Well! There was more to him than gold lamé dinner jackets all along. Again, I scored each dish separately and then averaged the results for my final score.
Trout Woodsman Soup:
This is indeed a creative recipe. The flavors work well together and it’s easy to imagine a fragrant dutch ovenful of this bubbling over a campfire.
I do want to take issue with one thing, however: the instructions given for fish stock. I’ve made a lot of soup (I’m working on a cookbook devoted to it) and I think the Iron Chef has instructed us to simmer the trout stock both for far too long and at much too high a heat level. While long simmering times are the way to go for other kinds of stock, seafood stock should be simmered for no longer than 20 minutes or so, lest an unpleasant bitterness and off taste contaminate it - especially if cooked at near boiling! I would suggest bringing it to a boil and then simmering it at a much lower heat level. Other than that, however, this is a very creative entry and it sounds delightful. (Presentation?)
Menage a Trout:
I was delighted by the cleverness of the name. As with an actual menage a trois, however, not all three participants were equally satisfying. In order:
[ul][li]Clay-Baked Trout - outstanding. this method of preparation results in a very moist consistency, and the vegetables and garlic have perfumed the fish in the hard clay shell, as well as soaking into the wild rice. The whimsical decoration on top is a nice touch, too.[/li][li]Spicy Blackened Trout - Of course my cajun-creole heart applauds the idea of blackening things, but I wonder if trout is too delicate a fish to stand up to this sort of treatment. Ah well, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. The brown rice is an interesting improvement on the boring white rice that all too often accompanies blackened seafood outside of Louisiana, though I’d prefer cajun dirty rice instead - it would be the most authentic choice.[/li][li]Trout Cordon Bleu - An interesting idea, but one I think is better suited to a sandwich presentation. Put this on a toasted roll with a smear of tartar sauce that’s been lightened with sour cream, and some shredded lettuce, and I would be happy to eat it. As a knife-and-fork item, though, I think it would fall apart too easily. Moreover, I find the idea of fish and cheese to be a queasy juxtaposition unless there’s some breading keeping them from fighting, like the bouncers on the Springer show. And if you’re going to present triple-rice overkill in one presentation, at least make sure that all three contribute something to the effect. White rice is the bubble-wrap of this nicely wrapped package. [/ul][/li]
Overall, I enjoyed this entree trio, but it was like a three-legged stool with one leg that’s too short.
Trout or Dare: Scylla redeems himself with this daring dessert. I don’t know if I would have chosen butter pecan for the ice cream - it seems too assertive, I would have perhaps gone for lemon custard to complement the berries. Fried fish skin is a guilty pleasure of mine, and with the berries it was almost like a northeastern Native American version of pemmican. VERY creative and a shining example of the clever presentation I’ve come to expect from these contests. Bravo!
Mr. Chairman, I’ll email you my scores right away.