Compound Chopped Championship 2016

Over Thanksgiving, 4 competitors were chosen from a pool of 7 based on best single bite in The Taste. The chefs were as follows:

1.    Kevin

2.    Kip

3.    Andrew

4.    Marion

Kevin and Kip were awarded upstairs kitchen status, while Andrew and Marion were relegated to the downstairs kitchenette. Mystery baskets were created by DOM (appetizer), Gfred (entrée), and Meg5han (dessert), composed of 4 separate unknown ingredients:

Preparations began weeks in advance, with a string of tense emails and a full day of prep by Mema and GG, including aprons and a fully stocked (and hotly debated) pantry and fridge:

Chefs were also allowed to bring two items from home (as well as any tools they would like to bring):

Kevin: chili garlic sauce and fry batter

Kip: roasted red peppers and Velveeta cheese

Andrew: maple syrup and baguette

Marion: puff pastry and Arborio rice

There was also a large studio audience:

Round 1: Appetizer

For this round, chefs were presented with mystery ingredients provided by Liz, which included: canned artichoke hearts, hazelnut liquor, ring bologna, and Thanksgiving bread fail (the item that ruined her Taste dish).

Basket reveal:

The producers of the episode were hard at work, in costume even:

Meanwhile, Meg5han….

Kip prepared Dip 3 Ways (cheesy artichoke, Velveeta-bologna, and hazelnut with crostini

Kevin prepared a BECKS sandwich (bologna, egg, cheese, kale, and salsa) with fried artichoke hearts and a chili garlic dip

Andrew made ring bologna grilled stuffing with mushroom/artichoke/sage gravy topped with crispy artichoke hearts (and a bad attitude)

Marion crafted caramelized onion, bologna, and artichoke tart with crispy kale and bread topping and hazelnut butter glaze

The judging was especially judgy, but ultimately Kip’s wildest dreams came true and he was eliminated in round 1.

Round 2: Entrée

As winner of Round 1, Marion selected cooking alone in the downstairs kitchenette, leaving Andrew and Kevin to share the upstairs kitchen. Gfred’s basket included: persimmon, pork loin, cocoa peanuts, and powder hollandaise sauce (a redemption ingredient from Gfred’s Eggs Benedict Taste).

Andrew made hollandaise honey mustard bourbon glazed pork loin over cocoa peanut pilaf topped with a grilled persimmon-jalapeno-red onion salsa with tequila

Marion created persimmon risotto topped with cocoa peanut and hollandaise encrusted pork loin in a persimmon, celery, and jalapeno slaw in a sauce reduction.

Kevin gave us cocoa peanut encrusted honey mustard pork loin topped with persimmon stuffing with roasted red pepper with a side of (burnt) potato hash topped with broccoli hollandaise.

While the judges disagreed about the winner and although he had the best pork, this round saw the end of Kevin’s Chopped 2016 run.

Round 3: Dessert

As the winner of round 2, Marion once again got to pick her cooking location and earned a spot in the upstairs kitchen alone for the first time this competition. Basket ingredients in this round, provided by Meghan, saw the redemption theme through. Chefs were presented with the exact same ingredients Meghan used in The Taste with the addition of a crunchy element: pears, red wine, mascarpone, and butter pecan cookies.

Marion created a pear cake with poached pears, mascarpone cream, cookie crumble, and a red wine sauce.

Andrew made butter pecan cookie pear gratin with a mulled wine mascarpone topping and a Basye Nog (mulled wine syrup, hazelnut liqueur, disgusting tequila, RumChata, half and half and eggs)

Both desserts were quite well done, so the judging came down to a consideration of the entire meal as a whole. In that case, the winner was…

Mep!

The Taste aka OBNB 2016 (Part 3- Results)

In case you missed our FaceBook Live Results Ceremony...

I must first announce, this worked out perfectly the way I intended, which is obviously the most important thing about this competition. In reverse order (loser to winner):

7. Liz
6. Greg
5. Meghan
4. Marion
3. Andrew
2. Kip
1. Kevin

Kevin wins the Picard Cup! (I told you no one in this house actually reads this carefully!) His dish is also the only one that was totally gone by 9PM (in terms of leftovers- some people made perfectly enough to feed the 8 eaters).

To review, here are the rules for the Chopped round at Christmas:

Round 1: Appetizer (basket ingredients purchased by Liz)

Kevin and Kip will cook in the upstairs kitchen. Andrew and Marion will cook downstairs. They are invited to bring 4 pantry ingredients each (we are also currently working on a list of guaranteed pantry items). They will open the "basket" of ingredients at approximately 10:30 and will have exactly 1.5 hours to cook from first sight to service (service at noon). Meghan, Greg, and Liz will be the only judges and will rank the 4 dishes. The fourth place chef will be eliminated.

Round 2: Entree (basket ingredients purchased by Greg)

The first place chef will choose to cook upstairs with a partner or alone downstairs. The second place chef gets next pick. The third place chef gets whatever space is left. They will open the "basket" and have exactly one hour from first sight to service. Meghan, Greg, and Liz will again judge and rank the dishes. The third place chef will be eliminated.

Round 3: Dessert (basket ingredients purchased by Meghan-just as I planned!)

The first place chef will choose to cook upstairs or downstairs. The two chefs will open the "basket" and have exactly thirty minutes from first sight to service. The judges will pick a winner. The eliminated contestants will have the opportunity to also choose a favorite as a consolation prize if they do not pick the same winner as the judges.

There will be live streaming the day of the competition (like December 28 or December 29 so block your schedules, people!) as well as blog posts per round. Happy holidays, everybody!

The Taste aka OBNB 2016 (Part 2)

Now for my impressions. Listed in order of serving, not in order of my opinion:

Taste 1: Kevin’s Gnocchi and Mushroom Alfredo with Pancetta and Sundried Tomatoes

I suspect I may have been targeted with this taste. It was all my favorite things in a bite. The gnocchi were perfectly al dente and the mushrooms were finely chopped. The pancetta and sundried tomatoes provided some textural interest and the umami flavor was spot on. I would like to eat this with every meal for the rest of my life I think.

Taste 2: Kip’s Vozzo Pesto Feta Cheeseburger with Touch of Bacon on Homemade Biscuit

I could not have pinpointed the pesto until Kip named his dish (we did not get to know what we were eating until the bite was finished), but in hindsight, I think it totally made the sauce. The burger was perfectly cooked and homemade biscuit did not seem homemade in the most complimentary way. The sauce had a coolness to it, almost like French onion dip. I enjoyed this very much, especially and including the side of a single Dorito.

Taste 3: Greg’s Poached Quail Eggs Benedict on Scratch Biscuit

This dish was the first true bite. We were encouraged to eat it in one bite, which made this a much different experience for me. I really like any cooking competition that includes the classic Horbal biscuit recipe and I do love me an eggs benedict. The poached quail eggs were precisely and perfectly cooked. The Canadian bacon patty was the exact right size. This was a delicate and delicious little bite.

Taste 4: Liz’s Creamy Potato Leek Soup in Italian Bread Bowl

This was the dish I knew the most about before it was made, as there was much trial and error involved in the making of the bread bowl. It did not affect my impression, though. The texture of the soup was smooth and light. The bread bowl was nicely dense. The flavor was salty and the temperature was nice and warm. The dollop of sour cream and chives, crumbled eggs, bacon and cheese as garnish were a nice touch in terms of flavor, which is always nice for a garnish, I think.

Taste 5: Meghan’s Red Wine Poached Pear with Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Sweet Cream

(Meg doesn't think it's fair to describe her own dish so this is Liz ghostblogging):  This was an exciting moment in SHFRP Competition history: the single best thing Meghan has ever made us.  We are all so proud of how far she has come from the dog-nausea-inducing cornbread with sunflower seeds disaster of the first competition.  This sweet interlude was a fruity, creamy treat with a mellow red wine syrup. We all (even Meg) agreed that it could have used a bit of cruncy texture, but overall it was a light and delicious departure from the savory fare the rest of us dished up.

Taste 6: Andrew’s Mini Yorkshire Puddings with French Onion Gravy

Andrew’s dish was our second true bite and it did not disappoint. I am not as familiar with Yorkshire puddings as I now wish I was. This bite was a delightful surprise in terms of texture. It was unexpectedly light and fluffy. The gravy is difficult to describe in terms of complexity of flavor but it was so. Good. It tasted like the nicest French onion soup flavor and was apparently made from Andrew’s Thanksgiving leftovers.

Taste 7: Marion’s Inside-Out Chinese Soup Dumplings

The final dish did not disappoint. It does not count, but it sure was pretty! The dumpling reminded me of my favorite Thai appetizer, but with soup, which was a great addition. The broth was mild and there was a nice warm spice in the background. The dumpling texture was perfect and light and the filling was lovely. This was a great ending.

The voting is now taking place. Stay tuned for results!

The Taste aka OBNB 2016

The Compound Thanksgiving Taste 

aka “One Bite, No B!tch!ng (OBNB)”

In the interest of re-complicating last year’s simple celebration of the holidays, we have decided to purchase an entire home for our cooking competition and added a preliminary round to complete overtake another holiday. We have been toying with the idea of doing “The Taste” for several years and this, friends, is the year. 2016. Year of the Compound. Year of the Taste. 

To make things extra interesting, we also added 8 dogs to the mix. You read that correctly. The Horbal/Frederick/Raftery/Penning clan added to family dogs and our guest judge, Cousin Stephanie, brought 3 of her own. For a “taste” of what that is like, check out this:

Jude is also getting into the action this year. It’s probably only another year or so before Pete and Lucy are in the mix. Hence the reason we have two kitchens.



Despite the chaos, the rules for the OBNB are pretty simple: make the best bite. You are judged solely on taste. We are dimming the lights, doing no dish naming or describing, and we rank you per the best taste. Obviously, there is online voting and scheming involved as well.

Here’s where it gets complicated (because of course it gets complicated): your score determines your rank for the Christmas competition, when we will be doing a true “Chopped” challenge.

The chefs are all ranked according to taste, one being the best and seven being the worst, by all competitors and Stephanie, our guest judge. The four lowest scoring chefs will move on to the Christmas competition. Each Christmas chef is welcome to bring up to four pantry items that can be used at any time in addition to the normal stock of Sharp Shopper ingredients, of course, in case anyone wants to use Sir Bananas.

Round 1: Appetizer

The two lowest scoring chefs from the OBNB get to cook in the main kitchen, while the third and fourth place chefs from the OBNB cook in the downstairs kitchenette. The highest overall scorer from the OBNB must buy the basket ingredients for round 1. The chefs are surprised with their basket, then have an hour and a half to make their appetizer. One chef is eliminated and the others are ranked first, second, third.

Round 2: Entrée

The remaining chefs now cook an entrée. The first-place chef gets to pick if they would like to cook alone in the downstairs kitchen or with another chef in the main kitchen. The second-place chef gets to pick their spot next. The third-place chef gets what left. In this round, chefs get one hour to cook from learning the basket ingredients to plating their dish. This basket is purchased by the second highest scoring from the OBNB. One chef is eliminated and the remaining two chefs move on to Round 3.

Round 3: Dessert

The final two chefs face off in the final round. The first-place chef chooses their kitchen and the second-place chef gets what is left. The first loser of the OBNB gets to supply the basket ingredients for the dessert round. The chefs get exactly 30 minutes to cook their desserts. The winner gets to keep the Picard cup. (That sentence was really just to see if the Compound owners are paying attention.)

So there’s the rules. Stay tuned for the results.

Crockpot Christmas 2015

In the spirit of our low-key holiday this year, I decided to hold off the blogging until I had a moment of peace instead of rushing it and not enjoying the day with the fam. The day started and ended like this so writing was not really an option the day of:



We were only together for one day this year and decided to plan a no-fuss competition because we were not entirely sure when our newest member, Miss Lucy, would arrive. Luckily, she was early so this ended up being a pleasant and relaxing day. She did this most of the time:



The rules this year were pretty simple: make something that involved a crockpot. Everyone kept asking what the rules were, but really there were none. Just use a crockpot. And there were many!



Most of us prepared at least part of our meal ahead of time and with slow-cookers, competing for space in the kitchen was easier than ever. We decided the order of service on the actual day and things went fairly seamlessly, although we were still stuffed to the gills (haven't figured out how to cure that one yet...)

I was up first, which I really liked and may insist on again, because I had breakfast. But first, a minor incident in which I could not figure out how to get the oven off of preheat. Turns out you push "start":




The Horbals are famous for eating their weight in cinnamon rolls for breakfast when we gather so I went that direction, even using Pillsbury rolls, but I fancied them up a bit with cream cheese fondue and Mema's custom plates:



Jude was instrumental in the plating, meaning he nagged me incessantly about whether or not it was time to take the rolls out of the oven and kept trying to dip his fingers in the cinnamon sugar.



The rolls have a cinnamon stick handle for ease of dipping. I'm fairly certain the peanut gallery used the anonymity of online voting to criticize my minimal use of the crockpot, but I am pleased by how edible and not disastrous these turned out.

Shortly after breakfast came GG's beverage. His prep station was intriguing:



Can you make any guesses based on this? We could not. He made bacon bourbon hot chocolate with whipped cream, hazelnuts, and a side of Bacon Bucks lottery tickets. (I wish we still had the arbitrary points-adding category- I would have given him a few because the Rafterys won $16!) The final product:





Next up was Mema, gunning for the nostalgia vote, but pessimistic even before shopping. Here she is grumbling through prep:





Melissa was quizzed on this during a side game we played later, but does anyone know what Kip used to call this dish? Hungries!



Here we have classic Liz Horbal Velveeta mac and cheese, complete with absolutely unnecessary piece of OCD bread. I appreciated the huge chunks of salt and may have accidentally gone back for seconds. She insisted I feature this picture, which shows the "garnish":



By this time it was hot as... fill in your favorite word here.



The kids were melting, but that didn't stop people from trying to pose them:



Luckily GG came to the rescue and brought Jude up to the roof top deck to try to hear the Ravens fans cheering:




But Jude only cared about the "candy canes" (ducts) which he claimed were funny becasue they were "wrapped":



We made it back downstairs just in time to taste the winning dish, Andrew's chocolate peanut butter caramel cake with salted caramel ice cream. He fully admitted to playing to the audience. It worked. Put those words together and throw them in a crockpot and you instantly get at least half of us, even if poorly executed which this was not:





This thing was stupid good.

We took some breaks around here, I can't remember the exact timing. We took a family walk to a park to play, walk off some calories, pick up some supplies, etc. We also played some silly games, including a Horbal classic coin/snack food guessing game related to birthdays mathematically. The winnings:



Kevin went next with some pork mole cabbage slaw tacos that somehow got less spicy, but no less delicious as the day went on. These things smelled ridiculous the night before at 2AM when Pete was up coughing. Torture in so many ways! Prep first:



Then final product:



Next came Kip and Melissa's woefully under appreciated due to stuffedness of participants Nutella coconut lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. So. Good.



And last, but not least (in fact, I think she was second or third overall) came Marion's made in early November and almost second-helping worthy despite consumption of nearly 4000 calories each Dad's pasta sauce, cooking:



And cooked:



The sausage was definitely my favorite part on this one.

So Merry Christmas, from our crew to yours. This is the closest we came to a group shot. Clearly I am telling Jude for the 9 billionth time to not talk over me as I talk over everyone else in the family in this picture:



(And it is blurry enough for you to get just one guess who took it...)

Hopefully next year we will be cooking from two kitchens in our new Contest League Headquarters, which could exponentially increase our ability to compete not only on a cooking front, but also possibly on a home decorating front. Stay tuned for more info, but here is a hint:



I may or may not have been distracted from blogging by applying to HGTV design shows. Just sayin'. Till next year, friends!