Hack...Wheeze...Cough...Ahhhhh...

Last night around ten o'clock, with the best of intentions, I went down to the casino to have dinner and try my luck at the gaming tables. But when I arrived, the cigarette smoke was so thick I could barely breathe. I had wanted to have a seafood dinner at the Oyster Bar and maybe roll the dice a few times or play a few hands of blackjack. But the smoke was positively unbearable. So instead, I went back up to our non-smoking hotel room, ordered Shrimp Scampi with Linguine from room service and watched Girl Interrupted while I researched the Asian food scene in Las Vegas. Talk about multi-tasking! Tomorrow night, we will be moving to the Imperial Palace, an Asian themed hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

12:10 PM PST Permalink |

Exaggerated Features

As a last tribute to a lost cause, I had one more look at the Grand Canyon webcam today, just to see what we're missing. As ironic as it sounds, I'm glad to say that the view from the South Rim was lukewarm at best; certainly nothing worth sticking around an extra day for. So, in retrospect, I guess I can file that hare-brained scheme under the heading: 'What was I thinking trying to visit the Grand Canyon in February?'

We've been in Las Vegas for three days now, attending the annual convention of the National Caricaturists Network, of which Rene is a member. I've just returned from the main ballroom of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino, where many of the NCN artists, including Rene, are pulling an 'all-nighter'. To get back to our room I had to walk through the casino, past roulette wheels, poker games, craps tables, blackjack dealers and row after row of slot machines. And although it's pretty quiet at this hour, the place reeks of cigarette smoke. As an ex-smoker, I never thought I would find myself saying this, but... I forget sometimes how lucky we are to live in California where all public buildings are completely smoke free.

Tomorrow is the last day of competition for the NCN artists and is therefore the day when they start feeling the pressure. They get totally obsessed and uber-competitive, so some of them stay up all night, working furiously into the wee hours of the morning, finishing up their most impressive caricatures, and putting the finishing touches on their wall displays. So, needless to say, Rene will be rapt in his world all day tomorrow, leaving me completely to my own devices. I've gotten a good bit of work done since we've been here, so tomorrow night, I think I'm going to give myself a little break and go out for a nice dinner by myself, and maybe a little gambling too [...that's IF I'm feeling LUCKY!].

04:22 AM PST Permalink |

Above it All

As the caricature convention commenced this morning with a seminar and a buffet breakfast, I was still blissfully asleep, recuperating from several long days on the road. The weather is still rainy, and after a breakfast of fresh fruit, I spent the afternoon at a table by the window overlooking Sahara Boulevard, editing the photos and recipes from my 'Road Home' dim sum dinner. They turned out beautifully and will be available for viewing at the end of the month as usual, along with my review of 'The Road Home'.

12:43 AM PST Permalink |

Plan B...

Just to be sure that a trip into the Grand Canyon in February wouldn't be utter folly, for the past two weeks, I have been faithfully following the weather conditions at the Grand Canyon both on the Weather.com website, and a live webcam that shows the current view of the canyon from Yavapai Point. Each time I checked, the weather was ideal and the view expansive. So when we arrived in Barstow on Thursday evening, just for a lark, I clicked on the Grand Canyon webcam link and, as expected, got only a dark, blank screen. Jokingly, I said to Rene, 'Wanna see what the Grand Canyon looks like right now?' as I pulled the neck of his black t-shirt up over his eyes, and we both had a good laugh.

On Saturday morning, when we woke to find the world blanketed in snow, I clicked on the Grand Canyon webcam link once again, only to find the exact opposite of last evening's view: a pure white screen with no distinguishing geographic details whatsoever. Once again, I jokingly said to Rene, 'Wanna see what the Grand Canyon looks like right now?' as I pulled the neck of his white t-shirt up over his eyes... and once again, we both had a good laugh.

But upon waking in Flagstaff to pretty much to the same weather conditions as yesterday morning, and after much remorseful deliberation, we decided to scratch the Grand Canyon trip altogether and point the car toward Las Vegas, with a promise to make a separate trip to see it under more clement circumstances at some later time. Next October perhaps...

After a remarkably short and easy trip on Highway 93, which landed us at the Hoover Dam around 4 p.m. for a quick tour, we arrived in Las Vegas around 7:00 this evening. We attended the NCN mixer, where we met up with lots of familiar faces, and have now retired to our room on the 10th floor of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino overlooking Sahara Boulevard, with a stunning view of the Stratosphere Tower. Lots of neon, and city lights as far as the eye can see. Viva Las Vegas!

02:19 AM PST Permalink |

While we slept...

...Mother Nature dropped eight inches of snow on us and we awoke to find the world outside blanketed in white, wrapped in a misty cocoon. I was delighted at first, but upon further investigation, it became all too obvious that the window of visibility for the Grand Canyon had snapped shut sometime in the night. Once daylight came, all the Internet webcams showed the same shrouded view from Yavapai Point. And by all accounts, there's no end in sight... [sigh].

So we drove all this way, only to spend the day in our hotel room watching the Weather Channel and old movies on cable TV. It's a good thing that we enjoy each other's company, and that we both have a sense of humor, and the grace and humility to stay flexible and optimistic in the face of disappointment. But in the immortal words of Scarlett O'Hara..."Tomorrow is another day..."

11:29 PM PST Permalink |

On the Doorstep...

Another long day on the road has brought us at last to Flagstaff, Arizona, the doorstep of the Grand Canyon. We had all kinds of weather today except snow, which is expected tomorrow, if not overnight while we sleep. We even saw a spectacular rainbow arching radiantly over the high desert terrain outside Kingman, Arizona around four o'clock this afternoon. We took it as a good omen and were delighted by the play of light and color in the rain-washed clarity of the rarefied air.

Now more than 800 miles from home, after a simple supper, we retired to a remarkably economical, comfortable and compact hotel room for a restful and much deserved repose.

12:11 AM PST Permalink |

The Road Goes Ever On...And On...And On

So much for getting on the road by noon today. After all the last minute packing, and little details around the house, and stopping by the bank, and dropping off my bonsai tree and my Siamese fighting fish for Rene's mother to care for while we're gone, and buying tire chains in case we need them at the Grand Canyon, and stopping by for one more hug for my son Will since he stayed home sick from school today, it was almost 5:00 when we finally broke free of Napa's gravity.

Amazingly, traffic wasn't too bad at that hour, and it wasn't long until we were southbound on I-5. But I had forgotten what a long, long trip it is from Napa to Barstow, the last outpost before the desolate trek across the Mojave Desert. Although I have crossed that forbidding terrain on many occasions, I still get a little edgy and anxious, and it always makes me so thirsty just looking at it through the car window.

We finally arrived in Barstow at 1:00 a.m. The whole trip took nearly eight hours, with only a couple of stops along the way to refuel.

Being that this is an Asian Food and Film weblog, I always feel obliged to mention one or the other in every entry. So...I was pleased this afternoon when I arrived to find Rene's mother enjoying the last few bites of dim sum left over from Monday evening's Dinner & a Movie. After we were done that evening, I fixed her a plate with a litttle taste of everything. And I had enough leftovers to treat Will to a little sampler the next day, and plenty more to keep me from having to cook for a two days while I prepared for my trip. What a tasty convenience.

02:40 AM PST Permalink |

'Sin City' Here I Come...With a Stop-Over at That Big Hole in the Ground

I've just finished [well, almost finished] a long day of packing and setting my house to rights before I head off on vacation. I still have a thousand little details to attend, but by noon tomorrow [if all goes off without a hitch] I'll be sailing down Interstate 5 toward Barstow, the 'Garden Spot' of California [NOT!], where we will lay our heads for the first night. Then two nights at Flagstaff Arizona, where it's an easy trek into the South Rim of the canyon from there. It's supposed to be snowing lightly both days [yippee!], something I rarely get to see in this pseudo-Mediterranean climate of ours.

After that, seven days in 'Sin City', not that I'm a big gambler or a party girl, mind you. I can walk through a Las Vegas casino, past banks of jingling slot machines, whirring roulette wheels, high-stakes black jack tables, and smokin' hot craps games completely unfazed. Actually, I've brought along a big satchel of work to do, should I feel thusly inclined while I'm there. I have several film reviews to write for San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival, some catch-up work to do on my weblog, the manuscript for my next book to finish and development for two more after that. And believe it or not, I'm looking forward to all of it. My local graphic art clients have been keeping me so busy recently that I've barely had time to write since last fall. And Rene will be spending most of his time with those of his kind, leaving me to my own devices for hours on end. Stuck all by myself in a hotel room high above the neon lights with nothing to do but write and order room service...sounds like absolute heaven to me.

12:30 PM PST Permalink |

The Countdown is On

Now that my 'Road Home' Dim Sum Dinner & a Movie is a fait accompli, it's time to turn my attention toward preparing for my trip to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and Yosemite. I will be taking my laptop along and will be composing a journal of my trip in lieu of my daily Adventures in Asian Food and Film. The Recipes & Photos, along with my film review of The Road Home, will appear at the end of the month as usual. Right now, I'm busy packing.

Why am I going to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in the middle of winter?...you may ask.

Well...Rene is a caricature artist. He entertains at parties and other special events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and when it's open, he manages the caricature concession at Six Flags Marine World. He is a very talented artist and a wonderful entertainer. Every year, caricature artists from all over the country (and a few international ones too, especially from Japan), get together to share their craft. They set up their easels in a big hotel ballroom and draw like crazy for three straight days. They have competitions for speed, best likeness, use of color, best humor, etc. On the last day, they all vote, and the winners are announced at a formal dinner. It's kind of like the Academy Awards for caricaturing. This year, it's being held in Las Vegas [again].

It's great fun, and I always tag along. Over the past six years since we've been attending, it's been held in San Diego, Atlanta, Las Vegas (twice) and Orlando (twice). We always manage to fit in as much sightseeing as we can, especially this time with the detours to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. I also take along my laptop and a writing project or two so I have something to do on my own while Rene immerses himself in the festivities. I'm somewhat of a recluse and can only handle that kind of intense social activity for a couple hours at a time. So I sleep in, read, write, browse the Internet, watch movies on TV, explore the hotel facilities and surroundings on my own, and then in the evening, I saunter down to the ballroom to bring Rene a snack and see what all those crazy caricaturists have been working on all day. Then when it's over, Rene and I spend a couple more days by ourselves, exploring the city and local environs before we head home.

12:21 AM PST Permalink |

My 'Road Home' Dim Sum Dinner...How Everything Turned Out

Last night's Valentine dim sum dinner was delicious and delightful, although the preparation did not go off as planned. I had originally intended to do all the preparation ahead of time and cook everything tableside. However, things began to go awry when I was unable to find an electric deep fryer. The only one available was a very large, commercial model that was very impractical and very expensive. So tableside cooking was no longer an option. However, I did manage to do all the preparation and assembly well ahead of time, and by the time Rene arrived, I was poised to begin cooking one dish after another until I'd finished, photographed and tasted all 14 items on my dim sum menu. As a result, however, we ended up eating our dim sum in the kitchen with a couple of cold TsingTao beers. Afterwards, I put together a plate of leftovers for us to nibble on during the movie, which is an absolute Valentine unto itself.

All but two of the dim sum dishes exceeded all my expectations. The Pork Spare Ribs were tender and juicy, with a savory sauce made from the leftover marinade. The Crispy Duck was fantastic with its Orange Dipping Sauce. And the Shrimp Toast is now my new favorite snack food. Somehow I just had a good intuition about the recipe, and I was right. Those little treasures will definitely make an encore appearance at some future dinner. The Mini Fried Wontons were crackly and delicious, the Spring Rolls fried up crispy and golden and the Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce was the perfect complement, the Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts were an interesting little canape, and my Pork Filled Buns were a baker's delight. The dough rose like a giant pillow, and the meat filled buns baked up puffy and golden brown. And when I brushed them with melted butter, they looked just like the gorgeous pictures in my dim sum cookbook.

The only disappointments were the two items wrapped in rice paper. The steamed shrimp dumplings, and the seafood wraps just weren't up to par. The steamed dumplings were soggy and fell apart when dipped in soy sauce, and the seafood wraps didn't crisp up as expected. I think I've finally learned my lesson with those rice paper wrappers. The only thing they're really good for is cold spring rolls. They just don't hold up during the cooking process.

After dinner, instead of traditional dim sum desserts like egg custard tarts and mango pudding, we had chocolate truffles and champagne. It just isn't Valentine's Day without them, so I felt no remorse in departing from my traditional dim sum menu to indulge in them with my sweetheart.

Note to Self: As romantic as it sounds, dim sum is not the best choice for an intimate homemade dinner for two. It's way too labor intensive, and the cooking process requires such unnblinking attentiveness to timing and detail that it's impossible to sit down and enjoy it at leisurely pace. A romantic dim sum meal should definitely take place in a dim sum restaurant, where a professional dim sum chef prepares everything and a waiter delivers it to your table. Lesson learned, but it was certainly a wonderful adventure in Asian cuisine.

07:57 PM PST Permalink |

Preparing the Kitchen, Assembling Cooking Utensils and Prepping Dishes Ahead

In hopes of getting a generous head start on my 'Road Home' dim sum dinner, I spent all day in the kitchen on Sunday, washing and chopping all my fresh ingredients, making marinades and generally getting acquainted with my dim sum recipes. And although I feel that I have designed a rather ambitious menu, I am confident that I can pull it off. But I didn't get nearly as far as I'd hoped.

When I began my preparations, I had envisioned having all my dumplings, spring rolls and croquettes assembled by day's end, but alas, I only got as far as preparing the fillings for them. So I will have to get started extra early tomorrow to make up for the overestimation of my prep schedule. Nonetheless, I have organized all my recipes and made notes on what's left to do to complete each one. And I have the whole day devoted to the task. My goal is to have everything in perfect order by 7:00 p.m. so that I can sit down and enjoy my Valentine dim sum dinner with Rene.

12:06 AM PST Permalink |

Shopping for Fresh Ingredients & a Tally of the Cost of My Dim Sum Dinner

I went shopping for the ingredients for my 'Road Home' dim sum dinner. As always, I got lucky at my favorite Mexican market, the one with the little in-house butcher counter. There I was able to buy shrimp, boneless skinless chicken breasts, pork spare ribs, and ground pork, all as fresh as can be and at unbelievably economical prices. The rest of my ingredients I bought at my favorite upscale grocer, where they also have a fresh meat and seafood counter. There I found scallops, tilapia fish filets, and duck legs, along with all my fresh vegetables and the wrappers for dumplings and spring rolls.

A Tally of the Cost of Dinner (in U.S.$)

The cost of the ingredients for my dim sum dinner are listed below. Keep in mind that the prices are based on buying everything new rather than using ingredients that I already had in my pantry. Of course there were lots of things left over for future meals, so the actual cost of the dinner based on the quantities of the ingredients used to make the dishes will be much lower than the grand total of stocking a pantry from scratch for preparing dim sum.

Specialty Ingredients:

White Pepper - .99
Nori - 2.49
Panko - 1.99
Rice Wine - 1.99
Rice Wine Vinegar
Wonton Wrappers - 1.69
Spring Roll Wrappers - 1.69
Sesame Oil- 1.99
Water Chestnuts - .99
Soy Sauce - 2.49
Chinese Black Mushrooms - 2.49
Oyster Sauce - 2.99
Nam Pla - 2.99
Hoisin - 3.49
Chinese Mustard - .99
Plum Wine - 5.99
TsingTao Beer - 7.04

Fresh Ingredients:

Shrimp - 9.98
Scallops - 2.00
Pork Ribs-4.35
Chicken Breasts-3.57
Duck - 4.35
Bacon - 2.49
Ground Pork - 2.75
Green Onion - 1.77
Ginger Root - .54
White Bread - 2.69
Napa Cabbage - 1.02
Garlic - 1.15
Red Bell Pepper - 2.00
Green Bell Pepper - .52
Celery - 1.29
Carrots - 1.39

Basics:

Eggs - 2.19
Flour - 2.49
Cornstarch - 1.49
Vegetable Oil - 2.49
Sugar - 1.99
Brown Sugar - 1.49

Total - $96.29 (US)

12:31 AM PST Permalink |

Photographing My 'Road Home' Dim Sum Dinner

This month's 'Road Home' Dim Sum Dinner & a Movie, I will be cooking tableside. And since it's Valentine's Day, it will be just the two of us. So I will be relying on Rene to take all the photographs this time. I'm really hoping that he will get lots of 'action shots' of the procession of dim sum dishes as they come out of the steamer and the deep fryer. Sounds like great fun, and definitely a new routine for my Dinner & a Movie night.

01:09 PM PST Permalink |

What to Wear for a Dim Sum Valentine' Day Dinner

No if's, and's, or but's...since it's Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year too...definitely a sexy, bright red Cheongsam. And some nice silk pj's for my sweetheart.

12:10 AM PST Permalink |

Designing a Dim Sum Table Setting

As tableware for serving Asian dinners past, I have a pretty wide assortment of small serving dishes decorated with Asian motifs. I also have all kinds of small serving baskets, and table decorations that would be suitable to create a table setting worthy of my dim sum banquet. In honor of Chinese New Year, I will be using lots of red and might even go shopping for a few paper lanterns and good luck symbols.

I'm also considering assembling all the dishes ahead of time, and cooking everything in little batches at the table. I know it sounds rather risky and ambitious, but with an electric burner to accommodate the wok for steaming, a little electric deep fryer, and a thermal warming tray, I think I can pull it off. Especially if I set up the cooking station on a separate side table. Or...we could just eat in the kitchen. But somehow that just doesn't sound romantic enough for a Valentine Dinner. So it's dinner for two with tableside cooking.

12:06 AM PST Permalink |