Saturday, March 13, 2010

Worst Cook in America

BEFORE

WHAT WILL IT BE?

PORK LOIN..UGGG NO!!!! THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!

AFTER

Rutland Court will never be the same. Now living admist the fire fighter, the medical sales guy, the truck hauler, the fitness equipment owner, the Rancho Cucamonga housewives and more, lies an Iron Chef...me! Ha! That's right folks, somehow I was awarded the title of Iron Chef at our first Iron Chef competition this past Monday night.

It was an evening of flavor as Steve and I competed against each other to create three dishes: an appetizer, an entree and a dessert using a secret ingredient (revealed 15 minutes prior to our chop chop chopping)! We agreed upon five potential secret ingredients, went shopping for all five-and then some (evidenced by the mounds of food in the background of the photos). When Pork Loin was selected I wanted to faint. Disbelief was planted upon my face as I secretly refused to accept that pork would ever make it to the competition. So wrong. I faced my doom and panic set in.

I say I won because logistics were in my favor. Steve says I won as I always make incredible salads (without boring anyone with details...we both never completed all three of our meals within the two hour time frame thus my appetizer was competing against his entree-the fully plated dishes when the clock struck). Between my over peppery/pungent arugula and the under-roasted beets, tough and hidden pork loin salad and Steve's grossly overuse of garlic in his cauliflower puree, we both could have been labeled the Worst Cooks in America.

Despite the random ingredients that now line my pantry, ranging from a costco sized bag of pine nuts to a dozen avocados to a chunk of lard-our future meals will be composed out of desperation to make a dent in our overstocked shelves. We purchased all the ingredients that had potential of being used...I think I have three cartons of whipping cream in my fridge, six filet mignon's and three tubs of fresh raspberries hanging out along with 25 uncooked beets...that should paint a clear picture!

As I embrace this new week I'm strongly considering menu planning to beef up on my Iron Chef skills as the competitions will continue. We have already discussed the possibility of doing another one in June!

By the way, I had Dylan on my back the entire time. Maybe that added to my kitchen merit? No, I think the judges were overly kind...and really darn hungry.