Contests - - Page 8

by gansie

Zucchini and Garam Masala

Back in April Nick from Macheesmo invited me to judge the first in a series of virtual cooking contests. Of course I was pumped to review bloggers’ attempts to create something interesting with potatoes and lemons, but I wanted to be on the other side.

Last week I was picked to be in this month’s fight. It’s a very simple duel, use two ingredients and make something awesome. That’s it. Except when one of the ingredients is something I’ve never worked with before: garam masala. (Zucchini is my favorite summer vegetable, so I was pretty excited to use it.)

I’ve messed around with curry a ton, but only a pre-mixed, commercial curry powder. I never really thought about making my own, of course until now. And I was seriously close to buying one, but just leaving another challenge that was all about using what’s on hand, I investigated my spice rack.

Using the link Nick provided for garam masala, I wrote down all of the ingredients that could possibly combine to create the spice blend. I then went to my kitchen and figured out I owned 11 of the spices and seeds.

Fuck it, I’m making my own.

by BS

The Last Word on the Last Supper

Thanks to everyone who entered The Endless Simmer/Top Chef Last Supper contest. I’m sure you’ve all been tossing and turning at night waiting for the results, and that time has finally come. Drum roll, please…

Our third place winner will soon be getting his quickfire and elimination challenge dishes judged by Pamda and Tom avatars, because he’s the proud owner of Top Chef the Video Game. Congrats to Peter Justason. Here’s his last supper lineup:

Start with a classic cocktail – Manhattan with Crown Royal Rye, sweet Vermouth and a maraschino cherry. For the appetizer course – a Seafood Combo -Shrimp Cocktail, Smoked Salmon and Bacon-wrapped Scallops paired with chilled Sauvignon Blanc. For the salad, the classic Caesar paired with a buttery Chardonnay. The main course has to be a Peter Lugar Porterhouse with Twice-Baked Potato and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce paired with cool Cabernet Sauvignon. For the cheese course I would go with an aged Stilton Cheese with grapes, almonds and crackers paired with an aged Port. To finish, a light Lemon soufflé & Brut Champaign.

You had me at Manhattan.

In second place, and winner of Top Chef the Cookbook, is Justin:

I’m from Maine, so the meal is obvious, but delicious. Steamers with melted butter on the side to start. Twin steamed lobsters as the main course – keep it simple, none of that stuffing junk that dumbs it down by removing too much meat and replacing it with filler. No having the meat removed either, doing it yourself is an essential part of the experience. Two side dishes to round it out – corn on the cob and my mother’s homemade potato salad. To drink, a summer ale and a glass of French chardonnay. Why choose at your last meal?

top-chef-knife

But the winner, and recipient of an awesome Top Chef knife set that I’m actually quite jealous of, is Steve CTMQ:

in Contests / TV 2 comments

by BS

Last Supper: ES Staff Picks

We asked what you’d pick as your last meal on earth, so we figure fair is fair, we might as well share our own. Think you can do better? Send your funniest/best/most salivating last supper menu to contests@endlesssimmer.com, and you’ll be in the running for the biggest Top Chef prize pack ever.

80 proof: Start the meal off with a nice plate of twelve mozzarella sticks. Then move on to a large pepperoni pizza, a 2-liter regular coke, and a side order of Bojangles chicken supreme combo (chicken strips, fries, tea).

BS: A buttered filet mignon, an entire box of wheat thins, and vanilla ice cream with perfectly juicy strawberries. Bacon is used as a palate cleanser in between every course.

Liza: Chicken fried steak with cream gravy, macaroni and cheese, fried okra, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, and chocolate ice cream. And a delicious Pilsner! And for an appetizer (as if I didn’t put enough food down), my mom’s grilled cheese and tomato soup 🙂

TVFF: I’d have to go Italian. A nice cold spread with great cheese, olives and vegetables. Main course would be authentic spaghetti carbonara made with guanciale and a side of sauteed broccoli rabe with plenty of garlic and red pepper. For desert, a Philly-style cherry water ice.

in Contests / Personal 5 comments

by BS

What’s Your Last Supper?

I know some of you are revved up about The Next Food Network Star, while others are excited for this week’s premier of Top Chef Masters, but personally, I’m just waiting for Padma to come back already!

When it comes to cooking reality shows, you just can’t beat the real deal. But fortunately for addicts like me, TC is now available on DVD. You can pre-order the season five DVD right now. It includes extended interviews and never-before-seen stew room footage, which we assumes means a whole lot of drunk chef-testants. So A&E Home Entertainment, who are releasing the DVD, asked us if we would be so kind as to promote the release while giving ES-ers a chance to win Top Chef: The Cookbook, Top Chef The Computer Game (!), and Top Chef: The Cutlery Set. Wowzers! That’s a lotta Top Chef paraphernalia.

So here’s the deal: Remember the season five episode when chef-testants had to cook famous chefs’ last supper requests? We’re asking you: What would your last supper be? Tell us, in 100 words or less, what you would eat if it was the absolute last thing you could ever put in your mouth. We’ll hook the funniest entrant up with some sweet Top Chef prizes. Email your answers to contests@endlesssimmer.com

in Contests / TV 9 comments

by tvff

ES/Food Network Contest: We Have a Winner

I knew that we would learn something valuable as part of this little exercise.

I thought we might learn a wonderful new grilling technique. I thought we might learn a valuable tip for keeping your burgers juicy.

But what we really learned is that Endless Simmer’s readers should not be allowed anywhere near an open flame.

We asked for the craziest grillers out there to chime in with their war stories. The folks at Food Network stoked the fires with some sweet swag to help celebrate the arrival of grilling week on the network. And you, dear reader, came up with some of the most harrowing stories we’ve ever heard from a cookout.

Our blue ribbon panel of experts reviewed the entries, notified the senders’ local fire safety officials, and came up with our winners.

And so, without further ado…

in Contests / Pig / Veggie 11 comments

by BS

Are You America’s Craziest Griller?

Today’s the deadline to enter the ES/Food Network How Crazy Can You Grill It Challenge.

You lazy readers are in luck, because this is probably the easiest contest we’ve ever run, and coincidentally has the best prizes.

All you have to do is email contests@endlesssimmer.com and tell us what the craziest thing you’ve ever grilled is (honor code system). The craziest griller wins an awesome grill prize pack that includes an all-clad BBQ set and a copy of Bobby Flay’s Burger, Fries, and Shakes cookbook.

Need inspiration? Check out grilling week on the Food Network or the grillin’ tag on Endless Simmer. And get those entries in now!

(Photo: McCun934)

in Contests / TV 1 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Have you entered the ES/Food Network grilling challenge yet? What are you waiting for? Get your crazy grill tales in now and win a sweet summer grill set.

– Most ESers agree — the President should pardon spicy mustard-lovers. Westcoast: I love mustard. All types, shades, countries of origin — I love it. This Hannity thing is almost as dumb as saying that the reason your titties are all over the Internet is because it was windy and the photos were taken in between the shots you knew were happening.

But Harmony is unconvinced: Dijon or neon yellow, neither do it for me really. I like the hearty, thick brown mustards that have lots of spices.

And NeeNe knows what’s really important: Subway gives you the option of either yellow or spicy mustard. WWJD? What would Jared do?

As long as we’re OD-ing on mustard, over at Macheesmo, Nick (of homemade ketchup fame) is now making his own homemade mustard. Now that’s patriotic.

– Finally, a huge thank you to all ya’ll who came through big-time to help out with my vegetarian cooking dilemma. After the jump, check out what I ended up making:

in Celebs / Contests / Desserts / Veggie 5 comments