I’ll squash you like a bug!
I’ll carve you up!
You two are just waffling. Let’s this battle on a roll.
Chairwoman Java is NEVER dubbed (except in the early episodes and we don’t talk about them)! Surely she means she blames it on bad subtitles
Fenris
Ah, yes… of course, that is what I meant. Subtitles.
There are those who say that squash is the tastiest vegetable of them all. And, I suppose, I would be one of them.
.:running in out of breath:.
I [huff] hope [huff] I’m not [huff huff] too late [huff]
The lower house kept me quite busy, so I was late, but would still like to be considered as a judge (as long as I don’t have to try to butterfly day old pancakes again, Troy). I will have the time this weekend to watch and post, so I won’t disappear at all.
.:bowing deeply:.
And now for a quick break:
Whhhhhhsssswwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssshhhhhh
IRON CHEF LOGO
Coming up in 2 months on the Food Network.
Brought to you by the people who brought you Iron Chef America with William Shatner hosting (that part is true).
It’s:
CHEF TREK
“…a five year mission to explore strange new cuisines. To seek out new foods and new recipes. To boldly go where no Chef has gone before…”
Watch Captain Chen Kenichi, his science officer the Vulcan, Masaharo Morimoto, and the gruff but lovable Chief Medical Officer Hiroki “Bones” Sakai as they go throughout the galaxy searching for new colonies and new multi-colored females for Chen to conquer. Watch as the Engineer Hattori yells at Chen “The roux, it can’t take anymore. I’ve given her all she’s got.” Scream in amazement as the crew of the U.S.S. Kaga battles their old enemy the Klingons, led by the incredibly dour East German Judge Asako Kishi. Squeal in delight as a new sous chef (appropriately dressed always in red) dies at the hands of an unknown Tempura Monster.
Coming soon to the Food Network.
And now for a quick break:
Whhhhhhsssswwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssshhhhhh
IRON CHEF LOGO
Coming up in 2 months on the Food Network.
Brought to you by the people who brought you Iron Chef America with William Shatner hosting (that part is true).
It’s:
CHEF TREK
“…a five year mission to explore strange new cuisines. To seek out new foods and new recipes. To boldly go where no Chef has gone before…”
Watch Captain Chen Kenichi, his science officer the Vulcan, Masaharo Morimoto, and the gruff but lovable Chief Medical Officer Hiroki “Bones” Sakai as they go throughout the galaxy searching for new colonies and new multi-colored females for Chen to conquer. Watch as the Engineer Hattori yells at Chen “The roux, it can’t take anymore. I’ve given her all she’s got.” Scream in amazement as the crew of the U.S.S. Kaga battles their old enemy the Klingons, led by the incredibly dour East German Judge Asako Kishi. Squeal in delight as a new sous chef (appropriately dressed always in red) dies at the hands of an unknown Tempura Monster.
Coming soon to the Food Network.
The problem was that you were trying to butterfly freshly made pancakes without letting them dry out in the refrigerator first. Of COURSE you’re going to have problems if you don’t follow directions.
[Chairman Jacket Off]
Due to a last-minute scheduling change at work, I will not be able to post until around 10 PM EST, so out of fairness I will extend the deadline until then.
[Chairman Jacket On]
For my presentation theme I have chosen the concept of “working together.” Just as Americans of every stripe came together in the wake of last month’s terrorist attacks, these squash dishes will show that disparate flavors can work together if paired properly.
Appetizer:
Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Ravioli
Does pasta belong to the Chinese or the Italians? This appetizer shows that it doesn’t really matter. A silky purée of butternut squash and hazelnuts fills these oversized pasta pillows (made from won ton skins for convenience). The ravioli are served two per person in a brown-butter sauce spiked with fried sage leaves, garnished with a tangle of caramelized onion threads and presented on black glass plates.
Salad:
Clockwork Trio
The challenger presents three slices of grilled acorn squash, kissed with charred grill marks, fitted together like gears in a machine, and filled with a trio of salads: spinach salad with a roasted-garlic vinaigrette, chicken salad with apples, and crunchy jicama salad with honey-lime dressing. The salad trio is presented on triangular pewter plates to continue the machine motif.
Soup:
West Indian Pumpkin Soup
Anyone who assumes that anything made with pumpkin would automatically be sweet, you’re in for a savory surprise! This rich, creamy (but not sweet) soup will delight your taste buds and send a plume of warm contentment into your body. Served in homey earthenware bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Entrée:
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
For those unfamiliar with this squash, when cooked its flesh separates into strings that are an excellent light substitute for pasta. The challenger has tossed the spaghetti squash with peas, pancetta (Italian bacon that’s salt-cured instead of smoked), cream, and parmigiana reggiano and romano cheeses.
Dessert:
Pumpkin-Pie Custard Baked in Individual Pumpkin Shells
Pumpkin pie is good stuff, but the crust always winds up a soggy, rubbery mess. The challenger has sidestepped this problem by baking the pie filling in its original container. Small pumpkins have been hollowed out and filled with pumpkin-pie custard, then baked.
I’ll post the recipes in a little while.
[Princess Bride voice on] I do not thin’ it means wha’ you thin’ it does [Princess Bride voice off]
and we have until when to post our scores? 24 hours or 48. and do we post them directly here or email them to Java the devil’s in the details.
Halloween, is a gaudy festival, and Fall a beautifully melancholy season. I always find the contrast between the whimsical carnival atmosphere, of Halloween, and the sweet/sad atmosphere of Fall to present a fascinating dichotomy.
These emotions are the ones I hope to share with you as you taste my meal. Enjoy.
We Start off with a simple Halloween Shrimp Cocktail. Giant shrimp are butterflied and scattered upon a bed of lettuce along with a single stalk of fresh celery. In the center of the plate is a small pumpkin painted to represent a Halloween goon. Remove the top for the cocktail sauce. This is the treat. Seldom do two flavors blend as finely as that of pumpkin and horseradish in this fiery delicacy. Savor it on your palate and you will taste hints of lemon, mustard and black pepper. When you’ve finished your shrimp, don’t be ashamed to scoop the rest of the sauce out on the lettuce!
How could one proceed any further without Pumpkin Soup? I am proud to present you with one of my perennial fall favorites. For this meal I eschew dishes, and prefer to use the versatile pumpkin itself.
A handful of fall leaves are set upon the table in front of each diner, and a medium pumpkin is placed in front of each, along with a wooden spoon. Once again you must remove the top to get at the soup. The soup itself is a delightfully simple marriage of cream, butter and pumpkin, and is served chilled, but not cold. You’ll find that the pumpkin taste is both familiar from the last course, yet somehow totally new and delightful in this incarnation. On the top of the soup float several insanely spicy hot roasted pumpkin seeds, the crunch and the heat of each present a startling yet pleasant contrast to the soup. As you spoon up each sip, you are likely to encounter the occasional crawfish tale or bit of potato that lurks sparingly throughout this dish.
My main course is Harvest Style Spaghetti and Meatballs. A concave section of a large pumpkin is used as the dish for this delicacy. The spaghetti is an 80/20 mix of angel hair pasta and spaghetti squash innards. The sauce atop is a delightful tomato and white wine based one. The real treat are the two meatballs that sit at the top. Each meatball looks like a pumpkin with a sprig of parsley for a stem, and two peppercorns to make the eyes and complete the Jack O Lantern appearance. Use your fork, and you will find that these flaky meatballs almost fall apart and melt in your mouth, as the meat used is Salmon! Pumpkin meat, is also used here, along with the traditional garlic and oregano. You can’t help but notice how the versatile pumpkin taste melds perfectly in its harmonious marriage with salmon.
For Desert there could be nothing else but Baked Alaskan Pumpkin! This simple dish consists of a devils food cake, hollowed and filled with Pumpkin ice cream, and then frozen hard. A generous coating of meringue is then applied, and it is baked in a hot oven until the outside is a golden brown, while the ice cream remains frozen at the center. It is then decorated with candy corn eyes, nose and teeth before being served in generous slices.
Enjoy.
The Recipes: (all recipes are per serving unless otherwise noted)
Halloween Shrimp Cocktail
4 fresh jumbo shrimp
Lettuce
Celery
1 small pumpkin, cleaned and hollowed out.
Meat from one small pumpkin
1 tspn vinegar
1 heaping tspn fresh horseradish
1 tspn ketchup
pepper
salt
dijon mustard
lemon slice plus zest
Clean, devein, and butterfly shrimp. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add shrimp. Cook two minutes on high heat, and immediately put pot under the tap and run cold water over it for a minute or two. Dump out water and add a handful of ice.
Steam pumpkin meat for 10-15 minutes (depending on steamer) or until tender and fully cooked. Place meat in a food processor, and add 2 teaspoons of water from the steamer. Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar, 1 heaping teaspoon of fresh horseradish, 1 teaspoon ketchup, a dash of pepper, ½ teaspoon of dijon mustard, and a dash of salt. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice, and a little touch of peel scrapings. Thoroughly combine ingredients using food processor, and place in hollowed pumpkin. Replace top, and paint pumpkin to represent a halloween character. Arrange lettuce, shrimp, celery, and pumpkin on wooden serving tray, and serve.
Pumpkin Soup
½ cup pumpkin meat
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 tbspn butter
¼ cup cooked crawfish tails
¼ cup potato cubes (boil a potato, skin, and cut into ½ inch cubes.
1 hollowed out, small to medium pumpkin
2 tbspns, insanely spicy, hot roasted pumpkin seeds. *
1 dash pepper
Steam the pumpkin meat as described previously. In a large saucepan, melt butter and add heavy cream, simmer until reduced by one third whisking constantly. Push pumpkin meat through a collander, and add a little at a time while keeping mixture at a low simmer, add pepper add crawfish tails and potato cubes, and allow to cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly cooled. Stir once, pour into hollwed out pumpkin, and sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top. Serve as described.
*Put 1 tbspn, chinese red pepper, 1 tbspn salt into enough water to dissolve both. Add pumpkin seeds, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, and allow to rest one hour. Remove seeds, and place in single layer on a cookie sheet. Cook at 250 until thoroughly dry (20-30 minutes) then roast at 450 until well browned (ten to fifteen minutes) Keep an eye on them as they burn easy.
Harvest Style Spaghetti and Meatballs
Angel hair pasta
Spaghetti squash innards
Concave section from large pumpkin
2 Salmon/pumpkin meatballs*
1 cup spaghetti sauce**
Cook angel hair pasta and spaghetti separately until al dente, combine in the 80/20 proportion, and place on pumkin section. Add sauce, meatballs and serve.
*Salmon Pumpkin meatballs (I’m not listing ingredients, because you have to go by feel here.)
Take about 1 cup of ground salmon meat (you can use a food processor) and place in a mixing bowl. Steam and food process some pumpkin meat as described above and place in a cheesecloth. Twist the cheesecloth tight and squeeze as much moisture as possible from it. Keep twisting it tighter and tighter until you get as much water out as you can…Remove from cheesecloth and place on a paper towel. Place another paper towel on top and press lightly. Let sit five minutes, then sprinkle meat with a very light dusting of bread crumbs. Place 2 heaping tbspns of this mixture in with salmon. Add a dash each of ground fresh parsley, salt, garlic and oregano, and a touch of finely chopped garlic. Combine thoroughly.
Whisk one egg, and add a little at a time to the mixture (you’ll need about ½ the egg) until you have a good meatball compound. Roll into two large boils, and saute lightly in olive oil, rolling them carefully until lightly and evenly browned on the outside. Place in simmering sauce for ½ hour. Remove and use peppercorns to form eyes, and parsley to form the stem.
** Spaghetti sauce.
Boil one large tomato for ten minutes, and squash into a saucepan. Squash it thoroughly and remove the skin.
In another saucepan sautee 1 Tbspn each of finely chopped onion, bell pepper and celery, until browned. Add fresh garlic to taste. Add a dash of salt, pepper, Oregano, red pepper, and whatever else floats your boat. Put in a generous splash of white wine, and the squashed tomato and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer over very low heat for ½ hour. Taste, and add sugar, salt, pepper, and oregano as necessary. Depending on your tomato, you may need to add a little water, or let some boil off.
Baked Alaskan Pumpkin
This is another one where a formal recipe doesn’t work, IMO.
You will need:
1 devils food cake in a semi hemisphere shape. The easiest way to do this is to make 3 smaller cakes in circular baking pans of concentric size. Once they’re done, you can place them on top of each other and use a knife to get the semi-hemisphere shape. This way also makes it easier to add the ice cream. I’m not going to tell you how to make a devil’s food cake. If you can’t figure it out, use a search engine, or buy a mix.
1 quart (about) of pumpkin ice cream. This is available this time of year or you can make your own according to the directions of your ice cream maker, or search google for specific recipes for your maker. If you buy it from a store, and it’s hard, put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so. If you use an ice cream maker don’t freeze it too long. You need it soft.
Take the 3 sections of the devil’s food cake, and cut out a big circle completely through the middle section. You can discard this center, but I prefer to eat it. Do that now. Place the middle section on the bottom section (which should be larger) and trace the circle with a knife. Using a spoon or knife, carefully remove material from the cake for about ½ it’s depth along the circle you’ve traced. You’re going to have to estimate along the top section, but do the same thing here.
Place the bottom section on a circular wooden tray at least 1 inch thick. I used a saw on an old cutting board to make mine. This is essential to make this dish as you need to insulate the bottom of the cake.
Fill the hollowed out bottom with ice cream. Add the middle layer and fill that, making a mound that will aproximately fill the hollowed out third section. Place that on top, and then put the whole thing into a freezer for at least an hour.
While that’s freezing solid, make the meringue. If you don’t have a mixer, you have a long road ahead of you, and will have to use a whisk. You’re going to need a lot of it, enough to cover the whole cake an inch deep and fill in any weak spots to make your perfect half sphere.
Preheat your oven to 400-450 degrees.
Remove cake from freezer and coat with meringue as described. Place in oven immediately and cook until outside is a golden brown. All ovens are different (which is why the temperature uncertainty.) You will have to keep your eye on it very carefully as you have about ten minutes before the ice cream melts. I recommend you experiment with a thick glob of meringue, and your own oven until your comfortable that you can brown it in 5-7 minutes consistently. Please note that the coolness of the cake will lengthen this time when you go for the real thing. This is why it’s important that your cake and ice cream are frozen solid before you add the meringue.
Remove from oven immediately and use a cake spatula to remove from board. Place on serving tray. Decorate with candy corn to give Jack O lantern appearance, and slice with a hot knife.
For some reason I had a huge brain fart and said “devil’s food cake” in every place I meant “angel’s food cake.” My apologies, and please adjust your recipes accordingly.
One hour left…
wring: The judges will be given 48 hours to respond to the thread with comments (10 PM EST on Tuesday). As per previous Iron Chef threads, please email me with your final scores (please don’t post the numbers, just comments).
:sigh:
And forget “semi hemisphere” What you want is half a sphere for the cake.
Sorry.
Sorry these are so close to deadline - the DFW Dopers picked TODAY to go to the State Fair of Texas and I just couldn’t disappoint Chef Jr.
Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Ravioli
Ingredients
1 small Butternut squash
½ cup shelled hazelnuts
1 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, quartered and very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dozen won ton skins
1 egg
Water
2 sticks butter
1 cup fresh sage leaves, loosely packed
Make filling:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut squash into quarters, remove seeds & place in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover & bake till tender. Cool & then scrape out the flesh & mash. Set aside.
Increase oven temperature to 375F.
Place hazelnuts on a cookie sheet & roast until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Let cool & then rub off their skins.
Saute onion & garlic in oil until browned. Add 1 cup squash & cook for 2 minutes over medium heat. Place all ingredients in a food processor & process until smooth. Allow to cool.
Make caramelized onions for garnish:
Heat butter over high heat until melted. Add onion and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, taking care to keep it from scorching. Lower heat to medium-high; sprinkle sugar over onions and keep sautéing until onions are an even tobacco brown. Set aside and keep warm.
Assemble and cook ravioli:
whisk egg and 1 tablespoon water together. Working quickly, place a spoonful of filling at the center of each won ton skin. Brush two adjacent edges of won ton with egg wash; fold over corner-to-corner, making a triangle. Press to seal, squeezing out all air. Trim off corners if desired, making sure not to disturb seal. Cook in boiling salted water until al dente.
Make brown butter/sage sauce:
melt butter over medium-high heat; julienne sage leaves and add to butter. Cook until butter browns; remove from heat.
Assemble dish:
Drain cooked ravioli and toss in brown-butter sauce. Serve two raviolis per appetizer serving, drizzled with remaining sauce and garnished with a tangle of the caramelized onion and a sprig of parsley.
Clockwork Trio
Ingredients
2 acorn squash, sliced into half-inch-thick rings and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, poached and diced
½ cup apple, skin on, chopped into ¼ inch dice
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup sweet onion (such as Vidalia), chopped into ¼ inch dice
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of one medium lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups julienned jicama (see note)
1 whole head garlic
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, ribs removed, torn into small pieces
1 small red onion, chopped
[sub](Note: jicama – pronounced “HEE-ka-muh” – is a root vegetable popular in latin cuisine. It has a texture like a cross between celery and potato, and is eaten raw. It should be available in any good supermarket.)[/sub]
Grill the squash:
Place squash in a steamer over boiling water, steam for 6 to 7 minutes. It will still be firm.
Meanwhile, heat charcoal grill or cast-iron grill pan. Brush squash slices with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and grill until tender and browned. Arrange slices on a platter and keep warm.
Make the chicken salad:
Combine chicken, apple, onion, and pecans in a large bowl. Fold in mayonnaise, trying to break up chicken as little as possible. Chill.
Make the jicama salad:
combine the honey and lime juice in a shallow bowl. While whisking vigorously, drizzle the oil in in a steady stream. When the dressing is emulsified, toss it with the jicama. Set aside.
Make the spinach salad:
slice top off the head of garlic, keeping the head in one piece but exposing individual cloves. Drizzle with oil; wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until soft. Squeeze three garlic cloves out of their papery skins and place in a food processor or blender, reserving the remaining roasted garlic for another use. Add vinegar and process until smooth; while running processor, add olive oil in a thin stream until well emulsified. Combine spinach and onion in a salad bowl and drizzle dressing over; toss to combine.
Assemble salad:
Place three squash rings on plate, pushing edges together like gears. Mound some of each salad into the center of the squash rings, reserving any remaining salad for another use.
West Indian Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, quartered
2 leeks, cut lengthwise and washed to remove grit
3-4 garlic cloves (the leftover roasted ones from the spinach-salad vinaigrette would be ideal)
Olive oil
12 oz. Pumpkin puree
1.5 quarts of chicken stock
1 cup half-and-half
½ cup heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Sour cream for garnish
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place onions, leeks, and garlic in a shallow roasting pan; drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Puree vegetables.
Roast pumpkin puree at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. In a large stockpot, combine pumpkin puree, pureed vegetables, and chicken stock; bring to a boil. Simmer 1 hour.
Add half-and-half and cream; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream.
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
Ingredients
1 large spaghetti squash (1½ to 2 pounds)
6 oz. Pancetta or bacon, cut in bits
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup peas
3 eggs
1 cup cream
½ cup Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, grated
½ cup romano cheese, grated
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
To prepare spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Pierce skin several times with a fork and place, cut side down, in a baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water; cover with plastic wrap, folding back a small edge of wrap to allow steam to escape. Cook on HIGH 7 to 10 minutes. Cool cooked squash. Using a fork, remove spaghetti-like strands of pulp. Discard shell.
While spaghetti squash is cooking, fry pancetta in skillet until slightly crisp. Add garlic to skillet and sauté about 2 minutes. Add wine and peas to skillet and simmer for several minutes.
Lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Add bacon/wine mixture to eggs. Add salt, pepper, cream, and cheeses to the eggs. Drain the hot cooked spaghetti and return to the same pan. Add the egg/wine mixture to the hot spaghetti and mix until heat from the spaghetti slightly cooks the eggs. Serve immediately.
Pumpkin-Pie Custard Baked in Individual Pumpkin Shells
In an Iron Chef Competition, of course the fresh pumpkin meat must be used… however, the home chef will probably want to use canned pumpkin puree because it is smoother and easier to work with.
6 small (6-inch) pumpkins
2 cups pumpkin purée (or 1 16oz can)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz can)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Halve presentation pumpkins along the “equator”… scoop out seeds and most of meat and discard. Set shells aside.
In large mixer bowl, combine all ingredients except pumpkin shells; mix well. Pour into bottoms of pumpkin shells. Bake 15 minutes (also bake tops of shells). Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees, continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream; top with tops of pumpkin shells before serving.
Chef Troy:
You’re out of your guord if you think you’re going to win this one!
[Otah]
And the Winter Squash battle is ovah!
[/Otah]
[sub] Sorry I’m late… slow waiter… [/sub]
I see a fine turnout from both our Iron Chef and his challenger–this will be a difficult battle for our judges to decide upon.
Judges, please post your comments by Tuesday, 10 PM EST, and email me with your scores by then.
boy, nothing stings more than a misspelled insult. (B^{þ>)
Did I really see in your meatball recipe that we’re supposed to form the salmon mixture into large boils? Because I don’t see any pus on the ingredient list.
And I DO think I’m going to win this one - at least I hope I will - but even if I don’t, I can console myself that unlike some people, at least I’m not a melon baller.