Three - A Number Al Knows Too Well (teehee)

 Things are hotting up in our kitchen as Al stepped up to the plate and cooked his debut meal in the Ultimate Cook-off! We had quite a few guest judges this time round so there was quite a bit of pressure! Nonetheless, Al did a sterling job and decided to go for a classic in his repertoire, a delicious, spicy and warming Thai Green curry. Terrified of under-catering, he bought about four packs of mushrooms and about 12 chicken breasts for seven people! Never mind - we had deeelicious left overs for lunch the next day. 


Sorry, I digress - back to the beginning...

Al used an array of wonderful fresh veges - red peppers, mushrooms, aubergines, green beans and onion. He made a paste of chili, garlic and ginger and added ready-made Thai Green Curry paste. Oh and obviously the chicken. We put it together in one glorious pot that was bursting with flavour and made the house smell like a fragrant Thai restaurant. Mm how I wish I was on holiday. 

 This is Al finishing up his masterpiece. So dashing, so debonair and the food was so delicious. He served the curry with rice in lovely deep bowls garnished with coriander. Everyone scored Al really well on taste - with his highest score being 34 out of 35! Nice one! He scored well for drinks pairings as we had a selection of not only red and white, but also champagne! 

 Introducing our guest judges for the evening: 
Pictured left is Bongani - partner to Brucee, opera composer, mover and shake and generally very suave indeed. This was the first time that we have had Bongani over and I really hope that he enjoyed himself. He scored Al very generously so fingers crossed he'll be back again :)

 To our right we have Bruce-can'ttakeapicturewithmyeyesopen-Bradfield :) Psychologist, piano-player, Italian food lover and amour of velor, Brucee was luckily not working that evening and so could join us. It was his first time coming for dinner since the inception of the cook-off and also gave Al some top marks!

This is Michael an Honours Law student at Stellenbosch and the most cute little dot that ever existed - who knew he was Afrikaans? He and Andrew drove through from Stellies especially for this occassion.  Thanks guys! :) (BTW that's a felt monster that I made in his hands).










And last but definitely not least, Andrew Retief (o yes now that I know this I will              
never forget it) Versveld. Marketer, Law Student, Sarcastic, Witty and a fruit farmer by origin.
Andrew and Michael will be guest judges repeatedly I feel sure. 

The finished dish! Ok so Al's total score was 81% - really brilliant little Bean!! The meal was finished off with a delicious peppermint crisp dessert compliments of Buffy. There was far too much wine consumed and it was an amazing night. Well done my Beaney!

Round Two was a bit of a disaster - sorry for the delay!

Happy Monday dearests! I must sincerely apologize for my delayed posting - its been a bit crazy and our house has been plagued by sickness. My cook-off meal on Thursday was not the greatest and hence I decided to forfeit for the week. HOWEVER, just so that I don't disappoint you, I am doing a little write up of the delicious meal that Buff, Justin and I cooked on Saturday afternoon!

 Having been very lucky and managing to get Kings of Leon tickets without having to queue (thanks Garth-man) we decided to spend the day doing something delicious. We ventured into Woodstock because we know of a little gem on Victoria road that sells fresh and delicious sea food. We bought calamari tubes and 8 tune steaks for under R80 - what a win! They even give you complimentary lemons - gotta love a place like that! We took our happy purchases back home and began cracking on the calamari. 

Buff and I were inexperienced at the art of cooking calamari (despite Buff's seaside upbringing - I at least have a good excuse) so Justin luckily tutored us through. (Justin us the guy on the right of the pic). Buff made a chilli, garlic, ginger, soy and lime juice marinade and flash fried them in a smoking hot pan. We cooked the tentacles first (crazy!!) to test and they were a win so onwards we went!

 This is Buff cooking the calamari rings - what a rock star! It was a triumph of a meal and let me just state here that it was my idea but it was Buff and Justin who made it the success it was. This was more like a weekend collaborative effort - wonderful food, wonderful weather and wonderful friends (sorry if that was super cheesy but it was!) :)

Pictured left is Justin Stang - guest judge, sous chef, magazine editor and part of the big Disney machine. Justin is a like-minded foodie and was a rocking guest judge. I don't know his scores yet but I'm thinking he scored Buffy at least 90 out of 100. 

Me scoffing the calamari! 

 Pictured left is the finish product which was seriously better than any calamari I've had in a restaurant so well done Buffy! He's seriously making me nervous about my positioning within this competition. It was soft but not rubbery, packed full of flavour but not overpoweringly so and he wins some serious points for his timings as it was so quick and easy to make.
Here are my scores on the matter: 
Price - 28/30 - it was SO affordable
Taste - 35/35
Time - 9/10
Presentation - 4/5 - simple food isn't about looks, its about taste. 
Texture - 5/5 - perfectly cooked!!
Drinks pairing - 4/5 - a lovely, crisp Chardonnay accompanied our meal, but I must say that I preferred Justin's choice of wine (call me a wine snob, I don't care)
Authenticity - 5/5 - can't get more authentic than that
Availability - 3/5 - it is quite a mission to get hold of but so worth it.
Total score = 93/100! Outstanding scores Buff!

We cleaned the lot. Happy weekend! :) When are the rest of you coming for dinner?

Buffster begins the challenge

Last night was our first exciting cook-off!


The egos were huge, the stakes were high and the kitchen was a complete mess! Buff (whose name is also Al but is not the same as The Gay) didn't know that he was first off the mark but did an amazing job nonetheless. This proves that he holds up well under spontaneous pressure and boosts his position within the competition! In terms of the actual meal it was a triumph. Buffy made three pizzas with two sumptuous an incredibly tasty toppings: basic margarita and the second was parma ham, olives, fresh basil and mushrooms. 

It was a very impressive undertaking and Buff made everything from scratch - dough,the tomato sauce and then obviously added the toppings. His technique was great as he made sure that the base was neither doughy nor soggy, in fact it was perfect - crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. I loved both toppings, but I must say that the parma ham one was the out and out winner. The ingredients were so simple, hearty and fresh and the pizza was oozing with flavour and clearly made with love (one hopes!). Unfortunately, because we have limited space, and Buffy has limited hands, we had to eat the pizzas in shifts but it was a fun and interactive experience nonetheless. We were all super hungry, but it made eating the finished product that much more delicious. 

Nick Ford, pictured left, our illustrious first guest judge was a gracious and complimentary critic, scoring Buffy with an awesome 82 out of a possible 100 points. He scored Buffy the best for taste (30 out of 35), authenticity (4.5 out of 5) and pricing (25 out of 30). We hope he visits again soon as we had an amazing time with him. 


Perhaps it's at this point that I should introduce the contenders... Pictured here is my darling flatmate and best friend, otherwise "The Gay" Al...or Big Gay Al..but don't tell him I said that :) Writer, fellow-blogger, greenie, stylista and all-round awesome person, Al specializes in Asian cuisine and thrupples :) He also scored Buffy and overall 82 out of a possible 100 points.

"The Guy" is pictured here on the right. My darling man, Allister/Buffy. He is an amazing cook and used his time whilst unemployed honing his culinary skills. Buffy has many specialities including home-made ravioli, fish dishes and an amazing ginger cheesecake. During the daytime, Buff is a risk analyst and is awesome! :) The rule is that everyone has to score and so Buff awarded himself a modest 80 points overall.

 And here I am, but you all know what I know look like and you know what I do. MM delicious celery... mmm. I love baking most of all and I even made a little peach galette to accompany our pizzas last night. 


But I digress, back to the scoring, I clearly was a little biased and need to work on my objective scoring because I gave Buff 86 out of 100. Well done - I thought it rocked!!


OK so Buffy's total average score out of 100 was 83!!! Pretty damn good. Next to cook is me on Thursday so we'll be keeping you posted. I'll post the pizza dough and tomato sauce recipe up later so you can try it for yourself :)


















                                                    Buff's Triumph!!