Fontana outlasts foes for chef title

Eight of Spokane’s best chefs battled last month for bragging rights in an “Iron Chef”-style competition at the Spokane Women’s Show.

The winner is Brett Fontana from the Hayden Lake Country Club.

Fontana faced Madeleine’s chef Mercia Sheets in the final round of the competition. Their mystery bag included guava, artichoke and a pork chop. Hmmm. I may have eaten the guava, set the artichoke aside in frustration and pan-fried the pork chop.

Fontana created Wild Mushroom Crusted Pork Loin with Honey Roasted Beet Chutney and Tangerine Guava Glazed Carrots, served with Caramelized Onion and Crushed Walnut Brown Rice with Green Tea Steamed Artichoke.

Chefs had a pantry of staples to use as well as the mystery ingredients.

The other semifinalists were Adam Hegsted of Brix and Alexa Wilson of Wild Sage Bistro.

There are more details about the competition, including pictures from Fontana, on the Fresh Sheet blog, www.spokesmanreview.com/

blogs/freshsheet.

Food quality (and safety) alert

It’s time to spring clean that fridge.

Just because you’re storing things safely at home doesn’t mean they last forever. At the Master Food Preserver class I’m taking through Washington State University Extension, we recently talked about food storage and food safety.

Here are some things to keep in mind for your home:

• Refrigerators should be kept below 40 degrees. Buy an inexpensive thermometer and place it in different locations in the fridge to be sure you are keeping it cold enough.

• Not all molds are harmless. Moldy food should be thrown away. The only exception is hard cheese, which can be cut 1/2 to 1 inch below the mold.

• Check the expiration dates on food in the refrigerator and cabinets. Foods past their expiration dates should be thrown out. Items you find that are past their “best if used by” dates may be safe to eat, but can develop off flavors or become rancid.

• For best quality, whole-wheat flour should be stored in the refrigerator. Natural oils in the flour can become rancid quickly at room temperature.

• Here’s a trick for helping avoid finding weevils, meal moths and other bugs in your flour: Freeze the ingredients in their original packaging for 24 hours before placing in an airtight container in the cupboard.