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Showing posts with label Culinary Combat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culinary Combat. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Culinary Combat : Battle Skirt steak NYC chef against Iron Chef America Morimoto

Tailor on UrbanspoonPeekytoe crab with pineapple foam; pork belly with miso-butterscotch; Arctic char; sassafras cake with smoked vanilla ice cream; apple with cumin ice cream; chocolate with sesame ice cream. Those are the top hits for this restaurant. But in a Iron Chef America battle Skirt Steak pairing the chef of Tailor Soho, Sam Mason and Iron Chef American Fusion chef , Masaharu Morimoto. Here the battle raged on with Beef as the main course or part of the battle. It was spirited battle. Mason paired different ingredients with the entrees like grilled steak with creme brulee , cocoa fried skirt steak (I must find a recipe for his) and an unusual skirt steak ice cream (yes!).
Morimoto focused on variety of textures . One was steak tartare , egg and pear with mango, papaya and jalapeno (I’ve got to find a similar recipe) and more . He had a slight edge in variety I thought. As my custom, before the verdict, I choose the winner. But then how close was I. Usually close within 2 to 3 points and on the right side of the battle. My conclusion this time was quite good. My thoughts were Morimoto winning by +5. He won by +7 so I was right in “the ball park”.
Morimoto beat the challenger by +4 in taste.
With Plating, Morimoto won +3.
Originality, I was a little surprised was a draw 12 to 12.
So there you have it .

Here is more about the restaurant and the Iron Chef America too.

http://events.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/reviews/21rest.html?em&ex=1195880400&en=2b34c2a95754f251&ei=5087%0A

More about Masaharu Morimoto .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaharu_Morimoto

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Culinary Combat : Throwndown Chili Relano

La Casita Mexicana on Urbanspoon

I had made chili relanos a few weeks ago as a first trial . They came out pretty well but not a lot of the batter stayed on . On Throwndown with Bobby Flay, I think I found out techniques to make mine better.

Bobby Flay battered and fried his. He had a beer batter.
The Mexican owners roasted theirs without a batter. They had cactus was in which possibly gave them the edge. Also what gives them the edge is recipes that a level above ordinary fare. Three uniquely flavorful moles: burgundy-hued poblano; pepian (pumpkin seed) verde with Serrano chilies; and burnt-orangerojo . Azteco plantain leaves with four Mexican cheeses, nogales(cactus strips) and mushrooms. Winning include roasted poblano peppers stuffed with ground meat, dried fruits, walnuts and candied cactus, topped with pecan-cream sauce and pomegranate seeds (wow I will have to make these as they seem so different from any place).
Fish is on the regular menu. Flaky spiced sea bass steamed in cornhusks is interesting. Desserts include fresh guava drizzled with eggnog and a fried tortilla purse filled with rice pudding and smothered with pecan-cream sauce.

The owners won and their recipes are winners too. Bobby’s was pretty good and there recipe is below that I will have to try.


Eggplant and with Manchego Filled Chile with Red Pepper-Balsamic Sauce
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, 2008>

Ingredients
Eggplant filling:
• 3 Japanese eggplants, skin on and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 cup grated Manchego cheese
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack
Red Pepper Sauce:
• 3 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 3 to 4 roasted garlic cloves
• 3 to 4 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped adobo
Balsamic Reduction:
• 3 cups balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
Dark Beer Batter:
• 1 bottle dark beer (1 1/2 cups)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 to 6 medium-sized, poblano peppers, oven roasted, seeded and carefully peeled
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 4 cups peanut oil
• Freshly chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
For the eggplant filling:
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the eggplant with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place onto a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and toss with the garlic and oregano and place back into the oven for another 10 minutes, until the eggplant is lightly golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven, add the parsley and gently toss to combine. Let cool slightly.
Place the eggplant into a bowl and toss with the cheeses. Set aside.
For the red pepper sauce:
Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
For the balsamic reduction:
Bring the vinegar to a boil in a small nonreactive saucepan and cook until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup. Stir in the honey and set aside.
For the dark beer batter:
Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.
For the poblanos:
Divide the eggplant filling among the peppers, compressing it into the shape of the pepper (the roasted pepper is very delicate and may begin to tear, but it will be fine).
Place the flour onto a plate and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the pepper completely in the flour and tap off any excess. Dip the peppers into the beer batter and allow excess to drain off. Place the cornmeal on a plate and season with salt and pepper and dredge the pepper in the cornmeal.
In a large frying pan, heat the oil to 370 degrees F.
Fry the peppers in batches, turning until lightly brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Spoon some of the sauce in the middle of the plate. Place a relleno on top of the sauce and drizzle the relleno with some of the balsamic reduction.
Garnish with parsley.

Culinary Combat : Italian battle with rice

Bartolotta di Mare (Wynn) on Urbanspoon This American Iron Chef battle was all Italian with the main ingredient rice. The chef now is from Las Vegas and has an impressive background but would his experience “flourish in the battle”? Among his awards as one of the best new restaurants in America (By Gourmet magazine) and was up for some James Beard awards. Not too shabby.

http://www.vegasuncorked.com/bio/Paul-Bartolotta.html

His flagship restaurants BARTOLOTTA Ristorante di Mare and BARTOLOTTA Ristorante di Mare have quite a following.

My son keeps telling me I don’t know what real Italian fare is (I love Cinzetti’s in Overland Park, KS). I am always on the look out for better Italian fare and recipes so I was interested to see how this battle would play out.

The judges loved the taste of both competitors dishes. I thought Batali was a little more creative and original and seemed that he had an edge with the entrees. My vote before judgement was Batali by +5. He won by +3 so I was right in the ballpark with my assessment.

BARTOLOTTA has the interesting Sweet Rice and apple fritter which looked fantastic. I would like to find a recipe similar to it. (see more below)

Batali Bartolotta

---------------------------------------------------
taste 27 26
----------------------------------------------------
plating 15 14
-----------------------------------------------------
originality 15 14
----------------------------------------------------
score 57 54

I found some interesting recipes at http://www.godecookery.com/allrec/allrec04.htm
In these Desserts and Sweets I found

Apple Fritters
Beer-battered fried apples in sugar - contributed by Michael F. Gunter
1 1/4 cup ale or beer
1 Tbs. dry yeast
1 cup flour
optional: 1 egg or 2 egg yolks
3-4 apples (e.g. Macintosh)
1/2 tsp. salt
oil or shortening for frying
confectioners sugar
Heat the beer to lukewarm. Put the yeast in a medium sized bowl and add 1/4 cup of the beer; stir and let sit about 10 minutes. Mix in the flour, egg yolks or egg if desired, salt, and remaining beer. Beat the mixture and then cover the bowl. Leave in a warm place for about an hour. It should at least double in bulk.
Peel the apples, core them and cut into wedges or rings. Put the apple slices in the batter and stir to coat them. Fry quickly in oil or deep fat. Sprinkle with sugar and serve.

It sounded good eventhough it did not have rice like in this battle but it could be added.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Food Finds : The Hotest Pasta in the world (it's in Cambridge, MA baby!)

East Coast Grill on Urbanspoon
I worked at Harvard University for 3 astronomy projects. I loved just strolling down to Cambridge and trying the Caribbean, Thai and other food. While I took in many restaurants, I missed this place. I was in Providence in March but I wish I was also back in April to run up to Boston and try this famous night’s hottest entrees. A special night and a menu that includes the hottest delectable entrees featured here in the entertaining Travel Channel’s Man vs Food.
The hottest grub was rated on a scale of 1-9 with the hottest being the Pasta from Hell, the featured entree of this episode while engaged with the East Coast Grill not rated #32 most popular restaurant and the #9 (now) best fine dining rating.
http://www.eastcoastgrill.net/menus/hellmenu.htm

The hottest pasta in the World uses the hottest goat chili. He survived it. I don’t usually go for really hot items preferring to opt for spicy and flavorful versus just HOT.

When I make it here sometime I might try the

9.50
Smoked Duck Leg ... with Pineapple - Red Curry, Coconut & Chick Pea Crisp (4 Bombs)
or
9.50
Dry Fried Chile Squid Taco ...with Roasted Green Chili
or
Boston Bay Spit - Roasted Jerk 1/2 Chicken ... with Inner Beauty Hot Sauce, Banana Guava Ketchup, Rice N' Beans, Plantains & Callaloo Greens (5 Bombs)
17.50

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Culinary Combat : An Iron Chef (America) loses in Apple Battle

Tarbell's on Urbanspoon During the Iron Chef America battles, I try to size up who will win and by how much. I also notice some of the recipes, try to find similar ones and post them on this blog for you all to try before and after I try them. Most of the time, I am on the right side of the decision and am very close to the winning score (how much the winner wins by). I analyzed right this time when the challenger Tarbell winning over Kat Kora in the Apple battle.
I watch really closely analyzing the words of the judges, as they sample each dish. Tarbell scored with several dishes that I want to find and try: Apple fry bread, Celery root apple soup, and unusual Apple tamale with polenta. They rally liked the marrying of the Apple with the dishes.
Meanwhile Kat had some nice dishes that I want to find: Curried Apple Soup, Apple Walnut vinaigrette with a dish, Apple and sunchoke puree, Apple Hash.
It seemed like they liked Trabell's dishes better.
I thought Tarbell would win by +4 and he won by +6.
He outpointed her in taste 24 to 18 while the other categories evened each other out.

combatant Kora Tarbell
_____________________________________
taste 18 24
plating 12 13
originality 44 50
____________________________
+6
While it will be awile until I get to this restaurant, I can sample some of his culinary works sooner by searching for some of those recipes. In fact, what is also nice is that Chef Tarbell has a very nice website with many more recipes.