Roy's Summerlin is AMAZING

While on my vacation in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of spending one of my evenings at Roy's in Summerlin. I can't think of enough adjectives to describe my night - amazing, wonderful, magical, delicious all seem to fall short.

The evening started with a personal message at the front of our menus...


Calamari were soon delivered to our table but this was not just any calamari - these were spicy and sweet. The best I have ever had and yes I am still drooling over them. I could have enjoyed this whole bowl by myself and not felt guilty at all!

Mike and Becky enjoying Roy's - don't they make the cutest couple? They even got special drinks non alcoholic lava flows. A lava flow at Roy's is 1/2 strawberry daquiri and 1/2 pina coloda. It's not on the menu but this was a great suggestion from our waitress. I love it when the staff knows how to go above and beyond!

Bruce and I are so happy to be at Roy's.

Da Crunch Roll was new to me and I loved it. I love the crunchiness on the outside it added a great texture to sushi.

The hula dancer was my choice of drink for the night. We don't have these in Tampa but they are so good. Here is what the menu says it is:

The Hula Dancer A tropical Martini of Malibu Coconut & Banana Rum, Cruzan Black Strap Rum and Captain Morgan shaken with Pineapple juice and garnished with Fresh Hawaiian Pineapple.

Everyone was excited about the Lakanilau roll. Kobe beef on sushi, you can never go wrong.

Becky and I tried the Ono a fish from Hawaii.

My husband tried the Seared U-10 Scallops & Teppanyaki Seared "Rim Fire" Tiger Shrimp Asparagus, Mushroom and Corn Risotto, Lobster Essence. He loved it.

Mike got the Prix Fixe menu and his entree was the
Grilled Salmon & Roasted Beets Wilted Spinach, Goat Cheese.

Cheryl Mahar is the managing partner of Roy's Summerlin. She treats everyone as if they were Ohana (family). She is kind, giving and so fun to be around. Her attention to detail is fabulous.

Pineapple upside down cake...yummy!

Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé Flourless Chocolate Cake with a Molten Hot Center

Las Vegas Day 2 and 3

On our second day in Vegas (Friday), Bruce and I decided to take it easy checking out of our hotel room. I enjoyed a nice bath with jets to ease into my day. Check out at Caesar's was 11 am so we were out of the room pretty early and decided to walk over to the Bellagio. I wanted to show Bruce the gardens. Here are two really cute pictures from the gardens that I had to share.

After the gardens, we walked down to the fountains but we were early and it was too hot to wait so we decided to skip the fountains and walk back to Caesars to wait for Mike. Mike actually found us before we even made it to Caesars! He has great timing and a great internal GPS system. How did he track me down?

Since it was lunch time and none of us wanted to walk outside again - it was Las Vegas's hottest day of the year with it reaching 115- we decided to enjoy lunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Caesars.

This was our first time to Mesa Grill and even though it was on the expensive side, it was totally worth the splurge. I went with the Prix Fixe lunch which included an appetizer, entree and dessert.

For the appetizer, I chose the blue corn pancake with barbecued duck. It was amazing. The spices were strong but not overpowering. Definitely would order this again if I get to go to Mesa Grill again.

The entree was an easy choice for me - Buffalo Burger - or as my brother kindly likes to remind me it would really be a Bison Burger. There was a southwest twist with the spices on the burger and then a pickle relish with peppers that was to die for. This burger tasted as good as it looked.

As a side, the french fries were a great compliment with their own special spices. I tried the chipolte ketchup that came with them but decided they didn't need anything else.

Bruce had the pork tenderloin sandwich which he enjoyed. Thanks Mike for taking the picture of us.

As always, Mike pulling a face to show you how serious he takes his french fries or is he doing the Austin Powers "one million dollars" face??? Hard to tell. (Mike ordered the same thing I did but don't tell anyone!!)

For dessert our prix fixe lunch came with a mango icecream in a puff pastry with mangos on the side. The puff pastry was really dry and after a bite we just ended up eating the icecream and mangos. Really good. The icecream had real vanilla bean in it - a special treat for our taste buds.

After lunch, we got our suitcases and piled into Mike's car to run some errands. Best buy, liquor store for rum (banana's foster) and Trader Joes. Why isn't there a Trader Joes in Florida????

Finally we made it to Mike and Becky's just in time to run into Greg and Kevin who were hanging with this on their way back to Utah. We hung out at the house, catching some zzz's and catching up. Then Mike grilled some meat we bought at trader joes and corn while Greg took care of the sweet potato fries and regular fries. Dinner turned out awesome and the company was even better. So fun to have all of us there.

For Greg and Kevin, Becky and Mike had pulled some strings and got us reservations at the hottest dance club in the world (or Vegas -I am not really sure). Bruce was super tired that night so he stayed with Max. The rest of us dressed up and headed over to the Venetian to go to Tao. Ok I will be honest, I love dancing but think dance clubs and staying up till 3 am is just not my thing anymore. Plus I was in sticker shock - we are in a recession and I am still wondering how people can pay so much for alcohol.

Saturday morning was definitely a day of sleeping in, stealing Mike and Becky's car for a run to Starbucks and then once everyone was waking up enjoying Mike's special belgium waffles and sausage. Since I didn't get to make bananas foster for dessert the night before, I made them for the waffles. Amazing.

A sad goodbye to Greg and Kevin, then we were off to shop at the outlet stores. I got two new pair of tennis shoes thanks to a buy 1 get 1 half off deal and Bruce found some new tennis shoes as well. So it was worth all the hassle of parking and fighting the back to school traffic.

Before we knew it it was time to leave to get ready for Roy's. I am sorry I don't have too many pictures on this post but a lot were posted on my facebook page because I had my phone and not a camera. So check out our craziness there.

Las Vegas Day 1

I arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday after working all day and changing planes. Thank goodness my brother was at the airport to welcome me and to help me with my heavy suitcase. (Hey I brought Mountain Dew Throwback all the way from Florida just for him). Of course the first stop was In 'N Out Burger. Yummy - I posted a pic of the meal on my facebook account so check it out when you get a chance. After the meal, we went to Caesar's Palace and met up with Bruce who was already there doing The Prepaid Press Show. It was a short visit with Mike and then Bruce and I crashed as it had been such a long day for both of us.

Thursday morning I woke up and sent Bruce on his way to do his presentation and wrap up the show. I was in vacation mode and spent the morning reading in bed - which you would already know if you were friends with me on facebook. I finally got myself out of bed and ready to hit the town around noon. I went to the show to try to find Bruce and get a picture of him in the booth but he was no where to be found so I headed out on the town.

My first stop was the Bellagio. I wanted to see the display and I was not disappointed. It smelled like summer - the sunflowers, moss, roses, carnations wafted through the air begging me to take pictures.
My self portrait in front of the Ferris wheel.

This lady bug was made out of carnations. So cute!

There was a big bird cage in the exhibit and I thought this picture was amazing due to the colors.

Another self portrait at the gardens. I spent some time in there because it smelling so good and it was humid and cool. Then I was off to start walking again.

This is for Bruce Burke - he has a fascination with "B". Can you guess why?

Most of the west side of the strip I was walking in construction tunnels because of the new city center buildings. But I was excited to see the Coke Building and Outback steakhouse across the street when I emerged. It made me appreciate the fact that all my coworkers were working and I was on the strip in 100 degree weather sweating... not complaining at all. It was a much needed break. I ended up walking all the way from Caesars Palace to the Mandalay Bay Conference center and then back over to MGM Grand where I caught the light rail to Harrahs and ran to catch up with Bruce. He was eating at Planet Hollywood and the show was over so we got to hang out the rest of the day. A little more shopping/browsing was done in the forum shops but we were both so tired that we ended up going back to our room and chilling.

For dinner that night we were invited to join some friends of Bruce to eat dinner at Nobu in the Hard Rock Hotel. It was served family style and because I wasn't with people I knew I didn't want to hold up the meal by taking too many pictures but I did end up with two really good ones.

The two fish dishes we had was the Chilean sea bass (green plate closest to you) and the black cod with miso (square white plate). I was blown away by the cod with miso. I love miso but the cod was perfect.
For dessert was got the Miso Almond cake, Caramelized Banana Cake, and Sata Andagi (donuts)
to share. I was so full by the time this came out that I only had a bite of the banana and a bite of the almond. It was a great way to end the day - great food and great company. Bruce's Prepaid Press show was a huge success and I am so proud of him for doing such a great job. Congrats to Bruce and everyone else who participated.

Coney Island

Here are some pictures that I took with my blackberry last weekend when we stopped at Coney Island in St. Pete for lunch. This place has been open for more then 80 years and I don't think much has changed. It is so fun.

Coney Isand is famous for their chili dogs. You will notice the chili does not have any beans in it just meat and sauce. Really good but not so good on the heartburn.

I hope everyone is having a great week. My day is starting better then yesterday and I am looking forward to the rest of the week.

Happiness Key

I just finished Happiness Key by Emilie Richards and I really enjoyed reading it. I picked it up at costco and it looked interesting because it was set in Florida. I enjoyed the characters and friendships of the women in the book. If you are looking for a good read that will leave you smiling, I think you should pick it up. As for me, I gifted my copy to Shirley - hopefully she enjoys it.

Going Green

So my husband has been the green person in our family. He is the one that replaced the lightbulbs and put up the shades so that we would use less air conditioning. Well now it is my turn to get on the bandwagon. Blame it on watching the Planet Green channel, my mom sending me this article about going green, blogs I read that challenge me to find my natural glow or maybe just a good sale on Physicians Formula. Anyways, I have decided to be more aware of things that I put on my body not just in it so when I needed blush and see a sale I thought I would try out Physician's formula Organic Wear 2-n-1 bronzer & blush #1061. I can't really read the ingredient list but the packaging is eco-conscious as the compact is made out of cardboard/paper and not plastic. I love the color and I can't tell a difference with the quality of product so I am happy with my purchase. And Yes I will be trying more products like this in the future as I use up what I have. Any suggestions?

Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken

I tried this recipe last night and it was a huge hit. It was a very different taste for the chicken but we loved it and the chicken was really moist. I pretty much followed the recipe and marinated the chicken for 30 minutes.Except I ended up putting my chicken in a 9x13 pan and after deglazing the pan poured the sauce over the chicken. Oh I did use more chicken broth then 2 tbsp because the sauce was too thick to pour and I wanted it a thinner sauce to pour over the chicken breast. I just eyeballed it. Then I also poured some extra chicken broth in the 9x13 pan to give off steam as the chicken cooked in the oven and to make the pan easy to clean up -just enought to cover the bottom of the pan. We served it with broccoli for a healthy yummy and easy meal.

No Pictures but still a fun day

I took my camera to Pat and Glenn's house with intentions of taking some pictures. But I didn't take any. And I really don't have a good excuse. We got there early because we provided the main dish -pork and it had to cook for a couple more hours in the crock pot. After touring their yard which is beautiful, Pat pulled out a puzzle.
I am not sure how many of you know this but I am a puzzle freak. I seriously get OCD over putting the peices together and seeing the picture come together. So I NEVER let myself have a puzzle at home. Because I would never get anything done. I tried to play it cool with the puzzle and walked away but then Shirley was kind enough to start opening it and I just couldn't stay away.
I know I ate in between putting puzzle peices together but for spending 7 hours on a puzzle I have nothing to show for it. I finally realized it was 8 pm only because it was getting dark. I am sorry to Bruce for ignoring him. But I really do love puzzles and even though we didn't finish every time I put a piece together I was so happy with myself.
Ok note to everyone, keep me away from puzzles PLEASE!

Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Fries, Creamed Spinach Heaven

Our dinner was so good last night. I would be cheating on you if I didn't share the recipe for the pork chop. It really was good and so easy. I didn't marinate it but I am sure you could if you wanted.

Balsamic Dijon Pork Chops

Pork Chops

For each pork chop you will need:

1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

Black ground pepper

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup of water

Coat pork chop on both sides with dijon mustard, cover with ground black pepper. (Marinate if you want...) Drizzle olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Place pork in skillet. Cook 8 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Note this is for a thinner chop so if you use thicker cuts increase the time. Remove from skillet. Add balsamic vinegar and water to skillet and whisk ensuring to get the drippings incorporated into the vinegar/water mixture. Bring to a bubbling boil, and cook until sauce reaches desired constistency. I added the pork back into the pan at this point and cooked for an additional minute on each side to let it soak in the vinegar. Enjoy pork chop with some of the vinegar sauce over it.

This really was a simple recipe. As for the sweet potato fries, they just had some olive oil and greek seasoning on them and then were baked at 450 for 20 minutes. The trick to getting the skins crispier is to heat the baking sheet in the oven before putting the fries on it.

The spinach is a recipe from a weight watchers cookbook and uses cream cheese to make it creamy.

This meal really hit the spot. Unfortunately we are eating pork again for dinner today because we are getting together with his family but at least the pork with be pulled so there will be a change in taste.

And for those of you who missed my new blonde highlights here is a teaser. Hopefully I will remember to take more photos today and will share. Have a great weekend.

Party Invitation

You are cordially invited to the

50th
Birthday Bash for
Bruce Burke.
When: Friday September 11th
Time: 6 pm
Where: Bruce and Debbie’s House

Greek Style Shrimp Scampi

Happy Saturday morning! We have been having Internet outages this week at our house which has been difficult. Neither Bruce nor I are very patient with that sort of stuff. We are paying for service so we expect it. Anyways, I am finally getting around to posting the recipe for our yummy Sunday dinner. It was Greek Style Shrimp Scampi. I was so hungry on Sunday that I forgot to take pictures so when I ate the leftovers for lunch on Monday I took a few with my blackberry. Unfortunately the pictures don't turn out as good but at least will give you an idea of what the dinner looked like.

Greek Style Shrimp Scampi

Found on Food network.com courtesy of Rachel Ray but here are my adaptions:

1 pound whole wheat angel hair pasta

Salt

1 pound medium to large shrimp deveined and peeled, tails removed

Pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced (I buy the stuff in the jar 1 tsp=1clove)

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Basil, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped and pitted kalamata olives

1 can quartered Artichoke hears

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 stick butter

1 cup feta cheese crumbles

More basil chopped for green on top

Place a large post of water on the stove to boil. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. While pasta water comes to a boil, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a deep skillet with garlic. When garlic is brown, add shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, lemon zest, basil, olives, artichoke, butter and wine and cook together a couple of minutes more. Add lemon juice and remove skillet from heat. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water to add to sauce if too thick (I used 1/4 of a cup). Drain pasta and add to the skillet. Let pasta soak in juices for a minute. Toss with more basil and feta. Serve and Enjoy.

I think the leftovers were better because the angel hair pasta picked up more of the flavors but this is really good. You could also add tomatoes, capers, spinach to this for more color and fun.

This meal is one of those meals that can be ready in less then 30 minutes. I think next time I am going to buy frozen shrimp which will mean I have to cook it a little longer but hopefully it should turn out just as good. The olives and feta cheese do make this salty so really watch your salt additions... I hardly ever add salt to dishes when cooking but then wish I had when I am eating it but this didn't need anymore salt.

I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know if you make it and what you think of it.