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.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Now there's 2 G Challenge topics? I'm lost lol.

 

[Scovie]

I'm lost

yep

 

[geeme]

Well, sometimes it just is what it is!

Several folks have seen the original thread, but were confused. Started a new thread so people don't just think "been there..." We need some cookin' THP-ers to join in - this isn't just about me recreating the dishes. Enough people say they don't join in the TD's or vote because they don't get to taste the food before they vote - here's your chance!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Okay cool. So what is the difference is challenge #2?

 

[Scovie]

Nope

Ain't happnin'

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Did someone win challenge 1? Or is it not a contest?

 

[Scovie]

nope,

Nope,

 

[geeme]

No, no one's won the first challenge. Between JayT being out having a baby in the middle of the chef phase (go figure how THAT could interrupt something on THP!) and the TD, we got a slow start. So now the goal is to stir up some interest to get people cooking and actually trying the dishes, then vote when the cooking is done. We're giving people 3 weekends to cook, in consideration of those who can't really cook during the work week (including me), then will open up voting.

New thread

 

[geeme]

I don't really care for unfinished business, but this challenge has been unfinished. So here are my closing thoughts:

In spite of the fact that plenty of people complain that they don't get to try the Throwdown entries before voting, we had little to no participation in this challenge. The chefs cooked, but even they did not try to make each others' dishes. Booma was the only member besides me who even attempted to remake the dishes, so it seems. Do I think it was a bad idea? No, but apparently it just didn't catch on, whether people were too busy or even just too lazy. But that's water under the bridge - point is I won't do another one, even though I personally enjoyed the challenge.

That said, who won? Well, you can see I never posted a poll for voting. JayT and Heather had a baby in the midst, so I gave him more time, but then he never posted his recipes. I got tied up with work and school work after a bout with bronchitis, and things just kind of fell by the wayside. Since so much time has passed, I'm not going to post a poll now. However, I will share my take on the recipes, noting that while I made both the appetizers and entrees for the first three chefs, I never made JayT's entree, but did make his steak appetizer. Still, since he didn't post his recipes, his dish was basically out of the running, anyway - one of the requirements of the challenge was to post recipes so we could understand in particular how the seasonings worked together. Sorry Jay, but rules are rules! Of the remaining three....

Frydad4: Pulled pork and slaw-stuffed artichoke with seasoned pecans appetizer.
Each of these were tasty, but to me, the flavors were not very complex. He did state that the timing probably wasn't really good for him, so that probably had an impact. Still, this was a head-to-head type of challenge, and I know he has it in him to pull out the stops. One of the goals of the challenge was to use seasonings in a way that people who usually use black pepper wouldn't miss it; was that accomplished? IMO, no, because of the lack of complexity. If I was a black pepper eater, I would definitely want to add it to the mustard sauce. Since I'm not, I would have gotten out much more of my spice cabinet and thrown in several more seasonings to kick it up a notch. The slaw was good, possibly the best part of the entry, but again, not quite "there." The nuts were definitely the kind of thing one would make for a Superbowl party - quick, easy, and tasty. A nice snack. But not really what I would consider an appetizer. Did it go with the entree? Yes. The overall impression (appetizer and entree) was that this was a hang-out-with-the-gang-and-watch-a-game type of entry, where the food needs to be good, but not spectacular, as the food is not the focus. But this was a food contest, so FD's entry is third place in my book. I am going to make the pulled pork again sometime soon, but will be doing the sauce a bit differently.

SumOfMyBits: Beef and rice stuffed grape leaves with cucumber tzatziki sauce and with ceviche appetizer.
I have never made my own stuffed grape leaves, and was really looking forward to making this entree, plus I love a good ceviche. As noted above, a key element to this challenge was the seasonings, and so I required measurements. This is a challenge for those of us who don't usually measure seasonings, but it's do-able - 10 shakes into the pot, then 10 shakes onto a clean piece of paper, measure what went onto the paper, then return the contents to the container. I'm not sure if Summer really measured or guessed, but based on the measurements given, I thought the stuffed grape leaves were too bland - they really needed the tzatziki sauce for flavor. To me, a sauce should not be needed so badly, but should help take an already-flavorful item up to the next level. A black pepper eater would definitely want to add black pepper to this recipe. Additionally, after reading and considering the cooking time given, I felt a need to look up other stuffed grape leaf recipes. Because the rice was already cooked, amongst other things, I thought the two-hour cooking time might be excessive. I ended up glad I did so and reduced the time accordingly. Some recipes called for briefly blanching the leaves, others did not. I took a chance and did not blanch them, and did not find them too tough. On the other hand, the ceviche was spot-on, definitely my favorite part of the entry. It was exactly what a ceviche should be, and I will definitely make it again. However, I did not find the appetizer to go with the entree. Summer PM'd me and suggested a good glass of wine and some time between the appetizer and the entree, so I'm sure this comes as no surprise to him. The overall impression was that the two items were part of separate meals, not items to compliment each other. So although the ceviche was very high on my list, I have to set Summer's entry at second place in my book.

DeathToSnails: Greek lamb on potatoes anna and spinach with grilled asparagus, grapes and olives on lemon/oregano flat bread appetizer.
For a guy whose profile still states he likes farting and burping at the same time, this was amazing. I would expect to find this kind of meal at a high-end restaurant. The flavors were complex. The appetizer and entree perfectly complimented each other. If I was a guy and wanted to make a very special meal for a lady before proposing to her, this is what I'd make. I was a tad skeptical about the appetizer before making it, but still open-minded. I knew the asparagus and lemon-oregano flatbread would go together, but the grapes and olives, too? Yet they worked, and worked well. I was also a tad concerned that the lemon being in both the appetizer and entree might make that too strong of a note, but there was enough complexity of the rest of the ingredients that this didn't happen. My own execution of the potatoes left something to be desired, but that affected appearance only - I didn't achieve the neat stack that DTS did. Was anything missing? Would I have wanted to add black pepper to these if I was a black pepper eater? I did not include a hot pepper requirement in this challenge, so although surprising that none was listed in the ingredients, the entry met the rules of the challenge. But nor was it really "missing" - I would not have felt a need to add black pepper, as I did not feel a need to add hot pepper powder, either. "Well-seasoned" may or may not have heat, and this was definitely a well-seasoned entry - first place in my book.

To anyone who has not taken the time to try these dishes, I highly recommend you try all of them on your own. I invited each "chef" to the challenge specifically because I have enjoyed seeing many of their Throwdown and other food-thread entries, and can attest that they are all good cooks - this challenge only proved out what I already knew. Only one can "win", but I wouldn't turn down an invite to dinner at any of the chef's houses!



If you haven't seen the chef's entries yet, be sure to check them out on the earlier pages of this thread. If you want to see Booma's recreation of appetizers and my recreation of the meals, check out the link below.
New thread