Iron Chef Duet!

It has been ages, felt like eons, indeed so much time has passed that it almost faded into legend... but Iron Chef Mom and Iron Chef Grill have returned! (Huzzah! The villagers rejoice!)

Now that my mom is living nearby, we have an additional source for Secret Ingredient inspiration. So tonight, for the first time, the two Iron Chefs teamed up for a historical battle against... well... no one, really. Perhaps it was against the Secret Ingredient itself. For tonight's was truly unique. Not a usual part of the American diet, although it certainly should be. Tonight's ingredient was... chicken livers. Nutrient-dense and incredibly inexpensive, liver of all sorts should be restored to it's once-a-week spot on the menu.

We decided to go with a vaguely Cuban theme for the meal.

The menu:

Grilled skewers with veggies and bacon-wrapped chicken livers
Grilled green beans
Fried chicken livers with onions on herbed, buttered white rice and braised greens
Grilled Orange Bananas Dean (an Iron Chef Grill original)
The wine: MiBal Tinto 2006 Ribera del Duero, 100% Tempranillo

The skewers
Cherry tomatoes
Chopped green peppers
Marinated halved button mushrooms (marinated in Worcestershire sauce),
Bacon-wrapped chicken livers

The chicken livers were marinated in this:

1/2 cup soy sauce (tamari in this case)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
a few dashes salt and pepper

The green beans were tossed with olive oil and salt, then grilled.

The fried chicken livers followed, somewhat, the Julia Child recipe from The Way to Cook. I breaded with half cornmeal, after seeing that in a few online recipes, and hoping it would help them be more crisp. It didn't work. But, here's what I did:

About 1 pound of chicken livers, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup white rice flour
several shakes each: chili powder, regular paprika, sweet paprika
3 tablespoons duck fat (leftover from our Christmas duck)
1/2 cup gently browned onions (recipe to follow)
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/3 cup chicken stock

Season the chicken livers with salt and pepper, then dredge in mixture of flour, cornmeal, and seasonings. Fry in duck fat over medium-high heat, a couple minutes per side. Top the liver with the browned onions, pour in the stock and vermouth, raise the heat, and boil rapidly, basting the liver with the sauce. Scoop liver over herbed rice (recipe to follow) and garnish with parsley, if desired.

Browned Onions

Slowly saute 3 cups sliced onions in 2-3 tablespoons of butter, in a covered pan, stirring frequently, until the onions are very tender- 15 minutes or so. Uncover the pan, salt lightly, raise the heat to moderately high, and let the onions brown nicely, stirring frequently- 5 minutes or so. Can be made ahead of time.

Herbed Rice

Stir herbed butter (or butter and fresh oregano, parsley, and/or sage) into prepared rice, about 1 tablespoon butter per cup of rice. For this dish, make a ring of rice on a platter, place braised greens in the middle, and top with the fried chicken livers and onions, including the pan sauce. Garnish with parsley.

Grilled Orange Bananas Dean
(as opposed to Bananas Foster, where all the booze is cooked off...)

The booze is NOT cooked off here, and is quite tasty. The original recipe can be found here, but this time he used Amaretto for half the liquor, and I really like the change.


The Judge, my mama, really liked it all. She preferred the fried chicken livers... as did the Grill Geek. I was really surprised to like both (I'd never had chicken liver before.) The flavor of the bacon-wrapped was awesome, but the texture of the fried was better. I'm hoping to have them again soon, but in a marinara sauce. We didn't get done in an hour (it's amazing how fast that first 30 minutes goes!) but we all declared it a "win" anyway.

Iron Chef Mom Returns!

It's been a while, but, I finally got to do another "episode" of Iron Chef Mom. This time the Secret Ingredient was boneless pork sirloin roast. Once again it seemed impossible to do anything good with it in just an hour. Then I got the idea of chopping it up for kebabs!

Dinner was kebabs with red bell pepper and spring onions atop cabbage slaw, calabacitas salad, and plain rice. I would have loved to make Mexican rice, but there just wasn't time for anything else, and I ended up appreciating the plainness, actually... it was a bit soothing with all the spicy stuff!

I was amazed to get done with 1 minute left on the clock. The key is figuring out the "order of events" ahead of time.

First thing- start the rice cooker. I know a lot of people think rice cookers are silly, but I love mine. I just toss stuff in and forget it. If it's done before the rest of dinner... no worries... it stays warm. The rest went like this:
Slice cabbage thinly, salt, and leave in a colander to drain.
Make marinade
Cube pork, marinate in fridge (reserve some marinade to brush on while grilling)
Chop veggies, slice squash for grilling
Grill squash
Cook bacon
Wring out cabbage and toss with dressing
Chop grilled squash and assemble salad
Assemble kebabs
Grill stuff

Marinade for pork

1/2 cup salsa verde
1/4 red onion, sliced and quickly browned in bacon fat
3 cloves garlic (toss in with the onion at the end, to brown a bit)
1/4 cup spiced rum
1 very small chipotle pepper

Whizz it all together in a blender.
I didn't try it, but after tasting it, I really think I should have... pineapple would have been awesome here. About 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, with about 1/2 teaspoon salt added. Would have been fabulous.
I only had time to marinate for about 30 minutes. Longer would have been nice, but 30 really was enough. It was a fairly tender cut of meat, and brushing the reserved marinade/sauce on while grilling added plenty of flavor.

Cabbage Slaw

¼ head, each, red and green cabbage, very-thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
Juice from one lime
1 T. ACV
1 T olive oil

Place cabbage in a large bowl, tossing it with salt. Press it down firmly with hands, to help it break down a bit. Place in a colander in the sink, allowing 20 minutes to drain.

Wring it out with paper towels and put back in a bowl. Toss with juice, vinegar, and oil.

Let sit at room temp 15 minutes before serving.

Calabacitas Salad

2-4 zucchini and yellow squash, sliced in half lengthwise
2 slices bacon, chopped and browned
2 tablespoons orange juice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
½ tsp dried cilantro (fresh would be much better- 1 tablespoon, perhaps?)
about ¼ cup fresh goat cheese

Brush the squash with olive oil on the cut side and sprinkle with salt. Grill.

Chop into small pieces, toss with juice and oil, sprinkle with cilantro, and top with bacon and cheese.

Iron Chef Mom goes Hawaiian

This has to be my favorite failure ever.
I went way over on my time, thanks to not remembering to thaw my shrimp ahead of time, not delegating effectively to my sous chef, and getting too much "help" from the Little Guy. Excuses, excuses... I failed.

And that's ok. Because dinner was absolutely fabulously delicious beyond all reason. The secret ingredient was pineapple! Too fun!

The Menu:

Bacon-wrapped, rum-soaked pineapple slices

Spicy grilled shrimp

Thai stir-fried rice

Roasted pineapple and avocado salad

Tortuga Twister

Bacon Wrapped Rum-Soaked Pineapple

(does it get any better than this?)

¼ cup dark rum
1/2 pound (or so) thin cut bacon
Slices/chunks of fresh pineapple

Soak pineapple in rum, 15 minutes or so. Wrap pineapple slices with bacon and secure with a toothpick (or not... I didn't bother, probably should have). Broil in oven until bacon is browned and cooked (8 minutes each side worked for me.) It's like bacon candy. Seriously. Wow.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled

about 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
several hard shakes garlic Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Marinate shrimp about 15 minutes... grill. Out of this world incredible!

Thai Stir Fried Rice and Pineapple

3/4 cup pineapple, in small chunks
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup of cold, steamed Thai jasmine rice
coriander leaves as garnish

Put the pineapple in a bowl and add the jalapeño, ginger, and cilantro, mix and set aside. Add a pinch of salt to bring out the juice. In a wok, heat about a tablespoon of oil stir and fry the bell

pepper and onion about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir quickly, until it barely begins to brown. Add the rice and stir thoroughly. Add the fish sauce and sugar and continue stirring. When the rice is heated through, add the pineapple mixture and stir until thoroughly heated through.

I didn't expect to like the sweetness of pineapple in fried rice, but it was fabulous. The two peppers were just the right amount of heat for me... which means not all that much. I'm a weenie these days.

Roasted Pineapple and Avocado Salad

The creamy avocado really works magic in this salad. Once again, I was surprised by how much I liked the sweet pineapple in a dish I traditionally enjoy savory. I think the next time I make this (and, oh yes, there will be a next time) I will add crumbled bacon. I think that roasty, salty flavor
would make it perfect.

• About 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 3/4-inch chunks

• 1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar

• salt

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 Hass avocado, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
  

• 1 head red leaf lettuce

• Freshly ground pepper

• Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, toss the pineapple with the brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread the pineapple on a baking sheet and roast in the upper third of the oven for about 10 minutes, or until softened and just beginning to brown.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar. Add the lettuce, season with salt and pepper, and toss. Sprinkle the avocado chunks with lime juice, to prevent browning. Transfer the salad to plates, top with the pineapple and avocado, and serve.

Tortuga Twister

1 oz white rum
1 oz Sailor Jerry (spiced rum)
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz Orange Curacao/Triple Sec
4 oz grapefruit juice, fresh-squeezed
splash of grenadine

Shake rums and amaretto with ice. Pour into a hurricane glass half filled with ice. Top with and grenadine. Garnish with a pineapple stick* and an umbrella or pirate sword. Arrrrr! (Tortuga!)

* a pineapple "stick" is merely a piece of the hard core, cut into a stick-ish shape, for garnishing goodness.

Iron Chef... baby chicken?

It took me a long time to finally post this one, as I had mixed feelings about it. Poor baby chickens... yes, that's what my darling, politically-incorrect husband brought home for me. And right after I'd read about boiled ducklings in my favorite kids' series.

It was... just too much. But they were tasty. I think I prefer older birds, though, like roasting hens. The hazelnut sauce thingy wasn't very good. Then again, as usual I took some ideas and did my own thing with them, so, I'm sure the fault is mine. It did remind me why I don't generally bother with sauces.

Roasted Poussin

Ingredients:
3 small poussin

White wine for the pan...
¼ cup pistachio nuts

½ cup toasted hazelnuts
1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons orange juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cipollini or pearl onion
1 cup rich chicken stock

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse the chickens inside and out and pat dry. Trim off any extra fat.
Season each bird generously inside and out with salt and pepper, coat with oil, stuff slices of orange inside, tuck the wings under the back and tie the legs together.

Oil a roasting pan just large enough to hold the birds comfortably. Put them in the pan, breast side down. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the chickens over (breast side up) and roast 20 minutes longer. Collect about 1 cup pan juices. Increase the heat to 425°F. and roast for about 10 minutes, or until skin is nicely browned and the juices run clear when thickest part of a thigh is pierced with a small knife.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the onion, pan juices, orange juice, stock, the nuts, and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. There should be about 1 1/2 cups the consistency of a thick cream sauce. Serve the chickens with the sauce on the side.

Chicks

Collards

Rice (wild rice?)

Sautéed diced maroon carrots

Order of Events:

Start rice cooker (broth, rice water)

Slice onion for collards

Wash, de-rib, and slice collards

Cut orange(s) for stuffing

Take pearl onions out to thaw

Dice carrots

Flip the chickens

Start sauce simmering

Toast hazelnuts (+ extra)

Shell pistachios (and toast?)

Add pan juices to sauce

Make the Butter-Toasted Hazelnuts

Blender the sauce

Serve: chicks atop rice, collards to the side, wedge of carrots, hazelnuts scattered

Shark Attack

I. Am. So. Full.

And so is my dishwasher.

But it's broken. I think I should back up a bit.

On Iron Chef Mom days, the Grill Geek goes to the store around lunchtime to get the Theme Ingredient. I told him to "be nice to me" because I wasn't feeling well and our Little Guy was already sick. What's he come home with?

Shark.
Um... ok.... Thanks for being easy on me, honey.

Turned out to be absolutely fabulous... I dug around online, searching for inspiration, and got the idea of fish tacos... and a menu was born. This glorious meal/feast was almost unraveled many times... true chaos in the kitchen. The Little Guy really wanted to help, as usual, and per the Rules of Iron Chef Mom, I had to let him. So, I almost lost all my lime juice to the floor (and didn't have more limes), dirtied twice as many dishes as necessary, got my foot stompled right after I almost amputated a fingertip (luckily my own), kept the Little Guy busy with the spice jars (all glass... yikes!) and somehow he didn't dump out the cilantro until after everything was done.

Little Guy lined up the spices...

So, this wonderful meal was truly brought about with blood, sweat, and tears. And it was worth it. Without further ado...

KYO NO TEMA... Same! (Sah-mee)

Shark Tacos with Chili-Lime Slaw

First, the order in which to do things:

- If you have a rice cooker, get that started. I like to use coconut milk for half the liquid, but I have no idea if that works well on the stovetop. I love my rice cooker.
- Juice 2 limes
- Melt 3 T coconut oil (unless it's warm in your house and it's already melted)
- Make the marinade... stick the shark in said marinade... in the fridge.
- Make Chili-Lime Slaw sauce
- Make salsa
- Start the black beans/corn Thing
- Heat the grill (I delegated this to my sous-chef, the Grill Geek)
- Peel and slice mango. Carefully. I can't stress this enough. Never, ever cut toward any part of your body with a Very Sharp Knife. It's a bad idea. Don't do it. I certainly wouldn't...
- Grill the shark, basting with coconut oil, grill time depends on the thickness of the fish.
- Toss shredded cabbage with Chili-Lime Slaw sauce, thereby making Slaw
- Toast/warm corn tortillas in a skillet with a bit of bacon fat

This all went really quickly, even with all the interruptions we had. I didn't use all my 70 minutes. I also didn't remember to start the timer. But I know I didn't use all my time. Now, for the recipes...

Marinade:

2 T lime juice
2 T melted coconut oil
smoked paprika
cayenne

salt

Put shark in a ziplock, add marinade ingredients, close, and shake-shake-shake. Refrigerate.

Chili-Lime Slaw

1/2 cup Hellman's mayo
1 tsp hot pepper paste
2 T lime juice
½ tsp cumin
generous squirt of agave nectar
salt

Stir. Refrigerate.

Salsa:

about 1 cup diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup red onion, minced
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T EVOO
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T white vinegar
1 T dried cilantro
½ tsp Mexican oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix... stir... let sit, mingling the flavors, stir when you pass by...

Black Bean/Corn Thing:

2 T bacon fat (mmm... bacon...)
1/4 diced red onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can black beans about
1 cup frozen corn kernels
smoked paprika, cayenne, and salt, to taste
1 T lime juice

Cook the onion and garlic in bacon fat, until starting to soften. Add the black beans, corn, and some liquid if it needs it. Heat through. Add spices. Leave to simmer over lowest heat. When it's time to serve, remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
There's the grilled shark, in it's cage. Turned the tables on that one, didn't we? Anyway... once the shark is done, break it up with a fork.

Assembling the tacos... I put a spoonful of slaw on each tortilla, topped with luscious grilled shark, and put the salsa in a little bowl, to let each diner decide for themselves. I tossed the mango slices with agave nectar and lime juice, because it wasn't quite ripe yet... needed some pizazz. The Black Bean/Corn Thing went atop rice, with some more cilantro (wish I had fresh), and the last little bit of lime juice went in my margarita. Delish.

And after all that, the fully-loaded dishwasher began to smoke. Oh, well. I don't really care.

Iron Chef Mom 2

KYO NO TEMA... butaniku.

Or, more-accurately (and wordily): pork shoulder butt blade steak.

I kid you not.

Why does anything need so many names? Oh, well, it was cheap and looked really good, so the Grill Geek bought it. And I spent about 3 hours with my eyes glazed, chin-on-hand, searching the internet for recipes that I could do in just 80 minutes with the things I had on hand.

See... pork shoulder butt blade steak (PSBBS?) is known for being very flavorful, favored by Korean and South Carolinian cuisines, and yet can be quite tough. So it needs to be braised. Which takes a lot of time. Iron Chef Mom is not about lots of time. That's part of the challenge. No matter! Stand back, mere mortals! After rejecting a few ideas (which will be made some other time... they were good ideas) I settled on this one.

Asian Pork Lettuce Bowls

• 1 pound PSBBS, cut into thin slices

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil

  Braising liquid:

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  

• 1/2 teaspoon gingerroot powder

• ¼ cup tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

• ¼ cup rice wine

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  Other stuff:

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, thinly sliced

• ½ inch of ginger, grated

• Romaine leaves, separated

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

• ½ tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Thinly slice pork and quickly fry half at a time, over high heat.

2. Mix together braising liquid and pour over. Return first batch of pork to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another skillet, stir-fry onion about 3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add pepper and carrots, stir-fry about 3 more minutes, until crisp-tender.

4. Stir in grated ginger, and steal some braising liquid (about ¼ cup?)... heat to boiling.

5. Remove pork from braising liquid, raise heat to high, and boil to reduce down.

6. Chop cooked pork, then add about ¾ cup braising liquid to the pan with vegetables. Stir in about ½ tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water, to thicken. Add the chopped pork, and stir to combine.

7. Make bowls of lettuce leaves, fill with spoon of rice, shredded pork, and stir-fried vegetables.

8. Transfer to plates and serve immediately, garnishing with sesame seeds.

And remember, one of the rules states that you must accept help from ALL sous-chefs... even if said help is them wanting to "wash dishes" and is thoroughly in your way.

Serve with a nice, cheap sham-pagne like Cook's. Yes, I'm serious. Delicate flavors and nuances will be lost against the spicy food, but the sparkles and sweetness are nice.

1st Weekly Iron Chef Mom

KYO NO TEMA... shichimenchou!


So... I recently posted about feeling rather Iron Cheffish after making dinner from crazy leftovers. The Grill Geek thought it'd be fun to take it a step further. Tonight was the first of (hopefully) many Iron Chef Mom episodes, pitting my against the timer and the children. I had beginner's luck- the Little Guy fell asleep on the couch for the whole thing.

First, a brief run-down of the rules:
1) Must be an original recipe that features the "secret ingredient" in some way.
2) Must accept help from any and all "sous chefs" (aka children/husband) or else it wouldn't be Iron Chef MOM, now would it?
3) First attempt is given 90 minutes, second attempt gets 80, and so on. By your fourth episode, you ought to have the hang of it and be able to pull it off in 60 minutes thereafter.
4) Must be a complete, nutritionally-balanced meal. Unlike the TV show, we're not going for total number of entrees. This is real life. Must include something your kids will eat, but the secret ingredient needn't be involved in that.
5) For style points, the kitchen needs to not be utterly trashed when your time is up. That's another Mom element... clean up as you go. At least a little bit.

The Grill Geek got back from the store around 11 am, so I knew my secret ingredient for 8 hours before showtime. I looked up basic preparation techniques, then went through my stash of recipes on the computer (didn't spend hours pouring over actual cookbooks.) I found a recipe for Moroccan Chicken Stew and completely changed it. I think the only ingredient left the same was... um... the cumin. That's what I mean by an "original" recipe. Base it on something else, sure... but make it your own.

Once I knew that my secret ingredient was bone-in split turkey breast, I started getting the idea of a New World theme to the meal. So... this is where that eventually led me:

Getting ready to cook

Bekki's Iron Chef Turkey

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp bacon fat

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

½ tsp paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 split, bone-in turkey breast

1 small onion, sliced thin

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup chicken stock

1 tsp salt

¼ - ½ cup white rum

½ cup salsa

½ cup corn kernels (frozen are ok)

1 cup cooked pinto beans

blue corn chips

1 fresh heirloom tomato, sliced

prepared collard greens

1. Put cornstarch and spices into a large plastic bag, along with turkey breast, and shake to coat. ("It's Shake N Bake, and I hey-alped!") Get the collards goin'.

2. Heat large dutch oven, add fats, and brown turkey breast on both sides.
Remove turkey, add more oil, if necessary, and sauté onion over medium heat until almost-translucent. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, rum, and salt. Bring to boil and stir in salsa, pintos, and corn. Reduce heat to low, add turkey, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove turkey breast and slice. Stir additional cornstarch into bean mixture, if needed.

3. Arrange cooked collards on plates along with sliced tomato, and bean mixture; arrange turkey on top. Garnish with blue corn chips, serve with a glass of sotol (or bourbon.)

Iron Chef Mom!

That's what I am... I am Iron Chef Mom. "Mom" counts as a cuisine, I think. It summates what I do better than any other single word I can come up with at the moment. I dare any professional chef to create healthy, tasty meals from Whatever's In The Fridge while mediating sibling disputes, holding a crying (angry, not limply hugging) preschooler, stepping around half-melted ice cubes, and (oftentimes) watching a really interesting football game.

Tonight's secret ingredient was Leftover Roast Chicken with Paprika. Bonus points for also using up the leftover snack-tray veggies from New Year's Eve. I also had a lot of hummus left from New Year's Eve. I wielded my google-fu and found that there are such dishes as Chicken and Hummus, so my gears began to crank.

Ingredients:
3-4 tablespoons fat of your choice (bacon, coconut, AND butter this time)
about 1 carrot, cut into sticks, and then into dices
about 1 celery stalk, done the same
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 handfuls fresh raw broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
leftover chicken (in our case it was the breasts and wings)
about 1/4 cup prepared hummus
about 1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
about 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cilantro
2 shakes red pepper flakes (one pinch)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the oil/butter in a large skillet (with a lid) over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, onion, and pepper, and cook until starting to soften. Add garlic and cook another minute or two. Toss in the chicken (in bite-size pieces). Add seasonings to hummus, and stir in the wine and broth. Pour into skillet and stir to coat. Add broccoli on top (to steam a bit). When "sauce" begins to boil, reduce heat to lowish, smack on the lid, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.


Serve over rice, garnished with more hummus, paprika, and parsley. Really... ok, you don't have to get fancy schmancy with it, but... more hummus and paprika really make it taste goooood.