10th MS brings the heat at 3rd Quarter Warrior Chef

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kristina Overton
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Missile chefs from the 490th, 10th and 12th Missile Squadrons along with chefs from the 341st Force Support Squadron competed in the 3rd Quarter Warrior Chef competition at the Elkhorn Dining Facility Aug. 5. During the intense battle, teams were allotted 90 minutes to create their "maple syrup-inspired" dishes and present them to a panel of anxiously awaiting judges. The judges were Team Malmstrom Master Sgt.'s William Smith, Jimmy Sonefelt and Brandon Caves.

Only two Airmen took the title of Warrior Chef, and that victory went to the 10th MS team of Senior Airman Aimina Acosta from Ventura County, Calif., and Airman 1st Class Miriam Santiago from Yonkers, N.Y., with their "Tangerine-Maple Glazed Chicken with Grilled Sweet Potato Tacos with Ancho-Maple Glaze." The dish earned the pair 123 points.

Second place was awarded to the 341st FSS team of Airmen 1st Class Frank Hernandez and Robert Reichensperger with 112 points. They prepared "Maple Salmon with Rice."

In third place with 109 points was the 12th MS team of Staff Sgt. Eldoris Gardner and Airman 1st Class Jeremy Dawson, who prepared "Glazed Porkchops with grilled vegetables."

In fourth place with 103 points was the 490th MS team of Senior Airman Peter Darcy and Airman 1st Class Brenton Schmidt, who made "Maple-Glazed Ham with Candied Yams."

The scores from the Warrior Chef competition were held until the next day to be included in the score posting for the Ops Warrior competition.

Airmen Acosta and Santiago's winning recipe is listed below:

5 tablespoons canola oil
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
1 quart tangerine juice or tangerine-orange juice, not from concentrate
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tangerine or orange, zested
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
8 chicken breasts
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Grilled oranges and tangerines, for garnish
Heat the grill to medium-high.

Directions
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, approximately three to four minutes. Add the juice and thyme, and then bring to a boil while stirring occasionally. Sauce should thicken and reduce to approximately one-half cup, 20 to 25 minutes.

Strain the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the syrup, soy sauce and black pepper, then let cool to room temperature. Sauce can be made two days in advance and brought to room temperature before using.

Brush chicken on both sides with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through. Begin brushing with the glaze during the last five minutes of grilling. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with the green onion. Garnish with grilled citrus.

Tacos:
· 8 blue corn tortillas
· 1 cup grated White Cheddar cheese
· 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
· 2 medium sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick round slices
· Salt and white pepper to taste
· 1/4 cup olive oil
· 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using one tortilla for each serving, place one-fourth cup of each cheese over half the tortilla's surface, top with three slices of sweet potatoes and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Fold the tortilla over the filling to make a semicircle. Before serving, brush the top lightly with oil and sprinkle with ancho chile powder. Bake for six minutes or until crisp. Serve two per-person and drizzle each with the maple glaze

Ancho-Maple Glaze:
· 1/2 cup maple syrup
· 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
· 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
· Salt and freshly ground pepper