Recap: A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quick-fire

You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, sunny day for A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quickfire at Liberty Land's park in Northern Liberties.

Shannon Dougherty and Liz Petersen, owners of A Full Plate Café always make sure their cook-off competitions are vegetarian-friendly with a buffet of veggie sides and at least one vegetarian cook-off category.

This year the ladies added a vegetarian quickfire, à la Top Chef, where contestants were tasked to create a dish from a table of vegetables and kitchen staples. It was a mad dash to raid the table I hear (as a judge, I stayed away from the fest until my services were needed in order to keep the judging blind) , then back to the grills for intense cooking.

Nine teams, both professional and amateur, competed in the vegetarian quickfire. Each dish was so different from the next, and they were all delicious. There were a few standout, though, all of which came from amateur teams!
This grilled watermelon gazpacho with cilantro and jalapeno oil from amateur team Pork Sword was perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious. Not sure if I've had a better gazpacho from a restaurant!
Amateur team Kimball Street put up an excellent caramelized onion, mushroom, cheese and basil flat bread with a perfectly grilled crispy crust, and harmonious toppings.

This eggplant curry from amateur team The Girls From Ipanema was totally unexpected from a grilling competition, and, man, was it good! This dish put to shame the curry dishes I ordered last week from a restaurant I shall not name.
With more room in my stomach, I moved directly from the judges tent to the buffet of sides from A Full Plate and desserts from Flying Monkey Bakery. The women behind A Full Plate and Flying Monkey do not scrimp on free food!

I had a great time judging the event, and think it's pretty cool that A Full Plate puts on cooking competitions that everyone — meat eaters and vegetarians — can enjoy. Don't miss next year's!

Update on winners:

Veggie Quickfire
1st - North Bowl (Professional)
2nd - Darlings Diner (Professional)
1st - Kimball Street (Amateur)
2nd - The Girls From Ipanema (Amateur)

Ribs
1st - Kyber Pass Pub (Professional)
2nd - The Blind Pig (Professional)
1st - Pork Sword (Amateur)
2nd - Rack Attack (Amateur)

Anything Goes
1st - Sonata Restaurant (Professional)
2nd - Khyber Pass Pub (Professional)
1st - Pork Sword (Amateur)
2nd - Kimball Street (Amateur)

Crowd Favorite (Best Dish of the Day)
Sonata Restaurant

A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quick-fire

It's time for A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off, and you all should come out. Especially vegetarians!



Professional and amateur teams will be judged on three categories — ribs, "anything goes", and vegetarian quickfire.



Vegetarian quickfire, you say? Yes! Similar to what you have seen on Top Chef and other TV food competitions, teams will be given a mystery box of vegetables from local farms, and tasked with grilling/smoking a vegetarian dish.



The $20 all-you-can-eat extravaganza includes food prepared on-site by competing teams, a buffet of vegetarian sides provided by A Full Plate, and sweets provided by Flying Monkey Bakery. Bottomless cups from Philadelphia Brewing can be purchased separately for $15.



A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Teens 4 Good, which works with youth to transform vacant lots into urban gardens/farms.



This truly is one of my favorite food events in Philly, because A Full Plate really does look out for and love vegetarians. I'll be there judging the vegetarian quickfire, so stop by and say,"Hi."



Stick around, as Northern Liberties Fall Music Fest kicks off after the cook-off is done. Gonna be a great day!



A Full Plate 5th Annual Rib Off and Vegetarian Quick-Fire

Sat., Sept. 10, 11am, rain or shine

Liberty Lands Park, 926 N. American St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

$20 all-you-can-eat

A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off

Scenes from last year's event.

Hey, veggie kids, wanna go to an outdoor rib cook-off where you can actually eat something?

Get yourself on over to A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off this Saturday, September 11, at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties, where professional and amateur teams grill up a vegetarian dish for competition, in addition to ribs and chicken.

A Full Plate Café will provide an all-vegetarian buffet of sides, and Flying Monkey Patisserie will provide sweet eats.

Stick around for the Northern Liberties Music Festival, which immediately follows the cook-off, and is also held in Liberty Lands Park.

I had a blast at last year's cook-off as a veggie judge and can attest to all the good food, but heed my warning: cook-offs are not events to show up to fashionably late! Hundreds of savagely hungry people line up waiting for the doors to open, and when the food is gone, it's gone.

A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off
Liberty Lands Park - 3rd and Wildey streets
Saturday, September 11
Doors open at noon
$20 all-you-can-eat

Mi Lah

I feel like a really bad vegetarian for not patronizing Mi Lah, an all vegan restaurant in Center City that opened October 2008, sooner than now, but, you know, Philly has lots of great eats to tick off my list. What's a girl to do? Complimentary bread and herbed butter started us out.
Then we received a huge plate of fried coconut crusted King mushrooms garnished with lime and cilantro. We really enjoyed the sweet coconut crust and meaty mushroom starter. This dish would be perfectly suited as a fried bar food, and we were wishing for a special dipping sauce. We behaved and ate the appetizer with a fork, since we weren't at a bar.
Going with the server's suggestion of their favorite dishes, we ordered the cauliflower au poivre with fried sweet potatoes, and spinach salad in cream sauce. This dish is a whimsical take on steak, fries, and salad, with the cauliflower slab being the steak, the fried sweet potatoes being the fries, and the spinach, obviously, the salad.

A longer roasting, or maybe a dunk in the fryer, would have taken some of the rawness and crunch from the cauliflower and imparted a sweeter caramelized flavor. The fat sweet potato fries are not visible, but are underneath the pile of spinach with sweet, creamy dressing. Perhaps due to the thickness of the fries, or the soaking in dressing, the sweet potatoes were not as crunchy as they could have been. This dish, unfortunately, is a victim of poor plating. By simply not piling all the components of the dish atop each other, Mi Lah could have maybe avoided soggy sweet potatoes, and even added a little color from the orange sweet potato fries to the presentation.
Pistachio gratin with roasted butternut squash and brussels sprouts in a lemon beurre blanc was comforting and warm, with the vegetables being cooked to the perfect tenderness and the peppery sauce plate-licking good. Little crunchy bits of pistachio added a nice textural contrast to the layers of potatoes.
Who here loves Pepperige Farm 3-Layer Cakes? I do! (Even if that Cake Fart girl did ruin my associations with the dessert. Yeah, go back and check the video. That's a Pepperidge Farm 3-Layer Cake.) Mi Lah's vegan chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting tastes like a vegan version of Pepperidge Farm cakes, so while it tastes kind of boxed, I absolutely loved it. The chocolate sauce was a little thin, though.

Mi Lah frequently gets compared to Philly's other fine dining, and highly lauded, all-vegan restaurant, Horizons, but I'm not ready to compare the two. My meal at Mi Lah was good enough to return and sample some more, especially since my partner has had two positive experiences at Mi Lah during lunch.

The dinner entree prices were a buck or two higher than I felt they should have been, but the fact that Mi Lah is BYOB more than evens out the bill. Next time, I will probably return to Mi Lah for the cheaper lunch menu featuring sandwiches and flat breads not available on the dinner menu.

And, if you're a fan of the huge weekend brunch, Mi Lah has a $20 prix fixe Sunday brunch that includes a cup of tea or coffee, a plate of fruit with muffins and scones, a pitcher of one of their fruit juices or mimosa mix (remember to bring your own champagne), plus a choice of a brunch main from the menu. Sounds like a lot of food (and a bargain) to me!

And, try to get get seated upstairs, if you can. While similarly decorated as the downstairs, the upstairs dining room is larger and airier with a more pleasant feeling.

Mi Lah
218 S. 16th St., Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-732-8888
Lunch: Mon-Sat, 11am-3pm
Dinner: Mon-Sat, 5pm-10pm
Brunch: Sun, 11am-3pm
BYOB

Dogs Are Coming

All you Delawarian vegetarians (hey, that rhymes) get psyched for veggie hot dogs!

A reader alerted me to Johnnie’s Dog House, a small franchise with locations in the Philadelphia airport and in Wayne, PA (and soon Wilmington!) that serves up dogs, fries, ice cream, and other American classics. And veggie hot dogs!

If you know me, or actually read the crap on this blog, you know I loves me some molded, pressed, imitation pig parts in a bun, preferably from a street cart, but whatever. I take fake wiener where I can get it.

The reader alert came back in January, and I’ve been keeping my eyes pried for signs of Johnnie’s Dog House development for quite some time with no glimmer of hope. But today I spied the Johnnie's Dog House construction at 3401 Concord Pike. That’s at the intersection of Florence Ave. and Concord Pike (Hwy 202), kinda cattycorner to the strip mall with Jasmine, Staples, and Pier 1.

So excited! Report coming as soon as they open, and I can drag my derriere up there.

Pickled Jerusalem Artichoke

I’m not a frequent canner. It’s an all day job, and when you’re done, you’re left with a bazillion jars of an item – great if you’re building a bunker and never coming out, or dream of becoming the Pickle Fairy and sprinkling your fiends and family with gifts.

There is one thing that sends me straight to the kitchen to don my Pickle Fairy tutu, and that’s Jerusalem artichokes – the knobby tuber of a sunflower with thin brown skin, and crispy white flesh.

Gifted with two huge bags of Jerusalem artichokes last Friday, I was on the hunt for canning jars that evening, and in the kitchen the next day making Jerusalem artichoke pickles. (I swear I'm not a complete dork. I went to a show, out to the bar, and took in Sixers game that weekend, too.)

Last year I canned Jerusalem artichoke relish, which is my absolute favorite way to eat Jerusalem artichokes, but pickles are the next best way to eat these tubers – at least in my opinion.

These Jerusalem artichoke pickles retain the pleasing, crunchy texture of raw Jerusalem artichokes, but have a spicy, sweet-and-sour zing, and a cheery yellow color imparted by turmeric.

Harvest the tubers after the first frost, but before they sprout again (time is getting short now that it’s spring), or pick them up at the market when in season (I’ve seen some at Trader Joe’s recently). If you harvest your own, you must clean the bejesus out of the soil-caked knobby knobs, but it’s sooo worth it. And don’t peel them – unless you’re masochistic!

Gifted with so many Jerusalem Artichokes, I needed to multiply the recipe below by six! If you don’t feel like canning, this recipe makes only 2 pints, which you will eat in no time. I doubled the sugar amount, which is reflected in the recipe, but adjust sugar to your liking.

Pickled Jerusalem Artichoke
Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
Makes 2 pints

1 ¾ pounds Jerusalem artichokes, washed
1 quart water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon coriander seed
3 whole allspice berries
½ teaspoon whole red peppercorns (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 dried red hot chilies (Thai or chiles de arbol)

• Bring a 3-quart pot, three quarters full of water to a boil. Set jars and their lids, along with a slotted metal spoon in the boiling water to sterilize. Boil for 15 minutes, then remove carefully with tongs, and set aside.
• Trim bad spots from tubers, and cut the tubers into chunks between the size of a grape and a walnut (you should have about 4 cups of artichokes chunks).
• In a bowl, combine artichokes, 1 quart of water, and one tablespoon of salt, stir to dissolve. Soak for 4 hours on the counter top, or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and rinse the artichokes, then pat them dry.
• Bring vinegar, 1 cup of water, the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, sugar, and all the spices except the chiles to a boil for 4 minutes.
• Using the slotted spoon, place one pepper in each jar, then carefully pack the jars with the artichokes, and pour the hot vinegar brine over the artichokes up to 1/2 inch below the neck. Place any remaining spices in the pot into the jars. Seal the jars, and process in boiling water if canning (I processed these 15 minutes). If only making a small batch, allow to cool, and store in the refrigerator. Unprocessed pickled artichokes will keep for about 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Tofu Banh Mi

It’s pretty much a guarantee that five days a week I’m eating a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a veggie turkey sandwich for lunch. If I’m feeling particularly lazy, a sandwich is on the menu for dinner, too.

Sandwiches for dinner sounds a little pathetic, but not if you’re making Banh Mi, the Vietnamese hoagie brimming with Asian flavors thanks to carrot and daikon slaw and cilantro.

This usually meat-filled sandwich gets a vegetarian makeover with fried tofu. A little prep is involved in making this sandwich – time is needed to marinate the tofu – so plan ahead. If you want to cut prep time, buy already marinated tofu. And the slaw will be ready before you are.

This ingredient list looks long for a sandwich, but it’s just a list of all the yummy fillers…and their marinades.

Tofu Banh Mi

1 baguette
1 block firm tofu, drained
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup, plus 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk lemongrass, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ lb daikon, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
½ red onion, sliced thinly
1 bunch cilantro
lettuce
mayonnaise (can substitute vegan mayo)

• Combine soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, garlic, and lemongrass in a container with a lid. Slice drained tofu into ¼-inch slices and place in soy sauce marinade, turning container upside down to coat the tofu. Marinade tofu in refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry marinated tofu in oil until browned on each side, about four minutes each side. (Save any leftover marinade to brush on inside of baguette)
• In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup vinegar, salt, and sugar, and toss with shredded carrot and daikon. Let marinade for 15 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat split baguette in oven, about 5 minutes.
• Assemble the sandwich: Brush inside of baguette with soy sauce marinade. Top bottom layer of bread with jalapeño, onion, cilantro, tofu, slaw, and lettuce. Spread mayonnaise on the top layer of bread.
• Slice the sandwich crosswise into fourths, and serve.

Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash

Here’s one last recipe from Bon Appètit’s Thanksgiving issue, plus a fun little experiment. I chose the one sweet potato dish from the other five regular potato dishes in Bon Appètit’s Thanksgiving potato section because sweet potato soufflé is always on our holiday table, unlike mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are – brace yourself – never on our table. Rice is the vehicle for all gravies and sauces on Thanksgiving and the other 364 days of the year.

Oh, you want to know about the experiment, and could care less about my lack of mashed potato consumption? OK.

Instead of sweet potatoes from the market that are breed for sweet flesh, I used the sweet potatoes from the garden center that are bred for ornamental foliage. The two plants – grocery store sweet potatoes and garden center sweet potatoes – are the same plant, Ipomoea batatas, just different cultivars.

My quest was to see if the ornamental sweet potatoes bred to look pretty in gardens are sweet enough to warrant eating. I normally toss these tubers every year when I do garden clean-up, but this year curiosity got the better of me.

I dug the tubers from three different ornamental sweet potato cultivars (Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Red, Marguerite, and Ace of Spades), threw them in my car, and forgot about them for a few weeks. So, unfortunately, when it came time to identify which tuber was which, I had no clue. A good scientist I do not make!

Confusing picture. Four potatoes, but three cultivars - last two are the same cultivar.

I boiled and roasted some of each variety, and then it was time for the individual taste tests. They were all sweet, none drastically more so than the next. And was I glad, because if one was better than the other, I was going to kick myself for letting the tubers roll around the back of my car for weeks, and not remembering which was which.

So, on to the bourbon-walnut sweet potato recipe in Bon Appètit. Trying to be a good scientist, I made a control batch from sweet potatoes from the market. Yum. A sweet, but more rustic dish than the baked sweet potato soufflé typically topped with marshmallows. I adore the marshmallows, by the way.

The mash made from the ornamental sweet potatoes, thanks to their collective white, yellow, and purple flesh, looks about as appetizing as dirty bath water. But guess what? In a blind taste test, they taste just as good as the store bought sweet potatoes bred for eating. The only thing that gives the ornamental sweet potatoes away, besides their color, is a slightly lumpier texture. But lumps can be cured with longer cooking or pureeing.

Stick with the more visually appetizing orange-fleshed sweet potatoes for the holiday table, but don’t toss those tubers from your flower beds – eat them!

Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash
Adapted from Bon Appètit
8-10 servings

4 pounds sweet potatoes
½ cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons butter
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Roast whole potatoes on a baking sheet for 1 - 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Cool until you can handle, then scoop flesh into a large bowl. Mash potatoes coarsely.
• Heat cream and butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter melts. Slowly combine cream mixture into potatoes. Then add syrup, bourbon, and spices. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Sprinkle with nuts and serve.