I've been working to finish some entries for Taste of Home's America's Best Loved Recipe Contest(http://www.tasteofhome.com/Contests/Recipe-Contests/Best-Loved/), which ends here in a little over an hour, and managed to submit three:
The Vance Family's Navy Bean Soup
"Not Quite Beef Stroganoff"
Easy Portuguese-style Bean Soup
We'll see. They expect about 20,000 entries, competing for the $25,000 grand prize, and will announce the four finalists within twelve weeks. The public will then have a month to vote on their choice for the grand prize winner.
Showing posts with label Contests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contests. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
A BUSY Weekend!...
We've been very busy of late, and it suddenly dawned on me a couple of days ago that the deadline to enter Season 3 of the Ultimate Recipe Showdown is a week from Saturday(the 28th), the last chance to enter the Taste of Home contest is the next day, March 1st, while the Pillsbury Bake-Off is still out there in April. And I haven't submitted a single entry to any of them yet...
So...I sat down today and went through scores of recipes I've made over the years and compiled a selection of about thirty recipes and ideas that might work as entries. Then I set out all the potential categories for the three contests I mentioned, and my wife and I started finding homes for some recipes and ideas, setting others aside for the future, and shuffled a few around. All-in-all, we selected about fifteen recipes for the contests. Thankfully, a few exist in a sufficiently finished form I shouldn't have to cook 'em in the next week to submit them. The majority just require some tweakage and a final preparation and rewrite, and there are only a couple that are existing only in my brain right now.
The Pillsbury entries don't need to be done this week...we've got almost two months still. The rest are going to keep my time off extremely busy. Matter of fact, I've got something in the oven right now. 'Course, its a Pillsbury entry(LOL)- that's where it ended up getting shuffled off to tonight, after I got everything going on it earlier. If it comes out as good as last time, and is consistent, it'll be ready for submission. One less thing to be concerned about.
Gotta' run...busybusybusy.
So...I sat down today and went through scores of recipes I've made over the years and compiled a selection of about thirty recipes and ideas that might work as entries. Then I set out all the potential categories for the three contests I mentioned, and my wife and I started finding homes for some recipes and ideas, setting others aside for the future, and shuffled a few around. All-in-all, we selected about fifteen recipes for the contests. Thankfully, a few exist in a sufficiently finished form I shouldn't have to cook 'em in the next week to submit them. The majority just require some tweakage and a final preparation and rewrite, and there are only a couple that are existing only in my brain right now.
The Pillsbury entries don't need to be done this week...we've got almost two months still. The rest are going to keep my time off extremely busy. Matter of fact, I've got something in the oven right now. 'Course, its a Pillsbury entry(LOL)- that's where it ended up getting shuffled off to tonight, after I got everything going on it earlier. If it comes out as good as last time, and is consistent, it'll be ready for submission. One less thing to be concerned about.
Gotta' run...busybusybusy.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Better Luck Next Time...
The results for the 2008 Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest (http://www.chocolateadventurecontest.com/) have been posted. I didn't place this time. Looking at the results for the 2007 and 2008 contests, it seems to me that I didn't think far enough outside the box with my entries. Of course, I only had about 60 hours to throw the three entries together. I will enter again this year (after October 1st), and will definitely get wilder with my entries. Here is a copy of my beverage entry...
Place the warm syrup (reheat if made ahead of time) in a small saucepan and add the Scharffen Berger cocoa powder. Whisk until the cocoa has melted into the syrup and the mixture is smooth. Turn the heat under the pan to medium. Slowly add the half-and-half and coconut milk to the pan, whisking continually until smooth and combined. Add the pandanus extract. Continue to occasionally stir the cocoa until it is hot and steaming. Do not boil. Remove from the heat. Add the cream sherry (if using) and stir to mix.
COCOA D'ANNAM
Spiced Simple Syrup:
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup palm sugar, crumbled, chopped or grated
1 whole strip Saigon cinnamon
1 whole star anise
15 peppercorns
Pinch of salt
The Cocoa:
1 cup spiced simple syrup (see above)
3/4 cup Scharffen Berger unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon pandanus extract
1/4 cup cream sherry (optional, but recommended)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2-ounce segment of Scharffen Berger 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate Baking Bar
4 whole star anise pods
Place all simple syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved, and the spices have had time to flavor the syrup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large glass measuring cup. (If not using the syrup right away, let cool to room temperature. The syrup can be made ahead and stored, in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.). Makes about 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups.
Place all simple syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved, and the spices have had time to flavor the syrup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large glass measuring cup. (If not using the syrup right away, let cool to room temperature. The syrup can be made ahead and stored, in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.). Makes about 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups.
Place the warm syrup (reheat if made ahead of time) in a small saucepan and add the Scharffen Berger cocoa powder. Whisk until the cocoa has melted into the syrup and the mixture is smooth. Turn the heat under the pan to medium. Slowly add the half-and-half and coconut milk to the pan, whisking continually until smooth and combined. Add the pandanus extract. Continue to occasionally stir the cocoa until it is hot and steaming. Do not boil. Remove from the heat. Add the cream sherry (if using) and stir to mix.
Place the heavy cream in a high-sided bowl and whip with a hand-held blender until somewhat thickened and frothy.
Divide the cocoa between four mugs. Top with a dollop of heavy cream, garnish with a star anise pod, and grate a little Scharffen Berger semisweet chocolate over the top. Serve immediately. Four servings.
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