Charlotte Mason ’14

Charlotte Mason, upon first glance is just your typical college Freshman, excited to be at UNH, a bit overwhelmed by classes, and eager to meet new people. One aspect about Charlotte that sets her apart from many of her classmates in Christenson and Williamson is her ambition in something that she loves, baking. Just talking for a few minutes with Charlotte, you notice her eyes illuminate with sheer passion as she humbly discusses her recent triumph in UNH’S Iron Chef competition. 

HC: When did you first get interested in cooking and what sparked that interest?

The FoodNetwork was always so much more interesting to me growing up than most other TV channels, so I’d have to say my frequent watching of Giada DeLaurentis, Ina Garten and Iron Chef got me interested in trying out recipes in my spare time. I also LOVE to eat so I guess it comes naturally that I love to cook.

HC: What professional bakers, bloggers or chefs inspire you? Why?

Smitten Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman are my favorite food bloggers. I mostly peruse around their Blogrolls or suggested favorite blogs for other recipes.  Deb from smitten kitchen makes the most delicious looking food but without all of the priceyness that a gourmet recipe sometimes entails. She also takes the most beautiful pictures of her food. I highly recommend her site. I also love Ina Garten, her show is so relaxing to watch and just like Smitten Kitchen her food is fabulously simple.

HC: What is your specialty in your cooking? What is your favorite thing of all times to cook?

I find myself to be more of a baker than a cook. I love to make pies, tarts, cookies, brownies- I have a major sweet tooth. My favorite thing of all time is making Swedish butter cookies with my grandmother at Christmas time- they’re called Spritz and they are addictive!

HC: What is your major and how does it relate to what your goals are with cooking?

My major is Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems with a Dual Major in EcoGastronomy. I love farms and plan on having a small one when I’m older where I can produce all of my own fruits and vegetables to be as self sustaining as possible. I would love to have a barn on my property where I can run a catering business out of. Ultimately I want to hold functions and weddings at the barn and serve food that has been produced by either myself or other local farmers.

HC: Describe the iron chef event.

There were 9 teams of two in the entire competition. There were three initial rounds where 3 teams competed at a time. The winners of the three rounds competed in the finals which were held this past Wednesday at Holloway Commons. You had to create a dish using ingredients found in the dining hall and your plate had to include a protein, a starch and a vegetable. One component of your dish had to include the secret ingredient- Coca Cola!

HC: Describe the emotions that participating in the event evoked from the start to the end.

My partner and I were very nervous at first because we weren’t used to being timed or cooking infront of a bunch of people. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack by the end of the competition but it was totally worth it.

HC: What was your dish and how did you come up with it?

We made chicken stuffed with butternut squash, goat cheese and sage accompanied by a cranberry and citrus spiced cous cous with a granny smith, toasted walnut, and mixed green salad tossed in a balsamic-coca cola reduction vinaigrette. We knew we wanted to use a reduction for the coca cola and I took the butternut squash stuffing idea from a ravioli recipe I had made a few weeks ago.

HC: What was your favorite part of the event?

I loved talking with the chef’s who run the dining halls and I really liked seeing what the other competitors came up with. The free chef coat and hat were a major plus as well.

HC: What was your first thought when you won the event? What were the prizes?

My first thought was “no way!” I was so happy especially because my family and friends had been there to see me compete. For the first round we each won our own knife set and Top Chef cookbook. The grand prize was a flat screen TV for each of us!

HC: What does it feel like to have won as a freshman? What was your competition like?

I was so intimidated by the upperclassmen; that was the first thing I noticed in the initial meeting before the competition. In my opinion, some of their dishes looked better than ours but I have to say it was nice to see that no one else went with the stuffing method for the chicken. I hope they let us compete next year!

HC: What meal would you suggest to cook to impress someone (ie. boyfriend, boyfriend’s parents? )

The first thing that comes to mind is chicken with pasta alla tomato vodka cream sauce. You could do a light salad on the side with some crusty bread. There really aren’t any bad recipes for this dish out there on the web and it is sure to impress.