Victorious!
Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve written, mainly because I have been trying to eat a tad more simply after two weeks of gorging in San Francisco. This past weekend, however, I was challenged by my sister’s friend’s fiance in a cooking competition, so all bets for being food-conservative were off. The secret ingredient, revealed to us the night before, happened to be one of my favorite things on earth: Balsamic Vinegar. Vinegar is one of the most crucial ingredients to cooking. It brightens any dish, adds a tang that’s just close enough to being spicy without being distracting, and it can lighten up dishes so dense as meatloaf. These triggered thoughts of freshness inspired me to cook a Tuscan pasta with balsamic-marinated tomatoes, feta, basil, olives, capers, onions, garlic, and parmesan cheese served along side balsamic marinated grilled shrimp and garlic toast. But as delicious as that sounds, the main show stopper, which secured me the gold at the end of the night, was a perfect panna cotta.
I recalled Dave Lebovitz’s version because he focuses on few, simple ingredients, and uses fresh vanilla bean. Paired with Ina Garten’s balsamic berries, it created a masterpiece that truly wowed the Top Chef judges.
I had never made panna cotta because personally, I prefer desserts with chocolate. Panna cotta, flan, creme brulee, pudding – all of these “vanilla” sweets don’t do much for me. But with a secret ingredient of balsamic vinegar in mind, I knew I needed something to pair well with balsamic marinated fruit – the sound of balsamic chocolate makes my stomach turn. And it turns out – all panna cottas are easy! Unlike custard, there are no eggs required – just cream, sugar, and gelatin. Almost like a variation on ice cream, except instead of a crazy machine to churn the mixture, you only need a fridge. Simple.
cute jars drying
The key ingredients to this simple dessert, in this case, were the fresh vanilla bean and the delicious stewed berries. But what made it really special was the old school $1.50 jam jars that made the dish feel rustic and homey. This was not only beautiful, but saved the hassle of inverting the pudding from a ramekin.
Ready for fridge
Final product with berries
My competitor made an incredible dessert as well, with flavors far more complex than mine – ginger ice cream with a ginger-chocolate balsamic reduction and roasted pear, blueberries and pistachio. To be honest, the chocolate won me over, so I’m glad our votes didn’t count in the overall pool.
Opponent's dish
After a lot of dollars spent and sweat droplets lost, I think it will be a while before I participate in my next chef competition. But I have to say, it feels quite rewarding to be recognized for something that I sincerely love to do.
Videos of the competition can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/JustynBellsey/videos
Recipe for Panna Cotta
Ingredients adapted from Dave Lebovitz’s recipe
2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
2 packets of gelatin (knox)
6 tbsp water
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
Heat the half and half, cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, 2-4 hours.
Balsamic Berries (adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe)
2 pints berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
2.5 tbsp balsamic
1 tbsp sugar
Fresh Black Pepper
Slice berries and toss with above ingredients about 30-60 minutes before serving on top of the chilled panna cotta. Sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.
