Turducken

Party aftermath

Woody loves balloons.

Pumpkin Gobble Gobble Takes Top Prize at the Bodega Challenge

The results are in! And after deep deliberation, the winner of the Bodega Challenge was Sarah Gentile’s “Pumpkin Gobble Gobble”, which was made from ingredients purchased for $14.57 at Buckley’s Self Service Market on Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint.  Thanks so much to the judges, Camille Becerra of Paloma and Top Chef, Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch, and Harry Rosenblum of the Brooklyn Kitchen, for tasting all 10 entrants.

Sarah’s dish was visually striking as well as being flavorful and distinctive. She used fresh apples (produce!) as well as pistachios, walnuts, and marshmallows to create a turkey on top of the casserole made with pumpkin, marshmallows and coconut milk.  A photo of the winning dish, plus the recipe, after the jump…

The Bodegas

The Bodegas are, in no particular order:

Buckley’s Self Service Market, Nassau Avenue between Monitor and Kingsland

5-11 Lorimer Market, Lorimer Street between Frost and Richardson

Hermano’s Grocery, Grand Street between Bedford and Driggs

PA Tropical Grocery, corner of Franklin and Java Streets

These are our pre-approved bodegas, but you can take the quiz below to find out if your local grocery counts as a bodega. Remember: if they stock kombucha, it’s not a bodega!

Good luck, see you there! The party starts at 7, tasting begins at 9!

2007 Bodega Challenge Rules

So what qualifies as a bodega? Take the following quiz and find out!

Take a look around your local market, does it have the following?

Cat (+1 points)

Organic Milk (-1 points)

Lottery Station (+1 points)

Kombucha (-2 points)

Quarter Water (+1 points)

Plexiglass Partition (+2 points)

Pirate’s Booty (-1 points)

Imported beer ( not Heineken) (-1 points)

Malt liquor (+1 points)

Accepts credit cards (-1 points)

Tabulate your market’s score, and check the results after the jump.

Bodega Challenge Rules

The Bodega Challenge will be held Wednesday, November 7 at our First Birthday Party at Union Pool. Here are the rules:

1. Sign up at bodega(at)thebrooklynkitchen(dot)com

2. Spending limit $20 (RECEIPT REQUIRED)

2.5. Because of the number of entries, we will be limiting the $20 to INCLUDE ALL PANTRY ITEMS. I couldn’t think of a good way to dictate what got considered pantry items, so that’s it! $20 for everything that is used for the dish, food-wise.

3. Recipe required (to be published on this here blog, with credit)

4. Dish must be edible

4.5. This is NOT a live cooking event, please bring dishes prepared and ready to eat!

5. Dish must be sufficient to serve 10 persons

6. Dish should be some form of Thanksgiving side dish

7. Bodegas will be published here ONE WEEK before the event.

8. You can also make the Brooklyn Kitchen a birthday cake. We are one year old! Anybody who brings a birthday cake will get 10% off for the entire month of November.
UPDATE: commenter is correct, these bodegas will NOT be along the lines of Hana or Sunac. Again, a list of FIVE area bodegas, covering Williamsburg and Greenpoint, will be published here on November 1, 2007.

All are welcome, dish or no dish, entry or no entry. There will be music and food, door prizes and fun. See you there!

First signs of Autumn

The pumpkin harvest has arrived on Metropolitan Avenue.

Crest has received their shipment of crates of pumpkins (and if you look in the back of the photo, hay!). Consider this first notice that The Brooklyn Kitchen will be holding our first annual PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST on the sidewalk in front of the store, OCTOBER 27, 2007 at 2:00 PM weather permitting. This will be followed by roasting of seeds, and Pumpkin Pie demo (read: tasting) on Sunday. Cheers!