Challenge 2: Daniel Imburgia talks International Tacos

I prepared what I am calling International Tacos, a four-layer taco that has a lot of different flavors. The Mexican-inspired apricot chipotle sour cream sauce on the bottom, followed by Southern-style Cajun chicken, topped with a pickled parsnip coleslaw similar to taco toppings you'd find on the West coast and drizzled with an Asian inspired sweet apricot chili sauce. Apricots threw me off at first, but in the end, it was a very nice addition to the tacos and actually worked very well in two separate places in the dish. I love challenges, so I was in pretty good spirits the whole time.

I actually just started eating parsnips regularly about two months ago, using them along with radishes in a dish with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes that I eat as a part of my breakfast almost every day.

So it was hard to think of what else to do with parsnip other than roast it. I am a big fan of coleslaw, both the creamy and the vinegar types, so I thought a shredded parsnip coleslaw would be great on top of the chicken breast no matter which way the dish was put together.

My family thought it was a little spicy but my friends loved it. My favorite response was my nearly 3-year-old daughter, Abigail James Imburgia, who said "It spicy" and then she continued eating it.

The high point during the process was having that "Eureka" moment when my preparation came together in my mind, and then again when I put it all together and tasted it and thought that it turned out delicious. My low was definitely plating the dish - I was a bit frustrated getting it to look the way I saw it in my head until it finally came together. We eat tacos all the time and most of the time they barely get from the serving tray to the plate before they're all gobbled up. And, if I have friends over, it's very common to see them just eating the taco right out of their hands, no plate needed!