Cook of the Week Challenge reaches final four
At first glance you might think that a 32-year-old graphic designer from Schaumburg, a 47-year-old South Barrington homemaker, a 54-year-old managing director from Antioch and a 58-year-old sales manager from Elgin wouldn't have much in common. Yet a knack for turning seemingly disjointed ingredients into delicious dinners unites these four cooks and has earned them a place in the final round of the Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge.
Michael Lalagos, Penny Kazmier, Cate Brusenbach and Mark Clemens, respectively, survived two early recipe challenge rounds and will face each other in a live cook-off Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield Schaumburg. The elimination-style competition pitted eight former Cooks of the Week against eight Cook of the Week wannabes in one-on-one recipe challenges.
On Nov. 2, these four cooks will have one hour to create a dish prepared using ingredients revealed that evening. Their recipes will be judged by a panel that includes myself as well as chef Hagop Hagopian from the Hyatt and Barbara Wagner of Barrington, the reader randomly chosen from those who particpated in the online recipe voting. The winner will be crowned, so to speak, Daily Herald Cook of the Year 2011.
As they prepare for the cook-off, I asked these four finalists what they learned about themselves as cooks, what secret ingredients they're glad they did, or didn't, get, and if there are any recipes from the challenge they plan to try. The other dozen cooks who toiled over hot stoves and subjected their families to night after night of test recipes also shared their answers.
Cate Brusenbach
I learned that I can really think on my feet as a cook. I used to stick with my tried-and-true ingredients because I knew I couldn't go wrong. After using the ingredients assigned to me in the two challenges, I discovered that I can take the unfamiliar and create wonderful and unusual dishes that turned out far better than I ever could have hoped. My friends and family could not believe the recipes I came up with after hearing the ingredients to be used. Stretching boundaries and imagination are crucial to creative cookery. I'll never forget the lessons I've learned during this contest.
I was lucky enough to be given ingredients that did not cause too much panic, but I am more adventurous now and I will continue to expand my horizons with new foods and flavors.
I was happy I didn't get the root beer and round steak! I really don't know what I would have done with that. I applaud Jamie and TerriAnn for what they created.
I hope to try Michael (Lalagos's macadamia encrusted tilapia recipe. He's an inventive cook!
Mark Clemens
I'm not as specific with quantities as I thought. A real challenge was for me to recreate what I had just done. It's one thing to cook and present, but another thing totally when you have to write down directions for someone to follow. I appreciate moments in my mother's kitchen or on the phone with her trying to remember why her cucumber salad simply tasted better. The conversation wasn't about tablespoons or quarter cups but more like the way a recipe should look.
I'm an ingredient nut, so I wasn't really introduced to any one thing specifically new. In my first recipe I did find the caramelized Brussels sprouts added to ground beef and Black Swan Barbecue Sauce actually gave the meat sauce a more interesting fullness in the mouth that I would not have expected.
You joked on one email that an ingredient that we were to pick up at the Whole Foods fish counter might be eel. I immediately started researching eel and was let down when it was salmon (which I love). I was interested in Glenn Sasveld's barbecue meat loaf from round one and will do that soon. Other than that, I've always got a back log of untried recipes that I'll never get through.
Penny Kazmier
Through participating in the challenges I learned I really enjoyed the process of creating my own recipes. While it was frustrating to spend time making something that didn't necessarily turn out with the flavor or texture I intended, the feeling of satisfaction I felt when things turned out right was worth the effort.
This contest did open my eyes to new ingredients and flavors, specifically the art of combining ingredients I didn't think might go well together in the past. I have always been one of those people who rarely shopped for a specific meal, but rather purchase seasonal or sale items, and then find a way to put them together. Participating in these challenges has given me the confidence to be a little more daring when attempting to combine items I have on hand into meals for family and friends.
I would have liked to receive Gale's Root Beer as one of my challenge ingredients. Since seeing this as a challenge ingredient I have experimented with it a little bit and realize its potential as a versatile component to many dishes. I am so glad I did not receive canned tuna. Don't get me wrong, I love tuna sandwiches, and even tuna casserole, but I have a hard time imagining it in many other things. The texture alone causes a “recipe block” for me.
I plan on making the root beer and round steak recipes, as well as the sweet potato pizza crust which sounded very good. More than specific recipes, there are a number of interesting techniques other contestants used that I plan on incorporating into my recipes.
Michael Lalagos
I learned that I'm capable of thinking of new dishes on my own, instead of reaching for a cookbook, or going to the Internet in the future, and that sometimes it's more fulfilling to come up with something on my own with seasonal ingredients. I think I can take the basics that I know from popular dishes and put my own spin on them.
I think I've become more adventurous in that I will look at items at the store or what I have on hand at home and think of other ways to use them, rather than the first obvious thing I think of.
I wouldn't have minded getting chorizo as an ingredient. I considered myself lucky to not have gotten canned tuna, I felt bad for the challengers that were given that one!
I don't have any (recipe) in particular, but from going through this contest, I think I'll sort of “play the home version” when I need to make something and use what ingredients I have on hand and see what I can come up with.
Jamie Andrade
I think the biggest thing I learned is that I CAN cook! When you cook for your family and friends — of course everyone is going to tell you it's great! I love to cook and winning a spot in this contest has really pushed my confidence. I'm bolder and more spontaneous in the kitchen now and I'm willing to take bigger risks. I think especially now as everyone tries to save a few pennies where they can, it's a great skill to have to be able to combine random pantry ingredients into an all-star entree. Believe me, after sauteed Canadian bacon in grapefruit white wine sauce, I'm pretty sure there's plenty of dinners hiding in my pantry somewhere!
The good thing is that I had worked before with most of the ingredients I'd received and knew how to prepare/use them. When I read some of the challenges I had to laugh at myself, because I'm supposedly this good cook, but what the heck is a kohlrabi? I had to Google it so that when friends/co-workers who were following the challenge asked what it was I'd sound like I knew what I was talking about!
The one challenge recipe that stands out for me is (Mark Clemens's) barbecue sauce polenta lasagna. I was with my brother when I read it — the first thing I thought was, “I hope I don't have to go against that guy, he cooks like us!” That recipe just sounds like something we would throw together one Sunday while experimenting in the kitchen. Also, I think I may just have to pick up some kohlrabi and see what it's all about.
Jay Deihs
I learned that you may not like a particular ingredient on its own, but if you use a small amount in a dish, there are ways to to make it appealing and tasty. There were plenty of ingredients that were required that the cooks did a great job with incorporating them in the dish. It is fun looking through the aisles at the store and see something that would be fun to try and experiment.
I wish I would have had sweet potatoes and I am glad I didn't get Brussels sprouts. The sweet potatoes there are so many ways you can utilize them and it is fall, so perfect time of the year. Brussels sprouts are one vegetable I don't like and I have tried it cooked so many ways and just don't like them.
I would like to try the pizza with sweet potato incorporated into the dough. Sounds interesting and could be great appetizer or possible dessert pizza.
Antonio De Pau
The challenge forced me to go remember a lot of the dishes my mom and grandmother used to make. I did some searching on the Internet to help me learn to recreate some of those dishes. Because of the Whole Foods gift cards, I did go and explore some of the products they carry. I did buy a few things to try and was impressed by the selection of bulk items they carry.
I was very happy with the ingredients I received, I don't think there were any that I wouldn't have been able to use, but I would have had to spend more time coming up with ideas. Sometimes, I had so many ideas, it was hard to narrow it down to one that would work. I tried a couple things for each of the challenges, recipes that I will use again and again. My goal was always to create a dish that was simple to make and tasted great.
Diane Hagopian
I guess I knew more about food and what flavors work together than I thought. I have always been considered a pretty good cook but no one had ever challenged me; before I always cooked whatever I pleased. I have always been rather adventurous and have had the pleasure of eating at some of the best restaurants in the country which opened my eyes and appetite to try different cuisines and flavors.
I would have loved to been able to cook the fish, which I have served for over 45 years at least twice a week, long before it came into the mainstream.
TerrieAnn Jones
What did I learn? … that I cook like a mom, which is great for me and for my family. … that I can experiment with similar ingredients that were in the challenge and make recipes that aren't super fancy like the other recipes, but still taste great. … that I am a simple cook, but that simple can still taste good. … that I do know about flavors and food, even though I have never taken a cooking class or even really watched any of the cooking shows … except for “test kitchen” on PBS with my 7-year-old who loves to watch it on Saturday afternoons and gets really excited with the information she learns there.
I am still committed to trying one new recipe a week, but it has to be family friendly and the ones in the challenge just haven't been. However, when I saw chorizo as one of the ingredients, it brought back awesome memories of living in Spain and made me want to make paella for my family (a more family friendly version without the mussels or squid). Maybe that will be on my recipe list for next week … I am grateful I didn't get sofrito? What's that? ! I honestly think anything would have been doable with the Internet available and the recipe books I have on my shelf. It just might have taken more time than my challenge recipe took … I was amazed at the creativity of the other contestants though. Even to think about making lasagna with wonton wrappers … not something I would have thought of.
Oscar Menoyo
I found that my orientation toward the pursuit of balance in other areas of my life apply as well to my love for cooking. That balance, or yin and yang, is sought not only in the dish itself where hot and sweet, crunchiness and tenderness, complimentary colors etc.; all contribute to the final presentation. There is also the balance between what suits my own tastes and what I believe or perhaps know my guests prefer. While I do not discard my personal preferences, I do look to incorporate adjustments that I feel will make the meal a real joy for those I serve, not just for me. In this contest, I perceived the judges as my guests. I absorbed their constructive criticism from my first recipe, as they, after all, are professional chefs.
The contest opened my eyes to kohlrabi, the great kungpao sauce and lemon curd. My ingredient horizon has definitely broadened for the better! I am glad I didn't have to work with a ghastly combination like beef tongue and whipped cream. While it has possibilities as a Halloween party dessert, especially if you add canned sardines and ketchup, mainstream appeal is unlikely.
Judy Monaco
I learned to think “outside the box” when creating a recipe with unfamiliar ingredients. I think I did a little, but stuck too close to the familiar. Most of the ingredients assigned in the challenge I was familiar with even if I had never cooked with them, or thought of combining them.
I definitely learned new techniques from Jay Deihs's Mini Chorizo Egg Rolls with Dips. I am always adventurous in trying new ingredients. A chef from a cooking class I attended told us that every time we go grocery shopping to pick up something you have never had before and try it — and I do.
Chicken thighs is the one ingredient I was glad I was not assigned, it is one food I rarely cook with. I wish I had been assigned tilapia and butternut squash — two of my favorites. There are two recipes I am definitely going to try: Mary Beth Riley's Pan Fried Chorizo with Creamy Spinach Pesto and Jamie Andrade's Spaghetti Sauteed Canadian Bacon in Grapefruit White Sauce.
Ann Marie Nordby
(I learned that) I don't like to measure or follow/write recipes; I like to keep things simple; I'm more traditional than I thought. I have always been open to new ingredients and flavor profiles, but I look forward to trying ingredients in more nontraditional ways.
I guess along the way, there were a few ingredients at first glance that made me flinch. But after a few minutes, my brain immediately started spinning with ideas of how I could manipulate those ingredients. I would have loved to have gotten quinoa or root beer!
I lost to a recipe very similar to one I have been making for a while, but now I want to try it with a couple of the tweaks Michael (Lalagos) added for a little change. I also think the chorizo ravioli would be a fun party snack if I fried them up!
Mary Beth Riley
I always knew I was a pretty good cook, but given the ingredients, I always came up with something fairly quickly and had a Plan B as a backup. I'm happy to say that my Plan A worked in both challenges with some tweaking. I really think the contest developed the palate of my 10-year-old daughter. She now loves chorizo, spaetzle, and even loved the beet salad I made.
I have to say that as challenging as the contest was, the secret ingredients did not really frighten me. All were common ingredients, and I believe the challenge was in the combination of them. I am thankful I did not get liver. I love chicken liver pate and have made it several times. However, the smell of liver when it hits a hot pan is etched in my brain, and not in a good way.
My Oktoberfest theme for Round 2 has given me the itch to try sauerbraten, which is something I always order, but never have made. And my ravioli in Round 1 and spaetzle in Round 2 have given me the urge to try homemade gnocchi with ricotta and spinach (with vodka sauce).
Donna Robertelli
I was surprised that I came up with my idea quickly and followed through with it. I have never cooked with quinoa before. I am always willing to try cooking new things but my family is less adventurous.
I was interested in the fish, because I love fish and find I don't make it that often. So glad I didn't get root beer.
Ÿ Bob Conidi and Glenn Sasveld did not respond to this questionnaire.