Fan Favorite but Not Enough to Win

Congratulations to my opponent Craig Brannan for winning Challenge One of the Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. This was a head-to-head cooking challenge for the best recipe using four mystery ingredients. The judges gave the win to the firehouse chef. If I had to lose to anyone I am glad it was to Craig. He can save your life in a fire as well as whip up a feast for hungry first responders!I am also grateful to all of you for voting for my recipe as Fan Favorite – just based on the picture and not tasting it!  My family members, who got to taste it, thought it would win for sure.

One judge said “the skirt steak looked incredible and it was a bold but rewarding move to bring the purple yams to the forefront”. I got praise on the creativity and a “perfectly cooked” skirt steak. One judge thought my dish was “very pretty”.

Overall that was not enough to win.  If I had to do it over, I would not “tuck away” one of the mystery ingredients in the dish and instead showcase it. In my recipe I put the black beans stuffed inside the bacon-wrapped onion. It would have been better to come up with another way to show them.  One judge commented that both recipes were too complicated for home cooks.  As you can see below, my recipe does have a lot of steps and ingredients.  My personal challenge will be to develop recipes that are more simple and easy to make. Yeah, right :-).

It was an honor to just get picked as one of the 16 home cooks. Now with this experience under my belt, the lessons learned, and Fan Favorite title under my belt, I am on to the next recipe – French Macarons!

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Vanilla Coke Grilled Skirt Steak with Mashed Purple Yams and Candied Bacon-Wrapped Onion Ring Stuffed with Spicy Black Beans

If you were given these four mystery ingredients - skirt steak, purple yams, vanilla extract and black beans - what would you make. This is the recipe I submitted to the Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge which won Fan Favorite.

Course Meat

Prep Time 3 hours

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes

Author Homemade Italian Cooking with Cara

Ingredients

Skirt Steak

• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds outer skirt steak
• 1 12 ounce bottle Coca-Cola Recommend Mexican Coca Cola made with real sugar cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon Organic Bourbon Madagascar Pure Extract Vanilla
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice freshly squeezed
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves smashed
• 2 teaspoons salt + 1 teaspoon for seasoning meat
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper + 1 teaspoon for seasoning the meat

Purple Yams

• 2 1 pound Okinawan Purple Yams
• 1 tablespoon Organic Bourbon Madagascar Pure Extract Vanilla
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Bacon-Wrapped Onion

• 1 large Vidalia Onion
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon extract vanilla
• 1 cup canned black beans drained, rinsed and mashed
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce season to taste
• 10 slices bacon

Instructions

To Make the Skirt Steak

• Season the skirt steak with the salt and pepper on both sides. Place the meat in a large zip lock bag.
• To make the marinade, combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Be sure the brown sugar is dissolved. Pour the marinade over the meat. Squeeze the air out of the zip lock bag, and seal. Mush the bag with your hands to ensure the marinade fully coats all part of the steak. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grate.
• Grill until charred, about 5 - 7 minutes per side for medium-rare depending how thick your skirt steak is. Be sure to sear and let the sugar char on the outside of the steak for maximum flavor.
• Transfer steak to a wood serving board; let rest for 5 minutes.
• Slice thin against the grain on a diagonal.

To make the Purple Yams

• Heat the oven to 400°F.
• Bake the yams on a baking sheet for 60 - 75 minutes until soft when gently squeezed. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Cut yams in half lengthwise. With a knife and fork, carefully separate the outer skins from the dark purple flesh. Toss the skins.
• Place the hot yam flesh, vanilla, butter and salt in a bowl and mash with a fork. Blend until the butter is melted and the flavors are combined.
• Serve molded or scooped with a spoon.

To Make the Bacon-wrapped onion

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and top with a wire rack.
• Place the brown sugar in a small bowl. Add the vanilla extract and mix so all sugar is coated. Let sit and absorb the flavor while you are wrapping the onions.
• Cut ends off Vidalia onion and peel the skins. Cut in half and remove the inner onion core. You should end up with two thick onion rings.
• Mix the Sriracha in the mashed beans and combine.
• Using your fingers, mold ½ cup of mashed beans on the inner curve and top of each onion ring.
• Carefully wrap 4-5 slices of bacon around the onion ring. Start with one slice and wrap around through the center. Start the second slice where the first ends, and continue until the whole onion if wrapped.
• Press and rub the vanilla brown sugar onto each bacon-wrapped onion on all sides.
• Poke a wooden skewer through the center of each onion to assist with lifting.
• Place the onion on the rack on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the bacon is brown and crispy.