Iron Chef America (Part 2)

[BCinBC]

I thought Jewel was a vegetarian.

[Zeemanb]

If at any point Mario yells "YUM-O!" I'm really not sure how I'll react. Actually, I just need to stop thinking about that right now.

As this event is the epitome of what FTV has become, I will be sure to tune in. And should Team Ray-Flay win, I will weep for a nation.

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Sorry to go off-topic but I was just talking about this last night while watching FTV's version of MTV's Jackass- "Ham On The Street". Wow.

[BCinBC]

Woops I just noticed that I got the teams wrong, it's not a Flay-Ray pairing. Hmm, guess that evens things out a bit.

[Megan Blocker]

Honestly, I don't have television anymore, but this show sounds so funny! I just might figure out the timing when it's announced and force my sister to sit through it with me. I saw that Rachel Ray on television a few times and I just CAN NOT imagine her as an Iron Chef contender! I mean it, how will this be possible? She's cheerful and easygoing, but really, what can she bring to the table in order to compete with a serious chef? Besides, I don't see Batalli as the type to be so comfortable with her fluffy attitude towards everything. THAT will be funny to see. At least she'll have time on her side, I mean, heck she'll have an entire hour! I just hope that the secret ingredient isn't offal, myself. Heh.

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Exactly! I mean, at least she's used to cooking under pressure...that should make her an asset.

Unlike, say, chefs who've worked in restaurant kitchens.

[gini]

I would like to see a tag team of Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee versus Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria. Or better yet, throw Rocco and Gordon Ramsay into the mix and do a remake of Enter the Dragon, chef style. The losers get beheaded by the Chairman using a 800-year-old Masamune sword, and have their heads displayed on a pike at the nearest Hibachi chain restaurant.

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Jason, you are HYSTERICAL.

Yabbut...

Didn't I read in the Times spread on Rachael Ray a few months ago, that she and Batali are friends?

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Indeed you did. It said something to the effect of, "Even Bitali doesn't wretch when he comes over to eat my food." - RayRay

If at any point Mario yells "YUM-O!" I'm really not sure how I'll react.  Actually, I just need to stop thinking about that right now.

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Anyone know how to say YUM-OH! in Italian? No? No one? Me neither. I hope he stomps on her with his silly orange clogs!

[Lesley C]

The level of judges on this show is insulting to the chefs. Get some real food pros on there instead of these lame celebs. Such a waste.

I mean can you imagine if that panel was made up of Mark Bittman, Ruth Reichl and Russ Parsons? Then you could take the verdict seriously. But with Jewel saying she's not familiar with lamb...what the hell is that all about? It would be like having Frank Bruni judging American Idol.

(Wait... Bruni would probably be pretty good at that)

[akebono]

SPOILER ALERT*********

I got this from a good, reliable source. The secret ingredient

is to give RAY RAY and edge.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT:

Ritalin

[lala]

They seem to be trying to mix it up more than usual. Did anyone see the Food TV Holiday special? Flay, Chiarello, Emeril, RayRay and Sandra Lee all "made" dinner. Now those, pairings were funny! Watching Chiarello's face as he "helped" Sandra make her appetizer dips that she then squooshed out of a cut plastic bag into whole vegetables was priceless. The end result was nasty glop oozing volcanically over the edges of peppers and a hollowed out cauliflower. Just horrifying. And one of the women ( I think it was RayRay) was so distracting to Flay that he burnt the garlic completely black for his lobster dish. Kept right on trucking though, as I wondered if the Food TV garlic budget had run out so they couldn't reshoot that sequence.

I'm not sure it'll be so hapless as everyone thinks. Remember that they let the Iron Chefs know the potential ingredients before hand, and they come prepared. Then again, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

[TrishCT]

ramsay/rocco vs. bourdain ripert....rocco would be crying for his mama the first five minutes into the show.  now if it is ramsay/rulhman(maybe??) vs. bourdain/ripert

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Nope. It needs to be Ramsay paired with Rocco so Ramsay can have a hissy fit and dump a plate of pasta on Rocco after he messes it up becuase he is too busy preening for the camera and burns the garlic and...

[ingridsf]

First evidence that the Rapture will soon be upon us?

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Second evidence will be "Battle: Horsemeat."

I regret to predict that all four involved will perform with good humor, some of it self-deprecating. It really is a shame. I also predict Flay will serve one dish with three sauces and one will have honey in it. One of Batali's dishes will be a type of involtini and he will bring out the bottarga.

They better not have ol' KB as a judge because Flay's been one of her clients. I demand my ICA cheese maintain the highest standards of integrity!

[ivan]

This will be the first Iron Chef America worth watching since Iron Chef America: Shatner.

[rose_ayn]

ramsay/rocco vs. bourdain ripert....rocco would be crying for his mama the first five minutes into the show.   now if it is ramsay/rulhman(maybe??) vs. bourdain/ripert

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Nope. It needs to be Ramsay paired with Rocco so Ramsay can have a hissy fit and dump a plate of pasta on Rocco after he messes it up becuase he is too busy preening for the camera and burns the garlic and...

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Absolutely!

Bets on how long before Ramsay has Rocco in tears? Think Rocco's mama will be waiting in the wings to beat Ramsay if he hurts her boy?

Must have Ruhlman do the floor commentary for this one though. No offense to Alton Brown but he's just not match for Ruhlman's wit.

I must also remember to stop reading this thread while drinking coffee. I've nearly choked twice.

[iheartoffal]

Hmm....

Edit: I had a humorous photo comparisson up, but I remember there being rules against possibly copyrighted photos.

Go here and scroll down through the comments and look for the comparisson between Rachel Ray standing next to Mario Batali and a certain scene from Return of the Jedi.

Edited January 20, 2006 by iheartoffal (log)

[Grub]

Flay, Bighead, Rayray and Mario -- are you kidding me?! That's gonna be a fantastic episode!!

.

.

.

... just as long as someone slips Mario some PCP before the show, so he goes insane and beats the other three to death with one of his clogs.

[annecros]

I would like to see a tag team of Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee versus Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria. Or better yet, throw Rocco and Gordon Ramsay into the mix and do a remake of Enter the Dragon, chef style. The losers get beheaded by the Chairman using a 800-year-old Masamune sword, and have their heads displayed on a pike at the nearest Hibachi chain restaurant.

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Jason, you are HYSTERICAL.

Yabbut...

Didn't I read in the Times spread on Rachael Ray a few months ago, that she and Batali are friends?

←

Indeed you did. It said something to the effect of, "Even Bitali doesn't wretch when he comes over to eat my food." - RayRay

If at any point Mario yells "YUM-O!" I'm really not sure how I'll react.  Actually, I just need to stop thinking about that right now.

←

Anyone know how to say YUM-OH! in Italian? No? No one? Me neither. I hope he stomps on her with his silly orange clogs!

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Hey lay off the clogs! Those are Crocs my friend. The world's ugliest, most comfortable shoe. They are so light, she wouldn't even feel the impact if he did stomp on her with them!

http://www.crocs.com/home.jsp

As the proud, very arthritic, owner of my very own three pairs of Crocs, there is simply no other shoe that compares. Granted, mine are navy, black and brown, not orange, but I see the humor in owning an orange pair. They were recommended by my rheumatologist three years ago, God Bless Her and all those like her!

Mario is carrying a lot of weight around, and I can see why he would just love these shoes, having to be on his feet for long periods of time. They clean up easily as well, I have even tossed mine in the washing machine! The only problem I have with them, is that they seem to carry a lot of static electricity for some reason, and I have a white dog. Other than that, they are a blessing. If I have to spend any time at all on my feet, these are on my feet.

Don't knock 'em if you haven't tried them. I love my crocs, and my crocs love my poor old arthritic body.

Anne

(Edit to add) Very reasonably priced as well, and non skid to boot.

Edited January 20, 2006 by annecros (log)

[jturn00]

I saw the repeats last night. To attract a certain demigraphic they tried to choose judges who would appeal to a broad audience.

I don't know why in the original I don't get dizzy but here they kept jumping back and forth between competitors that I couldn't follow what they were doing. It was annoying.

I saw Flay on the original Iron Chef and he seems to always pull out his spice mixes and put it on everything. I liked how David Burke made some of his dishes compared to Flay.

[jesteinf]

I don't think having Jewel and that Insider lady on as judges is any worse than when on ICJ they would have a "lower house member", some actress, a baseball player and the psychic. This would roughly be the equivalent of ICA having Nancy Pelosi, Katie Holmes, Derek Jeter and Miss Cleo as judges. Wouldn't that be worse?

Edited to add: I guess my point is that I think we need to lighten up a bit. I don't think anyone's reputation is on the line here. I would hope that chef's appearing on the show take it as a given that the whole thing is somewhere between a WWF match and a Harlem Globetrotters game on the "honest competition" scale.

Edited January 20, 2006 by jesteinf (log)

[bourdain]

This horrifying idea of pairing real chefs with "personalities" was, of course, inevitable.

It will undoubtedly result in ICUSA's Best Ratings Ever. A sign of the times.

Next, they'll be pairing chef contenders with celebrity guests, sock-puppet sidekicks, cute kids.

[Leonard Kim]

For what it's worth, RR doesn't have any illusions about her being on the show:

I was really nervous; I'm not a chef," says Rachael. "I don't belong on 'Iron Chef.' To be asked was honor enough, but I really didn't want to do it. Then I thought about it and I said, 'You're so frightened of that show, why don't you give it a shot.

http://et.tv.yahoo.com/tv/13665/

[Daniel]

I would hope that chef's appearing on the show take it as a given that the whole thing is somewhere between a WWF match and a Harlem Globetrotters game on the "honest competition" scale.

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I doubt that the outcome of Iron Chef is fixed.. I also would like to think both chefs are there to win and take the competition seriously..

Edited January 20, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[jesteinf]

I'm not saying they're not trying their hardest. I'm also sure that they take it seriously. But I wouldn't think a loss would keep them up at night either.

[ivan]

If this ep gets the best ratings ever, it'll be more like Ironic Chef.

[ivan]

Then they can, you know, get some football guys on there and call it Gridiron Chef. Which would be doubly ironic because a gridiron is a cooking grate. Or they can have disabled chefs in wheelchairs and call it Ironsides Chef. Or a bunch of heavy metal guys and call it Iron Maiden Chef.

Don't think they haven't thought of all this.

[srhcb]

Next, they'll be pairing chef contenders with celebrity guests, sock-puppet sidekicks, cute kids.

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Okay, Bourdain with:

Laura Bush

Sherri Lewis' Lambchop

Any of the Welch's Grape Juice commercial kids

SB (Great Idea!)

[weinoo]

The woman in the center was indeed the editor of Food & Wine - Dana Cowin. I thought her comments had a bit of merit to them (not much, mind you, but a bit) - but perhpas she "rose" to the level of talent she was judging with!