Once a year a bunch of chefs/entrepreneurs get together in a different city and compare notes, teach each other new concepts both for cooking and running businesses, and of course eating food and drinking wine and other spirits. Food people are notorious for enjoying life and getting 300+ together at once can be a daunting task. The food has to be good and it's generally a good idea not to hold the gathering in a "dry" county, if you catch my drift. The first one I attended was held in Pigeon Forge, TN 10 years ago. Pigeon Forge didn't have the restaurants they have now and yes it's a dry county. Wow! Talk about 300 grousing, grumpy foodies. The planners were from California and booked the property sight unseen. Needless to say, the next year these details were a major part of the planning.
Fast forward to July of 2008. Location: Tucson, Arizona. And yes, I did say Tucson... in July! It was a beautiful resort, The Marriott Starpass. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. They have a glass wall on the back of the main lobby that literally opens onto a veranda and an incredible view of the city and the surrounding dessert. That was the first time I had seen a cactus that wasn't in a window box! The planning committee did a great job. I, in my infinite wisdom, agreed to teach a class, took the ServSafe Sanitation Certification Test, AND took part in the Iron Chef Competition. Let's just say it was busy. The class I taught was on smoking foods which I'll talk more about soon. I LOVE smoked foods, but I digress. The ServSafe Sanitation Certification Test was every bit as fun as it sounds... which is to say not at all. Luckily I also have a degree in Chemistry and took extensive classes in Microbiology which gives me a leg up on the competition when it comes to remembering the names of all the bad stuff to watch out for in kitchens. I didn't really have a blast taking the exam, so I know you can't be that thrilled to read about it. I'll move along to the fun stuff.
The Iron Chef competition was really a lot of fun, but when you get six chefs together we tend to get a bit competitive. To make it more interesting, the other team was from Canada and they wanted to stick it to Team USA. Just like on TV, we had an official sponsor for the event. We were trying to figure out what the ingredient would be... cactus? chilis? coyote??? None of the above, but it was something we hadn't really worked with before -- guava sponsored by Goya. We had guava nectar, guava paste, guava juice, fresh guava. You name it, we had it.
I'm just hitting a couple of the highlighted menu items -- the ones our team made! I started things off with Guava Barbecued Shrimp with Sweet Potato Hash. Here's the recipe (it looks like a lot, but it's really not that bad):
Guava BBQ’d Shrimp with Sweet Potato Hash
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion – julienne
½ tsp sugar
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
½ cup Bourbon
½ cup Goya Guava Nectar +(½ cup Guava concentrate)
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
Salt & pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sweat for 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar. Cook over medium heat until onion is camrelized, stirring often. Do not brown. Deglaze with bourbon and add Guava. Reduce until thick. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer briefly and remove from heat.
3 strips bacon - diced
1 Tbsp butter
½ cup red onion – fine dice
½ cup green bell pepper – fine dice
¼ cup red bell pepper – fine dice
1 cup sweet potato – brunoise
1 tsp jalapeno pepper – fine dice
1 clove garlic – minced
¼ cup Riesling
1 cup Goya Guava Nectar (or ½ cup Guava Concentrate)
1 Tbsp Guava paste (optional)
2 Tbsp Italian parsley – chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Render bacon in a saute pan. Add butter, onion and bell pepper to pan. Sweat until onion is translucent and bell pepper is soft. Turn heat to high. Add sweet potato and saute 1-2 minutes. Add jalapeno and garlic. Saute briefly. Deglaze with Riesling and add guava nectar (or concentrate). Add guave paste for extra punch if desired. Stir in parsley and season to taste with salt & pepper.
1 Tbsp butter (or olive oil)
Salt & pepper, to taste
6 ea U-15 or U-8 shrimp (peeled & deveined)
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp cumin
Juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Season shrimp with salt & pepper. Add shrimp and sear first on one side then the other. Add garlic and cumin. Finish with lemon juice.
Garnish:
Zest of 1 lemon mixed with 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
To plate:
Place a mound of the Sweet Potato Hash in the middle of a medium plate. Arrange the shrimp around the edges of the hash. Drizzle shrimp liberally with BBQ sauce and garnish with the zest-parsley mixture.
**Note: For a truly decadent dish, wrap shrimp in oven blanched bacon and char-grill, brushing with the BBQ sauce on both sides.
Give it a shot! The judges really liked it and got into a pretty heated argument over which team should win. They ultimately gave it to our friends from the Great White North. We did a full menu including drinks and they did 2 entrees. The challenge was to do 2 entrees so I think we lost a point for not following directions! Our selections were more in keeping with the Iron Chef concept, but "Oh Well!" It was fun anyway.
The dessert and drink recipes will follow. Give them a shot as well -- Caribbean beach and hammock not required, but highly recommended!
