Sugar Cookies from Little Yellow Barn

Sugar Cookies - made April 20, 2014 from Little Yellow Barn

This is going to be a short post as I've been really busy lately. I know I keep saying that but it's still true, even more so because I've been gone all week on a business trip. I didn't have much time last weekend to work on my blog although I did bake a few things to bring to my coworkers this week. But weekends are usually when I not only bake but also do the write ups to publish later in the week. But the last couple of weekends have been booked so I haven't been able to get ahead as much as I would have liked. Hence the post and run nature of this one.

Although the original name is "Frosted" Sugar Cookies, your discerning eye will note there is no frosting on any of these cookies. Didn't have time to make it and I'm not a frosting person so I just made the cookie dough, froze in into thick discs and baked it off the night before I brought it into work. No time or inclination for frosting. But you can click on the blog title above to go to the original recipe from Little Yellow Barn if you want to make the frosting for these.

I liked these cookies. They spread a little more than I could've wished but they were still a respectable thickness. The dough was a little soft hence why I think they spread more even though I did freeze the dough first. I confess to baking longer than 8 minutes because in my oven, at 8 minutes, the cookies still looked raw. I think I went as long as 10-12 minutes but you'll need to experiment with your oven and see what works best. You definitely don't want to overbake these or they'll be cakey. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and the middle doesn't look so doughy anymore. These were exactly how I like my sugar cookies, not too sweet but nicely chewy.

1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Cream butter and shortening together until combined. Add both sugars and mix until blended. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together and gradually add the butter mixture until combined. Do not overmix. Portion dough into golf-ball-sized dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Freeze overnight.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

Bakery Review: Carlo's Bakery, Las Vegas, NV

Carlo's Bakery - visited April 28, 2014

This is going to be another of those picture-heavy posts. Because any time I'm in a new bakery, I go into sensory overload. I don't even eat half the stuff like anything with fruit (unless it's apple) or lots of cream filling or has marshmallows or walnuts or is any variation of a cheesecake. But I just love how it all looks and is presented so I snap picture after picture, looking my fill. Which is way better than eating my fill....although I do that too.

Napoleons

After lunch at Buddy V's and a tour through the Grand Canal Shoppes and the Venetian, we stopped back at Carlo's Bakery on our way out. It was rather crowded, presumably with tourists but the crowd was served by calling numbers and everyone getting waited on when their turn came.

Cheesecake

Since Buddy V's and Carlo's Bake Shop were both owned by Buddy Valastro, it was also known for cannolis. But I had my sights set on other items. All of the desserts were in individual sizes with the exceptions of 6", 8" and 9" cakes in the front display. I forgot to take a picture of them but they looked like ordinary bakery cakes. Except there was nothing ordinary about their price. An 8" inch, frosted but plain in decoration, was $50. Eeek.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Despite that early warning sign, I still experienced sticker shock to discover the individual chocolate mousse cake I had my eye on was $9.95. Now, I'm used to paying more at high end bakeries and I'm even (somewhat) used to paying higher Vegas tourist prices. But a little cake for $10 still made me blink. Not that it mattered since, blinking notwithstanding, I bought it anyway. But good thing I don't like cheesecake because those little ones went for $11. Pass.

I also bought a couple of the Cashew Cookies to try. The cookies are sold by the pound but I only asked for 2 (cookies, not 2 lbs). There was a good variety of cookies, enough to make me indecisive about what to try. I narrowed it down by ruthlessly discarding the ones that looked like something I could make myself (butter cookies) and the ones I don't like to eat (biscotti). I finally settled on the Cashew Cookies because I love cashews and wanted to know what these would taste like.

Cashew Cookies

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I also decided to try one of their brownies. Normally I don't buy brownies since, hello, I make them all the time and they're not that hard to make from scratch. Plus, snob that I am, there are very, very few brownies I like better than the ones I make. Actually, I can't think of any right now but let's pretend they exist. Still, I wanted to see what Carlo's version was like. They sell them with nuts and without. Of course I went with the plain ones since I don't like nuts in my brownies, especially not walnuts.

Frosted Brownies

When your number is called, the server behind the counter asks what you want, you point to stuff and they write it down on a slip of paper along with your name. Then they box up your order and it gets put in a line behind the other orders waiting to be rung up by the cashier. The process moved along but I wouldn't call it fast. Operationally, it works as efficiently as it can, given the number of customers packing the store, but it still took me over 5 minutes from the time I put in my order to when my box of baked goods made it to the cashier to be rung up.

Chocolate Mousse Cake - $9.95

Between the $10 mousse cake, the $6 brownie and the by-the-pound Cashew Cookies, I spent just under $20 at Carlo's. I didn't start my taste test bites of each one until we were back at my sister's later in the day. The mousse cake was literally a round of chocolate mousse covered in dark chocolate ganache. There was a very thin layer of cake as the base but it was mostly mousse. I had a few bites at room temp but because it was a mousse, it would probably have been better chilled. I have to say, while it was good, I don't think it was worth $10. And I don't say that just because I'm cheap. I've paid more than that for sweets and given it proper accolades if I thought it was worth it. This was good but I don't think it was $10 good. Maybe $5 or $6 good but not $10. That makes it more expensive than the hazelnut praline slice I had from Laduree and you know how I feel about that cake. So you have to add the Vegas tourist markup to this to explain the higher price.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

The brownie was dense and chewy, just how I like my brownies. I had a bite after I'd eaten 75 cents' worth of the mousse cake and I was a little chocolate-full so I may not have appreciated this as much as I would have if it had been my only dessert of the day. It was good but not something I would particularly remember or rhapsodize about after I left Vegas.

Frosted Brownie - $3.50

Cashew Cookies - $1.53 for 2

The Cashew Cookies are something I normally don't like in cookies - they were crunchy and dry. Not dry like it should've been moist and was dry but dry like it's supposed to be because that's the kind of cookie it's meant to be. It was almost like a biscotti but lighter in texture and crunchy. I liked the flavor and I didn't mind the texture since that's how it's supposed to be but I'm glad I only bought 2 and that they were small.

I enjoyed the experience of Carlo's Bakery and seeing all the eye candy on display. I'd recommend it for anyone who's never been there before. But be prepared for the prices and, if you're a baker, I don't know if you'll find anything you can't make for yourself just as well or better. Either that or I missed the item(s) that would've made me more rapturous about their offerings. It was a good new-bakery discovery experience but next time I go to Vegas, while I'd go back to Buddy V's Ristorante for lunch or dinner, I'd probably try a different bakery to sample.

Restaurant Review: Buddy V's, Las Vegas, NV

Buddy V's - lunch on April 28, 2014

After that stellar overeating at the M Buffet, I did manage to eat again almost an entire day later. This time, we avoided the buffets and instead my mom, sister and I went to Buddy V's Ristorante at the Grand Canal Shoppes located between the Venetian and the Palazzo. I really was heading for Carlo's Bakery, also a Buddy V shop, because I wanted to check it out but his restaurant was right across from it and it was lunchtime so we decided to eat there. Buddy V is Buddy Velastro, TLC's Cake Boss. I'd heard of Cake Boss but never really watched the show. That might be surprising since it involves sugar, butter and pretty baked goods you eat but I don't watch a lot of TV and my culinary TV watching is mostly limited to Cupcake Wars on Food Network.

Anyway, we didn't have a reservation since it was the impulse of the moment to go to Buddy V's but we were able to get a table in the lounge section of the restaurant, no waiting, by the windows so we could see the Strip outside. Otherwise it would have been a 15-20 minute wait. For Vegas, that's actually not bad, especially for "celebrity chef" restaurants.

Buddy V's menu offers a good selection of Italian dishes. There are the ones you would expect like spaghetti, lasagna, chicken piccata and shrimp scampi but there were also less typical dishes like Agnolotti ("miniature ravioli, Sunday gravy-style veal shank, sausage and pork, brown butter"), Buddy's Salumi and Cheese Board, and Roasted Branzino (European seabass). My sister, a much more adventurous eater than I, went with the Sicilian Charred Octopus Salad. You lost me at "charred", "octopus" and "salad". But she loved it and thought it tasted amazing.

Sicilian Charred Octopus Salad - $18

My mom went with the linguine and clam sauce entree. My mom's a good cook and she makes a similar pasta but both she and my sister (who was sneaking in "a taste") thought this was extremely delicious. My sister said it was the best white clam sauce pasta she's ever had and when she recommended this restaurant to her boyfriend for the following night, advised him to get the linguine with clam sauce. So, if you like clams and pasta, this was apparently a winner.

Lisa V's Linguine & White Clam Sauce - $26

My own more sedate entree was the Bucatini Carbonara. Don't let its humble appearance fool you. I loved this. Normally, I get carbonara out of both indulgence (hey, I'm on vacation and I'm in Vegas) and defiance (yeah, I know I pigged out the day before but I haven't eaten in almost a day and I ran this morning). Whatever my reasons, I'm glad I got this one. When the server first placed the plate in front of me, I'm not going to lie, I thought the portion was a trifle on the small side. I mean, c'mon, we're in Vegas, the land of tacky glitz and super-size-me. But sometimes less is more and, in this case, that was a good thing. The sauce was rich and creamy like most carbonaras but it was also delicious and full of flavor. The pancetta provided a nice contrasting saltiness but wasn't overly salty. The portion size turned out to be perfect because with a sauce that rich, you don't want a lot. The only jarring note was on what was literally my last bite, I found a small strip of plastic nestling with the last bit of pancetta and noodle. Fortunately I found it with my fork and not by eating it. Now, these things happen and I've never found it to be a big deal. It's not like it was a bug or anything. It was just a stray piece of plastic that was likely wrapped around the pancetta and inadvertently got sliced into the dish along with the meat.

Bucatini Carbonara - $23

I did bring it to the server's attention though, not to be obnoxious, but to make them aware so they know to be more careful in the kitchen. I didn't mind so much but not everyone takes these things into stride and I wouldn't want anyone to get into trouble if a fussier patron happened along. The server apologized and the manager came to our table a few minutes later to extend his own apology. He offered us dessert but we were pretty full and I had no intention of repeating the hurt from the M Buffet so we politely declined. But when the server came back with our bill, she said her manager really wanted us to have dessert so she offered us something to go. They were genuinely apologetic and it seemed churlish to refuse, especially since I wasn't upset about the plastic mistake so I accepted their offer. Which is how we ended up with a complementary 2 cannolis to go.

Cannolis

I'm not a big fan of cannolis but I'd heard it was what Buddy Valastro was famous for so I wanted to try it. It saved me buying it at his bakery across the way because I had intended to. We didn't try the cannolis until later that afternoon but they were nicely packaged in a plastic container with a side of hot fudge sauce. I didn't want to wait too long because I knew they were cream-filled and figured the cannoli shell would soften quickly. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they still remained crisp. The shells were of a thickness that they were heartily crunchy rather than delicately crispy. Unfortunately I didn't like them as much as I had hoped. I think if they had been filled with traditional pastry cream like the one I make, I would've liked them just fine. But they're filled with cannoli cream which is made of ricotta cheese and sometimes cream cheese. I don't like the taste of either and, not being a fan of cream-filled desserts in the first place, the cannolis were just okay to me. However, my sister, who normally doesn't like a lot of sweets, loved the cannolis. She ate a whole one, minus the taste test bite I had. I probably consume more sugar in a day than she does in a week so if she liked it, it's good if you're a cannoli lover.

Overall, I liked Buddy V's. The food was good, the setting was bright and airy, it wasn't too crowded, the wait staff were nice and they handled the unfortunate plastic addition to my dish with courtesy and professionalism. The prices were in the mid to high range but for Vegas, that's actually pretty reasonable. Thumbs up - I'd go back again next time I'm in town.

Texas Sheet Cake (with sour cream)

Texas Sheet Cake - made April 26, 2014 from Beurrista

I should probably start numbering the Texas Fudge Cakes I make since they're getting to be a regular feature. I can't help it. Every time I need to fill multiple goodie bags or have baked goods on hand, this is the go-to cake, albeit I try a different recipe every time. This time I needed something to bring on my Vegas trip to my sister's and her boyfriend likes things "plain" so this was a good fit. I had been running low on Pernigotti cocoa so I took the plunge to order the larger size from amazon. Can't have too much of the good stuff, I say.

This particular Texas Cake recipe is actually not as simple and easy to throw together as the other ones. You do still combine liquid ingredients, bring to a boil and add to the dry ingredients. But in this case, you also have to melt the chocolate with the liquid ingredients and that's a little more time-consuming. It isn't hard to do, just that there's the extra step of chopping the chocolate then melting it with the butter, oil, water and cocoa. Whenever you melt chocolate, you have to stir it constantly to prevent it from burning. You don't want your heat too high either or the butter will separate out. Again, not hard, but not as easy and straightforward as other recipes without that step.

The batter for this cake was also thicker than the other Texas Fudge/Sheet Cakes. Usually the batter is more liquid and you know it's going to bake up into a moist cake. I started to get leery of this cake as it was baking because it formed a crust on top. Like the kind of crust you see on brownies from a box mix. Not the film part but a crust crust. Um, no one likes a crust on a cake, especially not me. I'm making a cake, not a pie. But I told myself to chill out because I knew I'd be pouring warm frosting over a hot cake when it was done and that should take care of any crust issues.

And so it did. The frosting was more flowing than the frosting from the last Texas cake I had made so it didn't set to fudge consistency. It wasn't too sweet either like the last one. I ended up liking this cake. The texture was just slightly more dense than the other Texas cakes so it was almost halfway between a cake and a brownie. The flavor was good since I used the good chocolate and, of course, the Pernigotti.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Chocolate Icing
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray (you can also use a sheet pan for a thinner cake and adjust baking time accordingly).
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
3. Heat chocolate, butter, oil, water and cocoa powder in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk egg mixture into the batter, then pour into prepared baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes for sheet pan, longer for 9 x 13 pan. Set on wire rack.
4. About 5 minutes before cake is done, heat butter, cream, cocoa and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off heat, whisk in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Spread warm icing evenly over hot cake. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until icing is set, about 1 hour longer. Cut into squares and serve.

Restaurant Review: Studio B Buffet at the M Resort, Las Vegas, NV

M Resort Studio B Buffet - lunch on April 27, 2014, 4-star rating on yelp, 1291 reviews

I just got back from a short vacation trip to Las Vegas, NV. Took a couple of days off from work plus the weekend to visit my sister. My mom was there for the week and I came for the last few days of her stay. I'm not a big gambler. I used to go to Vegas every 3-4 years for fun and now that my sister lives there, it's once or twice a year. Beyond the family visit, it's not so much about gambling as it is about eating.

If you've ever been to Vegas, you know it caters to pretty much every sin known to man (and woman). Including gluttony. Can't say I took the high road since I indulged in some gluttony myself. Starting with the Studio B Buffet at the M Resort. Everything in Vegas is either on The Strip or "off Strip". The M Resort is off Strip. I'd never been there before but on weekends, they have a seafood buffet. It's fracking expensive though at $40 per person. Normally I don't go to super expensive buffets because I can't eat that much in one sitting so I never feel like I get my money's worth. I'm more of a snacker/grazer than a pig-out for one meal kind of person. And if I'm going to spend $40 or more on a meal, I usually go for a nice entree at a hi-falutin' restaurant owned by a celebrity chef I'd heard about on Food Network.

Crab Legs

But my sister's boyfriend wanted to treat us there and we weren't likely to go any other time so we were lucky to be able to indulge. We went right after church so the place wasn't that crowded when we got there. Although they got busier and it seemed like I was the only one looking sideways at that $40 price tag (how can so many people afford to eat here?).

Waffle fries and sweet potato fries

Buffet experts will tell you the way to maximize the value of your buffet experience and payment is to go for the expensive stuff and skip the filler food. Meaning, forego the pasta, breads, rice and pizza and instead, go for the prime rib, crab, shrimp, etc. So think Atkins instead of carbo-loading. I know all that in my head but I inadvertently started off in the Italian section and that strategy went out the window.

Jambalaya

Oh, another buffet tip is it's best to scout all of the offerings first to see what's available before you even pick up a plate and start filling it. Yeah, I didn't listen to myself on that one either.

Shrimp pasta

The Studio B Buffet is organized and sectioned into culinary themes. Besides the standard sections of salads, cut fruits and soups, on one side of the room is Italian cuisine with its requisite pastas, pizzas, and other mass-produced Italian American food. In the center are the proteins (prime rib, chicken, New York steak) and seafood (crab legs, salmon, fish, scallops, shrimp). On the opposite side of the Italian section were the cuisines of Asia: Korean short ribs, pad thai, Chinese orange chicken, sushi, tempura shrimp, chow mein and a whole host of other dishes I can't remember. I'm including most of the pictures I took although I didn't caption them all. I didn't eat them all either but wanted to give a sampling of the plethora of dishes available just so you can see what's offered at the M buffet.

I tried to take a little bit of anything that looked appetizing. Because let's face it - buffets are for people with commitment issues. Don't want too much of any one thing? No problem, just take a spoonful and move on to the next dish. If you really like something, go back for it on your second plate. The first plate is all about spreading out your taste buds to see what's out there.

Although for me, the huge downside of buffets, besides the potential to overeat like you're a squirrel stuffing your cheeks full for a long hard winter, is the amount of waste. I often see people piling their plates high with food then leaving a good portion of it on their plate while they go back for more. It's really very off-putting and I invariably cringe and think of starving children around the world. So I try not to do it myself. I was raised to never waste food so that means I clean my plate before getting more. I've learned to only take a little bit of something to ensure I can finish it because I don't let myself go back for more if I haven't finished what I've already taken. 

I was seduced by the Italian section of the buffet because I'm a carb girl but in hindsight, I should've skipped it. While pizza and spaghetti and meatballs lure me in like a siren song, I thought they were just okay at the M buffet. No standouts and nothing I'm going to remember once I left Vegas.

Orange Chicken and Asian short ribs

Shrimp Tempura

I fared better on the Asian side. They brought out a fresh batch of shrimp tempura while I was there and it was crispy yet light fried goodness. The Korean beef short ribs were amazingly flavorful. The orange chicken was a touch on the too-sweet side and more breaded than I would've wanted. My sister liked the pad thai but I was "meh" on it. Krung Thai's is better.

Noodles, fried rice and spring rolls

Pad Thai and chicken wings

Korean short ribs

I was already hitting the "stop" mark after I sampled the Asian cuisine. My mom advised me to slow down. Not that I was scarfing food but I'm normally a fast eater and get full easily. Which they didn't want me to do because I hadn't eaten $40 worth of food yet. Yeah, we were still trying to get our value for that $40 price tag.

Sushi

But it was hard going for me because I was full yet trying to save room for dessert. Because I had to have dessert. Dessert was along one section and neatly arranged with a bunch of individual desserts, ending with a counter of gelato that a server scooped out for you. It's customary to tip any server manning any of the counters who had to get you something as opposed to you helping yourself. They leave the tips out so people can understand the norm and hopefully add to the dollar bills on the counter. Totally understandable, especially if you consider they probably don't get paid a lot and don't get the same amount of tips as at a sit-down, full- service restaurant.

Gelato

Now, I'm normally a lot trifle snobby about desserts at buffets. In my experience, they're never that good. They're often too sweet or dry and usually just a big dessert cut into small pieces. Not so at the M Buffet. In fact, I have to say I was quite impressed with their dessert offerings.

For one thing, they were made in miniature size rather than just cut into small pieces. With only a few exceptions, each dessert was its own work of art. The tiramisu was in small plastic cups, layered and artfully decorated just like a full-size tiramisu. Same with the mini cheesecakes and fruit tarts.

Only the bread pudding was served in a big pan that you helped yourself from. But the molten chocolate cakes were individually baked in little foil tins and the creme brulees were served in miniature size. Cupcakes were also minis. Again, with dessert buffets, you don't want anything full size that requires too much commitment to any one thing. That leaves less room for variety.

Bread pudding

I was honestly full by the time I got to dessert so I had to make my selections carefully. I went with the tiramisu, the molten chocolate cake, the creme brulee, some hazelnut chocolate layered thingie and a mini red velvet cupcake. Oh and vanilla gelato because I wanted to tip the server. Really. Okay, maybe because I wanted to put the vanilla gelato on top of my molten chocolate cake. (But I did tip the server.)

Out of all the desserts that I got, the creme brulee was my favorite. It had the perfect creamy consistency and rich flavor of a great, not just good, creme brulee. The red velvet cupcake (after I pushed aside the frosting) was also good for what it was. The molten chocolate cake with the vanilla gelato was satisfyingly chocolatey and actually did have a molten center, no easy feat when baking something that small. I was less enamored of the tiramisu and the hazelnut chocolate mousse type thing but I think that was a combination of too much mousse/custard/cream and being too full.

How full was I? I had 2 1/2 plates plus a saucer of mini desserts. Although I didn't pile my plate(s) high since I don't double layer or mix flavors, let's just say I very rarely eat that much. As in it hurt to stand and straighten out my stomach when we were done eating. I know, I know, kinda gross. I really did feel like a squirrel storing up for winter or a bear about to go into hibernation long enough to let global warming pass. I was so full from the buffet lunch that I didn't eat for another 20 hours after that and the next morning, I had to go for a run on the treadmill first before I could even face food again. It's not something I do often nor an overindulgence I recommend but sometimes you do have to throw caution to the winds and just enjoy the moment, even though that moment does pass and your waistband gets too tight. Just please don't waste the food :).