I’ve been talking about trying Tre Kronor ever since I saw it featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives last summer. Tre Kronor is a little Swedish BYOB restaurant located in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. Although it’s a bit of a trek from downtown, Katie and I chose to go on a snowy night last week thinking it was perfect weather for some Swedish comfort food.
We were freezing by the time we got there, so we were happy to see that they had several soups on the menu. Katie got the mushroom soup special and I went with the French onion. I have no doubt that both were delicious, but we were so cold and hungry that anything hot would have been amazing!
Tre Kronor makes their own gravlax, so that was a must try. An order of gravlax turned out to be a pretty large platter including toast points, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, red onion, and mustard sauce. The gravlax was perfect. I want more…now.
I ordered the duck with apple pork sausage, wild rice, and lignonberry jam. I always love duck with something sweet, but I wasn’t sure if I’d wild rice was really what I felt like with my duck. I went with it anyways and was glad I did; it was absolutely delicious. I wasn’t wild about the sausage that they put next to it, but everything else made up for it.
Katie ordered the Swedish meatballs, which tied with the gravlax for star of the night. The meatballs were smothered in a veal stock gravy and served with mashed potatoes, fresh cucumbers, and some lignonberry jam. I bet they serve such a large portion so others at the table can try.
Ok – we were kind of stuffed by this point but still had some of our wine to finish, so we ordered the bread pudding to share for dessert. It was warm, comforting, and a perfect end to the meal.
Did I mention how cheap this place is? We ordered tons of food, but were very pleasantly surprised when the check came…
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Guacamole-off
When I heard last week that a couple of my co-workers were organizing a “guacamole-off” at work, I knew I would have to come up with a winning recipe. I’m usually a purist when it comes to guac, but I figured I’d have to make something a little different to make mine stand out. I decided to put some mango in it and add some habanero hot sauce to counteract the sweetness. I also found some key limes at the store that I thought would give my guacamole an interesting twist. It worked – I won!
I created the recipe the night before using one avocado and just recreated it in the morning with four avocados. It made for an easy but yummy dinner over with some pan-fried catfish.
Key Lime Mango Guacamole
1 ripe avocado
1 clove of garlic
¼ tsp. kosher salt
2-3 tbsp. mango, chopped
2 tbsp. red onion, chopped
Juice of 1 ½ key limes
½ tsp. habanero hot sauce
1-2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
Chop the garlic and smash into a paste with the salt. Add the rest of the ingredients and mash until desired consistency.
Labels:
Seafood,
Vegetables
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Restaurants: Momofuku Noodle Bar
Since I moved to New York last month, everyone has told me that I need to try the pork belly buns at one of the Momofuku restaurants. Fortunately, Noodle Bar and Ssäm bar are both within walking distance of new place. My roommate Jess is one of the many who have gushed about them, so we made our way to Noodle Bar (the more casual option) on Sunday night to check it out.
We started off with the pork belly buns. Each bun is filled with a couple generous slices of pork belly, cucumbers, hoisin, and scallions. When you top it off with a little bit of chili sauce, it’s…well…heaven.
We also tried the roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, kimchi, and carrots. If you know me, you know how I feel about Brussels sprouts. Bias aside, I think this dish could convert the most adamant brussels sprouts hater.
We then each got noodle bowls. I got the momofuku ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder, and a poached egg. I guess I went a little overboard on the pork, but how could I resist?
Jess tried the ginger scallion noodles. She also ordered a side of broth to pour over the noodles, which turned out to be a great call. The broth was incredible.
I’ll probably be back very soon...next weekend maybe??
We started off with the pork belly buns. Each bun is filled with a couple generous slices of pork belly, cucumbers, hoisin, and scallions. When you top it off with a little bit of chili sauce, it’s…well…heaven.
We also tried the roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, kimchi, and carrots. If you know me, you know how I feel about Brussels sprouts. Bias aside, I think this dish could convert the most adamant brussels sprouts hater.
We then each got noodle bowls. I got the momofuku ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder, and a poached egg. I guess I went a little overboard on the pork, but how could I resist?
Jess tried the ginger scallion noodles. She also ordered a side of broth to pour over the noodles, which turned out to be a great call. The broth was incredible.
I’ll probably be back very soon...next weekend maybe??
Labels:
Restaurants
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Restaurants: Toro Sushi
A post about my favorite sushi restaurant (and maybe overall restaurant) in Chicago is long overdue. Toro is a tiny BYOB in Lincoln Park that may not look like much, but I don’t think you can get better sushi for your money. I went about once a week when I was living in Chicago, even braving the sometimes 2 hour wait.
A few tips -
Hot Finger Roll Appetizer – deep fried spicy salmon roll
“O” Roll – super white tuna, wasabi tobiko, spicy tuna, and avocado
Alaskan Roll – salmon and avocado
Mackerel Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Hamachi Sashimi, Tuna Sashimi
Deep Fried Green Tea Ice Cream
A few tips -
- Get there early and prepare to wait. They will turn people away when the waiting list has gotten too long. Don’t take your chances: get there early, leave your phone number, and wait at a bar nearby.
- Sit at the sushi bar. It’s a little cramped, but Mitch (the chef/owner) will usually pass out some of his favorites to try. Don’t be alarmed if he gives you a fist pump.
- Get the salmon nigiri! It’s the best…ever.
Labels:
Restaurants
Monday, December 7, 2009
Restaurants: Hungry Mother
Hungry Mother quickly became a favorite of my family when it first opened down the street from my parents in Kendall Square last year. The food is kind of like refined Southern food with a French twist. The menu is very small, but it changes often and I have never had anything that I haven’t loved. Between the atmosphere and the service, you actually feel like you’re dining at someone’s house.
Unfortunately for us, word got out. In addition to getting rave reviews all around, Barry Maiden, the executive chef, was featured in Food & Wine Magazine as one of the best new chefs of 2009. Let’s just say that same day reservations are hard to come by these days!
Last Sunday was the last night of my Thanksgiving visit home and my dad had just flown out for a business trip. My mom and I thought we’d call Hungry Mother on the off chance that they had an opening for two. They didn’t, but they told us that someone was about to get up from one of the bar tables and that they’d save it for us if we could be there in five minutes. Off we went…
The menu is split up into snacks “to tide you over,” firsts, mains, and sides. The mains are generous portions, but it’s hard to resist ordering a few additions. We started off with the beef tongue canapé. I ordered it my first time there just to try something different and was blown away with how good it was. They thinly slice the smoked tongue and top it with a little bit of mustard and melted gruyere. It’s a little bit sweet, has a bacon-like smokiness, and just melts in your mouth.
We also got the black eyed pea fritters, which had a really interesting texture that we loved. They were both crunchy AND creamy on the inside. Our server told us that the black eyed peas were soaked but not cooked. It didn’t hurt that they were served with buttermilk ranch dressing and house made bacon.
I ordered the gnocchi in a mushroom broth with chanterelles, squash, red peas, brussels sprouts, and parmesan cheese. They seem to always have a variation of this dish; they just change the vegetables with the season. I’m not usually one to order a vegetarian dish, but I had some of my mom’s one time and fell in love with it.
My mom ordered the cornmeal catfish served over dirty rice, andouille, and mustard brown butter. It was topped with a sour vegetable relish that cut through the richness of the fish really nicely. Again, they always have some kind of cornmeal catfish on their menu and it actually seems to get better and better.
Because I can’t come to Hungry Mother without getting some grits, we shared a side of the baked cheddar grits with tasso ham.
For dessert, we split the coconut cream parfait. The coconut cream was layered with toasted coconut and topped with rum whipped cream and a coconut shortbread cookie.
As you can probably tell, I love everything about Hungry Mother. Its’ the kind of place you can go to and know you’ll always leave in a good mood. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check it out.
Unfortunately for us, word got out. In addition to getting rave reviews all around, Barry Maiden, the executive chef, was featured in Food & Wine Magazine as one of the best new chefs of 2009. Let’s just say that same day reservations are hard to come by these days!
Last Sunday was the last night of my Thanksgiving visit home and my dad had just flown out for a business trip. My mom and I thought we’d call Hungry Mother on the off chance that they had an opening for two. They didn’t, but they told us that someone was about to get up from one of the bar tables and that they’d save it for us if we could be there in five minutes. Off we went…
The menu is split up into snacks “to tide you over,” firsts, mains, and sides. The mains are generous portions, but it’s hard to resist ordering a few additions. We started off with the beef tongue canapé. I ordered it my first time there just to try something different and was blown away with how good it was. They thinly slice the smoked tongue and top it with a little bit of mustard and melted gruyere. It’s a little bit sweet, has a bacon-like smokiness, and just melts in your mouth.
We also got the black eyed pea fritters, which had a really interesting texture that we loved. They were both crunchy AND creamy on the inside. Our server told us that the black eyed peas were soaked but not cooked. It didn’t hurt that they were served with buttermilk ranch dressing and house made bacon.
I ordered the gnocchi in a mushroom broth with chanterelles, squash, red peas, brussels sprouts, and parmesan cheese. They seem to always have a variation of this dish; they just change the vegetables with the season. I’m not usually one to order a vegetarian dish, but I had some of my mom’s one time and fell in love with it.
My mom ordered the cornmeal catfish served over dirty rice, andouille, and mustard brown butter. It was topped with a sour vegetable relish that cut through the richness of the fish really nicely. Again, they always have some kind of cornmeal catfish on their menu and it actually seems to get better and better.
Because I can’t come to Hungry Mother without getting some grits, we shared a side of the baked cheddar grits with tasso ham.
For dessert, we split the coconut cream parfait. The coconut cream was layered with toasted coconut and topped with rum whipped cream and a coconut shortbread cookie.
As you can probably tell, I love everything about Hungry Mother. Its’ the kind of place you can go to and know you’ll always leave in a good mood. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check it out.
Labels:
Restaurants
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Post-Thanksgiving Tapas Night
My family and I usually feel like different flavors the night after Thanksgiving (too soon for straight-up leftovers!). We started off thinking that we’d make my grandmother’s turkey croquettes with our Thanksgiving leftovers, and this turned into a little tapas night.
We made some clams, spicy limas with chorizo, and patatas alioli to go with the croquettes. We served it all with sliced baguette and a simple salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. As much as I love a traditional Thanksgiving, this kind of food has a special place in my heart.
Patatas Alioli (potatoes with garlic mayonnaise)
1 c. olive oil (we sometimes use a mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil)
½ - 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped (depending on how garlicky you want it to be)
1 large egg
Lemon juice
Potatoes (we used two russets, but you could use different types and as many as you like)
Salt
Hot smoked paprika
Steam the potatoes and let cool to room temperature. Slice in 1/8-1/2 inch slices.
Meanwhile, make the alioli by pureeing the olive oil, garlic, and egg with a hand blender. When it has emulsified, add a small squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
To serve, arrange the potato slices on a platter and spread each one with some alioli. Sprinkle each with some salt and spicy smoked paprika.
We usually put out the leftover alioli for bread dipping…but it’s seriously good on everything.
Turkey Croquettes
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
1 c. whole milk
1 ¾ c. cooked turkey (or chicken), finely chopped
¼ tsp. celery salt
Pinch of cayenne
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg
Breadcrumbs
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat and add the milk. Turn up the heat to medium-high and cook until the sauce is very thick (almost like dough). Add the turkey, celery salt, cayenne, lemon juice, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper. Spread this mixture out on a plate and put in the refrigerator until completely cooled and hardened.
When the dough is chilled, roll into balls about the size of a large egg. Beat one egg with a drop of water. Lay the breadcrumbs out on a plate and, if using unseasoned breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. Roll the croquettes into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs, back into the egg, and finally into the breadcrumbs again.
Deep fry the breaded croquettes in a combination of vegetable oil and olive oil. We don’t actually take the temperature of the oil; we just test the oil with a piece of bread. If the bread fries lightly in the oil, then the oil is ready. Fry the croquettes until golden brown on the outside. This makes about 9 medium croquettes.
Spicy Limas with Chorizo
My family makes these limas often, but we never really use a recipe. The basic method is to sauté some chorizo in olive oil, add a package of frozen limas, a healthy splash of white wine, a couple of bay leaves, and some red pepper flakes. Simmer it until the limas are soft, but not mushy. We used a spicy Portuguese chorizo instead of the Spanish chorizo we usually use, so you can really use any kind of cured sausage. You will want to adjust the heat with the pepper flakes depending on the heat of the sausage that you use.
Clams with Saffron Sauce
Again, my mom makes these all the time but doesn’t really follow a recipe. Start by soaking the clams in some water, cornmeal, and salt to clean them. Sauté a little bit of chopped onion in some olive oil. When the onion is soft, add a good amount of white wine and either some clam juice, seafood stock, or water. Add a pinch of saffron or some sazón seasoning (which is a good, cheap alternative), a large handful of chopped parsley, a clove or two of chopped garlic, and some red pepper flakes. Add some salt and pepper, to taste. When the mixture is simmering, add the clams and close the lid until the clams have opened up. Finish off with another small handful of chopped parsley. Make sure you have plenty of bread to soak up the sauce!
Labels:
Meat and Poultry,
Seafood,
Vegetables
Friday, November 27, 2009
I've Moved!
I finally made the move to New York! I know that an update is way overdue, but I have been crazy busy and basically without kitchen for the past month. I recently got an apartment in the East Village with my good friend Jess from college and am absolutely loving it so far. The food options in my neighborhood alone are overwhelming.
I have unfortunately only been around New York on the weekends because my job has me traveling back to Chicago Monday through Thursday every week. I’m staying in a corporate apartment on the weekdays, so I’m hoping that all of the traveling won’t hinder my cooking.
As you can see below, my New York kitchen is itty bitty. I’ll need to get very creative with storage and counter space, but I’ll make do.
Also, happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!
I have unfortunately only been around New York on the weekends because my job has me traveling back to Chicago Monday through Thursday every week. I’m staying in a corporate apartment on the weekdays, so I’m hoping that all of the traveling won’t hinder my cooking.
As you can see below, my New York kitchen is itty bitty. I’ll need to get very creative with storage and counter space, but I’ll make do.
Also, happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!
Labels:
Musings
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Otto
My friends Jess, Sarah, and Katie and I went to Otto on the night before the Santa Margherita event. Otto is one of Mario Batali’s restaurants, but it’s actually pretty casual and quite cheap (especially for New York). It’s basically part wine bar and part pizzeria.
The menu is designed for sharing, comprising of a variety of antipasti, pizzas, and pasta. Everything we had was wonderful and it was great being able to try so many different things. The wine list is enormous, but we ended up settling on individual glasses of wine. We were surprised to discover that each glass of wine is actually a small carafe and is a really good deal at $9-10 a glass!
We started with the Pea and Pancetta Bruschetta, which was topped with some fresh mint.
We then got three kinds of Antipasti:
Summer Corn and Fregola
Mussels, Peperonata, Mint
Squash and Pecorino
Our pasta came next. We ordered the Rigatoni con Sausage & Escarole.
We tried two of their pizzas: Funghi & Taleggio and Pane Frattau (tomato, pecorino, egg).
We couldn’t resist ordering a couple of desserts to round off our meal. I had read great things about the olive oil gelato so I knew we’d have to try that. The dessert was called Olive Oil Coppetta and had the olive oil gelato, lime curd, pineapple rosemary conserva, passionfruit caramel, and cashew cacao brittle. We also got the Black and White, which was layered with milk chocolate chip gelato, hazelnut croccante, crème fraiche gelato, chocolate sauce, and caramel crema. Both of the desserts were very different, but equally delicious!
Overall, our meal was really enjoyable and the atmosphere was great for catching up with friends.
Labels:
Restaurants
Monday, October 5, 2009
Penelope: A Fantastic NYC Lunch Spot
Penelope felt really quaint even though it was just blocks from the hustle-bustle of Midtown. The weather was beautiful, so the floor to ceiling windows were opened up to the street.
We ordered the guacamole as soon as we sat down. It turned out to be a huge portion alongside different types of toasted bread, which was a nice change from standard tortilla chips. As you can see, we sort of dug in before I got a chance to snap a picture:
It was a tough call, but I decided that the BBLT was calling my name. It had double the bacon of a regular BLT, a black pepper balsamic mayo, and was served on toasted sourdough bread. It was, by far, the best BLT I’ve ever had.
Katie went with the panko-crusted calamari salad with spinach, papaya, mango and a green goddess dressing. I stole a bite (or two), and it was also amazing.
I’ll definitely be back!
Labels:
Restaurants
Monday, September 28, 2009
Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge: The Finals!
Well – I didn’t win, but had an incredible day at the finals. They were held last Thursday at the Bon Appétit Supper Club and Café in New York City, which is a “pop-up” restaurant that’s held in a different location for one week every year. They have chef demos during the day and feature lunch specials from well-known chefs. We spent the day there watching all of the demos, meeting some awesome people, and eating LOTS of food. The event happened in the late afternoon after the demos and lunch service were over. I’ll recap whole day, so please bear with me…this might be a long one!
I met the two other finalists when I arrived: Andreann Geise from Myrtle Beach, SC and Deb Kurtze from Schaumburg, IL. They were both super nice and – like me – excited to be there.
We started the day by ordering lunch. The people at Bon Appétit that were with us for the day suggested we share a bunch of things, so we had a quite a feast: José Andrés' JLT with Jamón Serrano and Manchego, Tom Douglas' Rub with Love King Salmon Sandwich, Rick Bayless' Skirt Steak Salad with Avocado and Chile Lime Dressing, Rick Bayless' Creamy Corn Soup with Ham, Tom Douglas' Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, and Nancy Olson's Pumpkin Whoopie Pie. The JLT, corn soup, and whoopie pie were the standouts for me, but it was all fantastic!
Gina DePalma, cookbook author and pastry chef at Babbo, took the stage after lunch. She demonstrated how to make a zabaglione, which is made by beating egg yolks, sugar, and red wine. The whole process looked a little exhausting, but the end result (which we thankfully got to try) was delicious. Small portions were passed around with a little piece of hazelnut cake.
After Gina DePalma’s demo, Cat Cora sat down at the table next to us for a pre-demo meeting. Katie and I tried our best to not stare, but we couldn’t wait to meet her! The Bon Appétit and Santa Margherita people had her come over to meet us and take pictures after her meeting. I had always thought she looked intimidating on television, but she turned out to be one of the nicest people I have ever met. She’s also very tiny in person! Eventually, she had to pull away from all of the pictures so she could get up on stage and do her cooking demonstration. She energetically showed everyone how to make her skirt steak tacos with shitake mushroom salsa.
Fabio Viviani arrived shortly after Cat Cora’s demo. He did a demonstration of his gorgonzola-stuffed, pancetta wrapped shrimp over herbed polenta and baby spinach. Sadly, they did not give out samples of his dish. I’m definitely going to try the recipe though; it looked and smelled phenomenal!
Preparations for the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge begin after all of the demos were over. They took a lot of professional pictures (which I hope to get a hold of at some point), but – for now – I’ll have to post the pictures my friends and I took.
The judges for the event were Fabio (again), Jacob Falleni (Fabio’s business partner at Café Firenze), Bill Terlato (President & CEO of Terlato Wines), and Barbara Fairchild (editor in chief of Bon Appétit magazine). I was personally terrified to cook in front of Barbara Fairchild. I always see her as a judge on Iron Chef, so I almost didn’t want to know what she thought about my food! That said, I was extremely excited to meet her.
Some of my friends in New York came to cheer me on :). We had some Prosecco while waited for everything to be setup.
Mike, Jess, me, Katie, and Hallie
My demo was first. Fabio and Bill Terlato first gave a brief introduction of themselves, the judges, and the competition to the audience. I nervously waited on stage behind them as Katie kept signaling to me to smile!
Here are some pictures of my actual demonstration. I had some difficulties at first because my pan wasn’t getting hot enough and I couldn’t melt the butter. I only had 10 minutes to demonstrate my dish from start to finish, so this was a bit of a challenge. Everyone was standing around me trying to figure out how to get the fancy touch-screen stovetop to get hotter. Once we figured it out, the rest went fairly smoothly. Fabio’s chattiness helped ease my nerves!
Finalist Deb Kurtzke went next with her Glazed Pork over Mango Couscous. The last finalist, Andreann Geise, cooked Mint, Fig, and Chianti Glazed Lamb with Spaghetti in a Lemon Chianti Cream Sauce. Their recipes (along with mine) are posted on the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge website. They were both amazing, so I knew this would be a tough competition.
I was SO nervous when it was time for the judge’s critique and the final decision. They announced that Andreann’s lamb dish with the Chianti won. I can’t say I wasn’t a little bit bummed, but I really can’t complain because I had an amazing time and met some incredible people. I hope they’ll let me enter again next year!
Congratulations Andreann!
I met the two other finalists when I arrived: Andreann Geise from Myrtle Beach, SC and Deb Kurtze from Schaumburg, IL. They were both super nice and – like me – excited to be there.
We started the day by ordering lunch. The people at Bon Appétit that were with us for the day suggested we share a bunch of things, so we had a quite a feast: José Andrés' JLT with Jamón Serrano and Manchego, Tom Douglas' Rub with Love King Salmon Sandwich, Rick Bayless' Skirt Steak Salad with Avocado and Chile Lime Dressing, Rick Bayless' Creamy Corn Soup with Ham, Tom Douglas' Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, and Nancy Olson's Pumpkin Whoopie Pie. The JLT, corn soup, and whoopie pie were the standouts for me, but it was all fantastic!
Gina DePalma, cookbook author and pastry chef at Babbo, took the stage after lunch. She demonstrated how to make a zabaglione, which is made by beating egg yolks, sugar, and red wine. The whole process looked a little exhausting, but the end result (which we thankfully got to try) was delicious. Small portions were passed around with a little piece of hazelnut cake.
After Gina DePalma’s demo, Cat Cora sat down at the table next to us for a pre-demo meeting. Katie and I tried our best to not stare, but we couldn’t wait to meet her! The Bon Appétit and Santa Margherita people had her come over to meet us and take pictures after her meeting. I had always thought she looked intimidating on television, but she turned out to be one of the nicest people I have ever met. She’s also very tiny in person! Eventually, she had to pull away from all of the pictures so she could get up on stage and do her cooking demonstration. She energetically showed everyone how to make her skirt steak tacos with shitake mushroom salsa.
Fabio Viviani arrived shortly after Cat Cora’s demo. He did a demonstration of his gorgonzola-stuffed, pancetta wrapped shrimp over herbed polenta and baby spinach. Sadly, they did not give out samples of his dish. I’m definitely going to try the recipe though; it looked and smelled phenomenal!
Preparations for the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge begin after all of the demos were over. They took a lot of professional pictures (which I hope to get a hold of at some point), but – for now – I’ll have to post the pictures my friends and I took.
The judges for the event were Fabio (again), Jacob Falleni (Fabio’s business partner at Café Firenze), Bill Terlato (President & CEO of Terlato Wines), and Barbara Fairchild (editor in chief of Bon Appétit magazine). I was personally terrified to cook in front of Barbara Fairchild. I always see her as a judge on Iron Chef, so I almost didn’t want to know what she thought about my food! That said, I was extremely excited to meet her.
Some of my friends in New York came to cheer me on :). We had some Prosecco while waited for everything to be setup.
My demo was first. Fabio and Bill Terlato first gave a brief introduction of themselves, the judges, and the competition to the audience. I nervously waited on stage behind them as Katie kept signaling to me to smile!
Here are some pictures of my actual demonstration. I had some difficulties at first because my pan wasn’t getting hot enough and I couldn’t melt the butter. I only had 10 minutes to demonstrate my dish from start to finish, so this was a bit of a challenge. Everyone was standing around me trying to figure out how to get the fancy touch-screen stovetop to get hotter. Once we figured it out, the rest went fairly smoothly. Fabio’s chattiness helped ease my nerves!
Finalist Deb Kurtzke went next with her Glazed Pork over Mango Couscous. The last finalist, Andreann Geise, cooked Mint, Fig, and Chianti Glazed Lamb with Spaghetti in a Lemon Chianti Cream Sauce. Their recipes (along with mine) are posted on the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge website. They were both amazing, so I knew this would be a tough competition.
I was SO nervous when it was time for the judge’s critique and the final decision. They announced that Andreann’s lamb dish with the Chianti won. I can’t say I wasn’t a little bit bummed, but I really can’t complain because I had an amazing time and met some incredible people. I hope they’ll let me enter again next year!
Congratulations Andreann!
Labels:
Musings,
Restaurants
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