Woodland firefighter Tara Daniels has made it to the final round of the "Live! with Regis and Kelly" firehouse cook-off contest and will appear on the show Friday.
Daniels is a finalist in the show's "Chicken Part 2" category of the Coast to Coast Firehouse Cook-Off, the city of Woodland's website states.
Daniels' recipe for smokin' pear salad - a combination of pears, blue cheese, candied pecans, chicken and balsamic vinaigrette - impressed the show's production staff and apparently her hometown, too.
Appetizers recently wrote about Daniels' attempt to garner enough votes to make it to the final round. Click here to read the story.
The city's website attributes her final round victory to her recipe, video, "supportive co-workers and an unbeatable combination of friends, family and our Woodland community."
Daniels' segment airs at 9 a.m. Friday on KCRA.
The studio audience and hosts will rate the recipe on taste and the top five studio audience-ranked firefighters will be eligible for an online vote. The two top semi-finalists may be invited back to New York for a televised cook-off at the end of the month.
The winner gets $10,000 and the recipe will be published in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, the contest rules state.
Follow the link below to get Daniels' recipe.
Smokin' Pear Salad
The recipe, which is posted on Live's website, does not indicate how many servings this recipe makes, but Appetizers estimates it will serve four people as a meal.
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
salt, pepper, granulated garlic to taste
1 pear, firm but ripe
1 big garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
1 large head butter lettuce, washed and torn
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup candied pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberriesGarlic Bread
1 loaf French bread
1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
DIRECTIONS
Clean and dry chicken breasts. Season chicken to taste with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Set aside.Slice pear in half, and core.
If making garlic bread, slice loaf in half long ways, melt butter and add minced garlic, then brush garlic butter mixture on bread.
Place chicken, pears face down, and garlic bread crust down on a hot grill. Cook chicken until firm and juices run clear. Cook pears for one min, just until grill marks show.
Cook garlic bread until grill marks show, about 5 min, then flip and cook 2 min butter side down.
While the above ingredients are cooking, prepare dressing and salad.
To make salad dressing; mix minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl. Whisk with fork until emulsified.
Throw sliced red onion into dressing bowl. Place lettuce in large bowl. Add blue cheese, nuts, and cranberries if needed. Slice the grilled pear into 1/8-inch thick slices and add to salad.
Remove chicken from grill, thinly slice.
Add dressing with onions to salad and toss.
Top salad with chicken. If making garlic bread, slice and serve on the side.
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