Angelica's Sew Me a Satay: roasted chicken, homemade satay sauce (peanut butter, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, fresh crushed garlic, fresh ground black pepper, measured by eye and by taste), grated carrots blended with garlic mayo and dried tarragon, slivered red onions, garnished with dried cranberries and celery crosses, all atop slightly toasted brown rice buns.
Creative accompaniment: the entire episode 12, an unprecedented achievement.
Wine: Misterio (Argentinian Malbec)
Appetizer: corn chips and homemade salsa by Mike.
DM on DM: Like a chicken or tuna salad sandwich, it was consistent and filling. The salsa and the chicken flavours were distinguishable. Maybe could have used cheese or a lettuce leaf. This was simple, tasty, and satisfying.DM on AS: Complex and varied, as usual. The celery interjections were a great balance to the rich, peanutty experience of eating this sandwich. i liked the cranberries especially. A really outstanding creation.
AS on DM: This sandwich had a lot of good flavours, with the salsa as a standout. I agree, a few slices of cheese would have raised this sandwich from really good to outstanding, and the spiced Gouda in the fridge might just have done the trick. There is a lot to be said of simplicity though, and this one did it right.
AS on AS: Many unexpected and opposing flavours came together in this last minute sandwich: rich satay versus crisp celery, sweet carrots versus sharp onion, tarragon versus peanut. And yet the chicken still held its ground and remained the feature ingredient. For the little bit of this and the little bit of that that came out of my cupboards, this turned out to be a pleasantly complex surprise.
Verdict:
DM - Complex vs. simple; Mexican vs. Asian; closed vs. open. Considering we started with the same chicken and did no shopping for this evening, two very different sandwiches were produced. This is a hard one for me to judge because both offered great enjoyment. But... i'm going to give the win to A over D because i think that in close races like these, artistic achievement tips the scales. "A" had the presentation, ingredient daring, and rare taste.
AS - Once again we go in opposite directions from the same starting point and turn out two fantastic sandwiches. I have to admit, I really didn't know how we were going to pull off the transformation of a Roasted Chicken Dinner and rather depleted fridge and cupboard offerings into decent dinner sandwiches, let alone Prisoner battle worthy contenders. But there was some pretty incredible resourcefulness and innovation that took place in that one hour of sandwich mastery. I too enjoyed both - D's for its smooth and consistent blend of fine flavours, mine for its complexity of unexpected flavours. In the end though, I think I have to go with mine. There is something in that peanut sauce that activates my "umami" taste buds and always leaves me wishing I had the room to eat more.
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