Hog Heaven

Earlier this week, a group of us from work were asked to partake in an off-site "team building' exercise. Normally, I don't get too excited about these sort of things (because they don't usually live up to my expectations), but when I heard we would be cooking, I was jazzed!

The place was called The Art of Entertaining in Madison. There were about 20 of us, and at one point in the day, we broke into four teams and had an Iron Chef competition.

We had to use a table of ingredients to come up with a spring roll and dipping sauce that would be judged on taste, originality, and plating. And we had to make enough for everyone else to taste. We only had an hour. This 'foodie' was in hog heaven!

Half of our team worked on the filling for the spring roll, while the other half worked on several different dipping sauces. We had the time to come up with about four different flavors to determine which would go best with the roll (a spicy mex filling with black beans and veggies).

When the decision had to be made, my sauce was chosen. I called it "Cinnamon Kiwi Salsa". Okay...it wasn't actually a dipping sauce. but my teammates loved it. Fresh diced tomatoes and kiwi, honey, cinnamon, and a slight dash of pomegranate juice. It was delicious if I do say so myself.

Well, we didn't end up winning the competition. We lost to a surprisingly delicious dessert spring roll that was filled with 'air' (don't ask). But, as we've all been taught, it's not whether you win or loose, but how you play the game. And we were playing to win, so it was a bummer all around. Seriously, we had a blast and made some great dishes.

So, all I have to say is, if Bobby Flay ever does a Throwdown with spring roll sauces...you know where to find me.