Healthy snacks are OsoSweet at New York event
Healthy snacks are OsoSweet at New York event
In a cookoff that resembled the popular television show "Iron Chef," six well- known chefs and cookbook authors from New York and Philadelphia whipped up healthy Super Bowl snacks using OsoSweet onions in a benefit for The Doe Fund Feb. 2 in New York City.
The Doe Fund, founded in 1990, and its Ready, Willing & Able program have helped over 2,600 formerly homeless people become self-sufficient. Participants work in paid jobs, cleaning the streets as part of the organization's Community Improvement Project or cooking and preparing food as part of the Culinary Arts Initiative. The culinary arts program provides participants with food handling and food preparation skills, as well as basic nutrition education.
With the assistance of a Doe Fund job developer, each Ready, Willing & Able participant finds a full-time job and permanent housing, two conditions that must be met in order to graduate. The Doe Fund also operates RWA programs in Jersey City, NJ, and Philadelphia.
The event, held at The Doe Fund's New York City facility, featured two competing teams of three women each from New York and Philadelphia. Representing New York were Jill Cordes, host of "The Best Of" on the Food Network; New York Times food writer Melissa Clark; and Daisy Martinez, host of "Daisy Cooks" on PBS.
Competing from Philadelphia were Delilah Winder, author of Delilah's Everyday Soul; Hope Cohen, host of "Fretz Kitchen" on Comcast; and Tamara Holt, cookbook author and former food editor of Redbook magazine.
Each team was given 30 minutes to create the most exotic yet healthy snacks to munch on while watching the big game. The theme was "Super Snacks That Won't Supersize You."
As in "Iron Chef," each team was given one main ingredient -- OsoSweet onions -- that had to be incorporated into each dish. Oso Sweets, the winter sweet onion from the Andes mountains region of Chile, are exported to the United States by Saven Corp. in Waterford, MI.
After 30 minutes of slicing, dicing, saut?ing and roasting, each team, cheered on by Doe Fund members, presented its OsoSweet concoctions for judging. In a very close competition, the women from the City of Brotherly Love came out on top. Winning dishes included spicy shrimp nachos topped with fresh OsoSweet onion and lime salsa; vegetable frittata with saut?ed OsoSweets; caramelized OsoSweet three-cheese quesadillas with sweet onion and fig jam; and spicy chicken wings with creamy OsoSweet onion dip.
"The amazing thing about OsoSweet onions is how versatile they are," said Ms. Holt, captain of the victorious Philadelphia team. "They are perfect raw in a fresh salsa or salad, slow-cooked and caramelized, or anything in-between. In our four dishes, we used them five different ways, and it was the perfect choice in all cases."
On behalf of the winning team, OsoSweet provided a generous donation to the Doe Fund.
"We were delighted to help out with such a worthwhile cause," said Rodger Helwig, OsoSweet marketing director. "The Doe Fund's culinary arts program is a great way to help people obtain useful job skills and get back on their feet."
The Doe Fund, founded in 1990, and its Ready, Willing & Able program have helped over 2,600 formerly homeless people become self-sufficient. Participants work in paid jobs, cleaning the streets as part of the organization's Community Improvement Project or cooking and preparing food as part of the Culinary Arts Initiative. The culinary arts program provides participants with food handling and food preparation skills, as well as basic nutrition education.
With the assistance of a Doe Fund job developer, each Ready, Willing & Able participant finds a full-time job and permanent housing, two conditions that must be met in order to graduate. The Doe Fund also operates RWA programs in Jersey City, NJ, and Philadelphia.
The event, held at The Doe Fund's New York City facility, featured two competing teams of three women each from New York and Philadelphia. Representing New York were Jill Cordes, host of "The Best Of" on the Food Network; New York Times food writer Melissa Clark; and Daisy Martinez, host of "Daisy Cooks" on PBS.
Competing from Philadelphia were Delilah Winder, author of Delilah's Everyday Soul; Hope Cohen, host of "Fretz Kitchen" on Comcast; and Tamara Holt, cookbook author and former food editor of Redbook magazine.
Each team was given 30 minutes to create the most exotic yet healthy snacks to munch on while watching the big game. The theme was "Super Snacks That Won't Supersize You."
As in "Iron Chef," each team was given one main ingredient -- OsoSweet onions -- that had to be incorporated into each dish. Oso Sweets, the winter sweet onion from the Andes mountains region of Chile, are exported to the United States by Saven Corp. in Waterford, MI.
After 30 minutes of slicing, dicing, saut?ing and roasting, each team, cheered on by Doe Fund members, presented its OsoSweet concoctions for judging. In a very close competition, the women from the City of Brotherly Love came out on top. Winning dishes included spicy shrimp nachos topped with fresh OsoSweet onion and lime salsa; vegetable frittata with saut?ed OsoSweets; caramelized OsoSweet three-cheese quesadillas with sweet onion and fig jam; and spicy chicken wings with creamy OsoSweet onion dip.
"The amazing thing about OsoSweet onions is how versatile they are," said Ms. Holt, captain of the victorious Philadelphia team. "They are perfect raw in a fresh salsa or salad, slow-cooked and caramelized, or anything in-between. In our four dishes, we used them five different ways, and it was the perfect choice in all cases."
On behalf of the winning team, OsoSweet provided a generous donation to the Doe Fund.
"We were delighted to help out with such a worthwhile cause," said Rodger Helwig, OsoSweet marketing director. "The Doe Fund's culinary arts program is a great way to help people obtain useful job skills and get back on their feet."
