Spent a bit over a week in the hospital couple weeks ago. Not much to do there 'cept watch television - thank Jupiter and Mercury for that! Got hooked on the FoodNetwork. I like cooking shows, but since the senior software engineering guy and I don't 'do' cable tv, we watch either what's up on Netflix or on dvd.
Anyway, one of the FoodNetwork shows I really enjoyed was the cooking competition one called Chopped. Now this was fun! The premise is simple:
*four chefs compete in three elimination rounds: appetizer, entree and dessert
*each round involves a 'mystery' basket of ingredients: each ingredient has to be used somehow in their dish [they could also augment from the pantry and 'fridge on set]
*the guest judges [all professional chefs/cooking experts] judge on 1) taste, 2) presentation and 3) creativity
*and it is all timed: 20 minutes for the appetizer, 30 mins. for the entree and also 30 mins. for the dessert...don't think I'd be able to do it!
I was amazed at how creative the contestants could be in such a time constraint. Eel? Are you kidding me? Grits for dessert? Quail eggs? It was fun to watch the four chefs scramble to create something eatable, nice to look at and ultimately get everything on the plates before time ran out! And they had to do four plates...one for each of the three judges and one for the camera and possible 'chop.'
So...in between taking my IV stand on walks in the hall while in the hospital, I would watch cooking shows. It was fun to imagine what I would do with 30 minutes and 1) an emu egg, 2) Tuscan Kale, 3) peanut butter sandwich cookies and 4) salmon. I did see each of these ingredients at some point, but not in this combination. What could you do?...let's think:
- first, chop the kale and put into a pan with a bit of butter, olive oil and drizzle with a tablespoon of maple syrup
- quickly julienne red bell pepper and zucchini...put that on a large rectangle of parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with soy sauce; place a portion of salmon on that - spray lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme; wrap up tight in the parchment and pop into the oven.
- put the cookies in the food processor and make crumbs; crack the egg into a pan with butter, add the crumbs and pan toast to make a crumble.
- Keep a watch on the kale.
Here's how I'd plate it:
- first put a portion of kale on the plate and then top with the crumble
- put the salmon portion on the plate and top with the veggies
If there had been time I would have made a tiny green salad with dried cranberries in a light vinagrette to go with it and also a toast point. Oh well...guess I'm Chopped!
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