Real Housewives Cocktail Contest

I have a dirty secret. I am addicted to Bravo’s Real Housewives series. I admit it and not ashamed! And I have found other foodies like me via Twitter who are obsessed too.”And let me tell you something…we are as thick as thieves” .Watching the girls from the OC, Atlanta, NYC,and now New Jersey makes us all laugh and cringe at the same time.
So we decided in Tweetville to come up with a cocktail contest. Let any of the housewives from the series be your inspiration. You know Kim and Ne Ne loved their white wine. Ramona cant get enough of her Pinot Grigio. Tamara’s husband started a tequila business. And who has not heard of Bethenny’s Skinny Girl Margaritas at this point!If you need more research go here and check out all the shows, blogs, and recaps.
So come up with your best drink reflecting your favorite character.
Deadline June 20! We will all vote after the round up and the prize will be a book of cocktails or something TBD.
Get Mixing!
Send me your entries, links, and photos to cococooks(AT)hotmail(DOT)com by June 20.
* Not affiliated with Bravo TV.

And Now For Some Sweet Election Day Relief and a Contest

Pillsbury Voting – General Election Cake vs. Brownies – State Breakdown

State Winner

AK(Alaska) Brownies
AL(Alabama) Brownies

AR(Arkansas) Cake
AZ(Arizona) Cake

CA(California) Brownies
CO(Colorado) Cake
CT (Connecticut) Brownies
DE(Delaware) Brownies
FL(Florida) Brownies
GA(Georgia) Brownies
HI(Hawaii) Brownies
IA(Iowa) Brownies
ID(Idaho) Brownies
IL(Illinois) Brownies
IN(Indiana) Brownies
KS(Kansas) Brownies
KY(Kentucky) Brownies
LA(Louisiana) Brownies
MA(Mass.) Brownies
MD(Maryland) Brownies
ME(Maine) Brownies
MI(Michigan) Brownies
MN(Minnesota) Brownies
MO(Missouri) Brownies
MS(Mississippi) Brownies
MT(Montana) Brownies
NC(North Carolina)Brownies
ND(North Dakota) Brownies
NE(Nebraska) Brownies
NH(New Hampshire) Brownies
NJ(New Jersey) Brownies
NM(New Mexico) Brownies
NV(Nevada) Brownies
NY(New York) Brownies
OH(Ohio) Brownies
OK(Oklahoma) Brownies
OR(Oregon) Brownies
PA(Pennsylvania) Brownies
RI(Rhode Island) Brownies
SC(South Carolina) Brownies
SD(South Dakota) Brownies
TN(Tennessee) Brownies
TX(Texas) Brownies
UT(Utah) Brownies

VA(Virginia) Cake
VT(Vermont) TIE!
WA(Washington) Brownies
WI(Wisconsin) Brownies
WV(West Virginia) Cake
WY(Wyoming) Brownies

AMERICANS ELECT BROWNIES AS THE COUNTRY’S FAVORITE DESSERT !

This season there has been a sweet debate taking place online and in kitchens across the country. Pillsbury® asked Americans to cast votes for their favorite dessert – cake or brownies and brownies were declared America’s Favorite Dessert in the Pillsbury® Campaign for a Sweeter America. After a national campaign tour with the Pillsbury Doughboy® and an online election, it was Brownies’ undeniable richness that won the hearts (and stomachs) of the nation’s voters.

SWEET CONTEST!!
To celebrate Brownies’ victory, the makers of Pillsbury baking products want to hear how people make things sweeter with their favorite desserts at www.pillsburybaking.com/campaign. The sweetest entry will receive a kitchen makeover worth $5,000, and Pillsbury will also make a donation to Feeding AmericaTM to help end hunger in this country.

This Pie Made It To The Semi Finals at the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

I mentioned last week that I was working on my pie for the Bucktown Apple Pie Competition. I have been so busy, but unexpected time opened up and allowed me to devote all Saturday to this pie. I started the prep at 10:oopm so it would fresh for morning, but set. I had a last minute inspiration to dust cinnamon powder with my Chinese long life vegetable cutter.It worked! And notice the center with a full Star Anise pod. Here is my recipe. I based my crust on Dorie Greenspan’s Good for Almost Anything Crust, but changed the shortening aspect to my trusted Atora. This tasted way better than my previous attempts. But what a lot of butter and grease that seeped out while baking. But better it seep than stay in, but still give me a flakier crust.

On Sunday Morning I arose at dawn and popped the pies back into the oven at a low 200 to warm up for an hour . I was the Contestant #2 and had my photo taken. I got some compliments on the appearance and left. All the contestants were to return at 2pm . At 2:30pm the finalists were announced. While waiting and listening to some band called Tangleweed that played bluegrass/ country, I saw my name on the ribbon board on a list of Semi Finalists!

I made it that far. Maybe there was hope for finalist?92 contestants, 27 Semi Finalists, 5 Winners.

All this year in particular of obsessing, blogging, learning, Daring Bakers, reading, etc was starting to pay off in improvement.But that’s as far as I got. The finalist seemed like familiar names in the competition.Neighborhood locals, repeat contestants,etc. This was my second year and I think I’m miles ahead from last years entry.The celebrity judges including Gale Gand , and Stephanie Izard( Top Chef Chicago winner) went to work on the finalists table and the mob was directed to the Pie Room to ‘buy’ a taste.

We were packed liked sardines , but I found my pie and waited patiently for a clear view. One of them was practically gone and people in line were asking for a slice. Now was the time to really taste and see how it measures up. I was pleased. The crust was not soggy , but flaky even on the bottom. The fruit gelled nice. A lot of pies looked like they had bigger chunks of fruit, but not that gel like sauce. The only thing I would change is bigger chunks of fruit and more fruit, as the winning pies seemed to be high in fruit. One of the finalist told me she only uses 4 ingredients in her crust, one of them being milk! Hmmm, I have to try that one day.I didn’t stick around to 4:45 for the winners. The place was packed and a line went through to outside. I heard a volunteer turning non contestants or people who hadn’t already been inside away because they running out of pie. The contestants pies were being sold off in slices and the winners auctioned. Sounds like it was a succes. I will be back next year, God willing.
Coco’s Asian Apple Pie

Makes 1 9inch double crust pie

INGREDIENTS:

Filling
1 12 fl oz can of Frozen Apple Juice concentrate
1 cinnamon stick 2-3 Star Anise ground to make 2 teaspoons of powder
1/4 teaspoon mace
pinch of black pepper
5-6 Golden Delicious apples peeled ,cored, and chopped
1/2 cup King Arthur’s Pie Enhancer ( for thickening)
1/2 cup sugar
Pastry Crust
3 cups all -purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 sticks frozen unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3 cup Atora ( cold) a shredded dehydrated suet available in the the UK or online
1/2 cup ice water
Egg Wash
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon cream
INSTRUCTIONS:

Take a heavy bottom sauce pan and heat the frozen concentrate with the ground star anise, cinnamon stick( intact) , and mace until mixture is reduced by half. It will form a dark syrup. Set aside. Discard cinnamon stick when cool.
Make Crust. mix flour , sugar, and salt in your Stand Mixer. Gradually in stages add the butter and Atora until mixed into the flour. Do not over mix! Chunks of butter and Atora are fine. Gradually add water by tablespoon until all is combined . Just enough until it holds together. Take the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface . I use wax paper for easier clean up. Divide into 2 balls. Take a ball and between two sheets of wax paper roll out to fit into pie pans.Place rolled discs in refrigerator until ready to use.
Peel, core , and chop apples. Toss into a bowl with syrup/ concentrate mixture( discarding cinnamon stick). Add the sugar and pie enhancer. Toss until evenly mixed.
Preheat oven to 350 .
Line pie tin with crust. Pour in fruit filling. Cover and seal edges with second layer of dough.Slash dough to vent.Brush with egg wash mix( egg beaten with cream).
Bake at 350 for 30 -5 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil, and reduce heat to 200. Bake an additional 1 hour.* Place pie pans on a baking pan with lips to catch the excess butter, etc. that bakes out of the pie. Take out and allow to cool on wire rack with foil cover for a few hours to set. Serve at a cool room temperature.

I’m sending this over to Ivy, for her Sweet Pies Event.

Do You Love Oysters? I Do.


With life getting so busy I forgot to tell you all about this great contest over at Marx Foods.There are still 5 days to enter and its really easy. Check it out! And if you enter please tell them I sent you in your comment entry!

Win Four Dozen Fresh Oysters

What would you do with 4 dozen free oysters?
The best answer wins 48 fresh Puget Sound oysters!
Contest Dates: October 2 – 19
If we were to send you 4 Dozen fresh Puget Sound Oysters, what would you do with them?
TWO WAYS TO WIN:1. Leave your answer in the comment section below. Be delicious (see comment
#19), funny (#13), sensual (#43), poetic (#46), or tug on our heart strings (#39).2. Refer the most contestants to this contest. Pass this on to family and friends or via your blog. Make sure to tell them to leave your name in the “referred by” field. The person who makes the most referrals will also win a fresh oyster sampler.
THE PRIZE:Four Dozen Fresh Puget Sound Oysters and a set of
Biodegradable Plates. The oyster sampler will include one dozen each of Pacific Oysters, Kumamoto Oysters, Virginica Oysters, and Olympia Oysters.
HOW WILL THE WINNER BE CHOSEN?Our readers will vote on the finalists! The polls will be open October 21 – 24 @ noon PST, and a winner will be announced on Monday, October 27.
Read the contest rules

Bear With Me My Friends…Working on My Pie Competition

I haven’t posted since last week. Work and personal life is crazy right now. By the time I usually get ready to blog I’m to tired. Not to mention keeping up with all of you. This week I have a Grand Opening at work, will be casually entertaining a fellow blogger on Sunday, working on some house stuff, seeing Certain Someone off to yet another business trip, and submitting two apple pies to the Buck Town Apple Pie Contest next Sunday. I’ve spent this morning on a practice pie. Cant tell you my secrets yet, but its looking good. I’m incorporating some unusual spices and techniques.Its amazing what I have learned in year from all of you and the Daring Bakers. So wish me luck folks, and I will try to visit you this week if time permits.

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