Platinum Chef Challenge 6

It's been a good cooking month for me. I'm playing around, and doing a lot more blogging events again which always forces me to be uber creative. Platinum Chef is the first one I did so it holds a special near and dear place in my heart. So you can imagine how overjoyed I was when I found out that my Butternut Squash and Barley broth won last month's challenge. Under Cara's new rules, this makes me the host this month - or at least the person in charge of picking the new ingredients.

The rules:
Based on the famed "Iron Chef," the Platinum Chef challenge has not 1, but 5 secret ingredients that you must combine to create your masterpieces. In the words of our founder:
"You might think they go together, and you might not. You might have used them before, or maybe not. Maybe you will have a recipe in mind, and maybe you will create a new one. Most likely, you'll put on your creative (chef's) hat and whip out something new and exciting."

To play, just create a meal using the five given ingredients and blog about it. Please link back to this post, and feel free to include the event logo in your blog. The meal can consist of 1 or 2 dishes - so you can use all the ingredients in one recipe, or make two. Example: main dish + side, appetizer + main dish, main dish + dessert, etc. But, if more than one dish is created, each dish must use at least two of the ingredients (and, any ingredient may be repeated and used in both dishes if desired). You can add whatever other ingredients you like. Email the link to your blog entry to platinumchefchallenge@gmail.com. At the end of the event, I'll compile all the entries and choose my favorite. I'll then ask that person to dream up the next five ingredients.

We definitely lost track of rounds a long time ago, but I love the number 6 because I'm a nerd (1+2+3=6, 1x2x3=6). So in order to make things little easier, I've designated this round as round six. I wanted to keep the ingredients seasonal and with spring around the corner, you'll notice a lot of green!

And round six's ingredients are:

*Capers - The news last week was touting the health benefits of capers, so Jon decided we needed them in every meal. Tart, sour, and the perfect addition to so many recipes!

*Leeks - the onion's milder, less assuming cousin. I adore leeks and throw them in most spring meals.

*Cream - heavy cream, light cream, creme freche, cream cheese....I leave it to your choice.

*Rosemary - an herb that complements almost any type of meal.

*Lemon - so bright, it wills the sun to come out and play!

If you want to play, please email me your entries by April 14th. Happy Cooking!