And The Winner Is....

Well, I have to apologize for being remiss in posting my decision for this month's Paper Chef (#37). Chalk it up to being at the end of a big work project and needing some time away from the computer. This being a holiday weekend added to the delay. But, here it is, at long last.

Seems a lot of people have issues with the idea of cheese and liver. I didn't expect that - there are so many varieties of cheese to choose from. Well, parmesan definitely wins out. It looks like those of us who did participate immediately though of salty Parmesan as a perfect complement to the liver. I think any grating cheese would work - asiago, romano, etc. I used mascarpone as well, and I'd think any mild cheese would also be a possibility (like putting ricotta in the raviolis). So I didn't think this would be that difficult. Oh, well.

OK, on to the judging. First, the Roundup:
I'll start with my entry:

sautéed liver on creamy, cheesy polenta topped off with a mix of lightly fried shallots, apple, chopped chestnuts, and bacon, served with an herb salad and garnished with whole chestnuts, parmesan, and apple slices. Of course, I can't vote for myself, and it wasn't popular, but I promise it was really good. I'd make it again if Mr. Picky would eat liver. I probably will make it with chicken instead, because everything else was so good.
Next is Mikey's:

Ravioli, stuffed with liver, chestnut & parmesan, and a oregano butter sauce. He had a bit of a time getting the ingredients and made me really happy I live in a warmer climate. This sounded very, very tasty to me.
Ilva's entry

was calf's liver with chestnuts and capers braised in balsamic vinegar served with parmesan and oregano biscuits. I loved the idea of the capers, but I'm not so sure I'd like them with balsamic. The biscuits sound wonderful though.
And finally, Magnus offered us

chicken paté on salad of almonds, orgegano, bacon, spring onion topped of with a savory tuile. I loved the idea of the tuile. Unfortunately, he didn't find chestnuts, and had to substitute almonds. I'd liked to have seen the oregano used in the paté instead of thyme, but it still sounded like a very tasty dish.

So, you can probably see where I'm going with this. I'm going with Spikey Mikey's ravioli. I thought it was simple but inspired. Congratulations, Mikey!

As for the People's Choice, this month was a tie between Mikey and Ilva, so congrats to you both!