Today I am excited to introduce you to the Reader's Choice winner in our "Best Blogger Italian Recipe Contest." Congratulations to "MidniteBaker" Judy Hannemann for her "Mushroom Asiago Chicken!"
YOU voted for this recipe and I have to say, you all made an outstanding choice!
Keep reading…
This is a quick and easy Italian meal that is ready to serve in less than 30 minutes. If you are a fan of Alfredo, you will love the creamy white wine and Asiago cheese sauce over seasoned chicken breasts. One reader on Judy's blog even tried this sauce over boneless pork chops and said it was fantastic!
Judy also notes, "If you don't have fresh thyme, I'd suggest using 1/2 tsp dried in it's place. And if you cannot find Asiago cheese, finely grated Romano or Parmesan is a decent substitute."
Follow this link for the recipe –> http://ift.tt/LB3jul
What made you decide to enter the BetterRecipes.com "Best Blogger Ever" contest?
People just seemed to love this recipe, so I figured I'd take a chance and enter the contest. Funny, but it was the first contest I ever entered too!
How did you come up with your winning recipe?
You'll never believe this, but I got annoyed that this huge hunk of asiago cheese I'd bought but never opened kept falling out of my fridge right onto my foot, so I decided that day to actually use this ingredient to stop this happening. I always have chicken cutlets on hand so I defrosted some and used some of my homegrown herbs. I always loved Alfredo so I decided to do something along those lines but use my asiago cheese.
Why do you think this recipe won the "Reader's Choice" award? Did you do anything special to share or promote your recipe and encourage votes?
People have told me they love this recipe because it's so tasty but is on the table in no time flat. Most also tell me that it doesn't rely on convenience foods and is made from whole food. That's a plus to many trying to eat less processed food.
Since so many people really loved this, I encouraged my friends and fans to visit my entry and vote on it.
Do you have any recipe development or photography tips to share with our readers?
With a recipe I'm developing, I tend to stick to flavors that blend well together and I'm not afraid to experiment. Some things of course, do not turn out as expected, but many times, as with this recipe, they do!
I keep my photography simple too since I'm a minimalist by nature. I focus right on the food because that's the star of the show. Best thing I can tell anyone is keep it simple and don't use flash–it makes everything look weird, and another curious thing is, your kitchen is the worst place to take food pics by and large–I don't know the science behind that, but for some reason, photos tend to all look yellowish. Avoid it if you can.
Have you seen an increase in traffic to your blog or this recipe since your win?
Definitely! My stats still show this recipe to be a huge chunk of my blog's traffic.
Would you encourage other bloggers to enter recipe contests?
Sure! You never know. I never expected to actually win because there were so many other great recipes that I saw. Even if you don't win, you still really do because you see so many wonderful recipes you just have to add to your family's meals so it's always a positive experience.
When did you start the blog?
I started my blog in March of 2012.
Why did you start writing a food blog? What motivates you to write and create new recipes for your audience?
Truth is I'd just retired from being a mechanical engineer and I was bored! I always liked to cook and always liked sharing my recipes. I'm a great experimenter–that's the scientist in me. I'm always curious how foods, flavors and textures will combine, so I take a chance and try my ideas. I can also never make something exactly the way it says–I'm always trying to improve it or tailor it to my particular tastes.
Do you focus on a particular angle or subject matter?
I've always wanted my blog's focus to be simplicity. Ease of preparation, ingredients, streamlining techniques, etc. The engineer in me wants to always make that better mousetrap. I also try to focus on using whole foods. Sure I use some convenience products for the sake of eliminating one phase of preparation, but I don't want my recipes to rely totally on them. If I do use a convenience food, I try to provide an alternate method where it's not necessary.
Do you have any tips for readers interested in starting their own blog?
Yes! The most important thing is having a focus and it must be something you like if you want to continue with it. Second is take the time to learn how to take nice photos. Since food is such a visual medium, your photos are your selling point–that photo has to grab someone's attention. It can be the best recipe ever, but if the photo of it is bad, people will bypass it.
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