eG Foodblog: Ling & HhLodesign - The cool kids at Belltown Lofts

[Abra]

I stopped by to drop off a little chocolate, and wowsers, there were peaches all over the place. Peaches in places you would never actually expect to see a peach. I was allowed to have one perfect, enormous peach all for myself, and oh my god, it was the best peach I've had all summer. Maybe in two summers.

And yes, it was really hot in the kitchen. I stayed out of the fray and went over the the City Kitchens huge annual sale, where I bought myself a Ken Onion Shun knife for the spectacular price of $145. That is a very sexy knife, I have to admit, and I'm not even a major knife freak. I'll bet it could shave the fuzz off a peach, easy as pie. Drool here.

[Ling]

The scores are so close...we keep re-adding the scores and our math must be really bad, because one minute Henry wins, and the next, I win.

[little ms foodie]

henry we are eating the rest of your blue cheese cheesecake right now, wow it gets a bit stronger with a day or two!

[ruthcooks]

Last week a "baby blog" and this week a "sweethearts blog." What fun!

I missed the forum for two days, but my vote would have been for peaches, too.

[Ling]

We began our day with a trip to the market; here are some pictures:

We bought a tomato to have with lunch.

We got a flat of these for our Iron Chef battle

We bought some meat here...

Sur la Table:

We had a sandwich at Le Panier, and a peach and brie brioche from Belle's Buns. The brioche was excellent!

Lunch pics:

The brioche was excellent! (OK I had to say it again because I really did think it was superb.)

Here's a peach I poached and peeled. Isn't it gorgeous? I was eating peaches, ice-cream and pork all afternoon. I ate more food in the last 8 hours than some people eat in 2 days, I bet.

Edited August 29, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

So now's your turn to vote for your Iron Chef.

Please give each chef an overall score out of 10 (for presentation and originality), considering all 3 plates in your score.

We'll keep the voting open until tomorrow midnight (PST), and then we'll tell you which chef reigned supreme.

Iron Chef #1

Peach gastrique, avocado cream, Stilton biscuit

Pork ribs braised in peach lambic beer, pickled peach chutney, gorgonzola polenta

Curry caramel peach tartlets with mint ice-cream

Iron Chef #2

Summer sweet corn soup with peach "foie gras"

Pulled pork sandwich with Peach BBQ Sauce (pureed peaches, crushed tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and peach preserves) and zucchini, red pepper, and peach slaw on grilled potato rolls

Deconstructed Bellini (prosecco snow on peach puree)

Happy voting!

Edited August 29, 2006 by Ling (log)

[hhlodesign]

And so it begins:

We returned from the market with a flat of Holy Shit Peaches (15 in all.) They were ripe, sweet, and gorgeous!

We thought we would have to time do some prep work, then I could do some archtiecture work while Lorna went to the gym. That did not happen. We prepped and cooked from 2pm until the guests left a few minutes ago (10pm PST.) I don't know how chefs do it. It's exhausting work.

We were actually so busy trying to get things done, we forgot to take many cooking photos. Sorry!

Peach BBQ sauce

Crushed Ginger Altoids

Coated on scored peach slices

Peach "foie gras"

The Judges

The Chef/ Owner of Mistral, William Belickis (Lower House Member)

The Chef De Cuisine of Mistral, Charles Walpole (Rosangin Scholar)

The Pastry Chef of The Barking Frog, Melissa Walpole (Fortune Teller)

Mardi Brekke (giggly Japanese actress)

Dion Hutchings (Jeffrey Steingarten)

The latter two are both friends and reisidents of the Belltown Lofts.

I think we have a "Russian Judge" on our hands!

The judging was VERY close so your votes will definitely matter.

Edited August 29, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[Ling]

If a cute little bird already gave me the inside scoop on who made what, should I do the honourable thing and not vote??  Even if I have neither seen the pics nor tasted the dishes?  Or should I wear my Team ----- T-shirt? 

←

I know your taste in food...just go with your gut instinct.

[malarkey]

HMMMM kinda hard to vote without tasting..

but since we're only voting on presentation and originality, I'm going to give the edge to Iron Chef #1 with 9 points.

Iron Chef #2 gets 8 points, because I think the peach "foie gras" with crushed ginger altoids is highly inventive.

Can we also guess identities?

Iron Chef #1 = Lorna

Iron Chef #2 = Henry

[worm@work]

I give Iron Chef #1 - 9 points and Iron Chef #2 - 7 points. I like the starters from both chefs equally (the peach "foie gras" is indeed very innovative) and both sound equally tasty as well (I love the contrast in textures & flavors in the "Peach gastrique, avocado cream, Stilton biscuit" dish. The braised pork makes me glad I'm shedding my vegetarianism and looks totally like something I want to be eating someday! The clincher, however, was the dessert. I'm rather traditional when it comes to desserts and somehow a dessert with foam just doesn't do much for me, especially when compared to a gorgeous caramel tart served w/ homemade ice-cream!

I agree with malarkey's guess reg. identities. That tart looks like a Ling creation to me.. either that, or Henry's a really good learner .

-w@w

[Ling]

Iron Chef #2 gets 8 points, because I think the peach "foie gras" with crushed ginger altoids is highly inventive.

←

Yes, highly inventive...of Ferran Adria!

Edited August 29, 2006 by Ling (log)

[mizducky]

HMMMM kinda hard to vote without tasting..

but since we're only voting on presentation and originality, I'm going to give the edge to Iron Chef #1 with 9 points.

Iron Chef #2 gets 8 points, because I think the peach "foie gras" with crushed ginger altoids is highly inventive.

Can we also guess identities?

Iron Chef #1 = Lorna

Iron Chef #2 = Henry

←

What malarky said. Right down the line.

I give the same scoring--#1 gets 9 points, #2 gets 8 (yep, I'm one of those annoying people who almost never gives out perfect 10s, because, well, just because. ).

I give #1 the win because I find the presentations all have the slight edge in the attractiveness department--though #2 gets major inventiveness strokes not only for the faux foie but also for the deconstructed bellini. Chef #1's main, however, IMO has the edge on #2's main--I just love the colors! And the peach lambic braise sounds really lovely. Plus overall, while I'm sure I'd enjoy both meals, I think I'd enjoy #1's meal slightly more.

And I too guess that #1 is Lorna (look at that lovely tart!), and #2 is Henry (who, from his blog, I would expect to be more likely to do inventive-chef touches like the peach foie and the bellini).

[Dave Hatfield]

JUST PEACHY

[petite tête de chou]

Iron Chef #2. Summer in bowl and on plate. Nicer than nice. Peachy keen, even.

[sanrensho]

Do we have to give out scores? I pick Iron Chef #1. The avocado cream pretty much had me and the tartlet w/mint ice-cream sealed the deal. I'm guessing that Lorna is behind Curtain No. 1.

[Pan]

I'm not sure how qualified I am to judge this competition, but you've thrown it open to all of us, so what the hell? I apologize in advance if anything I say in this post constitutes talking out my ass!

Chef #1: The Peach gastrique, avocado cream, Stilton biscuit is beautiful!

The pork ribs look really tasty, but the presentation could be neater somehow, like if the chutney were put in the middle or something.

I like the dessert, but for presentation purposes, the ice cream could have been smoothed out.

Chef #2: The soup and dessert both have a sort of Zen simplicity to their appearance.

The sandwich is not as neat a presentation, though I would imagine it would be very hard to make an overstuffed sandwich look really neat.

I think I'm going to give 8 points to Chef #1 and 9 points to Chef #2. I won't guess who is which, but I wonder whether Chef #2 is Henry, because the Zen sensibility seems to me to go along with his architectural aesthetics.

[bleudauvergne]

Very hard to judge without tasting.

First course: Very close. Edge goes to chef 2 for simplicity and visual impact although the whole idea of that avocado with the stilton biscuit looks very good too.

Second course: A tie.

Third course: I'm going to have to lean to chef 1 on that one. Gorgeous.

It looks like a tie.

[Swisskaese]

Both of the menus looked very good, eventhough I wouldn't have been able to eat the pork dishes . However, I am not a fan of foam; I don't like the way it feels in my mouth. So, Henry, I am sorry, but my vote goes to Lorna.

Menu #1: 8 points

Menu #2: 7 points

I would love the recipes for the Gorganzola Polenta and the Caramel Curry Peach tart.

Edited August 29, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Nina C.]

I'm trying hard not to be influenced by the avocado cream with stilton biscuit.

Overall, beautiful, interesting, mouthwatering! I am impressed and inspired.

I give Iron Chef #1 8 points. He/she lost points for plating on the main, and for the way the texture of the ice cream looked.

I give Iron Chef #2 6 points. I wanted there to be something else on the plate with the sandwich, to balance out the plate. And while the deconstructed bellini might taste good, that's a drink, not a dessert! We with sweet tooths know better. I'm a little skeptical about the sweetness of the peach + altoids + sweet summer corn - let us know after the competition is over how it worked!

Thanks you guys for doing this! how fun.

[I_call_the_duck]

Holy Peaches, Batman! That was amazing. Hey, how did Jeffrey Steingarten get in there? I was hoping for the persnickety food critic.

So yes, I could also tell who’s dish was who’s.

I think IC#2 has a slight lead for originality, specifically that peach foie gras. I’m a sucker for foie. Did I read correctly? Ginger ALTOIDS?

IC#1 gets more points for presentation. Each dish had a nice symmetry going. (IC#1, for the ice cream, did you steep the mint and then puree some into your base? What type of mint did you use?) But I think IC#1’s dishes were more complex and well thought out.

This is hard. Not wanting to insult either of you, I’d be happy to eat any of those dishes, but since we have to vote, here goes.

My scores are:

Iron Chef #1 (Lorna) – 9 points

Iron Chef #2 (Henry) – 7 points

[Daniel]

I am going to have to give Iron Chef #1 (Ling), a 2 point advantage.. I will give Chef #1 a 9 and Chef #2 a 7..

Course#1

I thought you were both pretty even on the first dish.. In terms of creativity and presentation.. Although #1 seems to be a little more intricate #2 dish was very creative..

Course#2

I think #2 lossed points with presentation with having just a sandwich.. Pork and peaches is a great combo and both ways sounds reallly good..

Course #3

I again have to give #1 the upper hand with presenting.. I think the little spoon looks lonely out there.. It would be a great amuse or palate cleanser, but as a dessert I would be left unsatisfied..

Great job the both of you.. Such creativity and talent.. This is a great blog..

Edited August 29, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[tighe]

Tough choice, but I'm going with:

IC #1: 8 points

IC #2: 7 points

You're both getting marked down for a lack of foam and gelee!

[racheld]

There's WAY too much beautiful to take in before I've had all my caffeine.

The first courses are a definite tie, just perfect renditions of what they ARE. (Just where DOES one purchase an Altoid-Crusher? I can hear wedding registries sitting up and taking notice from here to California).

Dessert definitely goes to Chef #1---personal taste, only---I'm not a foam person, and the tart is just outrageous. The ice cream could have been served in a puddle, and the tart would stand out on its own.

So it comes down to the Course #2 to decide, and damn the torpedoes re that lonely sandwich. SOMEBODY knew how to serve pulled pork: SLAW ON!!!

Pulled pork sandwich . . .slaw on grilled potato rolls

←

So that makes my vote a definite: Tie. Happy tie.

Great job, you guys. Handshakes and bows all round.

[MarketStEl]

First, my votes and comments. Next, a post about local food markets.

I wish I could have tasted all of these--I suspect that if that were factored in, my vote might have tipped in the other direction.

But since we're going on presentation alone, I gotta give the nod to Iron Chef #1 by one point (9-8).

Both the first courses were nicely presented, and I too liked the peach "foie gras" -- maybe we should suggest this item to some Chicago restaurateurs? -- but the play of color and texture in #1's opener was a little more striking visually.

And yes, the fact that #2's main was a sandwich immediately puts him at a disadvantage in the presentation department, though he did a very good job of overcoming that disadvantage with his colorful topping. I'd say the mains were actually a tie.

Maybe it's just me, but little blobs of foam or gel look to me like they belong in my bathroom rather than on my plate. That said, there is a certain elegance in the rather simple presentation of that deconstructed dessert. But once again, I go for the interplay of colors and textures.

[BryanZ]

#1: 8

#2: 7

As others have mentioned, #2 seemed more creative but #1 had greater overall impact.