIG THING is that the texture and taste of this cake is much better day two…….Day one I wasn’t crazy for it because it seemed oily and too chewy to me but day two it seemed more cake like, fluffier and not as chewy. The Milk Street Recipe is mostly double of the ingredients I used, it goes in a springform pan for about twice as much time. I used a 10 inch pie pan that I sprayed with non stick spray and I thought this is plenty of dessert that can serve 8 or more…The Milk Street Recipe also serves 8 but much bigger pieces.

Ingredients for 8 servings

1/2 cup + I Tablespoon sugar (Tablespoon is for finishing)

4 oz unsalted butter – room temperature

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 oz almond paste (not marzipan) in 1/2 inch pieces

1 apple peeled and cut in thin slices

non stick spray

teaspoon powdered sugar to finish

Directions

Set oven to 375 degrees F

Spray a 10 inch pie or cake pan with non stick spray and set to the side.

In a large bowl mix together the the sugar and butter till creamy. Then add the egg till that is creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and almond paste and mix well. Spread this evenly in your pan. Top with the apple slices and fan them out to cover most of the surface. Push them in a little. Sprinkle with the remaining Tablespoon of sugar.

Bake till edges of cake are brown and a tooth pick comes out clean. This should take 25-30 minutes.

Let cake cool on counter. This cake should be served room temperature or slightly warmed up and add a small amount of powdered sugar before serving. I thought that this cake was much better the next day.

German Almond Apple Cake based on Milk Street Magazine Recipe

Mine is a little darker than yours will be because I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar topping. adding more of the cinnamon and sugar to the ends.

ENJOY!

A special THANKS to Milk Street Magazine showing us your version of German Almond Apple Cake.

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV – 2019 …Some of the magic is still there but I think it’s fading…….

Leave a reply

L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon is a high end exhibition French Tapas Restaurant with several locations in the world. The location that I go to is located in Las Vegas at the MGM Hotel/Casino on the Las Vegas strip. This restaurant is multi award winning.

The late chef was Joel Robuchon who was the most awarded chef in history and was known as chef of the century.

This is an exhibition restaurant. You get seated at a bar that views the kitchen.

Usually we drink wine…but the wine prices went up and the least expensive bottle is over a hundred……….Tonight we are having cocktails.

This restaurant offers many menu options but we usually go for the three course menu that includes an amuse bouche (for $85. at this time) (also this is now as of this year only an early evening option only offered 5-6pm)

Everyone that dines here gets a basket of amazing breads and French Butter.

Our alternate amuse bouche was the airy beets over a green apple gelee and topped with apple. We went with the alternative because I don’t eat the foie gras shooter and my husband is tired of this one that they’ve been serving for around ten years now.

It’s unusually light and earthy. The apple cuts the earthiness.

For our appetizer we both went with the Le Piquillo (pepper stuffed with smoked eggplant with tuna belly and romesco sauce.

The plate is interesting visually, and in textures. All the flavors go together very well.

We shared a special offering of the evening.

Spaghetti parmigiana foam, soft egg and fresh shaved Italian alba white truffles. WOW this was the plate of the evening. It is very rare that you taste a plate like this. I’ve tasted many different truffles over the years but this is the first time I ever tasted fresh White Alba Truffles. They certainly are something very VERY FORKING special. You don’t need to eat as many Alba white truffles to get truffle flavor like many of the other truffles. The truffles go expertly well with the foamy creamy parmesan foam, egg and spaghetti. I haven’t had any truffle dishes before anywhere near this level since my last meal at Binkley’s that used to be in Cave Creek Arizona. Now this dish was very masterful and exceptional.

My dinner was the salmon…..called Le Saumon…I get that on most visits and every time it’s a different presentation but it does come with those glorious Robuchon potatoes.

This evenings’ presentation is delicious but less detailed than previous salmon dinners I’ve had here.

Tonight the salmon is embedded with bitter olive tapenade and there are thin drizzles of bitter yuzu on the plate. Fresh tomatoes and basil brighten the fish some. the salmon is almost like custard and is cooked to perfection. It’s very good …..but not exceptional like it usually is…..

Below are a couple of the salmon plates I had from previous visits…can’t find them all..believe me I’ve had many. These plates below were exceptional!

Anywho-

My husband said his dinner was also very good but he also felt that his dinner was less detailed than from previous dinners….???? Maybe it’s just tonight?

Tonight he had the quail filled with foie gras with pureed potatoes.

For dessert we both had the Les Tarts…….(once known as little slices of heaven to me.)

There are two new ones tonight….the pumpkin and the apple.

My favorites are the cinnamon on the left and the passionfruit on the right…..These are magical…especially the passionfruit.

My husband has different taste than me and his favorites are the cinnamon and the chocolate caramel peanut.

Both of our least favorites are the pumpkin and both of us don’t like the apple. (first time I didn’t enjoy a les tart)

After dessert they presented us with some chocolates.

That was my trip to L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon. Most of the magic is still there but I think it’s fading.

www.MGMResortsInternational.com

Everything is subject to change at any time and your experience may or may not differ.

Hottest Foods I Tried in Metro Phoenix AZ

Leave a reply

Here are the hottest foods that I remember trying in Metro Phoenix in no particular order from restaurants that are still in business. (the Homer Photo is from www.PeeWee.com)

The Kang Pa Curry from Krua Thai in Phoenix was in the top two spiciest burning Thai Dishes I’ve ever tried. I feared for my life when I got this dish. I didn’t even request the hottest level (Thai Hot). This dish actually burned my lips and was next to impossible to eat. I never order medium when I do Thai and always order hot…not Thai Hot. Regular hot is usually good for me….but not this time.

The other hottest Thai Dish was the Holy Basil Chicken from Suh Noi – The Little Thaiger in Scottsdale.

Again I didn’t ask for Thai Hot but this one also was crazy burning HOT. This one was burning hot in a different way. It was like eating the hottest jalapeño ever.

The two hottest Hot Chicken Sandwiches I’ve tried in Metro Phoenix were-

From Monroe’s Nashville Style Hot Chicken I tried the Hottest Chicken they offer called Shut da Cluck waffle sandwich.

It’s like Thai Hot. It’s nuclear but sneaky. First bite doesn’t seem hot but it builds fast….real fast.

The other Hottest Hot Chicken Sandwich came from Famous 48 at the original location around the time when they first opened.

This sandwich was so hot I almost couldn’t eat it and they gave extra hot sauce on the side. *****UPDATE Famous 48 changed the recipe for this sandwich since I had it the first time. It’s a completely different recipe that is much more delicious…but almost mild compared to their original recipe.

You can get some super ultra delicious food from The Barrio Gran Reserva that is especially hot if the chef knows you can take spicy food. The chef showed us her big jar of Chiltepen Peppers (they are tiny and look like pink peppercorns). Chiltepin peppers are very hot but add lots of delicious flavor to foods.

This little complimentary seed starter is really REALLY FORKING HOT!

The Aguachile from the Barrio Grand Reserva is so FORKING Delicious but is also Forking Spicy HOT.

This is a slightly different Aguachile with mango that is also deliciously extra spicy. (also from the Barrio Grand Reserva)

The Diablo Hot Chipolte Molcajete from Mariscos Playa Hermosa is also mighty HOT!

It’s a molten cauldron of hot sauce lined with different proteins.

There’s HOT Chinese Food out there!

The Two hottest Chinese Dishes that I had most recently was the Fish Hot Pot from Szechuan Cuisine in Glendale.

Fish Hot Pot….(this I had before but not in a long time)

Look at all the crushed peppers on top of it. This was so spicy I went off into la la land. Next to was another hot dish called spicy chicken noodle. It was spicy too but not as spicy as the Fish Hot Pot.

The other hottest Chinese Dish was the House Special BBQ Fish from Original Cuisine in Mesa.

This was burning molten hot but also delicious. I usually hate catfish but in the right hands even catfish can be delicious!

I hope I left you Hot and Bothered for some exciting hot food!

Every FORKING THING is subject to CHANGE. Your experience may or may NOT differ.

Bouchon Las Vegas Nevada – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

Bouchon in Las Vegas is located on the tenth floor in the Venezia Tower next to the theater in the Venetian Hotel/Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Parisian Style food served is of Muti award winning Chef Thomas Keller. Time Magazine named Thomas Keller to be “America’s Best Chef.”

The restaurant has a nice classic old fashioned look to it. Waitstaff is formally dressed.

Fresh shellfish is available.

The tables are close but not too close together and are covered with white linen and heavy silverware.

We started with escargots ala bourguignon (burgundy snails, parsley, garlic, Bouchon pastry).

Salad Di Endives Et Poire – (endive, red wine pears, candied walnuts, goat cheese, red wine vinaigrette.)

Dinner for the both oof us was two very generous plates of Diestel Farms Turkey (sliced breast and shredded dark meat), Bouchon bakery stuffing, pumpkin croquettes, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, soft rolls and creamy butter.

OMG YUM! The rolls and butter are Forking incredible…had to stop eating them after a taste. The turkey is moist, very tender, very flavorful,,,,,but also salty…in a good way…It’s salty but it taste good. I don’t usually like salty ever but this is good. Croquettes seem free of oil and have a nice super thin crisp crust. like a really good mozzarella stick. The stuffing has good solid flavors. The cranberry sauce taste more like bitter orange marmalade to me……Turkey gravy is thin but has a rich bold turkey flavor. Sadly I had to leave a lot of my plate behind because dessert was next and I was seeing a show and didn’t have a refrigerator in my hotel room. This was the best food I left behind at a restaurant.

For dessert we shared the trio of tarts (apple, pumpkin and pecan and the Bouchon au chocolat.

Dessert is such a delight when it comes in multiple flavors in doll house portions. The winning dessert for us was the Chocolate Bouchon…..We are very familiar with them and the recipe is published on line and on The Forking Truth. They are the best chocolate cake that you can try anywhere. Bouchon are always moist and contain the perfect amount of chocolate and are not too sweet. Out of the pies we liked the pumpkin the best because it tasted like a traditional pumpkin pie. For our taste the apple had too much lemon flavor and the pecan was sweeter than we like…..(still good…)

Past plates from Bouchon (Napa CA location)

Bread and butter

salmon rillettes

Chick Pea soup

boudin blac

Salmon Special

Lemon tart

I’d say Bouchon Las Vegas or Napa CA is Worth a Fork!

www.ThomasKeller.com

Every Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

A little Taste of Where The Fork I’ve Been Las Vegas Fall 2019

Leave a reply

First Stop was Buddy V’s in the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip.

Everything really was very good. My husband went crazy over the pasta and sausage dish….He is partial to that kind of dish and said it was the best he had out anywhere. I do have to add that his cannoli is the best one I’ve tasted out anywhere!

Next Stop was Bouchon….Also in the Venetian.

Very classic and just like the Bouchon in Napa Valley except this one is on the tenth floor. All went incredible here too……..Portions were much larger than I was expecting. We were seeing a show afterwards and I didn’t have a refrigerator in my hotel so I had to lose my leftovers…so sad …I threw out the best leftovers I ever had anywhere…..

Next destination was The Crack Shack at Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Crack Shack is a casual semi fast chicken theme restaurant that is co-founded by celebrity Top Chef Richard Blais. It’s kind of semi fast food style with a sports bar kind of feel. But the chicken used is quality Jidori chicken. We got a tasty fried chicken sandwich and shared Matzo Ball Pozole and schmaltz fries too!

A trip to Las Vegas usually involves a dinner at L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon at the MGM Hotel/Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Chef Robuchon was the most starred chef in history and also was known as Chef of the century. Some of his magic still lives on at his restaurant.

Emeril’s Table Ten Restaurant was a favorite that closed maybe two or three years back. I liked Table Ten restaurant best because it offered the most variety of the Emeril restaurants. Went back to Emeril’s New Orleans Fish-house in the MGM.

It killed me to skip that amazing banana cream pie today but both of us enjoyed everything we had. Emeril’s always serves the best gumbo that you can get outside of New Orleans. I got todays catch that was the grilled salmon.

OMG……. TWIST By Pierre Gagnaire was FORKING AMAZING! Twist is located on the 23rd floor of the Waldorf Astoria in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.

To my local peeps it’s kind of like Binkley’s at the original location pricing (depending on menu you chose) but all the amuse bouches are served at the beginning and mostly at the end. This is a French style restaurant by a multi award winning chef. We received over 15 amuse bouches during dinner. Each and every morsel we we tried BLEW IT OUT OF THE PARK! Everything was so DETAILED and so amazing…..Not just great but FORKING extraordinary! All the food was a truly mind blowing experience. We both went with the vegetarian menu $89 (4 courses). I highly recommend! My NEW favorite!