2012 C&R Guac Off Recap
2012 marked the 7th Annual Covino & Rich Guac Off, the Covino & Rich show guacamole making competition. On Friday, May 4th, we took over the main studio at SiriusXM and the Guac Off commenced.
Meet your contestants:
Sunny Anderson
Food Network celebrity chef and host of Cooking For Real (Weekdays at 3p on Food Network)
Twitter: @SunnyAnderson
www.sunnyanderson.com
Producer Spot
Producer of the greatest show and resident “chef”
Twitter: @spotcenter
Doug Miller
Dudebro representative
Professional chef and host of Cooking with Skinny & Mini
Co-founder of iloveroadhead.com and ilovenussies.com (for all your C&R Shirt needs)
King Carlos
Resident Mexican, King of Spring Break, First Annual Guac Off Winner, and Rich’s mystery contestant who wasn’t revealed until the Guac Off
Dave Nanni
Bonus Entry
Chef and friend of King Carlos
After intense competition and a SiriusXM company wide taste test, the results were tallied. Listen as we announce the winner LIVE on the air:
CONGRATULATIONS TO SUNNY ANDERSON, the 2012 GUAC OFF CHAMPION!
Her Spicy Crab-amole proved to be superior to all other Guacs. Listen as she describes what goes into her now award-winning guacamole:
If you want to make her Guac for your Cinco de Mayo party, here’s the full recipe (courtesy of Sunny):
Sunny’s Smoky Crab-a-mole
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2012
4 poblano peppers, tops removed and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 avocados, halved and flesh removed
1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion
4 ounces micro cilantro, chopped
2 lbs (about 35-40) key limes, juiced (watch the seeds!)
24 ounces Mexican crema
2 lbs lump crab meat, cleaned of all shell debris
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1/2-1 teaspoon liquid smoke, to taste
1/4 cup hot sauce (recommended brand: Frank’s Red Hot)
1/2 cup pickled jalapeno juice (save the jalapenos for nachos)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Rub each poblano with olive oil and place on a baking sheet in oven. Cook until charred and blackened on one side, the flip. Do this until all sides are charred, about 15-18 minutes total. Remove and place on a plate in the refrigerator or freezer until cooled. Remove thin skin that is blistered and finely chop the flesh of each. Add to a large bowl and season with a sprinkle of salt..
Add all remaining ingredients in the same large bowl and season with a generous sprinkle of salt and a nice helping of freshly ground black pepper. (Cook’s note: when adding ingredients to the bowl, namely the seasonings, try to sprinkle them all over so the flavors blend easily). Mash vigorously with a potato masher until smooth. Taste and add a bit more salt or liquid smoke if needed.
Hit her up on Twitter @SunnyAnderson to congratulate her on her win! (Click here for a quick post) The Guac Off definitely wouldn’t have been the same without her.
Here are the final standings for the 2012 Guac Off
WINNER: Sunny Anderson
2nd (tie): King Carlos
2nd (tie): Dave
3rd: Producer Spot
4th: Doug
We also have to thank our friends at Patrón for providing us with drinks for the Guac Off. Patrón mixologist Walter Easterbrook (of The Bowery Hotel in NYC) whipped up margaritas throughout the whole competition, not only for us, but for all those tasting the guac. They even surprised us with Patrón Popsicles (recipe below), courtesy of King of Pops. Here are a couple of recipes for the best tasting margaritas, using the best Patrón Tequila:
Patrón Margarita
1 1/2 oz Patrón Silver tequila
2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Nectar
*Walt’s secret tip: Add a little fresh ginger for a little kick*
Cabrerra Coacktail (Play on a Margarita)
1 oz Patrón Reposado tequila
1/2 oz Patrón Citrónge orange liqueur
1/2 Orange juice
1/2 lime
2-3 dashes of tabasco
1/2 Agave
Cinnamon orange slice as Garnish. Combine and shake and strain over ice.
Blackberry Ginger Lemonade Patrón Popsicles
(makes about 10)
1/2 pint juicy blackberries
2.5 cups fresh squeezed cane juice (or simple syrup)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8-1/4 cup fresh squeezed ginger juice to taste
2-4 oz Patrón Silver to taste
pinch salt
Blend whole blackberries, cane juice, lemon juice, ginger juice, and salt in blender for 30-60 seconds until blackberries are broken down.
Strain out blackberry seeds with wire strainer.
Stir in Patrón Tequila.
Pour in pop molds, add sticks.
Freeze 5 hours or until completely frozen.
For more recipes using Patrón premium tequila, visit their website at patrontequila.com/drinks. And visit the Patrón Coctail Lab on Facebook
We also have to give an additional thanks to our friends at Tostitos brand for providing us with the chips used to sample the guacamole during the competition. They provided us with Scoops and Restaurant Style. They also sent us their Hint of Lime and Hint of Jalapeno chips along with their salsa and queso.
Visit www.tostitos.com for info on all their products and for recipes to spice up your Cinco de Mayo. And hit them up on Twitter @Tositos. And be sure to like them on Facebook
Finally, special thanks to Hass Avocados for providing us with our key ingredient for the day… the avocados of course! Without Hass there would be no guac. Visit www.avocadocentral.com for info on Hass Avocados and for ingredients for your Cinco de Mayo party using Hass Avocados! And be sure to like them on Facebook
We’re proud all our sponsors associated with our Guac Off!
For all the pictures from the 7th Annual Guac Off, visit our Flickr Gallery or watch the slideshow below:
