Sammy, a sixth-grader, won a $25,000 college scholarship for his Crunchy Chinese Fortune Cookie Sandwich.
Hood River Couple's Grandson Wins Grand Prize in National Recipe Contest
The grandson of Jan & Dan Armstrong of Hood River Oregon won Jif Peanut Butter's National cooking contest today. Sammy an 11 year old from Riverside, California boy was a finalist in the Sixth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. Sammy, a sixth-grader, won a $25,000 college scholarship for his Crunchy Chinese Fortune Cookie Sandwich. He was competing against four other contestants from around the country. One of the other top finalists was from McMinnville Oregon.
'I think it's amazing,' said his grandmother, Jan Armstrong, who is taking care of Sammy's younger brothers and sister while he and his twin brother Manuel, mom Lisa and dad Martin are in Manhattan. 'I really think it's a wonderful thing.' The family left for New York on Tuesday and is returning later this week.
Sammy had to make his sandwich creation in front of a panel of judges at the Culinary Loft in New York. 'I think they'll love it,' said Sammy of the judges, during an interview in his home last week. 'Everyone that has tried it likes it.' The contest has parents and their children submit recipes from August though November last year. The recipes are judged on creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation. The Sosas were notified that Sammy made the top 10 around Christmas and the top five in mid-February.
Below is Sammy's recipe.
Crunchy Chinese Fortune Cookie Sandwich
4 slices of wheat bread
Sandwich mix:
3 tablespoons Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1 tablespoon finely diced celery
1 tablespoon finely diced apple
Chinese Dipping Sauce:
¼cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
¼cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½teaspoon sesame oil
½teaspoon chili powder
To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in small saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring with a wire whisk. When the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, remove from heat and let cool.
While the dipping sauce is cooling, roll flat with a rolling pin the four slices of bread. Use a large circle shaped cookie cutter (or the lid to your Jif Peanut Butter jar) to cut out each slice of bread into a circle. Mix the sandwich mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Place a tablespoon full of mix into the center of each circle shaped piece of bread. Fold the bread in half so the sandwich is now a half circle. Crimp the edges of the sandwich together with your fingers so the mix will not come out. Then, while holding the center of the sandwich, pull the sides of the sandwich down so the edges touch each other, forming a fortune cookie shape.
Cut extra apple and celery slices to eat with the Chinese dipping sauce.
To make fortunes for your fortune cookies, use a clean plastic lid from a tub of butter, yogurt, or sour cream. Cut small plastic strips, and then write your fortune on them with a permanent marker. Tuck the edge of the fortune into the edge of your cookies to make them real fortune cookie sandwiches.
Once the dipping sauce is cool, serve the crunchy Chinese cookie sandwiches with their fortunes, and apple and celery slices on a plate with a cup of dipping sauce. Make sure to remove the fortunes before dipping the sandwiches and the apple and celery slices into the sauce. Serves 4.
