Two weeks before Christmas, the challenge was issued forth in simple enough terms:

Make a holiday dessert item but with a twist. You get one shot, and Document it well! The desserts must be tasted by an impartial panel of at least 3 jurors (preferably at least one other Connoisseur, if available) and rated from best to worst in the following categories: Palatability (does it taste good?), Aesthetic Appeal (does it look good?), Ingenuity (is this unique or at least an example of progressive thinking?), and Longevity (Would you eat/make it again?). The Jurors are encouraged to write down their thoughts on a note card with the scores. The Connoisseur with the highest score will win.

The fight was on!

Over the next days and weeks the four of us wracked our minds to come up with the best possible dish to best the other three and win the coveted title of 2006's Christmas Challenge winner.

I now present to you the four dishes in the order that they placed, from last to first.

In Fourth Place: Connoisseur Jon's Lemon Cheesecake and Chocolate Fondue!

While visually a moderately good-looking dish, especially to the chocoholics in the crowd, this dish lacked the quality of flavors that one would look for in a truly masterful dessert. Among the comments received, the biggest complaints were reguarding the cheesecake's propensity for disintegration once dipped in the chocolate. The lack of any noticeable lemon flavor (due to the light application of Limoncello liqueur) in the cheesecake and the cheap, waxy chocolate used in the fondue were the other main factors in insuring this dish's place at number four.

Jon was well aware of the faults of this dish almost immediately after making it, claiming it was rushed and lacking his usual polish and flare for the unusual. Although, to his credit, Jon has a very nice looking fondue pot, maybe with proper coaxing he can be convinced to show us how to make a proper cheese fondue in the next few weeks.

In Third Place: Connoisseur Tom's Chile Consteño Peanut Brittle!

For this dish, Tom took a classic peanut brittle recipe handed down to his mother from Betty Crocker's of old and added some richly spicy chile costeño to the mix. While in theory this dish could have been triumphant, it suffered from the bane of all candy makers the world over: improper barometric pressure. Tom made the mistake of making this rather sensitive candy on a rainy and humid day which, unfortunately, didn't allow the candy set up correctly. What should have been light and crunchy ended up jaw-exhaustingly, filling-removingly chewy.

On most accounts the flavor was spot on, although there were some minor grumblings about the heat the peppers brought to the party. Needless to say, this will not be Tom's last foray into the world of candy making.

In Second Place: Connoisseur Javier's Orange Cheesecake with Fireball Ganache!

Javier was the first to turn in his entry into this year's contest and he definitely had one of the best presentations of any of the dishes, although this particular picture doesn't show one of his cleaned up  cheesecakes, you get the idea. This dish consisted of two layers; the bottom layer, a thick and rich chocolate ganache laced liberally with Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. The top layer was a dense, lightly citrusy cheesecake dusted with cocoa powder.

Opinions varied greatly about this cheesecake. Some called this dish pure, indulgent genius, while others of the tasters loved the velvety smooth ganache, but didn't care for the cheesecake saying it was salty and tasted a bit like butter and not enough like orange. Where Javier probably lost the most points was with the fact that he served this dish frozen which muted all the wrong flavors while accentuating those flavors he didn't intend to.

Overall, this dish was very well received, its harshest critic probably being Javier himself who doesn't care for most sweets.

In First Place: Connoisseur Michael's Mini Mince pies a la Mode with Balsamic Honey Drizzle!

One dish came in head and shoulders above any other this time around, Michael's mince pies stole the show, they were also the last dish made as we had to assemble them from ingredients fedexed overnight from NYC as Michael couldn't make it up to Boston this Christmas. On that note, we must give an extra special mention to Connoisseur Jon for preparing and setting up the presentation for these dishes, something Michael would have most likely failed miserably at.

This dish was a hit even with those who claimed to have never had a palatable mince pie before. The balsamic vinegar and honey drizzle complemented the sweet and savory flavors of the pies perfectly. The only complaint heard aside from the mysteriously disappearing ice cream (Thanks Jon...) was that the balance of spices was a little bit thrown off by too much clove.

As much as it pains me to do so, I must declare Connoisseur Michael the 2006 Connoisseurs Christmas Challenge winner. Congratulations Michael, let no man say you can't mince!