Posted by The Staten Island Advance, NY on October 16, 2008 at 08:53:45:
Home cooks win national culinary competitions
Inventive recipes by a homemaker and a young boy capture the interest of professional judges
ADVANCE STAFF REPORT
Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- What kind of a recipe does it take to win a major prize in a nationwide competition?
Many home cooks are out there who are capable of making a career of entering culinary contests. They've mastered the scheme -- knowing just which ingredients and which cooking techniques will capture the judges' attention.
Neither Devon Delaney of Princeton, N.J., who won a $20,000 grand prize in the Reader Recipe Contest sponsored by Cooking Light magazine, nor 12-year-old Adam Gibson of Marion Station, Md., who was grand-prize winner in the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Seafood & Aquaculture Program, are career contestants, however.
INVENTIVE RECIPES
Yet, the recipes they submitted were inventive enough to beat out the opposition, catchy enough to satisfy the judges and worthy of interesting scores of other amateur cooks.
Mrs. Delaney's award for her Ranch Steak Bruschetta Salad in the Birmingham, Ala., finals amounted to a grand prize of $20,000, plus $5,000 to be donated to the charity of her choice, the Margaux Powers Scholarship Fund.
Meanwhile, young Adam Gibson placed first in the appetizer division and grand prize in the National Hard Crab Derby Cooking Contest in Crisfield, Md. He won out over 25 finalist contestants who competed in four categories to win the the 45th annual contest.
His dish, Maryland Crab Imperial Nachos, featured three ways to use crab in an appetizer. The crab imperial, crab salsa and crab pico de gallo were served with warm nachos drizzled with melted pepper Jack cheese.
LOW IN FAT, CALORIES
The Cooking Light contest featured dishes in four separate categories--Starters and Drinks; Sides and Salads; Family Dinners, and Desserts--with the winner of each awarded $5,000, and one -- Mrs. Delaney in this case -- selected as the best overall and grand-prize winner.
For consideration, the contest entries had to be lower in fat and calories than traditional recipes and contain one or more ingredients from the 2008 contest sponsors, a score of food manufacturers. The winning recipes will be featured in the January/February 2009 issue of Cooking Light and posted on www.cookinglight.com.
RANCH STEAK BRUSCHETTA SALAD (Serves
6) 6 tablespoons ranch dressing 1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons ground coffee 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder 4 (4 ounces each) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed and cut to 1-inch thickness Cooking spray 1/4 cup chopped shallots 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 1/4 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 12 cherry tomatoes, halved 6 cups loosely packed arugula 12 (1-ounce) slices French bread, toasted
Combine dressing and horseradish in a small bowl; cover and chill. In another bowl, combine black pepper, coffee, cumin and chile powder. Rub both sides of steaks with pepper mixture; let stand 10 minutes.
Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium heat. Coat steaks with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side, or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan; let stand 7 minutes.
Combine shallots, basil, bell peppers, juice and tomatoes in a small bowl; toss well. Arrange 1 cup arugula on each of 6 plates; top each serving with 2 toast slices. Cut steaks diagonally across grain into thin slices. Divide steak evenly among toast slices; top each serving with about 2 tablespoons tomato mixture.
Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon dressing mixture. Serve immediately.
MARYLAND CRAB IMPERIAL NACHOS
1 pound Maryland crab meat 1/2 cup crab Imperial 1/2 cup crab salsa 1/2 cup crab pico de gallo 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 stick butter 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic Cilantro, lime slices and green onions, for garnish Warmed nachos 1 block pepper Jack cheese Old Bay seasoning, to taste
Combine flour and butter to make a roux. Slowly add cream. Add cheese until thick and creamy. Assemble crab imperial, salsa and pico de gallo in dishes on platter. Arrange warmed nachos around dips.
Drizzle cheese sauce over and around nachos. Garnish with cilantro, lime slices, green onion, remaining crab meat and Old Bay seasoning.
CILANTRO-CRAB PICO DE GALLO
1/2 jar recanito sauce, such as Goya 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and chopped Juice from 1/2 lime 1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic Salt and pepper, to taste 1/2 cup Maryland crab meat
In a bowl, combine the recanito sauce, pepper, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Slowly fold in crab meat when ready to serve.
CRAB IMPERIAL
1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup crab meat Old Bay seasoning, to taste
In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and seasoning. Slowly fold in crab meat. Place in a shallow baking dish and bake in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
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