I beg all of your pardons for the inexcusable delay. I had to work late tonight, and the boss didn’t seem to interested when I explained about judging some virtual meals. Friggin’ corporate weasels.
On to the comments:
Challenger:
Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Ravioli: Magnificent. The concept of making ravioli out of unusual ingredients is rather tired, to my way of thinking, but this was an inspired pairing. I especially like the use of wontons for ravioli. The color of the ravioli when compared to the brown sauce and black plates makes for an exciting presentation.
Clockwork Trio: I agree with what others have said. I think the salads take precedence over their “containers.” The salads are all appetizing, but I keep getting hung up on the passive role played by the squash. The industrial motif is original and inspired.
West Indian Pumpkin Soup: I am not a big soup fan. It is a personal problem. I just don’t like the textures. Having said that, an unsweet pumpkin soup would be a welcome treat. I imagine this would be perfect on a cold winter’s day.
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara: When I found out what the featured ingredient was, I knew that I was going to have to deal with spaghetti squash in the main dishes. Unfortunately, I don’t feel the chef presented the squash in a particularly interesting manner. I would fully expect to see a dish like this in any decent Italian restaurant.
Pumpkin pie custard: I was also sort of disappointed in the dessert. I miss the crust. To me, a good pie is defined by the crust. I think you need the opposing textures and tastes. When you just have the custard, you can’t fully appreciate how well it was made without a frame of reference.
Iron Chef:
Halloween Shrimp Cocktail: You used the pumpkin here very well. Very creative and very unique. I suspect this would be delicious. Your use of the featured ingredient was delightfully subtle.
Pumpkin soup: As stated above, I have personal issues with soup. Someone mentioned that using the pumpkin itself as a serving dish isn’t too original, but I like it here. Combined with wooden spoons, I feel very rustic when I eat this. If I cooked dinner for a girl, and served this, I could count on some freaky na na afterwards. This is a good thing. The use of spicy pumpkin seeds makes this soup noteworthy. I don’t know how much is added by using the crawfish and potato, though.
Harvest Spaghetti and Meatballs: Again, I didn’t think this was terribly interesting. I like combining the angel hair pasta with the spaghetti squash. The meatballs are fairly unique, but the presentation seemed a little childish.
Baked Alaskan Pumkin: When you leave a restaurant, no matter how well the meal is prepared, you usually remember the last thing you ate. In this case, the Iron Chef can stand proud. I thought this was a perfect mix of textures and tastes. The lightness of the angel food cake, the heaviness of the ice cream. The cold of the ice cream and the heat of the meringue. Again, I think the presentation is a little childish, but it doesn’t seem like a grievious sin in a dessert. Desserts, I think, should be fanciful. If the pumpkin flavor of the ice cream is not too intense, this would be absolute perfection.