Cook of the Week Challenge: What the 2014 cooks learned along the way
They may not have cooked their way into the Nov. 3 cook-off finale, but our 2014 Cook of the Week Challenge contestants didn't walk away from the kitchen without something. Some of them learned about new ingredients and techniques, others gained insight into what makes them tick as cooks. Here are their edited reflections on the competition.
Denise Allen
Round 1: Anchovies, cellophane noodles, carrots and fresh mint
Round 2: Beef top round, zesty yogurt dip, eggplant and plain ruffled potato chips
I learned that I am pretty good with coming up with food ideas and menus with a small amount of ingredients. I will certainly be adding some new seasonings to my pantry. I'm glad I didn't get the mystery basket with the licorice because I do not like licorice or the flavor.
Collette Amabile
Round 1: Anchovies, cellophane noodles, carrots and fresh mint
I learned that it's harder to think outside the box than I thought and it's OK to be creative and try new things! At first if you don't succeed, try, try again! I would definitely think about using anchovies again. I think all the mystery baskets presented a fun challenge.
Chris Crabtree
Round 1: Italian sausage, amaranth, canned artichoke hearts, plums
Round 2: Chia seeds, pork chops, snow peas and mascarpone
I learned so many things. I realized I really hate to measure and found that to be the most difficult task to keep track of every time I added something big or small. I enjoyed the researching of new ingredients and learning new cooking processes such as making a brine and a compote. The challenges really reminded me to stop and have fun with cooking. Life gets so busy that eating on the run and thinking convenient tends to happen more than I would like. I really like the egg substitute option chia provides, and it can be added to just about anything for added health benefits without changing the taste. I'm glad I avoided hot dogs. It has to be close to 25 years since I have had one, so I don't think I could have done that basket. I wouldn't have been able to taste my recipes. I thought trout was bad but that would have been worse.
Aban Daboo
Round 1: Budget challenge: canned corn and $10
I learned nothing specific, but I enjoyed being a part of the challenge as it was on my bucket list to be featured in the challenge. To me, cooking is a creative art and to make any ingredient edible and tasty is a challenge, especially some that you may have never used before. I also learned that I should use my grill regularly.
Roberta Fahey
Round 1: Lake trout, apples, whole wheat bread and hoisin
I learned that I am capable of having a lot of fun with the creativity of food. I thought that I was going to be more nervous than I actually was. I thought my presentation was so beautiful and I wasn't afraid to create. From my challenge, it did actually introduce me to a great new food. I never ate rainbow trout before and that was one of my secret ingredients. I prepared it in the hoison sauce and we all loved it, so I have already used it again. The only ingredient that really caught my eye was the pork. I am Jewish and we really don't eat pork. If it came down to the real challenge, of course I would, but if I could avoid an ingredient that would be the one.
Tim Hoffman
Round 1: Ground beef, blue cheese, barley and pears
I would have to say the biggest thing that I learned about myself from this challenge was that I am a creative cook and I can come up with a very good dish in a short amount of time using ingredients that I would not normally think of using in certain dishes. I also learned that in challenges like this it is best to stick to the spirit of the competition and let the mystery ingredients take the show in your dish. This challenge has also inspired me to continue cooking, try new and creative things because based on the judges comments I do cook well and I feel that if I continue I can only get better. This has been a great experience and I will be entering again next year! The blue cheese I received in my mystery basket was my biggest struggle because I did not incorporate it into my cooking before this challenge. I have a completely different view of blue cheese as there are ways to use this ingredient and not have it overpower a dish plus a lot of people enjoy it. I can see myself cooking with it more often going forward. I feel as if they all were unique in there own way and offered different challenges. If I was given the opportunity I would have exchanged mine for the basket that contained the ribs but as for one that I would have liked to avoid, there really is not a basket that stands out to me. I feel it would have been exciting to work with any basket.
Pam Larson
Round 1: Peach tea, country ribs, apricots and radishes
I really did enjoy being part of the cook challenge and I learned that it was not an easy as I thought it would be to come up with recipes. I truly felt like I gave it my all as I did not consult any cookbooks or Internet recipes, just my own ideas.
Jack Mac Intosh
Round 1: Italian sausage, amaranth, canned artichoke hearts and plums
I think I learned to think outside my "comfort zone" a bit. The amaranth was very interesting. I've already tried using cellophane noodles a couple of different ways and was reintroduced to anchovies. I think overall the mystery baskets were fair and interesting. Other than the licorice, amaranth and chia seeds, I was able to come up with something in my head fairly quickly while perusing the Food section every Wednesday morning. I had to use some other resources to try and come up with ideas for those ingredients.
Steve May
Round 1: Pumpkin ale, cubed beef steaks, lentils and watercress
Since finding out I was going to be a part of this challenge, I really tried to cook more things without recipes and cookbooks. I realized that I had a pretty good base to work off of. I enjoyed the lentils. I usually don't use dried beans so I liked that. I would have gladly used any of the ingredients. I cook ribs quite often but was glad I did not get those as they are time intensive.
David Rench
Round 1: Lake trout, apples, whole wheat bread and hoisin
Round 2: Emmentaler, hot dogs, flour and delicata squash
I found myself searching into not only my past culinary experiences but into creative areas of my mind, when I was creating my entry recipes. It taught me to be a more intuitive cook and be more confident in my culinary abilities. As for new ingredients, I had heard about chia seeds for instance, but had never used them in a recipe and certain ingredients that I am familiar with are now being used by me in different ways. These different ways are a direct result of what I learned from the other cooks. I would have accepted any of the basket challenges. I am always up for that. But the one basket that stands out in my mind that I am glad I didn't get was the cans of corn and the 10 bucks. The cost of a meal verses a creative ingredient challenge wouldn't appeal to me as much as the other more full of ingredients basket challenges.
• Joan Huenecke and Tara Riley did not respond to the questionnaire.