Recently, my mom and I were sent complimentary matching Calphalon Precision Self Sharpening Knife sets. They’re very cool and huge upgrades from what we were both working with before, so naturally we wanted to do them justice when we blogged about them. And for some reason…my first idea was RECIPE BATTLE. So that’s just what we did!
Calphalon Precision 10-Piece Space-Saving Self Sharpening Knife Block Set (buy here)
The Calphalon Precision Self Sharpening Knife Sets we’re using during our battle come with 10 pieces (9 tools plus the base): 4 steak knives, one serrated utility knife, one chef knife, one santoku knife, one paring knife, and a pair of kitchen scissors.
When you remove or replace the three non-serrated knives, they pass through the sharpeners built into the base and get a nice little touch-up. And these puppies really do stay sharp–working with good knives that slice on the first try has been a bit of an adjustment. (If you’d seen our old knives, you’d understand right away.)
So, back to the battle. There were only three simple rules to our mom vs. daughter cooking competition:
- Must use your new knife set
- Fresh veggies only!
- Dish must be served over rice
Our battle was long distance since we live across the state from each other, so you’ll have to judge for yourself as to whose recipe looks tastier! Let’s start with mom’s recipe: Beef and Chicken Fajita Bowls
First, she prepped all the fresh ingredients (and made quick work of it thanks to the self sharpening knife set).
Next she sliced up the beef and chicken strips. These knives would slide through even tough cuts of meat like butter!
Then all the veggies and meat got coated with a healthy dose of seasoning and sauteed together in a nonstick pan.
Once her rice was cooked and tortilla bowls were nice and toasty, she layered everything together until it looked something like this:
Now it’s my turn! I decided to make a Tofu and Veggie Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce.
I chopped broccoli, a bell pepper, and an onion.
Then I toasted and chopped some cashews which I’d use for a final garnish.
I diced my tofu and sauteed it until it was crisp, and then I tossed everything together with my special peanut sauce.
Here’s how it came out. Looks good, eh?
Let’s get a side by side of the finished dishes. Whose dish do you think looks tastier?
We both followed the competition rules to the letter, so the only way to determine the winner would be to have a taste test. Guess we’ll just need to do a rematch when we see each other next…
In the market for a new set of knives? After testing it during this heated battle, we definitely recommend the Calphalon Precision Self Sharpening Knife set. Get yours on the Calphalon website!
