Vegas baby!

I have to say that 4 days in Vegas was the max that I anticipated that my body could take. 4 hours of drinking per day and hardly any sleep. As age creeps up on me, I think the ol' alcoholic consumption has also deteriorated. Recently I have been indulging in dessert wines. Muscat or Muscato as some regions would like to call it. I thought Robert Mondavi was my ultimate pick but then I discovered Doony Boon at Daniel Bouloud. Of course I paid $12 for a small glass, come to realize that the entire bottle cost the same.

My 5 day/4 night mini vacation-conference was at Wynn Las Vegas. I upgraded from the resort rooms to the Tower Suites. Definitely impressed with the room decor and the outstanding service. I had the view of the golf course and the pool. The suites and the 'regular rooms' have separate entrances. I guess Mr. Wynn wanted to make it exclusive. Even the pools are segregated. Access to the top two pools are for the Tower Suites guests and the bottom 4 pools are for the Resort guests. The green fess are a mere $500 which includes caddy, gold cart, rented Callaway clubs, drinks and some kind girl dressed in her skimpy Vegas attire? The entire 5 days I was there I SAW no one playing golf. ABSOLUTELY NADA. The temperature was 103F to begin with. I saw a lot of Italian men sunbathing at the pool side and they turned bright pink. Literally they looked like some BBQ pork ready to be eaten. So juicy and pink. I saw the same guy 3 days in a row by the pool and he was back for more sun. He looked overcooked and terribly burnt. No SPF could help him now.

The room was gorgeous. The bathroom and room was a total of 550sq ft. That's a NY studio for you right there. Amazing room and impeccable service. They turndown service actually encompasses filling up your ice-bucket, placing a little map by your bed so that you can wipe the crumbs and dirt off your feet before you enter into bed.



The housekeeping lady who attended to my room each morning, knew what I liked, she placed all my makeup on a towel, gave me a little spa pillow for the tub and extra chocolates. :) 2 nights in a row, I was eating at Daniel Boulud. The food was a cross between French and Calfornian. The presentation was beautiful and the taste was so refined. Nothing could have completed my stay without the pairing of great food.


I have to say that life is pretty good from sitting just right here...

Weekend Adventure

My de-stress tool and weekend habit is to bake a cake or cookies. I have recently been exposed to the art of icing. I bought myself a set of icing nozzles and sprinkles to teach myself how to decorate. Not only did I realize that it was hard, it can be really messy. Now and then I still find a sprinkle or two hiding somewhere in between my carpets.

After neglecting the Food Network for sometime now, I decided to dig up old recipes of pies. Yes the good ol' fashion pies. There I was flipping through the pages and realized that I have never baked a sweet potato pie before. I decided to mess up my kitchen and spend my time mashing up potatoes for a good 10 minutes. Trust me, best triceps and biceps workout yet. Top it up with some whipcream or ice-cream, or just eat it as it is.

As ambitious as I should be, I baked another first time pie, but this time with a fruity twist. I made a lemon curd with fresh fruit pie. I can't bring myself to put my knife through it. Too pretty to be eaten. But I love the presentation of this pie.

Finally, something more practical, down to earth, that is having to make my house smell like fresh baked goods, the Ultimate Peach Crumble Cobbler. It's gooey, oozing with peach syrup, crumble bits and finished with vanilla ice-cream. What else could go wrong? I just dug my spoon in the dish. *slurp*