Welcome back me! After almost a year hiatus I am back. Thank you everyone that has been viewing the site still. I am truly amazed and humbled that it is still pulling in views. I plan to be back full on from this point on. Bare with me as I work on my photography and... wait for it... videography! skills. (Yes English majors I know that punctuation is completely wrong...) I have so many projects on the burner right now I can't wait to share some of them.
So, I have some exciting news from last weekend that my fellow foodies will appreciate. This girl auditioned for MasterChef! It was an amazing experience and even though I didn't make it to a call back this time the producers and staff never once made me feel bad. It's actually pretty encouraging and I plan to go back for the next auditions they hold. Fingers crossed that they continue with more seasons after season five. So everybody watch the next season on Fox so they keep renewing the program!
The Phoenix auditions went a little like this. You pre register online, a casting person calls you to set up an appointment (which does not really matter) You print out and complete a lengthy questionnaire. Which they barely glance at during your audition, I'm assuming they use it for callbacks later on in the process. Then you spend the rest of your days until your audition testing and retesting your recipe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until your family is sick of it and you can successfully fix it blindfolded, hands tied, and using an oven that refuses to heat to any other temperature besides Hellfire and brimstones (This literally happened to me...) You will also develop a migraine and break out in ecema from the enormous amount of stress YOU are putting on yourself. During all this you barely think about the interview portion of the audition because your food is going to be so delicious they decide to send you right to the top 25... Okay, back to reality! The Phoenix auditions were close enough for us to take a road trip. And BONUS! my in-laws live in Phoenix so I had access to a full kitchen. Unlike so many others who have traveled to the auditions, stayed in hotels, and cooked their food 2 days in advance before they came, honestly.
When you arrive half an hour before auditions start the room is already starting to fill up. 18 people are already lined up along the wall waiting to go in as the first group. You look around at all these people, trying to remember faces in case you don't make it and some of them do. This is so you can point at the t.v. and say Hey! I saw that guy at the Phoenix auditions! Then you wait hours until your turn in group 3 comes along. You chat with some people get interviewed by local news agents and bloggers, etc. Important note "I'm not into the drama like some of the people are." is the equivalent ofsaying you have the Ebola virus when speaking to a blogger... Eh, whatever. The environment is competitive but not snarky or snobby. Of course everyone believes they are the next masterchef. If we didn't think we were awesome we wouldn't be there! It's pretty easy to chat up your neighbor. Everyone is asking about your food and sharing what they made. Coolers are everywhere, One guy had a chaffing set, even though I'm pretty sure it said no open flames in the rules. And several people have brought their crockpots and are politely vying for any open outlet they can reach. Another important note: If you take a crockpot and it has to sit on the floor to be plugged in do NOT sit the lid on the floor when you decide to stir your food, Floor spice is not tasty and I'm pretty sure if one of the staff sees that you won't make it to the audition room. A few of the former contestants come to pump you up. Monti from season 3, I think, was there. She's super cool and I'm convinced Her, Clinton Kelly, and I should be BFF's.
Suddenly it's your turn to line up in a group of 18 and you miss your chance to convince Monti that you're destined to be besties. This line of 18 is who you are going to face the food tasters and producers with. Everyone around me broke off into little groups and I bounced back and forth between conversations. Both ladies beside me had auditioned before so I eagerly listened as they outlined what would happen. An hour after lining up your group is taken back into the audition room. And as you go everyone still waiting is cheering you on. I'm pretty sure it's a similar feeling to what High School football players experience when they take the field and the cheerleaders and fans are going wild.
In the audition room you are greeted and lined up around a u shaped table. Everyone has about a 2-3 foot square to work on. They tell you to pull out all of your stuff to get ready for plating. But, you aren't allowed to plate anything until they give the verbal signal. Then you have three minutes to plate and clear your mess. And these aren't regular minutes. They are the fastest kind of minutes. Your hands are shaking which slows you down, but everyone in our group was finished in time. If it doesn't make it on the plate it doesn't get tasted so get it on the plate! One of the staff comes around and you hold up your application that has your name, contestant #, and dish name on it and they take your picture making jokes about prison mugshots every now and then. They also snap your food with and without your app info. Two food tasters start on opposite ends of the tables and look at your food, take small bites, and ask you questions about your cooking style, abilities, etc. You spend 2-3 minutes with them. Occasionally you hear a compliment, other times they taste and don't say anything. Sometimes they take two bites and say Yum! This would be so good with a Corona! And then you revert to thinking they will see how awesome you are and you're straight through to the top 25. But Reality slaps you in the face when the bearded producer oozing with personality steps up to talk to you and find out about your personality. At this point you manage to answer his questions. Even telling him his beard is awesome when he asks what you think about it (It truly was an awesome beard). He asks if you are competitive and you say yeah, but forget to mention that you played softball for a state team, or anything else that even seems remotely competitive about yourself. You leave out so many things that you realize as he moves on to the next person that you now seem like a snooze fest. Great! After all of the interviews they deliberate, right in the same room and then announce any numbers that they want to continue the interview process with. Of course since I put the guy to sleep during my interview I didn't expect my number to be called and it wasn't. They do thank everyone for coming and share that the food was great and that they still may call you. Keeping hope alive. But I wonder if they ever really call anyone that didn't make it to the immediate callbacks.
It was a fun experience and it definately threw me out of my comfort zone, especially the personality interview. My personality doesn't always come out in interviews, even for jobs I struggle. So we knew ahead of time this was where I would struggle, Hubs even called it. He said it won't be your food that holds you back it will be the interview. Now I know what I need to work on. And it will benefit my blog readers new and old too!
So, What did I make for the audition you ask?
Carnita Tacos with Slaw and Mango Salsa
Carnitas
1 lb pork shoulder cut into 3 inch chunks
3 garlic cloves minced and smashed into a paste
1/4 onion finely minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, S&P
Roast on 325F for about 1 1/2 hours or alternatively if the thermostat blows on your oven use the Hellfire and Brimstone Setting for 30 minutes (This method is NOT recommended)
Let rest about 10 minutes and rough chop into small bite size pieces
Mango Salsa
1 ripe mango, diced
1/2 garlic clove minced and smashed into a paste
2 roma tomatoes
1 tsp fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix and allow to set up to overnight in the fridge.
Coleslaw
1/4 head red cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery stalk with leaves, shredded
1/4 red bell pepper, shredded
1 green onion, greens slivered
2-3 Tbsp Mayo
Salt and Perpper to taste
Mix all ingredients and allow to sit up to 2 hours in fridge.
Corn tortillas, 2 per serving
Toasted over an open gas flame until the edges are slightly charred.
Lime, cut into wedges.
At home I serve this with beans and rice. But did not make them for the competition because to me that seemed silly.
It's a beautiful dish and I failed to take a picture any of the times I made it. But it's colorful and so flavorful. I am even going to grill the carnitas next time I make them to add a smoky element.
Thanks for stopping by!
So, I have some exciting news from last weekend that my fellow foodies will appreciate. This girl auditioned for MasterChef! It was an amazing experience and even though I didn't make it to a call back this time the producers and staff never once made me feel bad. It's actually pretty encouraging and I plan to go back for the next auditions they hold. Fingers crossed that they continue with more seasons after season five. So everybody watch the next season on Fox so they keep renewing the program!
The Phoenix auditions went a little like this. You pre register online, a casting person calls you to set up an appointment (which does not really matter) You print out and complete a lengthy questionnaire. Which they barely glance at during your audition, I'm assuming they use it for callbacks later on in the process. Then you spend the rest of your days until your audition testing and retesting your recipe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until your family is sick of it and you can successfully fix it blindfolded, hands tied, and using an oven that refuses to heat to any other temperature besides Hellfire and brimstones (This literally happened to me...) You will also develop a migraine and break out in ecema from the enormous amount of stress YOU are putting on yourself. During all this you barely think about the interview portion of the audition because your food is going to be so delicious they decide to send you right to the top 25... Okay, back to reality! The Phoenix auditions were close enough for us to take a road trip. And BONUS! my in-laws live in Phoenix so I had access to a full kitchen. Unlike so many others who have traveled to the auditions, stayed in hotels, and cooked their food 2 days in advance before they came, honestly.
When you arrive half an hour before auditions start the room is already starting to fill up. 18 people are already lined up along the wall waiting to go in as the first group. You look around at all these people, trying to remember faces in case you don't make it and some of them do. This is so you can point at the t.v. and say Hey! I saw that guy at the Phoenix auditions! Then you wait hours until your turn in group 3 comes along. You chat with some people get interviewed by local news agents and bloggers, etc. Important note "I'm not into the drama like some of the people are." is the equivalent ofsaying you have the Ebola virus when speaking to a blogger... Eh, whatever. The environment is competitive but not snarky or snobby. Of course everyone believes they are the next masterchef. If we didn't think we were awesome we wouldn't be there! It's pretty easy to chat up your neighbor. Everyone is asking about your food and sharing what they made. Coolers are everywhere, One guy had a chaffing set, even though I'm pretty sure it said no open flames in the rules. And several people have brought their crockpots and are politely vying for any open outlet they can reach. Another important note: If you take a crockpot and it has to sit on the floor to be plugged in do NOT sit the lid on the floor when you decide to stir your food, Floor spice is not tasty and I'm pretty sure if one of the staff sees that you won't make it to the audition room. A few of the former contestants come to pump you up. Monti from season 3, I think, was there. She's super cool and I'm convinced Her, Clinton Kelly, and I should be BFF's.
Suddenly it's your turn to line up in a group of 18 and you miss your chance to convince Monti that you're destined to be besties. This line of 18 is who you are going to face the food tasters and producers with. Everyone around me broke off into little groups and I bounced back and forth between conversations. Both ladies beside me had auditioned before so I eagerly listened as they outlined what would happen. An hour after lining up your group is taken back into the audition room. And as you go everyone still waiting is cheering you on. I'm pretty sure it's a similar feeling to what High School football players experience when they take the field and the cheerleaders and fans are going wild.
In the audition room you are greeted and lined up around a u shaped table. Everyone has about a 2-3 foot square to work on. They tell you to pull out all of your stuff to get ready for plating. But, you aren't allowed to plate anything until they give the verbal signal. Then you have three minutes to plate and clear your mess. And these aren't regular minutes. They are the fastest kind of minutes. Your hands are shaking which slows you down, but everyone in our group was finished in time. If it doesn't make it on the plate it doesn't get tasted so get it on the plate! One of the staff comes around and you hold up your application that has your name, contestant #, and dish name on it and they take your picture making jokes about prison mugshots every now and then. They also snap your food with and without your app info. Two food tasters start on opposite ends of the tables and look at your food, take small bites, and ask you questions about your cooking style, abilities, etc. You spend 2-3 minutes with them. Occasionally you hear a compliment, other times they taste and don't say anything. Sometimes they take two bites and say Yum! This would be so good with a Corona! And then you revert to thinking they will see how awesome you are and you're straight through to the top 25. But Reality slaps you in the face when the bearded producer oozing with personality steps up to talk to you and find out about your personality. At this point you manage to answer his questions. Even telling him his beard is awesome when he asks what you think about it (It truly was an awesome beard). He asks if you are competitive and you say yeah, but forget to mention that you played softball for a state team, or anything else that even seems remotely competitive about yourself. You leave out so many things that you realize as he moves on to the next person that you now seem like a snooze fest. Great! After all of the interviews they deliberate, right in the same room and then announce any numbers that they want to continue the interview process with. Of course since I put the guy to sleep during my interview I didn't expect my number to be called and it wasn't. They do thank everyone for coming and share that the food was great and that they still may call you. Keeping hope alive. But I wonder if they ever really call anyone that didn't make it to the immediate callbacks.
It was a fun experience and it definately threw me out of my comfort zone, especially the personality interview. My personality doesn't always come out in interviews, even for jobs I struggle. So we knew ahead of time this was where I would struggle, Hubs even called it. He said it won't be your food that holds you back it will be the interview. Now I know what I need to work on. And it will benefit my blog readers new and old too!
So, What did I make for the audition you ask?
Carnita Tacos with Slaw and Mango Salsa
Carnitas
1 lb pork shoulder cut into 3 inch chunks
3 garlic cloves minced and smashed into a paste
1/4 onion finely minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, S&P
Roast on 325F for about 1 1/2 hours or alternatively if the thermostat blows on your oven use the Hellfire and Brimstone Setting for 30 minutes (This method is NOT recommended)
Let rest about 10 minutes and rough chop into small bite size pieces
Mango Salsa
1 ripe mango, diced
1/2 garlic clove minced and smashed into a paste
2 roma tomatoes
1 tsp fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix and allow to set up to overnight in the fridge.
Coleslaw
1/4 head red cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery stalk with leaves, shredded
1/4 red bell pepper, shredded
1 green onion, greens slivered
2-3 Tbsp Mayo
Salt and Perpper to taste
Mix all ingredients and allow to sit up to 2 hours in fridge.
Corn tortillas, 2 per serving
Toasted over an open gas flame until the edges are slightly charred.
Lime, cut into wedges.
At home I serve this with beans and rice. But did not make them for the competition because to me that seemed silly.
It's a beautiful dish and I failed to take a picture any of the times I made it. But it's colorful and so flavorful. I am even going to grill the carnitas next time I make them to add a smoky element.
Thanks for stopping by!