So my previous post about the 1st and 2nd Anniversary Cook Offs probably foreshadowed this one, and here it finally is! We did the 3rd Cook Off about 2 weeks ago and it's time to reveal the results here. Some basics rules about the cook off:
Strict 1 hour time limit
Make as many dishes as you want
All dishes must contain the central theme ingredient
No recipes or preparation
$20 grocery budget, all pantry items are considered free
Points scored on taste, plating, and originality
Now about the secret ingredient...it's actually not a secret. We mutually agree on the ingredient based on whatever we have a surplus off. The first year we had just gone to a horseradish festival and the second year we had a large abundance of strawberries from a farmer's market sale. And this year, well we had recently gone to a "sugar shack" which is where pure maple syrup gets made. So yes, being the East Coasters that we are now, the secret ingredient was Maple Syrup! We actually ended up having a lot of similarities in our menus but remember there's no preparation beforehand and we don't tell each other what we are making so it was basically just random coincidence. Or maybe we are more alike than we care to admit!
Anyway. without further ado, let's get to the pictures!
And who came out victorious?? Well let's just say it wasn't me :( But Ruchir and his Menu A definitely deserved to win. We both were pretty tied on taste, I had a tiny edge on plating, but Ruchir killed on the originality front. I mean reconstructed deconstructed doughnut?? And yeah, it was delicious. So well deserved dear husband, well deserved.
Strict 1 hour time limit
Make as many dishes as you want
All dishes must contain the central theme ingredient
No recipes or preparation
$20 grocery budget, all pantry items are considered free
Points scored on taste, plating, and originality
Now about the secret ingredient...it's actually not a secret. We mutually agree on the ingredient based on whatever we have a surplus off. The first year we had just gone to a horseradish festival and the second year we had a large abundance of strawberries from a farmer's market sale. And this year, well we had recently gone to a "sugar shack" which is where pure maple syrup gets made. So yes, being the East Coasters that we are now, the secret ingredient was Maple Syrup! We actually ended up having a lot of similarities in our menus but remember there's no preparation beforehand and we don't tell each other what we are making so it was basically just random coincidence. Or maybe we are more alike than we care to admit!
Anyway. without further ado, let's get to the pictures!
Kitchen Aftermath (it's a small kitchen and we were both scrambling for space!)
The Menus (any idea which is mine and which is Ruchir's?)
Spinach salad (Menu A)
Maple Lemonade (Menu A)
Maple glazed steak with brussel sprouts (Menu A)
Maple Rice Tea (Menu A)
Maple salmon with maple cauliflower puree (Menu A)
Reconstructed deconstructed doughnut (Menu A)
Maple carrot halwa (Menu A)
Maple caramelized onion jam and goat cheese (Menu B)
Maple butter roasted brussel sprouts with cayenne pepper (Menu B)
Soy maple salmon (Menu B)
Maple Lemonade (Menu B)
Coconut maple beef sliders with maple mustard (Menu B)
Maple mashed sweet potatoes with maple marshmallow topping (Menu B)
Also not pictured for Menu B was vanilla ice cream with maple topping which became a soup because it was crazy hot inside after all the cooking.
Let the judging begin!
All smiles before the reveal...
And who came out victorious?? Well let's just say it wasn't me :( But Ruchir and his Menu A definitely deserved to win. We both were pretty tied on taste, I had a tiny edge on plating, but Ruchir killed on the originality front. I mean reconstructed deconstructed doughnut?? And yeah, it was delicious. So well deserved dear husband, well deserved.
Now the official score count is me ahead 2-1. Looking forward to next year!!
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