• Lifestyle
    • Bloggers Club
      • Ask Dr. Silvio Aladjem
      • Emil’s Journey
      • Jenny’s Journey
    • Education/Career
    • Crafts
    • Financial
    • Gardening
    • Holidays
    • Home
      • Home Improvement ~ DIY
    • The Lounge
      • Contest Announcements
      • General Threads
      • Fun Stuff
      • Poll Talk
    • Our World
      • News
      • Opinion
      • Politics
      • Technology-2
      • Weird News
    • Parenting
    • Pets
    • Product Reviews
    • Relationships
    • Style & Beauty
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Well-Being
  • Entertainment
    • Book Nook
    • Celebrities
    • Movies
    • Music
    • News-2
    • Reality TV
      • General Discussion
      • Media
      • Shows
    • Sports
    • TV
  • Celebrate Women
    • The Road To Reinvention
  • Recipe Box
  • Giveaways/Deals

Imperfect Women

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Pauline McAloon – Master Chef Contestant

By Pam@IW 14 Comments

TweetPinEmailPrintYummlyLinkedInLikeShare

Pauleen2

Pauline McAloon Master Chef contestant – Following her bliss the Scottish Way!

Imagine this scenario: One day your husband comes home and says “I heard that they are holding a casting call for the new season of “Master Chef” with Gordon Ramsey. You should try out.” Some of us would laugh it off, while others might think, “The last thing in the world I need is Gordon Ramsey telling me my food is raaaaaaaaaw!”  But if you are Pauline McAloon, you take your husband’s advice – and encouragement from your two children – and the next thing you know, Gordon Ramsey is trying your Salmon & Haggis En-Croute with homemade Puff Pastry and telling you he loves it!

While Gordon may have loved Pauline’s salmon dish, he soon sent her home because he didn’t like how she peeled and chopped apples! It was a hard pill to swallow for the self-trained home cook, but considering she made it to number 38 out of approximately 38,000 people who tried out, she is a winner in our book. “Mr Ramsey, he is a Scotsman, and a proud Scotsman” says Pauline. “It was a dream come true to serve my Scottish dish to him.”

“I was one of the older ones for sure, by a long shot, but that’s okay. I held my own! I was just myself – I didn’t pretend to be anyone else, wearing my tartan apron and my kilt; I wanted to fly the flag and I wanted to fly it for a lot longer than I did, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Pauline started cooking nearly 25 years ago when, as a new bride, she was living in a small village in the highlands of Scotland. In a place where there were more sheep than people, she had to find something to keep her busy. “I swear to God it’s true!” says Pauline. “There was about 2000, sheep and 900 of us!” It’s a long way from Scotland to the United States where Pauline and her husband moved nearly 12 years ago, after he was offered a job he couldn’t refuse. Later, Pauline started working in real estate investing, and her husband changed careers and joined her. They were working together in that business when her husband encouraged her to try out for Master Chef!

“I give anything a go if I need to! I think I am invincible like most women do!”

Pauline is one of those people that you speak to for just a few moments and you feel like you have known her forever! Her passion for cooking, and life in general, is very evident. Like many passionate cooks, her love started early, as she was growing up on her Mum’s good Scottish home cooking. Memories of her Mum, now 80 years old, cooking everything from scratch over a wood fire and the children having baths in a tin tub in front of a roaring fire, were the inspiration to create those warm memories for her own family. After I spoke with Pauline, she was going to do some baking for a Scottish friend, to give her “A wee bit of home”!

Now that Master Chef has aired and the show is over, Pauline is deciding what to do next. Right now she is working on a cookbook of her favorite recipes, many of which are variations of her Mum’s old recipes, but with a 21st century twist. “I don’t know if cooking will ever earn me a living”, says Pauline. “I am working on my cookbook, and if it gets published, great. If not, it’s a legacy for the future of what Mom has done.”


“Skye” Seafood Pie By Pauline McAloon

Skye is an Island off the North West Coast of Scotland, known for its incredible Langoustine, Lobster, Salmon and Bonnie Prince Charlie, of course.

I was born and raised in Scotland and had the pleasure of living in the Highlands of Scotland for 12 years. That gave me the opportunity to really experience “Traditional Highland Cooking”, and this is where I really found my passion for cooking fresh local ingredients.

We are not known for our food in Scotland, but we have access to the most amazing fish, seafood and game…all of which are a part of our every day menus. I love this recipe because you can adapt it to whatever your budget is. You cold use mussels, clams, tilapia, cod, ling…just about anything, although I wouldn’t use sole.

Just stick to the basic recipe, but you can use whatever seafood and fish you love. You can also change out the potato topping for pastry to make a more elegant dish. Endless possibilities.

Serves 4 – 6 Oven 350 degrees. Time: Prep 20 minutes Cook 15 minutes

Ingredients:

6 large Langoustines
6 Scallops
1 Lobster Tail 8-10 ounces
4oz Smoked Haddock or any smoked fish of your choice
Note: undercook the seafood and fish slightly; it will cook further in the oven.

4 tbsps plain flour
4tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup full fat milk
1 cup single cream
Large glass white wine
4 large Potatoes
2tbsp chopped Basil
1/4 tsp curry powder, optional (this is my secret ingredient in this pie, it gives it warmth but you can’t quite detect what it is)
Seasoning
Pinch of nutmeg.
2 bay leaves
Strong Cheddar cheese (Scottish if you can get it.)

Method:

Peel and boil potatoes till fork tender. Mash with butter and season.
Drop the fresh Basil into boiling water for 15 seconds, and then put into an ice bath to stop cooking. Pat dry, chop and add to potatoes.

Seafood:

Cook lobster in gently boiling water for 1 minute per ounce. Take off shell and chop into bite size pieces. Pan fry the Scallops in a little butter, 2 minutes per side. Remove, set aside, add more butter, and cook langoustine/shrimp for 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside. Cook fish (of your choice) till slightly undercooked. Chop all the seafood into bite size pieces…not too small.

Put all the seafood and fish into an oven-proof dish.

Sauce:

Melt butter in pan with flour to make a roux. Gradually add milk till incorporated, add bay leaves and cream, do not boil. Add wine, nutmeg, curry powder and season to taste. Infuse very gently for 1 minute and remove bay leaf. Pour over fish.

Gently pipe or fork potato over top. Grate the cheese and sprinkle on top of potato.

Heat pie gently in oven till very lightly golden and cheese melted, about 15 minutes…. No more or fish will be overcooked.

Pauline McAloon, is a Scottish born wife, mother, and business woman who lives with her family in California. She appeared on Season Two of Master Chef. You can follow her on Twitter at @PaulineMcAloon.


Related posts:

Sextuplet Dad Bryan Masche: Looking Back, Moving Forward
How to Make Your Favorite Junk Foods
Celebrate Mardi Gras With This Easy Homemade King Cake Recipe
Big Brother and Other Reality TV Musings
TweetPinEmailPrintYummlyLinkedInLikeShare

Filed Under: Reality TV, Recipe Box, Shows Tagged With: “Skye” Seafood Pie, Cooking, Gordon Ramsey, Master Chef, Pauline McAlloon, Reality TV, Recipes, Scotland, Scottish food

Comments

  1. Pam@IW says

    September 11, 2011 at 10:09 am

    Hmmm, sounds delicious.
    .
    Kudos to you, Pauline, for stepping out of your comfort zone and competing on Master Chef. You are a winner in my book. I love that you are writing a cookbook based on your mother’s recipes. I recently brought my mother’s cookbook back home with me from Wisconsin to Los Angeles. She was just going to get rid of it and I said “oh no you are not!’ It is from the 50s and it has a lot of hand written recipes inside of it. Recipes that she made for our family over the years.
    .
    Thanks Pauline and Patty for a great interview!

    Reply
  2. snickers says

    September 11, 2011 at 10:35 am

    Oh, Gordon would scare me, a simple cook from my roots. LOL. Good for her, a challange and a step forward into unknown territory of cooking with the Masters. She sounds like cooking with her would be fun.

    Pam, those are treasures, cookbooks from years past are the comfort foods we all still enjoy today.

    Thanks pattypie for the article, and best wishes to Pauline.

    Reply
  3. KathyV says

    September 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    Nice article. The pie looks yummy and I can’t wait to try.

    And I guess I had better pay attention the next time my husband has a good idea!

    Reply
  4. Ann@IW says

    September 11, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Oh, how I wish there were taste-testing at this website! Gosh, that recipe sounds delicious.
    .
    In landlocked PA, we don’t get a lot of wonderful seafood options….everything is expensive.
    Gordon would scare me too. He yells too much. I hope he liked teh kilt though.

    Reply
  5. ePauline McAloon says

    September 11, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    Thank you for all your kind comments, and I hope you enjoy trying it.
    Ann in PA…if seafood is expensive then use all fish, maybe 3 kinds, tilapia,ling and smoked trout if you can get it, you could also add muchrooms to the pie to make up for the seafood…bring your imagination…enjoy. Gordon Ramsay is a pussy cat! Really he’s a great guy…who knew!

    Reply
  6. chardonnay4me2 says

    September 11, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    Wow! 38 out of 38,00? I’d say you did very well, and Gordon loved your dish to boot! I second what Pam said about being a winner for stepping out of your comfort zone. I would never have the nerve to do that! Looking forward to other recipes you may care to share.

    Reply
  7. BlogHawg says

    September 11, 2011 at 6:43 pm

    What a nice interview. Your cookbook sounds like a labor of love and something to be cherished & shared.
    I’d have to apply W.C.Fields cooking method to be in the kitchen with Gorden Ramsey “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”

    Reply
  8. Lily@IW says

    September 11, 2011 at 10:54 pm

    Gordon didn’t like the way she peeled chopped apples? That’s a shame. She sounds marvelous to me.

    Congratulations on a such a great job! So cool that you went for it and did so well! That’s really something.

    Tilapia and smoked trout sounds good as the seafood.

    Reply
  9. Anya@IW says

    September 12, 2011 at 9:50 am

    Thank you. This piece put a smile on my face on a Monday morning. I love Pauline’s adventurous can-do attitude. Moving to a new country, auditioning for a TV show – these are actions that take a self-confident and brave spirit. I think we can all learn a bit from her in terms of stepping out of our own comfort zones.
    .
    I have a quarter or so of Scottish blood of which I’m very proud. It’s my dream to visit there one day. Hope to hear more from Pauline at IW.

    Reply
  10. Jennie@IW says

    September 13, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    I admire anyone brave enough to take on Gordon Ramsey. I too would love to visit Scotland, though I’m afraid of haggis and not a fan of seafood of any kind! Still, I’m sure Pauline’s recipes are delicious!

    Reply
  11. Pauline McAloon says

    September 14, 2011 at 10:20 am

    Thank you for all the great comments, you are appreciated.
    Jennie I understand your fear of Haggis, but it’s not as bad as people make it out to be, it’s probably more the thought of it!lol If you don’t like seafood you could use chicken and maybe chopped asparagus, they go well together, just follow the recipe for the sauce and ta da!A nice treat for any day of the week..especially if you change out the potato topping for pastry. I hope you enjoy it 🙂

    Reply
  12. Jennie@IW says

    September 20, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    Thanks for the tip. I practically live on chicken, and I do love asparagus.

    Reply
  13. Pauline McAloon says

    September 22, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Hi Jennie, You are very welcome. When I cant get fresh asparagus I use canned…I know it sounds strange, but it is very good and well priced. I line the bottom of the dish with the asparagus, keeping them whole then place the chicken on top then I add the cream sauce.Cook in the oven at 350c for 30-40 minutes.Add the cooked potatoes at the last 10 minutes and finish under the broiler to turn a golden brown. Hope this helps 🙂

    Reply
  14. Amy Lutz says

    April 3, 2013 at 7:28 am

    I love the personal look at one of the great chef contestents and the yummy recipe – thanks! can’t believe she was asked to leave over chopping skills

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Our Site

Socialize

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sponsored Link

Check Out Our Current Giveaways

IW Contributors
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
SiteMap

Certified Domain Site Seal

© 2021. Imperfect Women . Log in
Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok