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The G Challenge

Here we go!

This is a challenge inspired by the TD's and some random comments on various threads. What if some of my favorite "chefs" from this site went head-to-head in a little challenge? And what if they couldn't use some of their go-to items? So here it is:

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]A meal - appetizer and entrée with optional sides. No bacon, no cheese, no hot dogs, no spam, and NO BP. But before you go thinking "that's easy, just leave out BP"... no. This isn't just about leaving it out, but about using alternatives, gettin' down in yo spice cabinets.[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]And yet another twist: Unlike TD's where no one gets to taste any of the creations, this will give the rest of us po folks a couple weeks to recreate the dishes and then vote after the cooking is done. That means they're going to have to give us an idea of quantities, too.[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]How is this the G Challenge if I'm not cooking? Heh. I issue the challenge and set the rules! (Bwahahahaha!)[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]I've invited SumOfMyBits, JayT, frydad4, and Deathtosnails to be "chefs" for this challenge. They have this weekend and next to cook and post pics and recipes. YOU who follow this thread will then have a couple weeks over which you can recreate their dishes and then vote. (Poll to come.) [/background]

Our four challengers are up for the game and ready to go - BRING IT!

EDIT:

If you've been watching this, and/or want to join in the voting phase, go ahead and start cooking. I've started the dishes SumOfMyBits made for tonight's dinner, and plan on doing DeathToSnails' dish later this week - these look REALLY good and I can't wait to try them! You'll have a few weekends to cook, and I'll open up voting near the end.
 
Click to expand...
I was at a loss as to what to make. Sum inspired me to go with Greek cuisine as well. Here's some ingredients. I didn't use the fetta cheese as per the rules. Just the oil from it.
P9291197.jpg
 
Here's the final pics. I'll post up the ingredients and method with some process pics later.

Appetizer: Grilled asparagus with marinated olive and grape on fresh made crusty lemon and oregano pita.
P9291208.jpg


Entree: Slow cooked Greek lamb on potatoes anna and wilted baby spinach.
P9291216.jpg
 
Appetizer;

Pita:
1 C white bread flour
160ml natural yoghurt +/-
½ Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dry yeast
2-3 pinches of sea salt
½ zest of lemon
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped


Method: Rub lemon zest into flour with your fingertips (releases oils) and mix all ingredients except oregano. You may need less or more yoghurt so add it bit by bit to get the right consistency. It should be slightly sticky.
Proof until doubled in size. Don’t knock back but add oregano and gently fold in half and repeat folding until oregano is mixed. Roll out thin. Preheat pizza stone to 250 C and cook until crispy.
P9291205.jpg

Cut pita into wedges; add sliced grape, rough chopped olive and a spear of grilled asparagus. Dress with olive oil.

Potato Anna:
2-3 starchy potatoes
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
½ clove minced garlic
1 tsp. sea salt

Method: Gently melt butter and add all ingredients except potatoes.
Using a box grater or mandolin, slice potatoes as thin as you can. Rinse until water runs clear. Drain well.
In an oven proof dish (I used mini spring forms) brush bottom and sides with butter mix. Layer potato around bottom and brush with butter mix. Repeat until dish is full.

P9291204.jpg

Preheat oven to 160 C and cook 1 hour or until done. Cool 10 minutes and de-mould onto bed of wilted spinach.
P9291209.jpg



Greek lamb:
800g shoulder or leg of lamb or goat
1 juice of lemon
1 Tbsp. fish sauce or 2-3 fillets of anchovy with a little oil
2 sprigs rosemary, remove leaves from stem
1 fresh bay leaf, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ zest of lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 squares of aluminium foil


Method: Coat lamb in olive oil. Preheat a pan to smoking point (cast iron is good for this) and add lamb. Brown on all sides and remove to foil. I place the foil in shallow bowl and shape it to the bowl.
P9291198.jpg

Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice and fish sauce. Pour this liquid over lamb. Add all other ingredients. Close foil around lamb and gently shape to lambs shape. You want to try and remove air pockets.
P9291199.jpg

Chop excess foil.
P9291202.jpg

Slow cook in a preheated oven 150 C for 3 hours. Remove lamb. Rest 10 minutes. Add liquid to a dish and place lamb in. Break lamb into half pulled, half chunks.
Serve on potatoes anna and spinach.
 
Yup, I did. I said olive oil in the recipe to make it easier for people to make. It's expensive to buy the marinated fetta just for the oil. And honestly, the flavour would be the same.
 
Ah - thanks for the clarification. Seriously, that looks AWESOME! I'm going to try to recreate Sum's this weekend, then go for yours next. Can't wait to see what FD and JT come up with!
 
Whoa dad!

You could have followed Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock with that dish.

Loving those spuds and the lambsky!

You should know that "going Greek" means something else in this country.
 
And for those of us who are actually going to recreate these dishes.... http://www.metric-conversions.org
 
Ok - they DO have grape leaves at the hippy food store (a.k.a. Whole Foods Market) - I'mma gonna be stuffing some tomorrow!
 
Ok, summer..... Grape leaves purchased and soaking. I decided to do some research. Pretty much every recipe I found indicates to either soak them for several hours to remove as much brine as possible, or blanch them. I'm soaking. They're pretty soft, so I can see that blanching might make them too difficult to work with, depending upon how long they're blanched.

For anyone else who's not sure where to purchase grape leaves, I called Whole Foods Market yesterday, and they told me they sell them. Well, they do, but you need to specify that you want brined "plain" leaves in a jar, not already-stuffed leaves, or you may be directed to the wrong area of the store. After picking them up there this morning, I went to my regular grocer and found them there, too. No price difference, but I wasn't expecting them to have grape leaves at all - live and learn!
 
All systems go for tonight.
If I fail I'll Do it tomorrow.
Got my ingredients.
It's gonna be good.
It's gonna be weird!
 
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