Bear's Valiant Effort on Chopped

Tonight was a big night on TV for Astoria, as Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky of Bear Restaurant was yet again featured on Food Network's Chopped.  Making her debut back in August and fighting her way into the final round, Natasha came back tonight in an attempt to seize a second chance at victory.

Watching the program, Dan and I waited with baited breath, as we rooted for Chef Natasha's success.  Unfortunately, while I can't report back a win, Natasha fought til the end for what was a very tight match and held her own next to some fierce competition.  

Extremely proud of this talented lady, I wanted to feature her creative eats she constructed on tonight's episode with some pretty obscure ingredients.  Congrats on a great competition, Natasha!  Looking forward to seeing you back in the kitchen.

Course 1 - Celery, prosciutto & lime bisque with crostini

Course 2 - Fried snapper ribs with tartar and pan-roasted snapper filet Course 3 - Deep fried cheesecake with dulce de leche cappuccino 
Bear - 12-14 31st Avenue, Long Island City NY 11106
917.396.4939
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.bearnyc.com

Watch Bear's Chef Natasha on Chopped

In case you haven't yet heard, I wanted to make sure you guys tune into some Astoria culinary goodness on the Food Network tomorrow.  Astoria's very own, Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky from Bear will be featured on the popular Chopped program tomorrow at 10:00 p.m.  I'm so excited to see Chef Natasha competing on the show for many reasons, one being that she's the only female competitor in the episode, the other being that she's really talented and also because she accurately represents the culinary prowess found in Astoria and LIC.  

Chef Natasha will be competing with 4 other national acclaimed chefs, all with diverse backgrounds.  For those of you familiar with the show, their given list of ingredients they have to cook with tomorrow include lemon bars, acai juice, upland cress and whelk snails.  Have a go at that guys - can't wait to see what Chef Natasha comes up with.

If you'd like to get a little preview of what's to come tomorrow, take a look at this preview clip.  Tune in tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. on The Food Network.

Bear - 12-14 31st Avenue, Long Island City NY 11106
917.396.4939
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.bearnyc.com

Astor Bake Shop's 3rd Annual Pie Eating Contest

Can you believe that Astor Bake Shop is turning 3 years old? To me it seems like they've been a staple in the neighborhood forever.  Their treats are among the best in terms of quality ingredients and also quite beautiful in aesthetics.

To celebrate their little milestone, Astor Bake Shop will be hosting another pie eating contest this year, which promises to be a lot of fun.  I mean, who wouldn't want to eat their delicious pies and potentially get rewarded too?  There's a few ground rules to know about, but overall it'll be a race to the sweet finish line.  Wussies..stay home!

3rd Annual Astor Bake Shop Pie Eating Contest
Sunday, June 30th at 2:30 p.m.

It's free to sign up and contestants will compete in three categories.  The first person to finish their pie in its entirety wins - no assistance from utensils or your hands allowed.

Sign up for this event here, and good luck!

Astor Bake Shop - 12-23 Astoria Blvd, Astoria NY 11102
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd

718.606.8439

www.astor-bakeshop.com 

Ribfest VII - Justice Was Served!

Not only does the start of summer symbolize for me countless days and nights with friends and family, cooking outside and enjoying amazing eats, it's always marked by a major food shin-dig that really kicks things off.  This event is no other than the annual Meyers' Ribfest, now in its 7th glorious year.  

Even though it's stellar every year, our good friends, The Meyers never settle for anything less than perfect, and up the ante with each consecutive year.  It's really exciting to see the progression of this event, and I enjoy looking back at the pictures of past times and remembering just how far along Ribfest has come.  This year proved to be yet another unbelievable spectacle, as the competition got fiercer, the ribs got saucier and the guests came even hungrier.

To recap a bit about the format of this event, here's some background:

The Competition:
Each year it's nice to see that Ribfest sees more and more competitors, especially in the ribs category.  Since the event's inception, the battle has evolved to also include a sides and a dessert throwdown.  While the prize for best ribs is no doubt the most prestigious, even the king or queen of sides and dessert gets legitimate street cred.

Everyone's ribs are judged on three important criteria, including appearance, flavor and tenderness from a scale of 1-5, 5 being the highest.  For the sides and the dessert, the judging is a bit more interpretive, as you rate the dishes from a more holistic perspective.

Being a judge this year, along with four other talented food connoisseurs, we tried to be discerning but also fair.  The results, I'm proud to say reflected true greatness, and I genuinely feel that the creme de la creme got what they deserved.  Congratulations to the winners of course, but really to everyone for participating in this spectacular carnivorous battle.

Competitors:
We had 9 worthy competitors for the ribs, seven for the sides and three for dessert.  In the rib competition specifically, we had veterans such as Adam, Tom, Uncle Bobby and Chris, while also a few rib newbies like the Silverman Brothers, Randi, Jessica and Henry.  I loved the dynamic between the rookies and the veterans, since the former really upped the competitive spirit of things, and I was especially excited to see more ladies enter this usually male dominated throwdown.

The Ribs:
As each competitor approached the judges' table with their own prized possession, they informed us of the ingredients that made up their ribs and the style of preparation they chose.  We then each took a rib, gnawed on it with gusto and exchanged our collective commentary.  Here are the ones that stood out to me:

Adam's Thai Ribs - Getting an automatic 5 in appearance, these ribs were absolutely gorgeous, and you can see them here, embellished with beautiful fresh Thai peppers grown in Adam and Jessica's backyard.  The glaze was slightly sweet at first bite but sharp and spicy at the finish, ending each note with an exclamation mark.  Even though some of the judges weren't wild about the texture of these ribs, I thought they were lovely, and separated nicely from the bone.

Chris - A close second when it came to all the judging criteria, Chris' ribs were done in a "red muddy" style, sporting a gorgeous smoke ring, which indicated right from the start that they'd be stellar.  The flavors were really nice, and also fiery like Adam's but definitely not as intense.  Their overall taste was more subdued but the actual texture was 100% perfect, the meat separating beautifully upon contact, and making your job of licking the bone clean very easy.

Jessica - I need to give kudos to the ladies here, especially Jessica who did an awesome job with saucing her ribs.  Not sure about everything that was in her glaze, but she had a nice sweet, smoky combination going on, and I think there was some honey used, which is always a plus in my book.  In terms of the texture, it needed a little work, but I tip my hat to you Jess for giving the boys a run for their money!

The Sides:
Sometimes for me, the sides are the most interesting, as that's where you can really let your creativity shine.  While some folks went with traditional BBQ accompaniments like mac 'n cheese and grits, everyone elevated their dishes with non-traditional ingredients or innovative cooking methods.  Here are my shining stars:

Thea's Mac 'n Cheese Pancakes - While some folks didn't really get this interesting spin on a classic comfort food, I really dug it.  Pancakes, literally stuffed with gooey macaroni and cheese, it was a perfect cross-over dish that went nicely with a modest helping of maple syrup.  While its ingredients were super rich, each pancake overall was light and fluffy and didn't feel the least bit heavy.

Jason's Jalapeno Cheddar Grits - A huge standout for me, given that I'm a sucker for smooth, creamy grits, Jason's version delivered and then some.  A major reason why a lot of folks including me were crazy about it, was because Jason wasn't shy to showcase the spice, leaving a sharp bite on your tongue after each spoonful.  I also enjoyed the really velvety texture, which was too porridge like for some, but I personally really liked it.

Chris's Kale - It was nice to actually throw some veggies into the mix, and I think Chris made a bold choice with the kale, as this leafy green isn't always a crowd pleaser.  He really did wonders to it though, as the kale lost its bitterness completely, containing really lovely acid and some smoky flavor from the sausage that was used.  Overall, a really stellar execution and everyone agreed that this was one sexy super food.

Dessert:
Going for quality over quantity, this is the category that really put me over the edge, as there were some stellar entries.  Between the birthday cake popcorn, the peanut butter-banana pudding and the maple bacon cupcakes, I didn't know what I liked best.

Thea's Maple Bacon Cupcakes - Seeing these beauties in their full glory, with a generous piece of bacon buried in the frosting, I was really excited.  The buttercream frosting was expertly executed, as it was perfectly creamy and piped beautifully onto the cupcake.  Loving the actual cupcake too, it had little pieces of bacon inside and a slightly nutty maple flavor. Check out Thea's other goodies on her Facebook page - you can even hire her to make dessert for a special event.

Birthday Cake Popcorn - I loved the idea behind this dessert, which combined white chocolate, yellow cake batter, sprinkles and mini M&Ms.  It was presented to us with a little candle stuck in the middle to get a true birthday cake effect.  Overall, a really tasty and new spin on popcorn - well done!

Randi's Peanut Butter-Banana Pudding - Her own take on Magnolia's famous banana pudding with nilla wafers, Randi is great at making the traditional version, but now came out with something even more special, mixing in creamy peanut butter.  Simply decadent and absolutely delectable, it was light and fluffy and tasted sweetly nostalgic.  It was easy to see why this dessert impressed the judges and all the other guests alike.
 
The BIG Winners:
King of Ribs - Adam!
Side dish Prince - Chris
Dessert Diva - Randi

Congratulations to everyone and I can't wait to do it all again in 2013. Long live the rib!