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Those of you that watch foodnetwork tune into Iron Chef America, Sami is one of the judges this week! COOL!
It was a burboun(sp?) battle, she actually did a great job, sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Looked beautiful also. They ALWAYS rerun shows on the weekend, or sometime during the week but I know it will be on again this weekend.
Allison is on every show on t.v. that I can think of these days (well, a lot of them anyway). Love Iron Chef and Next Iron Chef too.
A little off here but this post got me to thinking.
Don and I take a cooking class at the Senior Center. It’s open to anyone 50+. They’ve been having 3 / 6 week sessions a year for the last 2 years and we’ve taken every one as well as become friends with the instructor, Chef Michael, and his wife Jeanne. Last Tuesday was the last class of the 3 sessions for this year and we had an Iron Chef competition for the final class. Michael got 4 people from the community who are involved with food somehow from being a chef at a local restaurant to enjoying cooking for family and friends. We were divided into 2 teams of 3 each and 1 on each team was appointed team leader (They separated Don and I and I was team leader for my team). We had a counter full of ingredients and each team was given 2 courses to prepare with no recipes. We had to do a side dish and dessert, Don’s team had appetizer and entree. We had to use a minimum of 4 ingredients and the secret ingredient in each dish. Secret ingredient was Plantains. All I remembered about them was they had to be cooked.
I was surprised everything actually turned out great. We used bread dough and pizza sauce with Plantains and other vegetable and seasonings to make an appetizer pizza and we had a graham cracker crust that we filled with instant vanilla pudding with mashed Plantains and ginger then topped with a mixture of cream cheese, marshmallow fluff and milk. Don’s team made fried Plantain patties with a cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, sour cream, blueberry, cherry and strawberry dip. The appetizer was a chicken stir fry with plantains.
Now if I could just be that creative at home.
We have to eat so it might as well be fun to cook – even if it’s just pork n’ beans in this economy or steak on the barbie! And so fun to try new recipes. The only reason I knew plantains had to be cooked is because I watch ELR (Everybody Loves Raymond) and they had an episode that talked about plantains. Both of your recipes sound yummy! Now for those of us who haven’t tried them…do they taste like bananas?
I can’t believe all the stuff you and hubby do. Good for you!
As for Sweeney, I think you’re right, Pammy, she IS on just about everything on TV. Hmmm, could she be related to DeeLan?
No, plantains don’t taste like bananas at all. They have kind of a tangy taste. Living in South Florida, they are very popular here. I can’t say I’m crazy about them but they are pretty decent fried and I had some in a restaurant that were mashed and sweeted with something and they were pretty good also.
My son and his family were here visiting this weekend and his wife had brought a bunch of bananas that he said were very green when they bought them and when they ripened, instead of turning yellow, they had gotten kind of a greenish-brown and looked just like plantains. He yelled from the kitchen, "Okay, who stole my bananas and replaced them with plantains?"
I love the next iron chef! Who do you want to win? I want a woman to win this year! I was shocked that chef Estes(sp?) got voted off, I thought it would be the indian woman. I like Chef Tio the best of the girls, then the hot guy from Texas, also the guy with the sort of Mohawk. not chef canora, forgeon(I have no idea how to spell his name). I dont think Ming Psi(sp?) will win.
Not really. Plantains have a thicker skin so you can’t peel them as easily as a banana and they’re a bit bitter until they’re cooked. You can fry them and season them and they are sweet but not as sweet as a banana but they are considered a vegetable. A little ginger and they’re excellent. You just have to make sure you don’t over cook them or they can get a bit tough and crispy. That made some of them hard when we wanted to mash them. You can also boil them then mash them to add to some dishes. And of course the team that made the appetizer cooked them, mashed them and made patties out of them and those were excellent.
send someone home…I like Chef Tio best also, she seems to be consistent and inovative with her food. I also don’t think Chef Ming will win even if he’s had his own cooking show for the last 15 or so years too – (PBS), but good cook. The guy with the Mohawk (can’t remember his name either) is great. I think the hot guy from Texas (big guy who looks like a linebacker but can cook like a ballerina is what Alton said), was on Chopped too but he didn’t win. But he can cook as well as look good. Forgeon is good too. Heck at this point it’s a toss up!
I dont remember Tex on chopped, I kind of do but not really. I think Chef Tio could win this if she keeps it up. I think she’s the best at this point. Forgeon is the mohawk guy, and Canora is the salt and pepper greasy pony tail guy. I’ll have to look online to see about Chopped. now I’m curious!
Did you watch the halloween episode of Chopped? I thought that long haired girl was so annoying, not funny at all. IMO. at least she calmed down a bit.
by the cooks mini-bios that they do as they are walking in to cook…I never knew or else never noticed that most chef’s have a ginormous ego – they are just all full of themselves…not just on the show Chopped but on the other cooking shows also…it’s all well and good to know that one is great in one’s career/calling/or profession but man-o-man some of these chef’s are like over the top! I usually root for the more humble person that the in your face personality.
Yes, I did watch the Halloween episode – amazing what they can do with ingrediants that don’t match, are weird and frankly plain ol’ yuckie!
yeah you’re so right about that one. There were a few on there that I couldnt stand. just from that little bio when they introduce themselves. I can usually tell now who’s not going to win whenever one of them sets an ingredient to the side and say they will get to it later, they usually never do and forget to put it in the dish. happened twice on the halloween episode I think, one in the first round, and then the one guy, he toasted tortillas in the oven and set them under the table while he did something else, he forgot it. He didnt get chopped and actually won, only becuase that older lady wrapped her tortillas on a cutting board that she cleaned raw chicken on.
did with the chicken – #2 no-no in a kitchen – #1 being wash your hands! Remember that other lady Aussie chef who got chopped for throwing the extra food on the floor instead of the garbage? And when the chefs cut themselves and then wear those clear bloody gloves – (I always say well, this show is aptly named). But then I’m a germaphobic when it comes to clean in the kitchen. I won’t use a wooden chopping block. I’m sure we’d all be hurling if we saw what really goes on in even the finest of restaurants or even our local hamburger dive or food processing plant. My mother worked as a bookkeeper in her forty’s in a food processing plant and to this day (she’s 83) she will not eat ketchup.
Her throwing food on the floor didnt bother me any, I worked in enough fast food to learn there’s always someone dropping something. I’ve dropped my fair share. The bloody gloves make me somewhat nervous. Not that much protection when you’re bleeding profusely. lol.
I worked in a banquet hall when I was in college. I remember my 1st night we were in the kitchen filling the bread baskets. The floor had pallets on them with slats so food and liquids could flow thru. I dropped a biscuit and it hit the pallet that we were standing and walking on and I was told to pick it up and put it in the basket. I was shocked and another waitress picked it up and put it in hers. I guess they don’t waste food and if the patron doesnt’ see it then it didn’t happen.
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