A couple of months ago, I was asked to be a judge at some food contest or other sponsored by a nonprofit. Tell you the truth, I can't even remember the name of the nonprofit or the theme of the contest. I do remember two things, however: that the new chef of 6ix Park Grill at the Irvine Hyatt (where the contest was held) created some amazing concoctions out of chocolate, and that the best meal out of a strong field was the simple preparation of a grilled cheese with meat and a shooter of tomato sauce (as seen above) created by Molly Kruger of Chef Molly Culinary Artistry.
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If you've been to too many nonprofit fund-raisers, political shindigs or general meetings, you'll know the horror that is approaching the buffet table with its stale grapes, umpteenth rendition of egg rolls or kebabs. It's a curse worse than the banquet chicken dinner. But those grilled-cheese sandwiches, buttery and crispy and fatty and gooey, were worthy of a Philly stand. The tomato sauce reeked of basil and sang sweet notes of tart and heartiness. Kruger doesn't update her Twitter or Facebook at all, but next time I hear her company is catering, I'm crashing the convention.
Chef Molly Culinary Artistry, 32552 Commerce Center Dr., Ste. S, Laguna Hills, (949) 206-9288; www.chefmolly.com.
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