Round 2 - G Fred and DOM
Inspiration: 4th of July in December (quoth DOM: "as opposed to Christmas in July--get it?")
Breakfast
DOM working hard on the next morning's breakfast.
Mise-en-place!
The table is all set, approximately 15 hours early.
DOM working hard on the next morning's breakfast.
Mise-en-place!
The table is all set, approximately 15 hours early.
G Fred is not working in this picture. Neither does he have a bald spot.
The "Good Morning America Breakfast" Menu:
"In God We Trust Maple Pancake Slider" (Silver Dollar Pancakes, Breakfast Sausage Patties, Maple Cream Butter)
"Hawaii 5-0 Pineapple Muffin Slider" (Cheddar-Bacon Muffin, Ham, Pineapple Star, Spicy Honey Mustard)
"1x Bacon and Egg Biscuit Slider" (Biscuit, Bacon, Scrambled Egg)
"I Bleed Red, White, and Blue Bellinis" (Champagne with Pomegranate Liqueur, Blue Curaçao, or Peach Schnapps)
"Grand Finale Strawberry Shortcake Popper" (Sweet Biscuit, Sweetened Fresh Strawberries, Homemade Whipped Cream, Strawberry Pop Rocks")
The menu for the day.
Pineapple stars!
The official breakfast presentation plate.
"Grand Finale Strawberry Shortcake Popper"
The breakfast round featured one slip-up: the bacon-cheddar muffin was supposed to go with the bacon and egg, making it a "2x" bacon, egg, and cheddar muffin slider, but was put on the wrong sandwich. Everything was still delicious, though. The breakfast festivities also included a patriotic star-shaped sun glasses coloring competition, which resulted in a four-way tie between Marion, Andrew, Kevin, and Meghan because DOM felt that they would appreciate their prizes (excessively patriotic calendars) more than Kip for some reason. Of course, when it comes to patriotic sun glasses coloring competitions, everyone's a winner! We were serenaded throughout the morning by an "American music" mix as well.
Kip decorating his glasses.
This is how *real* Americans do Christmas stockings.
The prizes for the best glasses decorators.
Kip decorating his glasses.
This is how *real* Americans do Christmas stockings.
The prizes for the best glasses decorators.
Taste Test Results After Breakfast:
Correct answers = pineapple and sour cream. Everyone did pretty well this round, except Meghan who correctly identified the first item as pineapple, but suspecting a trick of some sort guessed mango. The lesson here for all you other blind taste-testers out there is, don't overthink it!
Correct answers = pineapple and sour cream. Everyone did pretty well this round, except Meghan who correctly identified the first item as pineapple, but suspecting a trick of some sort guessed mango. The lesson here for all you other blind taste-testers out there is, don't overthink it!
Family picture with G Fred . . .
. . . and another one with DOM. Apparently the awful thing Meghan is doing is called "duck lips," and all the young girls Kip age do it? Or so I'm told. On to lunch!
Lunch
It takes a tough man to make a tender hamburger.
More stars!
DOM pulling her weight.
The "Independence Picnic Lunch" Menu:
"Home on the Range Whiskey Slider" (Hamburger, Onion, Jalapeño, Whiskey Barbeque Sauce, Toasted Potato Roll)
"Georgia On My Mind Slider Dog" (Hot Dog, Cilantro-Peach Salsa, Spicy Honey Mustard, Pretzel Roll)
"All-American Cheese Grilled Slider" (American Cheese, Chili Oil, Italian Bread)
"Sweet Elvis Slider" (Peanut Butter Sugar Cookie, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Bananas, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream)
"Star-Spangled Sangria" (White Wine, Triple Sec, Simple Syrup, Blueberry Acai Vodka, Raspberry-Pomegranate Vodka)
The official lunch presentation plate.
"Star-Spangled Sangria"
"Sweet Elvis Slider"
The lunch menu listed one item which didn't make it to our plates, a "United Tates of America Salad," which will now be an appetizer for dinner. Otherwise, though, service went off without a hitch! The original plan was for this to be a picnic lunch, but the dogs got a bit too excited when DOM set out the picnic blanket:
. . . and it was decided that maybe it would be prudent to eat at the table.
Taste Test Results After Lunch:
Dinner
DOM making small pies.
G Fred picking basil.
Plating.
At each other's throats after a long day of cooking.
The "Four Corners Dinner" Menu:
"United Tates of America Salad" (Red, White, and Blue Potatoes; Onions; Celery; Mayonnaise; Dressing)
"Northwest Meets Southeast" Halibut Cornbread Slider (Halibut, Cornbread, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce)
"Southwest Strawberry Salsa Chicken Slider Wrap" (Marinated Chicken Breast, Strawberry-Cilantro Salsa, Flour Tortilla)
"Metropolitan Vegetarian BBQ Slider" (Barbequed Eggplant, Caesar Slaw, White House Roll)
"Caprese Slider Salad" (Campari Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil)
"Sparkler Martini" (Blueberry Acai Vodka, Blueberry Schnapps, Lemonade, Pop Rock Rim or Razzmatazz, Raspberry-Pomegranate, Lemonade, Pop Rock Rim)
"American Pies"(Homemade Sweet Cherry, Blueberry, and Apple Mini-Pies)
The official dinner presentation plate.
"Sparkler Martini"
Close-up on the halibut.
An "American Pie"
Aside from missing drink garnishes, everything in the dinner round came out as planned. Plus we had that extra potato salad! Once again more than one drink (this time red and blue) was served.
Taste Test Results After Dinner:
Correct answers = paprika and cilantro. As of the completion of this round, Andrew and Marion were done taste testing. The final result: Andrew 10, Marion 9. Everyone else still has six tastes left to go!
Now it's your turn! Click on the link below to let us know how you think G Fred and DOM did!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f5YJWzOJEcBl4UElOpREZ-E-lWt7QVBbSzKHnCJVVEw/viewform
Round 3 = Tuesday, December 30
