Paper Chef

Paper Chef #42-And the winner is…

July 19, 2009

This month I had the honor of selecting the ingredients and judging the entries for the Paper Chef Competition because I was the winner of last month’s contest.

At random, from the list of allowable ingredients, I selected Chicken, Corn and Almonds. Because I was traveling in South East Asia I selected Asian Fish Sauce as my fourth ingredient.

You can see the all the wonderful entries on the Paper Chef Round Up Post.

Choosing a winner was very difficult. All of the entries looked interesting, and I mulled over it for days while I was still traveling in Vietnam and Thailand. Everyone had such creative interpretations of what to do with the ingredients. I guess that’s what makes the Paper Chef competition so much fun.

 

Now that I am home from my trip (please forgive any jet-lag induced lapses in grammar or spelling) I had to buckle down …

Read the full article →

Paper Chef #42: Vietnam Edition

July 1, 2009

In case you missed it, my Orzo Salad  was selected as the winner of  last month’s Paper Chef Competition. I was extremely thrilled and flattered to be selected. As winner, it is my duty to host and judge this month’s challenge.

OrzoSalad047a

What is Paper Chef? It’s an online cooking challenge where you are given 4 random ingredients and asked to create a recipe from them. You must use all 4 ingredients in the recipe though substitutions are acceptable if you do not have access to an item or have dietary restrictions.

You have from now until midnight Tuesday July 7thto create your recipe, post it on your blog and send the link to paperchef@gmail.com If you do not have a blog, that’s ok, just email the recipe and a photo. For more details on the rules and regulations go here.  Soon after the submission deadline, a round-up …

Read the full article →

Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Tuna & Lemon Vodka Vinaigrette

June 8, 2009
Thumbnail image for Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Tuna & Lemon Vodka Vinaigrette

 

 

Asparagus. Artichokes. Tuna….Vodka?
What do these ingredients all have in common? Not much, but that’s the point.

They are the four ingredients chosen at random for this month’s Paper Chef  Challenge by last month’s winner, Allison of Local Lemons. I almost didn’t participate because I really don’t like vodka. My passionate dislike goes back to an “incident” involving one too many Screwdrivers (the drink, not the tool, though come to think of it, a certain boy was being a tool which is what led to the the Screwdrivers…but I digress) in my freshman year of college. Let’s just say it’s been over 20 years and I still can’t touch the stuff.

So it was with some difficulty I came up with a recipe which included the dreaded spirit. I thought about doing a pasta with vodka sauce, but really, I wanted to be able to eat what I made and I don’t …

Read the full article →

Frittata with Prosciutto, Potatoes & Thyme

May 11, 2009
Thumbnail image for Frittata with Prosciutto, Potatoes & Thyme

I’ve been following the beautiful food and photography blog, Lucillian Delights, for a couple of years now. Ilva’s photos are stunning and I’ve made a couple of her lovely recipes as well. A while back I noticed that she also runs a blog called Paper Chef. What is “Paper Chef” you ask? It’s an “online creativity challenge” where every month the winner from the previous month picks 4 ingredients at random and then people make a dish or a meal out of those ingredients (and others). I’d wanted to participate in the past, but I didn’t have a blog then (not that you need one to participate, but I didn’t realize that at the time).

This month’s random ingredients were “floury potatoes” (aka baking potatoes like russets), “prosciutto” and “thyme”. The fourth ingredient was the theme of “Mother’s Day”, instead of a food item.  Last month’s ingredients were artichokes, salmon, blackberries …

Read the full article →