Bickering, fire alarms and floods. The world is right again.
Following the one-quarter point loss in the American Cuisine competition, gaining the Iron Chef title in Asian Cuisine was important. I am competitive by nature. I like to win.
The rules in Iron Chef this time around were a bit different. We were given a selection on possible proteins ranging from beef tenderloin to scallops. From there, we were allowed to give Chef Damon shopping lists. Essentially, team 4, my team, came up with some rudimentary preparations for each protein and developed a simple shopping list based on that. Perhaps the best thing about Asian cuisine is the ability to mix genres easily. Chinese, Sichuan, Korean, Japan, Thai - they all balance each other well (as they should, since the Chinese spread what we know as Asian food).
We drew beef tenderloin, salmon and shrimp. From those three proteins we had to develop two entrees and two appetizers. Jessica, perhaps the star of our class, had a Japanese sweet potato pancake sort of a dish incorporating the shrimp. Zach did what was essentially a salmon salad not unlike tuna salad with a wasabi aioli served over freid wanton skins. Jason came up with a almond and cashew crusted salmon with stir fried vegetables and steamed rice entree. Jason, Joe and I battled out how to best use the head of beef tenderloin, finally settling on a shitake, porcini and sichuan peppercorn crusted medallion served over tempura root vegetables with a hoisin-dark soy based sauce and a thai chili-basil oil, with a garnish of sauteed shrimp to seal the deal. Pam prepped, administrated and made sure no one killed anyone else, though I think she secretly wishes two of us dead.
The result - before I get to the highlight reel - was a sound thrashing of all comers by team 4.
The evening started off simpole enough. Jessica, Zach and Pam had their respective appetizers well in hand and were setting up their mis en place as Jason, Joe and I called each other names and argued about how to best handle the entrees. Jason brought in a recipe for the crusted salmon which was clearly a knock out, so we went with it. I came in with only vague ideas of how I wanted to do beef, but searing off medallions, serving it over tempura and offering two or more sauces was what I had in mind. Jason suggested crusting with mushrooms, and that ploy made a big difference in flavor. Nothing beats the earthy flavor of dried porcinis and shitakes, and they pair really well with meat. With our battle plans drafted, we got started on the preparations. Then the fire alarm went off.
Thank god we didn't have anything of importance cooking at that moment. Chef Damon instructed us to turn everything off and we filed down to the front of the building while a gang of firemen determined there was no fire.
Not twenty minutes later a floor darin on our section of the hotline backed up, leaving us with a half inch of water to negotiate as we seared and sauteed. No one was hurt.
So, family and friends, you have an iron chef (sort of) to deal with from here on out. I played it down with my classmates, but my ego is out of control. So much so that I won't even discuss what was wrong with our food, especially since there was far less wrong with it than anyone else's food.
Tomorrow we rest. It's a class trip to Chinatown. Tea importer, fortune cookie factory, apothecary and a grand buffet at a local restaurant. Good stuff.
And that'll be the last of kitchens for the next few weeks as we head in for round two of wine and business, business and wine. As I think I mentioned previously, the break will be nice, though by next Wednesday I'll complaining about not cooking. So it goes.
Following the one-quarter point loss in the American Cuisine competition, gaining the Iron Chef title in Asian Cuisine was important. I am competitive by nature. I like to win.
The rules in Iron Chef this time around were a bit different. We were given a selection on possible proteins ranging from beef tenderloin to scallops. From there, we were allowed to give Chef Damon shopping lists. Essentially, team 4, my team, came up with some rudimentary preparations for each protein and developed a simple shopping list based on that. Perhaps the best thing about Asian cuisine is the ability to mix genres easily. Chinese, Sichuan, Korean, Japan, Thai - they all balance each other well (as they should, since the Chinese spread what we know as Asian food).
We drew beef tenderloin, salmon and shrimp. From those three proteins we had to develop two entrees and two appetizers. Jessica, perhaps the star of our class, had a Japanese sweet potato pancake sort of a dish incorporating the shrimp. Zach did what was essentially a salmon salad not unlike tuna salad with a wasabi aioli served over freid wanton skins. Jason came up with a almond and cashew crusted salmon with stir fried vegetables and steamed rice entree. Jason, Joe and I battled out how to best use the head of beef tenderloin, finally settling on a shitake, porcini and sichuan peppercorn crusted medallion served over tempura root vegetables with a hoisin-dark soy based sauce and a thai chili-basil oil, with a garnish of sauteed shrimp to seal the deal. Pam prepped, administrated and made sure no one killed anyone else, though I think she secretly wishes two of us dead.
The result - before I get to the highlight reel - was a sound thrashing of all comers by team 4.
The evening started off simpole enough. Jessica, Zach and Pam had their respective appetizers well in hand and were setting up their mis en place as Jason, Joe and I called each other names and argued about how to best handle the entrees. Jason brought in a recipe for the crusted salmon which was clearly a knock out, so we went with it. I came in with only vague ideas of how I wanted to do beef, but searing off medallions, serving it over tempura and offering two or more sauces was what I had in mind. Jason suggested crusting with mushrooms, and that ploy made a big difference in flavor. Nothing beats the earthy flavor of dried porcinis and shitakes, and they pair really well with meat. With our battle plans drafted, we got started on the preparations. Then the fire alarm went off.
Thank god we didn't have anything of importance cooking at that moment. Chef Damon instructed us to turn everything off and we filed down to the front of the building while a gang of firemen determined there was no fire.
Not twenty minutes later a floor darin on our section of the hotline backed up, leaving us with a half inch of water to negotiate as we seared and sauteed. No one was hurt.
So, family and friends, you have an iron chef (sort of) to deal with from here on out. I played it down with my classmates, but my ego is out of control. So much so that I won't even discuss what was wrong with our food, especially since there was far less wrong with it than anyone else's food.
Tomorrow we rest. It's a class trip to Chinatown. Tea importer, fortune cookie factory, apothecary and a grand buffet at a local restaurant. Good stuff.
And that'll be the last of kitchens for the next few weeks as we head in for round two of wine and business, business and wine. As I think I mentioned previously, the break will be nice, though by next Wednesday I'll complaining about not cooking. So it goes.
