Super Chefs’ Super Bowl Recipes
Well, it’s almost here. The most American of holidays – the Super Bowl. That’s right I said holiday. It’s a hell of lot more sacred than braving a blizzard to see whether or not some glorified rat saw his shadow plus it is the second most food-centric day of the year behind Thanksgiving Day. These days the competition isn’t just on the field as friends gather to out do one another with delicious party recipes. Well, what better way to impress that obnoxious brother-in-law than by strutting in with a few 5 star caliber dishes from this culinary all-star team.
Rick Bayless’ restraurants Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Frontera Fresco and XOCO have made him one of Chicago’s most respected chefs. His cooking show Mexico: One Plate at a Time was the 2011 Tasty Award winner for best single subject cooking show. The winner of the first Top Chef: Masters winner suggests you take that six foot sub concept to another level with his Giant Milanesa Torta with Crispy Chicken Tenders. A torta is the popular sandwich that dominates the Mexico City street vendor scene. Click HERE to get the recipe.
Iron Chef Michael Symon is no stranger to competition. He had to defeat noted chefs like Aarón Sanchez, Chris Cosentino and John Besh to win the first Next Iron Chef contest and has since competed in over 20 ICA battles winning more than 80% of the time, the best of any Iron Chef. So leave it to Iron Mike to shake things up a bit with this exotic take on the bite-sized burger with his Duck Confit Sliders, Banh-Mi Style. These tasty little sandwiches provide just enough sweet and an ample dose of heat. Click HERE to get the recipe. Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Symon HERE.
It never fails. Even though it is understood that Super Bowl Sunday is a no-veggie-zone someone always fails to get the memo. And for some reason they are never satisfied with nibbling the carrot and celery sticks you serve with the hot wings. Thankfully Chef Nathan Lyon is here to save the day. Chef Nathan is a champion of the healthy, farm-to-fork movement on his shows Lyon in the Kitchen and Growing a Greener World. Take for instance Nathan’s Carrot-Sweet Potato Soup with Fresh Ginger, it’s perfect for intrusive herbivores. Click HERE to get the recipe.
Every Super Bowl party needs some kind of dip and Food Network’s resident Southwestern guru, Bobby Flay comes through with just the ticket. Flay’s Queso Fundido with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette takes cheese dip to a whole new plateau. The Iron Chef even provides some how-to on making your own tortilla chips which is surprisingly easy to do. Flay has become one of America’s favorite chefs thanks to his plethora of TV appearances and empire of restaurants. You can always count on his recipes to pack all the punch you need to get your grub on. Click HERE to get the recipe. Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Flay HERE.
I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t include some sort of hot wing recipe. I am fond of baking my wings so as to keep them healthy. Hot wing sauce is the only time you will ever see me use margarine instead of butter and that’s because margarine makes for a smoother sauce. Butter-based sauces can break when heated so since I am not using real butter I will use one of the heart healthy liquid margarines on the market or even a healthy fat like canola or coconut oil. That’s what I did with these smokey-sweet Honey-Chipotle wings and these sizzling Bangkok wings. Click HERE to get the recipe.
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ICA: Symon vs. Okuwa
An amazing match-up for this 4th of July. This week’s challenger is Chef Makoto Okuwa who ventures into the unfriendly confines of Kitchen Stadium to take on Iron Chef Michael Symon. Now generally Kitchen Stadium is a place of intimidation for a challenger but not for Okuwa-San, he ran the sushi bar at Morimoto, New York having spent years as a sous chef of Iron Chef Morimoto including 13 battles with the dean of Iron Chefs.
Chef Makoto began his career in Japan at the age of 15. After years of perfecting his art he immigrated to the US where he worked at the famed Washington DC sushi bar, Sushi Taro. It was while working in the nation’s capital that he first caught the eye of Iron Chef Morimoto who soon recruited the young chef to join him at the Morimoto flagship in Philadelphia. When his mentor opened his second restaurant in New York’s Meatpacking District he tapped Okuwa to oversee the sushi menu.
Today Makoto-San balances the traditions of Japanese cuisine with the sophistication and flash demanded from American diners at his own restaurant Sashi in Manhattan Beach, California. It is at Sashi where the apprentice has become master and asserted his independence by asking himself each morning, “What’s possible?” This Independence Day he collides head first with the bold new American flavors of Iron Chef Michael Symon. This battle has all the trappings of a culinary Rube Goldberg Machine. The episode airs tonight at 10pm/9c.
The judges for Battle: Uni (sea urchin) are Nina Griscom, Sam Haskell and Tia Carrere.
Click HERE for the outcome.
ICA: Symon vs. Okuwa – Outcome
SPOILER ALERT: The following information is the outcome of Symon vs. Okuwa. If you want information on the combatants click HERE. If you are only interested in the outcome read on.
Judges for Battle: Uni (sea urchin) were Nina Griscom, Sam Haskell and Tia Carrere.
Symon Okuwa
Taste: 30 Taste: 19
Plating: 13 Plating: 12
Originality: 13 Originality: 12
Total: 56 Total: 43
If you haven’t yet, check out my exclusive interview with Iron Chef Michael Symon.
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ICA: Symon vs. Trabocchi
The judges for Battle: Basil are all highly accomplished food writers: the angelic Kim Sunée (Trail of Crumbs), the curmudgeonly Jeffrey Steingarten (The Man Who Ate Everything) and the hippy-ish Andrew Knowlton (Bon Appetit Magazine). With a panel like that the challenger, Fabio Trabocchi, had better bring his lunch because Iron Chef Michael Symon is waiting.
According to Fabio Trabocchi’s web site bio:
Fabio Trabocchi is meticulous about his cooking – from the sourcing of ingredients to the butchering of meat to the Italian traditions that are the foundation of his dishes. This attention to detail is, in turn, evident in his extensive knowledge of Italy’s culinary heritage, skillful techniques and creative imagination. Fabio’s passion for cooking grew organically beside his father and grandparents growing up in Italy’s Le Marche region.
By the age of 8, he was very comfortable in the kitchen, which explains his decision to pursue culinary school in his early teens and his progression of apprenticeships in kitchens throughout the region. By age 16, he was working in the kitchen of a three-star Michelin restaurant, Gualtiero Marchesi, and at 18, he was responsible for the entire kitchen staff at the Michelin one-star Navalge Moena.
Fast forward to the present and Chef Trabocchi is a James Beard Award winner, a published author (Cucina of Le Marche), has run his own multi-star kitchens and is now a challenger on Iron Chef: America. Unfortunately for the Italian-born chef Michael Symon joins him in Kitchen Stadium.
SPOILER ALERT: Click HERE for the outcome.
