If I do say so myself...

... my horseradish dishes were FABULOUS. What a fun night. We started off with a raw oyster with a little prepared horseradish on top, just to get things going. And then on to the challenge items. The first, my tower of salt crusted beets with horseradish cream. It was super pretty. When the cream sat for just a few minutes it turned bright pink. I wasn't expecting that but my judges thought it looked beautiful.




Oysters turned out great too. Very tasty, good horseradish kick. I kept adding more horseradish to the parmesan and butter as the last time I made this dish it just didn't have the kick that I was looking for. Along side the oysters were fries, potato and sweet potato. Drizzled those with horseradish infused vinegar. Could have just used vinegar. But they were great.

And so the judges. Well here is Mike, my guest judge. He looks very happy doesn't he. And to quote his 10 year old son, Walt, "pretty good for beets".

My husband John and nine year old daughter Kellan also judged. And this is how it turned out.

John 17 points

Kellan 15 points

Mike 17 points

That really puts the pressure on for February now doesn't it? And that leads me to the most important question...what will February bring?????

3 days and counting

The horseradish mustard sampler was delivered last Saturday to my judge. I hope that this has gotten him excited about this Saturday's tasting. Yes, Saturday is the day for my horseradish challenge. And it is time. I have made each dish at least once already (or some version of it) and as well have made prepared horseradish and mustard along the way. So bring on Saturday and then say good bye to horseradish until next winter...or maybe forever.

Saturday's menu:

Tower of salt crusted beets with horseradish cream
Baked oysters with fresh horseradish and parmesan
Homemade potato and sweet potato fries with horseradish infused vinegar

I will be also serving champagne as I learned this week that champagne takes away the bite of horseradish...thus cleansing the palette of my judges before the next taste.

Wish me luck. I will back Saturday with the results...and hopefully pictures (although my sister's photographer husband is making the picture thing a little tough). Did you see her pics?

Mission Accomplished

I say it like that because that is what it felt like.  I have a terrible cold, a one-year old who is busy all the time and when my judge and his family showed up I had 6 kids to feed something other than my horseradish challenge.  I think I will do this differently next time.  But did it I did ... and it was good.

My menu was kale chips and crudites with a white bean horseradish dip.  I made prepared horseradish the night before ... which I thought would take care of this cold.  It tasted good with a little bite.  I could have added more to highlight the horseradish more but I am not sure I would have liked it as much.  It was subtle.

The horseradish stuffed olive martini's were really good.  Probably the highlight.  I used Vodka instead of Gin.  There was an actual sweetness to the olives which I didn't expect.  I could have eaten an entire bowl.  And the last sip - when the horseradish seem to settle on the bottom - reminded me of our last trip to the sushi bar.  I would make these again.


My main dish was a rustic potato, bacon and horseradish torte.  I ground the wheat fresh for my pie crust which turned out great.  I layered potatoes with bacon back and forth and then thought it would be a good idea to add a thin thin thin layer of horseradish root.  I topped the last layer with Sharp white cheddar and then poured over a mixture of heavy cream and prepared horseradish.  Put on the top crust and baked it for an hour.  The thin thin thin layer of horseradish was a bad idea.  But everyone found it humorous since it was the theme.  This is why my sister practices.

All that to say, I forgot to have anyone score the meal.  Kids were running around.  We were visiting over martini's with friends (Jon is above.  Just to prove he did show up) it had been too long since last we hung out.  But if i scored it honestly I would have given it a 3 in presentation, 3 for creativity and 3 for taste.  I need to leave a lot of room for the next one.  In both directions.

Mustard on the side

Let's just assume this mustard actually tastes like mustard. You may recall that I went out on a limb and said that I was to attempt horseradish mustard. I thought that would be a piece of cake...and if this works I will tell you it was. Admittedly though finding a recipe to work from, and then the ingredients was not easy. But it did take me to an Indian grocery store on Devon street here in Chicago. Now that is a good time. And if you are EVER looking for mustard anything...seeds, oil, powder, crushed...this is the place to go. Meant to share a pic of the grocery but still a newer blogger, and clearly forgot my purpose when smelling the amazing spices and foods at this store.



But home I went with a variety of mustard fixings. Still wasn't sure how to put them together. But tonight I did it. The smell of it made my daughter's friends enter the kitchen saying "What's that smell?", and when they are pinching their noses, you know exactly what they are getting at -- right, not the "what's that smell?" that comes with the licking of lips.



But we all stuck it out and now it sits at room temp for 24 hours. Then you toss it in the food processor and let her rip until you get your desired consistency. I am supposed to not eat it for a few days but we will have to wait and see if I can do it. Here is a pic of the mustard-in-waiting, and a few of my ingredients.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

The burning ... my eyes they're burning.  I may have to forfeit.  Ahhhhhhhh.

It is Prepared

I "prepared" my "prepared" horseradish. Just finished actually. While I am supposed to wait a day or two to taste perfection, I couldn't help it. Had to know if it was ok, right. It was tres spicy. And really good. And as long as you keep your eyes and nose away from the food processor, it was really not as dangerous as the internet might lead you to believe.

And so, with prepared horseradish in my fridge AND since my sister is wooing her judge with martinis, I instead will be sending my invite to my judge (neighbor, foodie, maybe too honest about my cooking) Mike Fieweger -- a jar of homemade spicy horseradish mustard...just to get him in the horseradishy mood. Yes. Gifting is good before judging, don't you think?

And, special thanks to Julie Levine and her grandmother for the prepared horseradish guidance.

Got my judge

So I have secured a judge.  Here's how it will go.  This is for those who haven't seen the show Iron Chef.  Each judge can award up to 20 points.  5 for plating.  5 for originality. 10 for taste. 

So I have my guest judge Jon Tillar set up, Chris my husband is in and my son Adam will be tasting as well.  He's 6.  I would have picked my 8-year-old Atticus, but yesterday he threw up because he was grossed out by a pea.  I think choosing him would be setting myself up for failure.

The menu is rustic and vegetarian as described by my friend Barb Moros.  It means it vegetarian plus bacon.

To my sister

Tricia,

Got a call today from the family Site Selection Committee. They are inquiring about the "rules" of our Battle. It appears they are concerned that we have not worked through the scoring, i.e., do we need to employ some kind of handicap system to the scoring. Don't worry, I told them you would be far too embarrassed to have a handicap applied.

Your welcome,

Megan

Prepared

Yes, I am talking about horseradish. Seems so often recipes call for "prepared" horseradish vs. fresh. I suspect that is because it is just more convenient to have handy for cooking, and I am learning it has to do with the flavor--how hot it is. I am going to make "prepared" horseradish this weekend, maybe Friday night, as one of my recipes calls for it...and what the heck, the root I have is HUGE.

They say you should make it outside because of the fumes...it is 15 degrees...so I think I will just crack the window and send the kids outside.

slurp

Test, test, test. And good thing. My oysters were awesome...but couldn't taste the horseradish. I was concerned that they would over take every other flavor. I mean seriously one big sniff of that fresh grated horseradish burned every nose hair I have. But I guess when mixed with lots of butter and parm it didn't stand up. So for the big show...LOTS MORE HORSERADISH! Here are some pics, start to finish. Please don't be sad for the oysters. There were truly enjoyed.

This is the little guy, before I tortured him with my Christmas oyster shucker.

This is my husband who came in to save the day Ends up he worked shucking oysters at some restaurant in high school.Loaded with butter, parm and horseradish...

Coming out of the oven....and below, after John and I ate them up. The end.

So I had a martini ...

... as research.  I just got a call from my sister as she pulled her trial run out of the oven. 

I have not moved physically toward my meal but I can't stop thinking about it.  Here's where I am.  A horseradish stuffed olive martini.  Hence the research.  I needed to know what they are supposed to taste like from someone who actually knows how to make one.  (I'm historically a beer and wine kind-of girl.)  But I got mine at a wedding and I am not sure that was the best place to try it.  I think I need to do more research at some swanky bar.  Anything for a victory right?

My appetizer - kale chips with a horseradish white bean dip.  And then I am not sure.  Maybe there will be some inspiration on the menu at that swanky bar I need to visit.

I'm on schedule for my official day of cooking next Sunday.  I am asking our friend Jon Tillar to be my guest judge.  He is a musician and a private cook.  I'll let you know if he accepts.

Kind-of wish I was at my sister's to taste her trial run.

Oysters

I know it sounds boring but I can't help thinking about the horseradish cocktail sauce that you get at fancy steak houses. There is a place in Indianapolis, St. Elmo's, that served "the best" in my opinion. But anyway, I can't make cocktail sauce an expect that to "wow" anyone with my creativity. But what about oysters? I happened to receive an oyster shucker for Christmas this year and so I am thinking...

Game On

What was starting out as a friendly competition between sisters seems to already be getting ugly. I am just as tall as my sister...but because of what is clearly an optical illusion, she looks taller (she is leaner, fine). But enough about that.

I too love to cook, but I am more of a "keep trying til you get it just right" kind of cook. One summer I made a pie every weekend in an attempt to perfect my crust. I never did perfect it, but I did realize that my husband and kids really don't like pie. That meant I was making AND eating a pie a week. Hence the optical illusion described earlier.

This is going to be fun. We each have until the end of the month to craft one appetizer and one dish with our fresh horseradish root. Our husbands, kids, and one guest taster will judge our creations each month.

Game on!

It all started with a root ...

It was this beautiful site that prompted my lovely, yet shorter, sister to call me and invite me into a year of cooking with products we are unfamiliar with.  I was instantly excited and committed.   Our first challenge - horseradish root. 

My name is Tricia and I live in Columbus, Ohio where I was born and raised.  I love cooking but rarely cook the same thing twice.  Which is why nothing I make comes out that great.  One day when I was feeling defeated because the birthday cake I baked for my husband's great uncle's birthday was a tad over done, my aunt told me I should just keep cooking because I have so much fun doing it.  So here I am.  Face to face with a root.

My challenger is Megan O'Connor.  She lives in Chicago.  And other than telling you her height issues.  I will let her introduce herself.