Our Family Iron Chef Competition

My family is really into food.  We love the Food Network and we all like to try new dishes.  This year we held our first annual Iron Chef competition.  My dad found 4 "Secret" judges who decided on the secret ingredient.  Then the day of the competition one of the judges called each of us at our allotted time (leaving all of us 2 hours to plan, shop, and cook).  The ingredient was: Asiago Cheese!  It was kind of exciting sitting by the phone around 2:30 and waiting for the call.  Judging time was 5:00 for everyone, but since we live about 30 min. away they took our driving time into consideration.

As soon as we got the call oh how the ideas started popping in our heads.  We immediately went to the internet, but that wasn't much help because of our time and the expense issue.  So collaboratively, we came up with: Chicken medallions layered with prosciutto, rosemary infused asiago cheese, bread crumbs, then served with an Asiago/ Sun-dried tomato sauce. 

Frank grating the cheese

Yummy!

Since this was a family event we got the kids involved.  Here they are showcasing our Panko bread crumbs (thank you, "Next Food Network Star")

They all took a turn pounding out our chicken medallions.

Frank making the cheese sauce from scratch (all by himself)

The Six Dishes:

Barbecued chicken salad pita, served with fresh cilantro and lots of Asiago cheese.  This got the "Most Tickling of the Taste Bud" award.

Homemade sausage and asiago cheese pizza.

Chicken medallions with prosciutto and lots of asiago on top and in the sauce (our little take on an open-faced chicken cordon bleu)- 1st place!

Whole wheat pasta (cooked perfectly might I add) with homemade Asiago sauce.  This got "The Healthiest Choice" award.

Asiago and artichoke heart stuffed mushrooms (this was 2nd place by only a 1/2 point)

Homemade crepes stuffed with asiago cheese and asparagus- topped with a caramelized onions and sauteed mushroom sauce.  This was the "Most Restaurant Quality" award.

These are the judges- if you notice the name tags say, "Paula, Giada, Bobby, and Rachael"- just a few of our Food Network favorites.

Prizes from the Gourmet Food store by my mom and dad's house.  

The audience waiting and watching the judges.

First place prize- Pomegranate Syrup!

It was a super fun day!