September 2003 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Ken Hulme

Sour cream makes quick and easy white sauces for meat, seafood or vegetable dishes. Sear/grill the entree; deglaze the pan with wine, broth or plain water; add sour cream plus additional liquid, fresh herbs and spices to create interesting and delicious sauces.

Pork Loin Dijon In a skillet brown pork loin pieces. Remove meat and keep warm. Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup chicken broth or bouillon cube in water. Add a half cup of sour cream and whisk in broth to thin. Add 3-4 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard and continue whisking to mix. Reduce heat and cook until sauce comes to desired consistency. Plate meat and vegetables and top with sauce.

Curried Shrimp Shell and clean a pound of shrimp. Dust shrimp with chili powder. Grill shrimp without oil, in a non-stick skillet, 2 minutes maximum. Remove shrimp. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth or bouillon cube and water. Add 1/2 cup sour cream. Add 2 tablespoons curry paste (not the ubiquitous "curry powder") and whisk to mix. Add 1 cup frozen peas and return shrimp to pan. Simmer five minutes. Serve over rice or pasta.

Other possibilites - dill sour cream sauce for salmon steaks, basil sour cream sauce for fried tomatoes and scallops.

Ken Hulme

Prize:

• Cooking tips:
  Chocolate Chardonnay Raspberry Dessert Topping
  Cuisine Perel

September 2003 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Chris

My 13 year old daughter had decided to cook dinner. She was making a beautiful roast beef dinner, with gravy and yorkshire puddings. I was so excited to come home for her dinner. When I opened the door I could smell the roast beef cooking, it smelled so good! I couldn't resist checking it and taking a little taste. I pulled out the rack, and stirred around the juices in the bottom of the pan, thinking, wow!... look at all the gravy this is going to make....as I stirred, my fork hit something thick. I then pulled it out and found the white plastic tray they put on the bottom of the roasts when packaging them. She didn't realize that you had to pull that off. I had to laugh my head off and tell her, only my daughter would do that! (I am also having disasters like this all the time)

Chris

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters:
  Truffle & Porcini Pasta
  Cuisine Perel

Previous Winners

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