Posted by The Macon Telegraph, GA on April 15, 2008 at 07:32:12:
Cookie crumbles into a winner for WR chef
By Jake Jacobs - jjacobs@macon.com
Lori Ivey, a student at the Art Institute of Atlanta, was the runner-up in the Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest.Yes, it's a clichˇ to "take the bitter with the sweet," but one budding Warner Robins chef took the saying at its word to pluck second-place honors at a statewide cooking competition.
Lori Ivey, in only her second quarter of culinary classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta, placed in the runner-up slot last month at the fifth annual Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest, sponsored by the institute and the Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia.
Contestants submitted recipes that featured a Girl Scout cookie variety as an integral part of the dish.
Ivey's recipe, Cookie Bread Crumb Encrusted Chicken with Blueberry Balsamic Glaze, used the shortbread Trefoil cookie in breading the chicken.
"I heard about the competition from a chef in one of my classes last quarter," Ivey said. "The chef said he would give extra credit if someone submitted a recipe for the contest using Girl Scout cookies."
Ivey said her 13-year restaurant experience taught her that everybody loves fried chicken and something sweet, so she combined the two, using the shortbread cookies because "shortbread is not too complex." She mixed the cookies with bread crumbs.
For the glaze, she relied on her taste buds in choosing the ingredients.
"I eat pretty healthy at home and have blueberries almost every morning, and I love balsamic vinegar," she said. "I modified the glaze recipe. You have got to watch it so that it doesn't reduce too much. It cuts down on the sweetness of the blueberries and gives a great balance to the flavor."
She had to experiment with herbs and seasonings to find the balance of flavors, and was gratified the judges liked the result.
"It was my first time doing something like this and I was really nervous," she said. "It's an honor to place in a competition like this."
Ivey said she doesn't mind the commute to attend classes in Atlanta because food service is something she loves.
She's worked in five restaurants, and recently was food and beverage director at The Landings Golf Club in Warner Robins.
"I've always liked the restaurant business. It's crazy and chaotic, with no two days ever being the same," Ivey said, laughing.
Her goal, when she completes her studies next year, is to open her own restaurant.
Right now, she said, she's focused on getting more experience on the cooking side of things.
"I've worked under some great chefs and look to get more of a handle on the basics in the kitchen," she said.
After classes are over she plans to work at a restaurant for a few years to be certified as a chef. Then she and her husband, Mark Ivey, who now works as a radiologist at Robins Air Force Base, will go about opening their own restaurant.
"I want to learn all I can about it so I can be successful," she said. But she's not going in unaware of the pitfalls.
"The restaurant business is very risky. Some 80 percent of them fail," she said. "I'm not sure where I would open the restaurant - maybe at the beach - but it would be with my husband. We figure it'll take us about 80 hours a week. He plans to retire in about 10 years, and we'll do the restaurant as a team. We enjoy being together and with the long and crazy hours required I feel that's a good start."
She wants the place to be uniquely theirs, and isn't casting eyes at franchises. She said there are too many of them already here and elsewhere.
"I'm not looking to open a chain of eateries, just a place where I personally cook," she said. "People go out to eat a lot, especially in Warner Robins, but it seems chains are about all there are here. You lose some of that local atmosphere and local flavors, which I think is better."
Despite the less-than-attractive odds for opening and keeping a restaurant, Ivey said there's another element that keeps her optimistic.
"What's important is that we're doing this together and you don't see too many married couples who like to do things together," she said. "He even took the day off from work and was at the competition with me."
When not working in the kitchen at home or studying for classes, Ivey said, she occasionally watches television.
"I do watch the Food Channel a lot, and I really like the 'Top Chef' competition on Bravo. It's a great series," she said.
COOKIE BREAD CRUMB ENCRUSTED CHICKEN WITH BLUEBERRY BALSAMIC GLAZE
INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken cutlets, pounded
3 ounces skim milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground pepper
SEASONED BREAD CRUMBS:
12 Trefoil cookies
1/2 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
BLUEBERRY BALSAMIC GLAZE:
1 cup blueberries, fresh or thawed
10 ounces balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
INSTRUCTIONS:
For bread crumbs:
In a food processor, add the Trefoil cookies, bread crumbs, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Pulse until finely chopped.
For blueberry balsamic glaze:
In a large saucepan, crush the berries, using a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Add balsamic vinegar, sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until mixture has cooked down to about 5 ounces. Place a wire mesh strainer over a bowl. In batches, ladle blueberry mixture into the strainer, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
For chicken:
Season chicken with garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken, one piece at a time, on a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet. Pound chicken to even thickness.
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken in the egg wash. Then coat the chicken in the bread crumb mixture.
Heat skillet and add olive oil. Add the chicken and cook, turning over once until done, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve chicken with blueberry glaze.