![Cookery comp kicks off Cookery comp kicks off](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-agfeed/2079609.jpg/r0_0_1024_683_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
MOVE over Masterchef - The Land's very own foodie fight kicked off yesterday - and as it's Bacon Week, the theme ingredient was an obvious choice.
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Staff at The Land’s North Richmond site will go head to head each week in the first round of this in-house cookery competition.
A different ingredient is picked for each heat and that ingredient must feature in the dish, which is served at morning tea. Fellow staff members then vote for their preferred dish with the winner moving on to the next round.
In a closely fought battle yesterday deputy editor Jenna Cairney won the first heat by just one vote. Here's how the first round of competitors fared - read the recipes below:
Click on these photos for more pictures of the making of the Oink-tray
Winner: Oink-tray
Oink-tray of salted bacon caramels, bacon chocolate truffles and bacon, whisky marshmallow rocky road
There’s always somebody who goes a bit overboard and after taking the Friday off to prepare for the Monday competition, it was clear that The Land deputy editor Jenna Cairney meant business.
“I wouldn’t say I was competitive but I’d be telling porkies if I said I didn’t like winning,” Jenna said.
“The truth is, I’m not a very good cook, so I figured if I just put in heaps of effort I’d attract a sympathy vote.
“And what better way of masking my mediocrity in the kitchen than pulling out the paper mache?”
All through Thursday night, Friday night and even some of Saturday night, Jenna’s unit rumbled with the faint mutterings of profanities as yet another batch of caramel was tipped out - interrupted only by the occasional screech at the television in support of Uruguay in the World Cup game against England.
Scattered across the dining table were hot pink limbs of half assembled piggy banks as Jenna, through the fog of a couple of cab savs, tried desperately to remember how to paper mache egg cartons onto glass.
The results were mixed.
While The Land staff seemed bemused by the effort, Jenna is now trying to repair her relationship with her partner, who is refusing to live through the debacle again in round two.
"Oh I don't care about that," Jenna said,
"I just hope I haven't peaked too soon."
Runner-up: Bacon dip
When Jacqui Paynter received the email last Thursday informing her she would be competing in the first heat against what felt like "more accomplished" cooks in the kitchen, Jac was nervous.
Not only was Jac completely booked out over the weekend but still needed to produce a winning recipe first thing Monday morning!
"I'm not the first to say my results in the kitchen are questionable, so with the fear of my colleagues possibly falling ill at my expense, and lack of time, I went with a savoury take on bacon".
After a quick lap of the supermarket at 7pm Sunday night, Jac said a prayer for her dish and set the alarm for 6.20am Monday morning.
She quite literally mashed the ingredients together before heading into work, with nobody around to taste test the result.
"In the beginning I was nervous, analysing every mouthful and facial expression that accompanied it from The Land staff but sometimes it pays off to keep it short and sweet - they were loving it!"
Bacon chocolate cupcakes
Advertising consultant Kerri Randall admits to having a competitive streak so she hit the iPad straight away for some inspiration.
“As I have always wanted to be on a reality show, this seemed perfect,” Kerri said.
“The research was easy – I 'Googled' interesting bacon recipes and up popped bacon chocolate cupcakes.
“It sounded delicious and something probably nobody had ever tasted - perhaps there was a good reason for that!
“My testers were three teenage boys who quickly demolished half, then the remainder went quickly at about 3am on Sunday thanks to my 18-year-old daughter and friends after a big night out.
“All was going well on Sunday and the mixture was just about to go in the oven when my helper – only there for moral support – licked the bowl and told me that it didn’t taste like chocolate.
“I had a quick taste and realised I had forgotten the sugar.
“Then I did actually feel like a contestant on Masterchef and could feel the tears coming.
“Like all good contestants, I pulled myself together and prepared another batch.
“This experience was like being on a reality show - so much so I can cross it off my bucket list!
"Unless there is a The Land singing competition, then I'll sign up again as I am much better at singing than cooking.”
- Follow our competitors' progress each week here and stay tuned for all the recipes.
Recipes
Bacon caramel truffles
Ingredients
8 rashers of bacon
Brown sugar
250g of dark chocolate
2/3 cup of sugar
4 tablespoons of water
3.4 cup of cream
Directions
Line a baking sheet with tin foil, lay strips of bacon on top and sprinkle over brown sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes until crispy (not burnt, thought it will turn quite dark.) Allow the bacon to cool then crumble and chop into small pieces.
Combine the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring the sugar to a boil over a medium to high heat (not too high or it will spit at you). Don’t stir but you can spin the pan to keep it moving. The caramel should turn amber (if you have a candy thermometer, heat the caramel to 315degF (157degC) - if like me, you don’t, guess and hope.) Remove the pan for the heat and carefully stir in the cream until it’s well combined then stir in the candied bacon, saving a bit for decorating the top.
Melt the chocolate and with a pastry brush paint it into the bottom and sides of small candy moulds. Pop it in the freezer for a couple of minutes to harden. Remove the moulds from the freezer then add some of the caramel into each mould but make sure you leave some space at the top. Pop them back in the freezer for a few minutes before coating the tops with another layer of melted chocolates to seal the truffles. Let them set then pop them out onto a plate and decorate the tops with candied bacon. I wrapped them up individually with cellophane and tied them with a bow to make them pretty.
Bacon dip
Ingredients
125g of cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
300ml sour cream
3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 spring onions, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
8 slices of bacon, trimmed, cooked and diced
Directions
Mix together sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, chopped onion, cheddar cheese, tomato and bacon in a bowl. Chill for two hours before serving.
Dark chocolate and bacon cupcakes
Ingredients
12 slices bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup cold, strong, brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.
Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and oil.
Stir just until blended. Mix in 3/4 of the bacon, reserving the rest for garnish.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in the pan set over a wire rack.
When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with your favourite chocolate frosting and sprinkle reserved bacon crumbles on top.
Dust with additional cocoa powder.