Category: Contests

Little Neck Clams And Squid Ink Pasta

This is such a easy and simple meal that packs in the drama and flavah! Kind of like moi!Certain Someone is away tonight and you know what that means. Little Neck clams were singing to me in the supermarket.Just the perfect topping to some black squid ink pasta I had laying around. I steamed my clams in Garlic,Vermouth, Water , and Butter. Boil the pasta. And toss with some of that lovely parsley sauce I made yesterday (Parsley, garlic, lemon, mint, olive oil pulverized in a blender) and more olive oil. Simple ,fast, fantastic.

Whats this about you ask? Well the Caked Crusader tagged me with this Six Word Memoir thing going around.That’s me altered form picture taken in this incredible dive of a Chinese Restaurant in New York City’s China Town. Forgot the name but its well known.Anyway the wall paper is actual money you post up and leave your initials for good fortune. I think the only people getting rich was them!Anyway the six words to describe me is what I captioned. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that!.The rules are your to tag 5 more people. I’m not going to directly because I feel they would whip my ass getting another Meme. Plus I owe some people some Memes. Sorry. So feel free to play along if you want. I like trying to narrow down my essence in six words.
Rules:1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog (and include a visual illustration if you’d like).
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.
And before I hit the road again , I plan to cook up TAMALES this weekend. Don’t forget. Its really fun and not as challenging as you may fear. Hint. I’m making mine spicy and sweet! That’s kind of like me too.

Black Irish Cake…St Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl Event

This cake is a tasty, yummy, mess of a cake .

Emiline over at Sugar Plum has come up with a great event in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! She has challenged us to come up with either sweet or savory dishes incorporating booze.Immediately I conceptualized a Black Irish Cake. A Black Irish Cake is a chocolate cake with mashed potatoes( hey it works!) soaked in 3 boozes( Baileys Irish Creme,Chocolate Liqueur, and Whiskey) in a riff of a Tres Leches Cake. Are you feeling me?

I remember reading about cakes made with mashed potatoes so it would be perfect for a Irish themed cake. I basically followed this recipe. However she used no dairy, and I added left over evaporated milk to the mashed potatoes( no more than 1/4 of a cup) and it turned out fine .You can use your own chocolate cake recipe and experiment.

I really wanted to use my authentic Feckin Irish Whiskey that was signed by the maker, but we agreed not to open the bottle.So I purchased some Jack Daniels instead along with some Baileys Irish Creme.

Black Irish Cake

1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of evaporated milk
1 cup of Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 cup of whiskey
1/4- 1/2 cup of Chocolate Liqueur

Whipped Cream Topping (make your own with heavy cream , confectioners sugar,vanilla, etc. or cheat and buy a Non Dairy Whipped Topping. I used a Wilton Whipped Topping Mix).

Make your cake in a dish that you will serve the cake in. I used a 81/2 by 81/2 Plexiglas dish. I had leftover batter so I made 12 cupcakes as well to serve in individual ramekins. Take cake out of oven.Pierce all over. While still warm drizzle cake with Whiskey and Chocolate Liqueur.In a blender mix heavy cream,evaporated milk, and Baileys. Pour this cream mixture over warm cake. It may take several attempts for the liquids to sink into the cake.I still had leftover cream, but I soaked three times. Let cake cool, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours until chilled.If you have leftover cream and you feel the cake can take on more liquid, add it. Top off with Whipped Topping and serve.

Be sure to let it set well. I cut mine after a few hours, but it could have chilled some more to hold some shape.For a more perfect presentation serve it up in the individual ramekins. Regardless the flavors merge well and it gives you a sweet light light headed feeling. Certain Someone declared it was rich!

* Warning: Don’t eat this and operate heavy machinery or drive.

Consolation Prize

So today I received a unexpected consolation prize.I ran a search to see if any information had been published about the winners of the Bucktown Apple Pie contest. I managed to find a article in a e- food magazine called Hungry Magazine-All Things Tasty ,from a judge in the preliminary rounds. There was a link to a photo slide show of the ‘prettier pies ‘ in the contest.Lo and behold , who’s little old pie was among them?Yes, my Spicy Apple Caramel Drizzle. Not bad as I didn’t even place. So yes that’s a huge consolation, visual recognition. Wait until next year!

Trials and Tribulations Leading Up to the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

After a peaceful full nights sleep following last nights La Traviata at Lyric Opera, I awoke yesterday to get started on my pies for tomorrows contest. I planned to make 3 types of crusts after all my friends and families critiques. Rather than my sour cream crust I wanted to use http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1737,147173-245200,00.html , I wanted a flakier crust.So I was turning my ignition in my car, and sputter ,splat. The cars check engine light started to flash and car started going dead.So much for the store and contest! And not to mention worry about repair costs. Certain Someone assured me to continue and ask my aunt for a ride the next day to enter (he has golf and will turn up later on ). We got the insurance company to tow the car, and ,he took me to the store with the assurance everything will work out this week. So I got to the tasks of making my crusts. I decided to do a Pate Brisee , which I’ve done before, based on Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. Only with some modifications based on other research. This contest is intense and I already heard a piece on it on National Public Radio. Some people have been preparing all year. And I, only 1 week.
So I decided to use apple cider vinegar , rather than ice water. As I tripled the recipe for 3 double pie crusts( 2 for the contest, 1 for me) I used shortening with the butter( all very cold). I even put the flour in the freezer. I don’t have Kitchen Aide , and I had to work quickly with the hands. I figured it worked with the ancestors, so it will work with me. I added cardamom to the crust and ground almond paste. Here’s the gist of Martha’s recipe with my changes in blue which doesn’t make it Pate Brisse any longer!

Pate Brisee ( Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook)
2 1/2 CUPS all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks( 1 cup) unsalted buter cut into cubes(1 Stick butter, 8 tsps shortneing)
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed (ice cold apple cider vinegar)
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 stick of Odense Almond Paste grated

Combine flour,salt(and cardamom). Add butter(and almond paste) and blend until the mixture resemble coarse crumbs. Add ice apple cider vinegar until dough holds together without being sticky or wet. Turn dough out on a work surface and divide in half. Shape into disks and place in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour to overnight. Dough may be frozen up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.
* for the flakiest crusts make sure ingredients( even the flour) are cold before you begin.

Because I used my hands and feared over kneading , my dough was fragile . I rolled out my discs in between wax paper, and peeled the layers of crust off the paper and into the pan/ onto the pie. Any holes I patched quickly and baked the pie at 350 degrees. My oven I discovered is tricky,and last week I over baked my pies, resulting in dryness.During the last 15 min I brushed my egg wash over the pie.

I’m calling my pie Spicy, Nutty, Caramel Apple Drizzle. I’m using a combo of apples such as Cortland,Golden Delicious, and Braeborn. Here’s the bulk of my filling.

assorted apples
apple cider
butter
sugar
instant tapioca for thickening( I ground mine in the coffee grinder)
touch of Black strap molasses
cinnamon
nutmeg
lemon to prevent discoloration
vanilla extract
butter for patting on top before sealing the crust.
egg wash of 1 egg and heavy cream to brush on dough.
caramel for topping after baked
chopped pecans and peanuts( I use salted for contrast)

And here’s my result( I baked 3). Wish me luck.Its my first contest. Gale Gand of Tru and Nancy Mathieson of the
American Pie Council will be some of the distinguished judges.

Post Script Sunday October 14, 2007

Auntie Mame arrived early to drive me to the pie drop off. We got there early and the organizers were kind enough to let me check in. What a great group they are. This event is building up momentum over the years and proceeds of the sale of pie benefit the Friends of Holstein Park(in Bucktown). I explained about my car troubles and how I couldn’t stay to help . They totally understood and said they would call if I won. Before I went to bed last night I fretted about all the professionals and pros involved as judges and entrants. I feared they would laugh at my entry, etc. Certain Someone said I was a pie freak and told me to got to bed. So I’m at home now while he plays golf. If he’s up to it we will try to go back. Other than that I’ll wait to see if I get anything prize wise. Nevertheless I’m glad I entered and had the experience. May this be the first of many contests and exploring.

Contest Trial Runs


My pal Gabi forwarded me a link to a Apple Pie contest to be held next week. I grabbed one of the last spots to enter. My first culinary contest! There will be some heavy hitting judges. So this morning I decided to put my ‘concepts ‘ into reality. I researched and researched via books and the Internet . Seems not much is original( as I googled my original ideas to see if they have done) but a a lots of variations on a theme. I never realized so many pie crusts combos existed, but with experimentation I’ve found a good base crust, that I added to to compliment each of my concepts. I wont post my ingredients yet, as the the contest is next week. I made mini pies to test on my friend Vicky, Auntie Mame,and Certain Someone. I slightly over cooked the first one ( but lesson learned on how to adjust temps, etc.) to accommodate my various components. The pies will be judged on taste, appearance, fillings, etc. I can not add any other fruits so I’m limited to spices, juices, etc. I couldn’t wait to post as I figured out how to start photographing better. I still need some work in that area, but I will get there some day.