My featured ingredients were:

• Cheese, Cottage cheese, or Cream cheese
• Eggs
• Mollusks (Clam, Oyster, or Scallop)

I started the week with a very strong idea of what I would like to focus on because the night before I won the die roll I had noticed that my local Walmart had scallops available for just under $5/bag.  The Epicurious app on my iPad quickly pointed me towards an excellent Seared Scallops with Creamy Noodles and Peas recipe that I felt could be easily adapted to use cream cheese, would look attractive garnished with boiled eggs, and that I felt had a good chance of allowing for the incorpartaion of whatever random ingredient was presented.  As luck would have it Greg happened to choose lemon juice as the secret ingredient this week and it quite handily complemented the dish.

Seared Scallops with Lemon Cream Sauce Noodles and Peas

• 8 ounces medium egg noodles
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 pound bag small bay scallops
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling and cook noodles until almost ready then stir in peas and cook about 3 minutes more. Drain in a colander, then coat bottom of pan with olive oil and toss noodles and peas to coat until ready to plate.

In a second small pot hard boil two eggs, then set aside in sink under cold water.

While water is boiling, rinse and pat scallops dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then add scallops. Increase heat to high and sear scallops until golden brown and just cooked through.  Add wine to skillet and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping.  Stir in cream cheese, chopped chives and lemon juice and boil until slightly reduced and then pour sauce over plated noodles.  Garnish with slices of hard boiled eggs and chives.

Final Score:

• Creativity–9
• Presentation–10
• Taste–9

Items Purchased:

• Bag of Bay Scallops – $4.97
• Cream cheese – $1.98
• Half dozen eggs – $0.59
• Egg noodles – $1.75

Total:  $9.30

Did not use:

• Half the cream cheese
• Two thirds of the eggs
• Half the egg noodles

Brought from Home:

• White wine
• Olive oil
• Fresh chives
• Frozen peas
• Half stick of butter
• Salt & pepper

My featured ingredients were:

• Oatmeal, Cornmeal or other Cereals
• Cheese, Cottage cheese, or Cream cheese
• Apricot, Cherry, Peach, Plum/Prunes or other Stone fruits

We did go ahead and randomly roll to determine that Ken would be the Mystery Ingredient provider for this episode, and much to my consternation he brought, drum-roll please….  Flour tortillas….  ….  ….  Yeah, I was so totally expecting THAT to be an option….

I actually had several false starts while planning because of the “Oatmeal, Cornmeal or other Cereals” selection.  Immediately after the roll I thought I’d go with something breakfasty, but despite the fact that I almost always have oatmeal for breakfast myself I couldn’t really come up with an idea “fancy” enough that I could see getting decent points for the creativity category.  Once I had discarded breakfast as a theme I moved on to the concept of using Cornmeal and Polenta as my foundation.  Unfortunately I’ve never made Polenta before and the couple of quick trial batches I made did not turn out well at all.  About mid-week I was discussing possible options with my friend Miki and after he suggested a Roasted Peaches with Honey Mascarpone Cream recipe he was fond of my entire concept suddenly formed up as a holiday meal.  Once the flour tortillas were exposed as the secret ingredient I was pretty sure how to incorporate them into the main dish, but failed rather poorly in an attempt to also include them in the desert.  A quick experiment with the heat gun and some Cinnamon Sugar showed that I wasn’t going to be able to create something similar to a cinnamon churro so I tossed the experiment and proceeded with what I had.

Roasted Peaches Flambe with Honey Nut Cream Cheese

• 2 peaches, halved and pitted
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons Philadelphia Honey Nut Cream Cheese
• 2 shots of Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix the butter and brown sugar together to form a paste.
Place the peach halves, cut side up, in baking dishes.  (I used small cast iron cauldrons for extra presentation points.)  Place a large spoonful of the brown sugar mixture into the center of each peach half.
Put the dish in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Allow to cool at least 5 minutes.
Top with a large spoonful of the Honey Nut Cream Cheese, insert a cinnamon stick for garnish, and add a half a shot of Grand Marnier to each dish and ignite.

Cherry Ham Steaks with Sharp Cheddar on a Flour Tortilla

• 1 pound fully Cooked Boneless Ham Steaks
• 1 can Del-Monte Dark Sweet Cherries
• 2 cups Kraft Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 package Flour Tortillas
• Dash of Liquid Smoke
• Dash of extract of Cinnamon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In a small saucepan bring the cherries to a slow boil, add dashes of Liquid Smoke and extract of Cinnamon.  While liquid in cherries is reducing by half, brown the ham in a large skillet then add the reduced cherries, lower heat, cover and simmer at least 10 minutes.  In a another skillet brown the tortillas and melt the cheese.

Cornbread Stuffing with Pine Nuts

• Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix
• 1/2 stick of Butter
• 2 tablespoons Pine Nuts

Prepare stuffing per box directions substituting real butter for margarine and adding Pine Nuts while fluffing.

Final Score:

• Creativity–9
• Presentation–9
• Taste–9

Items Purchased:

1. 2 peaches $0.79
2. 1 box Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix $1.42
3. 1 pound fully Cooked Boneless Ham Steaks $2.98
4. 1 can Del-Monte Dark Sweet Cherries $1.00
5. 2 cups Kraft Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese $2.00
6. Philadelphia Honey Nut Cream Cheese $1.86

Total:  $10.05

Did not use:

• Half the Cream Cheese
• Half the Cheddar Cheese

Brought from Home:

• Half an airplane bottle of Grand Marnier
• stick of butter
• brown sugar
• Pine Nuts
• Cinnamon Sticks
• Cinnamon Extract
• Liquid Smoke
• Salt & Pepper

His featured ingredients were

• Yogurt
• Oatmeal, Cornmeal or other Cereals
• Bread

Hank was, once again, the bringer of the random ingredient.  Once again, Hank forced our Chef to think outside the box.  What was our secret ingredient, you ask?  Why, Maraschino Cherries.  Follow the cut to see exactly what our intrepid Chef did with his ingredients.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken

• 1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

Place Yogurt, spices, and cubed chicken in a resealable bag.  Shake the bag madly to coat the chicken in the mixture and allow to marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Place olive oil into a skillet and put chicken and mixture in pan, and cook until chicken is cooked through.  Time will vary depending on how thickly you cut the chicken.

Maraschino Cherry Yogurt Feta Sauce

• 1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 table spoon Maraschino Cherries and juice

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir.  Ken used a spoon to mash the cherries, eventually discarding the larger bits of them.  This will turn a really pretty pink.

Couscous

Ken also prepared couscous according to the box’s instructions.  This turned out really well, and earned him a new title:  Couscous Fluffer.

Baked Flat Bread

• Whole wheat tortillas
• Olive Oil

Place olive oil in skillet and allow to get hot.  Place one tortilla in the oil and allow to cook till browned on one side then flip over.

Ken used whole wheat tortillas instead of Naan bread to conserve both time and money.  This worked out really well, and was quite tasty.

Overall, this entire meal was a huge, resounding success.  As usual, recipe portions are for one largish serving, and alot of it was eyeballed.

Final Score

• Creativity–8
• Presentation–7
• Taste–8

Items Purchased

1. Couscous $1.71
2. Whole Wheat Tortillas $2.19
3. Lemon $.34
4. Red Onion $1.26
5. Garlic $.50
6. Chicken $3.99/2
7. Yogurt $.99
8. Feta Cheese $2.79/3

Total:  $10.00

Did not use

1. Red Onion

Brought from Home

Olive Oil
Turmeric
Curry Powder

• Chicken
• Sour Cream
• Cauliflower

Luckily, these are three of my favorite things, so I didn’t anticipate too much of a challenge; that is of course, until Hank revealed the secret ingredient.

Peanut Butter.  Unbeknown to everyone, I hate peanut butter.

This is the dish I wound up making, pictures are below the cut.  Keep in mind that all recipes are for the one serving that I made.

Chicken with Peanut Butter sauce

• 1 chicken breast, cut into half inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter
• 1 tspn olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbspn butter

Place 1 tbspn of butter in skillet and melt, then place chicken slices in and cook until done, flipping as needed.

In small sauce pan, place peanut butter and the remaining 2 tbspns of butter and glare at it balefully, daring it to mouth off.  Allow to melt.  Once peanut butter is bubbling thoroughly, add olive oil.  This will need nearly continuous stirring.

Place chicken on a plate, spoon sauce over top.  Be warned tho, this peanut butter sauce is apparently not for the faint of heart (or hater of peanuts), as cooking will have caused it to develop both legs and language skills.  So use sparingly.
Mashed Cauliflower

• Half a head of Cauliflower, broken into small pieces
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbspn butter

In a medium saucepan bring chicken broth to a boil.  Put cauliflower into water and cook till fork tender.

Drain cauliflower and place in a bowl with the sour cream and butter and mash using either a mixer, a fork, or a hand masher.  You can mash to whatever consistency you like best, I left mine a little chunky.

Fried Sweet Potato Slices

• Half a sweet potato sliced very thinly
• 2 Tbspns butter

Melt the butter in a skillet and place the potato slices in.  Cook till brown on one side (about 3 or 4 minutes) then flip and cook till brown on the other side.  These will be very delicate once they’ve cooked through, but with a little patience will come out whole.

And there you have it.  The three things that were cooked for Episode Two.  Please note that most cooking times are approximate, as all of this was cooked on the fly.  Also, please note the lack of salt.  I generally don’t cook with it or use it that much, and only added it to the finished product as an afterthought.  Salt to your heart’s content

Final Score:

• Creativity–7
• Presentation–6
• Taste–8

Items Purchased:

1. Chicken broth $0.99
2. Boneless Chicken Breast $1.50
3. Califlower $1.50
4. Sweet Potato $0.66
5. Sour Cream $1.79

Total $7.28 before tax

Bought but did not use:
Snowflake rolls

Items from Home:

1. Butter
   

• Pork Chops
• Carrots

Greg brought the Mystery Ingredient, which turned out to be Guava Jelly.

As his time began, Hank seemed confident.  Wearing his white Chef’s jacket from a previous employer, he immediately set out to entertain us with his culinary skill.  Many pictures were taken, and shall be added as soon as I get them.

On to the recipes!

Guava Jelly Pork Chops

• 2 Pork Chops
• 1/2 Cup Guava Jelly
• 1 Minced Garlic Clove
• 1 tspn Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Tspn Salt

Allow the chops to sit in the Jelly and spice mixture for a few minutes, then place them on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for around 15 minutes.

Note: Baking time can probably be reduced as the jelly burned.  Heat can be reduced as well, to keep the pork chops from drying out.

Fried Baby Carrots

• 2 Cups Baby Carrots, chopped in half
• 1 Minced Shallot
• Dash of Garlic Pepper
• Dash of Salt
• 1Tbspn Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar mix

Place the carrots and shallots with pepper and salt added to the vinegar/oil mixture in a skillet.  Cook until tender.

Note: Add shallots later, as they take less time to cook than the carrots and burn easily.

Basil Mashed Potatoes

• 1 Potato Sliced
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Tbspn Minced Basil leaves
• 1 Tbspn Butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Place potatoes in water and allow to boil until fork tender.  Place all ingredients into bowl and mash until desired consistency.
And there they are.  Recipes are written the way they were cooked, the notes are possible changes that could be done.  Enjoy!

Final Score

• Creativity–6
• Presentation–5
• Taste–6

Items Purchased

1. Pork Chops $3.99 / used half
2. Whole Garlic $0.79
3. Russet Potato $0.83
   
4. Peeled Carrots $1.75

Total $5.37

Bought but did not Use:

1. Garlic Bread
2. Honey

Brought from Home

1. Basil Leaves
2. Shallot
3. Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar mix
   

Please be sure and check out the rules of our game.  We are currently still in the process of refining them, so if you have anything to suggest, we’d love to hear it.

In case you can’t be bothered to read all that, here are the basics:

• Each Chef will roll 4 times on the tables on The Rules page.  They’ll then pick 3 of their 4 rolls.
• These 3 ingredients must be the main parts of their meal.
• The Chef can spend no more than $10 to buy their ingredients and any extras they might want/need.  Certain things like spices and small amounts of butter (unless its one of their 3 main ingredients) can be brought from home.
• The last person to be Chef will roll a die to determine the next person to cook.
• The next Chef will roll a die to determine the next person to bring the secret ingredient.
• The Chef has exactly 15 minutes to prep.  They can use this time to get a jump start on their cooking, preheat ovens, even look up recipes on the internet.  They then have 45 more minutes to cook their meal, essentially giving them 1 hour to cook.
• The judges are encouraged to watch the Chef prepare the meal, and heckle them.  The Chef is encouraged to ignore them.
• At the end of the hour the Chef must present what they have.  Finished or not.
• The judges will judge based on 3 criteria:  Presentation, Creativity, and Taste on a scale of 1-10.  The scores will then be averaged, and the Chef informed of their scores.

The recipes are noted by the judges, or the cook themselves and put up here for future reference.  Sometimes our dishes may be wonderful, other times they might fail completely.  We’ll try and let the public know which is the case as we post.

To borrow from the Iron Chef Chairman:

Allez Cuisine!