Four couples from Tucson, AZ meet to share their culinary talents. What will become a monthly cook-off starts at the home of Ann & Jason with an Olympic themed dinner.

Let the Games Begin!

Swiss Cheese Fondue:  Heather & Eric

The Olympic Torch was lit with an amazing display of melted Swiss cheese... let's just say we were lucky we still had room for dinner after this one!

 3rd Place Winner:  Culinary Couples Year One - Best Appetizer!








Recipe:
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
2 cups shredded Emmentaler cheese
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbs kirsch
Dash white pepper
Pinch grated nutmeg
French bread, cut in cubes
Apple slices

Rub inside of fondue pot with cut garlic clove.

Pour in wine and lemon juice; cook over medium heat until bubbly.  Turn heat to low and gradually stir in cheeses with a wooden spoon.

In a small bowl blend cornstarch with kirsch.  Blend into cheese and continue to cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is thick and smooth.  Do not allow fondue to boil.  Season with white pepper and nutmeg.  Serve with bread cubes and apples.  Makes 4 servings.

French Wine & Pellegrino:  Katie & Denis

Sadly, we were too busy drinking to remember to take pictures!  Katie & Denis brought some delicious red & white varieties from France as well as some well-needed Sunday night Pellegrino!


French Dip Sandwiches, Olympic Onion Rings & Waldorf Salad:  Ann & Jason

Luckily our guests were kept busy with Heather & Eric's Swiss Cheese Fondue while we scrambled to batter our Olympic Onion Rings.... we definitely didn't anticipate the level of mess on this one!

After quite a bit of effort and a lot of clean up the Olympic Onion Rings did not disappoint!

  Voila - Dinner is Served!

Recipes:

French Dip Sandwiches:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Slow-Cooker-French-Dip/Detail.aspx

I followed others advice and added onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce to the meat.  We used good ol' Session beer.  And we cut the meat and put it back in the juices for an hour or so to let it soak up the flavor before serving.  We also added provolone cheese to the rolls before baking.

Olympic Onion Rings:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Old-Fashioned-Onion-Rings/Detail.aspx

To make these healthier we baked them instead of frying them.  Preheat the oven to 400 and bake for about 20 minutes.

Waldorf Salad:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Waldorf/Detail.aspx

Bananas Foster:  Ryan & MJ

To make sure the Olympic Torch was appropriately carried throughout the whole games, we finished how we started - with fire!

We were glad we saved room for dessert!!!

The first Olympic Games were a huge success!  Thanks to all the Culinary Couples for making this happen!

1st Place Winner:  Culinary Couples Year One - Best Dessert!







Recipe:
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/bananas-foster-2/