<ur, three, two, one. Go!”
With the ‘go’ sign, the camera started rolling and Tom Weishan ’09 made a grand appearance, receiving applause from the spectators. Then, with a vicious bite off of a crispy apple (in place of a yellow pepper) and an over-exaggerated laughter, he almost perfectly emulated the opening of an Iron Chef show by Chairman Kaga. Last Saturday in the late afternoon, Culinary House’s dining room transformed into the kitchen stadium in Japan where the Iron Chef shows were shot. We did not have the same fancy stoves but the level of excitement and competitiveness between the participating chefs were almost equivalent if not higher.
“Welcome to Iron Chef Carleton Halloween Special,” said Tom, and the first annual Iron Chef Carleton for Halloween began. The two participanting teams, Team Rawhide and Team Sakai-High, consisted of three sophomores, Charlotte Muzzi ‘10, Bin Cochran ’10, Bea White ‘10, who found a common ground under their sophisticated palate and culinary creativity. On the other side, were three seniors, Dan Breitbach ’08, Peter Olds ’08, and Paul Caine ’08, with their finely tuned cooking experience from living off-campus and passion for good food as their weapons. The two teams, , were standing side by side waiting for our MC to introduce the ‘secret ingredient.’
Mike introduced the secret ingredient for the battle. The rule was to create three-course meal with this theme ingredient that was about to be revealed.
Considering the limited one and a half hour time, they were allowed to use pure pumpkin puree out of can. All the necessary ingredients and equipment were provided by Slow Food Carleton Convivium, the student organization that promotes the pleasure of food and diverse culinary cultures.
Both teams ran into their kitchen, one on the first floor and the other upstairs. Being Carleton students, both team members were well aware of ‘the power of thinking.’ They got together brainstorming and planning before jumping into action directly.
The aroma of seasame oil and
“10 minutes left.”
The clock was ticking.
The four judges sat down at the large table in the dining room, prepared to sample each dish and provide brilliant criticism and opinion.
Pumpkin soup with hint of artichoke heart and apple flavors was served with frittata bread. Asian lettuce wrap with curry-seasoned pumpkin filling accompanied with pumpkin naan Mini pumpkin soufflé topped with whipped cream and chocolate savings and garnished with fresh raspberry and apple wedges-these were just some of the delicious entries into the competition.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 small white onion, chopped
1 1/2 red apple, peeled and chopped
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
1 artichoke
1 small can, pure pumpkin puree
1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
2 baby green onions
1/2 cup ginger&garlic paste (or fresh minced ginger and garlic)
2 cans vegetable broth
Directions:
1. Slowly sauté the white and green onions, and carrots in the oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Once cooked, add apples and soften. When apples are soft, add the broth, pumpkin and giner & garlic paste.
3. Meanwhile, steam the artichoke. When artichoke heart is soft, remove heart and chop it. Add it to soup broth.
4. Bring the soup to slight boil. Using a blender or a CuisineArt, obtain smooth texture.
5. Serve it warm with Pumpkin Naan.
Pumpkin Naan
Directions:
1. Mix flour, water and pumpkin puree in a bowl with 2:1:1 ratio.
2. add masala garam, tikka, chana to the mixture
3. knead the batter as adding flour when appropriate
4. Roll out thinly and pan-fry on both sides.
5. cut it into slices and serve.