June gathering

The 20th Ragamuffin Cooking Club is hereby announced!

This will be quite a new adventure for the club... we are embarking on a two-month IRON CHEF Competition. Boys vs. Girls.

Theme: Iron Chef - Boys' Night... the ingredient is blackberries
Date & Time: Saturday, June 16, 6:30pm
Place: Chad & Karen's

The RULES:

• Girls cannot participate on Boys' Night and vice versa. Each team must select their menu, organize planning and preparation. I simply send reminders!
• The meals must be done by 6:30pm. Some dishes can be prepared in advance, but at least part of the meal must be made on-site together as a team. The team must make enough food for the entire club as well as the three judges - if EVERYONE attends, that would be a maximum of 20 people.
• The team can arrange to arrive at club HQ (Chad & Karen's house) anytime in advance in order to prepare their meal. They can also bring any equipment needed. (You can email me to inquire what equipment we have.)
• The other team is welcome to attend early to watch the preparation. Also, I will try to DVR some Iron Chef America episodes for us to watch while waiting. :)
• The Iron Chef ingredient must be used in at least 4 "courses" including the main dish - this can be beverages, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, etc. Other dishes may accompany. For example, if you don't use the ingredient in the beverages, bring something to drink!
• We will have guest judges! The show uses three so we will aim to have the same number. The judges must be willing to attend both club gatherings in order to judge fairly. We have a few in mind, I will let you know if we need more suggestions.
• The meals will be judged on a 20-point scale as in the show. Judges will each rate up to 10 points for taste, 5 points for presentation (this one may be revised) and 5 points for originality. The higher score wins.

Derby Dining

Rebekah making mint juleps

The group eating outside
Jess makin' bacon!
John is still hungry
Afterwards, we played some ping pong in the back

Derby Dining

Chad, Jess & Michael enjoying the pie

Derby pie
More derby pie
Christy, Rachel & Jess
Michael getting ready to take a plate

Derby Dining

Southern-style green beans

Biscuits
Derby recipe ideas
Corn pudding
Brooklyn & Jill

Derby delights

Yum. It was a delightful evening of southern-style and Kentucky Derby fare! And with the advent of summer, we were able to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine and outdoor ping-pong. What could be more fun? We enjoyed:

• mint juleps from Rebekah & Michael
• biscuits from Rachel
• hot browns from Karen & Chad
• creamed corn from Jill & Jonathan
• green beans from Jess & her cousin Christy
• derby pie from Phil & Rose

And amazingly, I forgot to get any pictures of the hot browns! Whoops! Since we made them assembly-line style, it slipped my mind. Sorry folks. I guess I will have to recreate them sometime.