Fire and Spice - Cooking Contest [Results!]

[Janalee]

You know what time it is- time to get cooking! And at this time of year, what better ingredient to use than...fire?
All right, maybe the introduction from the last cooking contest falls apart a little there.

Your task is to create a delicious confection that has a fiery theme. Cooked over a fire, actually on fire, flame colored, or just plain spicy- it's up to you! Once you've cooked your creation, you'll need to take a photo of it to post and share with everyone!


Rules!

- There is a limit of one entry per person.
- Your entry must incorporate a fire theme somehow– flamy, spicy, or whatever else you can think of!
- Entries will be judged on creativity, deliciousness, and effort! So you could stick a candle in a poblano, but a stuffed pepper would make a much bigger impact.
- To enter the contest, you'll need to take a photo of your entry. Your photo must include a piece of paper with your username written on it.


There will be one first-place winner and two runners-up, and all winners will get to pick their prize from the prize pot. First place will pick first, first runner-up will pick second, and second runner-up will get the remaining prize.

In addition to the prize pot, all entrants will receive a random modiem!

Prizes in the prize pot

The cooking contest is open until October 1st, 9pm PST. To enter, please post your entry to this thread. In your post, please include the photo(s) of your entry and your name for it! Make sure your photo includes a piece of paper with your username! Feel free to include your recipes as well if you like- you can never have too many new recipes to try. *grins*

Good luck, and happy cooking!

[RikkuGirl]

Oooooo :3 this looks exciting. I will do my best to enter in time!

-ponders-

[Echos]

Whoo flambe here I come! I never have an excuse to make these recipes at home.

[Pathos]

O.O Holy cow.

Expression of the Ornamental Wind is un-freaking-believable. I have to pick my jaw up off the floor, beautifully done Aranea!

I can't say how much I would love to bring him home with me, but unfortunately I can't cook worth a damn and am totally swamped with work right now. I will have to gaze longingly and leave this up to the professionals

I will totally be stalking whoever gets to take him home though! (In a friendly way lol)

[SilverDapples]

Here I am being nit picky!

Expression of the Ornamental Wind has a bit of a typo - stsallion should probably be stallion

XD I looooove Expression though soooooo handsome!!

[SilverDapples]

I figured why wait any longer? XD

XD picture overload time of my favorite meal ever! XD

The potatoes after being parboiled for ten minutes. (baked potatoes and mashed potatoes both are wonderful in my opinion, I like to glob on some mashed potatoes onto the steak and eat them together like that because it’s yummy XD)

Steaks before and 'after' (AKA seasoning added XD XD)


And then everything on the grill! (the little guy on top got moved to the bottom not long after XD)


And of course I couldn't resist being a bit artsy fartsy


And I wanted to show this because steaks are good... XD Bleeed (actually they weren’t incredibly rare/undercooked)


And finally the thing you've been waiting for, a very tastey meal




My mother enjoyed the fruits of my labor to say the least!
(But it really was tasty! XD)


Wee! *stares at Expression dreamily* XD

[RikkuGirl]

Well I figured Id give this a try! I dont have too much funds right now so im using what I had in my house. I hope its not TOO simple. It is REALLY good though ^_^

Marshmallow and Peanut-butter cup Stuffed Biscuit

Ingredients :

Marshmallows, Biscuit Dough, Chocolate candy, Foil, Candles, Rack, tray, Near a water source (Just in case )


Step 1:

Cover your tray with foil and place candles on tray, wicks up. A filled in circle is best.

Step 2:

Take your biscuit dough and put one layer down on a piece of foil

Step 3:

Put your chocolate and marshmallows in the center

Step 4:

Cover with another layer of biscuit. Make sure to squeeze the edges so that the contents dont leak out while cooking.

Sept 5:

Fold the edges to make a pocket for the biscuit

Sept 6:

Light your candles and put them on a pan that you cover with foil. place the rack above. (I supported my rack with other candles that I had laying around. only a few inches from the flames should the foil be.

Step 7:

Place your pocket with biscuit on center of rack, so flame surrounds the packet evently

Step 8:
Cook for about 6-10 Min depending on how many candles you have.

Step 9:
Remove the packet from the rack - ITS HOT! D8 (I used my hands cause foil doesnt stay hot long... so I just tossed it on the counter)

Step 10:
Take CAUTION as you open up the packet


Step 11:
Eat and enjoy!




so there you have it! Not so spice but it sure did get hot Candles when brought together get REALLY hot. xD It was alot of fun and very yummy. Now I know what I can make when I have another hurricane! ^_^ Sweets are still within reach!

Good luck all and I cant wait to see who wins! Thanks for putting on the fun! I had such a blast.

[Echos]

Finally got all my ingredients together. Should have entry done tonight!

[RikkuGirl]

YAY! I cant wait to see what other recepies everyone puts up D8 wonder if there will be a lot of last minute entries. ^_^; I was pondering on posting mine last minute to just THROW it out there.... buuuttttt the last time I tried to do that I forgot and then didnt get to enter at all :/ so....

DIDNT DO IT THIS TIME!! lol I wanted to enter this! The prizes are amazing and im so excited to see who wins. The topic was creative and very fun. I had a blast. Thanks again! xD

[SilverDapples]

I must say, Rikku, your's definitely was interesting XD I want to try that sometime... >> XD

I just figured I might as well put mine out there XD nothing all crazy special per say since it's just steak and potatoes pretty much XD

[Echos]

Spicy Tandoori Chicken Flambe

Ingredients - chicken, oil, low fat yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, garam masala, turmeric, coriander, chilli powder and rum to flambe






Sadly flame does not photograph well before the sun sets.

[Origami_Dragon]

Okay, so...this is pretty much just a silly idea I had the other day and wanted to try. More food art than cooking really, so if you don't want to count it as an entry I'm good with that. Just wanted to share my fun.


Yummy sandwich ingredients! Though apparently someone ate the last of the salami...oh well, it's not quite the right color. Pepperoni and cheese sandwich with mustard it is!


There...isn't really much in the way of steps to show, so...fire sandwich! Jagged tears do not alter the yumminess of pepperoni in the slightest, they just make it look fiery. And add the spicy bite that both pepperoni and mustard have for some extra 'fire' while eating!

And then it became dinner and was delicious.

[luna and mattlock]

I made a cake, but not just any cake...



That's right, I made a volcano cake, for my friends Dinosaur themed party. So yeah, timing was perfect on that!

It is a 6 layer cake, mostly of my Chocolate Liquor Cake with two layers of funfetti for bulk. And because funfetti is awesome! I held it together with a Guinness cream cheese icing, and rolled salmon pink and black and grey fondant. It was a beast to roll!



I sculpted the allosaurus by hand, and while I know it's not perfect, I was using gum paste, I still think it turned out well.



I made a fern. It looked cool, but some decided to shed their leaves.



The magma is actually made from white chocolate, it was dyed to look like lava.



Birthday girl with a huge slice of Cake.

Edit: to fix spelling.

[RikkuGirl]

WOW!!!! ALl of the entries so far are so freaking awesome!!!!!!!!


First and foremost... I LOVE GRILLED STEAK AND POTATOES -drools- o-o enough said about that -hears her tummy grumbling as she drools on her screen at dap's plate- ~~~~D8

The Flambe is just... WOW D8 I cant even imagine doing that in my house... My luck a random cat would jump up on the table and light on fire then run around my house and set the whole place ablaze!? -ponders- i wonder how hard it is to catch a cat on fire... O-o;

Next. FLAMING TOAST!!!!! xD That is so freaking creative I could just fart! xD Its so cute and simple but really unique. I like it alot! However...i wouldnt eat it cause I dont really eat bread, mustard, or pepperoni!

LLLAAAAVVVVAAAAAAA Cake So totally awesome! You did such a great job with all the detail and the lava. This reminds me of the youtube lava cookies song. lol you should check that out and eat your cake while you listen to it... twould be epic!

Looks SOOoooo awesome so far all you guys! Congrats on getting your stuff done and entered! I cant wait to see who wings! GOOD LUCK <33333

[RikkuGirl]

What does Jack sparrow and the gods have in common?



They ask: Where's all the rum gone?!




answer: ECHOS HAS IT xD -gigglesnorts- I couldnt help myself. that is the coolest bottle of rum ever. I need to shop at joes more often x3

[Echos]

Haha, one of my roommates was standing ready to call 911 and the other had many, many towels on hand to smother possible fires XD Nothing overly exciting occurred though - the chicken flambe worked beautifully.

Also cool bottle = really cheap rum.

[Kentouma]

Wow, these are all so creative and delicious looking!

I need to try and think up something... too bad I hate reusing ideas, or I'd make a scrambled egg island with bacon volcano and ketchup(orsalsa)/pepper lava and ash! (It's what I made for my savory extravaganza entry)... huh... *ponders*

[Seren]

*Sighs*

I'm either going to have to drop out, or seriously lower the quality... my sister borrowed my camera and now the battery and the camera cord is gone, and I have to make my dish tonight. :/

Guess Im settling for a Smartphone pic if I can steal my moms! Sadly if I do that, I won't be able to show my whole process. :/

[SilverDapples]

Rikku you're so sweet I could just hug you forever for that!! XD

Definitely some interesting things here though XD I'll admit... I can't cook cakes... :o

[Janalee]

Ooh, I'm loving all the different interpretations of the theme so far! Though, with so much delicious variety, I fear judging is going to be quite the challenge. Thanks so much for your entries so far everyone!

And I wanted to remind everyone else that there are only two days left to enter, so you might want to start cooking soon if you can! ^_^

[Seren]

Alright! I thought I was going to have to drop out, but here I am! There's way less pictures than I wanted, but... without further ado!

Beef Paprikish on Baked Potato!

So, this dish is Hungarian... originally, though I did take some creative license with the recipe!


Pictured: Beef, Onions, Onion Powder, Garlic Salt, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika, Chile Powder, Minced Garlic, Takis (A rather hot Mexican chip.) Not Pictured: Flour, Potatoes, Parsley. (I had to run to the store!)


Beef and Onions cooking in sauce!

And....Tada!-


So my entry isn't delectable looking like Dapples's beautiful steaks and potatoes, it isn't creatively humourous like Ori's, or as artistic as Luna's, or....as literally fiery as Echos!

However, I tried to incorporate different parts to make it work! ^^

Fiery in color- okay.....kinda...dull.... but it does look a bit like a log starting to catch on fire! *weak* XD

Cooked over fire- while its not like Dapples', the potatoes were grilled- the other part was made on the stove.

Actually On Fire- The bottom of the potato....kinda...was scorched...XD

Just Plain Spicy- boy, to I have this one down! This dish was delightfully spicy and rich in all sorts of vibrant flavors, with a zing that left your mouth a tingling!

So what is this exactly? Well one part, of course, is the baked potato! The more complex part of it is basically made up of thin beef coated in a mix of flour, paprika, and red pepper, along with onions, in a sauce made of beef broth, a dash of flour, salt, garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, chile powder, minced garlic, and paprika. This gives it that fiery but rich flavor. I'm not a big fan of burn-your-mouth spicy, but I do love rich flavorful spicy, like some European dishes.

As a joke/extra, I sprinkled some crushed Taki chips (very hot!) on the top of the potatoes for my siblings, who loved it! It was a really nice meal, though we did keep milk and water handy to sooth tingling tongues! ;3

[silvermoondragon]

Spicy Peruvian Pork and Baked(Bombe) Alaska

Cooking up the pork with the spices and marinade.


Here we have the pork, sitting on a bed of rice laid out on a wrap with some veggies. And of course the fancy place settings complete with a candle and nametag.


The next course was dessert, with a delicious Baked Alaska: ice cream surrounded by cake, smothered in meringue, and of course lit on fire! Who wouldn't want ice cream that's been lit on fire? The funny bit is I think the meringue actually did start to catch on fire so I had to blow it out... Maybe we used a little too much rum?


Here's a picture of the inside, not exactly the prettiest of Baked Alaskas, but it sure was tasty for my first ever attempt at one. And it was the perfect opportunity for a picture with the name tag once we turned the lights back on.



Some tips should you ever decide to make Baked Alaska some day?
- Make sure you know exactly how to make meringue, I was hoping to get stiffer meringue to put fancy designs on it, but it was a little to runny and all my designs melted...

[Kentouma]

Alright, so in my quest for a fiery themed food, I decided to try a new recipe... and holy! I think I'm a convert for life! I may never eat the regular kind again! <3 I'm broke, so I only used things we already had in the house, so there were some modifications made...

So in making supper tonight I made three things... One is an old favorite, one is a twist on an old favorite, and one is a completely new recipe that totally turns an old favorite into mincemeat!

The meal consisted of a toasted cheese sandwich, which while seemingly boring and unrelated, suits the fiery theme just fine with it's spicy pepperjack cheese! It's my favorite kind of toasted cheese sandwich (which is really just toasted in the toaster oven for simplicity, can you tell I'm a college student? It lacks all the butter too, so its a little healthier.)! This is accompanied by a new recipe for tomato soup... a spicy tomato soup! O.O And it doubly fits the theme with its nice red color! I found the recipe online and then modified it to include milk instead of chicken broth since I had none, then spiced it up a bit more with black pepper and a ton of chili pepper, then garnished the top with even more chili pepper, and I swear I am in love!!! There were a few clumpy bits, which I think was the milk clumped up a little or something, possibly because I cooked it at too high a heat? Or possibly it just needed to simmer longer or else be better blended... I'll have to mess with it next time I make it because I prefer my tomato soup creamy smooth... Then this spicy meal was finished off with some delicious tart and sweet volcano biscuits... I've never tried to make these before but they're based off something I eat cold for breakfast sometimes, and a little bit inspired by these raspberry brie puffs I had at a party, its croissant dough wrapped around a mixture of feta cheese, fresh raspberries, and a bit of raspberry preserves, then baked until the mixture basically erupts out of the open top and the bread is cooked through! These things burst with salty tart then sweet flavors, and half of them didn't even make it till after I ate! Not spicy, but they sure had their own nice little zing, and they look a little like fiery volcanos.



In case anyone is wondering about the fancy looking garnish... I decided to be silly when I found a bit of dried out greens from the top of the carrots while I was cleaning up from the prep, and kept a tiny sprig! XD

Anywho, I love, love, love spicy food, and that soup was sooo good.... my mouth is still tingling pleasantly almost an hour later! XD And since I'm the only one here at home right now, there's leftovers for tomorrow! *happy dance* Sorry about the poor pictures, just had my phone camera.

[Jaes]

Wow, these entries look delicious! Heh, I'm such a sloppy cook in comparison. And I apologize for my gross stove - We just had dinner and I didn't clean it off before trying my hand at dessert.

But maybe I'll get an A for effort. My entry: Fruit Flambee!


Start off with some butter and some brown sugar, and melt it in a frying pan. Prepare a tablespoon of cinnamon.



Add the fruit! It's fall where I live, but I got some of the last batches of summer fruit: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and peaches. Dump in that cinnamon!


Once the peaches are soft, add the rum and light them on fire. BURN BABY BURN


Eat with ice cream!

[Pristine]

I almost didn't enter this contest. My boyfriend gets annoyed with me when I cook or bake for "no reason" (he doesn't seem to think Samanayrs are a good enough reason... blasphemy!).

But! I ended up taking some mis-delivered mail to the new neighbors we hadn't met yet the other day, and we both mentioned we had meant to bake something for each other. HAHAHA, AN EXCUSE TO BAKE. But of course I couldn't go TOO nuts, I don't want to scare the neighbors away!

After a LOT of searching and revisions to my plans (I had originally decided on a bundt cake), I found this amazing recipe for cupcakes. But not just any cupcakes.

Xocolatl Cupcakes (Mexican chocolate cupcakes)

...

They take a lot of ingredients; I'm lucky I bake often so I had most of them on-hand already. Even the chili powder! I was looking forward to seeing how the spiciness would work with the chocolate!


Some tips on the cupcake process, if you decide to give this recipe a shot:

- You DON'T have to wait 5-10 minutes for the chocolate to reach room temp after melting it. If it's cool enough to dip a pinkie in and not feel warmth, it's cool; if you let it cool too long, it may re-solidify!
- DEFINITELY under-bake and bake longer if needed. The recipe says 20-25 minutes but it turned out these only needed 17 on the dot for me. I'm lucky I already know my oven runs a little hotter than most or I would've burnt them!
- The "spice" in this cupcake - the chili powder and cinnamon - doesn't actually make the cupcakes "spicy" so much as it adds a richness to the chocolate flavor. If you want some cupcakes with a bit more of a "kick", add more chili powder both to the batter and to the icing (in small increments til you get the spiciness you want!)

In the end I am VERY happy with the taste as I am a wimp when it comes to spice. I could have perhaps but an eensy weensy bit more chili powder in but as-is it's flavorful but not spicy and compliments the chocolate perfectly.



The cupcakes in the recipe example were piped with a little "poo ring" of icing, which I thought looked kind of gross AND didn't fit the theme too well... so I piped a nice little flaming-hot bonfire onto mine!

Here's a view of the whole batch:


And an up-close on the bonfire-piping and chili powder dusting:


12 are going to the new neighbors, 2 went to an older one, 4 went with my boyfriend to work, and the rest are going to sit in my fridge and waft chocolate smell in my face every time I open the fridge door until we've finished eating all of them. Argh! x.x