Originally posted at Well Fed on December 2, 2009.

1682, 12th April: I went this afternoon with several of the Royal Society to a supper which was all dressed, both fish and flesh, in Monsieur Papin’s digesters, by which the hardest bones of beef itself, and mutton, were made as soft as cheese, without water or other liquor, and with less than eight ounces of coals, producing an incredible quantity of gravy; and for close of all, a jelly made of the bones of beef, the best for clearness and good relish, and the most delicious that I had ever seen, or tasted. We eat pike and other fish bones, and all without impediment; but nothing exceeded the pigeons, which tasted just as if bak’d in a pie, all these being stewed in their own juice without any addition of water save what swam about in the Digester. . .

Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn, F.R.S.

The meal to which Evelyn is referring was cooked by Denis Papin.  Papin prepared it for England’s King Charles II and members of the Royal Society, the British national academy of science, to demonstrate his new cooking apparatus the Digester.  And thus began the nefarious history of the Pressure Cooker.

Fast forward two and a half centuries, America has just emerged from the First Great Depression and the Second World War.  It is the era of the working mother which means there is a need for dinner to hit the table faster but the microwave oven is still more than a decade away.  What’s the modern mom to do?  Enter Monsieur Papin’s Pressure Cooker.  The problem is that those early cookers were a bit on the dangerous side.

Today the same cannot be said.  The Pressure Cooker is superior to the microwave oven for speedy cooking because it does not adversely effect the quality of food.  But just how does one use the Digester?  Enter Pamela Rice Hahn.

Hahn, the author of more than 20 books, has just released The Everything Pressure Cookbook (Adams Media) and it is your entrance to the world of pressure cookery.  The author takes you on a quick trip through the history of the device as well as tips and safety measures.  Oh yeah, and 300 recipes for everything from jams and preserves to entrées and even desserts.

So just how fast is pressure cooking?  Remember grandma cooking her pot roast for hours?  Hahn’s takes 45 minutes.  Fall-off-the-bones pork ribs – 55 minutes.  Cheesecake cooks in just eight.  And the quality is just as good if not better than traditional methods.  Professionals have rediscovered this cooking method to handle the extreme time constraints of cooking contests like Iron Chef and Top Chef, too.  If it’s good enough for an Iron Chef then it’s good enough for you.

Wedding planning is a crazy, often tortorous process. Oh, I’m sure the end result with be worth it, but there isn’t a lot about it I find that fun. Today was the exception.

Today The Man and I had a tasting with a caterer. Free food is always fun (though since this will in the end cost me several thousand dollars, not sure if I’d really classify it as ‘free’). Still, this was something I’ve been looking forward to, partially for the free food adn partially because this is one of the biggest things I needed to tackle.

Finding a caterer is huge. As everyone keeps telling me, the food is one of the few things everyone remembers. Plus, the Man is a big foodie, so it was important to him that we have a good meal. In fact, the food is one of the few things that The Man really cares about when it comes to the wedding. He wants it to be a meal people will remember, I wanted it to not break the bank.

We both got our wish. The woman we met with today is exactly what we were looking for. Her prices are great and her food is fantastic! Definitely worth serving to 100 of my nearest and dearest. Plus, the tasting was such a fun experience. The Man and I are huge Food Network fans (pretty much the only TV I watch besides wrestling) and it made me feel like I was a judge on Iron Chef, becuase we were making comments about the food and the presentation. Her plating was so pretty that we ended up changing the whole feel of our meal (from platters of food to a plated meal).

The food was great, we came to some major decisions about the wedding menu, and most of all we had fun, something that’s all too rare in this wedding planning process. Normally we debate options endlessly, even argue occasionally, but rarely do we actually enjoy any of it and enjoy spending time with each other, which is kind of silly since this whole day is about our love for one another.

So the food is good, the price is right, I got to cross a major wedding item off my to-do list and most of all, I had fun with the man I love. Not bad for a day’s work. Yay me.

Here’s the shirt I made for Rob Feenie:

3 crabs T on feenie

Theres the gold medalist Matt from Kitchen Gallarie (awesome dude), silver medalist David Lee’s sous chef, bronze medalist Matt from E18teen, me in the bandana, and Rob Feenie wearing a 3 crabs T.  All the teams signed the back of Robs T thanking him for his hospitality and kindness to everyone during the weekend.

theme ingredient

This pic was taken just as I explained to Rob the significance of the crabs on his shirt… as in his Iron chef America theme ingredient  (which he won).

What a riot.

out for now,

j.

wok and roll

The past 72 hours have been the fastest in my entire life.

I was  priviledged to be a part of something that was amazing – and in all honesty – my culinary career peak so far.  Every chef and sous chef representing their city was not only intensely talented but humble and kind.  Our host of the city itself was Canadian culinary legend Rob Feenie – who invited all the teams to one of his restaurants every night, covering multiple tabs and being almost frustratingly cool.  A huge thanks to my chef friends Peter and Quang who were a great help and made us feel at home in the beautiful west coast – you guys are awesome!

It all hasn’t sunk in yet – the caliber of chefs, non-stop intense work load, and epic challenges are just the beginning of the fun mess we got into.

Pics and stories are on there way,

out for now,

j.

happiness is a warm sauce

So remember how I said I had no plans for yesterday. Well some fell right into my lap. I got asked to help decorate a house for christmas. Usually I would say no, but well I was bored. So I ended up breaking out the new coat I got and helped. Even got to babysit a little bit. Then out of the whole thing I got free pie and a chance to play Iron Chef on wii. Other then that I didn’t really do much. Well I did an arm workout. Also watched that preview for that new show on nickelodeon because nothing else was on. Oh here is something weird. Suddenly my Ex is talking to me. It’s weird because usually my Ex wants something if we are talking. I think it’s because I’m coming back to Texas and a certain someone wants to make sure I see them. Who knows. Well squiby time.  So today’s video is Tide is High by the Atomic Kittens. Why? Because it was playing why I was working out and it’s stuck in my head. So enjoy. Today’s tip sometimes when you nothing planned someone comes along with one. 4 out of 10 times it’s fun. Laters.

Alright, last night I was able to knock out one more Iron Chef from my list as Yuki’s parents took us along with her sister to Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe’s restaurant, Ristorante Massa. It’s located in a very cool neighborhood of Tokyo called Ebisu tucked away off a main street. It’s a simple little restaurant that seats only about 25-30 people. It was full when we were there, and probably is most nights due to his celebrity status and fantastic food.

There were two pre fix menu options. The one we opted for was the less expensive of the two (approx $65 compared to $85) as it offered one less dish than the other. Since none of us are fat Americans it seemed like the right choice. We could chose one from each category of Antipasto Freddo (3 choices), Antipasto Caldo (three choices), Primo Piatto (5 choices), Secondo Piatto (4 choices), and either a Dolce (5 choices) or Formaggio Plate (pick two out of 4 cheeses) followed by either tea or espresso. We washed down the meal with some Chianti Classico. I have pics of everything, but I’m only going to mention what I ordered otherwise this post will be way way way too long. This is already one of the longest introductions I’ve written. So, on to the food!

We each started off with the Oyster starter that was not part of the Pre Fix. It is probably the largest oyster I’ve ever eaten in my life! So fresh and clean it was simply served in its own juices with a little squeeze of lime and some rock salt. What more does a good oyster need?

Then they brought out an amuse bouche. Baked pasta filled with ricotta cheese, a little slice of pear, and an Italian parsley leaf. It almost reminded me of matzoh with cream cheese, a treat dear to my stomach for one week out of the year.

The Antipasto Freddo I ordered was a foie gras terrine with chamomile. It was served with smoked Ishikawa potatoes, a yuzu consomme jelly, Italian Arugula, and sprinkled with flaked red pepper.

My Antipasto Caldo of choice was a bit of a mis-translation. I thought I was getting duck confit, when it showed up we thought is was duck balls, but it turned out to be chicken gizzards. I actually preferred it to be balls since I’ve never eaten bird balls, but it was still outstanding! The gizzards were served on top of a kabocha puree with thinly sliced red onions that were soaked in cold water, a shishito pepper, and a pea pod.

The Primo Piatto, pasta course, I ordered was chitarra with cremini sauce. The sauce was as simple and delicious as could be…olive oil, garlic, and minced cremini mushrooms. There were big slices of sautéed cremini in it as well. With Kobe being the “Prince of Pasta” it was easily the best pasta in my life. Cooked to perfection, nice and al dente.

For the Secondo Piatto I got the beef, of course. A perfectly grilled strip loin to medium rare covered in a light mustard sauce and served with asparagus, a shiitake, a pea pod, and a slice of red pepper. Uichiro, Yuki’s dad, ordered his with black truffles on top. I wish I knew I could do that. He gave me a few of the truffles and they made an outstanding steak even better…as truffles always do.

I opted for the Formaggio instead of a Dolce. I chose the parmigiano and taleggio. He served it very typically with some dried fruits and sliced nut bread. I washed it down with lemon tea instead of espresso as I wanted to sleep later on.

Maki, Yuki’s sister, couldn’t finish her Tirimisu so I took it upon myself to not waste any food. It was served with kiwi sorbet and fresh fruit. Of course, it was the best tirimisu that I’ve ever digested.

Overall, this was by far the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten, hands down. And I’ve been to Italy. I’m sure there are places as good in Italy, but when Yuki and I went there we couldn’t afford any of the top restaurants. We ate some pretty damn good food there, but nothing as refined as this.

I have also said before that I didn’t think modern Italian food existed. I said that due to the lack of creativity and refinement of Italian food in Chicago (although, I have yet to eat at Spiaggia). At home it’s mostly humongous bowls of pasta with thick rich sauces that weigh you down. Nothing like Ristorante Massa where the portions were clean, fresh, perfectly sized, and creative modern takes on classics. I have a newfound respect for Italian food.

While I have eaten at Sakai’s, Michiba’s, and Chen’s restaurants, this is the first time that an Iron Chef has actually cooked for me. It was very exciting to see Kobe back in the kitchen when we walked in. I think there are two reasons Kobe was cooking for us. First, he only has one restaurant while the others all have numerous. So you know where Kobe will be when he cooks as opposed to it being a crapshoot for the others (I missed Sakai by 4 hours back when Yuki and I went to La Rochelle). Second, he’s still young at only 40 and still wants to create. Michiba is an old man and doesn’t cook anymore and I don’t think Sakai cooks too much anymore either.

No more Iron Chefs this trip as we head back to cold Chicago tomorrow. Next trip I’ll visit Iron Chef Japanese Nakamura Komei and maybe Honorary Iron Chef French Ishinabe Yutaka. Morimoto will have to wait as his Teppanyaki restaurant here in Tokyo starts at approx $300 a head!

Today is Thanksgiving, a day celebrated in two ways: by spending time with your family, reflecting on all that you’re thankful for and by eating a huge amount of delicious food. I love to cook and I love to eat so this is one of my favorite holidays (you also have to factor in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade of course). Family tradition also plays a big part in Thanksgiving meals so I know exactly what dishes to look forward to when the day rolls around. I also know that I will be inheriting these recipes soon, everything from my mom’s homemade cranberry sauce to our family’s soup recipe, the soup we have at every single holiday gathering. While I love the predictability of the meal, I am also an amateur chef and food enthusiast so I can’t help but entertain possibilities for Thanksgiving ingredients. While I am not going to try to insert any of these recipes into our family’s traditional meal this year, I’ve pulled a few that interest me and could be good served any time this winter, not just on turkey day. These recipes remind me of Iron Chef because they take the ingredients we all know and love and transform them into something delicious and unique. Here are a few I found on Food Network’s website:

photo from foodnetwork.com

Deep-fried Cranberry Fritters: Paula Deen’s Thanksgiving would not be complete without something battered and fried and with this recipe she doesn’t disappoint. It takes slices of jellied cranberry sauce straight from the can so it’s simple and easy and sounds extra delicious.

Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing: I love cornbread and caramelized onions so when I saw this recipe I had to write it down for safe keeping. Also the fact that it comes from the kitchen of Tyler Florence who I would happily hold hostage in my own kitchen helps too. While he calls for six cornmeal muffins, I’m playing with the idea of substituting some of my favorite Jiffy mix cornbread in instead.

Sweet Potato Biscuits: My brother is a stickler about one of our Thanksgiving meal traditions: Pillsbury crescent rolls. It even goes so far that he will peel himself away from the football game in order to put them on a pan and make sure they don’t burn in the oven. Since my brother is not adventurous with food, I won’t even suggest this recipe, though it sounds even more delicious than the crescent rolls. I love the idea of taking sweet potatoes away from their traditional preparation and incorporating them into biscuits, something everyone can enjoy. Maybe even my brother…someday.

photo from foodnetwork.com

Pear, Apple, and Cranberry Crisp: Most of Ina Garten’s recipes intimidate me with their complex ingredients and steps but this one sounds surprisingly manageable. It also incorporates the best fruits of the season. I love my grandmother’s pies but this definitely a dessert I will have to try.

In light of my great respect for the fine art of Kaiseki, Yuki’s mom decided that she wanted to take me out for another style. That woman loves me! Frankly, I can’t blame her. At any rate, a friend of hers had recommended Ushiyama in the Meguro neighborhood of Tokyo, so we gave it a shot last night. And what a shot it was! Slam dunk!

It started off with a plate of carrots, shiitake, and mibuna with grated apple. Who would have thought of putting grated apple on mushrooms? Ushiyama, that’s who. I’m damn he did, it was amazing!

After that came a dish of four. I ate them clockwise from bottom left. Ama ebi (sweet shrimp), raw sardines with thinly sliced onion that’s been soaked in cold water to remove the sharpness, warm salted ginko nuts skewered on pine needles on top of seitan (wheat gluten) cakes on top of grilled sweet potato that was shaped like a ginko leaf, and uni in a lily blossom. No, I did not eat the maple leaf in the center of the plate nor the pine needles.

Next was the soup course. I heavily bonito flaked dashi broth that was nice and smokey with a rinkon (lotus root) and mochi dumpling and a bok choy leaf with some yuzu zest. It ranks right up there with the best soups I’ve ever eaten, next to the one I ate a few years ago at Iron Chef Michiba’s restaurant.

After the soup course was the sashimi course. It consisted of suzuki (sea bass), melt-in-your-mouth tuna, and ika (squid). It must be ika season because the ika I’ve eaten on this trip is by far the softest and sweetest I’ve ever had.

Then they served us home-made soba noodles in a light soy-dashi with some thinly sliced negi (green onions) on top. I’m telling you, there is absolutely nothing like top quality freshly made soba noodles. I don’t know if I can go back to store-bought dried soba when I get home. I mean, of course I can, but it just won’t be the same. So chewy and clean tasting.

Next up was the grilled course. Sawara (a cousin of the spanish mackerel) grilled with yuzu-miso and served with yuzu-miso konnyaku and daikon that was cut into a flower with a small slice of red pepper. I’ve never had yuzu-miso before, I’m a huge fan!

After that was the simmered course which was kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) in a ginger sauce. It was served with spinach and daikon radish with chawanmushi in the middle.

For the fried course we got a dish with some tempura. Shishito pepper and ebi imo (a kind of yam) served in a light dashi with momiji oroshi and chopped chives.

Then came the rice and miso course. The rice was a glutinous rice with chirimenjako (baby sardines simmered in saltwater, dried in the sun, and covered in a sweet soy marinade), sliced shiso, and served on top of a cherry leaf. The miso had mizuna greens in it. There was also some lightly pickled cucumber and daikon on the side (yes Nick, I even ate the pickles!).

Finally, for dessert we got sweet potato mousse. It was so soft and lightly sweet, it was really more like a light sweet potato cheesecake. Served with a sweet potato chip on top.

This Kaiseki was Kyoto-style which is considered to be the most sophisticated and delicate of all styles. Hard to argue as the food was simply magnificent! Plus, all of that food for only $50 per person! I challenge anyone to find a deal half that good for a meal of that quality prepared with that caliber anywhere in the states. Thanks so much for bringing me here Tamiko!!!

If you know me in real life, then it’s fairly apparent from my significant hind end that I don’t just look at food—I eat it.  However, when I’m not busy cramming food into my pie hole, I do enjoy watching Food Network (FN). It’s fairly entertaining, tolerable when nothing else is on, often educational, and always family friendly.  I don’t have to worry about my daughter walking in on two sous-chefs ripping off their aprons and going at it on the counter or a crazed Mario standing over Alton Brown’s corpse with a bloody knife.

We don’t watch every show, because there are some not relevant to our palate, a few that make no sense, one or two that have no entertainment value whatsoever (I’m looking at you Chefs v. City), and a handful with hosts who are just downright annoying. (*cough* Sandra Lee *cough*)

Nevertheless, we’re pretty avid fans of anything A.B. does, FN Challenge (except barbecue—yawn), and Ace of Cakes. (Aside: It used to be, when asked about my “dream job,” I’d say meteorologist—I’m weird, I know—but now I’d probably say working at Charm City Cakes.) But our “must see” favorites are by far Iron Chef America (ICA) and Chopped.

Now for those of you who don’t get cable under your rocks, or spend your TV time watching crap, ICA is the Americanized adaptation of a Japanese TV program featuring “battles” between well-established, celebrity chefs and accomplished, albeit lesser-known, guest chefs. Battles are centered around a certain ingredient, such as a particular species of fish, or variants of a fruit or vegetable, such as cherries.  After a timed session in the kitchen, chefs present their culinary creations to a panel of three judges.  ICA judging panels are typically composed of random third-tier celebrities whose only association with food is that they eat, various other foodies, and food writers like that fat drunk who thinks he’s hilarious but is actually a complete douche bag. The winner gets bragging rights and some level of prestige within the culinary world.

Chopped is designed on a similar premise, pitting four budding chefs against each other in a series of cooking challenges including an appetizer, entree, and dessert.  After each course, a chef is eliminated, or “chopped,” until there are two left battling over dessert.  The twist here is that instead of one secret ingredient, each round is centered on three or four mystery components, several of which have no culinary connection.  For instance, a typical entree round might include shrimp, some random root vegetable from the Middle East, peanut butter, and a tire gauge. The chefs must incorporate all four ingredients into their respective dishes.  The winner here receives $10,000, which is not a bad deal for a couple of crab cakes made from potato chips and shower caulk.  There is also panel of three judges, and their critiques can be…well…brutal, except for Aarooooooooooon  Sanchez, who is, without a doubt, the Paula Abdul of the culinary set. (Your salad looks so nice! You’re a star!)

Anyway, my point (and yes, I do have one) is that competitors on both programs seem to run into the same problems again and again.  And so, in an effort to help any aspiring ICA or Chopped contestants who might stumble upon my rantspace, I’ve developed some helpful hints for success on each program.

Iron Chef America

1.  Pick Bobby Flay.  Nobody ever beats anyone else.  I’m not saying Bobby Flay isn’t a great chef, I’m just saying, if you want to win, picking Cat Cora is a baaaaad idea.  And stay away from Morimoto, too, because if there is fish of any kind, you are screwed. Mario can make pasta out of a dishrag and Michael Symon is just downright scary. Stick with Flay and you’ve got a chance.

2.  Prior to performing in “Kitchen Stadium,” visit a restaurant supply store.  Ask to be demonstrated the uses of each and every gadget in sight.  Pay attention to the little things like how to get the lid off (or on) and where the power switch might be.  And, if possible, ask for remediation with regard to can openers.  I’m not sure how it is that so many quasi-professional chefs are unable to open a can of condensed milk, but there it is.

3.  Stay away from the ice cream machine unless you intend to make actual dessert. Nobody wants to eat spinach sorbet. NOBODY.

Chopped

1. Watch the show.  If I had one piece of advice for ambitious Choppers, it would be this.  WATCH. THE. SHOW.  It’s like the contestants have no clue what’s going on. Durrr what’s this basket…durrr I can’t find the milk…durrr…I grabbed a knife by the blade…If you WATCH THE SHOW, then the rest will naturally follow.

2. Don’t use garnish.  I know, I know, the celery leaves make the plate all pretty pretty princess, but just say no.  Geoffrey and Chris don’t like garnish and won’t hesitate to make you look like an idiot by asking, “Am I supposed to eat this half-a-lemon?”

3.  Practice good hygiene.  This should really go without saying in any kitchen, but on Chopped it is especially crucial, especially if Alex is a judge.  Make no doubt, she is watching you, your spoon, your hands, your mouth and everything in between to see if you commit some unforgiveable germ error.  And for the love of Pete, de-vein your shrimp. PLEASE.

4.  Prior to taping, walk to your home pantry and remove the sugar canister. Bring it to the counter.  Now fetch your saltshaker.  Sprinkle a fifty-cent piece sized pile of salt into one hand. Feel the texture of it with your fingers.  Smell it.  Make note of the obvious scent of sodium.  Look at the crystals.  Now empty your hand and repeat with the sugar. Notice it’s a slightly finer grain.  Perhaps it even smells sweet.  LEARN THE DIFFERENCE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.  I mean, COME. ON.  I am, by no means, a “cook” by any stretch of the imagination.  I am most definitely a kitchen amateur, but in my 25+ years of cooking I have never, ever, EVER mistaken salt for sugar.  Seriously.  How is this even an issue?  If all else fails, and you’re not sure, taste it before you add it.

5.  Refer to Iron Chef America advice item No. 2.  Where it reads, “can opener,” replace with “food processor.”

6. Easy on the hot stuff.  Geoffrey Z. and Amanda have excruciatingly sensitive palates.  If Geoffrey so much as smells cayenne, you’re toast.  And if Amanda reaches for her water glass?  Fugettaboutit.

7.  Stop cutting yourselves.  It’s embarrassing.  I realize it happens to everyone, but please.  Just pay attention to what you’re doing so I don’t have to watch you scurrying around trying to find a Band-Aid and bleeding into the risotto, which, by the way, will never finish cooking in the allotted time.

It has occurred to me that maybe the contestants aren’t as…um…thick…as they seem and perhaps it is the FN production staff just having a bit of fun.  What if we disconnect all but one of that stove’s burners? Hey! Let’s hide the cinnamon!  I know! I know! Turn up the heat in the studio so they can’t stop dripping sweat onto the counter!

Hmmm.  Maybe that’s my dream job.

I watch a lot of food shows. It always bothers me that I can’t eat the food that these people make, especially since 99% of the time it looks damn delicious. Even when a judge or a “food expert” says it’s no good or too salty or overcooked, I always think in my head, “I’d eat that. And I’d probably enjoy it too.”

Tonight was the last episode of The Next Iron Chef season 2. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, a bunch of experienced chefs compete against each other to be the newest Iron Chef. For those of you unfamiliar with Iron Chef America… I can’t help you. You’re already beyond my reach.

So this episode pitted the last two chefs against one another in Kitchen Stadium, where, if they become Iron Chefs, they will be spending a lot of time. How many people do they get to judge these two chefs? Six. SIX people. The three regular judges and three current Iron Chefs. It’s friggin ridiculous. Six different people are going to try this food and argue for ten minutes to decide whether or not a chef gets the opportunity of a lifetime. What I don’t get is how six “experts” can eat the same food and have such drastically different points of view on a dish. Each one of these people feel like they have food down to an exact science and yet one person can say “this was overcooked” and someone else can say “oh, it’s fine.” It just makes it all seem like total BS.

Fundamentally, these shows come down to a role of the dice. Obviously there are times when one of the competitors totally screws up (eg. bleeds into the food, leaves a hair in the food, double dips their spoon in the food), but it usually tends to be random. The judges decide the outcome. And if there were different judges, there would be a different outcome.

What I’m trying to say with all this is… I want to be a food critic. It seems like the best freaking job on the planet. You’re paid to eat good food and write about it: two things that I love! And it also requires you to be full of shit. Three for three!

~D

Hi There Fans & Followers,

The crew at Hatter and Beanz would like to send a big CONGRATS to the Next Iron Chef winner Chef Jose Garces from Philadelphia, PA. We look forward to following your soon to be impressive Iron Chef career.

Congrats Once Again,

-Hatter & Beanz

Here’s a list of stuff I need to do today:

• grade papers.
• cook – it’s my turn.
• watch football.
• grade more papers.
• watch more football.
• read The Master and Margarita if I can wrest it away from my cat.

• help my daughter study for the SAT II U.S. History exam.
• grade more papers.
• prepare lesson for tomorrow night’s class.
• rake leaves or leave them to blow in the wind – which reminds me of a novel I read in the late 80’s by Richard Brautigan, So The Wind Won’t Blow It All Away a novel I loned out to a friend, who must have thought it was a gift because she never returned it.
• supervise the assembly of a chest with 5 drawers called a Kullen made in Denmark -  designed and sold by the Swedish company Ikea.   Kullen – does that mean chest of drawers in Danish or Swedish?  Actually, according to an entry on Wikipedia, Kullen is the name of a lighthouse equipped with one 1,000 watt light bulb on the coast of Sweden.  So watt’s the connection?  I should add that yesterday my wife, who is a fine carpenter, assembled an Ikea designed Polish made chest of drawers called a Rast.  An internet search of the word rast revealed no connection whatever to furniture. In fact,  the rast is a blood test for allergens, a musical mode in Arabic and a reference to an outsider in the fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons.  Perhaps rast is an inside reference for Swedes that no outsider could ever hope to understand.
• Watch the show Chopped.
• Watch more football.
• Watch 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race right after.
• Watch Iron Chef and more football – flipping between the two.

The White House Garden Battle

In a network first, the Food Network will face off using ingredients from the First Lady, Michelle Obama’s organic White House garden. The culinary battle will feature Chef’s Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse with one of them being paired off with White House chef Cristeta Comerford. It was announced on November 4th that the episode of Iron Chef America will air on January 3rd.

The show’s one consistently regular judge will be replaced (thank God) and the three judges will be actress Jane Seymour, chef Nigella Lawson, and Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin. After selecting their ingredients the competition will move from our nation’s capitol to Kitchen Stadium in Food Network’s New York studios. May the best chefs prevail.

.

You will eat lots of desserts.

It’s Iron Chef: Hot Club time!

This week, 5 dessert-creating competitors battle for your vote of favorite dish. What’s at stake? A $20 gift certificate to Hot Club! Our bakers for the first Iron Chef: Hot Club are:

• Justin Pascual
• Theophan Thomas
• Jo Anna Wiersma
• Rick Collier
• Rachel Redler

Who will win? Only you can decide. Oh yeah, we’re also hosting a dance.

Tuesday 11/24
Hot Club of Durham Swing Dance (Directions)
7pm: Beginner Lesson: Shim Sham!
8-11pm: Dancing!

Shim Sham–Last week (and the week before, and possibly the week before that), you may have noticed us dancing solo choreography every time a certain song comes on (or sometimes even a random song). If you think we look silly, and you want to join us next time this happens, come at 7pm for the lesson, and we’ll teach you. Here’s some folks dancing the Shim Sham for Frankie Manning on Youtube. (The largest Shim Sham was danced by over 1000 people in May at Frankie’s 95th Birthday Festival!)

Deejays–Ken Hanson will be our featured DJ & Joe Jackson will start us off and close the night as our house DJ.

http://hotclubofdurham.com
info@hotclubofdurham.com
919-627-8678

Food Has Arrived, Plating has Begun — 7:40 pm

With the help of several porters, all of Chef Balibalos’ food has arrived. Unfortunately, he will be deducted for time, as he has arrived late.

The plating process has begun, with each chef hurriedly putting the final touches on his dish.

Whose cuisine will reign supreme???? The burning question will be answered soon!

Arrival of Judges — 6:46 pm

I returned from work to find chaos in Kitchen Stadium #205, where Chef Chen is feverishly preparing his courses.  I hurried past in order to preserve my impartiality, though not before catching the heavy scent of what I believe is cumin in the air.  Curry flavored by ginger, perhaps?

It appears that the time limit of 2 hours is proving quite a challenge for both chefs.   (I just heard Chef Chen wail from his kitchen, “I need more tiiiiimmee!”)  As such, Chairman Amy has approved the reinstatement of the sous chef position.  Seasoned chef Sandra, whose impressive culinary resume includes a position at Berkeley’s Love at First Bite bakery as well as her current position as a food blog researcher for a catering company, is assisting Chef Chen.  The sous chefs on Chef Balibalos’ side of College, meanwhile, make up for a lack of professional experience in sheer number.  At last count, Paul, Danica, and Jack were all lending Chef Balibalos a hand while JueYan put the Maytag Man to shame as the dishwasher.

Those of you reading at home may wonder why there were so many dishes in the Balibalos kitchen, a condition that many are speculating put Chef Balibalos at a time disadvantage under an already-tight two hour limit.  It appears that, in addition to forgetting his grocery list twice, Chef Balibalos also forgot that he had a sinkful of dirty dishes in his apartment before beginning the competition.  This self-sabotage is made even more ironic by the fact that, when I spoke to Chef Balibalos this morning to ask what preparations he was undergoing for tonight’s competition, he responded with a shrug, “I dunno…gaming…napping…whatever.”  I believe the French, who have a rich culinary heritage, refer to he who brings this unnecessary extra obstacle upon himself as teh noob.

Iron Chef America’s Battle Ginger

Oh, Jeffrey. (Somebody needs to make this into a .GIF)

Iron Chef Berkeley’s better-known cousin, Iron Chef America, has previously held a Battle Ginger.  Here’s Reality TV Online’s synopsis, with supplementary pictures as close as I could get to the dishes served (usually not close at all):

This week, sushi specialist Chef Tyson Cole decided to challenge Iron Chef Morimoto. The secret ingredient was ginger. Judging the competition was culinary journalist Akiko Katayama, Jeffrey Steingarten, and food blogger Pim.

Chef Cole served up five dishes: black snapper sashimi and ginger ale (which Jeffrey said was “delightful”), wild sea bass with galangal puree and pickled peaches, sugar coated hamachi, grilled salmon belly with sauternes gelee and ginger infused fruit, and brown butter and ginger sorbet with ginger consumme (Pim thought that was “lovely”).

Black Snapper Sashimi at Toshiro in Lima, Peru via Doctor's Review

Striped Sea Bass w/White Asparagus, Watermelon, Smoked Yellow Tomato at Aureole in NY via Food Fashionista

Maple Ginger Sorbet

Iron Chef Morimoto served up six dishes: Japanese sweet melon with east meets west caprese salad (Akiko thought it was too stringy), seared bonito lamb carpaccio and seared Japanese pike, Japanese grouper cooked in ginger water (which Pim said was the epitome of Japanese cooking), duck meatball soup, ginger congee with wagyu, and ginger coconuts with hot chocolate.

Melon Salad with Mint and Buddha's Hand via Tasty Palettes

Steamed grouper crystal fish dumpling at Cherry Garden in Singapore via Lady Iron Chef

Beef Congee via Steamy Kitchen

Morimoto was victorious by a landslide, winning 49 to 43. He took taste (26 to 20) and originality (12 to 9). He lost plating 11 to 14, but Chef Cole learned to never challenge the master!

Iron Chef Morimoto

Katherine’s Commentary

Hi everyone; Katherine here.  I’m stuck at work this afternoon, but based on Chairman Amy’s liveblog, it looks like the secret ingredient tonight will be ginger.

My sources (read: Amy) tell me that the chefs are currently running frantically around the Oregon St. Berkeley Bowl gathering fresh ingredients for tonight’s three-course meal.  Shopping at Berkeley Bowl can be very hectic on weekend afternoons even without a time limit; I like to think of Chef Balibalos throwing elbows to grab the best ginger in the bin as Chef Chen leaps over a toddler in a shopping cart on his way to the checkout.

Berkeley Bowl's fresh produce section via Leah | salome_st_john on Flickr.

This is the liveblog of Sunday’s Iron Chef Berkeley: Battle Ginger, consolidated and listed in reverse chronological order.  Check back throughout the week for the photos, recipes, and scores of each dish. 

Final scoring! — 9:48 P.M.

Nish: “When these two titans clash, we all win.”

With some sort of Excel contraption cooked up by JueYan, the judges’ scores have been all tallied up. Again, the dishes were scored on a scale of 10 in taste, originality, and presentation.

Appetizer: Michael’s scallop and stuffed mushroom rode originality and presentation to beat out John’s tom ka gai soup with an average score of 8.67 to 7.33.

Entree: John’s salmon was clearly dragged down by his bland choice of sides, as he suffered a competition-worst score of 6.67. Michael’s salmon scores another victory, averaging 7.78.

Dessert: John’s signature dish carries him through here, with his flan outscoring Michael’s cake 7.56 to 7.34.

Final decision: Although the night was filled with excellent treats at all stages, Michael takes the (metaphorical) trophy, beating out John with an overall average of 7.93 to 7.19.

I am feeling very fat and full. Good night.

- Jack

Balibalos’ flan — 9:00 P.M.

John presents the final dish of the night, a coconut milk flan with candied ginger and orange peels. The toppings are held in a Hello Kitty bowl.

Nish: “There’s a bit of a kick to it.”

Paul: “I think I put too much ginger and orange at the same time.”

Katherine: “This is a strong contender.”

Nish and Katherine comment that they likely have been rating too generously tonight.

Paul says it’s smooth, as all of John’s dishes have been. He really enjoyed the candied orange with the ginger, and appreciated the “little fight to it.”

Katherine was pleased that John brought his signature dish to the table. She gives high marks for the homemade candied ginger, but she would’ve liked if the ginger had been incorporated in more ways, such as a sauce or an infusion into the flan itself.

Nish is similarly satisfied with the flan, and was glad that the ginger wasn’t overly spicy. The taste and texture paired very well with the flan.

- Jack

Balibalos’ salmon — 8:47 P.M.

John has brought out salmon baked with a soy and ginger glaze, as well as a little brown sugar for sweetness. He warns to watch out for bones, as he forgot to take them out. Boiled bokchoy with rice lines the side of the dish.

Katherine says that the centerpiece is clearly the salmon, and it has succeeded there. She likes the complexity of the sauce, but thought a better job could have been done with the side dishes. The bokchoy and the rice fill out the meal, but don’t complement the flavors of the salmon.

Nish agrees with Katherine on the complexity of the salmon marinade and on how well baked the salmon was. The rice did not have enough water, but that was the fault of the sous chef. Overall, it was very enjoyable for him.

Paul describes the salmon as a “nice smooth, ride” that ended in “fireworks” in the back of his throat. Unfortunately, he felt like the rest of the dish was boring, with the boiled bokchoy and plain white rice.

Nish comments that this would be a difficult dish to judge.

- Jack

Balibalos’ soup — 8:37 P.M.

At this point, the food is already cold, but the judges say they will account for that in their scoring.

John has brought out a tom ka gai, a Thai coconut soup with tomatoes, mushrooms and shrimp.

Katherine is coughing as she is overwhelmed by the spiciness of the dish. She asks for water.

Nish is a fan of the spiciness, as well as the coconut milk flavor. He appreciates the Thai-Asian taste of the dish.

Paul: “Wow, I like it so much.” He is not usually a fan of spicy things, but the richness covers the spiciness for him. He follows up with a mixed metaphor. He has just learned that coconut milk is white rather than clear.

Katherine likes the flavor, but she again cannot taste the ginger. She did not like the shrimp, saying it was a little bit overcooked. This will be reflected in her scoring. She does love the creativity in John’s recycling of the fish stock from his salmon dish. She adds that the dish would not have been the same without the mushrooms.

- Jack

Chen’s dessert — 8:26 P.M.

Michael brings out a chocolate cupcake topped with raspberries.

Katherine: “Wow, that’s beautiful.”

It has bits of caramelized ginger inside, and should be eaten with the strawberries and candied ginger on the side, as well as drinking milk to combat the dryness of the cake (a result of it being left slightly too long in the oven.)

Katherine really likes this chocolate cake, bringing her back to the lava cakes of her youth. She’s having a little “Ratatouille” moment here. She doesn’t think that it’s too dry, but could not taste the ginger in the dish. Still, she says that the flavors complement each other well in this “classic.”

Nish also could not taste the ginger inside the cake, only the candied ginger bits on the side.

Paul comments that the raspberries do complement the chocolate, as “they always will.” However, he is disappointed that he could not taste the ginger and missed out on what could have been the meeting of two conflicting flavors.

All the judges agree that it is very delicious when eaten with the candied ginger.

- Jack

Chen’s appetizer — 8:15 P.M.

Katherine just mocked Paul’s ability to judge, comparing him to the guest judge that isn’t usually on the show. The joke was received with light laughter.

Michael is now presenting a two-part appetizer based on two things that are round. On the left: stuffed mushrooms with bacon and other exciting things. Right side: Scallop with a passionfruit ginger sauce.

Paul has dropped some of the food. Tsk tsk. We are starting at the other end with Nish instead.

Nish liked the pliability of the scallops tempered with the passionfruit, but thinks that more could have done with the scallops lacked flavor.

Katherine was a really big fan of the scallops, saying that they were not really tough. She disputes Nish’s point, saying that the scallop’s role as a “blank canvas” was used well. She will remember this dish as the one which packs in the ginger flavor.

Paul’s mouth was conflicted by the many flavors of the scallops fighting with the sauce. He also felt that the sauce was too sticky, which was due to it being overcooked, commenting that it was “sticky in his mouth,” as the scallops were “smoothly sliding along.”

(Side note: Deanne, a non-paying participant, liked the salmon, but thought it was over-salted. She also thought the ginger flavor was lacking.)

On to the mushroom.

Nish thought bacon and avocado went well together.

Katherine agrees, adding that the caramelized ginger also added to the combination. However, she also didn’t see too much of a tie between the mushroom and the “Battle Ginger” concept.

Paul doesn’t really care about the concept, and is judging purely on taste. He likes the “springy-ness” of the salad, but can barely taste the ginger. He thought the mushroom didn’t have enough filling, but that may be because of the aforementioned spill. He withholds judgment on the dish.

- Jack

Chen’s salmon: initial reactions — 8:05 P.M.

Nish, Katherine, and Paul are lined up along the judges’ row of chairs, each with plates of food in front of them. They are about to taste some sort of salmon dish prepared by Michael, who used a bunch of fancy words to describe it that I didn’t catch.

Katherine has asked for a description of the sauce. I caught that it is white-wine based along with some sort of ginger-y and butter-y stuff. Michael claims that the inspiration for his dish is “fat is good.”

Paul says that it is a smooth taste, and he appreciates the fat.

Nish is surprised by the subtlety of the ginger taste, which does not bite at him.

Katherine is throwing fancy words very quickly, like “lightness.” She is not sure about the roasted vegetables on the side, and said that they distracted from the simplicity of the dish.

- Jack

Eating begins! — 8:04 P.M.

Michael has made the common-sense appeal that everything is getting cold and should be consumed at once. I like his thinking.

- Jack

Laying it out — 7: 56 P.M.

The food is being brought out at this point, with everything being laid out beautifully on fancy-looking rectangular plates. Michael is apparently an expert at presentation, which would explain why I feel like the food was brought in from some expensive restaurant. (Though the illusion is somewhat spoiled by the presence of flower-bordered paper plates.)

What I’m most excited about at this point is the scallops and the stuffed mushroom, both of which I love dearly. It’s been quite a while since I’ve tasted the latter, so my stomach is in quite the state of anticipation at the moment.

The slices of salmon are also being put onto the paper plates as I type this, and Michael is pouring some sort of sauce over each one.

I’m hungry.

- Jack

Food Has Arrived, Plating has Begun — 7:40 pm

With the help of several porters, all of Chef Balibalos’ food has arrived. Unfortunately, he will be deducted for time, as he has arrived late.

The plating process has begun, with each chef hurriedly putting the final touches on his dish.

Whose cuisine will reign supreme???? The burning question will be answered soon!

-Amy

Finishing touches — 7:25 P.M.

Katherine here, writing for Amy, who is busy at Chef Balibalos’ kitchen directing the transport of the dishes across College Avenue.  I wish there was a film crew to document the physical transfer; it would share the same suspense as Ace of Cakes.

Update: Chef Balibalos’ dishes have arrived!  After the myriad of helpers from across the street rushed up the stairs and into our apartment laden with platters of hot food, they stared in disbelief at the apparent coolness of JueYan and Danica, who were “helping” Chef Chen by playing Super Smash.

Just moments ago, I was washing dishes in Chef Chen’s kitchen, where chaos is reigning supreme.  There are dishes of food covering every possible horizontal surface, and sous chef Sandra is constantly chopping and preparing ingredients for Chef Chen, who has a pan on every burner.  This multitasking, intended to save time, may have backfired on Chef Chen, who accidentally burnt a pan of walnuts that were caramelizing in sugar.  The mistake is probably not fundamental, as the ginger portion of the dish is still intact, but it seems to have thrown Chef Chen off his balance a bit.

The high point of panic in the kitchen occurred when Chef Chen suddenly turned around and realized that he had started a small fire on one of the burners.  ”Ohhh no no no no!” he exclaimed, as he tried desperately to blow the six-inch flame out like a birthday candle.  After the burner caught on fire for the second time, Chef Chen elected not to use that area of the stove for the remainder of the competition, leaving him shorthanded.  How this will affect his ability to complete his dishes remains to be seen.

-Katherine

Arrival of Judges — 6:46 pm

I returned from work to find chaos in Kitchen Stadium #205, where Chef Chen is feverishly preparing his courses.  I hurried past in order to preserve my impartiality, though not before catching the heavy scent of what I believe is cumin in the air.  Curry flavored by ginger, perhaps?

It appears that the time limit of 2 hours is proving quite a challenge for both chefs.   (I just heard Chef Chen wail from his kitchen, “I need more tiiiiimmee!”)  As such, Chairman Amy has approved the reinstatement of the sous chef position.  Seasoned chef Sandra, whose impressive culinary resume includes a position at Berkeley’s Love at First Bite bakery as well as her current position as a food blog researcher for a catering company, is assisting Chef Chen.  The sous chefs on Chef Balibalos’ side of College, meanwhile, make up for a lack of professional experience in sheer number.  At last count, Paul, Danica, and Jack were all lending Chef Balibalos a hand while JueYan put the Maytag Man to shame as the dishwasher.

Those of you reading at home may wonder why there were so many dishes in the Balibalos kitchen, a condition that many are speculating put Chef Balibalos at a time disadvantage under an already-tight two hour limit.  It appears that, in addition to forgetting his grocery list twice, Chef Balibalos also forgot that he had a sinkful of dirty dishes in his apartment before beginning the competition.  This self-sabotage is made even more ironic by the fact that, when I spoke to Chef Balibalos this morning to ask what preparations he was undergoing for tonight’s competition, he responded with a shrug, “I dunno…gaming…napping…whatever.”  I believe the French, who have a rich culinary heritage, refer to he who brings this unnecessary extra obstacle upon himself as teh noob.

-Katherine

Return from Grocery Store — 5:16 P.M.

We have just returned from a three-store grocery run: Berkeley Bowl, Ver Brugge Meat-Fish Poultry, and Safeway. The lines have been much longer than anticipated, so it’s a good thing that we set aside two hours for this ordeal. Given the delay in timing, it looks like service will have to be pushed back to 7:30.

Chef Balibalos is gearing up to what seems to be an Asian-dominating menu,  with several cans of young coconut, some soy sauce, and rice in his grocery basket. Unfortunately, he forgot his planning sheet at home, and had to shop entirely from memory.

Chef Chen’s menu is a bit more ambiguous; he bought plenty of vegetables, some heavy cream, and butter. He has indicated that his menu is a more flexible, and seems to be leaving his final decision to be made during cooking time.

The chefs remain largely on target for the budget, going just a few dollars over. This was largely due to the whole salmon purchased at the butcher’s; the chefs wanted 4 lbs of fish, but the shop would only sell half or whole fish, the smallest fish weighing in at 5 lbs.

Both chefs are exhausted, and the cooking hasn’t even begun.

In other news, judge Nishant will be dropping to watch the cooking in about 15-20 minutes, bringing guest foodies Charles and Margaret along. While the guest list seems to be constantly fluctuating, this blogger hopes that we’ll be able to break even in the end.

-Amy

Iron Chef America’s Battle Ginger – 4:38 P.M.

Iron Chef Berkeley’s better-known cousin, Iron Chef America, has previously held a Battle Ginger.  Here’s Reality TV Online’s synopsis, with supplementary pictures as close as I could get to the dishes served (usually not close at all):

This week, sushi specialist Chef Tyson Cole decided to challenge Iron Chef Morimoto. The secret ingredient was ginger. Judging the competition was culinary journalist Akiko Katayama, Jeffrey Steingarten, and food blogger Pim.

Chef Cole served up five dishes: black snapper sashimi and ginger ale (which Jeffrey said was “delightful”), wild sea bass with galangal puree and pickled peaches, sugar coated hamachi, grilled salmon belly with sauternes gelee and ginger infused fruit, and brown butter and ginger sorbet with ginger consumme (Pim thought that was “lovely”).

Iron Chef Morimoto served up six dishes: Japanese sweet melon with east meets west caprese salad (Akiko thought it was too stringy), seared bonito lamb carpaccio and seared Japanese pike, Japanese grouper cooked in ginger water (which Pim said was the epitome of Japanese cooking), duck meatball soup, ginger congee with wagyu, and ginger coconuts with hot chocolate.

Morimoto was victorious by a landslide, winning 49 to 43. He took taste (26 to 20) and originality (12 to 9). He lost plating 11 to 14, but Chef Cole learned to never challenge the master!

Katherine’s commentary from work — 3:05 P.M.

Hi everyone; Katherine here.  I’m stuck at work this afternoon, but based on Chairman Amy’s liveblog, it looks like the secret ingredient tonight will be ginger.

My sources (read: Amy) tell me that the chefs are currently running frantically around the Oregon St. Berkeley Bowl gathering fresh ingredients for tonight’s three-course meal.  Shopping at Berkeley Bowl can be very hectic on weekend afternoons even without a time limit; I like to think of Chef Balibalos throwing elbows to grab the best ginger in the bin as Chef Chen leaps over a toddler in a shopping cart on his way to the checkout.

Secret Ingredient Announced! / Planning — 2:35 P.M.

The chefs are surprised by the secret ingredient: ginger! Armed with a pad of paper and a pen, each chef has begun his planning process. Chef Chen argues that the ingredient is biased towards Asian food. The blogger respectfully disagrees.

As one judge has unexpectedly dropped out, it looks like Foodie Friday Presents: Iron Chef may need to alter its judging scheme.

The chefs have also agreed to drop the sous chef, so it’ll be one-on-one cooking. Can they do it alone in two hours? That remains to be seen.

-Amy

Pre-Competition Blog — 1:00 PM

Two kitchens. Two chefs. Only one can be the Iron Chef.

It’s one hour to competition in Kitchen stadium #205, and we’ve decided to track the progress with a live blog. Tonight, resident Iron Chef John Balibalos has been challenged by Chef Michael Chen, of Six-Month Anniversary fame. The chefs will be cooking in separate kitchens.

THE SCHEDULE

• 2:00 p.m. Secret ingredient revealed, recipe lookup on computer for 10 minutes, 15 minutes to plan.
• 3:00 p.m. Shopping – limited to 45 minutes, not including line or transportation time.
• 5:00 p.m. Cooking begin.
• 7:00 pm. Service

THE RULES

• 3 courses — appetizers, main, and dessert
• 1 sous chef is allowed
• $50 budget per chef (judges + audience pays $10 each)
• 4 judges — Sandra, Nishant, Katherine, and Don
• 1 commentator/blogger — Amy
• 1 vote will be the “jury’s choice”
• Judges will also help wash dishes

Whose cuisine will reign supreme? Stay tuned to find out!

-Amy

Friday night Yuki’s mom went to a concert with a friend, so it was up to me to decide where we went for dinner with her dad. In my quest to eat at every Iron Chef’s restaurants I was able to convince him that we should head out to one of Chen Kenichi’s joints. It wasn’t a hard sell. So, the three of us hopped on the train to Roppongi where Chen has one of his four places.

There were a handful of pre fix options, but none of them really had what we wanted, so we ordered a bunch of dishes in typical Chinese family-style dining.

First up was a trio of cold appetizers. On the top were Scallops cooked with chili peppers. Not too spicy, just a nice, slow, gentle burn on the back of the throat. Bottom right was shredded chicken with a sweet miso sauce. Bottom left jellyfish in a light soy. All three were very complimentary of each other and made for a great start to the meal.

Next up was Shark Fin Soup. Not the most politically correct dish, but hey, a little shark fin never hurt anything. A lot does, but a little doesn’t. The broth was a thick soy flavor and it had thin slices of pork in it alongside the shark fin.

Then came Abalone, one of the sea’s finest of all creatures! Served with shiitake and bamboo shoots it was truly delicious. Judging by Uichiro’s (Yuki’s dad) reaction when he first bit into it, I’d say it was his favorite part of the meal, next to the beer.

After that we had mixed seafood served on rice cakes. The restaurant manager poured the hot seafood on the rice cakes making it sizzle, much like the classic sizzling rice soup commonly found in American Chinatown restaurants. I need make a correction, I think Uichiro liked this dish more than the abalone. Hard to argue, the shrimp, scallops, and squid were cooked to perfection with all of the natural sweetness brought out.

Next was probably my favorite dish of the meal, beef with mushrooms and lilies in a thick ginger soy sauce. The beef was so tender it almost melted in my mouth. The mushrooms and lilies were nice counterpoints to the salty soy. The only thing missing was white rice to balance a little more of the salt. This was definitely more of what Americans are used to than Japanese. Give me this dish and a cold beer and I’m a happy man!

Here we go, the dish that brought me to Chen’s restaurant and the one that will make my brothers very envious, his famous mapotofu! There were two choices on the menu, Kenichi’s and Kenmei’s. Kenmei was Kenichi’s father, the one who brought true Szechuan cooking to Japan. It was a tough choice, but we opted for Kenichi’s since it was his restaurant and not his father’s. It wasn’t quite as hot as I expected, but it was definitely a hot and spicy dish! Packed with Szechuan peppercorns it gives an initial citrusy spice followed by a mouth-numbing burn. Yuki and I added some extra peppercorns to get the full experience, while Uichiro only ate a few pieces of tofu. I think it’s a little spicy for him. It was a little oily as it was douced in chili oil, but that’s what makes it so delicious. The funny thing is that in the middle of the night Tokyo experienced what it thinks was a small earthquake. It wasn’t an earthquake at all though, it was the effects of my trying to digest Chen’s mapotofu! I’m still not quite sure exactly what that dish did to my intestines, but it made a city of 16 million rumble a little. And somehow my chest got a little harrier.

We followed the mapotofu with a mild pork and egg noodle dish. It had shiitake, green onions, chinese cabbage, sprouts, and bamboo shoots. It took a few bites to get the burn out of our mouths, but once it was gone this dish’s wonderful flavor stood out. It’s just too bad I couldn’t finish it all because we ordered one too many dishes I think. Oh well, what can you do?

We thought we were finished when the manager brought us some complimentary dessert, Annin Tofu. Annin Tofu is a popular Chinese dessert. It’s basically just almond jelly. Very smooth, light, and creamy. It’s the perfect way to finish off a meal.

All in all, I have to say that I was a little dissapointed. After watching countless episodes of Chen creating some of the most amazing looking dishes anyone could ever think up, this meal was a very straight forward Chinese meal. Every dish was a classic that you can get at just about any Chinese restaurant. Granted, everything was perfectly balanced, but nothing was off the wall. I was kind of hoping for some Chen originals. This restaurant wasn’t the right format for him to create Iron Chef dishes. I have no regrets, but I wasn’t blown away like I was at other Iron Chef restaurants.

I have now been to three Iron Chef restaurants (4 if you count Bobby Flay, but I don’t consider him an Iron Chef and I never wanted to go to his place). I have done Sakai, Michiba, and now Chen. Next up….Kobe Masahiko.

by Julianna Squicciarini

As we enter the holiday season, memories of previous holiday seasons come to mind – some are sad, some are funny…but they’re all enjoyable, to a certain extent. And what are the holidays without memories to go along with them, right? So here I present “You’re a Failure: The Mystery of Fudge”. Enjoy!

Our family is one of the trusted keepers of our Aunt Thelma’s “No-Fail Fudge” recipe. I don’t know if it’s a secret recipe…but it should be, because it’s positively amazing. Smooth, silky texture, rich, chocolate-y flavor… <blissful sigh> and the best part is, it always works. Doesn’t matter if you’re not a chef. You can’t break it! It will never fail.

Until…

The holiday season of 2007 rolled around. We started picking out goodies to make, so that our pantry and refrigerator would be well-stocked for all those parties and casual holiday gatherings we wanted to have. Of course, fudge was an absolute necessity. We decided to whip up a quick batch for the weekend. And <whisper> it failed! The texture was all wrong! Very grainy and unable to hold together properly. Sure the taste was ok, but that’s not everything when it comes to fudge.

We knew there had to have been something we missed – maybe we burned the chocolate. Chocolate is very easy to burn. So we dumped that batch and tried again. And <shocked expression> IT FAILED AGAIN! The exact same problem happened. We couldn’t believe it. The no-fail fudge recipe failed?!! This is an impossibility.

We waited a week or so before trying again. Maybe we hadn’t followed the recipe correctly; maybe the weather was affecting the melting of the chocolate. Maybe we had burned it again! To make a very long, very tedious story short – every single time we made fudge that year, it failed miserably. We had to go fudge-less for the holidays in 2007. <dissolve into tears>

[Perhaps that was all for the better. ]

Since fudge is a very seasonal sweet in our house, we didn’t pull the recipe back out until the holiday season of 2008. Remembering the unaccountable failures of the previous year, we were meticulous about timing, following directions, etc. And <horror> it failed again. We couldn’t believe it. How could a recipe that had worked perfectly for so many years fail every time now? Was there some kind of statute of limitations on the No-Fail Fudge recipe? It only works until 2007??

Our mother was particularly bothered by this, as it made no logical sense whatsoever. She spent days trying to figure out what was going wrong.

And being the Iron Chef that she is, she solved the case.

Are you on the edge of your seat?

In preparation for the extensive baking our family does – especially during the holidays – we had been buying those super-sized bags of chocolate chips at Costco, and storing it in the freezer. When baking or cooking anything that used chocolate, the chips would go straight from the freezer to the bowl/pot. Because they were frozen, they have extra moisture content, resulting in the chocolate “seizing”, and becoming grainy. If you’ve ever tried melting chocolate in a bowl you just washed (and didn’t dry thoroughly), you’ll understand what that means – water and chocolate don’t mix. It simply cannot melt evenly and become silky smooth. Physics do not permit.

We bought a new bag of chips and stored it in our pantry. We then tried the infamous recipe one more time. And <awed whisper> it worked!! Worked like a charm. Thus, we had fudge for the 2008 holiday season.

And you can be assured that we will have plenty of fudge for the 2009 holiday season, as well. Feel free to join us for some.

Iron Chef – Hot Club!

At our last Hot Club of Durham Dance we announced a special contest for our November 24th dance this year.  In honor of the day that we give thanks to our Native American friends for saving our butts in Massachusetts, we are going to have a cook off!

The Plan

• Get 5 people to sign up to bake desserts.
• Announce on 11/17/2009 what the secret ingredient will be.  Each contestant’s dessert must contain this secret ingredient.
• Contestants will bring their desserts to Hot Club on 11/24/2009 to be eaten and judged by everyone.

The Prize

The winner of the baking contest will be named Iron Chef and receive a $20 gift certificate good for admission to Hot Club  dances or classes!

We already have two signed up! Only 3 more slots left for the chance to win!

If you are interested please email us:

info@hotclubofdurham.com

Faceless Woman with Large Bum

As I watch Iron Chef America, I feel the urge to describe this charcoal drawing I did a couple years back with a culinary mindset.

This is a full-bodied, succulent dish marinated in a creamy red glaze and served on a bed of crisp linen-like filo dough. It is accompanied by a small arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette and two scoops of garlic mashed potatoes topped with parika. Head has been tastefully removed. Best with a rich merlot.

Recently, I was gifted an abnormally large bag of baby carrots (Costco size). After many bowls of chicken soup, there were still more carrots than I knew what to do with. I have been wanting to try using a blender to make soup (as seen on Iron Chef America) and this was my opportunity.
It all started with fully cooked, tender carrots in chicken stock:

please don't puree me!

any last words?

into the blender they went

carrots pureed

transferred into a pot for some heat

added salt, pepper, indian ginger powder

and old bay seasoning

and chili powder, ground cloves, sesame seeds

more sesame seeds on top for texture

It was NOT good at all! I forced myself to eat a bowl, but the rest went down the drain. What did I do wrong???

I am a major failure

The maker of Cream of Wheat, Parsippany-based B&G Foods, closed its public offering of 10 million shares for $8 each in Septermber. As a kid, I loved Cream of Wheat; I liked mine lumpy. (I don’t know whether I really liked it that way or if I learned to like it because that’s how my mother made it.) I find it disappointing that although B&G is in New Jersey (where I live), I can’t walk into any diner I know and order a bowl of Cream of Wheat.

I’ve always felt that the Cream of Wheat chef (whose face graces the box) lacked the exposure that some of his peers, like Aunt Jemima and the Quaker, get. He could use some product placements on a show, a show like Iron Chef. Now that’s an episode I’d like to see! I can hear the host saying, “Today’s secret ingredient is… CREAM OF WHEAT!” Iron Chef Mario Batali would present his dish to the judges saying, “Here we have Risotto with Spiny Lobster and Cream of Wheat.” The challenger would serve instant Cream of Wheat in a bowl with a small cup of hot water and try to convince the judges that it was actually a deconstructed Cream of Wheat. And, of course, the challenger would lose because he couldn’t resist the temptation to make Cream of Wheat ice cream.

When I announced that I’d be doing a post a day, I asked my throngs of adoring fans to offer some suggestions of topics that I should cover. Clearly, my brilliance had cowed and intimidated all but the bravest of my legions of admirers, because I only received one response. Jon Wolf asked me to talk about the dragon that lived in the rings of Saturn. As soon as I heard his desperate entreaty, I knew I had to respond as quickly and thoroughly as possible to clear up the myths and misconceptions about said dragon.

There are many myths about dragons in general. Most people realize that dragons as we know them never actually existed in Europe, Asia, Africa. etc. Yes, there are myths and legends about the existence of enormous, scaly, flying and just plain bad ass creatures all over the world, but the majority of people believe that real dragons simply don’t exist. A reasonable stance to be sure, but true in only the most parochial sense. The real truth, (that only a few of us have had the drive and vision to discover), is that dragons are real but they don’t live on Earth. If one puts just a little thought to this, it quickly becomes clear why.

There is simply no way a creature that large could generate the lift necessary to fly under it’s own power. No matter how large the surface area of the wings, or how powerful the muscles, it’s too much mass to get off the ground with the speed and energy available to biological organisms. Dragons love to fly, and they can’t fly on Earth, therefore, no dragons on Earth. It’s elementary logic.

So in order to shine the light of truth on this sadly ignored fact, I’ve come up with a list of facts about our Solar System’s dragon(s) that I think you should read:

1) There isn’t just one dragon living in Saturn’s rings, there are two. Their names are Bruno and Jack-Jack. They have tremendous amounts of sex. There’s not much else to do out there, but they’re not complaining.

2) Jack-Jack is short for Jacqueline Jacobi. This is a little strange because dragons typically do not use surnames. She’s never bothered to explain it, and the few beings who have brave enough to ask about it never lived to regret their insolence.

3) Almost every current story and myth about dragons can be traced to the one particular dragon named Marshall. Somewhere around 4200BCE during what we would call a “mid-life crisis” he got hammered, flew a bit too close to Earth’s gravity well and was trapped here. After a few decades of anger and frustration in which he laid waste to much of what is now Northern Europe, he mellowed out, grew a mustache and ponytail and moved to a small cottage on the shores of the Yangtze.

4) The moon landings were not faked, but they were an integral part of a massive government conspiracy. In fact, the launching of Apollos 12-15 were a massively successful ruse to distract the media’s attention away from a secondary launch site in Central Florida, exactly where the “Astral Orbiter” now stands at Walt Disney World. First Kennedy and then Nixon authorized these covert missions in order to establish regular contact Bruno and Jack-Jack and hopefully gain their support in the Cold War.

5) When they were first discovered, Pulsars were assumed to be distant dragon flames. We have since discovered that they are actually exotic remnants of stars, given their bizarre characteristics due to the massive violence and energy of a supernova event. However, in private, most astronomers prefer to stick to the “Dragon Flame Interpretation”, when asked about it, they will pretend they have no idea what you’re talking about.

6) Academics, bureaucrats, artists, scientists and philosophers have know of real dragons for centuries. They keep their existence a secret not out of a fear of the public’s reaction, but because dragons are so damn cool that the jerks who gave them wedgies and the snobs who rejected them in high school don’t deserve to know about it.

7) Far from living in isolation, dragons are in regular contact with humanity, and enjoy many of our cultural exports. Bruno enjoys Iron Chef America, but still prefers the original Japanese version. Jack-Jack loved Battlestar Galactica and can even forgive the heavy-handed ending but when pressed says: “I actually liked the finale, but really, Starbuck? WTF?”. They are both serious Munchkin fanatics. Bruno’s musical tastes tend toward Progressive Rock and New Wave while Jack-Jack is massively eclectic, listening to everyone from Rascal Flatts to Franz Ferdinand.

One dragon scale is about the size of a cheese Pazzo from Amato’s. (Noteable because that is one of Jack-Jack’s favorite Earthly foods.)

9) The closest humanity has ever come to conflict with dragon kind was in 2007 when they Bruno was quoted at saying: “You know, that Cheney guy is kind of a tool.” Once the impracticality of sending 50,000 troops to Saturn’s rings was explained to the Vice President, the conflict was avoided.

10) If you ever come face to face with a dragon, panic and beg for mercy. You’re probably in no danger from the dragons, but you are now stranded, floating in the rings of Saturn, surrounded by massive balls of ice and debris. What the hell were you thinking?