I went shopping for all the food the day before, Mark was not feeling well on Friday. Usually we go shopping together for the food.
We packed up the truck after I got done with all the shopping and packed all the food in the coolers. We needed to leave really early in the morning. And who wanted to be up packing the truck at 5 am? I felt bad for Mark not feeling to well.
Saturday morning we left the house at 6 am. So, we could be one of the 1st ones there, to get a good cooking spot. I was beginning to not feel so well that morning, starting to come down with the flue that Mark was getting over with. (Wish he would not have shared that with me....LOL)
We got all set up, had our cooks meeting and started cooking at 8:30 am. All our food is due at 1:30 pm. This had to be our easiest menu ever...maybe why we didn't get higher up on the winners list....
These are pictures of what we cooked.
Herb crusted Ham
Here is the recipe for this:
Name of Recipe: Spice-Rubbed Ham with Apple-Maple Sauce
Category: Main Dish
Dutch Oven Size: 12” Cooking Temp: 350 ̊
Number of Charcoal: Top: 15 Bottom: 12 - 15
Number of Servings: 10-15
Ham:
6 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 6-8 pound cooked ham (shank or butt portion)
½ cup Dijon
¼ cup apple cider
¼ cup pure maple syrup
Salt
Black pepper
Combine brown sugar, garlic and cumin. Score ham by making diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern. Sprinkle ham evenly with sugar mixture, tub in with your fingers. Place ham in the Dutch Oven.
Cook for about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until thermometer reaches 130̊ - 140̊ .
Sauce:
Stir together mustard, apple cider and maple syrup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pass the sauce with ham.
Garnish as desired.
Honey-Nut Cheesecake
Here is the recipe for this one.
Name of Recipe: Honey-Nut Cheesecake
Category: Dessert
Dutch Oven Size: 10” pans Cooking Temp: 350 ̊
Number of Charcoal: Top: 12-14 Bottom: 8
Ingredients:
¾ cup ground pecans 1 8-oz. container mascarpone cheese, softened
3 Tablespoon sugar 3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
12 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
½ cup melted butter 1 cup honey
3 Tablespoons flour ¼ cup milk
3 eggs 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Unfold the phyllo dough; remove 1 sheet at a time. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo on the first, rotating it slightly to stagger the corners. Brush with more butter and repeat the process with the remaining phyllo sheets.
Ease the phyllo dough into a prepared 10” Dutch Oven. Pleating as necessary. Sprinkle nut mixture on phyllo in pan.
Filling:
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, honey, and flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in the milk, eggs and lemon peel.
Pour filling into crust.
Bake for about 50 – 60 minutes or until the center appears set when you gently shake it.
Garnish as desired.
Three Cheese Bread
Here is the recipe for this one.
Name of Recipe: 3 Cheese Bread
Category: Bread
Dutch Oven Size: 12” Cooking Temp: 350 ̊
Number of Charcoal: Top: 15-18 Bottom: 8
Starter:
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup flour
To create the starter, combine the water and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the flour to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Dough:
¾ cup warm water 4 ¾ cups flour
3 Tablespoons honey ½ cup ½ inch cubes Romano cheese
4 teaspoons yeast ½ cup ½ inch cubes Parmesan cheese
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
1 Tablespoon salt ½ cup ½ inch cubes Asiago cheese
For the Dough, combine the water, honey and yeast in bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast fully. Add the shortening, flour, salt, cheeses and fermented starter. Mix until the dough is fully developed. Cover and let raise for 30 minutes.
Form the dough into 2 loaves, (put one in the frig for cooking later or you can freeze it also.) cover and let it set for 30 minutes.
Score the loaf with a sharp knife, spray with water and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes. Or until the middle of the loaf reaches 190̊ - 200̊.
Garlic butter:
1 cup soft butter ¼ teaspoon oregano
1 Tablespoon minced garlic ¼ teaspoon basil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese Dash of pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional) Dash of Salt
¼ teaspoon thyme ¼ teaspoon paprika
Mix together and chill. Serve with bread. Garnish as desired.
Me in our booth.
It was so cold that day, it rained most of the morning, then it started to snow. And not feeling very good, it just felt like we where chilled to the bone.
Our food looks really good, and we liked it. Just need to try some other recipes, to find out what the judges like. There was a lot of pork, cooked. Mark is not a fan of pork, we have been trying to stay away from it...but, we might have to give it a try.
These are the winners, they cooked right next to us.
Bill & Tori Thayn, won 1st place. They cooked, Pepperoni Pizza Bread with 2 dipping sauces, Chili-rubbed Pork with Cherry Glaze and Almond Couscous, Banana Cream Cheesecake.
Another fun day spent with the love of my life! Good memories...
