Masterchefs : Cooking Challenge

Okay, ignore the title. Masterchefs? Nowhere near, in fact, let's rename it to "cooking enthusiasts". I give us an A+ for effort however, lots of area to improve on. First and foremost, buy the right ingredients.

I would consider my household to be traditional Vietnamese, that is, my kitchen has no "western" utensils. Be sure to find plenty of chopsticks and woks etc in the kitchen however, a teaspoon, measuring cup and so forth are still myths and legends and we have a long way to go before I can start experimenting with recipes. Thus, I am extremely glad a few girl friends and I are occasionally holding these random (albeit fun) "cooking day" whereby we select certain recipes and attempt to replicate them. Today was our second cook off and I would proudly say it was a success :)

On the Menu:
1. Pea and Prosciutto soup (with sourdough bread on the side)
2. Dukkah-crusted salmon (served with asparagus and garlic rice)
3. Apple Strudel
4. Macaroons

The soup and salmon recipes are courtesy of Good Taste Magazine (Woolworths) and the apple strudel's recipe is from www.taste.com.au

Here are some images from today's cook off:

The grocery shopping - $110 roughly all up

Masterchef Kat preparing the soup - stirring the leek and prosciutto

Masterchef Ayie preparing the macaroons

The salmon (fillet) after crusted with the dukkah and ready to go into the oven

Blending the peas + ingredients for the soup

The apple mixture (caster sugar, granny smith apples, cinnamon) for the strudel

Masterchef Charmy preparing the pastry for the strudel (breadcrumb and olive oil spray)

Steaming the asparagus

The final product of the soup and salmon :)

The apple strudel with vanilla ice cream (icing sugar on top)