Welcome! Are you a subscriber? Click here to receive my weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
Could this be the winning Saucy Mama Recipe?
Barhyte Specialty Foods AKA Saucy Mama invited me to enter an original recipe in their 2014 Food Blogger Recipe Contest. The winning recipe creator will be headed to the 2014 WORLD FOOD CHAMPIONSHIPS –only the largest food competition in the world- in Las Vegas!
Remember- I was a judge at WFC in 2013 in the sandwich and dessert categories (read all about that HERE)
But now it is my turn to try my hand at food competitions. Taking in all that I learned from last year- what worked, what is a waste of time, what is overkill- I set about to creating TWO recipes. One that was more traditional that I would serve to any guest and the other one that would stand out in a crowd.
The problem is that the super cool one that I created was a little too close to what I found out later another competitor created. So I am sharing the recipe because it is fantastic (yes I am bragging) but it is not the one I am entering.
One thing I took away from judging in the sandwich category, the category my recipe will fit into, was that many people there really over did it. A mish mash of flavors, they were messy or didn’t hold up well. On the flip side I tasted a few that were beautiful specimens yet tasted very- one note. One of my favorites was made with fresh bread made in kitchen stadium and had an asparagus slaw that was the single most unique feature I saw that day.
Some of my best meals are those that are simply made with few ingredients. So to make it contest winner worthy I picked something that I loved, chicken salad, and gave it a spin. Why not warm? Why not serve it warm and in a puffed pastry- turnover style?
So that’s what I did.
Is it simple? Yes.
Is it easy to make and perfect for company? Yes.
But is it delicious and enough to wow the judges at World Food? Most definitely.
You may have a bit of filling left over. That is ok. Store in the refrigerator in a container for later enjoyment ????
Ingredients
- 1 box of puffed pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm) both rolls, thawed
- 1 lb of chicken, cooked and cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 C of red grapes, sliced in half
- 3/4 C of diced celery
- 1/2 C chopped walnuts
- 3 green onions, trimmed and sliced
- 10 oz of a 12 oz bottle of Saucy Mama Honey Dijon
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 TB water
- 1 TB of grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with Silpat or parchment.
- In a large bowl toss together chicken, grapes, walnuts, green onions and dressing.
- Lay out each roll of puff pastry.
- Make sure it isn’t coming apart at the seams.
- Cut each sheet into even fourths (4 squares).
- Place a small amount (roughly 1/2 C) of filling in the center of each square.
- Fold in half diagonally and pinch seams together.
- Blend beaten egg, water and Parmesan cheese together.
- Brush on each finished puff.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until browned.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes then serve warm.
