Who Wants to be Discuss Cooking's Virtual Golden Chef?

[GB]

See, how hard was that?

Says the professional chef

Seriously though, this has got to be one of the most inexpensive ingredients that can be used in so many different ways. It can be used in savory as well as sweet. It can be used as a main ingredient or a supporting ingredient. It can be used as a thickener. The possibilities are endless.

 

[Clutch]

No disrespect, but look:

"Pumpkin and Oatmeal Gnocchi
Ricotta and Oatmeal Gnocchi"

Both oatmeal gnocchi's, just variations, technically one dish.

"Oatmeal and Apricot Crusted Lamb Chops
Oatmeal and Parmesan Crusted <insert fish of choice here>
Oatmeal and Cepe Crusted Pork Chops
Oatmeal and Horseradish Crusted Salmon"

All four are different meats crusted with oatmeal, which frankly, doesn't sound spectacular, but they are, once again technically the same dish, just variations on meat choices. I had said this was one thing you could use the oatmeal for, a breading/crusting.

"Oatmeal Blini with Braised Pork Belly
Crispy Bocconcino - Mozzarella breaded in Oatmeal Breadcrumbs
<insert salad here> with Oatmeal Croutons
Roasted Pork Loin with Stuffed with Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, and Proscuitto"

Basically, the oatmeal is being added to other good sounding meals as a means to use it in a dish. IMO, grits would go way better with the pork dishes. Oatmeal crutons sound like a bad idea and I wouldn't use it as a stuffing either, but that just my .02¢. I'm sure there's someone somewhere that would like those. The only thing I would make out of rolled oats would be oatmeal and granola.

 

[lulu]

I think the point is to try and use oats more imaginatively! I don't think you can say two types of gnocchi are the one dish....thats kind of like saying there are only two things to eat in Italy, pasta and pizza.

I am still, as a spectator expecting a great variety of imaginative food. IC has got me licking my lips, and oats are something I already love. I look forward to a mulitude of ideas from people that will expand my own repetoire.

 

[Clutch]

thats kind of like saying there are only two things to eat in Italy, pasta and pizza.

There's more than two things to eat in Italy! DARN! When was y'all gonna tell me?!?!?!?!

LOL!!

I didn't mean, they were the same dish, just variations on the same dish. I can take 7 recipes and find a way to mush some rolled oats into them, doesn't mean anything.

Basically, I'm staying out of this one cause I really don't get the oats thing. For me, oats are either breakfast in the form of oat meal, or a snack/pick-me-up in the form of a granola bar or granola crunch.

 

[mish]

GW, love your idea of a Virtual Golden Chef. Hope we will be seeing more of same, thanks to your idea. The main ingredient has already been decided upon, and it's two days before contest ends.

Re the Judging, couple of ideas/thoughts/suggestions - how about...

The point system reflect catagories broken down, to vote/judge, so members will know what the dish is being rated on (rather than creative writing), perhaps open a poll on this site for all members to vote. A few guidelines for judging voting (some of which you already mentioned):

Use of the Main ingredient in the recipe

Creativity

Presentation (would have to rely on pic)

Amount the dish recipe cost to prepare - staying w/i the guidlines of monies spent/allowed

Prep Time/Easy to prepare/a dish you would prepare for your family etc.

I haven't fine tuned the judging catagories, but sure you could find a sample on the web, and would like to see the judging opened up to everyone in this forum. The honor system, speaks for itself - no waivers or creative writing. GW - this is your 'baby', and by all means, you call the shots - ingredients, rules, etc. Looking forward to the submissions from the good cooks here. Hey, it's Feb 13. Can we see all or some of the submissions prior to the cut-off date of Feb 15? Seems to me, folks are still debating the ingredient two days before the contest is judged. TIA

 

[ironchef]

Clutch, judging by your posts, you're just making excuses, excuses, and more excuses to hide your lack of creativity. If you're not going to contribute constructively, or even read the entire thread to find out what's going on, don't bother posting.

 

[Clutch]

Clutch, judging by your posts, you're just making excuses, excuses, and more excuses to hide your lack of creativity. If you're not going to contribute constructively, or even read the entire thread to find out what's going on, don't bother posting.

Wow. Did I strike a nerve? I am entitled to my opinion, one which I gave you on the matter at hand. I said, I cannot think of something good enough to make involving rolled oats so I will stay out of the compitition. Maybe if you would read the whole thing before jumping to conclusions you would realize that. I am in no way making excuses. As for lack of creativity, I can throw together a handful of dishes including rolled oats

I even went as for as to say that they sounded good, but as someone who really doesn't have a taste for oats, I wouldn't like them.

Have fun with your dishes.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

GW, love your idea of a Virtual Golden Chef. Hope we will be seeing more of same, thanks to your idea. The main ingredient has already been decided upon, and it's two days before contest ends.

Re the Judging, couple of ideas/thoughts/suggestions - how about...

The point system reflect catagories broken down, to vote/judge, so members will know what the dish is being rated on (rather than creative writing), perhaps open a poll on this site for all members to vote. A few guidelines for judging voting (some of which you already mentioned):

Use of the Main ingredient in the recipe

Creativity

Presentation (would have to rely on pic)

Amount the dish recipe cost to prepare - staying w/i the guidlines of monies spent/allowed

Prep Time/Easy to prepare/a dish you would prepare for your family etc.

I haven't fine tuned the judging catagories, but sure you could find a sample on the web, and would like to see the judging opened up to everyone in this forum. The honor system, speaks for itself - no waivers or creative writing. GW - this is your 'baby', and by all means, you call the shots - ingredients, rules, etc. Looking forward to the submissions from the good cooks here. Hey, it's Feb 13. Can we see all or some of the submissions prior to the cut-off date of Feb 15? Seems to me, folks are still debating the ingredient two days before the contest is judged. TIA

Mish; The cut-off date for entering the competition is Feb. 15. The final date for subitting the work is March 3rd. I failed to specify when the judging will take place. And, anyone who wants to participate in judging is welcome. They just need to specify that they want to in the poll.

I like the idea of limiting the number of judges to keep the score tallying simple. If a hundred people judged, then it would become more difficult for the judges to get together and tally the scores. And I 'm not sure how they are going to do that as it is. I would think that those who agreed to judge would post their individual tallies on the thread, and then, when all were posted, one of them would add it all up to determine the winner.

Adding up the scores would simply be a matter of adding the scores for each category, then deviding by the number of judges. Then, the overall scores for each participant could be determined.

Anyone else with other ideas, feel free to share them. And for a judging date, I'm going to say, a week from the final submission date, which in this contest is March 10. If that's Ok with everyone, then I look forward to seeing the results on that evening.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Silver]

Adding up the scores would simply be a matter of adding the scores for each category, then deviding by the number of judges. Then, the overall scores for each participant could be determined.

Anyone else with other ideas, feel free to share them.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Just to clarify the above, I think that judging will be best achieved by having the judges submit their scores to the chairperson. That way, everything is centralized and streamlined.

High efficiency, baby!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I now have a main course, 2 sides, and a desert figured out. I hope everyone else is prepairing as well. I.C., I'm commin' atcha.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Silver]

I've got all of my ideas figured out - tested an appy/side (whatever you want to call it) and made an error or two, so will try again. Have another side to test out, as well as the main. Dessert is still up for grabs, but I have an idea or two that are prime candidates.

I'm not going to be beating anyone, but my stuff's going to be good and likely healthy, if I stick to my guns.

 

[cara]

I have a few ideas, now I have to figure out what I'll do....

 

[Snoop Puss]

Good luck everyone. I'm really looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Practice run is tomorrow night. I'm just itchin' to get cookin'.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'm cooking my meal tonight. I will be taking the pictures and will start writing up everything that needs writing up. I've already compiled the expense list and the ingredient lists. Good luck to all contestants. Are you judges ready? Remember, everything is to be submited by March 3rd.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Silver]

I hate to do this on the very first try but I'm bowing out. Between working, being in my last semester of law school, and training for a triathlon that's less than two weeks away, I just haven't had the time to devote to this challenge.

I'm sorry that I can't take part, but I've tried a few interesting things as a result and I'm glad that this challenge has managed to ignite a bit of my creativity.

I wish the remaining competitors luck and I look forward to the results!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

My entry into the Oats battle:

Golden Chef Dinner Five servings
Theme Ingredient - Oats

No-bake Ice Cream Cookies.

Ice Cream Balls
Scoop ½ inch balls of vanilla ice cream onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Place in the freezer to get hard and very cold.

Vanilla No-Bake Cookies
Ingredients:
1 c Sugar
3 Egg yolks; slightly beaten
1 ts Vanilla
1/2 c Butter
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/3 c Coconut
1 c Chopped pecans
Combine sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in the rolled oats, coconut and pecans.


NO BAKE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 tbs. vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats
Combine the butter, cocoa, milk, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter into a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 1 minute. Add oats and mix well. Remove from heat.

Pork/Oat Soup
Ingredients:
1 quart water
3 tsp. “Better Than Boullion” brand chicken soup base
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 turnip, diced
½ brick firm tofu
½ onion, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup frozen peas
4 tbs. steel-cut oats
¼ tsp. rubbed sage
1 cup diced pork
Place the water into a 2 quart pot over medium high heat. Peel and wash the carrot, then slice. Place in the pot. Add the diced turnip. Wash and slice the celery into 1/8 inch pieces and add to the pot. Add the chicken soup base and stir. Add the cubed onion, and the garlic, Drain and squeeze most of the moisture from the tofu, taking care not to break it. Cut into ¼ inch cubes and add to the pot. Add the stee-cut oats and sage; cover; and simmer for twenty minutes. Turn off the heat.
Saute’ the pork cubes until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and add to the pot. Cover and set aside.

Dressing
Ingredients:
½ cup wild rice
½ cup brown rice
½ cup steel-cut oats
¼ tsp. ground thyme
¼ tsp. rubbed sage
1/8 tsp. tumeric
½ tsp salt
½ tsp. coarse grind pepper
8 oz. Fresh cremini mushroom slices
½ onion, chopped
Combine ½ cup each, wild and brown rice, and steel-cut oats. In a pressure cooker, bring 2 cups water to a boil and add the rice/oats mixture. Add the ground thyme, sage, tumeric, onion, and salt. Bring again to a boil, cover, and cook according to pressure cooker directions for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and release the pressure according to pot directions.

Vegetable Garnish
Wash and peel 2 carrots. Cut into long, juliened matchsticks. Place in steamer. Cut red bell pepper into juliened strips and place in steamer as well. Steam for 10 minutes.

Cherry Sauce
Ingredients:
10 oz. Cherry pie filling
1/8 tsp. cinamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
3 tbs. rice-wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
Place the cherry pie filling into a blender and blend at high speed until silky smooth.
Add the cherries and all other ingredients into a sauce pan and heat until thickened into a heavy sauce. Remove from heat and cover.

Oat-Fried Zuchini
Ingredients:
2 zuchini
½ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. granulated garlic
¼ tsp. granulated onion
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking Oil
Fill a 10-inch frying pan with oil, 1 inch deep. Place over medium heat.
Place the oats into a blender of food processor with the blade-chopper attachment. Process the oats into oat flour. In a wide bowl, add the oat flour to the all-purpose flour with salt, garlic, and onion. Beat the egg until frothy and add two tbs. of the flour. Beat again until well blended.
Slice the zuchini into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Dip in the egg-wash and dredge in the flour mixture. Place into the hot oil and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Pork Medallions with Brown & Wild Rice & Steel-Cut Oats Dressing
Ingredients:
4 three-inch diameter pork medallions cut from well-marbled pork loin chops
4 ice-cream scoops dressing
1 juliened carrot
½ juliened red-pepper
4 sprigs fresh-flat-leafed parsley or celery leaves
Salt
Pepper

Pork Medallions
Lightly season the pork medallions with salt and pepper. Place in the hot skillet and cook for 4 minutes per side. Remove from the heat. And cover.

Plating
With an ice cream scoop, place 2 tbs. of the rice mixture atop the pork medallions. Place juliened strips of carrot and red pepper artfully on top. Finally, top with flat-leafed parsley or celery leaves. Drizzle cherry sauce onto the plate as a dipping sauce.
Place Fried Zuchinni rounds accross the plate, taking care not to touch the cherry dipping sauce. Ladle soup into suitable bowls, taking care to highlight the soup with the bright colors of carrot and parsley.

Remove the hardened ice cream balls from the freezer and alternately pack the chocolate and vanilla no-bake cookie mixture around them, one flavor for each ice cream ball. Again place into the freezer until they are ready to be served.
After the main course is eaten, place the ice-cream bon-bons into a pretty bowl or stemware and serve.



Total Cost:
4 Pork Chops from a package of 6 at 1.99 per pound = $1.65
Rolled Oats = $4.00/30 servings. 3 cups = 6 servings, toatal cost = $0.80
Steel Cut Oats = 2.79 per 17 servings. Total = $0.49 for 3 servings
Carrots = $0.30 for 2 carrots
Celery = $0.15 for 2 stalks Celery
Onion = $0.50 1 sweet onion
Rice – $1.75 per package
IceCream = $4.25
Egg = 3 eggs - $0.43
Cocoa – ¼ cup = $1.00
Button Mushrooms – 12 oz. $2.29
Wild and white rice mix – $2.23
Canned Cherries = $2.69
1 brick firm Tofu = $2.29
1 turnip = $1.19
Total = $23.01

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

More Pictures:

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Critique:
The pork came out very tender and moist with the rice/mushroom pilaf adding the savory flavor needed. The addition of the lightly steamed carrot and red-bell pepper added a sweet contrast to the savory dressing. The mouth feel of the pilaf was light, but with a slight chewy texture from the steel-cut oats. It was similar to rice and vermicelli.

The Cherry sauce added another sweet/tart accent to this entre'. My son adored the cherry sauce. I didn't care for the clove flavor componant. Goes to show that every taste is different.

The soup was to die for. I am very proud of this mixture. The steel-cut oats, again gave the mouth feel of cooked pearl barley. The diced turnip and carrots added a mildly sweet flavor to the hearty broth. The broth itself benefited from the collagen and rich, pork flavor extracted from the pork bones. It had a velvety smooth mouth-feel along with a wonderful flavor.

The deep-fried zuchini came out very good, with the savory oat/flour coating contrasting the sweet zuchini. A dollop of ranch-flavored sour cream finished this side perfectly.

The bon bons, what can I say. They were definitely the star of the meal. Imagine if you will, the wonderfull flavor of chocolate/peanut butter/oat no-bake cookie wrapped around premium vanilla ice cream. And then, the vanilla no-bakes not only rewarded you with a no-bake vanilla cookie, but with the chewy texture added by the coconut flakes, egg yoks, and rolled oats, all combined with Mexican Vanilla and sugar.

My son acted as sous chef, helping me slice/dice and season the various dishes. Each recipe was my own creation.

Next contestant please.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Snoop Puss]

Good work Goodweed. Congrats to you and your son.