One of the most fun (and rewarding) cooking experiences of this year so far was participating in the Top Chef competition. Not the real Top Chef TV show that filmed here in Seattle earlier this year, but a small "competition" put on by the wonderful Suzanne Cameron and Cameron Catering for her annual Parkinson's Foundation Fundraiser. I had always wondered after watching shows like Iron Chef America and Chopped on the Food Network how I would do in a mystery basket/ingredient situation and, well, now I know!
I'd like to take everyone on that journey with me.
8:00 a.m. Arrival at the Cameron kitchen for a day of work. (yaaawwwnn! Time to make some tea)
8:30-4:25 Work work work work work work work work work!
4:25-4:35 Pack up my car with the remainder of the food and all of us cooks and head to the event space.
4:45 p.m. Quick detour for coffee.
5:00 p.m. Arrival at Day Break Star, unloading the car, and set up for the big event. We are expecting 150 or so people. I walk in and see:
so I set up my knives and investigate the equipment. Read the rules. Start to panic.
5:15 I change and put my game face on. Tie on my bright red power scarf, and head back to the kitchen area.
5:30-7:00 Panic! Panic! Pacing… pacing… caffeine…panic! Wandering…Waiting. A cocktail (a lovely gin gimlet with thyme simple syrup. Tasty and calming!) People arriving, gathering. And the Announcement "The Competition is about to begin, can we have all the Chefs out here please?"
7:00-7:10 Introductions. "Hi, my name is [insert also Amy, Kaspar, Jason] Abby and I'm a…chef"
7:15 The mystery is revealed: 10 items in the mystery basket. Must use 5, 2 extra points awarded for every additional ingredient from the mystery basket used. 10 points if you use the "secret ingredient".
Chorizo
Shrimp
Seedy Baguette
Yellow Squash
Nectarine
Cucumber
Kale
Cashews
Cherry Tomatoes
Bleu Cheese
You may be thinking, some of those sound great together! And sure-you'd be right. Then they unveiled the "secret ingredient".
Jet Puff Marshmallow Fluff
7:20 Ready…go! Wait, what?! What is going on? What am I doing? OK.. Shrimp and chorizo are good… nectarine salsa? Kale…. Kale… and squash? Onion? Lime juice? and Chorizo! Great base for shrimp. Chop, Chop, Slicing and Dicing…. cucumber nectarine salsa! Oh geez, the fluff. What can I possibly do with that? Blue cheese… and fluff? with shrimp? Hmm… Plate…Oh, YES!! there's one with two little indents for food. Perfect!
On a crostini? As a spread! With…what else… what else…. Tomatoes. Minted tomatoes! In a light vinaigrette topped with toasted cashews.
Oh wow! Look at Kaspar's fancy kale chips and skewers! Did he use the fluff? What about Jason? A delicious looking sauce in the works… and nothing but cool coming from that side. Can't see Amy way down on the end but I don't hear any swearing so she must be doing alright too!
7:40 Ok…Breathe… What am I forgetting? I think I have everything. Sure, you can use my burner, no prob! I think I used all the ingredients. Time to cook the shrimp and start tossing everything together on a plate.
Kale, chorizo sauté on the bottom, on the bottom, on the bottom for each of 3 judges. Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp. Salsa, salsa, and salsa. One side done.
Crostini out of the oven and cool enough to spread my Bleu Fluff on. It fits perfectly on the other side of my plate! WooHoo! Top with minty tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes and finish with cashews.
7:48 Looking around Kaspar is finished, Jason is almost finished…
7:49 Everyone done? OK. Time!! Knives down!!
Applause! Cheers!
Time for Judgement. Here are the entries:
Jason: Orange plate, used all but 3 ingredients. "Reclining Napoleon"…Jerk.
Kaspar: Leafy plate, used all but 2 ingredients. Killer fluff nuts.
Amy: Bowl, used 6 ingredients and no fluff. Nice little chorizo hash.
My 2 piece submission. Pan seared shrimp on a kale and chorizo sauté topped with a cucumber nectarine salsa accompanied by a Bleu Fluff crostini topped with minted tomatoes and toasted cashews:
7:55 Buffet free-for-all! Everyone must be starving! Help the kitchen with platters, What do you mean the whole buffet is empty?
8:10 Still judging. More discussion. Picking…tasting…contemplating. Just get on with it!! We all know it's Jason or Kaspar who wins. Put us out of our misery!
8:20 "Will all the Chefs please gather! After much deliberation the Judges have come to a conclusion. Using all the ingredients, winning by half a point, the winner is…Chef Abby!"
And the crowd goes wild!! At least that's what happened in my memory. The prize was a gift card to Macy's that I have yet to spend…But that isn't the point. The real point here is that I beat Jaso….I mean that we were able to raise more money than ever before for Parkinson's research! The event went off without a hitch. Everything was a great success and everyone had a wonderful time enjoying those Gin Gimlets and all the wonderful food that was served.
What would you create with those ingredients and 30 minutes? Please leave any comments with ideas, I'd love to hear what others have to say!
Please feel free to try this one at home, kids (And leave comments sharing your story!): It might be something exciting to try when you are deciding what to make for dinner. Use your refridgerator as your "mystery basket" and have some fun with a roommate, friend, or significant other. Crack open a bottle of wine, (for cooking purposes of course-like getting the creativity flowing) pick some tasty ingredients, and Chop On!
