Iron Chef Peanut Recap
Yes, I know. It’s taken me an eternity to write this post. Or two weeks. But it feels like an eternity. So like I said earlier, Jill and Ryan hosted the February edition of our Iron Chef dinner series two Fridays ago. Peanuts were the “secret ingredient”—although I’ll let you in on a little secret: the “secret ingredient” is actually no secret, as we all come to a consensus on an ingredient at the previous month’s dinner. But still, I insist upon using the word “secret.” It makes me feel all official and sleuth-like. 
Now peanuts might seem like an easy ingredient to the untrained Iron Chef—I mean there’s countless recipe options that incorporate peanuts, right? But therein lies the challenge. It could be argued that there are simply too many options and recipes from which to choose. And as I recently learned during a presentation by behavioral economist Dan Ariely (author of Predictably Irrational), too many options overwhelm people (I believe Ariely actually used the word “bamboozle”). But luckily, my friends are not easily bamboozled. 
Consensus among the group was that this was one of our best Iron Chef dinners yet. There was a lot of harmony among the dishes—they all played together very nicely with complementing flavors and textures. Certainly it helped that most of the dishes were of Thai origin. Following is a list of all contributed dishes:
African Peanut Butter Stew
Candy Circus Peanuts
Iso Peanuts
Peanut Bacon Brittle
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Spicy Peanut Soup
Thai Chicken Salad with Pita Bread
Thai Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce (over a bed of rice noodles)

And if that spread doesn’t make your mouth salivate, I’m not sure what will. The dinner was fabulous. My personal favorites were the Thai Chicken Satay Skewers (with three varieties of dipping sauces) and the Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, both of which Jill contributed. Sometimes I think the host has the upper hand with access to an oven and the ability to avoid transportation challenges, but Jill clearly deserved top honors. Especially with those three dipping sauces—when she named off about twenty ingredients in each, I was impressed.
Lauren also introduced our new mascot (see picture, above). She recently received the “iron” knife and fork set as a gift from one of her clients (Lauren owns a personal training gym). Obviously it’s the perfect match for our dinner series. We’ll have to figure out a way to incorporate the set into the mix.
So what’s up for next month? Instead of a single ingredient for March, we’ve decided to switch it up in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. So Matt and Julie will be hosting an Irish-themed dinner. I’m guessing we’ll have some Irish soda bread, corn beef and cabbage, dumpling stew, and maybe a little green food coloring. It’s time to get in touch with my Irish heritage!





















Roasted Clementine and Chocolate Tart with a Macadamia Nut Crust




You know how sometimes you can live in the same town as your closest friends and rarely seem them? Or how it becomes so easy to make the same tired dish and rarely step out of your culinary comfort zone? It may seem silly or insignificant to some, but one of my proudest accomplishments of 2009 was establishing the monthly iron chef dinner series among my closest friends in Madison. Each month I look forward to a new ingredient, unique culinary challenges, and most importantly, the opportunity to eat and catch up with my best friends.


Earlier this week, I purchased 15 pounds of clementines in preparation for tonight’s Iron Chef dinner. Turns out I overestimated. By a lot. In fact, I may be eating Clementines for the rest of the year.
Preparations are in full swing for Friday’s Iron Chef dinner. This month’s theme ingredient is clementine.
If the longevity of your guests is any indication of the success of your party, then Matt and Julie threw one hell of a dinner party. This month’s iron chef dinner featured the theme “fondue and spirits.” Those of us who own fondue pots dived up responsibilities for cheese fondue, oil fondue (shrimp, chicken, and beef), and chocolate dessert fondue. Julie instructed everyone else to bring a side dish that incorporated “spirits.” The dishes ranged from bourbon meatballs to Kahlua cake to beer bread. And as if anticipating a slightly more wild affair, Julie moved our usual weekday dinner party to a Friday night—effectively alleviating us from all “school night” responsibilities.

My contribution to the dinner party was chocolate fondue. I used a 

The party began at 6pm. I was the first guest to arrive. The table was set immaculately and the house looked festive and full of holiday cheer. Julie immediately offered me a class of “Mrs. Claus’ Wildside Punch,” a lethal concoction she had mixed using 3/4 liters X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, 3/4 liter Cabo Wabo Blaco Tequila, 3/4 liters pomegranate juice, and 3/4 liters cranberry juice. I gladly accepted. As the remaining guests streamed in, we set to work preparing fondue pots, mixing final ingredients, and preparing drinks.


Last week’s Iron Chef Dinner at Ryan and Jill’s house was fabulous. As I previously mentioned, this month’s “secret ingredient” was squash. There was a bit of debate when we first came up with the idea of squash—like should we include all varieties, or just pick one? Ultimately we decided to be inclusive and leave the theme open to interpretation. By default, however, almost everyone chose butternut squash. Go figure. 