The "One Bite" challenge

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x.elle.x

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On the most recent episode of "Top Chef", two chefs were told that they'd
have forty minutes to come up with seven "one-bite" servings, and that the
chef who prepared the winning bite would advance to the finals to compete
for $200,000. (It should be noted that the seven judges had already sampled
their way through three full dinners, with each dinner being inspired by
childhood memories of three guest judges.)

If you were given that kind of opportunity, what would you make?

Bob
 
On 25-Mar-2011, "Bob Terwilliger" wrote:


Given the childhood memories and dinners, I'd go for dessert. Creamcicle
squares - 1inch squares of the highest quality vanilla ice cream, with a
1/8th inch coat the best, OJ I could get.
--
Change Cujo to Juno in email address.
 
l wrote:


I was thinking dessert too. The competitors were in the Bahamas, so I was
thinking of something like the vanilla pudding I made last Christmas, topped
with a disk of caramelized mango. Either that or a demitasse of hot
chocolate with an apricot anti-lava cube, though the timing on the anti-lava
is tricky, and I'm not sure there would be enough time to get it frozen on
the outside but still liquid in the center.

Bob
 
On Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:43:36 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
wrote:

I can only hope I've given my children more good childhood food
memories than I have from my childhood. There is no way on God's
Green Earth that I could come up with seven ideas and almost
everything I'd come up with would be inspired from a box. Hm. Maybe
I could if boxes or popcorn or hot dogs roasted over coals in the
fireplace count. Maybe I could *if* I was a creative cook and a
professional chef, which I'm not. LOL

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:38:14 GMT, "l, not -l" wrote:


You have *7* desserts you could create from? I'm impressed. I had a
lot of Jello.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.
 
sf wrote:


I didn't make it clear: The two chefs were tasked to create the "bite" for
seven different diners, i.e., seven SERVINGS, but only one RECIPE. Making a
cake and cutting it into seven pieces would have met the rules of the
challenge.

The childhood memories came into it because the three guest judges were
asked, "What would you want to eat for your last meal?" Then each of the
remaining competitors (there were three of them at that point) was given the
assignment of cooking the meal described by one of those judges. It was a
bit arbitrary that each of those judges chose something from their
childhood, and in one case it was a childhood memory which was *not* from
her mother's cooking: Michelle Bernstein, one of the guest judges, said she
wanted fried chicken and biscuits for her last meal, because she used to
love those things as a child even though her mother NEVER cooked them, and
she only got to have them when they went out to eat. (Personally, I don't
think I would want a meal from my childhood recreated for my last meal, but
that's just what those guest judges chose.)

The "One Bite" challenge came about AFTER those "last meals" had been
consumed. One of the competitors didn't have to take part in the challenge;
that person was already through to the finale. The two remaining competitors
were fighting to eliminate each other.

The "One Bite" competitors were not in any way obliged to stick to the
"childhood memory" theme at that point; they just had to make something
which represented the epitome of their personal cooking style and which
would hopefully be memorable (in a GOOD way). But they had to prepare seven
servings of whatever they chose to make.

Bob
 
On 26-Mar-2011, sf wrote:


Probably a lot more than seven if I put my mind to it. As a child, I was
fortunate enough to attend family gatherings every Sunday; those gatherings
were always at one or another set of grandparents' home. Both of my
grandmothers cooked for "field hands" most of their lives; no meal was ever
served without a choice among the various offerings. There were generally
three each of meats, starches, vegetables and desserts. Typical of
desserts might be the remainder of yesterday's coconut cake, freshly baked
chess pie and a variety of cookies which might be served with (home canned
or store bought canned) fruit. In season offerings might be crisps, tarts,
pies (regular or fried pocket pies), etc. to utilize the seasonal fruit and
berries.

Speaking of pocket pies, that can be another terrific one-bite dessert; just
make the crust of a size to hold a tablespoon or so of filling. My maternal
grandmother used to do that with pie crust scraps; fill them with a bit of
whatever home-canned preserves were already open; pan fry in a bit of butter
and sprinkle with a pinch of sugar.

From my mother's oven would come her take on a St. Louis favorite - Gooey
Butter Cake. A dessert so rich that a 2x1" serving is as much or more
than most could handle 8-)
--
Change Cujo to Juno in email address.
 
On 3/25/2011 9:43 PM, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

Guacamole on a corn tortilla

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:53:58 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
wrote:




Ah, okay, thanks. I sure misinterpreted it - thanks for clarifying.
It sounds much more do-able your/their way than mine!

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:56:51 -0500, Janet Wilder
wrote:


Do you remember the first time you had freshly made guacamole? I
loved it immediately. Same thing with San Francisco style burritos.
I order mine w/o rice and with whole beans. It was a real bummer for
me the first time I came in contact with a SoCal (wet) burrito >
sitting on the plate, drowned in a red sauce. Bummer of a meal. I
was so craving a burrito I could hold to eat, but that style hadn't
spread south back then and I didn't know there was more than one
style.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On 26 Mar 2011 17:57:00 GMT, notbob wrote:


Apparently the style was so *popular* that it spread. If it wasn't,
we'd still be the only place where it was served.


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On 3/26/2011 12:41 PM, sf wrote:

Yes! I make a pretty good guac, myself, especially when I've been to
Mexico and bought some yummy avocados there. They are *the* best.
I

I'm not sure what a San Francisco style burrito is. You don't mean a
fried burrito? That's a chimichanga (sp) Do you mean just a burrito on
a plate with some melted cheese on it?

If it's just beans or other food wrapped in a tortilla around here they
call it a taco.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
The "One Bite" challenge

On 2011-03-26, Julie Bove wrote:


Basically, the SF burrito is characterized by costing $6-8 and is
typically the size of a mutant zucchini cuz it's filled with a pound
of tasteless rice (10?) and half pound of non-refried beans (30?).
I'm sure it has some meat in it somewhere, but who can really tell.
It has spread far and wide across areas with a large illegal
population cuz it will feed a family of four for an entire day. The
first time I saw one, I thought the lady was cradling a newborn in her
arms.

nb
 
"Bob Terwilliger" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

Broiled Roquefort cheese on a pear slice.
The meat from some stone crab with the mustard sauce on toast point.
A perfectly grilled scallop on a skewer
Steak Tartare
A White Castle slider
Roasted fresh corn on the cob with fresh lime & pico de gallo powder.

Most have a bite of raspberry chocolate mouse.

Dimitri
 
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