So, as a clue as to how fun the Shah family is, Jiten and I are doing a little cooking competition tonight. We’re all a fan of the Food TV competition shows like Chopped and the Next Iron Chef, so we’re staging our own competition.
Tonight, we will meet at the Bloom in Sterling around 4pm. We will be simalteneously texted two sets of ingredients from our respective wives, chosen by them. Our challenge? To come up with an appetizer and entree (two different lists) that incorporate the stated ingredients. We have agreed we will have five minutes of planning on our respective smartphones, and 30 minutes to shop for supplemental ingredients for what we want to make. Then we will go back to his house, where we will both have the same amount of time (and counterspace, burners, and ovens) to make our creations. Our wives will be the judges. Neither of them are particularly inclined to favor their husbands in these matters, so there is little chance of favoritism.
Of course, there must be rules! Jay and I are in agreement with this, and so we talked yesterday roughly what the rules and timelines will be. We’ve come up with judging criteria for the wives (taste, presentation, creativity, 10 point score for each, highest cumulative score wins!) The winner gets bragging rights and the loser gets to do the dishes.
I am inordinately excited about this, I can’t wait. There will be video. Jen apparently already has split the dining table in two with masking tape, and apparently has typed up the rules already. If you are in the northern virginia area and the lights start to dim, you’ll realize the concentration of dorkiness here is warping the space-time continuum.