Saturday, January 24, 2009

Battle Carrot - Iron Chef Oakton


For New Years Eve 2008 my wife Diana and I traveled to Oakton, Va, to visit our good friends Graham and Mary Ann. To spice up the celebration, Graham and I participated in a modified Iron Chef competition. The secret ingredient, carrots, was revealed by solving a riddle that appeared on Christmas day, giving us a few days to plan instead of the Iron Chef motif of limited time after the ingredient is revealed.  Graham and I harmonized the menu for the meal the evening before and then spent most of December 31 cooking for a party of 6 adults and one toddler. I was unfamiliar with Iron Chef before the challenge and probably could have selected some more rapidly prepared dishes. My wife and I are more interested in slow food, so that may have tainted my selection of dishes to prepare. At any rate, here is the menu I brought to the competition:

Relaxation Libation: Bloody Mary d’Wabbit (vodka or mock) 

Starter: Adults: Welsh Miners Small Pasty with Dr. Dick’s Kale Slaw  
                                 carrot wasabi, carrot hummus and chimichurri
                 Toddler: Carrot Boat with Apple Sauce
                 Beverage: Pinot Grigio or Carrot Juice

Mains: Chimichurri-Basted Mixed Grill
                     lamb, chicken, carrot, onion and red and orange pepper
                     served on herb-roasted root vegetables with
                     Carrot-Butter Topped Roast Acorn Squash
                Beverage: Cab-Merlot or Apple Cider

Dessert:  Brandied-Candied Carrot Pie with whipped cream
                  Beverage: Gourmet Coffee or Hot Chocolate

Afterglow Libation: Adults: Naughty Chipmunk
                                        Toddler: Chocolate Milkshake

New Year Welcome: Carrot Planter’s Sunrise Punch

New Year's Day Breakfast:  Huevos Rancheros with toast, apple butter, coffee and orange juice

As you can see, this is a a pretty full menu in itself.  Graham was equally prepared and here's the menu he brought:

(Insert Graham's menu here)

Needless to say, we couldn't do all this.  In fact, I dropped the Bloody Mary, roast acorn squash, coffee, hot chocolate and all evening beverages.  They were not missed.