Ethel M Chocolate Factory, Las Vegas!

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Sheer decadence!
     Ethel M Chocolates is located at 2 Cactus Garden Drive in Henderson Nevada.  Cactus Garden Drive can be accessed from Sunset Road.  It is an odd intersection, because Mountain Vista turns into Sunset Road going east in this area.  Henderson is an incorporated city of its own, but it is actually a suburb of Las Vegas.       Forrest Mars started the Ethel M chocolate factory in 1981 after retiring.  His mother, Ethel was quite a chocolatier back in the early 1900's.  Nearly everything that Forest Mars knew about chocolate was learned by watching his mother make fine chocolates.  Forrest Mars created the Mars candy empire, which includes the world famous M & M chocolate candies.  The Ethel M chocolate factory has an M & M retail store on site.  There is also a huge M & M retail store in the Las Vegas Strip next to the MGM Grand.       The Ethel M chocolate factory produces fine gourmet chocolates that are usually rated as the best in the world.  I have worked with some of the best pastry chefs and some of the best chocolatiers in the world.  I have tasted chocolates that were created by the number one pastry chef in the world.  I have tasted chocolates that came from famous chocolate makers in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.  I can honestly say that Ethel M chocolates are the very best!     Ethel M takes pride in being a family owned and operated business.  Ethel M chocolates have absolutely no preservatives.  Ethel M only does small batch production to maintain a high quality standard.  Ethel M also has an extensive quality control system that involves regular tasting to ensure that every chocolate creation is perfect.  These are some very high standards for chocolate making!     Over the years, I have often sent Ethel M chocolates to friends and family members as gifts.  Every time that I got a thank you response for the chocolates, the first comment was always "Those were the best chocolates that I have ever had!"  I gave a box of Ethel M chocolates to my old company's purchasing agent in Chicago a few years ago and I suggested sharing them with the company vice presidents in the office.  She hid the Ethel M chocolates in a drawer in her desk and said "These chocolates are just too good to share!"  Ha Ha Ha!  Its funny what good chocolate does to people!  Once again, I picked out a few chocolate items to send off as gifts to family members during my visit at the Ethel M Chocolate Facory.  Once again, I know what the reaction of the chocolate gift recipients will be!      The Ethel M Chocolate Factory has a retail store that is filled with gourmet chocolate creations.  Liquor chocolates, satin cream chocolates, turtles and truffles tend to be my favorites.  Every chocolate variety from white chocolate to bitter dark chocolate is available.  Every style of chocolate is on display. Modern presentation chocolates and classic presentation chocolates fill the display cases.  The Ethel M pecan brittle is world famous.  Peppermint bark and giant chocolate caramel coated apples are Ethel M specialties that make great gifts.  Ethel M offers an extensive line of sugar free chocolates and Kosher chocolate too.      Box collections of Ethel M gourmet chocolates are a nice choice.  The box presentations are well thought out and the packaging is elegant.  Customers can select their own choice of chocolates for customized box collections.  I have selected chocolates for boxed collection gifts many times both in person and at the Ethel M web site.       Ethel M employs the highest standards of packaging chocolates for shipping their products.  Ethel M uses insulated packaging with cooling packs to ensure that their chocolates arrive to their destination in perfect condition.  Because no preservatives are used to make Ethel M chocolates, the chocolates have to be handled and packaged like perishable items.     New Years Eve, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and Valentines Day are the biggest chocolate days of the year.  Ethel M creates special chocolates and collections for these holidays and events.     Tours of the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and the extensive Ethel M cactus garden are free of charge.  Complimentary chocolate and pecan brittle tastings are also free of charge.  The Ethel M Chocolate Factory is a prime destination for visitors of Las Vegas.  The Las Vegas taxi cab authority agency requires that every taxi driver in Las Vegas must know the location of the Ethel M Chocolate Factory.  The Ethel M Chocolate factory is a few miles away from the Las Vegas Strip and it is a couple miles from McCarran International Airport, but it is definitely worth the trip!     Ethel M does have a few retail store locations in Nevada.  Ethel M chocolates can be purchased at McCarran international airport.  That is a nice convenience for travelers, conventioneers and visitors of Las Vegas.     I chose not to post photographs of the Ethel M chocolates that I purchased, because they were purchased as gifts.  Taking pictures of chocolates that are behind glass in display cases would not have been a good representation of the Ethel M chocolates.  I posted photographs of the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and the cactus gardens instead.  I decided to post the link to the Ethel M Chocolates web site, because the site has high quality photographs and accurate descriptions of each Ethel M product.  I do suggest signing up for the Ethel M email list, because Ethel M always announces new chocolate creations and they do offer nice sale prices throughout the year.     Here is the link to the Ethel M Chocolates Web Site:  http://www.ethelm.com  Ordering chocolates at the Ethel M web site is done via secure pages, so there is no security risk.     I highly recommend Ethel M chocolates for anybody that craves fine gourmet chocolates!  I highly recommend a tour of Ethel M Chocolate Factory and cactus garden for visitors of Las Vegas and locals alike!  Ethel M chocolates are simply the best chocolates on earth.  Yum!  ...  Shawna 

Roasted Duck Wings with Garlic Chile Mai Fun

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A tasty light meal or snack!
     Everybody does chicken wings.  Chickens are not the only birds that have wings!  Chinese BBQ restaurants often sell roasted duck wings.  Asian restaurants that have a street vendor style food theme often have duck wings on the menu.  Duck wings taste great when they are prepared asian style.     Even though duck wings are not always as meaty as chicken wings, they still are a nice snack.  Asian style duck wings served on their own, without noodles, are a nice appetizer for New Years Eve and football game parties.  Football fans pull out all the stops when they throw a football party during the playoffs, especially if their favorite team is playing.  Football party hosts are always looking for new snack food ideas to impress their friends with and duck wings are certainly an overlooked item.     Usually the best place to purchase duck wings is at an asian market that has a busy butcher shop.  Chinatown in Las Vegas has several large busy asian markets, so finding meaty duck wings was fairly easy.  Asian butchers usually set the smaller scrawny duck wings aside for making soup broth.  The larger meatier duck wings are then packaged and sold at a reasonable price.  The duck wings that I got at an asian market for this recipe were all large and meaty! 
     Roasted Duck Wings:     A marinade does not have to drown the item that it marinates!  All a marinade needs to do is coat the item that needs marination.  That way a large excess amount of marinade is not needlessly wasted.  When a small amount of marinade is used, it may be necessary to toss the duck wings with the marinade occasionally.     Place 3 tablespoons of thin soy sauce in a mixing bowl.     Add 1/4 cup of water.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of rice vinegar.     Add 1 teaspoon of ginger paste.     Add 2 minced garlic cloves.     Add 2 pinches of Chinese 5 spice powder.     Add 1 small pinch of Chinese chile powder.     Add sea salt and white pepper.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Add 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil.     Sir the marinade.     Cut the wing tips off of 5 or 6 duck wings and save them for making broth for another recipe.     Cut through the wing joint on each duck wing to separate the wing from the drumette.     Place the duck wings in the marinade and toss the wings with the marinade.      Marinate the duck wings in a refrigeratore for 2 hours.  Toss the wings with the marinade occasionally.     Brush a small roasting pan with vegetable oil.     Drain the marinade off of the duck wings.     Slowly roast the duck wings in a 300 degree oven, till the become fully cooked and lightly browned.  Be sure to toss the duck wings in the pan occasionally, so they do not stick to the pan.
     Roasted Duck Wings with Garlic Chile Mai Fun:     Mai fun are a nice style of Chinese thin vermicelli rice noodles.  Mai fun can be found at most grocery stores and asian markets.  Add 2 pinches of turmeric to the boiling water, if you want the noodles to have a pale yellow shade like the noodles in the pictures above.     Be sure to have all of the ingredients ready before starting any stir fry recipe!      Cook 1 portion of mai fun in boiling water over high heat, till they become fully cooked.  The noodles should be fairly firm and not soft for this recipe.     Drain the water off of the noodles.     Cool the noodles in ice water while stirring, so they gain a nice chewy texture.     Drain the water off the noodles and set them aside.     Heat a non-stick saute pan or seasoned wok over medium heat.     Add 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.     Add 6 coarsely chopped garlic cloves.  (The garlic should be chunky!)     Add 3 tablespoons of diced onion.     Add 1 diced seeded green jalapeno pepper.     Add 2 tablespoons of diced red bell pepper.     Saute till the garlic becomes aromatic and till the vegetables start to become tender.     Add the reserved mai fun noodles and immediately start tossing them in the hot oil.     Toss the noodles in the hot oil, till they just start to begin to fry crisp.     Add sea salt and white pepper while tossing the noodles.     Use tongs or cooking chopsticks to place the garlic chile mai fun on a plate as a bed for the duck wings.  Try to leave any excess oil in the pan.     Mound the roasted duck wings on the garlic chile mai fun noodles.     Sprinkle 1 pinch of crushed dried red pepper over the duck wings.     No garnish is necessary!
     Viola!  A nice fun plate of tasty roasted duck wings and garlic chile noodles.  This style of noodle looks a bit oily, but the noodles are not drenched with oil.  That is how it is.  Italians and asians both make oil sauces that carry flavor onto the noodles.  Yum!  ...  Shawna 

Balls Of Fire!

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Spicy flaming hot little meatballs!
     Meatballs of any kind are some of the most popular hors d'oeuvres for a New Years Eve party that there is.  People like meatballs, especially at a cocktail party.  Football fans that throw a bowl game party or playoff game party almost always offer meatballs to their guests.  Usually party hors d'oeuvre meatballs are Swedish Meatballs or Italian Meatballs and there are actually people who think that those two styles of meatballs are the only kinds of meatballs that there is in the world!     I have posted recipes for traditional Swedish, Italian, Arabic, Moroccan and Chinese meatballs in this food blog so far and there are many more traditional meatball recipes yet to go.  Today I decided to create a very spicy meatball recipe that surely will give the spiciest hot chicken wing recipe a run for the money.       First of all, the red saucy coating on these meatballs is the mildest part of the recipe.  Only mild paprika and organic red food coloring was used to give the meatball coating sauce its red color.  Paprika is as mild as chile peppers get.  I do realize that it the mild red meatball coating is diabolically deceptive, but that is part of the fun of the hot chile pepper game.       When somebody picks up one of these meatballs by the toothpick and cautiously tastes the red coating before biting into the meatball, their first thought will be that the meatballs are not spicy at all.  Then when the meatball is popped in the mouth with confidence that it will not be spicy hot and the chomping starts, that is when the fire alarms start going off!  It is not the sauce that makes these meatballs spicy hot.  It is the spicy hot ground chile peppers that are mixed in with the ground beef that makes these meatballs taste like incendiary devices.  The ground beef is what is spicy hot and that is how a spicy meatball should be! 
     Balls Of Fire:     Some of the dried chile peppers in this recipe are a little bit hard to find in the form of a ground powder (chile molido).  These peppers are easy to find as dried whole chile peppers.  Mexican markets are the best place to find any kind of dried hot chile pepper.  A spice grinder, food processor or a Turkish coffee grinder can be used to grind whole dried chile peppers into powder.     Place 8 ounces of ground beef in a mixing bowl.     Add white pepper.     Add sea salt and black pepper.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of Spanish paprika.     Add 2 dried habanero peppers that are ground.     Add 3 chile arbol that are ground.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground chile pequin.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of New Mexico chile powder.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese chile powder.  (Ground dried red serrano or chile japones)     Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.     Refrigerate the spicy ground beef mixture for 1 hour, so the ground dried chile peppers color the ground beef red and so the chile pepper powder releases its flavor.       Divide the spicy ground beef mixture into portions that weigh 3/4 ounce apiece.  (3/4 ounce is about 21 grams.)     Roll the ground meat portions into smooth round meatball shapes.     Place the spice meatball in a roasting pan.     Bake the meatballs in a 350 degree oven, till they become fully cooked and very lightly browned.  Be sure to shake the pan occasionally, so the meatballs do nor stick to the pan!     The coating sauce can be made while the meatballs bake!     Place 1 tablespoon of Spanish paprika in a a small mixing bowl.     Add 1/3 cup of water.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of rice vinegar.     Add 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil.     Add sea salt.     Add 2 drops of concentrated red beet juice food coloring or 2 drops of regular red food coloring.     Stir the ingredients together.  The paprika will reconstitute and thicken the sauce.     When the meatballs become fully cooked, place them in the mixing bowl with the coating sauce.     Gently toss the meatballs with the sauce, till they become coated.     Decoratively drizzle streaks and drops of your favorite green, orange and red colored hot sauces on a plate.     Spear the balls of fire with toothpicks and place them on the plate.
     Balls Of Fire is an appropriate name for this hors d'oeuvre meatball recipe!  The first meatball that is consumed will give most people a nice little endorphin rush from the spicy heat.  These are some flaming hot balls of fire!  Yum!  ...  Shawna  

Beef Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) - Pressure Cooker Style

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During Spring/Summer, our Weber grill gets quite a workout. Alas, our outdoor grills are tucked in for our California winters. Our tomato plants are spent, and our small herb and vegetable garden is looking a bit sparse.  Sigh. 


Our thyme and marjoram are still hearty, this time of year, and they don't go to waste in the kitchen. It soups & stew season, and I'm ready!


Now that the days are chillier, with much needed rain, my Dutch oven is being put to a lot more use. This is the time of year, when I become a lean and mean "Searer" and "Braiser".  The aroma of a savory stew, wafting from the kitchen, is comforting. My Perfect Pot Roast recipe  rules as one of the most appreciated slow-cooked dinners that I make.  Cooking an inexpensive cut of beef, in a braising liquid,  for a long period of time yields tender meat and a succulent sauce.  Drool. 


Last week, I had a craving for Beef Burgundy -- aka "Beef Bourguignon".   I couldn't stop thinking about the first time I had this dish, at a catered party.  I really wanted to recreate this stew, with it's rich and flavorful sauce.Visions of Julia Child, popped into my head.  I've never read-- let alone, made --the esteemed Julia's recipe-- and  I assumed her recipe would be a lot of work.    Still, it was 1:00 in the afternoon and I had Christmas cookie dough to make. I realized that I didn't have the time to make this classic French stew and I needed my oven!  The slow cooker was out-- and then it hit me.

Pressure cook it!  I know, I know... pressure cookers scare a lot of newbies.  There is a fear of an explosion.  I tell you the truth-- It's an unfounded fear.  My first pressure cooker was a stovetop model, with the regulator (that "thingie" that rocks back and forth with a chhh-chhh-chhh sound).  Not once, did I have an explosion.


About 9 years ago, I invested in an electric digital pressure cooker, and I love so many features of this model.  Mine has a browning cycle, and a non-stick removable insert and I love it's oval shape. The brand is "Cook's Essentials" and I bought mine from QVC.  I see that the newer model is completely different than mine, and has less stellar reviews.   The day mine breaks, I would buy a 5-quart model all over again.

Don't worry. If you don't own a pressure cooker, you can make this in a Dutch oven.  If you want to make this in a slow cooker-- I beg you to not do one thing that makes my skin crawl. Please, don't throw in raw meat!  To me, the best tasting stews come from taking the time to sear and brown the meat, first. All that beautiful brown crusty build-up, in the pan is what gives the sauce great flavor.

Pinkie promise?  Thank you. I'm not gonna lie. It takes about an hour to get the stew ready.  Enough talking-- I'll show you how I made this:

First, we build flavor. I keep frozen bacon, so it's easier to cut into "lardons".  In a heavy skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

Finely chop 2 fresh carrots. Yes, I took a shortcut and let my food processor do the work.  Clean and quarter one pound of fresh white mushrooms.

Pearl onions are traditional in this stew.  Peeling them takes work, so I used frozen onions. I simply rinsed them, shook them dry and then sauteed them until they were lightly golden.

I then added 2 cloves of minced garlic for the last 30 seconds, removed the onions and set those aside.

In the same pan, add a little olive oil and saute the carrots for 2-3 minutes-- just until soft. Remove and set aside.

When you buy stewing meat, ask your butcher about Chuck Eye Roast. I pay about $7.00 a pound, but it's worth it. Seriously.  It's the perfect meat for stewing, and is far more tender than buying "stew cut meat". With stew cut meat, you don't know what the butcher has thrown together, and I've had my fair share of chewy stew.

I cut the meat into bite-size pieces and make sure that it's dry. Season the meat with salt & pepper and flour and toss together to coat evenly.


In the same pan that I cooked add a little vegetable oil, and bring the pan to medium-high. Open up the windows and turn on your vents.  We're about to do some seriously searing.  The key to searing is to get the pan very hot. Don't crowd the meat and leave it alone for 2-3 minutes.  If you keep moving the meat around, you won't get the sear = less flavor = bummer.  It took about 3 batches to get all the meat nicely browned. Pile the seared meat into a big bowl.

I then added a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, and stirred it around the dark "fond" that was built. Now, we're going to "deglaze" with 1-1/2 cups red wine. I used burgundy, but any kind of red wine will do.  Scrape the pan and stir the liquid around, loosening up the brown bits.


Add the carrots and bacon, and give it a stir.
Add one cup of beef broth and one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce (my not-so-secret flavor builder).

Add the browned beef into you Dutch oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker. Pour the sauce over it.

Tie a few springs of fresh marjoram and thyme (thyme only will do) and nestle it into the stew.
In a Dutch oven, place into a 275 degree oven for 3 hours or simmer on low on the stove top.
-or-
Slow cook for 6 hours, on low.
-or-
Pressure cook for 40 minutes! Yes, 40 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the mushrooms:
Clean the same skillet, and on medium heat, melt the butter and oil until bubbling.
Add the cleaned and dry mushrooms and saute the mushrooms for about 5 minutes— shaking the skillet intermittently until the mushrooms are lightly golden (about 7 minutes total). Remove from the skillet and set aside.

The pressure cooker beeped, and it's time to release the pressure.  (My cat doesn't like this part, and she skedaddles.)

The stew is bubbly hot, and smells so good! Remove the herb bundle with tongs, as it's done it's job.


Add the mushrooms, and onions.
For the pressure cooker, seal the lid again and pressure cook (on high) for 5 minutes more. Release the steam, and the stew is ready. For a Dutch oven or slow cooker, allow to cook for about 15 minutes more.
Toss in some chopped fresh parsley and serve. NOTE: if you prefer a thicker stew, I made a slurry of cornstarch and water and carefully whisk it in; simmer until thickened. However, I didn't need to do that, this time.
Traditionally, this stew is served with steamed potatoes. I was craving egg noodles. Um, I didn't have any... so I made my own.  (Yes, I can be an over-achiever at times.) I didn't document how I made the noodles, but I'll do it again and save that for another post.
The meat was buttery tender, the sauce had a rich flavor with notes of red wine.  The next day, it tasted even better.  I would serve this at a dinner party, and am sure that my guests would love it.
So, after I made this stew I quickly wrote down how I created it. Out of curiosity, I did an internet search to see if I could find Julia Child's recipe.  I did a fist pump, realizing that my version was very similar to hers. Wow!  
I would like to thank Barbara, of Pressure Cooking Today, for featuring this post on her wonderful blog. Barbara has a lot of mouth-watering recipes and valuable information about pressure cooking. If  you've been thinking that you "might" want a pressure cooker, I encourage you to just do it! Thanks to Barbara, I am using my PC to make mashed potatoes in 6 minutes. I can cook beans in a fraction of the time it takes to do it on a stove. Soups... rice pudding... it's like a microwave, only better (and healthier).  
A printable recipe card is at the end of this post. If you can't view the recipe card (Internet Explorer uses are having problems with this, click here.)