Chubby Chicks Iron Chef (kind of) Cook Off

This is my (Susan's) first blog post. How exciting! Like Shannon said, we made this blog not only about what makes us chubby...the food...but also everyday things we're interested in. If you look closely at our Profile on Twitter...You'll see that [I think] we cleverly came up with the State, "Arkansutah" because we are in two different states. Our mom lives in the Dallas area and recently, we had the opportunity to go for a visit when we could all be there for about a week. Originally, I went out there to shoot my first wedding (It was scary at first! But I will save that story for another day) but I decided to stay for an extra week afterward while my husband went back to work so I could spend time with my sister and mom.



Shannon and I had our own version of an Iron Chef competition last Summer when I went out for a visit. This time we simplified it and basically had a Macaroni & Cheese Cook-Off. We have always judged based on Presentation, Creativity, and Taste.

My mom just wanted to wing it....and we were impressed! She used a whole wheat macaroni, cream cheese, heavy cream, every kind of cheese she had in her fridge and a ridiculous amount of celery seed (we have no idea what possessed her to do that) then baked it in a Le Creuset casserole dish to make it look FANcy.  It actually wasn't too bad.




Shannon of course is on a cupcake kick and baked her macaroni in a muffin tin complete with cupcake liners! We both shared an aged sharp cheddar (delicious!) that she used to make a cheese sauce, then added caramelized onions and shredded carrots and zucchini.  Each cupcake was topped with bread crumbs, cheddar and bacon sprinkles. She called it Funfetti Mac & Cheese Cupcakes.




I decided to go with a Spicy Chipotle Mac & Cheese. I used mini bow tie pasta I baked mine in mini loaf pans with some green chillies and tomatoes. I make a cheese sauce with heavy cream, pepper jack cheese, and the cheddar. I added a little egg white to hold it all together in the pan. I added some of our favorite, lightly seasoned Julio's Tortilla chips.  It tasted like a really cheesy enchilada.



In the end, after we had two special judges, David (Mom's husband) & Steve (Shannon's husband).  To maintain fairness, we didn't let the guys know who cooked what.  Shannon got first place, I got second place, and Mom took third. It was a great way to end our visit together. We talked a little smack...this is a new tradition I hope will continue :) Have you had an "Iron Chef"-esque competition? Comment to share what you've done!