Ruth asked me to write something about my recent cooking escapades. On April 19th, I competed in a friendly competition called "Iron Chef Boulder" that is held once per month. It's similar to the TV show -- the host chooses and provides a secret ingredient that is only revealed on the day of competition. The two chefs immediately go to a supermarket and have 30 minutes to spend up to $25 of their own money for ingredients. (The host provides certain basics like sugar, flour, salt, and common spices.)

When everyone arrives back at the kitchen, the chefs have two hours to prepare three dishes each to showcase the secret ingredient. A panel of three judges will rate each chef on taste (10 points), creativity (10 points), and presentation (5 points). The winner collects $5 from each judge to recoup grocery costs and gets a chance to defend his or her title the next month. It's all a bit costly for the host and chefs, but the judges get a great deal -- TWO (hopefully) gourmet meals for five bucks.

I had wanted to compete for a while but felt that my cooking skills were too limited. I knew how to make a few dishes well, but they were all very specific and probably couldn't be adapted very well to a surprise ingredient. So, throughout the spring I have been trying new things, experimenting with my old favorites, and just generally trying to boost my repertoire and cooking knowledge.

Aside from sheer practice, I had a lot of help from a software called Personal Trainer: Cooking on Nintendo DS. This is a great resource if you have a DS system -- for $20, you get nearly 250 recipes. Each one has step-by-step instructions that are spoken aloud as well as displayed on the screen. There are photos of every dish and many interim steps, and there are also some videos for certain techniques that may be hard to explain otherwise. You can sort through recipes by criteria such as nationality, desired ingredients, calories, cooking time, etc. Nearly everything I have made from this program turned out great.

Okay, this is getting long... I'll continue soon in a subsequent post.

Wow, $25 doesn't go far in a grocery store. How many people do you have to plan to serve with each dish?

I think this is such fun, Jonathan. I remember your first tentative cooking questions. You've come a long way since then!

Yummmm... recipe thread? she asked timidly...

Hayes wrote: "Yummmm... recipe thread? she asked timidly..."

On the old Constant Reader we used to have periodic forays into cooking, often fueled by a member who's now absent.

Yeah, the budget is even more difficult than the cooking time limit. Each dish must have four servings (three judges and the host), although leftovers for any other attendees are common.

So, getting back to my story...

Over the past few months, I've honed my favorite recipes and learned many new ones. The origins of these recipes are varied -- the software described above, Internet searches, family recipes, ingredient packaging, and sometimes just crazy experimentation. Here are some of the dishes I made in preparation for the contest:

Quiche Lorraine: I'd made this before and loved it, but I kept practicing to make the dish more consistent and flavorful. Nutmeg is the real key here. I also learned to make my own from-scratch crust, which is a lot of work but totally worth it.

Huevos Rancheros: I was looking for new ways to cook eggs. This is quick and easy, and it can be very flavorful with the right salsa.

Gnocchi with Two Sauces: My first homemade pasta! Takes a while to prepare, but you don't need any special equipment for this shape. One sauce was melted gorgonzola and cream (I added bacon for more flavor). The other was my own concoction -- a pesto with fresh basil, Parmesan, olive oil, and pecans. The latter are softer and more flavorful than the walnuts or pine nuts in traditional pesto.

Swedish Meatballs: These were fairly complicated to make, but they turned out well. My recipe for mashed potatoes was severely inadequate (the yield was way off), so I made fettuccine from the bag at the last minute.

Caprese: You could hardly call this a recipe, but it is delicious and looks impressive!

Bacon and Potato Soup: This was one of my first soups, and it was a lot of work (and a lot of stock!) to make a big batch. It tasted good but surprisingly sweet -- not sure if that was from the bacon or the onions.

Crepes: Easy and versatile, but the batter needs half a day to rest.

Bacon & Pecan Pancakes: You read that right! I simply combined two varieties from our local pancake shop. The two savory fillings are perfect when combined with sweet maple syrup.

Fried Risotto Balls: This took a lot of prep time, as you are making a complete risotto and then doing extra things to it. The upshot is that I learned two recipes at once and got to practice my deep frying. The risotto balls were cheesy and delicious, but not satisfying enough to be a main course.

Chicken Tenders & Gravy: I've always heard stories about frying chicken -- it's messy, it's dangerous, it's time-consuming, etc. A lot of these problems are avoided when you start with skinless breast tenders from the supermarket. The batter itself is an open recipe (flour + whatever you like), and my first attempt was even double battered for extra goodness. The gravy was more troublesome, and I had a couple of gross failures when trying to use the actual chicken grease. I finally found success with a milk-based gravy made in a separate pan.

Grilled Salmon: Couldn't be simpler, but I did make my own marinade from soy sauce, orange juice, and ground ginger. The salmon steaks had to be re-cooked (twice!) because they didn't cook all the way through. Otherwise, delicious.

Biscuits: From scratch. Best with gravy or a mixture of honey and butter.

Cheese Souffle: This was my greatest disappointment. I followed the software's recipe and used expensive Roquefort cheese (as suggested), but the end result was unsatisfying and way too strong. I also made the mistake of beating the egg whites manually, which I'll never repeat.

Saag Paneer: This Indian spinach curry is easy to approximate, but very difficult to get right. I made it twice and enjoyed both dishes, but they didn't taste very much like the saag from my favorite Indian restaurants. All curry-based dishes continue to elude me.

Fried Rice: I make fried rice like I make omelets -- as a main dish, with everything appropriate I can find in the kitchen. There are usually at least half a dozen major add-ins, from carrots and broccoli to fried egg and water chestnuts. I cook it with a combo of olive oil and chili oil and spice it with... well, as much as possible. Ginger, sugar, sesame seeds, lots of soy sauce, and yes, I keep a shaker of MSG just for this dish!

I need to get some real work done now... stay tuned for the Iron Chef results in part three!

Are those fried risotto balls similar or the same as the traditional Sicilian arancini? With cheese or meat sauce in the center? I love Swedish meatballs. Do you serve them with lingonberry sauce?

I'm dying to hear what happens next.

Yes, I think they are the same as arancini. Mine had little pieces of mozzarella in the center. That's actually an improvement I'll make next time -- too much rice, not enough gooey center. I used meat sauce in the risotto, as well.

The only sauce I had for the Swedish meatballs, per the recipe I was following, was slightly reduced cream with some salt and pepper. Cream is always a good start, but my guests and I all thought this sauce was too simple and flavorless. Next time I'll make a real Alfredo sauce or else look into this lingonberry sauce you mention, which sounds delicious!

The traditional sauce is like a cream gravy. I make it using pan drippings for more flavor. But yes, it's rather bland. The lingonberry sauce you buy in a jar. It's like cranberry sauce, and you serve it on the side to pep things up.

I think the arancini are served as a street food snack in Sicily. I've never made or eaten them, but they sound good.

Has the Iron Chef thingie happened yet or are you still in training?

Jonathan wrote: "Yes, I think they are the same as arancini. Mine had little pieces of mozzarella in the center. That's actually an improvement I'll make next time -- too much rice, not enough gooey center. I us..."

That would make them close to Roman suppli', traditionally with rice cooked in tomato sauce with a bit of mozzarella in the middle, but excellent with any left over risotto. I made some really good asparagus suppli' once... (must be destiny; I started my diet today!)

@Ruth: do you know Andrea Camilleri's series with Police Commissioner Montalbano? (whose name was chosen as an homage to the Spanish writer Montalban.) One of his books is called Gli arancini di Montalbano, a collection of short stories. Camilleri's writing includes a lot of Sicilian dialect, sometimes difficult, but fun. They have been translated. Good TV series done by the RAI (Italian state TV).
Andrea Camilleri

I can do some Italian, and a bit of Sicilian. Is this a detective series?

With apologies to Jonathan.

Yes, and very good. (click on link to Camilleri... good description and links to books, etc.)

EDIT (breakfast/school prep drill interrupts my morning socializing!): Jonathon... congratulations on your list of recipes. Everything sound yummy! When's your debut?

Sorry if this wasn't clear earlier, but the contest already took place on April 19th. I just haven't gotten to that part in my story, but I will do so now!

My goals in cooking all these different things were to practice my specialties (eggs, frying, bachelor foods), fill in some large gaps in my cooking experience, and discover quick, modular dishes that could possibly be used in the competition. Since you can't take recipes with you to Iron Chef, I also wanted to cement some of the procedures and ingredients into my memory.

On the 19th, we all arrived at the host's condo, and she revealed the secret ingredient: beer. She had a couple bottles each of amber, pale ale, and porter. The reigning Iron Chef and I both requested a couple more types (lager and stout), which she graciously purchased while we were grocery shopping. We immediately carpooled to the supermarket; I rode in the back seat and furiously scribbled down ideas and ingredients to make a shopping list. The store was nearby, so I only had five minutes or so to brainstorm my dishes before the shopping spree began.

I had never cooked with beer before that day, so the ingredient made me quite nervous. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to beer batter some fried entree. It could be almost anything, but chicken would speak to the judges and wouldn't need a lot of preparation. This led to my problems with gravy -- could I make one worth presenting with the chicken? My concerns had to be put aside until later.

The next dish idea was to make a risotto; the recipe was fresh in my mind, as I'd made some the previous day. I could easily replace soup stock with a light beer, allowing it to slowly cook off, leaving the flavors in the rice. The main question was what else to put in the risotto to make it interesting and satisfying as its own dish.

My third and final dish was very cloudy in my head until I was actually shopping. I wanted to try mixing beer with cheese, in the spirit of fondue but not in that form. This led me to two options, both dishes I felt comfortable with: macaroni & cheese, and quiche. The macaroni was hard to justify, as I typically make it in a slow cooker that takes four hours. I didn't feel confident adapting the recipe to a faster cooking method. That left me with quiche, but would the acidic beer cooperate with eggs and cream? It seemed worth the risk, but I would have to cook very quickly to make a crust and bake the quiche within my two-hour limit.

In the store, I began with chicken tenders, which would be my most expensive ingredient. They took $10 out of my $25 budget, but I felt strongly that I should go with high quality, all-natural chicken since I couldn't do much to improve the taste of the meat itself. A pint of heavy cream was next, along with a package of bacon, some rice, Parmesan cheese for the risotto, and a half-dozen eggs (which turned out to be not enough). I quickly settled on tomatoes for the risotto filling, since they were very cheap and would add some freshness to my otherwise heavy dishes. A cheese for the quiche was my final conundrum, as the store's only gruyere was prohibitively expensive. I had to settle for plain Swiss instead, and had the deli employee custom-cut a block of it. Everything came in at ~$24.50 before tax, so I just barely made it work!

The cooking itself was hectic, and much of it is a blur in my memory. I know that I started with the pie crust, forming a dough and putting it away to rest. I put the chicken in the egg/lager wash to marinate. The risotto was my "middle" dish for cooking, as it had no urgent steps and could be kept warm through the final minutes as I finished other tasks. The tomatoes were chunked and marinated in stout, to be added at the end. My risotto burned just slightly on the bottom, as I couldn't stir it often enough while juggling a frying pan full of bacon and rolling the dough so it could be pre-crisped. Overall, I used two full bottles of lager to cook the risotto over a period of perhaps 45 minutes; the Parmesan and tomatoes were added after all that. The host didn't have pie weights, so for crisping the empty quiche crust, I covered it with foil and poured dry rice from the pantry over the foil. (This was later retrieved and put back in the box.) I like bacon to be crispy and evenly cooked, but it was very difficult to watch over it with so much action in the kitchen.

To stress how crazy those two hours were, I should point out that both chefs were sharing the kitchen space and equipment. Thankfully, it was a very friendly rivalry, and we were always polite and helpful with each other. We discussed the sharing of cutting boards, mixing bowls, and stove space. It helped a lot that he didn't need the oven, because I had something in there for most of the cooking period. My competitor also gave me two of his extra eggs, when I came up short late in the game, and he graciously allowed me to use cooking wine that I'd brought from home. (This kind of ingredient is borderline acceptable -- it's not provided by the host, but we're allowed to bring our own "standard" ingredients and spices if they are made available to both chefs.) So yes, my risotto was made with both wine and beer!

The final thirty minutes of cooking were particularly wild. I had put my quiche in the oven, which was a relief unto itself, but I was also nervous that it may not cook all the way through before the clock ran out. I had to plate my risotto and somehow keep it warm (the oven was too hot at that time), so I crowded the dishes into the center area of the stove. And it was finally time to fry the chicken -- I wanted to do it late so the dish would be fresh for the judges. I pulled out the "marinated" chicken and started the incredibly messy process of dipping it into flour (with some extra spices mixed in). Between hand-washings and batches of chicken, I had brief spurts of free time, so I came back to the gravy idea, as it seemed like a bad idea to plate chicken by itself. But I hadn't bought any milk... So, I dropped in some butter and flour, and used the remainder of my heavy cream instead of milk. This created a thick, white paste -- too thick for any gravy! That's when inspiration struck: I could use beer to thin out the gravy. It worked perfectly and gave it a wonderful flavor as well.

As the final seconds ticked off, I was scooping out slices of my quiche, which appeared to have cooked perfectly. The judges tasted my food first, giving comments like "the risotto has a strong beer flavor", "the chicken is a bit dry", "I don't normally like gravy, but I could eat more of this", and "how did you use beer in this quiche?" It was hard to tell how they could rate me. Then my competitor presented his dishes: a beer stew flavored with thyme, pork chops with beer-simmered onions, and a porter-flavored chocolate mousse. It was fun for me to finally sit down and taste the competing food, which was interesting and tasty.

After several minutes of deliberation and scoring (it seemed to take longer than in past competitions), the two chefs were lined up to hear the results. I lost -- by only half a point. It was by far the closest result yet, assuring an eventual rematch. Judges later told me that I might have won if the quiche was less salty (excessive bacon?) and had more beer flavor. I think it's a fair take on the dish, but I personally loved it and ate most of the leftovers. It was easy for me to taste the beer flavor, but then I have a baseline for what my quiche usually tastes like. The chicken and that crazy, afterthought gravy were extremely popular, and the risotto got points for creativity and its bold use of the beer. Overall, I'm proud of what I cooked under such conditions, and I'm a little surprised that everything turned out so well. I fully expected to lose the competition, so it was nice to do so well in the judging.

Epilogue: The winner, our reigning Iron Chef Boulder, is out of town during May. Therefore, I have been asked to take his place as the temporary champion in the next contest, which is on May 10th. And as I will be out of town for the rest of summer, there is less pressure this time. (I can't continue, whether I win or lose.) But we are already planning a rematch from the Beer Battle when everyone is back in town this fall -- there'll be a new secret ingredient, of course!

Jonathan, this is a great story! And I love that you get to be temporary champion. I admire your creativity and talent, even though I have never tasted your creations.

Great story Jonathan! Love the rush to the store etc. Fun idea!

Oh Jonathan, you just make me hungry! I would love to host such an event, as I wouldn't trust myself in the cooking side of the competition.

When I was a student, chicken cooked in beer and bacon was my roomate's specialty. I never though of it in years, but I may try to cook it again just for the memories.

Please let us know how the next event goes. I am already wondering what the secret ingredient might be.

The beer in the gravy was a great inspiration. I'll bet it was really good. I've never cooked with beer. Wine yes, beer no. Maybe I should try it.

Thanks for taking the time to give us a blow by blow account. I loved following you through the whole experience.

Are you doing anything special to warm up for May?

In Italy a risotto variation calls for the use of Prosecco (an Italian sparkling wine, very dry, from the north), which I have never had (the risotto, I mean; I love the wine), but beer sounds like a good variation (and cheaper too!).

(We regularly eat risotto in a million different variations. Last night we had risi e bisi, northern italian dialect for rice and peas. Comfort food, easy and good.)

Great story!! and congratulations. Half a point, wow. I would love to try all your dishes!

Let us know how it works out on the 10th of May!! I wish I could see the program... Is it "youtubed"?

I really enjoyed reading about this, Jonathan. It sounds like a stressful but fun time.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story Jonathan! Keep us informed!

I have made stew with beer and onions - it came out very well.

Congrats on being a guest Iron Chef!

Jonathon,

This is John, Barb's son. She had me read your post and I found it very interesting. I have been wanting to compete in this style of competition for some time now, but havne't been able to find others who are interested.

Beer is a rough ingredient to cook with and I was very impressed with what you came up with in such a short amount of time especially with the budget you had. I would have gone with a Guiness stew. Guiness is a great beer to cook with and goes well with almost anything you can add to it. Also, you can throw cheaper ingredients together to create a stew. The cook time might have been a bit of an issue, but that was the first thing I could think of. Also a pale ale can be made into a very nice cheese sauce for your chicken tenders, possibly creating an additional dish with your already purchased ingredient.

My favorite dish to make with beer are bratwursts soaked in a dark beer with onions, garlic and brown sugar. Those take a long amount of time to marinate so that idea would have been out!

If you are bored sometime, I run a cooking/food blog at http://www.epicportions.com.

Hi John. I didn't know you were a cooking guy. I'll check out the blog.

I've never eaten bratwurst. They look good. I love sausages. But every time I read the fat content I sigh and put them back in the meat case.

Coming back to say those tacos look darn good. I haven't been able to find a place that sells good tortillas since I moved. I'm sure there must be one near here. After all this is So Cal.

John is living with us for a while while he finishes his degree and we've been enjoying his cooking. I came home from exercising at the gym the night he made those tacos and could barely keep myself from pigging out. He likes to be funny on his blog, but he's very serious when he's cooking.

Jonathan,

Thanks for telling us about the competition. Your food sounds wonderful. Is there a tie-in with The Food Network Iron Chef? Is there a grand prize?

Jane

Thanks for the comments, everyone! John, I appreciate the ideas and will check out your blog when I get home from traveling.

Jane, the competition is just inspired by the Iron Chef TV show. (I personally am a fan of the original, Japanese version -- not so much the American one.) There aren't any prizes involved beyond prestige and the $15 collected from judges, but maybe we'll have a special tournament of champions sometime with more at stake.

Jonathan,

It would be fun to watch a competition like that. I don't watch Iron Chef America, but I do watch a number of other shows on the Food Network. One of my favorites is The Next Food Network Star.

Jane

Jonathan, here is a contest idea for you.

I just won a 12 pound spiral cut ham at Trader Joe's. This thing is huge! I'm not a vegetarian, but rarely eat meat. I could use this as an excuse for a party, but more than half of my friends are vegetarians, and many others are averse to "real meat", though they might eat fish or chicken.

I should have just taken it directly to a shelter, but made the mistake of opening the packaging and doubt a shelter would take it in this condition. I've never bought a ham before, I wanted to see what it looked like, I guess. I don't even know how long it lasts, or if I can freeze it? It's fully cooked, bone in, spiral cut . . . TJ's is about a mile from my place, so I walk there. I lugged this thing all the way home along with the rest of my week's groceries.

Opening the floor for suggestions - what the heck does one do with 12 POUNDS of ham? Maybe I should have asked for equivalent value of something I normally eat (Fage yogurts? Wine?)

Theresa

I'm not a vegetarian either, but 12 pounds sounds like a lot to me too! I usually use a little bit of ham for adding a little flavor to something else, a risotto or a soup. Good luck!

(How many casseroles and mac and cheese and ham can you make with 12 lbs. Egads!!)

I would slice off two or three pieces portons and freeze them and use for breakfast or ham-steak dinners. Then use the bone and lots of the meat to make soup. You can freeze those portions, too. There are two of us, and I manage to get rid of a ham that way.

A 12 lb ham. Wow. Gives life to Dorothy Parker's definition of eternity. "Two people and a ham."

I've not had luck with freezing ham too long. It gets old-tasting.

I love soup made from dried limas, carrots, onions, ham bone. Throw in a bay leaf. Add pieces of ham late in the process so they don't get all cooked out.

What we usually do when we have a ton of ham (still have some left over from Easter - he was a big boy), is make ham jumbalaya. Denver omelets. Ham and potato and cheese casserole. Ham fried rice. Lasagna with ham and cheese (and mushrooms if you like). Croque monsieur. Split pea soup (from the bone).

And we are all encouraged to eat as many ham sandwiches as we like, or is humanly possible, whichever comes first!

Standard ham and eggs. But I love my Belgian casserole -- half a dozen witloof (Belgian endive) cooked to just tender, then wrap each in a slice of ham put into a buttered casserole and surround with med chumkls of potato. Piour over a medium cream sauce, sprinkle with some pannemeal and bake till golden. 350-ish.

Lots of good ham suggestions here already, but I'll add my two cents anyway: remember it is great to throw chopped ham pieces into salads - I made a big salad on Friday that I am still eating with Canadian bacon (ham), cauliflower (that I blanched and then roasted), mango slices, celery, romaine and red leaf lettuce and roasted fennel. It has been delicious.
Happy Eating!
And I have really been enjoying this thread - I'm a self-taught cook and have been doing some freelance work as a private chef which has been great fun. I'm even teaching a class next weekend for people who want to learn some new recipes and ideas for less expensive, but still healthful eating. I love introducing people to a lot of the tasty and affordable leafy greens like collards, kale, dandelion greens, swiss chard, etc.

And if I read Jonathan's earlier post correctly I think he has a rematch today in Denver while his last opponent is out of town. I'm sure I am not the only one looking forward to hearing about it.

Sandy, that Dorothy Parker quote is perfect(ly apropos)!

Hayes, a little piece for flavoring is how I typically use ham too. I'll bet you get better ham in Italy than we can get here, though.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Lima bean soup is definitely on the agenda. I hadn't thought of jambalaya, and I appear to have all the ingredients on hand for this recipe http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/v... I guess that's dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow, plus I can freeze half for later. I think I need to spice it up a bit though, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a recipe that makes six servings is not my idea of proper heat!

Al, your salad sounds delicious. Very inventive too - I've never had mango and fennel together, but it seems to me it would make an excellent combination.

Dottie, I had that casserole when I was working in Holland but I've never tried to make it. I mentioned that endive was a delicacy in the US, and after that people kept feeding me witlopf in various forms. I tend to prefer it uncooked, though - I like the bitterness, and it tends to disappear or get toned down with cooking.

I also found this recipe for Asparagus, Ham and Potato salad that looks good - made with vinaigrette rather than mayonnaise (I loathe mayonnaise in potato salad). http://www.recipezaar.com/Spring-Asparag...

Theresa

Theresa, your links have delinked. Can't find the recipes.

I don't care much for mayo on potato salad either. I make mine with the standard garlic vinagrette. Pour it on while the potatoes slices/cubes are still hot so they absorb it well.

Let's see if this works:

Jambalaya:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/v...

Asparagus, Ham, Potato salad:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Spring-Asparag...

Thanks, Theresa. I've never made jambalaya. I do like these one-pot meals, so I should try this.

And that salad sounds very, very good. I'm going to go light on the honey tho, and taste as I go. I'm not much for salad dressings that are too sweet. Otherwise the combo of ingredients looks good.

Theresa said: I tend to prefer it uncooked, though - I like the bitterness, and it tends to disappear or get toned down with cooking.

Witlof salad is great. With carrot, apple, pine apple, raisins and cashew nuts. Or with radishes, apple, orange, raisins and walnuts (the ones that look like brains are called walnuts right?) You get different sweets, bitter, sour etc. and different textures because of the nuts. No ham there though.

Susanna said: Split pea soup (from the bone).
Hmm, split pea soup. We call it 'snert', it's a very thick soup with a lot of meat in it, including an Unox sausage, carrots and other vegetables and potatoes to get it nice and thick. Served with Maggi on the side, and an optional 'roggebrood' with bacon. Perfect winterfood. Takes a while to cook though.

I'm not the biggest fan of ham, but I know that it can taste great with sweet sauces, which isn't always the case with meat. Honey mustard on a ham sandwich = awesome. You could probably make an easy glaze or sweet reduction and just serve it over a plate of sliced ham... I know it would be a winner at my family reunion. If you can slice the ham thinly enough, you can also make Chicken Cordon Bleu quite easily. (I like it breaded and fried, but I'm a bad boy when it comes to food!)

Al, thanks for asking about an update. There was indeed a new competition yesterday. I'm good friends with the host and expected her to select potatoes or eggs as the secret ingredient. I'm pretty handy with eggs, but not so much with potatoes, so I definitely needed to practice this week. I made two practice dinners for friends, one Japanese-style and one Southern-style. The former included udon noodle soup, potato croquettes ("korokke"), and curry rice. Japanese-style curry is dark brown, very savory, and often sweet. This time, I chose House Vermont Curry, which is widely available in Asian groceries. The "hot" mix was not very spicy at all, but it was considerably more delicious than the other common brand, S&B's Golden Curry.

For the Southern-style dinner, I went with many favorite dishes from my childhood in Alabama. The boiled peanuts were a big hit -- easy to make in a slow cooker, but you have to start with raw peanuts, which are not easy to find outside the Black Belt. (I brought back a bag from my recent trip home.) I also brewed sweet tea; the secret is to add the sugar to the hot tea concentrate, mix well, and then dilute with cold water. I use 1 1/3 cups of sugar for a pitcher that holds about 1.5 gallons total. It is very, very sweet, so I told guests to drink it like they would a soda (or "Coke" as I grew up calling them). Other dishes included cornbread, creamy grits, fried okra, and deviled eggs.

The competition finally came on Sunday. I was honorary Iron Chef, and my challenger was a friend named Katya who is originally from Russia. The host unveiled the secret ingredient, and as I expected, it was potatoes! She had russets, reds, Yukon golds, and sweet potatoes.

(Pardon the formatting below; it was pasted from an email I wrote to a friend, as I didn't want to rewrite the story.)

Battle Potato was a lot of fun, and I had more than enough ideas. The
bigger problem was timing, as it takes a while to peel, cut, and boil
large potatoes... and that was only the preparation part of two of my
dishes. It was a good ingredient for Katya, as she makes a lot of
traditional Russian food, in which potatoes are a major ingredient.
However, I thought her food was pretty bland (also very Russian),
despite the lovely presentation.

I made Japanese korokke with a Southern-style sauce, gnocchi with my
pecan pesto enhanced by dried potato skin bits, and twice-baked sweet
potatoes for dessert. There were some fun risks with flavor-mixing,
like my ketchup/grape jelly/soy sauce mixture and the combination of
cinnamon and curry with the sweet potato filling, but in the end, I
was very happy with how everything tasted. Unfortunately, my
recollection of the gnocchi recipe was way too low on flour, so the
dough came out far too sticky. It cooked forever and still didn't
have the right consistency for pasta. I cooked well past the two-hour
mark, hoping to boil the pasta into shape, and it got sort of decent
after some twenty minutes. So while I probably saved the dish, the
extra time penalty hurt my score badly. I would have beaten Katya by
a few points based on judging alone, but she easily won after my
penalty was applied. It's okay though -- I couldn't defend anyway
because of my summer internship in Houston, so I was more concerned with making good food than
with winning the contest.

Some photos from Battle Beer... I will add more from Battle Potato once they are posted on Facebook.


Beer-Infused Risotto


Beer-Battered Fried Chicken with Beer Gravy


Beer-Infused Quiche Lorraine

And here are my dishes from Battle Potato:


Korokke with Fusion Sauce


Gnocchi with Pecan & Potato Skin Pesto


Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

They all look good, Jonathan.

And I found the videos on Facebook. What fun to see you live and walking and talking in full color, after all these years.

Anyone else want to see?

http://www.new.facebook.com/video/video....

boy, those Korokke sure look good!

thanks for the link Ruth. Will go look this afternoon when I have a moment.

Thanks! The korokke had sauteed onions and ground beef filling (but mostly mashed potatoes). I mixed pecan bits into the panko bread crumbs for the breading, since I had a lot of pecans leftover from my pesto. The sauce is extremely easy to make, and it could work for many dishes. Just combine one small bottle of ketchup with one small jar of grape jelly (not jam, it won't be a smooth) and stir for a while over low heat. You can also slow cook the sauce; my family uses it for cocktail weenies. I added soy sauce in this version for more Japanese flavor.

Oh, no - pictures, too. Jonathan, you are beyond the best!

Everyone who has been enjoying this thread, I thought might enjoy this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/dining...

It seems this trend is sweeping the country!

That's a great article... and now I must try bacon-and-brown-sugar ice cream!