Feb

12

Eating as sport…

Filed Under Babbling 

Last night, Sarah and I watched Iron Chef America, which was Cora v. Stupak in Battle Chocolate. Its a show that I’ve recently become more of a fan of.

This last summer/winter, we watched the series The Next Iron Chef and really liked Chef Michael Symon and his cooking/attitude. There was something about his presence in the kitchen and how the show all came together that we really enjoyed watching each episode. And there have been quite a few that I’ve caught in my spare time. And even though he’s the newest kid on the block, Symon is still my favorite one of the group. Followed by Flay, Batali, Cora, and Morimoto. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Morimoto does, but Flay and Battali have a presence and attitude to them in the kitchen that just makes watching their battles fun. And I love it most when the chefs take some time to talk other than just focusing on the cooking.

And I started thinking about it more after reading an article on MSNBC.com and researching and reading more about the series. Sure, its very scripted to a lot of degree, but the battles themselves are really what these folks have come up with under pressure.

And I have a lot of respect for that. From a guy who takes 20-30 minutes to grill up some chicken on the stovetop to see someone who does that stuff in 10-15 and has it plated with amazing presentation? Or to see some of the spice mixtures and techniques used, it makes me start to think in different ways. I’ve seen the immersion circulator used by Symon and the liquid nitrogen used every other episode it seems. Not to mention the ice cream machines of doom. I mean, who would really want to have lentil ice cream? But still, it was done.

The dishes that come out from the kitchen are fantastic to imagine. Butternut squash chocolate ravioli, beef tartar, miso encrusted whatever…

And it makes me think that maybe one of these years when Sarah’s done with law school and I’ve been working a while that maybe I’ll take weekend classes or something and learn more of the technique to go behind the flavor ideas that I have in my head. She and I would like to open a bed and breakfast one of these years, so what better way to get a head start…

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Sign up for free and comment away!

    About The Site


    Thanks for stopping by, folks! My name is Adam J. Cohen, and I'm a guitarist/songwriter in Champaign, IL, recently relocated from Orlando, FL where I'm a UCF grad. Here, you'll find vignettes on my life, setlists from open mics and reviews, and whatever else crosses my mind. Enjoy!