Culinary Smackdown Round-Up - and Winner Announcement

If I were judging purely on entertainment value, Boxer, that crafty diorama queen, would have taken it with this hilarious post. She threw herself into the Smackdown with a vengeance, even though she’s allergic to eggplant and didn’t actually cook (let alone cook meat). But I’d still love to try her recipe for lamb-stuffed eggplant!

Another competitor who went all out is Grumpy Granny, with two entries! Her Battle Eggplant Part 1 post was the first I received, and I found her Eggplant and Yogurt Spread with Red Onions and Olives on flatbread a scrumptious appetizer to the festivities that lie ahead.

Alessandra Zecchini, a food blogger friend from New Zealand, contributed this lovely recipe for Turmeric Eggplants and Chickpeas before heading off on holiday to the Polynesian isle of Niue. Whatever your personal predilections about this month’s theme ingredient, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to savor among the breath-taking photos from that trip in recent posts on her blog.

Photo and Recipe © by Alessandra Zecchini

Another Aucklander, Sue of Couscous + Consciousness, joined in the fray, with this tantalizing Roasted Aubergine, Mango + Soba Noodle Salad she adapted from a recipe by Yottam Ottolenghi, who our own La Diva has written about.

I’d like to welcome another newcomer to the Smackdown, Cincinnatian Stephie from Small Girl Adventures! Stephie took a break from working on her sister’s wedding cake to venture to the savory side, with this impressive Eggplant Lasagna. You can tell Stephie has been to culinary school by the precision of her knifework and excellent step-by-step instructions, although what set her entry apart for me was her fabulous herb-cheese filling (yes, I’m a sucker for all things cheese)!

If you’ve been following Buzz’s adventures at his community garden/farm (because, what with his job and his honey-do list and taking his son to Boy Scout camp, yadda yadda, he just needed to commit himself to one more thing, lol), you know that his plot was producing a single eggplant. Fortunately, it ripened in time. And even more fortunately, eggplant is one of the few vegetables The Mrs. actually likes. Buzz took his inspiration from Fishy’s recipe for Grilled Spanish Style Eggplant, which intrigued me for being marinated, with jalapeno, chili powder, soy sauce, and olive oil – a tempting, if not particularly “Spanish” sounding, combination. Quoth Buzzy: “Eggplant is one of those things that never really looks appetizing, no matter how you prepare it. It comes out of the garden, so you eat it.” However, he did a smashing job with the grill marks on these puppies! And paired them with bbq cocktail weenies and rice plus a tomato-cucumber salad with fresh basil. Now that’s a “make it work” dinner!

Buzz wasn’t the only busy blogger. Several bloggy friends and Smackdown supporters had mishaps, travels, and general what-not to contend with.

Aunty Belle had to dart off to Cajun country and rassle with Uncle over the winner of this week's haiku contest, but she shared her recipes for Moussaka and a cooling Mint Vinaigrette!

In addition to providing the inspiration for Buzz’s dish (well, not the cocktail weenies part), Fishy got derailed with a client meeting (in triple-digit heat), then found herself without internet service. But I am captivated by her recipe for Eggplant Fituras, featuring shredded eggplant, scallions, cornmeal, and nutmeg, which I’m happily imagining would blossom as they fried to look something like this gorgeous photo she did manage to post.

La Diva, alas, is sidelined with a serious leg injury suffered at the gym – Caution: exercise can be hazardous to your health :) But I want to thank her for supporting the revival of the Culinary Smackdown with this contribution, and for sharing her own recipe for Eggplant Caponata from her archives for the occasion. I would have been much better off going the caponata route than those disappointing eggplant pickles Cindie and I mangled. Sadly, no caponata photo included in either post, but Diva sure knows how to find some lovely pics on the web.

When I selected eggplant as this month’s ingredient, I failed to realize how many blogger friends (or their spouses) are averse to this veg. Sorry, and be glad this was a virtual dinner party :) Thanks to everyone for supporting the revival of the Culinary Smackdown with your comments and unique contributions – including the awesome Chickory, who, in addition to creating a stupendous painting for submission to a juried art show last week – and sharing the fascinating journey of her creative process on her blog – designed multiple variations of a our new badge!

So who will serve as the host, judge, and “theme picker” of the next Culinary Smackdown?

The winner is – Grumpy Granny! She gets a giant “E” for “[eggplant] effort” for her two delectable dishes. I mentioned her yogurt-y Middle Eastern flatbread spread above, and I fell in love with her second entry, Roasted Eggplant Ratatouille, where she describes her strategy thus: “Eggplants are notorious for soaking up oil like sponges. This dish is great because it slowly releases the other vegetable juices and the eggplant grabs that instead of more grease.”

Granny is training for an epic swim around Alcatraz on September 17, and she’s pretty determined in the kitchen as well. She was one of the people who prodded me to revive the Smackdown, and I’m confident I’m passing it into good hands. So, GG, head on over to Chicky’s place and select whichever version of the new badge you’d like to claim your wall, then let us know what theme you’re throwing down to test our culinary imaginations for the August Smackdown. It need not be a single ingredient – and I sure hope you come up with something more popular than I did :)

Thanks to all for playing, commenting, and all 'round supporting this little contest. And I can’t wait to see what Grumpy Granny comes up with!

xoxo, eggy

Stay Tuned

Eggy Central experienced some technical difficulties today. But I hope to have Team Eggplant's Smackdown entry recreated (argghhh) and posted tomorrow night. Thanks to all for playing!

Welcome to This Weekend's Culinary Smackdown!

As we revive the “original” Culinary Smackdown, there is plenty of room for all to join in the festivities. I’m looking forward to some great dishes featuring eggplant (this month's theme ingredient) from the cooking competitors. But as you can see, our virtual table could also use a bit of color and décor. Perhaps some entertainment? Side dishes, cold beverages, and flights of fancy are most welcome. And don’t forget that any good dinner par-tay thrives on a great mix of guests and lively conversation!

Here’s how it works: Post your contribution – culinary or otherwise – on your own blog, then come back here and add a comment letting everyone know you’re “up” and where to find you. Deadline is Sunday, July 31. As this month’s host/judge, I’ll check out all the entries, then post a recap next week announcing the winner, who will become the host, judge, and “theme picker” for the August Culinary Challenge. The “prize” is bragging rights - and the opportunity to claim the Smackdown badge, which I’m hoping one of my “fairy blog mothers” will update for 2011 :)

I’m looking forward to lots of inspiration from my bloggy friends, even though my own food prep plans have gone awry at several junctures. First I got confused about what weekend it was. Then Cindie had to cancel our cooking plans last weekend, leaving me with 2½ pounds of shrimp I’d planned to use to round out our dinner. She informed me the eggplant pickles we started the previous weekend are an epic fail, then sent an email with this daunting subject line: “You’re going to kill me.” I won’t, of course, but am sorry she forgot about the sausages and tasso she was thawing for me until they were downright rotten.

Trying to make the best of a disappointing situation, I found an intriguing assortment of eggplants at Hyde Park Farmers Market last weekend. So far I've got photos to show for my efforts, and time will tell how well the produce holds up until it finally gets cooked.

We already have some fine entries! Grumpy Granny, who encouraged me to revive the Smackdown, has two, here and here.

My blogger friend Alessandra from New Zealand was kind enough to post this dish before she went on holiday. (For some truly spectacular arm-chair traveling, check out her amazing vacation photos from the isle of Niue here and here.) Another Aucklander, Sue from Couscous and Consciousness, offers up this dish.

I'm also "tickled purple" that at least two bloggers from my city are joining in! Stephie from Small Girl Adventures took time out from her busy schedule (and the monumental task of preparing his sister's wedding cake) to contribute this entry. And determined cook/gardener Jen from Our Good Food Life has her dish and photos ready to roll this weekend.

As I sign off tonight, I see that Aunty Belle has posted recipes for moussaka and mint vinaigrette here as she darts off the Front Porch unexpectedly to visit cajun cousins. Too bad she didn't have a chance to cook, but, as always, she has a mighty fine tale to tell.

Fingers crossed, I’ll be off to the river to cook this weekend with Cindie and her husband Odie and back Sunday night to post what Team Eggplant came up with (we are contributing, but not competing, this month). Odie is such a good sport when Cindie and I mess around in the kitchen for things like this. He donned my lobster apron last year for Battle Lobsta.

For this one, he offered to dress up as an eggplant. Too bad I didn’t find this costume until it was too late to order.

What-evs, this is a come-as-you-are – or come-as-you-wish-you-were event :) Have fun, check out everyone’s contributions, and thanks for joining in!

xoxo, eggy

Let the Smackdown Preparations Begin!

I don’t think I’ve ever written about how I adopted my online name. It hearkens back to making eggplant parmesan for friends one Sunday night in college. It’s a dish I learned to make in Colorado at the elbow of my buddy Derf, who had learned it at the elbows of Italian grandmas in his native Bronx, although he was Jewish.

My college friends were curious as I set about prep for our feast. I explained there was no set recipe, that I had picked up Derf’s techniques and preferred ingredients for making Italian red sauce by watching him make lasagna, eggplant parm, and other variations on the theme many times.

So you’re making “intuitive eggplant,” observed Laura, one of the friends I’d invited that evening.

Making sauce the way Derf taught me takes a good while, and Laura had to leave to host her show on our low-powered college radio station before dinner was ready to eat. As the rest of us finally sat down to the table, listening to her show, this Michael Franks song came across the airwaves. That evening remains a fond memory. And the song describes how I cook now even more than it did then.

When I settled on eggplant as the theme for this month’s revival of the Culinary Smackdown, it was intended partly tongue-in-cheek, but also invoked for me the idea of welcoming you to a contest that would be a something of a virtual dinner party. To those of you who are allergic to aubergine, or just plain don’t like it, I apologize. But you are welcome to participate in any way you choose, and I know there is plenty of creativity in this crowd.

After a rainy spring that has slowed the local growing season, I’ve had second thoughts about this ingredient too. Cindie and I went to three farmers markets Saturday. While the first (Lunken) actually had local corn (and a line for it - at $6/dozen!), I managed to find only these two small eggplants.

At our second stop (the Bellevue farmers market in the Party Source parking lot), I found only one.

Fortunately, I was able to pick up six from a local grower at Findlay Market. Squash were much more in abundance.

Which was just fine with Cindie, who wanted to make her squash casserole. And a satisfying dish it was!

Our plans are in place and I'll be back next weekend with Team Eggplant's entries. Meanwhile, Grumpy Granny - who helped kick-start this revival of the Culinary Smackdown - already has her first entry up, and she is sounding ready to throw down!

xoxo, eggy - and thanks to all of you who have given me this second nickname (because "Intuitive Eggplant" sounds a might pretentious, don't it?)

4th of July Recap and the Culinary Smackdown Is Back!

Fourth of July weekend at the river was a mellow time, in part because it was just too hot and humid out to do much.

Cindie’s menu planning also wisely stuck to the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) philosophy, with dishes like the fruit salad of watermelon, blueberries, peaches, and strawberries at the top of this post. Between the two of us, we also put together grilled sausages and green beans with blue cheese and bacon Saturday night, ribs, mac and cheese, and cole slaw Sunday night, and cottage ham, green beans, and potatoes for Sunday night, all of which went unphotographed. Per the usual request of Cindie’s husband, I made breakfast burritos Sunday morning.

Cindie pronounced these in the top 10 of the breakfast burritos I’ve made at her house (yes, I’ve made a lot of them). But one of the highlights for me was Cindie’s peach and blueberry pie with streusel topping, even if her new stove proved a bit tricky in the baking arena (she’s exchanging it for an upgraded model).

Another highlight of the weekend for me was seeing the Moscow, Ohio fireworks, which, surprisingly, I’d never seen in the 20+ years Cindie has lived there. Quite impressive for such a small town, and they drew so many spectators from the surrounding area, we were happy that rather than fighting the car traffic, we could toddle over to an excellent viewing spot in the golf cart Cindie usually uses to take Oscar to the park or for a swim in the river.

Monday afternoon’s weather was actually pleasant enough we could enjoy some time on the deck overlooking the river, although we did most of our hanging out indoors in the air-conditioning.

And fine hanging out time it was. For a while, we played on the computer exploring the possibility of going to South Dakota together this September (alas, that’s not going to happen). And of course we talked about food, and dishes we’d like to make this summer. We had such a rainy spring that crops are way behind – not much local corn or tomatoes available, as would normally be the case by the 4th of July. We also talked about how much fun we had last year cooking together for the Culinary Smackdowns. As luck would have it, I got a message from Grumpy Granny this week also asking about them. So on the theory that three is a trend, let’s revive the “original” Culinary Smackdown!

Despite the fierceness of the CS badge, this is actually a friendly (ahem) online cooking competition with a different theme each month. I’ve always thought of it as a good kick in the pants to research new recipes, get creative with old favorites, and gain culinary inspiration from others. As La Diva would say, this is a great opportunity to stretch yourself.

The Culinary Smackdown is a round-robin affair, where each month’s winner becomes the following month’s host, judge, and “theme picker.” I actually won in June 2010, with able assistance from Cindie. (If you click through the Smackdown badge on my sidebar and the photos beneath, you’ll find my entries from last year.) A few months later the Smackdown passed into the hands of bloggers I didn’t know, and our day jobs and other pressing realities caused Cindie and me to plum lose track of it.

Thankfully, some of those ding-dang realities have calmed down. So I’m hosting a July 2011 Culinary Smackdown and donating my blog namesake as the theme ingredient:)

Battle Eggplant!

Here’s how it works:

1. Prepare a dish that includes eggplant and as many other ingredients and fresh veggies as you choose. If you’re inspired to make more than three dishes, please self-select which you wish to enter.

2. Post at least one photo and as much description as care to on your blog, then come back and leave a comment here letting everyone know you’re “up.” If you don’t have a blog, email me, post on facebook, or something – I’ll do my best to include you.

3. Recipes are helpful but not required. If you base your dish on a recipe you found elsewhere, please do the right thing and credit/link to the source. If you wing it (as the “Intuitive Eggplant” often does), that’s fine too. But it would be swell if you gave us a clue as to your ingredients/methods even without measurements.

4. Deadline is July 31. Cindie and I will concoct our own dish(es), but will not be contenders. She and I will no doubt consult, but I will have the final say as to the winner to whom the Culinary Smackdown torch will be passed, and I will post the results the following week.

Also, please let me know if anyone is game to create a new Culinary Smackdown badge for 2011.

And if you’re not inclined to cook but would like to participate in some other way, let your creativity run wild. Garlands, a vodka fountain, and anything else you wish to contribute to the mix are welcome.

Let the games – and par-tay planning – begin!

P.S. After an oops yesterday, more photos from the Badlands and Devil's Tower are actually up now on my eggy facebook page to accompany my last post. They should be viewable via that link even if you don't do facebook.