quickfire

Photos of Rick Bayless vs. Michael Voltaggio at the 2010 Food & Wine Classic Quickfire
Top Chef

Quickfire Faceoff! Rick Bayless vs. Michael Voltaggio

The final Aspen Food & Wine event is the Classic Quickfire, a timed cooking competition between the most recent Top Chef winner and an acclaimed chef (such as Jacques Pepin).
by

The final Aspen Food & Wine event is the Classic Quickfire, a timed cooking competition between the most recent Top Chef winner and an acclaimed chef (such as Jacques Pepin). This year, Top Chef champion Michael Voltaggio was up against stiff competition: Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless!

Host Sissy Biggers announced the theme was "sexy vegetables." Just like on the show, the two contenders drew knives to determine their main ingredients: Rick drew "surf," which meant whole lobsters, while Michael took "turf," which equated to rack of lamb.

They were also given leftover ingredients from previous cooking demos to work with and one sous chef each (Michael's was the fun and feisty actress Allison Janney). Rick Bayless stunned the judges with a roasted tomatillo salsa-topped lobster and potato course; meanwhile, Michael Voltaggio wowed the crowd with his frozen sangria starter and seared lamb loin and eggplant crostini with tomato seed "caviar."

View 15 Photos ›

See the two chefs in action — and find out the winner of the quickfire! — when you read on.

Spanish Cream Cheese Canape Is a Quick One-Bite Wonder
Appetizers

Spanish Cream Cheese Canape Is a Quick One-Bite Wonder

Recently I participated in a "quickfire challenge."
by partysugar

Recently I participated in a "quickfire challenge." I was asked to concoct an amuse-bouche for 20 people. However, I didn't know anything about the group I was feeding, so the bite had to be vegetarian with universally liked ingredients. It had to be easily transportable, something that could be made in advance, and was representative of my cooking personality. The kitchen where I was to prepare the appetizer has a microwave and small toaster oven.After much deliberation, I finally decided to make these Spanish olive and cream cheese canapes because the three components — crisp toasts, a cream cheese mixture, and grated Parmesan cheese — were easy to prepare the night before the challenge. Luckily my hard work paid off: the final result was excellent! The one-bite toasts were crisp, salty, cheesy, and delicious. They would be a scrumptious start to a cocktail party or romantic dinner. Learn how to make them when you read more