Because we're addicted to Top Chef, we like to think of every cooking event as a Top Chef challenge. Maybe the challenge is something like come up with 3 vegetarian dishes for a picnic dinner and prepare them all in 30 minutes, or maybe it requires more creativity, like invent a cupcake to compliment these beautiful new sprinkles from the Italian Market. This weekend, our challenge was ... (da da da daaa) ... catering wars!
Now if you watch Top Chef, you understand that any challenge with "wars" in the title is not to be taken lightly. On wedding wars this season, the contestants had to stay up all night to cater for a wedding the next day! Our experience wasn't that crazy since we were able to sleep, and we were obviously only one team (go TFA!), but it was intense nonetheless. We accepted the challenge of cooking for Alex's 80-person graduation party in Connecticut, which occurred on Sunday. We spent three days in the kitchen, working diligently on salads, meat marinades, appetizers and desserts. We're proud to announce that we each received our first knife blister.
For dessert alone, we made over 300 cookies (these yummies and some amazing chocolate ones that I'll post later this week), two enormous bowls of vanilla mint fruit salad, and debuted our newest favorite dessert: chocolate covered rice crispy treats. Alex's Colombian grandmother, who makes the best homemade arepas and empanadas ever, reported that these treats were the most delicious things she has tasted in her entire life. They were so simple and fun, and we're already brainstorming about when we can make them again. Feel free to experiment with toppings, and let us know if you come up with any great ones!
Ingredients:
1 box rice crispy cereal
3 tbsp butter
1 bag marshmallows (about 40)
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bag mini m&m's
1 bag heath bits
1 bag sweetened coconut
Instructions:
Make rice crispy treats as directed on the box (melt butter in a large pot, add marshmallows, then cereal and stir). Allow them to cool, then cut them into small rectangles. Melt a bowl chocolate chips in the microwave by heating chips for one minute at a time then stirring until chocolate is fully melted. Dip rice crispy treat sticks into chocolate, and place onto parchment paper. Sprinkle with m&m's, heath bits or coconut. Allow chocolate to harden in a cool place, then serve.
