On Sunday May 31, Sachiko and I battled the husband and wife team of Dave and Carol in Battle Onion. Though it was awfully tough staying in and cooking on such a beautiful day, as reigning champs we had a title to defend.
Unlike previous battles, we entered Battle Onion calm and unstressed. Though Sachiko and I prevailed in Battle Egg, our overly complex dishes had us worried and stressed before and during that competition. As a result, in the heat of battle, several missteps were made. For Battle Onion we stuck with interesting but less technical dishes. Dishes that we hoped would win on flavor, creativity, and presentation, as opposed to difficulty.
We started with the perfect appetizer, a panko crusted, pork and seaweed negimaki. Served on a Shiso leaf, this derivation of beef negimaki was crispy and tasty. Most judges liked the negimaki more than they liked the accompanying sauce; Tonkatsu with mustard and crushed sesame. Despite mixed reviews for the sauce, this dish was a great first course for us.
Our second dish was a creamy leek and brie soup served with a garnish of fried leeks. Once again, we scored on flavor and presentation. Being lactose intolerant, I stay away from creamy soups, however, a box of lactaid pills allowed me to dive in without fear. A heavy hand with the salt cost us a few points but wasn't enough to temper the judges mostly positive reactions.
Our third dish an Italian styled prosciutto wrapped stuffed onion. We filled the onions with a mixture of mushroom, cubed prosciutto, onion, garlic, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs. Accompanying the onions was a homemade basil tomato sauce. Our opponents also served a stuffed onion, theirs with a creamy and spicy filling in a Vidalia onion. This dish received a wide range of scores. We worked on this dish in the weeks leading up to battle tweaking the recipe and perfecting our technique and were happy with the results, the comments of a couple of the judges notwithstanding.
For desert we served a savory pumpkin and caramelized onion muffin with toasted pumpkin seeds and a homemade mascarpone and maple frosting. Since the muffin was more savory than sweet, the addition of the frosting proved to be critical. Although this dish turned out well, our opponents really nailed their desert and thus beat our score on this course.
We beat Dave and Carol by a score of 327 to 321. It's gratifying to win, however, going into this battle Sachiko and I had decided that if we won, we'd forfeit our next turn. We needed a break. As fun as the competition is, it is also a ton of work, expensive, and preparing for each battle consumes big chunks of precious weekend time. Fortunately, the judges and other participants all agreed that a break was in order; summer everyone realized, was not the time to spend indoors cooking. The next battle - Battle Chicken - will be held in late September. Until then, Sachiko and I look forward to cooking for ourselves and enjoying a summer free of battle.
Photos and descriptions of our competitor's dishes are posted on the Iron Chef Brooklyn Blog.
Unlike previous battles, we entered Battle Onion calm and unstressed. Though Sachiko and I prevailed in Battle Egg, our overly complex dishes had us worried and stressed before and during that competition. As a result, in the heat of battle, several missteps were made. For Battle Onion we stuck with interesting but less technical dishes. Dishes that we hoped would win on flavor, creativity, and presentation, as opposed to difficulty.
We started with the perfect appetizer, a panko crusted, pork and seaweed negimaki. Served on a Shiso leaf, this derivation of beef negimaki was crispy and tasty. Most judges liked the negimaki more than they liked the accompanying sauce; Tonkatsu with mustard and crushed sesame. Despite mixed reviews for the sauce, this dish was a great first course for us.
Our second dish was a creamy leek and brie soup served with a garnish of fried leeks. Once again, we scored on flavor and presentation. Being lactose intolerant, I stay away from creamy soups, however, a box of lactaid pills allowed me to dive in without fear. A heavy hand with the salt cost us a few points but wasn't enough to temper the judges mostly positive reactions.
Our third dish an Italian styled prosciutto wrapped stuffed onion. We filled the onions with a mixture of mushroom, cubed prosciutto, onion, garlic, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs. Accompanying the onions was a homemade basil tomato sauce. Our opponents also served a stuffed onion, theirs with a creamy and spicy filling in a Vidalia onion. This dish received a wide range of scores. We worked on this dish in the weeks leading up to battle tweaking the recipe and perfecting our technique and were happy with the results, the comments of a couple of the judges notwithstanding.
For desert we served a savory pumpkin and caramelized onion muffin with toasted pumpkin seeds and a homemade mascarpone and maple frosting. Since the muffin was more savory than sweet, the addition of the frosting proved to be critical. Although this dish turned out well, our opponents really nailed their desert and thus beat our score on this course.
We beat Dave and Carol by a score of 327 to 321. It's gratifying to win, however, going into this battle Sachiko and I had decided that if we won, we'd forfeit our next turn. We needed a break. As fun as the competition is, it is also a ton of work, expensive, and preparing for each battle consumes big chunks of precious weekend time. Fortunately, the judges and other participants all agreed that a break was in order; summer everyone realized, was not the time to spend indoors cooking. The next battle - Battle Chicken - will be held in late September. Until then, Sachiko and I look forward to cooking for ourselves and enjoying a summer free of battle.
Photos and descriptions of our competitor's dishes are posted on the Iron Chef Brooklyn Blog.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment