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Backyard Iron Chef


Chris Cognac

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OK..this backyard Iron Chef thing might work...We could do a west coast and east coast event on the same night...with 1 or 2 people on each coast as "chairman" and deciding on the theme ingredient (which would be the same on both coasts and remain secret) then have a tasting panel in the backyards, then post photos on e gullet and let the collective e gullet community vote.....hhhmmmm..Maybe this could work...I think I might need to make some calls! I could totally do a story on this..what a blast....my house is kinda messy cause my 2 demons (3 and 7 yr old boys) and my back lawn is dead....but....I still might want to do it,unless of course someone else has a better place in socal...

This might be worth a new thread!

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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But who is going to stock the pantries? You would have to devise an ingredient list to maintain fairness between venues. Even then, you run into problems. The west coast usually gets fruits and veggies before they hit the east coast. Certain items just don't transport. This pretty much leaves you with a lot of canned goods. Then it's Semi Home Made.

And what about Texas? Somebody's going to grumble about Texas and Chicago, not being on either coast.

Don't get me wrong, I think this would be a cool idea. But I'm a devil's advocate in my day job. I get paid to worry about stuff so no one else has to. It's a gift.

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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Why can't there be more than two battles? Any region that can put together a team is in.

We pick a theme ingredient that is the same for all battles. The pantries can then be stocked similarly, if not perfectly the same. $50 spent on veggies, $30 spent on condiments, everyone has homemade stock on hand, uses kosher salt, etc. Or everyone has 4 kinds of veggies, 4 condiments, etc.

It would be interesting to see what is available in each region at the same time of year. If we wait until summer the veggie and fruit selection will be better in North America and most of Europe.

Documenting would be easy with digital pics.

I volunteer to sit on the DC panel :biggrin:

True Heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,

but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. -Arthur Ashe

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I agree, as long as a geographic area could field a "team" they could compete...I think that 4 local judges and then save the last "judge" as the collective e gullet vote within 24 hrs..then come up with the winners....you must remember this would be a "fun" thing and could not get to serious or else ego's could get hurt...My editor already ok'd me to use the paper as an pulpit to announce this if we can do it...I have another bigger idea but I will wait to gauge the interest to see if we could do that. It would be a blast...each region could stock local ingredients and feature them in the dishes....Texas could do a chili thing, California could do wine, new jersey could feature....no, I cant say it...anyway it could work and would be a fun intro into Iron Chef on food TV.

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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This could be a lot of fun, if we could get the rules ironed out and as simplified as possible. I live in South Carolina. Is anyone else interested?

Martinis don't come from vodka and bacon don't come from turkeys!

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How about focusing on a particular item (burgers, pizza, chili, whatever) that uses regional styles and ingredients instead of just one ingredient.

This will probably take longer than you think to get organized so there should be plenty of time for our more northern brethren to dig out of their snowbanks. :biggrin:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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Any other upsate NY'ers interested (or downstaters willing to travel)?

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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We are slowly and methodically loosing our frozen turndra. My cookers are in the extreme background still covered with blue tarps.

I shoot for May 15th to have the cement pond open, but the hot tub is always a comforting 102ºf.

I've ordered 20 bags of lump charcoal to be delivered this week.

Sweet smoke, will shortly fill the Hudson Valley air.

i4407.jpg

woodburner

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Wow...tree's...its been a while since I have seen some like that...you backyard sure beats my brown grass and view of the Toyota corp HQ parking lot!

OK, so there are a few of us interested...So, I feel that each region can/should cook dishes using as much of the local stuff as you can...We should keep the secret ingredient pretty simple so it could be used by all teams.

Each team could have the "event" and have a little shindig at the same time, which would make it all the more fun.

I dont think we could stick to 60 mins, so 90 mins would be better. I also feel that we should not be limited to grill's but should be able to use any method we choose...deep fry, smoke, pan fry, boil etc...

We can come up with a list of possible theme ingredients and post it on e gullet around the time of the battle...then the "chairman" of each kitchen staduim will get together via e mail and agree on the theme....

Man this could be a great intro into summer!

I think that each team should include at least 3 people plus a "chairman"..that should be easy to do...

So, lets discuss it and see where we can get teams...

So far we have my team here in Los Angeles, and are looking into NY and South Carolina...come on...Texas....NYC....Napa...where you at?...Do you except the challenge!

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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I can host a Boston area Iron Chef. We started off our BBQ season with a grilling contest in my back yard on February 28.

Jim

Snowshoe Challenge

from the looks of the snowshoe challenge, you have got a head start in this type of thing...if we could pull this off, I think it might be the first of its kind and I know my editor will give it a push in the paper...we have to make sure we all take good pics so we can print them...I really do think this sort of thing would express the spirit of e gullet quite well dont you think...and how else but e gullet could something like this get organized?

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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And what about Texas? Somebody's going to grumble about Texas and Chicago, not being on either coast.

If you use the East and West Coasts of the Mississippi River as your benchmark, Texas and Chicago are on different coasts. Viewed in this way, California, etc., are on the East Coast of the Pacific Ocean and NY, MA, , etc., are on the West Coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

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from the looks of the snowshoe challenge, you have got a head start in this type of thing...if we could pull this off, I think it might be the first of its kind and I know my editor will give it a push in the paper...we have to make sure we all take good pics so we can print them...I really do think this sort of thing would express the spirit of e gullet quite well dont you think...and how else but e gullet could something like this get organized?

How do people see this working? It could be a single team from each region, or regional contests composed of many teams leading up to a national championship contest. It is early enough in the New England BBQ season that I could add an Iron Chef category to one of our contests. We have done this a few times in the past and it has worked well.

Jim

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from the looks of the snowshoe challenge, you have got a head start in this type of thing...if we could pull this off, I think it might be the first of its kind and I know my editor will give it a push in the paper...we have to make sure we all take good pics so we can print them...I really do think this sort of thing would express the spirit of e gullet quite well dont you think...and how else but e gullet could something like this get organized?

How do people see this working? It could be a single team from each region, or regional contests composed of many teams leading up to a national championship contest. It is early enough in the New England BBQ season that I could add an Iron Chef category to one of our contests. We have done this a few times in the past and it has worked well.

Jim

I think we should just let people form the teams and see where they end up being from, hopefully we can get a cross section of america, it does not have to be a east/west thing...as long as we get a few teams we should be ok....

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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Sounds good Chris. All we need is a few more citizens. Did you say we could cook inside or out (either or both)?

Martinis don't come from vodka and bacon don't come from turkeys!

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Outside would be great, but then I live in southern california and only own 1 pair of long pants!. i think that the time off year will make a big difference too....maybe if we shot for late may or june it would be nice all over the country....I think...We should try to get the local media involved as well as it could be a neat news story and maybe get some good PR for e gullet and what people can do via the net!

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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i think that the time off year will make a big difference too....

Not to throw a wrench into this but...

I know it's early in the planning stages, but do you know if any eGulleteers from outside the US have expressed interest in this given that eGullet has a world-wide membership? I'd hate to see this made into a US-centric competition if it doesn't have to be. I know there are a number of Canadians, Brits, Aussies, etc, on the board.

And if there is an Aussie contingent they'd be in the dead of their Winter come June.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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I feel like I missed something. What exactly do you mean by backyard Iron Chef? Is all the cooking done outdoors? Was there another thread on this that I missed? If I have a better idea of what it's about, I "might" be able to approach my alleged spouse about having it here. :huh:

Deb

Liberty, MO

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I feel like I missed something. What exactly do you mean by backyard Iron Chef? Is all the cooking done outdoors? Was there another thread on this that I missed? If I have a better idea of what it's about, I "might" be able to approach my alleged spouse about having it here. :huh:

This is an offfshoot from the questions for Iron Chef thread...We are trying to put together a "backyard" Iron Chef event where we have teams from all over the country via e gullet compete on the same night, using the same secret ingredient and post the results on the forum for people to judge..It would be pretty fun to see what the teams from different regions come up with using local produce and techniques...it does not have to be totally in the backyard..I think it would be pretty cool and a fun party for all the teams to have at the same time! Maybe I should re post under a new thread title so people would understand it more..

Moo, Cluck, Oink.....they all taste good!

The Hungry Detective

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All sorts of variations on the theme are possible: tailgate iron chef where the contestants put everything they think they will need into the back of their vehicles and converge on a spot where the secret ingredient is provided; pressure cooker iron chef where a presure cooker is used on the secret ingredient; cast iron chef, etc.

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We are slowly and methodically loosing our frozen turndra. My cookers are in the extreme background still covered with blue tarps.

I shoot for May 15th to have the cement pond open, but the hot tub is always a comforting 102ºf.

I've ordered 20 bags of lump charcoal to be delivered this week.

Sweet smoke, will shortly fill the Hudson Valley air.

i4407.jpg

woodburner

can i come and play with you guys - since new jersey doesn't seem to be getting it together?

i can bring fudgy bourbon brownies and winners circle pie with bourbon whipped cream. or stuffed shrooms and chicken liver pate.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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