madcity girl

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!

As I mentioned previously, one of my contributions to this month’s Iron Chef dinner was Peanut Bacon Brittle. Inspired by the recent Milwaukee Journal Bacon Bake-Off, I decided to use one of the winning recipes that incorporates both peanuts and bacon (bonus!). Interestingly, the brittle was a big hit with the guys at the party. They were digging into “dessert” before dinner even began. I’m not sure if it was the bacon, or the combination of sweet and savory, but nearly the whole batch was finished before I left the party. Although the brittle was a little chewy for my tastes, the bacon added a nice flavor punch. Guaranteed to be the hit of your next dinner party!

1 pound bacon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped peanuts

Grease or butter a large nonstick cookie sheet.

In a skillet, fry bacon until crisp and crumble into small bits.

In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to a boil. Make sure to heat and stir until lumps dissolve.

Using a candy thermometer, increase heat to high, and cook without stirring until mixture reaches 290 degrees.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter, vanilla, baking soda, salt, peanuts, and bacon bits. Mixture may foam up. When it stops foaming, pour the hot mixture onto prepared baking sheet as thinly as possible. Use a silicone spatula or a buttered spatula to spread.

Allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Break into chunks. Keep refrigerated.

Note: if using salted peanuts, omit the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Makes 1 pound.

Tonight is the February Iron Chef Dinner. My friends Ryan and Jill are hosting. By now, I think you know the routine—it’s a monthly dinner party with a chosen theme ingredient and everyone brings a dish that incorporates that ingredient. It’s like a potluck with a challenge. Past theme ingredients have included tomatoes, clementines, spirits, corn, squash, apples, cherries, strawberries, and basil. At last month’s event, Julie suggested “peanuts” for February. Unlike last month (clementines), there are a plethora of recipes from which to choose that involve peanuts. It didn’t take long for me to come up with a few recipes. Here is a preview of my contributions for the night.

(L-R: Peanut Bacon Brittle, African Peanut Butter Stew, and Candy Circus Peanuts)

It should be interesting to see what everyone comes up with tonight. Certainly the ingredient “peanuts” can be taken in any number of different directions. We should have a pretty diverse spread. I’m very excited! As always, pictures and recipes will follow.

Roasted Clementine and Chocolate Tart with a Macadamia Nut Crust
From In the Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker’s Companion, by Regan Daley

One of the recipes I used for last week’s iron chef dinner came from a new cookbook my brother gave me for Christmas. It’s called In the Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker’s Companion. The book is cholkfull of helpful baking tips and countless recipes for sweet treats. I spent some time during the holidays leisurely leafing through the recipes. With the clementine iron chef dinner on the horizon, I was of course very excited to stumble upon a recipe for Roasted Clementine Tart.

This recipe was certainly the most time intensive of those I chose to make for the iron chef dinner, but it was one of my favorites. I loved the combination of chocolate and orange. The chocolate ganache was sinfully rich and creamy, and the macadamia nut crust only sealed the deal. This is a great recipe for the fleeting Clementine season. Enjoy!

Macadamia Nut Crust:
1 (10 1/2-or 11-inch) Rich Nut tart shell, pg. 657, made with macadamia nuts, pre-baked and cooled (let me know if you’d like the crust recipe. You can also search for it pretty easily online.)

Roasted Clementines:
10 medium-sized clementine oranges (also called mandarins), washed and dried, but not peeled
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 to 2 tbsp. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur, optional
3 tbsp. plus 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream (36%)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. With a sharp knife slice the clementines crosswise into very thin rounds, discarding the stem and flower ends. Lay the slices overlapping in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Pour the orange juice and Grand Marnier over the clementines and sprinkle them with 3 tbsp. brown sugar. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast in the center of the oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the peels are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

2. Increase the temperature to 375 degrees. Uncover the dish and sprinkle with clementines with the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes, or until the liquid has become syrupy and the oranges have begun to caramelize. Lightly cover the baking dish and allow the clementines to cool to a room temperature. (may be prepared up to 3 days in advance and stored, well covered, at room temperature.)

3. To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl. Bring the cream just to the simmer over medium-high heat, watching closely to see that it does not boil. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until thoroughly combined. Allow the ganache to cool until it has the consistency of a soft icing, then spread it evenly over the bottom of the tart shell.

4. Once the start shell has been lined with the ganache, lay the clementine slices over the chocolate in an overlapping circular pattern. Scrape the syrup from the bottom of the baking dish with a rubber spatula and spoon this liquid over the clementines. The finished tart may be assembled up to 1 day before serving and stored, lightly covered, at room temperature.

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.

I think everyone would agree that Clementine proved to be a particularly challenging ingredient this month. I had quickly discovered during my own search that there were only so many Clementine recipes from which to chose. And for the first time in a while, we actually had some duplicate entries (oh, wait. I think I brought that same Clementine torte! Did your recipe include 6 eggs?). But luckily, one can never have too many Clementine tortes…

I’m happy to report that my friends entirely rose to the Clementine challenge. Even Matt, who if you remember from a previous post, had an unfortunately debacle with a marmalade recipe, went at it again. Matt explained to me that there was no way he was going be defeated by a little marmalade recipe. Luckily, the second time was a success for Matt.

Our entries displayed great range—there was marmalade, cous cous, quinoa, chicken paillards, two tortes, and a tart (not to mention several orange-themed beverages). Following are the full slate of entries (with links whenever applicable).

Quinoa with Clementines, Green Peppers, and Black Beans
Couscous with Clementines, Chickpeas, Olives, and Dates (x2)
Chicken Paillards with Clementine Salsa
Clementine Marmalade
Roasted Clementine Chocolate Tart with Macadamia Nut Crust
Clementine Torte (x2)

Even Brodie (my friend who recently severed his finger with a table saw) made an appearance—albeit quite medicated and completely unlike himself. Without Brodie’s trademark personality, we weren’t quite the rowdy group that came to light during December’s iron chef dinner, but we still ate well and had fun.

Although the culinary prowess displayed was truly admirable, I’m going to go off on a limb here and say that not one entry completely “wowed” me this month. Everything was good. I might even make a few of the dishes again. But quite honestly, nothing really knocked my socks off. And perhaps Clementines just don’t lend themselves to “knock your socks off” kind of dishes. Who knows.

Julie called next month’s ingredient. Peanuts. We all happily agreed. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m looking forward to an ingredient where there will be more than enough recipes to go around.

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. 

The reason I bought out the grocery store was because I decided to contribute not just one, but three dishes to mix:

• Chicken  Paillards with Clementine
• Couscous with Clementines, Chickpeas, Olives, and Dates
• Roasted Clementine Chocolate Tart with Macadamia Nut Crust

Because, really, how could I pick just one?

I finished assembling the tart last night—I have high hopes for the clementine/chocolate ganache combination. Last night I also completed the prep work for the other two dishes and will finish those later this afternoon. From what I’ve heard so far, my friends and I found Clementines to be a challenging Iron Chef  ingredient (clearly evidenced by my last post). There’s not an overwhelming amount of recipes from which to choose, they can be difficult to work with (in terms of peeling and handling the flesh), and the taste of Clementines seem range from very sweet to almost bitter—which can greatly effect flavor. But I’m confident we’ll rise to the challenge. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.

So other than finishing my last two entries, I’m pretty much ready to go. RSVPs have been received. The table is set. My apartment is clean. And the orange liqueur, orange vodka, and Blue Moon (with orange garnish, of course) are ready to flow. And. I might even break out a costume. You can call me Cutie the Clementine.

Tonight should be a lot of fun. Watch for pictures and recipes next week.

Preparations are in full swing for Friday’s Iron Chef dinner. This month’s theme ingredient is clementine. Impressively, my friends Julie and Matt tested their recipe this past weekend. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Julie detailing the formidable “clementine disaster.”

Apparently it all started on Saturday when Julie’s husband Matt found a recipe for clementine marmalade that sounded good. On Sunday, he set to work on the recipe, which involved 5 hours of boiling and stirring. My favorite quote from Julie:

I tasted it after two hours, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but it was awful—a bit burnt and instantly rock hard the moment it was out of the pot. But, I just let him work on it in hopes that it would get better. After three-and-a-half hours, Matt was like, ‘This is all burnt and tastes really bad.’

Matt and Julie then dumped the concoction in a plastic bag for the trash. But the marmalade immediately burned a hole through the bag and leaked into the drain of their kitchen sink and began hardening. Accordingly to Julie, We cleaned the sink for about 20 minutes. Matt actually had to boil more water to pour over the hardened marmalade to help soften it. Needless to say, we will not be contributing marmalade on Friday.

Ah. The trials and tribulations of Iron Chef. But it’s the idea of stepping out of one’s culinary comfort zone (which occasionally results in a “clementine disaster”) that so epitomizes the idea of the Iron Chef dinners. But I sure do hope things go a little smoother for Matt and Julie during round two…

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 classic chocolate fondue recipe with a touch of espresso and paired it with fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, and raspberries) and homemade marshmallows and pound cake. My only set back was that I drove 45 minutes to and from the grocery store in a blizzard the night before the party, only to realize the very next day that I had left a bag of groceries (with the fruit and a few other key ingredients) at the grocery store. Luckily I recovered from the incident, and arrived fondue and fruit in hand.

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.

For the next nine hours, we dipped, sipped, savored, and laughed. We enjoyed a multi-course fondue dinner, a wine tasting game that Matt and Julie had carefully prepared, and even celebrated Jeremy’s 29th birthday with Kahlua cake. The party was a success on every level. Thank you, Matt and Julie!

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.

The spread was pretty incredible. We had squash quiche, squash mac-n-cheese, squash soup, squash salad, squash dip, and squash wontons. It was one big squash fest. My personal favorite entry was Matt and Julie’s squash soup—very gourmet. I especially liked the prosciutto garnish. The recipes that I’m most likely to make again are Jill’s squash mac-n-cheese and my squash quiche. And finally, I think Lauren and Brodie earn top honors for “most creative”. Lauren started with the idea of squash ravioli, only to morph her creation into fried wontons when the inspiration struck. Everything was delicious. Most of the recipes are linked below.

Butternut Squash with Crispy Prosciutto
Butternut Mac and Cheese
Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat Cheese Quiche
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Squash Wontons
Sweet Pumpkin Dip with Graham Crackers

Luckily, the December Iron Chef is quickly approaching. Matt and Julie are hosting a special holiday version—a few of us who own fondue sets are bringing fondue (we have oil, cheese, and chocolate all covered), and everyone else is bringing a dish that incorporates “spirits” (e.g., bourbon balls, beer bread, etc.). On top of all of that, Matt and Julie are also hosting a wine tasting following dinner. Hence the reason why December’s Iron Chef Dinner is moving from a school night to a Friday night. I can’t wait.