Cooking Competitions

Imagine eating 16 plates of beef . In a row. A few years ago I judged my first cooking competition and it was the National Beef Cookoff . While I'd like to tell you everything about it, some cooking competitions are serious business and in that particular case, I was sworn to secrecy. This month alone I am judging three cooking contests–the Bacon Takedown was last weekend and this weekend is the Bay Area BBQ Championship and the Lamb Jam . Last month I judged one of the Bravo Top Chef Tour "quickfire" competitions that was part of their road tour. (Sorry to say it, but Fabio lost, using Red Bull in a salmon dish was probably not such a good idea) If you're guessing I rarely pass up a chance to be a judge, you're right. I like trying different dishes, evaluating and conferring with the other judges. While it might seem like work, the truth is, it's actually a lot of fun. At Matt Timms wild and wonderful Takedown competitions it's a combination ...

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Bison Tagliata Recipe

It's Summer and thoughts turn to grilling. Me? I'm in an apartment with no grill, but that doesn't stop me from eating stuff people normally grill like steak. Just as I warmed up to grass fed beef, I'm pretty much head over heals for bison steak and I have a nifty way of cooking it sans grill. It tuns out what we think of as American buffalo is really bison. What's on the buffalo head coin? A bison. There are water buffalo (for that crazy good mozzarella) and the African Cape buffalo (not so sure what they are good for) but American buffalo is really bison so let's go with that. Bison is much lower in fat than beef, high in iron, slightly lower in cholesterol. Recently I heard Ted Turner speak at the Sustainable Foods Institute, part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's annual event, Cooking for Solutions . It turns out, he is crazy about bison. He owns the largest herd in the world and has opened a chain of bison restaurants. He loves the romance of the pra...

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