food network style

So do you all remember this recipe that I made a few weeks ago?  That one that I absolutely loved and could not stop gushing over?  The one that I wanted to make for dinner like 10 nights straight?

yeah that one

Well I may have mentioned on here briefly, but I entered this recipe into a recipe contest at a local grocery store here and I found out about a week ago now that I was selected as a finalist.  That meant that I had to make my recipe in front of a panel of judges, Top Chef style.  The contest required that we make a pasta dish with their new Ultragrain pasta that was family friendly, and nutritious.  The pasta itself is delicious and whole grain without having the normal heavy texture of whole grain pasta.  You could have fooled me!

Anyhow, tonight was the big night.  I got home and prepped everything that I needed, loaded up my cooler, and I was on my way.  There were 6 judges there and we all had to get up and explain our creation.  The judges scored us based on creativity, taste, presentation, an essay we wrote, and nutrition.  All of the other dishes looked so great too!

It was a little nerve wracking getting up and talking about what I made and my inspiration for the dish.  I felt like I was fumbling my words a little bit but I think I got my point across.  The judges all looked interested, but it was hard to read if they liked it or not.

After the judges got done, everyone in the audience was allowed to try all of the dishes and vote for their favorite.

Then came time for the presentation.  I won 1st place in my category, quick pasta dinners.   Then at the end, they announced the overall winner for all categories, and I won!!!!  I was so shocked.  I was so worried that people wouldn't like my crazy bean sauce concoction - that it would be "too healthy" for them.  But they loved it!  One of the judge's 5 year old son was there, and he even liked it.  I won some serious pasta swag and money.  Yay!!!!

I had such a fun time doing this contest.  The other ladies that were there so nice, and it's always good to hear what other people really think of your recipes.  I will definitely be entering more contests like this in the future.

If you haven't tried my creamy pesto pasta yet, you should.  And while you're at it, you should pick up some Ultragrain pasta too!