Merry Christmas! Once again we had our Annual Christmas Cook Off – This tradition started out as a fun way to get everyone’s involvement in meal preparation when we rented a cottage near Traverse City, MI, between Christmas and New Years a few years back. Throw in some prize money and everyone loved the idea.
‘This years cook off had each couple prepare three dishes, typically an appetizer, entrée and a dessert, but not required. We kicked it up a notch this year and added a theme/specialty drink from each of the teams. After all the dishes are prepared (sort of, some still in preparation) each type of dish would be presented by all the teams to the other participants and voted on for taste/aroma and appearance/presentation. Leigh’s mom (Grandma) did not participate in the preparation, but was a highly sought after vote in the competition.
The voting was done after all dishes and drinks were tasted. We have a slightly over complicated score sheet, that is then entered into a spreadsheet and tabulated to determine the winner for each category and the overall winner. This year, it was yet another close competition with the difference in scoring being less than five points between 1st place and 4th.
Enough talk… here are some pictures of the dishes and all of us enjoying Christmas Eve 2018 together.
The Teams
The Appetizer Round!
N&L – Empanada with Chorizo & Potato – 1st Place Appetizer! 
T&E – Pupusitas 
J&A – Roasted Red Pepper & Pesto Hummus & Tirokafteri (Greek Feta Cheese Dip) 
T&L – Tarte Flambee
The Entrée Round
J&A – Home Ravioli & Marinara Sauce – 1st Place Entrée 
T&L – Boeuf (Beef) Bourguignon 
N&L – Bistec Con Pimient (Peppered Beef), Tortellini w/Manchego Cream Sauce 
T&E – Chiles Rellenos
Dessert Time!
T&L – Crème Brûlée – 1st Place Dessert! 
J&A – Croatian Flan – w/ Raspberry Sauce 
N&L – Quesada Pasiega w/ Pistachio Brittle & Pomegranate Bourbon Drizzle! 
T&E – Cuban Sandwich, Deconstructed & Assembled atop Focaccia (Oops, not a dessert, but very delicious!)
Specialty Theme Drink!
N&L – Pomegranate Bourbon Sangria, 1st Place Specialty Drink! 
T&E – Crema de Vie! (Cuban Egg Nog) 
T&L – Kir Royal 
J&A – Spiked Italian Soda
We hope that you enjoyed this post and we will be sharing some of these recipes in the weeks and months to come. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!