This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Extreme Cook-off in the greater Pine Belt area! I apologize to anyone from the host family that read this but you just have to know them to understand...I was very apprehensive and skeptical about signing up. After competing in an Iron Olympics at their home a little over a month ago (we had to run over 2 miles, swim, push a fourwheeler, kayak across a lake, and throw a javelin...among other things!), I think that you can understand my concern!!
Major side-step.
So basically this extreme cook-off was a spin on the Food Network show, Chopped. I was thinking we would be inside. I was deeply mistaken.
As we rolled to a stop in the grass atop their long driveway, I saw a crowd of people in the distance.....by the BARN. I tried to convince my sister to TURN AROUND right then!!! Obviously, it didn't work...and I'm okay with that.
Once we were divided into groups of four (15 teams total..you do the math) we found out what this was all about. We were to make 3 courses: Appetizer, Main Dish, and Dessert. We had a set amount of time per course. We had 3 "secret ingredients" that we had to use in each course. We weren't going to find out what they were until the beginning of each course. Oh, AND we had to create our own work station using 4 bales of hay stacked two high, and we were given either a gas burner or a grill. Our team got the gas burner. At this point I was thankful that it wasn't sticks and rocks!!!
For the first course (Appetizers) we were given 35 minutes to collect our ingredients bag (in the middle of a large slip 'n slide!) which held the 3 secret ingredients: Avocado, Spinach, and Almonds. We were instructed in how to use them (one of the secret ingredients had to be cooked) and we had to be sure to use all of the ingredients. The "pantry" was a quarter of a mile away from us. And try running to THAT several times in a dead panic, I tell you!!!!
I was dubbed head chef in my group. I don't think I've ever had an "Uh..duh????" moment like this in my life. Ever. I had three people staring at me, expecting me to say something smart and all that I could come up with was "let's go to the pantry!!!"
When we got there, the first thing that I saw was a package of corn tortillas. And what can you make with spinach and avocado, I ask??? Veggie Tacos, people! Next on the table were a bunch of berries. What goes well on a fruit salad? (If you're into the whole "crunchy with mushiness" thing..) Almonds! I instinctively grabbed whipping cream. Why, I have no idea. I guess I thought that there would be electricity?!? Nevertheless, into our pan it went and back to our cooking area we galloped.
At this point we had 30 minutes remaining. This one was in the bag!
I was in charge of showing my knife skills. I didn't know I had any until that day. I quickly chopped up some green and orange bell pepper and mushrooms, throwing them into a pan with some butter in it. (Yes, thankfully they had butter in the "cooler!") One of my teammates crisped the taco shells in another dry skillet, one broke the stems off of the spinach - readying it for the pan - and one the other stirred the pepper/mushroom mixture. I sliced the avocado, diced tomato, and began to attempt making whipped cream.
I poured some of the whipping cream into a small cup, grabbed a fork, and started whipping it into submission. About 5 minutes of fast whipping and cream flying everywhere (I'm surprised I had any left in the cup!), I had WHIPPED CREAM!!! I couldn't believe it!!!
By this point, my teammates had crisped up the taco shells, sauteed the peppers, mushrooms, and spinach, and chopped the berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries). They're awesome! We started plating. We layered the taco shells with the spinach mixture, sprinkled on some tomatoes, a few slices of avocado, and a dollop of sour cream. For the berries, we put some of the mixture on the plate, sprinkled with slivered almonds, and a dollop of whipped cream! We were finished in 27 minutes. Unbelievable.
For the Main Course, our 3 secret ingredients were: Fish, Sweet Potatoes, and Lemons. We had to catch the fish! With our bare hands!!!! Now, before you jump to conclusions, they were in a large bucket in the middle of a corral. And they were alive. We sent the two youngest on our team to catch the fish while my other teammates and I went to the pantry to collect the rest of our ingredients. Once we came back to our cooking area, our teammates had the fish! At this point.....we had to kill and dismember it. That is one thing that I have never done before, nor do I really have a desire to do. Honestly, who really wakes up in the morning thinking "I'm going to gut a fish today!" Nope. Not me. Eww.
The most experienced member of our team graciously stepped up to the plate and did the honors while I tried to get everything else ready, gagging all the way. First, I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes into coins. I put them into a pot on the burner (with some butter), sprinkled them with Tony's seasoning, and handed the stirring spoon to one of my teammates. Next, I minced garlic and broke broccoli into bite-size pieces. I put them in our other pan (with butter also) with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. By this point, everything smelled AMAZING! Once the broccoli was done, it was time for the fish to be cooked. We cleaned our pan and began the task. I use clean very lightly. I'm sure that we broke every sanitary rule in the book that day.
Anyway, we melted some butter in the pan, then put the fish (I think it was Tilapia???) into the pan, sprinkling it with Tony's seasoning. (I have a new appreciation for this spice blend.) Our fish pro manned his station while I whipped up a make-shift salsa. I finely chopped tomato, green and orange bell pepper, and sweet onion. I then mixed it together in a bowl and sprinkled on some Tony's seasoning. Oh. My. Goodness. That was the best make-shift salsa that I have ever put in my mouth! We all agreed that it was some fine stuff!
It didn't take long for the fish to cook (about 4 minutes per side), so we started plating while it was in the last few minutes. The sweet potatoes were nicely cooked with a bit of a bite still in them while being mushy in the middle. Mmmm. We warmed the broccoli again and sprinkled a bit more lemon juice on one last time. Then, we sliced up the fish and carefully placed it, skin-side-down, on the plate giving it a small squeeze of lemon juice and a generous helping of salsa. After the judges were done tasting, we were able to snag a few bites of our creation and it was delicious! I went home telling my mom that I want to re-make that entire meal some time!
Last, but certainly not least, was dessert. We were trying the think of what they would make us do ahead of time, and had already come up with doing baked apples. Even if there was chocolate involved, I thought that it would work perfectly. I do believe that we spoke entirely too soon.
And what, you are asking, did they give us as our 3 secret ingredients?? Milk, Eggs (in the raw), and chocolate. WHY???? We all just stared at each other for a second. What could we possibly make with this?!?! Then, it hit me. Stovetop brownies! We had to collect our eggs (from the chicken coop), milk a cow (I feel so sorry for the poor thing), and go through an obstacle course to get the chocolate. My amazing teammates let me go to the pantry while they got the other ingredients! When everyone was back at the station, we did our best to mix up brownie batter. Easier said than done when you're missing some of the ingredients. Alas, we did our best and got the brownies on the burner, covering the pan in foil. Not 5 minutes later there was smoke rising from the pan! It was burning! (No duh...there's one hot spot smack dab in the middle thanks to the can of sterno giving us heat!) One of my teammates started rotating the pan while I tried to make crepes as our back-up if the brownies fell through. Let me just say that the crepes did not work since we had no spatula to flip them with! Other teams made crepes and I have no idea how they accomplished it!
So, we went for our last alternative while the brownies were still being rotated. Chocolate Brownie Cookie Bites. If you can even call them that. It was more like Chocolate Goop. We would garnish them with some fresh berries and whipped cream. at this point we had 7 minutes of time remaining. No need to panic. Ha ha! About the time I got the cookie bites done, the brownies were finished. Hoping that they would be okay, I took a small bite..and gagged. It tasted like a burnt something. Definitely not okay to use, so we fell back to our plan B, the cookie bites. I am so not proud of this dish. It was awful, but we were able to laugh it off and get some humor out of it! When we brought the plates up to the judges one of my teammates said that we made a brownie bundt cake. "We put in on the burner and it bundt!" Get it?? ;) Needless to say, that killed any chance of us winning the competition, but who cares, right??
I had so much fun at the first-ever Extreme Cook-Off, and I can't wait until next time! Until then, why don't you give that make-shift salsa a try?? You're sure to love it!
Happy eating,
~HB~ 
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