Glo McNeil wins the Recipes to Riches contest!

The winner of the R to R contest was announced on the finale of the show this past Wednesday. Winner? Glo McNeil and her Luscious Lemon Pudding Cakes. Although the recipe was very simple...it was also very tasty. Who doesn't love lemons? Check out the finale episode here.

Who do you think should've won? I didn't vote for Glo myself, but I had a feeling she would...just based on the number of supporters on Facebook and her story and her personality, probably helped her win this contest. Regardless, great job Glo!

Recipes to Riches: time to vote for your favourite category!

Now the time has come. If you have been following Food Network Canada's Recipes to Riches, here's your chance to have a say in your favourite category! Originally 7 categories, it is now down to 6 as Sonya and her gluten-free cookies were exempt from the grand prize. The category/person with the most votes wins $250,000. Now that's a lot of cash to boot! I know who I'm voting for...Go here to vote! You have until Friday, December 9th, 11:59EST before the polls close.

Recipes to Riches: Week Seven

This is it! This is the very last episode before Canada gets to vote on who gets the grand prize of $250,000! Who will it be? Will it be this gentleman and his "slow and low pulled pork"?

Two packages or pork (200g each) were included in this week's R to R.

The final R to R episode was in the category on main entrees. This is the big one! The entree is the star of a meal! The three contestants this week were Eva and her lobster mac 'n' cheese, Robert and his pulled-pork meat and Scott with his braised lamb shanks and orzo pasta.

This was another disappointing episode for me (in terms of who won). Robert and his "slow and low" pulled pork won against Eva and Scott, which I think had better entree items. Although Scott got eliminated during the batch-up contest because he didn't have a clear recipe written down (he eyeballed everything), Eva had a good stab as the winner. Although I'm sure the judges have it down right; not many people would pay a hefty price tag for a premium product in a super market. But I know I would--it'll always be cheaper than eating out!

I cooked the pork for dinner last night so that we could get a taste of this before we voted for the final winner (the polls open on December 7th, 12:01am EST). I already knew that I wouldn't vote for this person, probably because I have had pulled pork many times...and although it takes a while to make (slow roasted for 12 hours), I wanted to vote for something different. Nevertheless, the pork was very tender, and perfectly seasoned with the right amount of tang.


Wanna watch the final episode of R to R? Go here!

Recipes to Riches: Week Six

Isn't that cute? The colourful container contains 500mL of the yummy stuff!

 The second last episode has arrived...and I can't believe it's almost over! This week's episode is all about ice cream. Mmm. The three contestants this week are Mark with his teapolitan (green and earl grey tea) layered ice cream cake, Rosy with her creamy kulfi ice cream and Audrey with her s'mores ice cream treat.

Interesting challenge this was because the one girl I thought would get eliminated during the batch-up contest, didn't. Instead, Mark, the guy I wanted to win, got turfed. And poor guy, you have to watch this episode to see this! During the batch-up contest, he pours his boiling hot ice cream mixture into the ice cream machine...only to find out that it was a little too full. The boiling hot mixture poured right back on to him. I felt so bad for him! And he didn't win. 


Now left with Rosy and her creamy kulfi and Audrey with her s'mores ice cream treat. Winner? Rosy and her decadent East Indian dessert, creamy kulfi. I believe some of you have had this at Indian restaurants. The texture is almost sponge like, with a very rich and dense cream sauce flavoured with pistachios and cardamom. Rosy put a new spin to this by making it an ice cream (she had to do this on the batch-contest because it wasn't freezing fast enough). Turns out, it was for the better!

So yummy!

I'm glad that Rosy won this one (aside from Mark); her ice cream is unique because it's a spin on a traditional East Indian dessert. It has a very refreshing aftertaste because of the cardamom, which I love. Audrey had a yummy product but nothing we haven't tried yet. Also, she had quite the bossy personality...

Recipes to Riches: Week One

(I'm a bit behind ...) Week one of Recipe to Riches - Glo McNeil of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia wins the first one. She was up against three other contestants: A gentleman from Montreal with his Maple Pudding Chomeur and a food blogger from Burnaby with her Canadian Pie in a Jar. Although Glo's "Luscious Lemon Pudding" won out against the three, I was very interested in the other two desserts. Perhaps I should give the recipes a try? Check them out here. If you're interested in watching the video, check it out here.

Time for the taste test...

The packaging. Cute heh?

Each in a individual plastic ramekin.

Heat it up in the micro for 1 minute and...voila! You have "Luscious Lemon Pudding" 

Verdict: these cute little desserts were delicious! Although the recipe is quite simple, the judges are right that it could be a casual or fancy dessert.

My two favourite things collaborate: President's Choice & Food Network Canada

For those of you who love food and watch Food Network on a daily basis, you probably have heard of the show "Recipe To Riches" in which contestants across Canada (I'm still choked that I didn't hear about this until a few weeks ago!) entered their recipes. The judges scoured across Canada from Coast to Coast, choosing the top three finalists for each of the 7 categories (from desserts to savoury pies ). Within each category, all three individuals compete in a "batch-up challenge" in which the three contestants chosen must make their recipe enough for 100+ or 200+ depending on the challenge. Once the judges have a taste at the recipe, one person is eliminated from that round. The remaining two contestants compete against each other in a marketing challenge in which they pair up with two of Toronto's top marketing firms to market their products. The contestant with the best consumer response, name and marketing idea wins $25,000, their recipe made into a PC product for Canada to try and are automatically qualified for the grand prize of $250,000.

 There are 7 categories to compete in; the first two contestants already won for their dessert. They won $25,000 and their recipe made into a PC product and made avaiable to Canada the following weekend. The final 7 contestants are up against $250,000 and their recipe made into a permanent PC product. I already tried the "Luscious Lemon Pudding Cakes" and "Rockin' Peach Cheesecake" and they are delicious! However, my question is--why didn't I hear about this contest?  Check it out here: