Bobby's Dinner Battle on Food Network: Marinated Mozzarella Bites

On Food Network's Bobby's Dinner Battle, Bobby Flay gifted Steve and I a jar of Spanish olives with pimentos.  I usually make this appetizer with a slow-roasted tomato but for the dinner battle challenge I substituted the slow-roasted tomatoes with Bobby's gift: Olives.  Guests at my dinner parties always gobble these down however my competitor stated due to the rosemary sprig, my appetizer was difficult and awkward to eat.  On the show, I originally planned to make roasted beet bites or a roasted beet and goat cheese tower/salad for Marc, but he said he didn't like beets! I was so bummed because the colors, taste, and presentation would of made it a winning vegetarian appetizer!  I am an avid
Meat Free Monday cook and have many vegetarian friends, hearing him say that he doesn't like beets was a complete shock me! Beets are so good for you!

What do you think? What would you have made as a vegetarian appetizer???

Slow Roasted Tomatoes 

Ingredients 

Grape Tomatoes

Olive oil 

Salt 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and rub a little bit of olive oil on them.  Place the tomatoes seed side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a pinch of salt . Roast for about 2-3 hours (you can also use vine-ripe tomatoes and roast 3-5 hours) You want to make sure they are caramelized and the moisture is evaporated. You can store the tomatoes in refrigerator up to one week in an air-tight jar but drizzle them with olive oil.

Marinated Mozzarella 

Ingredients 

1 block of mozzarella cheese

12-14 slow-roasted or sun-dried tomatoes

1/8 cup of olive oil 

1 tablespoon of finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon of Greek seasoning 

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper 

Garnish: fresh sprigs of rosemary 

Preparation 

Cut the block of mozzarella cheese into 1-inch cubes.  In a bowl whisk together the olive oil, parsley, oregano, Greek seasoning. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Stir or toss in the cubes of mozzarella cheese. Cover or let chill for up to 24 hours before serving.  Transfer the cubes onto a serving plate, place the slow-roasted tomato or olive on top of the cheese cube and garnish with a short rosemary sprig. Serve and enjoy! 

Extra Extra!

"A Wicker Park couple will grace the small screen this month to show off their culinary and entertaining prowess on one of Food Network's latest series.

Wicker Park resident and food blogger Kat Levitt and her husband, Steve, will be featured on an episode of "Bobby's Dinner Challenge." The cooking competition series revolves around host Bobby Flay traveling the country and pitting teams of amateur cooks against one another to see who prepares the best dinner party.

Courtesy of the Food Network 

The Chicago episode, which will air at 9 p.m. on Jan. 30, pits the Levitts against two other teams—"husbands Marc and Ryan" and "mother and son Doris and John," according to the official episode description—to throw a speakeasy-themed dinner party to impress Flay and a guest judge. The winning team gets to take home a "Bobby's Dinner Battle" trophy.

Levitt said she first got involved with the show when a friend of hers saw the casting call and encouraged her to try out.

"We filled out the application, we got interviewed and we had to present a dinner party for our casting people," she said. "And we got the news that we were casted for Chicago, that Bobby Flay and Food Network considered us one of the best home cooks in Chicago."

They were given a budget and theme to work with and sent to a grocery store to stock up for the party. She said they were given three hours to make the meal and prepare to host the judges—and their competition—in their home. They also got to attend their competitors' dinner parties. Levitt said the experience filled her with a mix of emotions ranging for apprehension to excitement.

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 "It was very cool," she said. "My husband and I were very excited to be casted. A little bit nervous. I've never been on TV. It's my first time being on TV, cooking under pressure and having a theme and kind of not knowing what the theme was, going into the challenge. It was exciting."

The Levitts have lived in their Wicker Park home—located on the 1400 block of North Hoyne Avenue between Schiller and Le Moyne—for about three years. Kat works for Bucktown's Tree House Humane Society and started her blog about two years ago after friends and dinner party guests began asking her to share her recipes.

"I actually don't cook from recipes," she said. "I kind of just go with the flow, and I would have to always explain how I made my dishes. Someone told me to start a food blog and start posting my recipes."

She said she was looking forward to watching the episode and seeing how her performance turned out. She and her husband are planning to host a party to mark the occasion.

"We're going to have a viewing party with our friends, neighbors, family, and I have several people that are active followers of my blog, too, that are coming," she said. "Just people that have supported us and love our food and our friends and family."

Written by Luke Wilusz from the Bucktown-Wicker Park Patch 

What do you think I cooked for Bobby Flay on the Food Network?

As you may already know, I was casted as one of Chicago's Best Home cooks for Bobby's Dinner Battle on the   Food Network.  It airs tomorrow, Wed Jan.30th at 10/9pm Central.

We (#teamkatandsteve) would love to hear what you think we "threw-down" for Bobby Flay?!!