Kim Bradley, Glen Ellyn
Q. What was your favorite recipe that you made?
A. The Italian Sausage Pork Wellington with Broccoli Rabe Slaw.
Q. What was your favorite someone else made?
A. I really liked what Jack Mac Intosh did with the Grilled Beef Tips. The picture looked delicious and was intimidating - I was nervous about competing with him in round 2.
Q. Has this contest re-energized your love of cooking or is takeout looking better?
A. Yes. Absolutely. This contest has really opened my eyes to other ingredients and using classic dishes with new ingredients. So far, each round has included an ingredient that stumped me. The first round was the couscous, and the second round was the honey mustard sauce. I will say that once you start experimenting and the creative juices start flowing, it's amazing what you can do. You also look at your pantry completely differently because you never know what kind of combinations and dishes you can create. What's the worst that can happen? If you create a disaster, just order a pizza.
Q. What other recipes from your fellow cooks do you want to make or have made?
A. I loved how Jack Mac Intosh (Beef Tips) and Pat Kutchins (Ragout) used their ingredients,
Q. How are you going to prepare for the finale?
A. I hate to give away my secret but here goes - my husband found a "random ingredient generator" online. So, we sit down with the computer, press "go" and the computer spits out random ingredients, then we brainstorm a recipe on the spot. We even get our teenagers involved; it makes for interesting dinner conversation.
Q. Overall thoughts on the competition?
A. I didn't know it was possible, but the competition has made me love cooking even more. I love thinking about mystery ingredients and trying to guess what will be in each round. By the way, I never guessed an ingredient. And I love the suspense of waiting for each round.
Q. And any other comments you'd like to make?
A. This has been an amazing experience and I'm so glad I decided to fill out the application back in June. My competitors are amazing and I would have been happy just making it past the first round. Making it to the final round is surreal. Thank you so much for this opportunity!