Albany Woman Wins National Recipe Contest – Again!

Last week, Roxanne Chan from Albany won the appetizer category of the "Everything Tastes Better with Coffee" Recipe Contest.

Her winning appetizer recipe for Calypso Cashew Clusters won $250 in cash as well as 10 pounds of a special coffee blend, a coffee plant, and a commemorative mug. The contest was sponsored by the National Coffee Association.

She was also just named one of 10 finalists in a national Creamette Comfort Food Recipe and Essay Contest, meaning she's already guaranteed at least $500 and could win $10,000 for first place (The nine runners-up win $500). 

Such honors are nothing new for Chan. In her thirty-something years of creative cooking and entering competitions, she has won over 940 recipe contests. She has received a variety of contest prizes from "cookbooks to international trips and everything in between, not just cash," said Chan.

She even won a car. 

Chan, who does not work outside of home, enters two or three recipe contests a week – over a 100 a year. 

"I have a large garden which is my inspiration for many of my recipe creations," said Chan.

Her creation for the Creamette Comfort Food contest, Fiesta Mac N Cheese, was inspired by the "comfort food" theme of the contest.

"For me comfort food is creamy soup, for a lot of people it's mac n cheese. So I combined the two and put southwestern flavors," said Chan.

Her recipe packs a punch using bold flavors from jalapeño chicken sausages and chili powder but also has a rich, creamy element using ingredients like cream cheese and pepper jack cheese. 

Do the contest organizers actually make and taste the recipes?

Yes, said Amy Briskin, a contest spokeswoman for the National Coffee Association contest, and Chan's Calypso Cashew Clusters "took everyone by storm," she said.

Chan grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York and has lived in Albany since 1971. 

Her love for cooking started in college when she discovered the joy of putting a meal together with her roommate. 

When she turned 35 in 1980, she started creative cooking and has been entering recipe contests ever since. 

The Grand Prize winner of the Creamette contest will be chosen 80 percent through the evaluation of professional judges and 20 per cent through online voting.

Voting ends Thursday, July 18. The winner will be announced on or around August 1. 

Those who wish to see the competing recipes and cast a vote can click here. 

Chan's winning Calypso Cashew Clusters recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 cups chopped roasted salted cashew nuts

Directions

• Place the coffee crystals, allspice, pepper, oil, sugar and molasses in a large nonstick skillet.
• Cook over medium high heat, stirring till the sugar dissolves. Add the nuts and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
• Spread on a lightly oiled, foil lined baking sheet.
• When cool, break into clusters.

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.

Essay 

In this recipe the spice and cocoa together with the coffee crystals, enhance the allspice and molasses components of this appetizer as well as giving these nut clusters an overall complexity and richness of flavor.

Chan's Fiesta Mac 'N Cheese Soup recipe:

Directions:

Place the broth, tomatoes and chili powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 3 minutes. Cool slightly then transfer to a blender container; add the cream cheese and blend till smooth. Return soup to the pan and add the corn, sausage pieces, onion, parsley and cooked macaroni. Cook 3 minutes or till heated through. Stirring add the shredded cheese till melted. Combine the ingredients for the topping and dollop a little over each serving of soup. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth
1 can(14.5 ounces) Mexican flavor chopped tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 fully cooked jalapeno chicken sausage links, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 green onion, minced
1/4 cup snipped parsley
1 cup Creamette Elbow Macaroni, cooked, drained
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 small avocado, cut into small dice
1/2 tsp lemon zest

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