TGRWT#5 Round-up

Well, its time for my much awaited round-up!

Chocolate and Meat turned out to be a rather classic yet difficult pairing. I mean, who would think throwing a nugget of milk chocolate into your mouth along with a piece of steak would taste great..? Get what I mean?

Anyway, I am ecstatic that I recieved over 11 entries for the first flogging event I've ever hosted! At first, I did not seem to recieve any entries at all! That seriously worried me and got the nerves kickin'. However, as Martin predicted, most of the entries started pouring in a few days before the deadline. PHEW!

Anyway, here are all the fantastic entries which I recieved from so many different people in different parts of the world. Enjoy!

PS: Click on the participant's highlighted name to view their blog entries. He he :)

Andrew over at Blinded By Science decided to do something unlike what many did. He
created a dish where chocolate was the main component and meat was the flavoring agent. I love how Andrew rationalizes about how things are going to taste based on science!
His verdict: The recipe tasted great. I found out that raisins and rum shared the same number of flavor chemicals for chocolate and beef, leading me to believe that their inclusion in the dish would be tasty....the whole thing paired really well.



Caroline over at A Consuming Passion created something that looked absolutely mouth-watering! She made a pasta sauce that was otherwise much like any other bolognese sauce, a hearty one with the addition of pinenuts and raisins as well.
Her verdict: Tasting the pasta for myself, I had to agree with him. The first sensation of flavour that I got when I took my first bite was the lingering aroma of the red wine, and although the sauce was sweeter and slightly thicker than most bolognese sauces, I wouldn't have guessed there was chocolate in there either. Despite not being able to pick out the chocolate flavour, we both agreed that the chocolate added to the richness of the sauce




Papin from Flavor Alchemy made something that looks just as interesting as it's unique name, Koko KeeBee. At first, he thought the challenge simple, but he was wrong. While making a traditional Mole with cooked beef and unsweetened chocolate, he tried adding a variety of flavors to create something interesting. That turned out a disaster!He then decided to use the chocolate as a condiment instead.
His verdict: Beef and chocolate do go well together, in the right proportions.




Dennis from Kookjegek made a not so classic Beef Wellington, of course, due to the addition of chocolate. His was a Beef Wellington served with a chocolate sauce, inspired by Gordon Ramsay. You should also check out his blog, it's very cool.
His verdict: The result was pretty nice. Unfortunately my beef was too well-done. But the chocolate definitely added some nice contrast to the sauce. Although 10 grams was probably still too much. Next time I will use some real red wine instead of red wine vinegar, I think this can also benefith the sauce.




Martin himself, from Khymos, combined Pork and Chocolate, along with a beef stock cream. Talk about creativity! His photo of his masterpiece also makes me turn green with envy. Superb photography skills, Martin!
His verdict: The chocolate beef stock cream has very meaty and almost nutty flavour. Honey is important to round of the otherwise slightly bitter taste of the chocolate. Chili oil gives it a bite, but can be omitted.




Cara and goat's cheese.from Cara's Cravings decided to make eggplant caponata . I myself am not too sure what a caponata is, but after looking at Cara's version of it, I most definitely will be trying this out sometime soon. She used a lovely combo of ground turkey
Her verdict: The wonderful thing is, I am not the only one who loved this - my fiance declared it absolutely fantastic!







M was fantastic and made 2 dishes for the event the first one, (not pictured), was a Liver Soup with Almonds, Cinnamon and Chocolate. The second one, pictured above, is Chorizo Con Chocolate. He first came accross the idea online, and then started googling for information on chorizo & chocolate That brought him to Tia Pol, a tapas bar in New York 's website, where they serve among other tapas 'chorizo con chocolate'. The rest, as they say, is history.
His verdict: The chocolate I used was too sweet [30%] for the combination with chorizo & I didn't like it. Less sweet chocolate should be used or the sweetness of the chocolate should be suppressed.



Sarina at Trini Gourmet made a fiery Texas Chili. Instead of using beef chuck, she very intelligently used ground beef to cut the cooking time by a substantial amount. I love how she shows the different steps she took in preparing the dish.Her verdict: I loved the warmth that the ground coriander added to the sauce and also was quietly amazed at what an effective thickener cornmeal was (why hadn’t I thought of that before?!).



Newcomer Megan from Megan's Cookin made a Rib Eye Steak with Chocolate Port Sauce. Keep up the great job, Megan! Her steak looks good enough to be put on the menu of any top notch restaurant in NewYork.
Her verdict: The sauce was kind of sweet, with a slight chocolate flavor in the background. You could definitely tell there was wine in it. It felt like velvet on the tongue.



Laurel, all the way in Sweden, decided on a Beef Carpaccio with Chocolate Balsamico Reduction. Her final product was so fantastic that she didn't even have enough left to photograph! You go girl!
Her verdict: The nutty/peppery argula really adds something to this dish and seems to marry the chocolate balsamico with the savory truffle and cheese. The beef just melts on your tongue. Delicious! Chocolate and meat DO go really well together if I am to judge by this dish.

Swaha over at Miller Kitchen made an appropriately named Chilli Con Cocoa. Her recipe is very flexible, and any meat can be used as the main component. She only had turkey in his pantry, and that is what he used!
Her verdict: Cocoa adds a very appetizing earthiness and depth to the flavor of the chilli; it also gives it a rich terra cotta hue which makes a great presentation.



Anders from Aleph wowed me with his artistic shot of his Chili Chocolate Elk and Beef Jerky. He was inspired by chocolate coated candied orange peel. He even used Lindt Chilli chocolate! I never knew Lindt made such a flavor! Amazing!
His verdict: While interesting, I don't think this simple combination works on its own. It is too tricky to be just a snack, it has to be processed mentally to be enjoyable. The meat taste and the chocolate do go well together. It is a strong, slightly hot and quite savoury tone. The problem is the texture: the yielding chocolate doesn't work together with the fibrous and strong meat. They need to be combined more firmly, likely as part of the jerky preparation process.


Inge over at Vanielje Kitchen made a Wild Rabbit, Prune & Chocolate Tagine. I myself have never tried rabbit before, so I'm not too sure how it would go with chocolate. According to Inge, it really was lovely! She also rushed to meet the deadline, and luckily, she did! Good job!
Her verdict: Delicious, but I forgot how rabbity rabbit is when not grilled. Dakota - 'I'm not so keen on this'. Fair enough, she's not so keen on Jemima Puddleduck either...


Evelin from Bounteous Bites was one of the few who paired pork with chocolate. She was also irked at the idea of pairing her dish with pasta, due to it's sweetness, and paired it with rice instead. Did you know that she's only 17 too? She's even teaching her mom how to cook!
Her verdict: My parents liked meat in chocolate sauce!


Last but not least, Klaus, all the way in Germany, made a delicious looking dish. However, I don't quite understand german, so you'll have to read his entry yourself!

Thanks to all who participated for making my first hosting event a very memorable one indeed.

When your hands feel clammy, have some Clam Chowder

Take a little trip to Wikipedia, search "Clam Chowder", and this is what you will eventually end up with:

Clam chowder is any of several chowders containing clams and broth. Along with the clams, potato chunks are common, as are onions, which are occasionally sauteed in the drippings from salt pork. Vegetables are uncommon, but small carrot strips might occasionally be added, primarily for color. A garnish of parsley serves the same purpose. Bay leaves are also sometimes used as a garnish and flavoring.

Ah, and the one I decided to make, was the good ol' New England Clam Chowder. Usually, its loaded with cream and bacon drippings, but hey, not everyone wants to go up 2 sizes overnight, or at least I don't think so!

My mom's new habit is to frequent a joint called "The Soup Spoon". Im guessing that by the name, you know what they specialize in. She bought the clam chowder home for my sister and herself the other day, and they were RAVING about how good it was. The jealous cooking monster in me naturally came out. I know, I am weird.

"I am going to make BETTER clam chowder. BETTER I TELL YOU!!!!" I screamed in my head.

Since fresh clams of high quality are rather difficult to find over here, I settled for canned baby clams. And since most New England Clam Chowders start of with a roux, I ended up using milk instead of cream, since the roux would thicken it up and make it seem like cream in the end, anyway.

I also didn't intend on putting carrots in my chowder, but for some reason, I reached for some carrots in the refrigerator and started dicing them for no apparent reason. "Oh well, I guess they've gotta go in, then"

PS: My mother still has NOT replaced my camera's charger, so I had to use my sister's camera again. I have to admit, I have NO idea on how to use her camera properly, and hence, my photo didn't turn out as good as it could have :(

New England Clam Chowder
Serves 6

-2 10 oz cans of Baby Clams
- 1 cup white onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- 1 cup diced celery

For the roux,

- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 litre of whole milk
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

-Salt/Pepper to taste

In a large pot, combine ingredients and all the liquid from the tinned clams. Reserve clams for later on.

If there isn't enough 'clam juice' to cover the vegetables, top it off with either bottled clam juice or just good ol' water. You don't want to SUBMERGE the vegetables, though.

Bring to a boil and lower the heat, leaving it at a simmer. Cook till the vegetables are barely tender. Turn off heat.

In another large pan, melt butter. Add flour all at one go, and whisk for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour. At first, gradually add the milk and whisk whisk whisk, in order to prevent any lumps from forming. After about 1/2 of the milk is incorporated, you can speed up the pouring process.
Continue whisking the milk mixture till it has thickened substantially. To this, add in the undrained vegetables, clams and red wine vinegar. Let the clams heat through, being careful to not overcook them, or they'll go all rubbery and nasty.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle the tops of individual portions with dried parsley flakes.

Announcement: Chocolate and Meat - TGRWT #5

Chocolate and Oranges, Chocolate and Bananas, Chocolate in Risotto...Chocolate in..MEAT?

Some may be appalled by the very thought of adding meat to chocolate, or vice versa. However, science tells us that the two were just MADE for each other! Don't believe me? Well try it out for yourself and join TGRWT! (Hosted by yours truly!!)

This is how you can participate in TGRWT #5:

1. Prepare a dish that combines chocolate and meat. You can either use
an existing recipe (if there is any) or come up with your own.

2. Take a picture of the dish and write an entry in your blog by
September 1st with TGRWT #5 in the title. Readers will be
particularily interested in how the flavour pairing worked out, so
make an attempt at describing the taste and aroma and whether you
liked it or not.

3. A round-up will be posted here (with pictures). Please send an
email to tunasushister@gmail.com with the following details:

Your name, URL of blog, URL of the TGRWT #5 post and a picture for your
entry in the round-up. If you don't have a blog, email me your name,
location, recipe and a brief description of how it worked out and I'll
be glad to include it in the final round-up.

PS: All credits for the cow go to Cadbury!