1.5 – 2 lbs of ground beef (preferably 80/20)

4 Slices Pepper Jack Cheese & 4 Slices Vermont White Cheddar

12 oz of Applewood Smoked Bacon

Baby Arugala

2 Shallots

White Wine Vinegar

Dry Mustard

3 TBSP Butter

Worcestershire Sauce

Salt & Pepper

4 Thomas’ English Muffins (Sandwich Size)

1. Put ground beef in bowl and mix together.  Add 2 TBSP dry mustard, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Make 4 equal size patties and set aside.

2. Cook bacon in saute pan on low until about 70% cooked and set aside.  Reserve bacon fat.  Once bacon has dried, dice bacon into small pieces.

3. Melt 1-2 TBSP of butter in saute pan and sweat shallots in butter until translucent.  Once shallots are translucent, add 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar.  Reduce.  Add diced bacon to pan with 1 additional TBSP of butter and continue to cook down.  Once bacon has cook through and is crispy, and all liquid has reduced, set aside.

4. On a hot grill, put burgers on hot grates and close lid.  Cook for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, or until desired internal temperature.  With 2 minutes of cooking time left, put one slice of pepper jack and one slice of vermont white cheddar on burgers and MELT THE CHEESE COMPLETELY!

5. Once cheese has melted, remove burgers from the grill and set aside.

6. Take burger and put in on the bottom half of the english muffin.  Scoop bacon compote on top of cheese.  Take a handful of baby arugala and top the burger.  Cover with other half of english muffin and stuff your face!

What do you get when you put an Iron Chef type of competition where 6 chefs from different local restaurants each have 45 minutes to prepare 3 courses, and being judged on taste, presentation, and the ability to incorporate 5 “mystery” ingredients into their dishes: the 2009 Celebrity Chef Challenge in Sacramento.  Located in Sacramento’s California Automobile Museum, and with a supporting cast of about 65 different vendors including local bbq legend JR’s Texas BBQ, Black Sheep Winery, Cecchetti Olive Oils, Hoppy Brewing Company, and local brewing giant Sierra Nevada, this event pulled out all of the stops and created a wonderful atmosphere celebrating Sacramento’s local culinary scene.

just a few of the sweet rides that surrounded the vendor areas

Although the festivities were wonderful, and the vendors were all spectacular, serving up great food and drink, I was there for the competition, and was lucky enough to be one of 6 judges for the event!  The chefs came out blazing, cooking two at a time, and were given a list of 5 mystery ingredients right before the start of the challenge: scallops, quail, peppers, raspberries, and Hoppy Brewing Company’s Blonde Ale.  The main challenge of the competition was to incorporate these ingredients into as many dishes as possible, and even though each chef was only required to present 3 dishes, some were able to construct 4 or 5 dishes in the 45 minute time allotted.  The six competing chefs were Shawn Menard of Chops Steak, Obadiah Huetter of Mangoes Restaurant at Arden Hills Resort & Spa, Charles Connell of the DoubleTree Hotel, Enrique Mondragon of SacTown Catering & Cafe, Tim Ray (an amateur chef and At&T employee) with support from Chris Lombardi of Hangar 17, and defending champion Adam Pechal of Tuli Bistro.

Chefs Menard and Heutter were the first two to cook, followed by Chefs Modragon and Connell,and bringing up the rear were the team of Tim Ray and Chef Lombardi, and Chef Pechal.  When asked by the Emcees of the competition what I was looking for, I said,”I am looking for the chefs to put themselves on a plate,” which is somewhat similar to what I heard from Chef Flay, Bob Tuschman, and Susie Fogelson during the NFNS competition.  Each of the chefs tackled the challenge with full force, and created a lovely array of dishes that were both beautiful in presentation and in consumption.

Scotch Bonnets, also known as Habaneros, were on of the mystery ingredients for the challenge

With the audience cheering on their favorite chefs, and food being brought to the judges table what seemed like every 5 minutes, there was never a stop in the action, and the food spoke for itself.  Whether it was Chef Menard’s smoky Anchiote Quail with Chorizo Hash, Chef Heutter’s decadent Carrot Ginger Soup w/ Truffle Oil and a Carrot Dust Rim (served in a 2 ounce shot glass), or Chef Pechal’s unbelievable Scallop Ceviche with Lime, Cilantro, and Habanero Oil, the chefs just kept throwing punches and the judges kept eating them.  In the end, Tuli Bistro’s Chef Adam Pechal defended his title, and seemed very happy to repeat.  “I just tried to put out food that I am proud of and that represented my style of cooking,” he said.  With his younger brother as his sous chef, he did just that.  Joking around after the competition, he mentioned to me that knowing his quail was overcooked, he had to improvise.  “I flash sauteed the quail in the pan with a little Woodford Reserve to help in gain some moisture.”  Although mine was a bit overcooked, the bourbon definitely added flavor, and in my opinion, anyone who uses Woodford Reserve to cook better win, because it is not an inexpensive bottle of booze, and it is not wise to waste good bourbon around me.

In the end, the city of Sacramento threw an amazing event, and a good time was had by all.  My “entourage”, which consisted of my dad and 5 friends from NorCal, all had an absolute blast, and were full and inebriated by the end of the evening.  My friends actually started putting all of the produce that was supplied for the challenge into boxes, and took about $90 worth of free organic vegetables back to their house, so in the end, it was a fantastic evening.  Tim Ray, the local amateur chef who was helped by Chef Chris Lombardi of Hangar 17, had the best chef’s coat, and even though he didn’t win, definitely gets my award for best dressed.  Thanks to Sacramento for having a SoCal kid crash the party… can’t wait to do it again next year!

maybe this will cause some chef's to switch their phone plans to AT&T

Yet another great article in the LA Times about the Food Network show.

This salad is wonderful for lunch the day after Thanksgiving

1 Pound Turkey (cut into medium size bite-size pieces)
1 C Dried Cranberries
8 Ounces Goat Cheese
1 Medium Sweet Onion (thinly sliced)
1 C Pistachios
4 C Romaine
4 C Arugula (or other spring greens)
4 T Pistachio Oil
2 T Sherry Vinegar
2 T Water

1.    Combine turkey, cranberries, goat cheese, onion, arugula, romaine, and ¾ cup of the pistachios.  Mix in a large bowl and set aside.

2.    Take remaining pistachios and puree in food processor.  Take puree and combine with pistachio oil, sherry vinegar, and water and whisk until mixture has emulsified.

3.    Toss salad with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

For those of you who don’t kill trees, click on the link below and check out this morning’s L.A. Times article about me and my fellow Los Angeles NFNS Finalists!

8 large organic eggs
½ t Salt
½ t freshly ground black pepper
2 T minced chives
1/3 C Sour Cream
1 T Unsalted Butter
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 C Shallot (chopped)
2 C ½-inch Diced Mushrooms (I like to use either crimini, white alba, or golden chanterelles)
12 Boston Lettuce leaves
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ T Finely Chopped Garlic
Salt
Pepper
1 Black Truffle (shaved) – if you cannot find black truffles, as they are seasonal, truffle oil is a nice substitute

1.    In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the S&P, chives, and sour cream until fluffy and well mixed (about 1 minute).

2.    Heat the butter and oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the shallots and the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes, or until tender.

3.    Mix extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper and brush the bowls of the leaves.

4.    Add egg mixture to the mushrooms in the skillet over medium heat, and scramble in the pan using a rubber spatula for about 3-4 minutes, leaving the eggs set, but just a little loose.

5.    Divide the eggs in the lettuce cups and sprinkle shaved truffles on top.

Yes! SPAM had 4 legs… once

1 Can Spam (Cut into small dices)
2 Avocados (Sliced)
1 Yellow Pepper (Julienned or Diced)
1 Red Pepper (Julienned or Diced)
1 C White Rice
1 C Water
1 T Rice Vinegar
6 Dried Onigiri Nori Sheets (Dried Seaweed)
1 T Unsalted Butter
4 T Brown Sugar
Bamboo Sushi Roller

1.    In saucepan, soak and rinse rice in cold water to remove excess starch.  Drain rice and add fresh 1 cup of water and rice to saucepan.  Bring to simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. Pull off heat, transfer to bowl, and stir in rice vinegar.

2.    Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add spam and brown sugar.  Cook spam until it has caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside.

3.    Take nori/seaweed and lay on flat surface.  Take a small handful of rice and lay a thin layer on the seaweed.  Add peppers, avocado, and spam and lay on top of rice.  Take a sushi roller and roll seaweed (with ingredients) and fold over to hold in place.  Continue rolling seaweed like a giant cigar until about ¼ inch of seaweed is left.  Wet the remaining seaweed with water and seal the seaweed (like an envelope).

4.    Cut sushi roll into pieces and serve.

8 Pieces Haloumi Cheese
4 Portabella Mushrooms
2 Zucchini (Cut into ¼ inch round slices)
1 Eggplant (Cut into ¼ inch round slices)
2 Carrots
2 C Garbonzo Beans (Drained and Dried)
1 Bunch Fresh Mint (Finely Chopped)
5 T Canola Oil
Salt
Pepper

1.    In a large skillet, take sliced vegetables and sauté until both sides have some nice color.  Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper to the veggies while they are sautéing.  In another skillet, sear haloumi on both sides and set aside.

2.    In another pan, add 5 tablespoons of canola oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Add garbonzo beans and lightly fry until golden brown.

3.    Stack vegetables on plate, starting with the mushroom on the bottom, and work your way up, topping the dish with 2 pieces of the haloumi cheese.  Scatter fried garbonzo beans around the veggie stack and garnish with freshly chopped mint.

½ C Orange Marmalade
1 T Brown Sugar
2 t Soy Sauce
2 t Sesame Oil
2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
3 T Rice Wine Vinegar
4 6-ounce Salmon Filets
½ C Toasted Sesame Seeds

1.    Combine the marmalade, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic cloves, and rice wine vinegar.  Brush the mixture on both sides of each of the salmon filets.

2.    Marinate for at least 2 hours.

3.    Toast sesame seeds in pan over medium heat.

4.    Grill salmon filets for about 4-5 minutes per side.

5.    Remove from grill.  Slice each filet into 3 pieces and top with toasted sesame seeds.