Cook of the Week Challenge - Round 3 recipes are as varied as they are creative
In the mix of secret ingredients, mounting competition and critiques by our panel of celebrity judges, a key component in the annual Cook of the Week Challenge is hearing about each challenge from the cooks themselves.
What was their reaction to the secret ingredients? What inspired them to create the recipes they submitted to the judges? Was it a first or second attempt? What did they stumble on? And what pleasant discoveries did they make along the way?
Contestants had about four days to create unique recipes that were tasty and somewhat simple to prepare using Pure Lemon Paste from Nielsen-Massey, Greek yogurt from Golden Brunch, orzo, Tacchino Arrosto Oven Roasted Turkey from Greenridge Farm and Pumpkin Seed Oil from NOW Foods.
This week, round three could be considered the semifinals. Six cooks competed this week and share their creations with us today - just five will advance to round four. Unfortunately, Dylan James won't be moving on.
After one more matchup, it's on to the live finale Monday, Nov. 12, at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca.
Find this week's recipes and more from the cooks at dailyherald.com/lifestyle.cook-of-the-week-challenge/.
And find out what this week's judges had to say in the accompanying story.
Oscar Chapa
Blue Mediterranean Tacos with Turkey, Cucumber, Pico de Gallo, Tzatziki and Avocado, on a blue corn tortilla served with orzo fideo
I made blue Mediterranean turkey tacos and orzo fideo soup. I love chicken tacos, but this time it was turkey. And in my house when we have tacos, we always have fideo soup. However, with the orzo and Greek yogurt in play, I immediately imagined a Mediterranean twist. So, I added the cucumber to the pico de gallo and tzatziki sauce to the tacos. And for the soup, instead of your typical fideos, I used the orzo pasta.
As for the ingredients, there are always two or three mainstream ingredients, and the rest are screwballs. This time was not the exception. With the turkey, oil and Greek yogurt, I thought of a salad, but then the orzo and lemon paste didn't fit in with a flavor profile I could work out in a few days.
The orzo pasta to me was a no-brainer in soup. The lemon paste I tried by itself, and it was very sweet, so to counter that sweetness I added the balsamic vinegar and turned it into a marinade with the pumpkin seed oil.
Initially, my wife and I put two recipes out there in our social network. One was the taco recipe, and the other was stuffed grape leaves with turkey, orzo and farro - with hummus using the pumpkin seed oil and making the egg-lemon sauce with the paste. As we posted both attempts, the tacos were the clear winners. And as I created both dishes, the tacos were still the favorite.
Any surprises? Yeah, I had to dig deep into our kitchen closet under the stairs to find the tortilla press; it had been a while since I made tortillas. And the only place I could find grape leaves was at the Pita Inn in Vernon Hills - I almost had to use chard leaves as a substitute.
I was delighted with the experience. I mean, who doesn't love tacos!
As for the presentation, there is a wide range of layers of colors, textures, smells and flavors. They're all there. And the recipe can be used in a brick and mortar location, a food truck, at home. It is versatile.
Mark Clemens
Roasted Turkey Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce and Lemony Orzo Salad
I made this because one of the ingredients was Greek yogurt, another was orzo. Even though orzo is originally an Italian pasta, we often associate it as a Greek staple. Combine those ingredients with the fact that I just got back from vacationing in Greece, and I didn't think I had a choice.
This week, I looked at the ingredients and felt no panic. The only element that I felt unsure of was the pumpkin seed oil. It read like olive oil, and I hoped it would profile the same way.
In traveling through Greece, you come to realize that lamb is a special occasion dish and not used often in casual dishes like gyros or souvlakia. It is more common to get chicken or pork served as part of a casual meal, and in gyros as well. I was excited about using turkey as a gyro ingredient due to its pronounced flavor. I immediately locked on a lemon orzo, as I like lemon and oil as pasta ingredients because they work well, balancing the bland and the acid.
It took me a couple of tries on the orzo dish as the lemon paste was sweet and the pumpkin seed oil was more neutral than a “greener” tasting olive oil. I had to change the quantity I initially used to less lemon paste, and I added lemon zest to achieve the flavor balance I was looking for.
I thought about making an orzo based soup, but because the gyro itself was a casual dish, I felt the simple cool side salad would be a better affinity. After tasting, my wife wanted to hop on a plane and head back to Greece.
I would love to converse with the other cooks to see what their reaction is when they get the bag of ingredients. I went to bed the night before pickup actually excited for the next day to see what lies ahead of me.
On presentation, I'm laughing because, to a fault, I spend a lot of last-minute effort making a dish pretty for people to eat. If I'm lucky enough to proceed to the next round, I'm going to go out and buy a plate that “works” with the recipe. Although a Greek staple, this ended up being simple salad and sandwich. I felt the Greek flag made it a little more whimsical.
Roberta Fahey
Greek Turkey Salad with a Lemon Orzo and served with a Tzatziki Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
For this challenge, I prepared a turkey Greek salad served on top of a toasted lemon orzo. I made a tzatziki sauce to use as a dressing and lemon oregano pita bread.
The ingredients reminded me of the Mediterranean, and I wanted to do a dish that was simple enough to make during the week or to serve when entertaining because it can be garnished so nicely.
I was thrilled with the ingredients this week. I opened up the pumpkin seed oil and the lemon paste to smell them. I thought that the oil would have a stronger fragrance, but it really didn't. The lemon paste smelled great. I was not familiar with those two ingredients, so I did call the companies to ask them about them. I was told that the oil should not be heated. It is more to drizzle on to something or to blend in dressings. The lemon paste is basically the same as lemon juice but thicker, and it works as a beautiful glaze.
The recipe went pretty smoothly for me. I did experiment with the lemon paste on the pita beforehand since I wasn't familiar with it and I was very happy with the turnout.
I didn't do much to the turkey because it's precooked. I decided to toast the orzo so that it would look nicer. The lemon paste was mainly used for taste and to glaze, and the pumpkin seed oil was used to drizzle on to the food and to blend in the dressing.
In all honesty, I was so happy to see the Greenridge Farm turkey. It is a brand that I do eat. For the last two challenges, it was more difficult. I do not eat pork for religious reasons, and the mackerel was not my fish of choice, but I did take a small bite.
My family tasted it, and my neighbors tasted it, and everyone loved it, and they wanted the recipe. Yeah.
I always work very hard on my presentation because I want it to be pretty and inviting for my guests to eat. Definitely my favorite so far.
Dylan James Turkey, Pumpkin and Orzo Pot Pie with a side of Cranberry Lemon Chutney, garnished with Crushed Pecans and Pumpkin Seed Oil
The dish I prepared was pulled turkey, pumpkin and orzo potpie. The lemon paste, Greek yogurt and pumpkin seed oil were used in multiple, creative ways throughout the dish.
I wanted to show that I can bake something, even if I'm very inexperienced. That's why I came up with a potpie because I believed creating a crust would be an easy start to baking in this competition. I listened to Chef Azizy's comment from my taco recipe in round one about elevating the dish if I had made my own tacos, so I wanted to challenge myself here by making homemade pie crust instead of using a store-bought crust.
My first reaction was, “Why does the oven-roasted turkey have to be cooked?” If it was raw, I could stuff it, utilize different parts of the bird, or even marinate it.
My highest point during the process was making the crust, which is ironic because of my baking deficiencies. The crust came out buttery, crunchy, and it was the right amount of thickness. And my low point in the experience was the number of ingredients I added to the dish. I wish I could have reduced my extra ingredients to get under 10.
I decided to cook the orzo in chicken broth instead of water because I wanted to give it that added depth of flavor when added to the turkey/vegetable filling of the potpie.
My testers were worried that my sauce mixture would be too sweet or sour without adding garlic or bullion. However, it was balanced with the chicken broth and Herbs de Provence. The yogurt and lemon paste did not overpower the sauce.
The overall surprise to me was that I only used a chunk of the roasted turkey.
I struggled with time management for this dish. I only had four hours to prep, cook and bake this potpie because I had to take a flight to Los Angeles for a wedding. I know my cooking experience would have been much less stressful if I was home for the weekend.
The presentation turned out very simple and modern. I wanted to stress the theme of fall in this dish with the ingredients - I achieved that.
Darla Pitts
Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Oven Roasted Turkey, Asparagus & Tomato
I chose this dish because I wanted to prepare something light that would go well with the turkey.
The only low I had while preparing this dish was how to use the turkey and pasta together.
The high of this dish was how well the lemon pesto turned out. My tasters loved the dish, and had seconds! There were actually no surprises this time around for me.
My overall feelings about this experience were that I loved making a unique pasta dish that I've never had before. I absolutely loved how light and fresh the plate looked.
Ann Wayne
Turkey Crepes with Pesto & Orzo Risotto Stuffed Mini Peppers
I created and prepared turkey crepes with a fanciful drizzle of homemade pesto, and a side of orzo risotto stuffed mini peppers.
I was inspired by the pumpkin seed oil to make a pesto that would pair nicely with the turkey, look pretty on top of the crepes, could be made quickly and was deliciously healthy. Risotto is traditionally made with rice. As orzo looks like rice and shares similar consistency, I thought it would be fun and creative to try and make my risotto with orzo.
I love Greek yogurt! I regularly make my own in my Instant Pot and often use it in smoothies, dressings and as a marinade. So naturally, I was thrilled when I saw it as one of the mystery ingredients in my bag. I typically do not buy precooked meats, but I was familiar with Greenridge Farm from their Caminito Ham off the bone in Week 1. So I knew their turkey would be a quality product.
I had never used or heard of the Nielsen-Massey Pure Lemon Paste and was hoping it would be full of the same pleasant surprises I found with their Pure Vanilla Bean Paste from round 1. Still, I was a bit cautious since the paste has sugar and I've always cooked with fresh lemons. Once again, I was delighted with the quality and taste of the Pure Lemon Paste as it did indeed taste just like fresh lemons.
Likewise, I had never used or heard of the Ellendale Organic Virgin Pumpkin Seed Oil. But it turned out to be smooth with a rather hearty and nutty flavor.
I had so many ideas about creating different recipes using this week's ingredients and could not wait to start cooking.
I first tried making orzo muffins. Unfortunately, I could not get a perfect consistency or make them crispy to the liking of my testers.
The Greenridge Farm Tacchino Arrosto was easy to use since it was precooked and had great flavoring. I diced it up and added it to my pan and was able to create the delicious stuffing for my crepes quickly.
I learned that pumpkin seed oil should not be heated. This information helped me eliminate many of the dishes I was considering. But I felt the pumpkin seed oil would enhance the flavor in my pesto.
I sometimes like to take a traditionally prepared dish and add a twist. This is what inspired me to make a risotto with the orzo pasta. (And to my delight, it worked!)
As the turkey was precooked and already full of juicy flavor, I felt the crepe filling did not need any additional spices. I added caramelized onion and garlic to enhance the tender taste of the turkey, just like the fresh carved turkeys I cook myself.
With my first attempt at the pesto, I received a lot of good feedback and suggestions. Many testers felt it needed more lemon to add zip. So I made another batch, and everyone loved it. One tester from my Zumba class said she usually does not care for pesto, but really liked mine and asked for seconds! Another tester said it “tasted healthy, but in a good way.” Another suggested it would be perfect in a chicken wrap.
Testers were surprised when I told them I used pure lemon paste in my pesto as they said it tasted like I used fresh lemon. They also liked the nutty taste provided by the pumpkin seed oil.
The orzo muffins, on the other hand, were not a big hit. Actually, only my husband enjoyed them.
I was surprised at how using the lemon paste was just like fresh lemon flavor and did not have a fake aftertaste. I had never added Greek yogurt to my pesto before. But I found my pesto was still smooth and creamy with the Greek yogurt, which was a much healthier alternative to cheese.
The turkey was easy to slice, tender and flavorful.
Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed cooking and experimenting with the mystery items from round 3. The more I experiment, the more I learn, and the better my dishes. I love being introduced to new ingredients that I have never cooked with before.
I like to drizzle right before serving or add a colorful garnish to make a presentation that is Instagram worthy. While the orzo tastes great, it doesn't have an exciting look by itself. But when stuffed in the mini red peppers, it jumps off the plate!
I like my dishes to look vibrant and colorful. Because you know you are eating healthy when you eat the rainbow.