ST. HELENA, Calif. — Alexandria Boswell has won the first-ever Foster Farms West Coast Chicken Cooking Contest in a heated Final Cook Off held at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in California's Napa Valley. Boswell and her Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts dish beat out more than 2,000 recipes to win the $10,000 grand prize and a one-year supply of Foster Farms fresh chicken.* In the spirit of the contest's focus on fresh, local ingredients, Boswell's Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts featured local California spinach and fresh Foster Farms chicken, grown locally in California. Boswell competed against five other finalists from California, Oregon and Washington.
The six finalists prepared and presented their dishes to an esteemed panel of food media judges including Lena Birnbaum from Bon Appetit, Sunset Magazine associate food editor Elaine Johnson; Michele Kayal, contributor to Associated Press; and Carolyn Jung of Food Gal, a James Beard Award-winning food journalist. Judges ultimately chose Alexandria Boswell's Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts dish as the West Coast Chicken Cooking Contest champion based upon its use of fresh, local ingredients including Foster Farms fresh, locally-grown chicken—as well as on taste, simplicity and presentation.
"Given that the West Coast is where many food trends begin, we expected to receive fantastic recipes with our inaugural West Coast Chicken Cooking Contest," said Ira Brill, director of communications for Foster Farms. "But the caliber of recipes submitted by the thousands of home, amateur and professional chefs was truly extraordinary and demonstrative of the West Coast's commitment to food and to cooking with—and eating—fresh, local ingredients. Congratulations to Alexandria Boswell, whose Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts recipe resulted in a great-tasting, creative dish that presented beautifully. Based on the success of this event, Foster Farms looks forward to hosting another competition next year."
"Amazing talent emerged during the Foster Farms West Coast Chicken Cooking Contest, and my fellow judges and I were equally impressed with the creativity, use of local ingredients, and variety of chicken dishes created," said Lena Birnbaum, Associate Food Editor, Bon Appetit. "The energy in the kitchen was exciting as the contestants prepared and we judges sampled the best of the best. While a difficult decision to render based on the impressive recipes tested all around, we ultimately selected Alexandria Boswell's Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts dish because of its use of ingredients, taste and presentation."
Alexandria Boswell's winning Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts recipe:
4 Foster Farms chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
1 Tbls olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 bag (10 oz) spinach leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup Feta cheese crumbles
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Preheat oven to 375° F.
In large skillet over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions to skillet and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add spinach to skillet, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until spinach is wilted. Transfer onion and spinach to large bowl. Add dill, Feta cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, salt and pepper to bowl; mix well to combine.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place eggs in small bowl and panko in pie plate. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Using sharp knife, slit each chicken breast along long side, cutting only about 3/4 of the way through. Divide spinach mixture into four sections and stuff each breast with a portion of the mixture. Dip breasts first in egg mixture and then in panko to coat. Place chicken on prepared pan and lightly coat chicken with olive oil cooking spray. Place in hot oven and cook 45 minutes or until chicken is done.
The six finalists won $1,000 and were chosen from home, amateur and professional chefs residing in California, Oregon and Washington who submitted their prized, original chicken recipes for consideration. Recipes competing for the grand prize included:
•Balsamic Mushroom Chicken with Honey Goat Cheese – Monica King, Vancouver, Wash.
•Basil Fontina Fondue Chicken Tenders – Russell Kool, Hillsboro, Ore.
•Brown Rice Chicken Salad – Marci Adelsman, Kent, Wash.
•Panko-Crusted Lemon Butter Chicken with Israeli Couscous Salad – Rebekkah Leber, Hayward, Calif.
•Sesame Chicken with Chili Dip – Timmy Baker, Eugene, Ore.
•Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts – Alexandria Boswell, La Jolla, Calif.
For complete recipes visit: www.fosterfarms.com/cookingcontest
For more than 70 years, Foster Farms has been providing fresh chicken to West Coast consumers. The company remains family owned by the Foster family, and holds true to its commitment to fresh and natural poultry grown local to each region. The company works closely with more than 40 local, family-owned farms throughout Washington and Oregon to provide chicken to Pacific Northwest families and all California chicken is grown local to Southern California and Northern California regions by Foster family-owned farms.
About Foster Farms
Since 1939, West Coast families have depended on Foster Farms for premium quality chicken and turkey products. Family-owned and operated, the company continues its legacy of excellence and commitment to quality established by its founders, Max and Verda Foster. Foster Farms specializes in fresh, all natural chicken and turkey products free of preservatives, additives or injected sodium enhancers. Based in California's Central Valley, with ranches also in the Pacific Northwest, the company's fresh chicken and turkey are produced in or near each region served. Foster Farms also produces delicious pre-marinated, ready-to-cook and fully cooked products that meet the quality and convenience needs of today's home cooks, retailers, warehouse clubs and foodservice customers. The company's commitment to excellence, honesty, quality, service, and people is a source of great pride, and, a longtime family tradition.
* Grand Prize winner will receive 104 $10 vouchers good for fresh Foster Farms chicken.
Source: Foster Farms