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Cook of the Week Challenge: Tight budget no problem for Sutton; Rench's trout cakes dazzle

A flavor-packed black bean salad and an inexpensive cut of beef moved Molly Sutton of Arlington Heights into Round 2 of the Cook of the Week Challenge. Sutton beat Aban Daboo of Aurora in the contest's annual budget challenge. Each contestant was given two cans of corn and $10 (courtesy of Porte Brown CPAs) and had to fix dinner for four. Spices, herbs and cooking oil already in their home pantries were allowed. And yes, they submitted receipts.

Sutton will face David Rench of Spring Grove who bested Robert Fahey of Arlington Heights in their recipe matchup. Rench and Fahey's mystery ingredients included honey whole wheat loaves from Great Harvest Bread Co., apples from Alexian Brothers Health Systems, hoisin sauce and lake trout.

The judges evaluated the recipes on creativity, use of ingredients, ease of preparation, appearance and perceived taste. Here's what the judges said about the recipes.

Grilled Steak Wraps with Black Bean Corn Salad: Molly Sutton

Jessica Fisher: This has my mouth watering. I love how quick and simple the preparation is. This is a good use of stretching the meat yet still packing in flavor with jalapeños, corn, beans and cilantro.

Corey Grupe: Corn and black bean relish is a classic combination and the steak grilled over charcoal will bring a nice smoky flavor to pull the dish together.

Mario O. Portonova: A quick, simple and healthy dish that is full of flavor and zest! Nice colorful appearance with contrasting colors. Would be wonderful with margaritas.

Dan Rich: A quick and light summertime offering with an eye for both budget and culinary fancy. I love the combined flavors of the grill and the black bean and corn salad that bring the colors and crunch of the season to the plate. Easy on the waistline and pocketbook!

Sweet Corn, Chicken and Rice with Chicken Fritters: Aban Daboo

J.F.: I love the creativity to pair chicken fritters as a side to a meatless main dish. This is a great way to stretch the meat, but still make it a part of the meal. The instructions seem a bit cumbersome, however. I imagine it tastes delicious but takes a fare amount of time to prepare.

C.G.: This is an impressive use of the corn. Making the corn and chicken fritters was a very creative use of the ingredient. Nice plate presentation.

M.P.: Great appearance and a creative use of textures and colors in the presentation. A complete meal with the use of limited ingredients.

D.R.: A fairly complex and well thought out meal considering the limited offering of mystery ingredients. I feel that the recipes, if offered individually would be sufficient, but that there may be a bit too much going on with the plate.

Trout Cakes with Asian Apple Slaw: David Rench

Darin Kolbe: Use of the Great Harvest Bread as crumbs added a nice sweetness to the dish. The sauce can be over powering hot if your jalapeños are ripe. Was looking for more of refreshingly cool coleslaw but the Sriracha sauce just keep the heat in the forefront of the dish.

D.R.: Classic use of ingredients to develop a nice, light, Asian flavored summer dish. The dish offers superb plating, combining a great technique and understanding of how flavors are supposed to come together. A single concern may be the use of the trout — be careful going forward if you should continue to choose to “convert” your fresh ingredients.

Suzy Singh: Incredible! This is the contestant to beat. You have just created a restaurant-worthy dish using the mystery box ingredients in a very unique way. If I had to give a critique I wished this contestant used one staple Thai ingredient — lemon grass — in the sauce. It would have elevated the dish. Overall, amazing job and I am salivating just thinking about this recipe!

Chris Wu: Extremely well-plated dish; the presentation is excellent. The sauce sounds tasty, the coconut milk in the sauce would seem to add some creaminess as well as offer a nice balance to some of the other ingredients in the sauce.

Asian Trout with Apple and Sweet Potato Stuffing: Roberta Fahey

D.K.: Great use of the Great Harvest bread as presentation. Some kind of sauce in the recipe would greatly enhance the dish. Lots going on the plate. Garnishes should be used to enhance the main item on a dish and not be use much as a main focal point.

D.R.: A nice, flavorful use of all of the mystery ingredients offered in the challenge. The day long prep suggested for the apple and sweet potato stuffing may be a bit difficult in today's hectic arena. The stuffing bread bowl is beautiful, but I'm a bit concerned by the bouquet that fresh cut marigolds bring to the dinner table.

S.S.: There is very little critique I can make on this recipe. Great job contestant on delivering a recipe with excellent technique and a bountiful array of flavor. My palate is dancing to the Asian rainbow trout with crispy skin. In regards to the bread stuffing, instead of letting the bread sit at room temperature for a full day, I would spread the bread onto a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and you've got the perfect texture for a stuffing.

C.W.: Great job of incorporating the mystery ingredients. Presentation and aesthetics of the stuffing and bread bowl are superb. Adding water chestnuts to the stuffing was a very creative idea.

Fan Favorite

Voters picked Roberta Fahey's Asian Trout with Apple and Sweet Potato Stuffing and Aban Daboo's Sweet Corn-Chicken-Rice Soup and Chicken Fritters as the Challenge 5 and 6 winners, respectively.

Cast your vote for your favorite Challenge recipe of the week at surveymonkey.com/s/2014COTW. Each week we'll select one person at random to win a prize from one of our sponsors. For voting on Challenge 5 and 6 recipes, Kathy Harlow will receive signed copy of “Good Cheap Eats” by Jessica Fisher, one of the judges in the budget challenge.

Trout Cakes with Asian Apple Slaw

Sweet Potato and Apple Stuffing

Sweet Corn-Chicken-Rice Soup and Chicken Fritters

Asian Slaw

Charcoal Beef Lettuce Wraps with Black Bean and Corn Salad

Roberta's Asian Trout with Apple and Sweet Potato Stuffing

Author, bread maker join Cook of the Week Challenge judges

Round 1, challenge 9: Beef cube steaks, watercress, lentils and Pumpkin Smasher beer courtesy of Binny's Beverage Depot

Round 1, challenge 8: Italian sausage, canned artichoke hearts, plums and amaranth from Now Foods

  David Rench of Spring Grove with his dish made from apples, trout, bread and hoisin sauce. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
Molly Sutton of Arlington Heights
David Rench of Spring Grove
Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.comFood challenge contestant Aban Daboo of Aurora.
George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.comChallenge contestant Roberta Fahey of Arlington Heights on August 13, 2014.
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