Sunday 9 October 2011

Farewell to an Old Friend..

It is sad but it looks like the Paper Chef is heading for retirement.
Other commitments for both Ilva & myself means that we are finding it hard to commit the time that the Paper Chef challenge deserves. And the fact that we have fewer and fewer participants (unless it is baking friendly ingredients) makes it obvious that it is time PC goes to rest. 
So after 60 challenges, from both Ilva & myself, farewell....


ps. If anyone would like to take over the reins of hosting Paper Chef please contact us.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

And the ingredients are------

  1. nectarines,
  2. almonds
  3. cornmeal,
  4. green tea,
Do you think you can do something with these four ingredients? I think so and I expect interesting dishes to invade our mailbox (paperchef AT gmail.com) to which you will send your entry before your midnight on Tuesday the 13th of September. If you don't have a blog but want to participate it is just as easy, send me the recipe with eventual photos and I will post it here. Read the Rules and Regulations if you have any questions about whether you can substitute any ingredients etc and start thinking, get creative and enjoy yourself!

Monday 5 September 2011

Yuhuuu-time to add new ingredients!

Time to add new ingredients to our Paper Chef list because on Wednesday PC kick off again and this time it will be perfect, I will do my very best! So 1-add ingredients and 2-get ready to be creative!

Sunday 28 August 2011

The Round Up - 60th Challenge

This month everything seemed to be late & us hosts couldn't get our act together, but here it is, the round up for the 60th Paper Chef Challenege!
This month the ingredients were: Lamb, Goats Cheese, Flour, and for the fourth ingredient, anything starting with the letter "A".
So what did our creative participants conjure up?

Our first entrant is Candice, a non-blogger, so her recipe has been posted on Paper Chef, with a Lamb, Goats Cheese, Apricot and Pesto

Next up is Astrid from Paulchen's Foodblog  with Herbed Lamb with Apple-Potato “Boxty” and Veggies

Karen, from Prospect: The Pantry , created a Lamb Kofte on Flatbread with Grilled Apricots and Goat Cheese


and our final participant is Nic from Nic Cooks with her Lamb and Goats Cheese Gozleme


And there we have our four delicious dishes for the 60th Challenge.
Who will be selected at the winner? Stay tuned as they will be announced soon!

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Lamb, Goat’s cheese, Apricot and Pesto Pasta

Lamb, Goat’s cheese, Apricot and Pesto Pasta
Submitted for the 60th Paper Chef Challenge by Candice Le Noury


Serves 2 generously
For the pasta:


150g plain flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt


To make the pasta:
Put your flour and salt in a mound on a clean counter top. Make a well in the centre and place the two eggs in the well. Slowly with your fingertips, start working the flour into the centre of the well. Once all the egg has been incorporated, knead into a dough with the palm of your hand for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 20 minutes. Once rested roll pasta out to 2mm thick (or use apasta machine) and cut out circles 7cm in diameter. Now start on your filling.


For the filling:
200g lamb, cut into very small cubes
100g dried Turkish apricots, finely diced
200ml cream
2 tbsp basil pesto
150g Chevin (creamy goat’s cheese)
1tsp butter/oil for frying
1 egg, beaten, for brushing


Fry the lamb with the apricots until cooked and brown on the outside. Spoon a little of the lamb/apricot mixture, with some crumbled goat’s cheese into the centre of each pasta round. Brush the edge of the circle with the egg, fold over to make a half moon, and press the edges closed with the tines of a fork.Continue filling rounds of pasta with the remaining lamb/apricot/cheese mixture.


Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, and cook pasta in batches - it only takes a minute to cook. Once cooked, remove from the water and allow to drain while making your sauce.


To make the sauce, add pesto and cream to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for a minute or two, until thickened to your liking. Serve pasta pockets in a bowl, with the sauce spooned over, garnished with a few apricots and some extra goat’s cheese and pesto.



Wednesday 10 August 2011

The Big 60

Yes, it's the Big 60th for the Paper Chef challenge! There have been a few stumbling blocks along the way but we are still going strong (if a little bit tardy).
So how to celebrate this milestone? What ingredients will be randomly selected? Will there be a theme?
The easy one first, the ingredients. I added all the ingredients to a spreadsheet & let the random function select 3, and they are (in no particular order):
Lamb
Goats cheese
Flour
& the last ingredient or theme? after a brief discussion with our co-host we decided on: anything starting with the letter "A" (apples, artichokes, apricots etc, as its the August challenge.  


Due to the delay in posting the ingredients the cutoff date has been extended to Thursday 18th August, Midnight your time.

Read the edited rules and regulations here, spread the word about Paper Chef, start thinking and get going!


Email us (paperchef AT gmail DOT com) the link to your entry sometime before midnight your time on  Thursday 18th August, or if you don't have your own blog, send us the recipe and  eventual photos and they will be posted here.

Let the fun begin!

Tuesday 9 August 2011

and the winner is...

Karen from Prospect The Pantry with her Barbecued Quail with Cabbage Cucumber Slaw! Congratulations!

Monday 18 July 2011

Paper Chef #59 roundup

I'm late but I was hoping to see some late entries trailing in because not many have dared to enter this time, let's blame it on the quail which can be difficult to find but as you can see there are ways to substitute  an ingredient you can't find or you can't eat for some reason (well that post will be added soon, just waiting for the link!). When you do a Paper Chef challenge you need to think creatively not only about what to do with the given ingredients but also how to substitute them in case they are out of season, out of reach or out of your diet. So next time you see an ingredient that can be put in any of the categories above, just think and be creative and have fun-Paper Chef is all about expanding your horizon and limits and having fun doing it! OK? If Paper Chef is to be alive and kicking, please don't just wait for the baking challenges that are the easier ones, dare to cook up something different as well because we need a steady flow of entries here.

Now I will stop lecturing and get on with this short roundup, I am waiting for another entry (it being late is my fault!) from a new participant but I will add it as soon as it arrives.


The first to send in an entry was Karen from Prospect: The Pantry who is an oldie here on Paper Chef with several wins and many entries and I am very glad to see her back in the PC track again! She has made an interesting dish, well she is actually the only one using real quail in her Barbecued Quail with Cabbage Cucumber Slaw. I love that slaw idea, perfect in this heat!



Then last month's winner which means that she is the Judge this month obviously felt inspired and sent in an entry and that is perfectly great as long as she doesn't choose her entry as winner. But I doubt that Astrid of Paulchen's food blog? even touched on doing anything like that. She couldn't find quail so she used chicken in her Apricot-Lime glazed Chicken Wings, it sounds fantastic!



Then Meeta from What's For Lunch Honey? finally dared or more probably, had the time to participate in PC, I have been waiting for this a loong time because knowing how she works, I always thought that PC would fit her hand in glove, she is a very creative cook-just take a look at her Asian Chicken Red Cabbage and Peach Salad and you will see what I mean! She too had to substitute the quail with chicken.

This is the space where I will post the vegetarian entry that I am waiting for!

Thank you to all the participants and to all of you I send a plea - please try to participate in the next edition which will be the 60ieth!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Paper Chef #59 is on!

So it is time again to start moving those culinary grey cells you have inside your head and get creative because now it is Paper Chef time again. Do you want to know the four ingredients? OK, the randomizer came up with three ingredients and I have decided a theme because I like to vary a bit, always the same is just too boring. You want me to stop rambling and give you the three ingredients and the theme? All right: quail, cabbage and lime are the ingredients and the theme is....July. Yes, an ingredient that is typical where you live in July so there are no difference in difficulty for those who live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. (If you cannot find quail, you may use those very small chickens that are called Cornish hens if I am not mistaken)


Read the edited rules and regulations here, spread the word about Paper Chef, start thinking and get going! I am really looking forward seeing what you come up with this time!


Email us (paperchef AT gmail DOT com) the link to your entry sometime before midnight your time on Wednesday 12th of July, or if you don't have your own blog, send us the recipe and  eventual photos and they will be posted here.


Ready, steady...GO!

Monday 4 July 2011

Time to add new ingredients!

It's getting closer to the big day, on Wednesday we kick off again so if you have any new ingredient suggestions, please add them here so I can include them in the ingredient draw in a few days time. Thank you!

Tuesday 21 June 2011

The Winner!

After a slight delay, the hosts of Paper Chef have submitted their votes for this, the first Paper Chef of the Year & the 58th Paper Chef Challenge. And I do have to say that the votes were very close, so many amazing creations!
But there can only be one winner, and by unanimous decision the winner for this rounds Paper Chef (& the judge for the next round) is:

Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog with Austrian Scheiterhaufen with a modern twist

Friday 17 June 2011

An old idea

In times gone by we've had a People's Choice vote, so that readers could vote for their favourite recipe. Should we re-introduce this on an on-going basis?
Any comments? Suggestions?
People's Choice
Karen from Prospect: The Pantry with Chocolate Bread Pudding with Lime Custard and Strawberries
Sarah from Simply Cooked with Lime and Goji Berry Quick Bread with White Chocolate Drizzle
Jamie from Life's A Feast with Sweet Focaccia with Strawberries macerated in Lime Juice and topped with Chocolate Ganache
Jenn from Jenn Cuisine with Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding, Gluten Free
Simone from Junglefrog Cooking with Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse and Eggy Bread
Daniela from Hysteria Lane with Summer Pudding
Pille from Mani-Mani with Rye bread toasts with chocolate, strawberries and lime
Shafeena from With My Eyes Closed with Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding
Mike from Spikey Mikeys with Chocolate French Toast with Berry syrup & Lime Cream
Alessio from Recipe Taster with Chocolate, Butter, Strawberries and an unexpected guest
Ishay from Food and the Fabulous with Dark Chocolate Creme Mille Feuille with Raspberries and Lime Zest Brittle
Ilva from Lucillian Delights with Marbled Chocolate Focaccia With Cherries and Lime Sugar
Joanne from Eats Well With Others with Blackberry Lime Bread Pudding
Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog with Austrian Scheiterhaufen with a modern twist
Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen with Eggless Spiced Cranberry And Chocolate Bread Pudding
Mona at Wise Words who's entry Raspberry Bread Pudding with summer berries and lime whipped cream on a bed of chocolate sauce


  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Monday 13 June 2011

Paper Chef #58 Roundup

Welcome back to a slightly extended Paper Chef challenge. Being the first Paper Chef challenge for quite a few months it was decided to extend the deadline for entries by a few days.
This months ingredients were selected at random, & after screening for compatibility, the chosen ones were: Bread, Chocolate, Berries & Lime.
Quite an interesting combination with lots of possibilities.
So lets see who came up with what. In no particular order we have:


Karen from Prospect: The Pantry with Chocolate Bread Pudding with Lime Custard and Strawberries


Sarah from Simply Cooked with Lime and Goji Berry Quick Bread with White Chocolate Drizzle


Jamie from Life's A Feast with Sweet Focaccia with Strawberries macerated in Lime Juice and topped with Chocolate Ganache


Jenn from Jenn Cuisine with Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding, Gluten Free


Simone from Junglefrog Cooking with Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse and Eggy Bread


Daniela from Hysteria Lane with Summer Pudding


Pille from Mani-Mani with Rye bread toasts with chocolate, strawberries and lime


Shafeena from With My Eyes Closed with Chocolate Berry Bread Pudding but with no picture of the creation


Mike from Spikey Mikeys with Chocolate French Toast with Berry syrup & Lime Cream


Alessio from Recipe Taster with Chocolate, Butter, Strawberries and an unexpected guest


Ishay from Food and the Fabulous with Dark Chocolate Creme Mille Feuille with Raspberries and Lime Zest Brittle


Ilva from Lucillian Delights with Marbled Chocolate Focaccia With Cherries and Lime Sugar


Joanne from Eats Well With Others with Blackberry Lime Bread Pudding


Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog with Austrian Scheiterhaufen with a modern twist


Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen with Eggless Spiced Cranberry And Chocolate Bread Pudding

And one final entry from Mona at Wise Words who's entry Raspberry Bread Pudding with summer berries and lime whipped cream on a bed of chocolate sauce got lost in internet space.


So there we have our 15 16 entries. It always amazes me the no two are ever alike! This month's judging will be done my the Paper Chef hosts, but from next month the judging will be done by the previous winner.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

The Ingredients! UPDATED: extended deadline!

Hope everyone is as excited as I am, its time for the first Paper Chef of the year!
As stated in an earlier post, the ingredients will be randomly selected by the host, & checked to make sure that they aren't too ridiculous of a combination. In the current list we have 103 ingredients & this list will keep growing as more are suggested.
So, time to find out what the random number generator selected for this month's challenge:

Bread
Chocolate
Berries
Lime

As its the first Challenge in awhile we'll have one of the co-hosts judge & select the winner, after that we'll revert back to having the previous month's winner as judge.
Email us (paperchef AT gmail DOT com) the link to your entry sometime before midnight your time on Tuesday June 7th  Friday 10th (just this once), or if you don't have your own blog, send us the recipe and photos they will be posted here.
Good luck & lets get creative!

Saturday 14 May 2011

We're Back!

After a slightly longer than expected break, the Paper Chef is back!
There's been a bit of brain storming during the break & there are some changes to the Paper Chef challenge with the aim of keeping it interesting.
First up, the creator of the Paper Chef, Owen, is back on board as one of the hosts, along with Ilva & Mike. The three of us will rotate as the monthly host of the challenge.
Next, we welcome & encourage you to keep submitting your idea's & suggestions for ingredients and themes, whether as comments or via email (paperchefATgmailDOTcom). From this list, the host will then select the three random ingredients & either a fourth ingredient or a theme. Having the host select the ingredients will ensure that they are reasonably compatible, not too obscure, and posted on here in a timely fashion.
& Finally, judging. This will remain as it always has, with the previous month's challenge winner selecting the new winner & posting there choice on their blog.
If you have any thoughts or ideas, please let us know.
There's a couple of weeks till the first challenge, so please start sending in your ingredients!