Blogstyle Iron Chef: Pickles!

Well, this month certainly was a challenge.  Who woulda thunk it would be so unappetizing to the masses to come up with a recipe involving pickles? 

Sorry Chairman ~

there clearly is a reason Food Network has not used pickles as it's secret ingredient.

We had two brave souls willing to battle for the October Blogstyle Iron Chef title:

 Sarah @ I Blame My Mother with Pickle Rolls



Cheryl @ Spinning Coaster with Fried Pickles

In true Iron Chef style, I sat my judges and the chairman down at our dining room table. {after I cleaned off my mountains of coupons, *ahem*}

Now, before we get to the tantalizing dishes, let me first introduce our judges:

Our first judge is a pickle connoisseur and often eats them straight from the jar,

Nathan!

Our second judge is a picky pickle eater and prefers hers sliced rather than whole,

Lillian!

Our third and final judge is the hardest to please, choosing to spit out what does not please his palate,

Topher!

Thank you judges!

First, we offer to your discriminating taste buds a fine combination of Brown Sugar Ham, Cream Cheese and a large dill pickle.  For garnish, a smear of sour cream and a squiggle of mustard - this is simply for show, seriously - don't eat it with the pickle. Bleck!

Last but not least, we offer to our esteemed judges the ultimate in late night bar food: pickles, deep fried and served with a side of Ranch, the good stuff, no wimpy light or fat free stuff on this plate!

Curious use of a "Finding Nemo" plate... wonder if the chef is getting you prepared for a night at the rim of the large fish bowl in the girls room after eating so much fried goodness???

After careful consideration and 3 reminders of the rating scale {"yes, Topher - 5 means the best, so 1 means worst"}, the judges have reached their decision...

The winner, by 2 points:

Fried Pickles!

To see how it all shakes out, head over to Heidi's house at Sacred and Profane.  Ooooo - I can hardly wait to see who will be the proud owner of the Pick-a-deli, certainly a dilly of a prize!

A special thank you to my ever tolerant husband who humors me and to my little ones for being willing to stay up past your bedtime to eat high fat snacks just before going to bed {like I had to twist those arms...}.

Blogstyle Iron Chef Challenge!

Welcome to the guest blog of Blogstyle Iron Chef! 

Now, first things first.  If you are new to Iron Chef, take a moment, click here and see what the contest is all about.

Welcome back, to those who are not new and to those who left to find out about the hullabaloo!

This month I am so excited to shake things up over at Sacred and Profane, the home of Blogstyle Iron Chef.  After winning a Blogstyle Iron Chef with my Slow Cooker Roast recipe, being a guest judge and attempting Sous Chef to my 3yr old daughters winning recipe in the kid challenge I figure it is time to get on the flip side of it.  Yup, Heidi is lettin' me wear the awesome title of Co-host!  Go me. Go me. It's my birthday. {um, no it isn't, but feel free to send gifts anyway}.  Woo hoo!

Here's how it works, in general terms: 

• Heidi and I are revealing the secret ingredient today.
• You post a recipe or find one you've already posted that incorporates the secret ingredient.
• Leave a comment at Sacred and Profane by next Tuesday with the link to your entry and Heidi will add it to her post.
• Next Wednesday we'll use Random.org to pick 3 contestants for the month and we will announce those contestants. 

Heidi will have a poll in her sidebar for voting as well as voting from guest judges, be sure to steer people to her blog.

The winner will be announced on the last Wednesday of October and prizes will be awarded!

What does it take to be a guest judge you wonder?  Oh, my friend, wonder no more!  A guest judge simply agrees to try all three dishes and let one of us know via email which was your favorite. It is super fun to post your thoughts on your blog, but not a requirement.  If this sounds like your calling, contact Heidi here.  No, go ahead, she doesn't bite, and while you are there look around her blog - it is hi-lar-i-ous.

On to the prizes...no, wait..not quite yet...how about if we reveal the secret ingredient, first?

{Cue menacing music...}

The Chairman has entered the building! 

*swoon*

Chairman Schweri, we must know,what is our ingredient for October???

...PICKLES!!!

Dill, sweet, bread and butter, homemade, candied, baby, half sour, fermented, german - it doesn't matter! You pick the pickle!


Let me be clear - you don't have to make a pickle. Thank goodness, that would take forever! 

We are looking for you to post a recipe that FEATURES pickles as one of the main ingredients. Things like Pickled Meat Loaf or
Pickled Tortilla Roll-Ups or perhaps you make a killer Fried Pickle? Let's have 'em! Post your Pickle recipes!!


The winner of this competition will win a $10 Gift Card to Target, Walmart or Smith's courtesy of Heidi, as well as this LOVELY prize, compliments of Michelle, the Tupper Queen!

How did I come up with such a fitting prize? All of the pickles I hauled out for the Chairman's picture would not go back in to their respective jars, so I called to duty my trusty 'ol Tupperware Pick-a-Deli, and I just knew the winner must have one too!

So, there ya have it. The contest, the ingredient and the prizes. What are you waiting for?

"Allez! Cuisinez!"

Saturday Salads

Update: my salad has been picked for the Iron Chef:Blogstyle competion over at Sacred and Profane, thanks Heidi! To be fair, try all three salads and then vote for mine, er, I mean your favorite!

Happy Saturday! Here in Michigan the weather is still pretty chilly but it is promising to get pretty warm in the days ahead, which means cooking on the grill! This salad recipe is my go-to for an easy and quick fix for any occasion. Normally I don't like pasta salads with an oil based dressing but this is one tasty exception. I orginally posted this for Saturday Salads and now am going to enter it in the Iron Chef:Blogstyle at Sacred and Profane this month. The theme is BBQ/Picnic Salads.



(photo courtesy of Taste of Home.com)

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked tricolor spiral pasta
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 cup coarsely chopped cucumber
1 small tomato, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
28 pepperoni slices
1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, cheese, cucumber, tomato, onions and pepperoni. Add salad dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Saturday Salads is hosted by A List Maker's Life, head over to see what others are tossing today!