Kristen Hess

I’ve been nominated to participate in the Favorite Chef Competition with a chance to win a handsome cash prize and be featured in Bon Appétit Magazine! If you’d like to sponsor me with a $10 paid vote, that bumps me up to a hero spot and the proceeds go to Feeding America. They narrow us down by total number of votes each week, starting with Top 15 (this week), Top 10 (following week), Top 5 (week after), then the contest goes on to Group Winners, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and then Final Winner announced on April 8th! And, I will use the prize money to build a kick butt photography kitchen studio to do my photoshoots and recipe creation/cooking, and will start offering cooking and photography and food styling classes/workshops and maybe even start doing small catering/events in the future.

They’re filled with a savory mixture of juicy grass-fed ground beef, baby bella mushrooms, water chestnuts, scallions, cilantro, ginger, white and red pepper, and soy sauce. (The Kung Pao Beef and Black Pepper Caramel Chicken) These Beef and Mushroom Dumplings with Asian Dipping Sauce are super easy and fun to make and perfect way to celebrate the Chinese New Year! Filled with grass-fed ground beef, baby bella mushrooms, water chestnuts, scallions, cilantro, ginger, white and red pepper, and soy sauce and first pan-fried then steamed for a crispy and juicy finish on the dumplings. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, white pepper, red pepper flakes and egg.

Hattie B’s also has an amazing Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich too except they use a Southern Comeback Sauce which is made with ketchup, mayo, chili sauce, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and spices. The sliders are topped off with Buffalo mayonnaise, dill pickle slices, Buffalo sauce, and broccoli slaw mixed with Blue Cheese dressing and each one is only about 2 carbs total which is the best part! … First, I sprinkled the chicken with the Nashville Hot Chicken seasoning on both sides, added  some buttermilk and hot sauce in a resealable large bag in the fridge to let marinate for a few hours . Pan-seared spicy buttermilk chicken topped off with Buffalo mayonnaise, dill pickle slices, Buffalo sauce, and broccoli slaw mixed with Blue Cheese dressing.

My Tampa-Style Cuban egg rolls are the absolute perfect appetizer – made with juicy roasted Mojo pork, ham, melted Swiss cheese, Genoa salami, dill pickles and a drizzle of mustard – When ready to cook the roast, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pork on a small rack or cut vegetables in a roasting pan or casserole dish and roast for about 40-45 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 145 degrees F. (cooking time is approx. Layer 2 slices each of ham, salami, pork, cheese and 2 pickle slices diagonally across the center of each wrapper, add a small drizzle of yellow mustard on top. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by mixing together the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, grainy mustard, hot sauce, and chives; cover and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.