March 5, 2009

• Cooking With Almost Dr J-Quickfire Challenge

  So A few weeks ago I mentioned a burrito challenge to be held during the final episode of Top Chef. Well, allow me to present you with the finished products…

  Into My Greek Burrito went butterbeans sauteed in white wine and lemon with artichokes, shrimp and dill lightly seared in olive oil and covered in a traditional greek avgolemono sauce, completed with green olives and a sprinkling of feta
  
  
  
  For an added fancypants touch, I took the eggshell from the avgolemono, and created an impromptu landscape with athens green olives, feta cheese, and a sprig of dill
  

  My competition was Jayan’s Indian gourmet burrito, served both traditionally
  
  And deconstructed
  
  It was made of refried lemon basmati rice, tandoori chicken, and curry beans with a reduced tomato onion curry sauce on top.

  As before, we had an impartial judge, a self-professed burrito snob and conosseiur of mexican food. We were graded on plating, originality and taste…who would you vote for?

  Well the long and short was while my egg landscape gained points and my flavors blended well, my poor burrito wrapping technique combined with an excess of rice in the burrito and what was deemed too great a departure from traditional burrito ingredients resulted in my demise in the quickfire challenge. Therefore Jayan will be the one determing the last theme of our elimination challenge in a few weeks for the title of Top Chef.

  Challenge completed, we went back to pooling our great minds and culinary skills, and set to work the following week to present the world with a breakthrough in meatball technology…presented stepwise below
  
  
  ground chicken with habanero, honey, maple seasoning from the spice house, kosher salt, garlic powder rolled up all nice around a cube of bleu cheese
  
  Then a touch of oats…
  
  
  
  
  Of course, what with my hands being full of meat, and habanero, and honey and oatcrumbs, I might have had a difficult time drinking my wine…unless…
  
  victory! Now make with the cooking
  
  
  
  
  End result: a chicken meatball that was both pleasantly sweet with a touch of spice from the habanero and a tart tang from the cheese melted inside…food science has been advance again, and universe you are welcome
  

  Until Next time this has been another cooking with Almost Dr J (with special guest Jayan)

  • 11:41 pm
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