Girl Scout Cookies – The Fork it Over Fundraiser in Pittsfield

I was asked to be a judge for the Fork it Over event in Pittsfield, which was held last night. Aside from the blizzard of emails from the organizers—more emails than some corporate implementation projects I’ve been on—and the seemingly obligatory comments from several friends I’ll simply gloss over, the event was a lot of fun. How often do you get to feel like a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge judge?

The rules were to use Girl Scout cookies in a dish. My fellow judges and I were pleased that not all the entries were desserts. In fact, two of the winners were for savory dishes. The three winners were pretty inventive, and pretty tasty. Some of the losers simply crushed the cookie or otherwise didn’t really get inventive. Others simply weren’t as tasty as the three winners.

The Phyllo Encrusted Pork Tenderloin had a crushed Berry Munch cookie layer wrapped around the tenderloin under the phyllo with an Apple-Maple chutney. The cookie, a cranberry filled cookie, gave it a layer of fruit that worked really well. It also won the People’s Choice award (voted on by the attendees). The second place, a Gravelox [sic] on Trefoil cookie initially sounded really, well, strange is a polite way of saying it. The gravelox was mild, which worked for the dish. The chef scooped the filling from the Lemonade cookie and mixed it with mascarpone for the cream under the salmon, then topped it with a candied lemon peel strip. A touch too sweet, but it would work as an intermezzo or maybe one of the last hors d’oeuvres for a cocktail party.

The winner was a Fresh Berry Tulip Cup. They crumbled Samoas (coconut caramel) and made a soft meringue. They shaped it into little cups, added a fresh strawberry mousse and a slice of strawberry. The flavor and texture of the mousse was really good. Presentation was nice, with each platter garnished with an orange peel flower that one of the young assistants had made.

The organizers did not give us any information about the entrants, but after we learned that the winners were from Recipe for Success, an after-school program in Pittsfield.