Chefs to chase Dessert First title

Ken Mueller hopes three times will be the charm with his entry
in the upcoming Girl Scouts Desserts First Cookie Dessert
Extravaganza.

“I’m tired of coming in second place,” he said. “This is my
third year” of participating in the event.

Mueller, who co-owns Your Taste Catering with Bob Benson, is making
a Tres Leche Cake, which features three types of cream, chocolate
ganache, caramel drizzle and Dulce De Leche Girl Scout
cookies.

“We like to do foods that taste good, are easy to prepare and will
hold up best in the environment we’re in,” he said. “Everything is
made from scratch and made by hand.”

Mueller will be one of 19 chefs at the 2012 Dessert First from
5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at Carroll Knicely Conference Center
West, which can be entered from Campbell Lane. Tickets are $35 per
person or $50 per couple.

“The money goes for the upkeep of our camps, training for our
volunteers and financial aid for any girl or adult who would like
to be a part of Girl Scouts but cannot afford to do so. We call
them ‘Scouterships,’ ” said Felicia Bland, outreach coordinator for
Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana’s Caveland area. “Last year we raised a
little under $10,000. We’re hoping to make that mark or
better.”

Now in its fifth year, Dessert First features chefs creating
appetizers and dessert made with Girl Scout cookies.

“They are challenged to come up with a recipe with our cookies as
the main ingredient,” she said.

The chefs will compete to win the Golden Grater and the Golden
Whisk awards, which are the judges’ choices for best appetizer and
desert, respectively, or the Silver Grater and Silver Whisk awards,
which are the people’s choices for the best appetizer and best
dessert, respectively.

“It’s our biggest one yet,” Bland said. “We have 19 chefs, and we
usually average 12 to 15. We have several newcomers this
year.”

One new chef is Dafnel Fulcher, owner of Sweet Temptations Bakery
Cafe. Although her shop opened Dec. 11, she has been baking
for 39 years.

“Felicia (Bland) came in and asked me to do it,” she said of her
involvement in Dessert First. “I have two granddaughters, and one
of them was involved in Girl Scouts.”

Fulcher plans a still-unnamed cake ball using Tagalongs, bananas,
chocolate and peanut butter. She said she came up with the recipe
in about 10 minutes.

“Bananas, chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite things. I’ve
never met a peanut butter, banana or chocolate I didn’t like,” she
said, laughing. “I can eat a box of Tagalongs in one
sitting.”

Also new to Dessert First will be the 100 Club, in honor of the
100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts in March, Bland said. Those
who make a $100 donation before the event will receive tickets to
Dessert First, copies of the Girl Scout newsletters, a goody bag,
a 100th anniversary lapel pin and other exclusive offers throughout
the year.

“Even if you’ve bought tickets, you’ll be able to (donate) the
night of the event,” she said. “We’ll have a station set up for
that.”

Mueller said his business partner is making an appetizer for the
event – Lemon Spinach Crepe with Hummus uses the Savannah Smiles
Girl Scout cookies.

“We do a dessert and appetizer every year,” he said. “We started
thinking about this as soon as we finished last year. It took us an
afternoon to figure it all out.”

Mueller said Dessert First is not only fun and supports a good
cause, it also benefits him in other ways.

“It gives me the chance to spread my wings a bit. This is one of
those rare times I get to make whatever I want to make,” he said.
“We can get a better reputation and better name in town than buying
ad space and radio time. We’re the best-kept secret in town.”

- For more information, call
842-8138 or visit www.gskentuckiana.org.

 

Dessert Recipes with Bill & Sheila
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