The joys of the Dessert Challenge!

If you have never been to my facebook page....WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Seriously though, we have cooking competitions, 3 so far, and I thought it would be a good idea to let the winner of the previous challenge pick the the ingredients...hmmmm...last challenge winner, Ms. Simone Mims, a darling friend of mine and fellow foodie won and she chose...
Phyllo (filo) Dough, Ice Cream, Nutella, Nuts and BALSAMIC VINEGAR.
I've worked with every single one of these ingredients...but never together...and some, not in years.
The last time I worked with Phyllo Dough, I worked at an outdoor restaurant named Luna Park, in New York City, it was a seasonal gig...steps away from the Union Square Farmer's Market, the focus of the cuisine was contemporary American...we would make roasted golden and red beet stack with goat cheese, and wrap it in phyllo , then bake it off...ughh.... I HATED making these things, now that I think about it, the phyllo dough never seemed to want to cooperate with me!
We also made a balsamic reduction, for what, I can't remember...all I can recall was a kitchen that was the size of a broom closet, it being an average of 125 degrees at any time, and the scent of vinegar burning my nose hairs away!

I also worked part time at another restaurant here in Phoenix, where they make a PHENOMENAL balsamic reduction that they serve with apricot and cheese stuffed chicken breast..but OF COURSE...I never actually made that sauce...never even caught a glimpse...

So with my mind in full gear, and my Procrastination at its best...here I am blogging about the disasters that have occurred today!

Where shall I start?

Shall I go into detail on how I decided to make a balsamic reduction with orange peel, sugar and cinnamon...and how I burned it...along with my finger tip?

What about how I opened my phyllo dough, to find it all stuck together, and as I carefully tried to peel the layers away they shred into holey sheets of phyllo.

How about my bright idea to make Balsamic Nut Brittle...only to have it turn into a balsamic rock...

Ahh, I think I can go on and on and on, on how this competition just was working against me from the moment I said go.

One bright spot though, was making a fantastically delicious Nutella Swirl Banana Ice Cream....ahhh delicious goodness it was!

I cannot post my final product yet, because the contest does not end until midnight, but it's done...not the prettiest or the best work I've done, but the flavor is on point!




****UPDATE*****
So I ended up making "Banana Foster Split"
Check out my facebook page for the photos!

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