Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Food Face-Off, Christensen Family Reunion

This is a photo of our winning dish, Kickin' Chicken Quesadillas with homemade Pico, and Lime-in-da-Coconut Tropical Salad (coconut on the side to please the majority). Recipe at the bottom of this post.

We had a great time at the Christensen Family Reunion. This year, Steve volunteered us to plan the menu using a "Throwdown"-type technique, a successful food competition that has been used at various Lauret family functions. What a blast we had! We called it the Family Food Face-Off and assigned, at random, different siblings (and their families) to compete against one another. Additionally, we had a crazy-cool Kid's Choice Dessert Bar that loaded us all with a year's worth of sugar. Every morsel was memorable and delicious, and the participation was tremendous from everyone. A great big thank you goes out to our loved ones who all brought their "A" game. Steve's sister, Elinn, made a nice slideshow featuring all the food that was presented. You've got to see it. Follow the link below to her website.


Recipes:

Kicken Chicken Quesadilla with Homemade Pico
Makes 8 Quesadillas, serves 16 (1/2 quesadilla per person)

Ingredients:
1 lb. Chicken tenders
6-8 Tomatoes, diced finely
2 Green Bell Peppers, diced finely
1/2 White Onion, diced finely
Salt and Pepper
1-2 Fresh Limes
1/4 c.- 3/4 c. Winger's Amazin' Sauce
1lb. Mexican-blend shredded cheese (or use colby-jack)
16 Tortillas
Non-stick Olive Oil Spray (we used Crisco brand)

Place chicken tenders in a pot fill the pot with water just until it covers the chicken. Over med-hi heat, bring the chicken to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is boiling, you can prepare the pico. Dice the tomatoes, peppers, and onion finely and combine in a bowl with the juice from the lime and salt and pepper, to your liking.

Drain the chicken and cool it just enough so you can handle it. Shred or chop the chicken, the smaller the chunks, the better. Place the chopped chicken in a bowl and drizzle Amazin' Sauce all over it. The more you pour the spicier it will be. We chose to do a less spicy version at the reunion, probably 1/4 cup.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F, or griddle to medium heat, whichever you're using. Assemble the quesadillas by spraying one side of a tortilla with non-stick olive-oil spray and laying it sprayed-side down on either a griddle or a baking sheet. Layer the following atop the tortilla: a good sprinkle cheese, a layer of kickin' chicken, a few spoonfuls of pico, and another layer of cheese. Top with the other tortilla and spray the top. If using a griddle, flip the quesadilla after the tortilla on the bottom is golden and the cheese is melted. If using baking sheets, you won't need to flip the quesadillas, they'll be done when the tortilla on top is golden, around 10 minutes. Serve with leftover pico.

Lime in da Coconut Tropical Salad
Serves 30

Ingredients:
2 pineapples, peeled, cored, and sliced into chunks
8 ripe kiwis, skinned and sliced into 1/2 circles
Juice from 2-3 limes
1/2 pkg. Flaked Coconut

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except coconut. Before serving, sprinkle with coconut, or serve it on the side.

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