Iron Chef OOT 3/8-3/18

[StevieG]

<font color="green">Asparagus Tapas</font>

Here are what I considered to be the meatier, entree type tapas.

Lamb Chops in Asparagus Puree
Baked Eggplant and Asparagus with Spanish Mahon
Squid Stuffed with Asparagus with Lentils
Grilled Asparagus




Baked Eggplant and Asparagus with Spanish Mahon

2 baby eggplants
2 cups ripe tomato, chopped
1 cup asparagus tips
1 red cherry pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
2 T shredded Spanish Mahon cheese
1 galic clove, minced
1 T olive oil

So when I prepped some asparagus to be steamed and pureed for the liquid ravioli and the lamb dish, I reserved some of the tender tips for this dish. I salted the eggplant (essential to remove bitterness) and, separately, the tomato, and set them all aside for a while.



In a sauce pan, I sauted the garlic in the olive oil, then added the bay leaf, cherry pepper, and tomato. Soon after I threw in the eggplant, and let it all simmer. The tomato reduced completely to make a sauce, and the eggplant grew tender. Only after that did I add the asparagus, so that it would not get mushy.



I threw the mix into a couple of ramekins, topped with the cheese, and then baked at 350F for about 20 minutes.


Lamb Chops in Asparagus Puree

2 Lamb chops
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T pureed asparagus
rosemary sprigs
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 T chopped parsley
salt
pepper
red and yellow bell pepper for garnish

Season lamb chops with salt and pepper. Dress with olive oil and rub with rosemary sprigs. Grill until medium rare.

Mix asparagus puree with lemon juice and parsley. Cut small strips of bell pepper for garnish.


Squid Stuffed with Asparagus

3/4 lb squid, bodies and tentacles, cleaned
1/3 - 1/2 cup of diced asparagus
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T breadcrumbs
1 egg

For the lentils:
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 T diced carrot
1/4 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic
1 T olive oil

Cook the lentils in water. Add oil, oregano, garlic to pot. 15 minutes before they are done, add carrots. Rinse and plate.

Remove the fins from the body of the squid. For the stuffing, heat 1T olive oil and saute 1 minced garlic clove. Then cook tentacles and fins. Should only take a few minutes, else they will get rubbery. Let cool. Separately, saute 1 minced garlic clove in 1T olive oil. Mince cooked squid, then mix with asparagus, egg, and bread crumb to make stuffing.

Stuff squid bodies and close up with toothpick. Dress with remaining olive oil and garlic, then grill.


Grilled Asparagus

Real simple, I snapped off the bottom third of the asparagus, washed, let dry. Then dressed with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Then grilled. Probably my favorite way to prepare and enjoy asparagus, and it matched the rest of what I wanted to do.


Here is a shot of everything on the grill.

[Billy Bibbit]

I was planning on making both of my dishes tonight, but I decided that I wasn't hungry enough to eat both of them, so I just made the entree and I'll post the appetizer tomorrow.

Flank Steak with Spice Rub and Asparagus Salsa

1 1/2 pounds asparagus
1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 jalapeno pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1 small can tomato juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 lb flank steak
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp salt
olive oil

Steam the asparagus and mix all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl. Mix the spices in another bowl and rub the steak in the spices. Drizzle the steak with olive oil, and chill both the salsa and the steak for a few hours. Then saute the steak in olive oil and cut it into thin strips.

[CardSharpCook]

StevieG,

I am very impressed.

Gormiet,

This thread series might indeed be better suited to the El D forum, but it is nice to have it reach more potential contestants and admirers in OOT. Besides, it is "ICOOT".

All,

Given the unpopularity of the quickfire challenges, they will no longer be bi-weekly. We may randomly throw a quickfire challenge out there at any time, and I'll be sure to PM the usual suspects or possibly just post about it in the current ICOOT thread. Also, I am back from my most of my varied travels (still planning to go to the Final Four at the end of April and Cameroon in May) AND I'll be gaining a roommate next week. It is highly likely that I start participating as a contestant again.

[SamIAm]

Appetizer: <font color="green">Cream of Asparagus Soup</font>

2 lb Asparagus
1.5 Onion
3 T Butter
6 C Chicken broth
.5 C Heavy cream
.25 t lemon juice

Two pounds is a lot of asparagus. It's a shame I didn't get a shot of the other two pounds I got for the next couple dishes, because four pounds is even more. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]



Chop the asparagus loosely. It doesn't much matter the size, since we're going to be cooking and blending later.

Note the perty new Epicurean cutting board. It's about 50% bigger than my old standard board, and it's wonderful.



Sweat the onions in butter for five minutes. Add asparagus and salt &amp; pepper, and cook for five more minutes. Add broth.



Bring to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.

Move to a blender. If your blender isn't as big as mine, you'll have to do this in multiple loads.



Blend (Or puree or liquefy or mix or frappe or cream or beat) to taste. I actually probably didn't mush enough; there were a few too many strands for me.



It'll still be hot at this point, but if you're not serving right now, move back to the pot and bring back to heat.

At serving time, go back in time and save a few tips from the pre-chopped stage. Steam and top.

[SamIAm]

Side: <font color="green">Walnut Risotto w/ Asparagus</font>

1 T Walnut oil
.5 Onions
1.25 C Short-grain rice
5 C Chicken broth
.5 C White wine
.75 lb Asparagus
1/2 C Walnuts
2 T Parmesan cheese

Toast walnuts



Crush the nuts. I couldn't find the rolling pin, so used a pint glass.



This is walnut oil that I bought a while ago and hadn't found a fun use for yet.



Sweat the onion in the walnut oil.



Stir in the rice for a minute to coat, getting a little toasty.



Add the wine and let it cook off. Bring the broth to a simmer in another pot and add enough to barely cover. I admit to using canned broth in this one, because I didn't have enough for both the soup and the risotto, and I figured it'd be a bigger deal in the soup. (Sorry.)

After the broth soaks in for a while add a half-cup of broth. Repeat whenever the liquid cooks in.

Steam the asparagus and add it and the walnuts three quarters of the way through. (Photo shows recently added asparagus.)



Eventually the rice will absorb all the liquid. The colorchange isn't a property of the camera, it's the walnuts. Stir in the parm.



Top with a bit of extra nuts.

[SamIAm]

Entree: <font color="green">Asparagus &amp; Crab Quiche</font>

1.5 C Provolone
1 Onion
3/4 lb Asparagus
6 oz Crab
4 Eggs
1.5 C Milk
3 T Flour
pinch Salt
pinch Thyme
pinch Dry mustard
sprinkling Paprika

Make a crust by hand, roll it into a tube, and put it in a Pillsbury box in the freezer. Your guests will never know!

Thaw the crust and roll-out on a floured counter. I still couldn't find the rolling pin, so I used a another pint glass.



Mold into a pie-pan.



Take the sliced provolone and turn it into shredded provolone.



Line the bottom with cheese.



Sweat the onions, sautee the asparagus, add the crab.



Add above the cheese.



Mix the milk, eggs, flour, and sprinklings. The picture below is mid-mix.



Pour above custard on top. Sprinkle with paprika.



Bake for 45 minutes, or until done.

[SamIAm]

This was maybe the first time I served all the IC dishes together at one meal. My guests thought it was a little weird to have this Asparagus Party, but that's fine. Happy St.Patrick's day. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

By the way, when shopping, I also picked-up an Asparagus Pie for desert:



I also realized that I didn't mention adding the cream after blending; that's why it changed texture/color between pics. As I said above, I probably should have blended longer; it could have been smoother. Still, it tasted great.

The walnut rissoto might have been my favorite rissoto I've made. To be honest, though, I'd probably like it better without the asparagus. It was nice to have the lighter veggie mixed in, but next time I'll try it without. Also, if anybody has ideas on how to stop the walnuts from turning gray, I'd be eager to hear.

For the quiche, the provolone &amp; crab made for a very nice, subtle dish. I'm sorry I don't have any plating pics, because the texture turned out well. I took pics while cooking, but didn't get-out the camera while actually serving friends.

Anyway, I was happy with all three dishes. We were going out of town the next day, and my friends begged us to give them the leftovers. So my (biased) friends at least had nice things to say about the grub. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Billy Bibbit]

Please don't post the poll for a couple more hours, I promise I'll have my appetizer posted before I go to bed tonight.

[CardSharpCook]

Before making your selection, consider the following: (These are listed in order of importance.)
1. Which contestant made the best use of the Secret Ingredient?
2. Which cook did the best job with food preparation and plating?
3. Which dish would you most like to eat?



Gormiet
Appetizer:

Seared scallops with shaved asparagus and mixed green salad, with asparagus orange vinagrette.


Entree:

Asparagus stuffed chicken, with red pepper coulis and mushroom risotto.


StevieG

App Tapas: Cream of White Asparagus, Serrano Ham with Idiazabal Smoked Sheepsmilk Cheese, Wrapped With Asparagus Ribbon , Asparagus Liquid Ravioli


Entree Tapas:Lamb Chops in Asparagus Puree, Baked Eggplant and Asparagus with Spanish Mahon, Squid Stuffed with Asparagus with Lentils, Grilled Asparagus



SamIAm

Appetizer: Cream of Asparagus Soup


Entree: Asparagus &amp; Crab Quiche



Side: Walnut Risotto w/ Asparagus

[CardSharpCook]