Our Last Dinner in Las Vegas

This will be my last post on our food adventures in Las Vegas during our 2011 spring vacation.  We have vacationed in Las Vegas several times so have learned how to eat frugally there.  When visiting Las Vegas, we buy a copy of the current year's American Casino Guide.  My husband buys the guides through Insider Las Vegas that saves $3 per guide.  This book is chock full of coupons for saving money on food, rooms, and much more.  The 2011 guide includes more than $1,000 in savings.  The second way to save money on food in Las Vegas is through comps from your play.  Our first stop at any casino is the player's club for a player's card if we don't already have one.  New members often get free gifts for signing up.  In some casinos the player's cards earn not only points but also money that can be spent in the casino's restaurants and gift shops.  If you eat at a restaurant in the casino you are staying at, charge it to the room.   The host will determine your comp at the end of the trip, removing room charges first followed by food charges.  The third way to save money on food in Las Vegas is to know where the specials are.  These are specials like the Ellis Island steak dinner for ($6.99) that is not on their menu; you have to ask for it.

We at at Magnolia's Veranda in the Four Queens Resort & Casino the final night as we had another two for one coupon.   Each dinner came with soup or salad and dinner rolls.  My husband ordered the country fried steak.  He was still in the mood for white gravy that he won't enjoy again until the next time we drive down to our vacation home.

The country fried steak was tender on the inside, crispy on the outside.  The real mashed potatoes were rich and creamy, topped with a white mushroom gravy.  The corn and pepper medley was a nice change.  It was lightly seasoned.  This would be a very easy meal to duplicate at home.  I will be experimenting with the corn and pepper medley.

As long as I can remember my favourite restaurant meal has been spaghetti.  Everyone makes spaghetti sauce from scratch differently.  As a result there are subtle nuances in one homemade sauce that may not be present in another.  This has been a wonderful inspiration in the development of my own homemade spaghetti sauces.

I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs.  The spaghetti was topped with a rich marina sauce and two large meatballs.  I have been told that in traditional Italian restaurants and homes the meat is not served as part of the sauce but rather on the side.  In fact mixing the meat in with the sauce the way I do for my signature spaghetti with meat sauce would not be considered Italian by some Italians.  I very seldom serve meatballs with spaghetti and when I do they are not the large ones but rather about an inch diameter.  The meatballs were nicely seasoned though, complimenting the pasta a sauce nicely.  This is inspiration to create a spaghetti and meatball dish. 

Each dining experience while on vacation presents the opportunity for inspiration.   This leg of our vacation spent in Las Vegas inspired me in cooking omelets.  I loved watching the chefs cook the omelet and marveled at fillings I wouldn't have thought to use in an omelet.  I also discovered a couple of other meal ideas that I would like to expand on like the spaghetti with meatballs and white gravy variations.  Tomorrow I will start the series of posts highlighting the foods on the second leg of our vacation spent at our vacation home.

Biscuits and Gravy

Regional dishes are always a treat to discover.  My husband discovered biscuits and gravy years ago on one of our adventures.  This dish is regional to the southern United States.  He loves them! Unfortunately he doesn't get them very often as I only make them a couple times a year.  It's not that they are difficult to make, it's more that they aren't exactly the healthiest breakfast. 

My husband ordered biscuits and gravy with his breakfast at Carson Street Café.  The biscuits were light and fluffy, the gravy rich and creamy.  This is  very easy dish to make at home.  Use homemade biscuit mix or Bisquick Heart Smart™ baking mix for the biscuits .  Top the hot biscuits with white gravy.

White gravy is basically a thicker bechémal sauce made with the drippings from sausage, bacon or ground beef.  Brown the meat then remove from fry pan.  Drain the grease reserving about 1 tbsp of fat.  Heat then add about 2 tbsp of flour stirring constantly to form a roux.  While stirring, slowly pour in about 2 c of milk.  Continue stirring while cooking until the gravy is thickened.  Pour the gravy over hot biscuits.  Garnish with crumbled meat.  An alternative is to stir some of the crumbled meat into the gravy.