Paper Chef #8 The holiday edition roundup…

It’s time to round up the Paper Chef entries once again. As usual, the quality of entries is amazingly high and Sarah has a difficult time on her hands coming up with a winner and any other awards she wants. We also got a wave of highly innovative fusion entrants this time around. And I’m beginning to wish I had some way of enabling entrants to let me taste everything. I wonder if I made that a rule how many people would pack their dish in dry ice and express courier it next day to me? Hmmm…

First to finish – yet again – and taking only one and a half out of the eleven days allowed is Jennifer of Taste Everything Once with her simple but great-looking Warm Spinach, Cremini, and Kalamata Salad with Creamy White Cheddar Dressing.

After our first entry, though, we suddenly found out what happens in the Paper Chef if you give people a bit more time. Not that they all take it mind you. 2 Minute Noodle Chef of An Electronic Restaurant debuted in the Paper Chef with a completely amazing array of fusion dishes: Wasabi spinach ice cream with cashew & cheese wafers, olive & coriander salsa and an olive-spinach mandarine lassi shooter!

We had lots of newbies this time around – next up was Stephen of What’s For Dinner? with a delicious and beautifully photographed Spinach / Cheddar Tart with Eggplant, Roasted Tomatoes and Olive Cream.

Next up was Rachael of Fresh Approach Cooking with her Spinach Souffle and Tapanade-Whipped Potato Timbale with Red Olive Relish. She also gave us the cooking school graduates name for the same dish – Vintage Irish Cheddar and Fresh Spinach Souffle, and Nyon Olive Tapanade-Whipped Potato Timbale On a Potato Galette, Topped with Spicy Red Olive-Hazelnut Relish, and Garnished with a White Cheddar Frica and Fried Spinach Leaves!

Next up is Sylvie of Soul Fusion Kitchen who really turned things around with a hearty and true-to-name Cuban Style Pressed Sandwich with Spinach, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Olive Tapanade served on a French Bread Loaf with a side of Potato Chips. She said it was tasty and it certainly looks that way! Better than what I get to eat for lunch, that’s for sure!

Yet another first timer came from Ann of redacted recipes who was inspired by a dish from Le Tableau in New York and came up with Spinach and Olive Cigars with Cheddar Fondue.

Our fourth or fifth first time entrant (I’m losing count here) was J of KUIDAORE who presented (and photographed beautifully) a Cheese & Crema di Olive Nere Torte on Cheddar Shortbread with A Salad of Ratte Potatoes, Baby Spinach and Prosciutto.

Pille of Nami-Nami, YAN (Yet Another Newbie), entered a wonderful looking hors d’oeuvre or canape, Potato shortcrust cases with Cheddar cheese, topped with garlicky spinach and olive filling.

Now we switch gears just a little. I put these little overviews together by going through the entries from the comments section of Tomatilla! first, then the emailed entries. So now we switch back in time to Stef of stefoodie.net, one of our previous entrants (making her a rarity this time around) with her Stefoodie’s Hearty Breakfast Skillet with Black Olive Hollandaise.

Now we turn to the would-be-late-if-we-cared-about-things-like-that entries. Martin of Serial Griller entered a Belated Roasted Pepper, Spinach and Olive Quiche. But he had good excuses involving the end of the academic year and a girlfriend and a ball (no – not that kind – the dancing kind!) so we totally forgive him. And since our judge was even later with her ‘entry’ for reasons that also include a love interest, she can’t really take issue now, can she?

But Martin still beat out deccanheffalump (what an amazing nom-de-plume) of The Cooks Cottage (one of a wonderful new set of Indian food blogs that have sprouted up recently) with her innovative fusion Olive and Spinach Surprise: Alu Palak bonda.

Our final ‘entry’ comes from the judge herself, Sarah of The Delicious Life. She entered a Creamy Spinach, Olive, and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche in a Cheddar Crust along with her posting that blamed her tardiness on Blogger and photo posting issues but still somehow managed to drag in her ‘friend’ from last time around – why does he come visit when the Paper Chef is on? Does she want us to make the Paper Chef every two weeks or every two months now?

That’s a total of twelve – if I missed someone, please leave a comment here or email me at the address on the top left and I’ll add you ASAP.