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.
