It's funny how much we prioritize things in life and how that changes with each passing year, each major life change, or just with the accumulation of knowledge. When young we wanted to have fun, the older we got the more we focused on our jobs and earning money, then getting a spouse, then more money to have kids, then kids, then and then and then.... it just a constant flow of what we want, need and work towards.

Recently, my wife and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary.  It's been a long and winding road to get to where we are now but I could never have imagined myself traveling with a better partner through these years.  As with most people that have two young children in elementary school and in after school activities, countless plans with our friends,  families, our work obligations and so on, our life has been lacking in the alone time and quality time. When my wife asked me if I wanted to get away for our anniversary and go to Vegas for a few days, I didn't even let her finished asking the question before I started packing my bags.

With my totally awesome and great mother in law coming into town to take care of the kids, my wife and I ventured off to Sin City to see what mischief we could find.

Upon my arrival, I wanted to test my luck... 

After getting checked in and doing the time share stuff we headed out for a night on the town. Old Vegas. Yes folks, welcome to Freemont Street where the slots are as loose as their women...

Michelle standing in front of the swim/aquarium/casino place in the Golden Nugget.

I sit down for less than 15 minutes and I'm already up $50. This is going to be a good trip.

We ate at the Buffet at the Golden Nugget and it wasn't anything to write home about. Price was descent and food was slightly better than Golden Coral's. I wouldn't go back but I ate my fair share and headed out onto the famed lighted walkway.

Yes, you are seeing exactly what I wanted you to see. Vegas has all types.

Street performers. I call this man in a box.

We went back inside and quickly won more money on my new favorite game. Three card poker.

After taking money from Vegas we headed back to our resort to sort out the day and unwind. We already made plans for most of the trip and needed our rest. We woke up the next day to the sound of peace and quiet. If you have young kids, you know how rare this is...

We took our time getting ready and slowly made our way to my wife's only request for food. The brunch buffet at Paris. 

The reason she had to go was their crepes. I don't blame her.

I bypassed the long crepe line opting for a plate of sausage, fillet, and corn beef hash.

The brunch buffet at Paris was well worth the long line to get and and the price. I was stuffed to the hilt and I was still wanting to try other items on display.

We then did some pretty touristy stuff like taking the gondola rides at the Venetian, shopping, more gambling and just staring at strange people.

This dude was about as Italian as I am but he told us about the city so it was a wash.

One of many fountain picks. Vegas has many a great fountains.

We had plans to watch the Cirque Du Soleil show "O" but before we went, we stopped by Chef Todd English's restaurant Olives for an appetizer and some cocktails. 

Beef Carpaccio atop a polenta cheese wedge. Very delicious.

Glass of Bulleit Rye Whiskey and bread basket and olive accompaniments.

"O" was a really good show. I thought I would get bored but it was quite entertaining and visually appealing. Two thumbs up from this guy.

The next morning we had a trip planned to see the red bluffs outside the city so with a quick bite to eat we went on our way.

I don't know which site I'd rather look at. :)

Just a  beautiful place with a beautiful woman.

 No one else booked this trip so it was our own private tour.  Ashley our friendly, knowledgeable and cheerful tour guide was a pleasant addition to the trip. She even recommended that we go eat at the Ellis Island Casino and Microbrewery so we did.  I passed on microbrewed beer since it was only 11:15 in the morning, regardless if I'm in Vegas or not, I still find that wrong. I opted for the rootbeer which was very refreshing and tasty. The food was served in big portions but wasn't anything spectacular. We had the shrimp cocktail, club sandwich and fish and chips. All ok but not great. Service was a tad slow but it was really busy there. 

Worth the trip to Ellis just for the root beer.

BIG sandwich, I just wish the flavor was as impressive but it wasn't.

We chilled at the resort actually relaxing by the pool and enjoying a champagne mixer before we headed out for the evening.  My food request for the trip was to eat at my favorite celebrity chef's restaurant. The chef is the one and only Wolfgang Puck and the restaurant isn't his famed Spago but his steak restaurant CUT. Many people told me to venture to other steakeries and what they thought were better eating establishments but I have always liked watching the way Wolfgang prepared food and seeing how he interprets dishes.  No one was going to convince me to eat anywhere else. I know he's not there searing the meat but I am sure he wouldn't put his name on a place in Vegas unless he knew that food they were putting out was worth eating. Well hopefully that was the case at least.

We got seated at a large table in the back away from the large room and loud tables. I noticed they did take into account that I made this reservation for a special occasion and they instantly got my approval.  They brought me an iPad with a list of their scotches and wine selection. I chose a nice glass of Springbank 14 year distillers edition and my wife snapped up a glass of pinot noir as she often does. She knew this was my thing to eat here and let me order our meal. I started off with a braised pork belly appetizer (almost Asian styled braised pork belly that was mouth melting and packed full of flavor), followed by a 20 ounce NY strip steak for us to share (seared perfectly and almost a crispy crust on the outside and very well aged and tender) and sides of brussell sprouts (my wife said mine is better and I have to agree) and roasted root veggies (healthy and delicious). We ended our meal with a coffee and doughnuts which was my wife's choice since she is the sweet tooth and it was mighty good. the coffee semifredo was much better than the vanilla doughnuts that came with it and with us being really full we chose to polish off the semifredo and left a couple of the doughnuts on the plate. The doughnuts were really good but the semifredo was great.

This is one instance where you build up eating somewhere in your mind so much that it's is hard for the restaurant to live up to your expectations but Cut did manage to meet and exceed my vision.  Well done Chef Puck, well done indeed.

In front of Cut.

Sorry for the terrible pictures but this was the braised pork belly.

My share of the NY strip. Cooked perfectly. Grlled then broiled under intense heat giving it that crispy crust.

 The coup de grace. 

What do you do after such a fine meal? Give Vegas back it's money of course...

 The next day was just more touristy stuff with my favorite lady. We started off the day with a hearty breakfast at the Hash House a Go Go. Huge plates of food is putting it lightly. I think my wife was served a loaf of bread disguised as french toast.  We went to the shark reef at Mandalay Bay and drank some drinks at a bar that was 5 degrees below zero. Our glasses were made of ice, the benches, tables, and everything else were also made of ice. We didn't stay there long but it was a fun expirience. We ate at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay which was pretty good. I also had an oxygen treatment at an oxygen bar but that wasn't a fun filled event. 

When you get an awe-inspiring look on my face, it's that impressive.

Yes folks, that's chicken and waffles.

Waffles stuffed with bacon that is.

Michelle loafing around. She didn't finish one slice off that plate but drank the tar out of that caramel coffee.

Petting sharks, just another thing this guy does that is awesome.

Strawberry banana shake at the Burger Bar.

My $22 signature buffalo burger and sweet potato fries. I couldn't talk myself into ordering their $60 Kobe burger. I don't love myself that much...

The cross section of a fine burger.

That night we ate at another disappointing buffet at the Rio. Their famed buffet was packed so we went to the seafood buffet there that was twice the price and wasn't anywhere near worth it. We did go to Penn and Teller after the meal though and that was an extremely entertaining show.

Impressively disappointing.

Teller after the show greeting people and getting photos snapped. Great show and two really nice friendly people.

 At the end of the first adult trip after having kids, we were surprisingly well rested and filled with the joys of a great vacation. We did miss the kids and our bed so we headed home.  The moment the plane touched down in Dallas though, I had a message from the school that the 5 year old fell and busted his chin and probably needed stitches or a glue job. Welcome back to reality. We rushed to the Urgent care facility where Grandma had taken the young guy. She told us how they had to pin him down to have the chin glued together. We got our marching orders from the doctor and left. 

There were other places we had visited, eaten at, experienced on our trip as well as a  other things from the home front such as grandma's sideswiping and car driving skills, the reopening of the chin wound and the Houdini hounds and a very patient dog sitter.  There is only so much I am able to share. Till next time my friends, enjoy your life; it's the only one you are getting. Eat well, love long, and smile often.

Judging the Texas Nectar

My family, like most, flies by the seat of our pants and most of our well laid plans are to the wayside as soon as we make them.  That’s why I make it a point to make a few “musts” each year. You know, honor some family traditions if you will. If you’ve read my blog before, you can see the yearly blueberry trip, the BBQ cookoff (which is coming up again soon), the Texas State Fair, and this yearly trip to Kappa Beta’s Annual Chili Cook-Off. (Sign below). 

 

The Welcome Wagon

This group of lovely ladies set up another fun event this year to benefit the Susan G. Komen charity, you know the one that is trying to help find the cure for breast cancer. You can read more on their website. http://ww5.komen.org/ . A great event for a great cause.

 

Well enough of the promotional stuff, let’s get to talking about the fun stuff. If you ever get the chance to be a judge at a chili cookoff, jump at the opportunity. It is a fun experience and these Kappa Betatonians have made this chili judging into a fun-filled and memorable experience. That is why I come back each year to be a part of it. Don't tell them this but personally, I feel I should be paying them to have a seat at the table.

 

Some of the chefs hard at work .

Or hardly working. I don't know.

  First things first. There are rules to being a judge. I won’t bore you will all the rules but here are a few:

1. You can’t talk to other judges about the chili itself (though a certain person at my table felt it necessary to interject from time to time).  

   

   One of these guys was Talkie McTalkerson... Can you figure out who?

2. You have to cleanse your palate in between each chili. This was made so much more enjoyable with the endless (well for me anyway) supply of beer these ladies provided and the cheese/veggie/cracker tray that was well prepared with what I am sure was loving hands.

   

   The Volunteer Palate Cleaners

3. You need to base your judgement on the 5 fundamental truths of true Texas chili:
1. Aroma
2. Red Color
3. Consistency
4. Taste
5. Aftertaste

Of course all of this is objective according to your preferences.  I for one enjoy my chili with a nice paprika/slight cumin and beef scent, with a deep red and amber hue, with a smooth consistency but with slight chunks (imagine home made mashed potatoes), a salty sweet forefront with a beefy but well seasoned mid palate and a smooth but strong chili bite on the finish, and I want the finish to last but the salt to dissipate.

4. You score the chili from 1-10 and each chili is scored on its own merit and not compared to other chilies you have tried.
5. You can have as many spoons of chili out of the same chili to judge as long as you use a new spoon. Also keep in mind that there needs to be chili left for other people to judge it too.

The Rules as Stated in Article....

Now that the rules are out of the way, there a few inside tricks that big eaters like myself should know. Get to the judging early. You might get the chance to judge the beans too! They have a bean-off prior to the chili cook-off and if you know the right people and have the room to store that amount of food, you can taste some of the beans. I wasn’t fortunate enough this year to judge beans. Last year I was and it was sure good eating.  I guess I saved some calories... 

If you have a small appetite and there are lots of chilies to judge, you want one of the preliminary tables to judge. For big eaters like me, you want the grand daddy final table. The best of the best chilies make it to the final table and you get more to judge (in most cases). In this case, I believe there were 21 chilies at the glorious final table. Yay me!

 

As I sat down at the final table this year, my lovely wife (who I have started to drag with me to the judgings) was sitting pretty on my right, some co-workers and friends around me, and a plate of palate cleaners and cups of beer right before me. This must be how utopia greets it patrons because you couldn’t wipe that smile on my face even if you wanted to. 

The fixin's as I call em.

One of many piles I needed to use.

My beer and the tickets that produced it.

Well, I loaded up my napkin with tasty treats and downed my first beer to get myself in the mood.  Out came the chili! The 1st cup is always the toughest to me.  I try to figure out how tough I am going to be. How strict I will be judging. My criteria for all the fundamental truths are for the day and such. First bite was a 5. For sure. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t bad either. The look of it was red in color but a crimson color with a light brown. The taste was really briny and salty on the front. Too much to be enjoyable and the spice that invaded my tongue in the background was almost a passing thought. The aftertaste was bitter and tasted as if some of the spices were thrown in to finish the chili instead of being cooked in. Not my cup of tea.

My first cup to judge.

Been judging her for a while now. I'm thinking an 8 due to the lack of red hue. She's definitely spicy enough though.

An inside look at what I was privy to.

 

The tasting went on as such with some really memorable highs and one really disgusting low. So terrible was one tasting that I wanted to know what the other judges where thinking at the time they rated this cup because there is no way it should be at the final table. Picture Chef Boyardee meets Wolfe Brand. Yes, it tasted about like that. Others were trying to be creative but failed with a one having tasted as if it was using one of those salt packets that's included in Ramen Noodles.  The king tasting for me was sweet lucky number 13. The perfect 10. Colored the way good chili should be colored, complex flavors in the front, really beefy and smooth with a little chew and the pow punch of real spice at the back that waters your mouth and tingles your face but not too much to make you sweat. A beautiful cup of chili right there. I had three spoons of it, not that I wasn’t sure of its greatness but because I just couldn’t help myself.

 

Usually with about 10 chilies to go, I gage my level of fullness to see how many spoons of the remaining chilies I want to eat. Yes, I plan on making myself miserable. This is also when my wife next to me looks like she will need to be wheeled out of her on account of her fullness. Lightweight. I start doubling up on my tastings unless it’s really bad or really good chili and I will up or bring down my intake accordingly.

 

This year I had only 1 perfect 10 and two high quality 9’s on my list. The rest of them were really ho hum and nothing noteworthy but I was happy, relaxed, and stuffed so what more could I ask. I want to thank Kappa Beta for allowing me the honor of being one of the judges again this year and I hope they keep up their great work in supporting the Susan G Komen foundation. I have the pleasure of working with some of these great women and I couldn’t ask for better people to spend my day with. I hope this entry has some of you itching to judge some chili. Just remember to come hungry, have fun, and take your time to enjoy it. If you come to the Kappa Beta cook-off though, my seat is taken. Find 

your own. 

These are random pics of the fun. I didn't stick around this year to hear the winners. We had to get back to our kids before grandma put them out on the curb.

The Mrs. with some random work guy and his lady.

Being seated.

Getting served.

The Recipe for the blog:

 The Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Spear

My recipe this time is simple. Bacon wrapped pineapple spears. It is as easy as it sounds. I take some pineapple spears and run a skewer through it. Then I wrap bacon on it and grill it. Nothing else is needed seasoning wise or anything wise. The pineapple is sweet and caramelized and the bacon is well bacon greatness. Here's a wrapped pic. None ever made it to the final product pic since they are that good. Enjoy. 

If you ever try any recipe I suggest. This is THE one to try. Simple and great.