April Challenge Rollout from Giada BeKiddingme

Believe it or not, April is already here! As much fun as we had with the March challenges, the ladies all came to a concensus yesterday that four challenges is a bit too ambitious for all of us working mommies. Cooking is fun but hard to squeeze in some days so we wanted to change the structure of the Cook Club to make it a little easier to manage. Therefore Betty Focker and I will challenge in the even months and Olive Oyl and Sue Scheff will take the odds.

To make it a little more interesting, we started a monthly poll that will give 1 chef each month some bragging rights. You can choose which chef wins based on how many challenges they completed, how well their dishes appeared to turn out, or if you just found their witty commentary to be most entertaining. It's whatever, just be sure to vote!

So let's get this month started with my challenge: Risotto from scratch!

I am a passionate follower of Chef Gordon Ramsay. So much so that my husband thinks he is my celebrity crush. Maybe he is, I'll never tell! Let's just say I love his ability to be so direct with people. I wish more people in life would just tell you what they are really thinking rather than trying to sugar coat everything. Anyway, I digress. If you've watched him, you've heard about the qualities that comprise a perfect risotto. It is one of the first things he teaches his chefs and it is something I've never made at home before. Considering how intimidating Ramsay can be, I think making a risotto from scratch is quite a challenge and I look forward to trying it out this month. Luckily, none of us will have to have Chef Ramsay taste it!

Can't wait to see what type of risotto you choose and how it turns out.

Smoochies!
Giada

Katie's March Challenge #1 Result - Roasted Chicken

Okay, I pulled out the big ole' roasting pan that I've only used once before at some holiday. I decided to do a twist of Glamour Magazine's "Engagement Chicken".

1 whole roasting chicken

2 lemons

lemon juice

salt & pepper

garlic powder

potatoes

carrots

onions

I poured about 1/2 cup of lemon juice over the chicken, the stuff two whole lemons inside the chicken cavity. I applied a heavy dose of salt and pepper and garlic powder over the chicken. I put the chicken breast side down on the roasting rack. I then cut up large chunks of potatoes, onions and carrots and spread over the bottom of the pan. I put the chicken into a preheated oven at 450 degrees, then turned it down to 350 degrees. After about 15 minutes, I took the chicken out and flipped him over, breast side up. I then cooked for another hour or so. My chicken was STILL not done, so you definitly have to go by the temperature of the chicken, not the timer.

When it was done, it looked like this. I served with the veggies on the bottom. It was delish. We used the leftover chicken the following night on top of a salad. Delish.

March Challenge #3: Giada BeKiddingme

Well ladies, yet again there is snow in my backyard. Apparently spring is nowhere in sight! So to help warm me up after the latest wintry mix, please take one of your family's favorite recipes and adapt it for my crockpot. Because there is nothing like coming home at the end of a long cold day to the aroma of a yummy dinner that is cooked and ready to eat! And definitely post recipes and pictures when complete.

Giada