UNLV + Forte = Chef Artist Dinner Number 1

Pat and I went to a chef artist dinner at UNLV.  Pat had seen in the daily UNLV bulletin information about their hospitality and culinary programs holding this dinner.  What they do is bring in a famous/thriving chef, have them work with the students, and together they cook and serve the dinner.  The students were the hosts, chefs, and servers.  It was a cool experience and we are going back for their second one in a couple of weeks.  It was a little weird in that it seemed that we were the only ones who were not affiliated with the hospitality program. We were seated at a table with the dean of the school and some people from the UNLV foundation. It was a good group who made us feel welcomed and kept conversation up with us.

 This dinner the students collaborated with chef Nina Manchev of Forte.  Forte classifies itself as an European tapas Bar and Bistro.   It's been on many of the top restaurants in Vegas lists.  

 It was a buffet station meal that was delicious.  There was a charcuterie and cheese board, which I feel has become a very in thing recently. The meats were hand made at the restaurant.  The other tapas they served were:  Gambas Al Ajillo:  Sauteed shrimp with garlic, white wine, and Spanish olive oil.  There shrimp, which were cooked perfectly, had really good flavor and texture.  There were two different types of stuffed peppers.  One was stuffed with feta and egg and the other as stuffed with pork.  Both were delicious although I think the pork one was better.   There was a cheese egg bread called Adjarski Khachapurri.  The bread was formed into a flat boat shape with slightly raised sides and a cheese was put in the middle. There was then an egg cracked on top and it was baked like a pizza.  It was very good.  I felt it suffered some from being on the buffet. I would like to go try it at the restaurant, where I think the egg would be runny and the bread not as hard and then I think it would be amazing.  There was also a Shopska Salad which had tomatoes, cucmbers, green onions, roasted red peppers and Bulgarian feta.  It too was delicious.  I'm a huge fan of feta so it's a little hard to go wrong.  There was also a beef and lamb confit and a beef stroganoff.  Both were good.

The absolute best part of the meal was dessert.  There were two of them(a chef after my own stomach):  baklava and biscuit cake.  I love baklava and Forte's baklava was no exception.  I saw biscuit cake and was like I wonder what that is.  It looked nothing like what I had thought biscuit cake might be in my head.  So biscuit cake is basically like a tiramisu but better and I love tiramisu.  It was a light cake layered with crumbled honey biscuits, marscapone, rum laced expresso, and a rich chocolate.  It was so good.  I don't even have words for it.  It all melded together.  I am usually really quick to pick out rum and stuff from my desserts and it was all mixed together and so smooth.  It really was good.  I would definitely order it again.  

Overall it was a great meal and a really cool idea.  The students did a great job of doing all the work.  We are excited for the next one. 

Birthday+Kingman, AZ=Rum Tasting

Well this is the first in a bunch of blogs to "hopefully" be posted in the next couple days.  Many of these I wrote while flying in October and November but I didn't have time to post them.  So enjoy!

Pat and I went to Kingman, AZ for his birthday to go to another event at the Desert Diamond Distillery.  They were doing a rum tasting. John, the owner, made a selection of different age rums for us to try.  It was so interesting to see how the rums changed with their ages.  You could taste how they smoothed out and then how they picked up the subtleties of the wood they were being aged in.  It was a small intimate gathering.  There were five or six couples which lent itself well to crowding around the bar john had set up in the distillery.  We also go to hear the story of how the bar in the entry room of the distillery was an antique he bought for a steal.  If your in Kingman stop by and ask about it.  It's a story I can't do justice to here.

We of course picked up some more of our favorite rum while we were there.  It really is a delicious rum.  This time we bought a dark rum and a white rum.   I cannot stress how important it is to support these small local businesses.  Desert Diamond Distillery is a rare find.  John is crafting rum that is amazing.  You don't think of rum as a sipping drink but this sure it.  It's quickly become one of Pat's favorites...I still haven't gotten into the sipping alcoholic drinks.  I need the fruity, you can't tell this is alcohol variety but I will take Pat's word for it that this is delicious sipping rum.  If you are ever in Kingman be sure to go visit.

Speaking of local Kingman hotspots.  We ate breakfast the next morning at Ma and Pa's Hot Rod Cafe it was a good breakfast.  Pat and I each had omelets, which were very good.  It wasn't amazing food but it was good food that wasn't trying to pretend to be something it wasn't.  It was a great place for breakfast and you won't be disappointed by it.