Surprise, Surprise
27 Wed, 2010 § 12 Comments
Yesterday I was thrilled & shocked to be announced as the winner of the 1st Challenge of Project Tasteless: Naked Chef…
…especially after losing it over the witty Bareass Contessa, drooling over Carolyn’s swirls [how did she do that so beautifully?!] & the “world’s best cookies” [her jogger/minimalist style matches my own when not “baring all”], totally getting Dori’s “weird” combination & adoring her coy seductiveness & developing a secret not-so-secret blog crush [I think it was the boots — & the pretty L.rolls — what can I say? she’s “classy” & sexy].
As if you could ever say no to homemade Crab Mac & Cheese, especially in this slutty 😉 saucy get-up, red heels & all!, sexy pancakes in bed [heels included?] or comfort food from a “domestic goddess”…
& if you “wanted” to participate & used the but-I-don’t-have-an-apron-excuse, you’ve just been owned by this truly skilled [with a cookie sheet] truly naked chef & this “saucey whore” [I had such a difficult time typing that].
From cleverly hijacking a parent’s kitchen to salvaging cupcakes in this too-cute-to-be-an-apron apron to “taking it off” for pumpkin manicotti to cute & saucy Eunice & her Purivian Ceviche [mmm, it’s been so too long since I had tilapia], ALL of the entries were FANTASTIC.
You’ll really want to check out ALL of the participants — & check them out you will. 😉
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Starting off on a high note, the day could only stay there.
After intense bouldering near Prescott, coming home — famished — to homemade ravioli a la Christine was to die for & just the [re]fuel our bodies needed.
An expert at cooking mushrooms, her three-mushroom blend of shiitake, button & baby ports in white wine reduction was perfection: soft, yet with substance & no where near the realm of rubbery — it was better than many mushroom dishes I have had at restaurants.
Combined with Vegan Dad’s Tofu Ricotta, the filling was delicious & offered the perfect combination of textures to the pasta.
Impressed by Christine’s ravioli making skills?
I am.
& it’s the first time she has made pasta, if you can believe it — & she decided to go with ravioli! Props to Christine.
Add a little sauteed garlic & wilted chard
& we enjoyed a well-rounded, hearty & nourishing meal.
Don’t forget the Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce.
Another Vegan Dad winner [she used earth balance instead of margarine]; this is an amazing base need not stay with pasta only: an adventurous pizza anyone? how about a fun enchilada sauce?
It was delicious & the roasted peppers were distinct, but it needed just a little something…
After tweaking it a bit over the stove after dinner…adding a touch of sea salt, 1 – 2 tsp red pepper flakes, a dash of mirin cooking wine & some oregano [I actually used a pasta toss blend with oregano, basil, sun-dried tomatoes & garlic, but think simply oregano would do the trick] it had a much fuller bodied flavor.
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Have you ever made homemade pasta?
I find it a bit intimidating & cumbersome [& we don’t have pasta all that often], but this was definitely well worth Christine’s hard work. 😉
I’m glad you liked it! I thought it was pretty good overall, and next time – with a few slight modifications now that I’m a ravioli “veteran” – we can really do it up right! Also, congrats on winning the contest – that is so cool. Now I know what REALLY goes on in my kitchen while I’m in the office!! 😉
I know & I almost had to “borrow” an apron!!
You are a rock climber? Well I now officially have a blog crush on YOU! Jealous that you live near those awesome boulders!
Congrats on the win – you totally deserved it! See ya in round 2!
HA 😀 Sweet.
We just moved here & a major determining factor was the awesome climbing — we are having so much fun exploring.
Thanks for the compliment. Round 2 should be equally fun!
Congrats on the win! And thanks for the mention. 🙂 Can’t wait to see your entry for the next round!
You can say slutty … I’m fine with that. HA. Thanks for the props and congrats on the win! See you in the pizza round…
🙂 I actually think it was more “saucy” — I just LOVED your “slutty” Target apron shopping. 😀
I saw that you won on Rachel’s blog! Congrats, you are so dang cute!
Thanks Janetha ~ it’s a shame we didn’t meet up before I left SLC. Maybe we’ll just have to say hello in person if I ever go to one of the food blog festivals.
Your ravioli looks amazing…and the bouldering looks like a blast. I haven’t been rock climbing in so long but LOVE it 🙂
Thank you; it was all Christine — she did a great job — they were delicious. Where do you normally climb? You should get back out there! Wait till you see the bouldering at priest draw near flagstaff!
[…] remember that delicious roasted red pepper cream sauce Christine used for the ravioli? You can find Vegan Dad’s original recipe here. I tweaked it a bit, […]