Quests & Challenges

[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=25249709] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/252498/25249709_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Lynnie skillfully butchers her [b]lesser dreadram[/b], trying not to vibrate with excitement. She's less worried about the competition as a whole and more worried about her competition with Dia, another of the Windy Sparks clan. Dia had challenged Lynnie to do better than her in the Mistral Meals competition, and she's determined to. Once she has a deboned and properly butterflied leg rolled roast cut, evenly thick and mostly rectangular, she turns her attention to the filling for her lamb roast. A cup of toasted breadcrumbs, a half cup each of coarsely chopped [b]spearmint[/b] and flat parsley go in a large mixing bowl- she would have preferred to use peppermint, but, well, secret ingredient is secret ingredient. Half a cup of lightly toasted pine nuts and three tablespoons of the good olive oil join them, and she drains the half cup of currants she had put to soak in some port. The currants go in, along with two finely minced [b]blacktongue pepper[/b], salt, and some fresh ground black pepper. Lynnie quickly beats up two eggs, and adds them, before mixing the stuffing well. Turning back to her meat, she puts lengths of twine under the lamb at one inch intervals so she can roll and tie it properly. She checks that her pan is set up with a roasting rack, and her oven is preheated to 400 degrees. Then Lynnie salts and peppers the lamb, before patting the stuffing evenly over her cut. Rolling and tying her meat is always a challenge, because all of the stuffing by the edges wants to escape, but she perseveres, poking the escaped stuffing back into the roll. She salts and peppers the outside, before plopping it on its rack and washing up before she puts it in the oven. Setting a time for about an hour to seventy minutes, Lynnie turns to her next task, making the red onion jam to go with the roast. She halves two large red onions after peeling them, and slices them into thin, pretty half moons, determinedly ignoring the tears that collect in his eyes. Next Lynnie melts seven tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then adds her onions. She chops up a [b]blacktongue pepper[/b] and puts it in her food processor until it's pureed, keeping an eye on her onions and stirring them periodically. Once they're soft and stringy, but before they start to brown, Lynnie reduces the heat to medium low, adding half a cup of dry white wine, six tablespoons of honey, and her pepper puree. She lets it simmer until the mixture is nice and jammy, then stirs in three tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Once she's done with the jam, it's about time to pull the lamb. Lynnie lets it rest for fifteen minutes before carving a slice for the judge, carefully plating it, and putting a healthy dollop of the jam on the side. Hopefully the judge likes it… ...but more importantly, Dia looks downright hungry! [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=25263517] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/252636/25263517_350.png[/img][/url][/center] ([url=http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/boneless-leg-of-lamb-with-mint-pine-nut-currant-stuffing]Boneless leg of lamb with stuffing[/url] and [url=http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/red-onion-jam]red onion jam[/url])

[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=39487814] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/394879/39487814.png[/img][/url][right][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=39307028] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/393071/39307028.png[/img][/url][/right] Two Wildclaws are standing in front oft he tent. Newcomers, as it seems. One of them, a black female, is blindfolded, while the other one, a creamy-yellow male, tries to remove the blindfold with moderate success. "Elliot", the black one suddenly speaks up, "[i]Where[/i] are we? I smell food. You don't want to start a pie eating contest [i]again[/i], do you?" She sounds like she's expecting just that. Elliot snickers. "No, not this time, Cadie. Look!" Finally, he removes the blindfold. "This isn't a pie eating contest, this is a [i]cooking[/i] contest!" Without waiting for an answer, he runs behind the other dragon and pushes her towards the tent. "And" Push. "We" Push. "Participate." Cadie digs her claws into the ground, trying to stop him, but failing. "We're not!", she barks, trying to get out of his grip. In the end, though, she doesn't stand a chance. Only a few minutes later, they stand in front of a stove. Cadie's crossed her arms and is glaring at everyone she can see, while Elliot seems pretty excited. He takes a sheet of parchment out of his satchel and shows it to her. "See? This is what we'll be making. Curry." "Forget it", Cadie snaps, turning away. "You promised me we'd make cupcakes", Elliot pouts. "Cupcakes, yes, but not-" She pauses. "You want to make curry cupcakes? That's silly even for your measures." Instead of replying, Elliot just stares at the parchment. "I- it…", he stutters. "Cadie? It has changed!" She snatches the piece of parchment out of his hand. Below the curry recipe, a new sentence has appeared.[i] You're not by chance making cupcakes! This is a cooking contest![/i] "Wow", the Wildclaw says sarcastically. "Tia? You're stupid. Are you really talking to us through parchment?" [i]Yes. You will not make cupcakes. Do you want to poison anyone?![/i] "Oh, of course, why haven’t I thought of this earlier?! We’re making cupcakes", she growls dryly, shrugs, and then eats the parchment. "You- you've eaten the recipe!", Elliot squeals. Cadie grins. "Oh really? Whoops, my bad!" Somewhere back in their clan lair, a certain other Wildclaw looks pretty frustrated. "Ha ha", she snarls. "[i]Very [/i]funny." "So, let's start." Cadie grabs the [b]Lesser Dreadram[/b] and begins to cut it in pieces with her front claws. "Wait, you're-", Elliot stammers and looks at her in confusion. "You want to participate in the contest? With- cupcakes?" The black dragon laughs. "Do I look crazy?" Normally, the answer is yes, so she doesn't give anyone the chance to respond. "Close. We're making a curry pastry." He looks at her for a few seconds with his mouth open, then shrugs and grabs the [b]Spearmint[/b]. "Well, fine with me. What are we doing with these?" "Grab a few Granny Smith Apples and make an Apple-Mint-Marmalade. But before you do, hold still." Cadie whirls around and gets the ingredients for the curry out of Elliots satchel. "Now, start", she orders him. "I'll do the rest." So, while Elliot cuts apple pieces and cooks them with the mint and a lot of sugar – probably too much, ah, whatever – Cadie begins to sear the meat along with the [b]Blacktongue Pepper[/b], a bit of Wild Mustard and a few branches of Rosemary. She then adds a few Glow Mushrooms. "Wild Onions or Potato Onions?", she calls out to Elliot. "Eh?" He lifts his head. "Oh, um… Potato Onions. We shouldn't risk anthing, right?" "Yeah... sure..." She looks at the ingredients for a brief second, then shoves the Potato Onions into the next bin. No risk, no fun. While she adds the Wild Onions and a bit of wine to the meat mixture, Elliot takes the marmalade off the stove and pours it into tiny bowls. Before he can do anything but [i]breathe[/i], he has to catch a flying bag of flour, then butter, then milk and, most fatal, a Reefsnail Egg. Thankfully, even though the butter hits the ground, everything is fine. Setting the ingredients onto a sideboard, he shoots Cadie an angry glare before starting to mix everything together. She just grins. Finally, and with a little salt, both are done, and Elliot rolls out the dough and cuts it into four circles so Cadie can pour the curry onto them. They close their pastries and put them into the oven. "Finally", Cadie sighs, sitting down in front of the oven. Elliot starts to clean everything up and looks down at her. "You could help me here", he growls accusingly. "You're insane!", she protests. "I can't let them burn, can I?" By the time he's done, the pastries are ready. Cadie takes out the tray and puts them onto plates, then puts the marmalade bowls there as well, and finally takes a plate over to the judge. "So", Elliot starts as she comes back. "Yep." The black Wildclaw looks almost disappointed. "We're done." "Huh. Why did we make four of them?" "Uh..." … "Elliot?" "Yes?" "Do you have any plans for the week? Other than… you know? Cooking?" ... "Cadie?" "Yeah?" "Why is there curry powder in my satchel?" "...oh. Oops." [size=1](Yay, writing exercise! Plus, with cooking! Hopefully this will help with my writer's block... Anyway! Fun!) (Sorry for mistakes! Also, sorry for my poor excuse of coding...)[/size] Edit: They/I forgot the curry powder. Well, should work anyway...

[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7854319] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/78544/7854319_350.png[/img] [/url] A small Fae decorated with Windy apparel from Jamborees past, a Mirror and and Tundra approach with some plates. "I hope you don't mind, I had help. I'm a bit small and couldn't put the Deadram out of it's misery by myself. It was shaking so." she shivers, "I had my mate Iskan do it. Besides I don't like meat all that much and he does. This is a recipe we use on all kinds of foods in our lair. I like it best on Albino Dahsers, because they look like noodles. Iskan of course likes to spread it on his meat like it's served here, but here is a small sample of them on the Dashers." [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7854320] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/78544/7854320_350.png[/img] [/url] "Oh and I've grilled the Blacktongue Peppers. Raider tried it on them and enjoyed them so much he almost ate the entire plate, otherwise there would be more." She hands over a large and two small plates. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=8867729] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/88678/8867729_350.png[/img] [/url] "Oh you want to know what's in it? Well, I guess I can tell you my secret recipe. I take some mint leaves, usually peppermint. I hope using the spearmint doesn't throw the flavor off too much. I take a 3 - 1 ratio of Basil and Mint leaves and chop them and Pine Nuts. Then I throw them into the food grinder thingy with some Parm cheese and add some garlic and Olive Oil until the sauce is made. I hope you enjoy it."

@Eialyne Please add me to the daily pinglist, please! ~~~~~~~~ [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7173591] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/71736/7173591_350.png[/img] [/url] The Imperial was up at the contest bright and early, excited to get started. He looked forward to the event every year and was happy to see it return again. But, to the matter at hand. Chess thoughtfully looked over the ingredients. No matter how many times he competed, it never seemed to get easier. Well, at least - trying to figure out what to do with the mystery ingredients. He had gotten a lot faster and more efficient with his prep through the years. Roasted lamb with mint was classic. So, how could he do a twist on it? Perhaps... leftover lamb was often served as a sandwich for lunch in his clan. That is, if there were ever any leftovers. He need to make sure there was some type of jam/jelly used. It didn't look like they were providing any... so that meant he needed to get started immediately. [b]Entry: Grilled Ram Sandwich with Yogurt, Pepper + Mint Jelly[/b] Required Ingredients: [item=Lesser Dreadram] [item=Spearmint] [item=Blacktongue Pepper] Additional Ingredients: [item=Cindermint] [item=Water Lettuce] [item=Wild Onion] Chess went to the pantry and gathered the items he needed, debating on what to add to the mint jelly to tone down the spearmint. He [i]briefly[/i] thought about adding peppermint, but decided that might end up annoying the judge more than anything, since the Skydancer has specifically excluded it. Instead, he grabbed the Cindermint - it was the ideal ingredient to tie in the Black Tongue Pepper with the Spearmint. He tossed both types of mint in a saucepan filled with water, brought it to a boil, and then removed it from the heat, covering the pan and letting the ingredients steep. Meanwhile, Chase cleaned about half of the seeds from one of the peppers (he didn't want it overwhelming the jelly) and minced it into very small pieces. The pepper went into the strained mint water with the few other ingredients necessary to make the jelly set and the mixture was brought to a boil again. After removing it from the heat, Chess mixed in some chopped fresh spearmint, put it in a jar, and set it in the cooling unit to hopefully set in time to use. He then turned his attention to the meat - he grabbed a nice chunk of it, seasoned it, and grilled it to a perfect medium rare. While the fire was still going, the Imperial buttered and grilled slices of amaranth bread from the panty. Next up was assembling the sandwich. A quick yogurt sauce (with just a hint of mint added to it) went on the top slice of bread. He didn't want to overload it with toppers, so kept it simple with Water Lettuce and Wild Onion. Then he thinly sliced the ram and layered it onto the sandwich. Finally, with some trepidation, the Imp went and took a look at the jelly. It was a little loose, but he decided it would work. (Not that he had much choice at that point.) In any case, it did jiggle and look like a jelly. Chess slathered it on the bottom slice of bread, then flipped the entire sandwich over so the meat was on the bottom and the toppers were on the top. He briefly debated adding a quick side of potato chips, but as he learned early on, each additional component is something that the judges can critique. Not worth it for this dish. The Imperial took a bite of the sandwich - although spicy, the yogurt and mint cooled down the peppery flavors, and the hearty bread and meat left him satisfied. Confident that there were no changes he needed to make, Chess started working on the sandwich he would plate for the judge.

I woke up to 19 notifications this morning you guys! (Ok about half of them weren't related to this thread but that's still a lot!)

Everyone up to here that asked will be added to the pinglist momentarily (sorry about the shadow pings in advance) and I'll start the judging posts once I get some breakfast in me.

@IngeniousSpark-Since this contest is more rp and luck based than one of the more traditional cooking contests that pop up on the site, I'd argue you don't have to worry that much about following a recipe, but if you do heavily utilize a real life one (aka: copying ingredients and procedure to the letter) then do please credit it in your post somewhere (mostly because I'm a recipe hoarder and always like saving new ones that look good ">>). But whether you do or don't it won't have any impact on the end result.

[Center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=40242971][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/402430/40242971p.png[/img][/url][/center] Mani looked down at the three main ingredients. Before he had left to join the festivities, he had tasted as much food as possible. However, he had never eaten this strange pepper before. Cautiously, he sliced a bit off with his talon and plopped it into his mouth. He tilted his head, trying to think of what it would taste like with the other ingredients. Maybe it would taste good with the dreadram, but nothing would go with Spearmint. Looking around, the pink guardian noticed a few scowls set in his direction. Apparently, tasting your ingredients before cooking was frowned upon. Mani filed that away. When the time to start came about, he glanced around warily. The other dragons were already starting, and he had no idea how to begin. Thinking back to when he snuck into the Kansa kitchen, he remembered how the cooks chopped up the meat. Well, he could do that too! Mani grabbed the [b]Lesser Dreadram[/b] and began to skin and cut it into thick slices. Maybe this would taste good with the pepper… He now stared at the meat. What to do now? Maybe he could make a spicy meal out of it... Having an idea, the pink guardian took the ram meat and quickly sauté it. He'd heard from a passerby that everything always tasted better that way, so he would just have to take a chance. As the meat was cooking, Mani turned his attention to the [b]pepper[/b]. He began to mince it the best he could, though the chunks were a little on the big and thick side. Having a bright light bulb go off in his head, he tossed the peppers in with the meat to give it more of a spicy flavor. Mani stared glumly at the Spearmint. Why couldn't it be peppermint or… Cindermint! Mani dashed to the ingredient pile and pulled out a few leaves of Cindermint. He could add this to the meat as well. But now, he had only procrastinated the Spearmint. He could add the herb in as a garnish, or he could create a side dish. A big grin lit up Mani’s face. He grabbed some condensed milk, salt, heavy cream and Peppermint. He quickly mixed the ingredients with the [b]Spearmint[/b] and Peppermint oil and plopped it into the freezer. Now, he turned his attention back to the meat and peppers. Part of the meat was burnt, so he chopped it off. He placed the peppers on top of the sizzling meat with Cindermint as a garnish. When the ice cream was done in the freezer, he took a small bite of the leftover. It didn't taste half bad. It definitely wasn't the right texture, nor the thing he was going for, but at least he had something. Quickly, Mani took the meat and the ice cream and put them in their respective dishes. He glanced around him, craning to see if anyone had taken his idea of ice cream. Not really! Then again, these were all professional chefs and he was just a novice. His plate was bound to be worse. [Quote="Author's Note"] Sorry for the bad formatting. I'm on mobile right now, and I had to do this in a hurry. On another matter, could I also be added to the daily pinglist? [/Quote]

@Eialyne ((It's started :DD I'd love to stay on the daily pinglist please~! Sorry all my responses will be a little shorter this year)) [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=30785850] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/307859/30785850_350.png[/img] [/url] Nami smiled and greeted the judges again with a soft, friendly hello. Although she wanted to catch up with the judges after another year the hectic, fun nature of the Mistral Jamboree tended to mean they were pretty swamped. Luckily a certain coatl who had made a mess of snow seemed to have not received another invitation back. Nami quickly went to work by coring a couple of [b]Blacktongue Peppers[/b]. She cooked up some rice before adding the [b]Lesser Dreadram[/b] meat, [b]Spearmint[/b], and a mixture of various herbs and spices before stuffing the peppers and baking them. Once the peppers were properly cooked she plated with a little bit of yogurt sauce made with some of the extra mint.

[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=21283062] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/212831/21283062_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] @L1BR4 Kakigori notes that the coatl that is the first contestant to present a finished dish looks just as enthused to be there as she is. As a result she expects something rather lackluster, especially given the honey mess that's hard to ignore. However she is practically knocked back and has to sit down as she pops one of the balls into her mouth and starts to chew. "These are delicious!" She praises, "The honey does well to balance out the sharpness of the spearmint while the pepper and meat work together on their own." She took a bite, mulling her thoughts of the dish over past the initial first impression, "Though a whole pepper smack in the middle is a bit much. It may have been better to mince and mix it with the rest of the deadram." She probably would have taken one or two more with her if not for the fact that the honey made them terribly messy as finger foods. @IngeniousSpark Gourmet is bobbing behind Kakigori as the skydancer gets to Lynnie's dish. The smells coming from the Guardian's station were hitting her secret ingredient induced craving, and she was hoping to nab a bite after the official judging was over. "Less than spectacular," the skydancer announces after sampling the offered roast. "The red onion jam is by far the highlight of the dish, and while making a jam isn't a requirement for this particular contest, we do encourage dragons to get into the festive spirit if they feel like it. That said, what drops your score is that the roast itself is utilizing some wonderful flavors, especially with the addition of the currants, but it's been severely overcooked." "Don't worry about it. I think Kakigori might be the pickiest out of the lot," Gourmet whispers to Lynnie when the other dragon is out of earshot, "Err...were you planning on taking the rest of the meal with you or might you be giving out samples?" @Daemonengrau Kakigori meets Cadie's glower with her own, not at all intimidated. When one has to haggle with the toughest merchants throughout Soreinth, you build up a pretty strong resistance to less than friendly dragons. Food combinations that shouldn't go together though? She'd started to panic earlier when she'd walked by and thought she heard them discussing something about "curry cupcakes." Thankfully she either misheard or they had thankfully dropped that idea as the dish they presented in the end looked rather normal (though apparently they dropped the 'curry' idea as well as the 'cupcake' idea? Odd choice). "These pastries are quite good," she announced, "however that marmalade..." she made a face, "Granny smith apples do not pair well at all with the spearmint. Using a sweeter and less bitter apple probably would have been the better way to go, and you could have cut down on the sugar that way too." She takes another pastry, glad the marmalade was served separately and she could ignore it after the initial tasting. @BirdyMe It had been a good run of dishes so far for the first day, with a mix of average and delicious in Kakigori's opinion. But of course she knew that there was never a day that went so perfectly, and unfortunately for the trio of Wind dragons, theirs was the dish that broke the streak. "Having as much help as you need is absolutely permitted in this contest, provided all dragons involved come from the same clan, but the phrase 'too many cooks spoil the broth,' does have merit," she said frowning as she sets her fork down immediately after one sample, "Having a dish that works well for all diets is a perfect idea for many mixed clans, and its a method we utilize back home frequently for our more picky eaters, but you need to make sure your components are more in sync with each other rather than a different dragon making a different component." @JinxMoonstone Kakigori was a bit dubious about Chess's first entry. A sandwich was such a simple option...but then again he'd presented her with a very basic soup last year as well that turned out to be more delicious than she cared to admit. She really shouldn't have doubted him as it turned out to be the same result as the year before. "Using the yogurt and the jam together I think might have been a bit much," she said, trying to find at least one thing she could fault with the dish, "glazing the meat with the jelly instead of using it as a spread could be a good compromise if you want to use them both instead of one or the other." @ArcticFire The skydancer had to fan her mouth almost immediately after sampling a bite of Mani's dish, and immediately went for the ice cream as Gourmet was too far away to signal for some milk or water in time. After gulping it down she glanced at the Guardian's dish and shivered. "Either you've never worked with blacktongue pepper before or you just like things obscenely spicy. You should have cleaned out more of the seeds before inforporating the pepper into the dish. The heat overpowers pretty much anything else about it. Good thing you had the foresight to include something cold and creamy as a side dish." @Tomata ((The certain coatl who made a mess of the snow is certainly welcome back...though preferably as a contestant than a judge XD)) "These would have made nice finger foods if you had charred the peppers seperately then stuffed them with the cooked filling," Kakigori informed Nami as she reluctantly used a fork to eat the stuffed peppers instead, "Baked like this and with the juices from the meat not being entirely soaked up by the rice they're soft and don't hold their shape." "But either way they do at least taste good," she added, "You could have maybe spruced up the presentation a bit utilizing different colored peppers to make it pop a bit more."

[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=20525486] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/205255/20525486_350.png[/img] [/url] [i]First Meal: Crown Rack of Ram with a light Pistachio-Spearmint Sauce[/i][/center] After drying off his hands, the Imperial snips the string and unwraps the paper from his freshly butchered [b]racks of ram[/b]. He hums as he carefully winds his way through the plant nursery hanging near his station - garlic, rosemary, and thyme are added to a bowl, while an armful of spices are maneuvered over with a little less finesse. A "few" grinds and shavings later, a small bottle of olive oil and dried slivers of the [b]blacktongue pepper[/b] find their way in as well, everything now being blended into a vibrant marinade. He sifts through a few drawers until a large bag is found, the marinade and racks soon sealed within. This is placed to the side (in a cooling box) after a final check for air bubbles is made. A faint smile is given as he pulls the immersion blender to his counter; he couldn't help but to feel at ease that such a recent model was in ready reach. He glides back towards the pantry for a jar of pistachios, and with another languid circuit through the fragrant garden, the Imperial also carries back pots of parsley and [b]spearmint[/b]. He is patient as he slowly feeds stems and leaves into the machine with a pulsing blend in between. Finally, with an additional spoonful of oil and grinding of peppercorns, the sauce is well under way to being ready. [center]~o~[/center] [i]A few hours later...[/i] After a quick binding with twine, he sits the crowned rack within a rimmed baking sheet after allowing it time to warm from the box. They are roasted within a pre-heated oven until his intuition (and a thermometer) alerts him to its readiness. After the crown is removed, the oven's temperature is dramatically increased. A foiled tent is wrapped around the bones' tips before the crown is left to properly roast. [center]~o~[/center] [i]A few (more) hours later...[/i] A period of rest is given to the meat (and the chef an additional minute to his mind palace). He washes and dries his hands again before setting three plates on his counter. With gentle but persistent movements, he slides a knife between each rib of the crown, making sure that each plate is given three in a carefully fanned pattern. What remains is moved to the side and he is soon holding a bowl full of the pistachio-mint sauce. He dips a spoon within the mixture before a streak of green is painted beneath the "fans". At long last, his entry was ready to be seen.