Stamping Ground on the Food Network

I want to give a shout-out to Heather Priest of Stamping Ground, Kentucky. She is a personal chef in Connecticut, and last night she was the big winner on SmartGirl's favorite TV show, Chopped. The premise of Chopped is that four chefs battle against each other for $10,000. First, they get a basket of ingredients from which they make an appetizer -- after which the three judges eliminate one person. Then, they get another basket of ingredients for use in an entree -- after which a second person is eliminated. Then the two finalists get a third basket and make a dessert -- after which the judges pick the winner. The ingredients are always really goofy stuff -- meats and vegetables you've never heard of, along with things like mayonnaise or fruit cocktail.

Anyway, Heather Priest really represented for the Commonwealth last night. She wore her Kentucky shirt in the little segment where the chefs introduce herself, and she relied on deep-frying to get through the appetizer and entree challenges. (When she was forced to use an Asian fish called uni that she had never heard of, she simply turned it into fried uni.) And after she won, she toasted her victory with bourbon. It's unusual to see the Commonwealth get so much attention on the Food Network, and SmartGirl was thrilled with the whole episode. Besides, having done it myself, I have sympathy for any Kentuckian who lives in Connecticut.