Need menu help for son who is entering Ohio State Fair

[FarPoint]

High School level, (senior)...Iron Chef.... "Beef Wars".

The 2013 theme is, " Nutrition in the Kitchen/Restaurant.

snip>

Beef Wars is an individual or team of 2 event. The mission is to create a healthy main dish using sirloin beef, 1 pound. The dish must include beef AND two additional food groups. Beef dishes will be judged by a panel of judges, and will be evaluated on taste, texture, creativity, use of ingredients, safety, sanitation and presentation.

*** Two additional food groups for your recipe- these additions are your choice and must be handled safely. ( use of coolers are highly recommended.

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Okay...he initially thought that two food groups were equal to 2 sides....This may not be the case...food groups is a stickler.

My son was going to prepare a medium rare grilled steak that was marinaded in balsamic vinegar, minced rosemary, garlic and olive oil. His two SIDES were asparagus salad with lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese and Ohio creamed corn in corn stock with bacon lardon, creme fraiche and lime zest....

Apparently he is off track. What does this fine Cooking Group understand this theme and rules to be about? Competition is July 26th.

[cbayer]

1. Take a look at this recipe I am making tonight:

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/grilled-steak-tacos-spicy-slaw.aspx

Some variation on this might fit the bill.

He can marinade and grill the steak anyway he wants.

Grilling the onions and peppers is a bonus, as he is using the grill efficiently. He could grill other vegetables as well. The slaw made with these and the cabbage is another food group.

The tortillas are another food group and can also be warmed on the grill.

And then there is the sour cream, yet another food group.

Added bonus, he can make lots of them and people can eat them without utensils.

It's a pretty healthy dish, as you can see from the nutrition, with the fat coming solely from the beef and the sour cream (which could be eliminated and guacamole or salsa used instead).

[FarPoint]

7. Does sour cream meet the standard for the milk-cheese group?

It confuses me when reading the USDA stuff.......they talk about calcium as a defining characteristic for the group.

[cbayer]

8. I'm not sure, but I think so.

He would still have the grain and vegetable groups.

The sirloin would work fine. It doesn't have to be a flank steak. This could definitely be made in under an hour.

Best of luck to him, whatever he does.

[cbayer]

16. By the way, this came out great.

It was unlike a regular taco and really tasty.

The combination of the grilled, glazed meat and crunchy/spicy slaw worked really well, and the dollop of sour cream was like icing on the cake.

The presentation was also nice.

I rolled mine up and ate it by hand. My husband ate his with a knife and fork. He also tried one with plain yogurt instead of sour cream and said it was equally as good.

You might want to try it out and see what you think.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. Suggest he consider a Beef Rouladen (edited for an OOPS!. Hit post accidentally before I was done!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/german-beef-rouladen/

I would advise more of a search for recipes and put together one from all based on what sounds good to him. The best one I ever had was so tender you could cut it with a fork and the filling was scrumptious. A bit more involved than just a steak, but it may be the one that knocks the judges socks off!

If he is considering a cold salad, a Caesar with home made croutons and dressing is also impressive.

Here's my recipe for the dressing;

I have found using an immersion blender works best for this, but a regular blender will do as well. Doing this by hand is a LOT of work!

Ingredients;
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fresh garlic cloves
Fresh cracked pepper
Anchovy fillets (It is NOT a Caesar dressing without anchovy!) I buy a small tin of them in Olive Oil.
Olive Oil
One Egg
Dash of Worcestershire
I make this by taste, because lemons vary as does garlic. Hot garlic will ruin this dressing in my opinion.

In the cup of the immersion blender or a suitable alternative, add just one medium garlic clove, and the juice on one half a medium lemon, grind some pepper in and just one anchovy fillet to start. Start blending and slowly add the olive oil (at this point, I probably add about 1/4 cup or so) until it starts to emulsify. Add the egg (don't worry, the lemon juice will basically cook the egg and the possibility of getting ill from a modern raw fresh egg is very remote) and 2 or 3 shakes from the Lee & Perrins bottle, blend thoroughly and taste. Add more garlic, lemon and another anchovy fillet as needed for taste. This will make about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup or so of the dressing. Just add more of everything if he is expected to feed a horde!

My most common mistake is adding too much lemon juice. The flavors should balance nicely, with it not being too lemony, too garlicky or too fishy.

Nice fresh Romaine Lettuce and freshly grated Romano Cheese finishes it off. A proper Caesar Salad has just the 4 ingredients; The dressing, the lettuce, the croutons and the cheese. NOTHING else!

There are just too many possibilites for the other food group, so I'll leave that to others.

Best of luck to him!

[FarPoint]

4. Can the 1 pound of sirloin beef

be used for this? I never even pounded out sirloin before....so I know he has not. The recipe sounds fabulous! I want some now.

He really likes the asparagus salad recipe. He just needs to find a good way to include another food group...we have the meatgroup, vegetable group (the asparagus) and empty group????



I think they have an hour....and must bring everything!!!! They only provide free parking and electricity...

We are taking 2 induction burners and a propane burner...plates, coolers, water, all-clad cookware, utensils, table, electric cords...etc...

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. If the meat comes as steaks....

or if he buys them that way, he would probably be able to ask the meat counter folks to cut them really thin, like 1/2" or so and pound them out. so 2 half pound steaks sliced 2 will give 4 of the Rouladens. If that's the case, I would say sure, why not?

BUT....this might not work at all if he has only an hour, as the prep time may cut into the at LEAST 1/2 hour for the cooking of the meat. The key to this idea is cooking long enough for the meat to be, as I indicated, fork tender.
I am sure he is going to practice once or twice or 3 times(!) at home before he goes to the show, eh?


I must say that his marinade for the steak sounds GREAT!


OK...Fruit group? Try a Waldorf Salad. Apples, Grapes, Mayo and Walnuts.

Here's a modification of the original, which includes celery;

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/waldorf_salad/

Or search for things like braised Peaches or Nectarines, things like that. Too many possible choices!

[FarPoint]

10. The Ohio Cattlemen's Association will provide

one pound of sirloin....thats all we know from the rules sheet. I think we will have to practice a bunch!!!!

Do you think polenta would work?

What do you think if he stuffed the thinly pounded beef with a soft cheese, spinach and sun dried tomato's? I'm thinking he could marinade the thin beef say 15 minutes in the given marinade.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. I've made Polenta exactly ONE time!

So I am by far the right person to ask. It was easy, but it might be a bit time consuming for an hour long Iron Chef type thing.

While I've never competed in one of these events, I've watched plenty of Iron Chef episodes, (not to mention I am posting from a Holiday Inn Express - seriously!! LOL) so the way I see it, no single dish should take more than 15 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of cooking so that all three can come out at the same time and none of them will be sitting too long before the hour is up.

I think the stuffing can be as varied as his and your imaginations can take you. Your idea above sounds yum!

Are either of you handy with a knife? If you get half pound steaks handed to you (him) at the event, can he butterfly them or slice them evenly in two? It isn't hard at all, just takes a SHARP knife and a bit of care.

[FarPoint]

12. He is competing solo.

His instructor is a CIA graduate ...She is local and won this competition when she was in high school. Brett will be a senior...taking culinary program in high school. He plans on going to New England Culinary Institute. His instructor signed him up for this.

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. Excellent.

Sounds as if she has great confidence in him and holds him in high regard.

I will assume then he is no amateur. I'm betting he'll do fine no matter what he decides on preparing. All I ask is.....


Take lots of pics and put up a thread of them after!

[FarPoint]

15. Your right about the polenta

and time management. I'm thinking cheese in the roulade may be an option to add the second food group via dairy.

[Warpy]

3. I think they're looking for vegetable, starch/grain, that sort of thing.

You can introduce him to the NYT no knead bread recipe and his grain dish can be slabs of artisan bread.

[FarPoint]

5. no time for the bread...

I believe they have an hour...no oven either. We love Jim Lahey's no knead bread...

[FarPoint]

6. Polenta comes to mind....

not sure yet...he has made it twice here at home. Does polenta fit into grain group?

It could go with the Beef Rouladen suggested by, " A HERETIC I AM", as that has a sauce.

Just don't know if sirloin can be pounded out...

[pinto]

13. Looks like you've gotten some good input here. I wish him the best of luck! My only input -

Be meticulous on safe food handling. It's a big issue in the restaurant world.

And go with what he likes along side the best sirloin he can serve up. (I read "two additional food groups" to mean something like a grain and a veggie, basically). If he really likes to grill, fit the sides to that approach. A creative twist looks to be part of the thing. That's where he could go off the "standard".

In any event, let us know how it goes.