Archive for the 'Iron Chef America' Category
February 26th, 2009
The Sunday night episode of Iron Chef this week was one of my favorites. I just got a chance to watch it last night and I was pleasantly surprised. Challenger Amanda Freitag took on Iron Chef Bobby Flay in battle Alaskan king crab. Bobby Flay is always great to watch and I LOVE Alaskan king crab. It is such a great ingredient; I was really interested to see how each of the chefs would handle it without overpowering the crab itself.
After Alton got Amanda Freitag to be quiet (I am sure she is a great chef but her constant comments were rather annoying), the battle began.
I did think Chef Freitag had a couple great looking dishes. The play on green eggs and ham with the crab pancake was very clever and looked delicious. I would have loved to try her spaghetti and crab with the fennel, leek tomato sauce. That is one dish that I am going to try to replicate. I really love the combination of crab and pasta. If anyone has a good recipe, please let me know.
However, Iron Chef Flay certainly did not disappoint. His crab cake with the pinot noir poached egg in a hazelnut butter sauce looked amazing and his crab gumbo with the fried okra looked like a great twist on a classic.
I was slightly worried because the judges had very favorable comments about Amanda Freitag’s dishes and were more critical of Chef Flay. In the end the Iron Chef prevailed, but only by one point. I predict that Chef Freitag will be back for a rematch.
Also, check out Chef Freitag on Chopped this week. This time she appears as a judge.
June 17th, 2008
This week Iron Chef Michael Symon was finally challenged to a battle. Chef April Bloomfield, executive chef at the Spotted Pig restaurant in New York, chose Chef Symon in battle olive.
It was interesting because both chefs made olive pasta and an olive martini. Iron Chef Michael Symon presented ravioli filled with ricotta and olives topped with an egg yolk, in a brown butter sage sauce with pine nuts. He then served a martini with stuffed olives, along with his “ bar snack” popcorn with dried olive salt and a drizzle of balsamic. This looked really inventive and ingenious to me, but it did not fair as well with the judges.
Chef April Bloomfield made olive pasta dough with puttanesca sauce and she served a martini with a frozen olive ice cube. Her martini definitely looked better but the judges did not find the pasta that appetizing.
Chef Bloomfield’s olive gazpacho with deep fried olives that were filled with preserved lemon realty looked delicious. She served this with the martini and I think it really made a great combination.
Iron Chef Michael Symon really disappointed me. I did not find any of his dishes exceptional. As a new Iron Chef, I would think he would really want to WOW the judges and the crowd. However, this time Chef Bloomfield took home the victory
June 9th, 2008
In Sunday night’s episode of Iron Chef, Bobby Flay was challenged by Chef Marcus Samuelsson. The secret ingredient: corn.
Right away, I knew Chef Bobby Flay would have an advantage. Corn was one of his favorite ingredients. However, corn is typically used as a garnish or a side, so to make it a main ingredient was a challenge.
Interestingly enough, both Chefs used a combination of a corn and sea urchin. Chef Samuelsson made a sea urchin flan with corn ice cream and Iron Chef Flay made a corn and sea urchin custard with roasted corn and sea urchin relish. Who knew that sea urchin went so well with corn?????
In the end Iron Chef Bobby Flay won over the judges with his corn and curry coconut chowder topped with salmon roe (looked delicious) and his fresh corn tamale with lobster and roasted garlic. The ultimate: a corn waffle with corn butter and blueberries, topped with a bourbon caramel sauce. Does that not sound amazing?!!! Well, apparently the judges thought so too and Iron Chef Bobby Flay won this battle by far
June 2nd, 2008
This was an exciting Sunday, but I am going to start with Iron Chef America: Batali v. Bartolotta. Chef Paul Bartolotta is from the infamous Bartolotta Restuarant at Wynn Las Vegas. The secret ingredient: Rice. A simple ingredient, however, often such a simple ingredient is the most difficult. Rice is so versatile that I knew this would be an interesting battle.
Chef Bartolotta created a beautiful rice salad with lagostine (there is the lagostine again!) zucchini, tomato and very good olive oil. It really looked like a refreshing dish. It was so fresh, colorful, and beautifully plated. Chef Bartolotta created many delicious-looking dishes, like his Risotto al Nero with cuttlefish, lagostine, and scallops. He followed this creation with a squab liver risotto with brussel sprouts and chanterelle mushrooms. The finale: an apple and rice fritter with crème anglais. Fantastico!
However, Iron Chef Mario Batali just amazes me everytime I watch him cook. He really takes simplistic cooking to a new level. Chef Batail took rice on a tour around the world, beginning with Spain. He created a Spanish croquette de paella encrusted in rice flour.
Next was the most amazing creation (and I really do not remember what he served it with; the drink itself was so creative); an American wild rice Horchata. Horchata is a traditional Mexican drink that is made of rice, almonds, cinnamon, lime zest and sugar.
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Chef Batali, then went on to Italy to make an Osso Buco with saffron risotto and braised bone marrow. If that was not amazing enough; he finished with a Korean Kim chi that just looked unbelievable. Both Chef Batali and Bartolotta really showed great creatively with the use of the secret ingredient. However, Iron Chef Batail really went over the top and won over the judges.
June 1st, 2008
Last Sunday’s episode of Iron Chef America was the first new battle in what seems like forever. Iron Chef Booby Flay was challenged by Iron Chef Bob Iacovene. The secret ingredient: Lagostine. Very interesting. This battle was really challenging because the secret ingredient itself is rather rare and not often found on a typical menu. Every judge observed that this would be a battle of restraint, rather than indulgence.
Bobby Flay created the one dish that really appeals to the true flavor of the lagostine; simply grilled with olive oil and lemon. In the end, I think this is why Iron Chef Flay won in a clear victory over Chef Iacovene.
A few nights after this episode of Iron Chef, I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Coral Gables; Caffe Abbracci and to my surprise I found grill lagostine on the menu! I dine out quite frequently and have never seen this on a menu before. Well, of course I had to try it. They served about five lagostines, split and grilled with olive oil and lemon. They were delicious. I think the key is that they were perfectly cooked. The meat was very tender, juicy and had so much flavor that the simple preparation was perfect. If you are ever dine out and see lagostine on the menu, please try it.
This Sunday is another new Iron Chef and then the Next Food Network Star premieres so please stay tuned for more………..
April 22nd, 2008
This week, Chef Martin Rios challenged Iron Chef Bobby Flay in battle: tomatoes. Chef Martin Rios is the executive chef at the Inn of Anasazi in Sante Fe and he specializes in Southwestern and Asian cuisine with a French technique.
The secret ingredient of this battle was tomatoes. Both chefs utilized the many varieties of tomatoes that were available: the German Stripe, Purple Cherokee, Red and Yellow Brandywines, Brandywines, etc, etc…
Chef Rios tried to use the heirloom tomatoes in almost every dish and I do not know if that was his mistake. He appears to allow the tomato to just speak for itself and many dishes did not have a good balance of flavor. The lamb with confit of tomato on a bed of fried tomato polenta, garnished with deep-fried tomato skin should have been a hit. However, the judges said the lamb was perfectly cooked, but the rest of the dish was OK. The fried tomato polenta looked really good but, apparently it did not taste that way. In addition, throughout his dishes, Chef Rios appeared to have a problem with the balance of flavors.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay, on the other hand, really excelled in this battle. His fried green tomatoes (he used the green heirloom tomatoes instead of the unripe green tomatoes so they would be sweet and have a better texture) with blue crab and sweet tomato salsa really wowed the judges. It looks delicious and obviously tasted so as well.
Iron Chef Flay’s tomato and fried tortilla soup with avocado and aged white cheddar was also a hit. His tomato and black bean chili with tomato corn bread and tomato butter looked really good. I would like to try and make the corn bread and butter. (If anyone has a recipe for tomato corn bread, please let me know.) Chef Bobby Flay won this battle by far: 52 to 41.
March 25th, 2008
This was one of my favorite battles because it is always interesting to watch a talented young chef, such as Chef Tyson Cole challenging one of his idols, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
Both chefs were certainly familiar with the secret ingredient; ginger, which is commonly utilized in Japanese cuisine. Chef Tyson Cole’s specialty is sushi, at his popular Austin Texas eatery, Uchi, and Iron Chef Morimoto….what ingredient is he not familiar with?????
I absolutely love to watch Iron Chef Morimoto cook. (A good source if you are a Morimoto fan, like me, is Chef Morimoto’s website. If you join, you will be kept informed of his restaurant openings and appearances. ) He is so serious and cooks with such intensity. He is really one of those people I would love to meet and see how they are in person. Anyway, in this particular battle, it was the first time he appeared to be rushed. He was far behind in the plating aspect compared to Chef Cole and I was worried for….. maybe a minute.
Needless to say, both chefs really turned out great dishes. Chef Cole’s dishes had an outstanding presentation aspect. However, Iron Chef Morimoto never ceases to amaze with his ginger cotton candy and my favorite…the fish soup with the ginger broth. Sounds simple but it really looked delicious.
So, stay tuned for the next Iron Chef America…..
March 22nd, 2008
This week Iron Chef Iron Chef Bobby Flat was challenged by Vegas Chef Akira Back. Chef Back, trained by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, is executive chef of Yellowtail Sushi at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. This was an interesting match; both Chefs have such different styles of cooking.
The secret ingredient: spinach. This is a challenge. I typically think of spinach as a side dish so it was interesting to see how each chef could make this the main ingredient.
Well, onto the battle. Both chefs’ put on a good show. Bobby Flay appear to have some trouble with his new sous chef and his BBQ sauce, but he got it under control. Chef Back appeared very relaxed for his first time in kitchen stadium.
In the end, I think Iron Chef Flay really presented much better dishes. The spinach and oyster bisque and the spinach mac and cheese really caught my attention. At the same time, Chef Back certainly had a great presentation, but something was missing. I think in the end, the judge’s decision was spot on. Bobby Flay really won this one by far.
January 22nd, 2008
Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto was challenged by Chef Fortunato Nicotra, the executive chef at Felidia in New York City.
This was a particularly interesting battle to watch because I have been to Felidia. I ate there three year ago, while visiting my family in New Jersey. I remember it as being excellent. However, after watching Chef Nicotra cook, I would like to go back now, for I think I would appreciate it even more now.
Anyway, back to the battle. The most important item on today’s menu; the secret ingredient: Kampachi. This is a type of yellow tail and it is extremely good for you. It has more Omega 3 fatty acids than salmon.
Chef Nicotra was extremely composed while cooking and starting plating very early. He created several dishes that looked very good. The only thing I question is the puree of mascarpone cheese and kampachi? (this did not appeal to me.)
Iron Chef Morimoto’s cooking was amazing, as usual. Chef Morimoto used a cooking technique that even Alton Brown did not see before. He took a whole Kampachi and dipped it in a bath of lemon and hot water. He then put it in Japanese simple syrup, made of millet and water. Then his sous chef seasoned the fish with a homemade five-spice powder and he hung it by hooks to cook in the convection oven. It looked amazing and a great way to really showcase the fish.
Although both Chefs made some great dishes, in the end Iron Chef Morimoto’s beautiful presentations, unique cooking, and unbelievable flavors won him battle Kampachi
January 7th, 2008
English Chef Jaime Oliver challenged Mario Batali in Sunday night’s new Iron Chef. The secret ingredient: Cobia. Cobia is a mild fish that is sold commercially because of their firm texture and good flavor. Cobia migrates seasonally in the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and goes as far north as Maryland in the summer, making a stop in East Central Florida in March. (I was not aware of Cobia so I had to look it up. If you live in Florida, as I do, make sure you look for it in restaurants during March.)
Anyway, on to the battle. Iron Chef Batali and Chef Oliver both made a Carpaccio of Cobia and a Cobia pasta dish. They both put on a good show and are excellent chefs. Iron Chef Batali was more familiar with the secret ingredient, but that did not slow Chef Oliver down.
However, in the end, Iron Chef Batali prevailed. I do have to say even though Mario Batali won, Chef Oliver’s fish and chips looked AMAZING!! If there was one dish I would like to eat out of this battle, that is the ONE!!! I tried to catch the ingredients, Guinness, self rising flour and vinegar….but I have to say that would be very hard to copy! I will let you know if I get the courage to try making this at home. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Fish and chips is way out of my comfort zone as far as cooking.
This was a great battle between two great chefs and I look forward to Jamie Oliver’s new show, Jamie at Home, premiering this Saturday. There was a sneak peak at the show after Iron Chef and let me say, it was really good! It is about time the Food Network found some new talent. I think he brings a fresh look at cooking and he is so passionate about the food. He will be interesting to watch (not to mention the cute accent).
