Congratulations to Merrill for winning her second A&M Holiday Smackdown with her recipe for Mulled White Wine with Pear Brandy! And Amanda may have lost, but she still gets a Q&A for being a good sport (read on below).
Winner's Q&A with Merrill
- How do you plan to celebrate your victory?
- Gleefully, with lots and lots of hot toddies.
- In what other contests do you think you could take Amanda?
- Anything revolving around butter. Or cheese.
- In which ones would she trounce you?
- Anything having to do with Meyer lemons. Also, pretty much any sort of baking contest.
- What's the best thing you've tasted recently?
- My mother made a delicious butternut squash puree for Christmas: it just had butter, maple syrup and orange juice/zest, and it was topped with some toasted pecans. Simple but perfect.
- Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
- Right after I moved into my current apartment (about 4 years ago), a pot of oil I'd been heating on the stove for deep frying spontaneously combusted when I lifted the lid (NEVER heat oil with the lid on, people!) and created a column of fire. It was so hot that I couldn't get close enough to it to put it out (mistake #2: having only a mini fire extinguisher on hand), so I called 911. In the seven minutes it took the fire truck to arrive, the microwave above my stove had melted into a grotesque, Dali-like sculpture, and my kitchen cabinets had totally scorched, filling the entire apartment with a layer of dark soot. (Even the medicine cabinet in my bathroom at the other end of the apartment had a fine layer of soot inside it.) I couldn't use my kitchen for 3 months.
- What was on the menu at your last dinner party?
- It was so long ago, it's hard for me to remember. I think it was back in the fall; I made pumpkin and cheese baked pasta, Al Forno-style, and the shaved Brussels sprouts salad I wrote about right around the same time, and we had fruit and cookies for dessert.
- What's your least favorite food?
- Fishy/slimy seafood.
- Who is your culinary hero?
- Amanda! And Laurie Colwin -- I love that she cooked simple, great food -- nothing too fancy -- and she really had such a great writing voice.
Loser's Q&A with Amanda
- So, how does it feel to lose the A&M Smackdown 2 years in a row?
- I bow to the master.
- How do you plan to console yourself?
- I plan to drink loads of Merrill's hot toddies, until I can no longer remember that I lost.
- In what contests do you think you could take Merrill?
- Well, let's see. Nothing with cheese or creme fraiche. She'd school me for sure. But maybe scallops -- she doesn't like scallops! Weak spot!
- In which ones would she (continue to) trounce you?
- See above.
- What's the best thing you've tasted recently?
- Spicy minced duck salad at Kin Shop, Harold Dieterle's new restaurant in Manhattan.
- Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
- This contest. Clearly!
- What was on the menu at your last dinner party?
- It was an engagement party for Merrill and (now her husband) Jonathan. Merrill's ricotta crostini. Corn soup. Slow roasted cod with romesco. Roasted potatoes. Peach tart.
- What's your least favorite food?
- Caviar
- Who is your culinary hero?
- Johnny Apple and Merrill
 of the 2nd Annual A&M Annual Smackdown){kind=link}
12 Comments on Winner (and Loser) of the 2nd Annual A&M Annual Smackdown:
Merrill - you're not alone - I was reading the intro to Dorie Greenspan's new book and, in it, she makes reference to burning down her parents' kitchen when she was young and just starting to experiment with cooking. I'd have to say that might top your disaster - burning down your OWN kitchen is one thing, but burning down your PARENTS' kitchen (with all the guilt, disciplining, etc. that may come with that) is quite another!!
So glad that both you and Dorie were unharmed in those blazes.
Still need to make the drinks - both sound sublime. Merrill - Congrats, and thanks for the tip about the hot oil - did NOT know that. Glad you were ok, despite the kitchen meltdown.
I've missed about 3 weeks here and I have a lot to catch up on!! I'll be jumping back in starting with these two recipes fo sho.
Huge thanks!!! I just got my mail and came home to my beautiful pickle prize and an ep!! You guys are awesome. I never thought I'd miss a website so much as I missed this one. Heartfelt hugs to all.
Go team both! Scallops IN creme fraiche? Spicy duck on a buttered roll? YUM!
I second MrsLarkin re: go Team Creme Fraiche! And, I like to think there's no shame in setting your kitchen on fire (I did so when cooking for my brother's confirmation - yikes!), as long as you don't burn your eyebrows off ;).
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoAw, shucks. No greater honor than winning for biggest mess-up! Thanks, guys.
Wow...that is really a spectacular kitchen disaster! Did your smoke detector go off for the appropriate sound effects?
Merrill is a co-founder of food52.
added about 1 year agoI think so, but honestly, I think I was in shock and don't remember many details.
I'd say that Merrill also wins the contest for the most spectacular kitchen disaster!
Seriously, Merrill, pretty sure your kitchen disaster takes the cake!
Go Team Creme Fraiche! And that's one spectacular kitchen disaster, merrill! Better luck next year, amanda.
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