by Ian Jackman
You can almost smell the crowd! In 1969 I made forty to seventy-five dollars a game and got to see every game. And the Mets won the World Series. Awesome experience.”
—Michael Salmon
CAPTAIN KIDD’S HAWK-CRUSHING SHRIMP ROLLS
Recipe courtesy Michael Salmon
Yield: 8 servings as a main dish or 16 servings as an appetizer • Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 5 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy
1 (8-bun) package potato-bread hot dog rolls
2 tablespoons crab boil (recommended: Old Bay)
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails removed
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
About ⅔ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice, divided
Juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon dry mustard (recommended: Colman’s)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Baby greens, for serving
1. Open each bun and cut in half crosswise. Lay the buns out on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and lay another baking sheet pan on top of the buns to flatten them.
2. Heat about 1 quart of water in a medium-size pot until it reaches poaching temperature (the water should start to steam but not actually come to a boil). Add the crab boil. Carefully add the shrimp and cook until they are opaque, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the shrimp and set them aside until they’re cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Slice each shrimp in half lengthwise.
3. In a large bowl, put the celery, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of the chives, three-quarters of the pepper (reserve the rest for garnish), lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Add the shrimp and toss again.
4. Place the baby greens into the base of the buns. Top with the shrimp and garnish with the remaining bell pepper and chives.
Fort Dix
In episode five, the finalists met up with Giada De Laurentiis and Paula Deen at the Fort Dix military base. Their first mini-challenge was to “dress up” an MRE—a military Meal, Ready-to-Eat—so that it was more palatable. Next they were to form teams of two and prepare a home-cooked meal for the troops. Surprisingly, the team who worked best together were the odd couple of Paul and Jag. “Paul is a professional gay man,” Rory said. “Jag is a twenty-five-year-old marine who has never had a gay friend in his life. The two of them have linked up like bosom buddies.”
Jag and Paul decided to make meat loaf, the great American comfort food, but after thirty minutes they realized that their oven was cold. Jag wigged out but then regained his composure to come up with a solution: Deep-fry the meat loaf.
“We don’t get to see each other that much, only on specials. I love seeing these guys. I adore Bobby and Giada. What you see is what you get with them. I always love seeing them.”
—Paula Deen
“What folks didn’t understand was that I didn’t flip out because the oven wasn’t working. I flipped out because I knew what I was going to have to do on national television to save that meal, and that was something that I was not happy offering war-dog soldiers and representing myself as a United States marine. We turn and burn and kick ass in the kitchen, period! Those soldiers deserved better than second-rate food.”
—Joshua “Jag” Garcia
It was an emotional day for Jag. When he walked into the hangar where the judging was taking place, the smell of the lubricant that the troops use to clean their weapons brought back memories of his days in the service. At elimination, Giada apologized for any discomfort that might have caused him. Amy too was upset, over the blurring of the line between their public and private lives. “I’m starting to understand that there isn’t a distinction between the two things, and that’s where all of this becomes extremely real.”
“I have to admit, being videotaped while I was going to bed and waking up in the morning, or in the bathroom brushing my teeth—or mic’ed while I was using the bathroom was a little bit odd and made me feel like I was under constant surveillance. I wasn’t so excited to be videotaped while I was having my rare personal phone conversation. It’s nice to have privacy for certain things like that.”
—Colombe Jacobsen
Paul and Jag had the best presentation, and their meat loaf was the most popular food. “To find out that deep-fried meat loaf is the top pick—that’s a little bit of God coming down and blessing us,” said Paul. “That’s the only way it could have worked out.”
“If they favored deep-fried meat loaf over the rest of what the Season Three picks had to offer, then imagine the hamburger bliss they would have gotten from Jag and Pauley Paul’s absolute best? And lesson learned! Don’t flip out, Jag, you’re worrying Paul. And for God’s sake, there are children watching. Keep your cool!”
—Joshua “Jag” Garcia
A Few of My (Least) Favorite Things
For the next challenge to camera, Alton Brown asked the finalists to create dishes using strangely matched ingredients. Three ingredients were picked at random: Amy had veal, oyster mushrooms, and popcorn; Paul calamari, fennel, and persimmon; Jag shrimp, snowpeas, and cornflakes; Adrien flounder, Japanese eggplant, and peanut butter; Rory steak, red radish, and prunes. Alton watched as the finalists tried to connect with the camera in their three-minute segment and then critiqued the demos. Explain what you’re doing; talk about the ingredients; cook the food.
Alton dramatically introduced the next challenge. As the finalists stood behind a concealed platter of food, he reminded them that they had told the network what their favorite ingredients were. “Lift the dome, go ahead,” Alton said, “because that’s not what this is.” Finalists had also listed their least favorite ingredient and here it was, staring each of them in the face.
Less than happy with this task, the finalists were not afraid to share their feelings about the ingredients they were assigned. Amy objected to the smell of her bok choy and Adrien to his baby corn. Jag was not pleased with the tofu, which he called “high-protein gunk.” “Do you have a male billy goat?” Rory asked Alton. To Rory goat cheese tastes like that smell.
“You know what? Prepared correctly . . . cut into smaller pieces . . . firm not silky . . . properly stir-fried in a delicious sauce complemented by black tiger shrimp, hot chiles, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. . . . Heck, yeah! And yes I have! [Eaten tofu again.]”
—Joshua “Jag” Garcia
Paul’s bête noire: the lima bean.
No one aced the demo. Amy was stricken with doubt, Jag was overly complex, Rory said she “bombed,” and Adrien lacked expertise and a POV.
This evaluation was the hardest yet. “If these had been your audition tapes, I don’t think any of you would be standing here,” said Susie. “What happened?” Everyone went backward; POVs were missing; the viewer was lost. The finalists were obviously feeling the pressure.
what is A MIREPOIX?
The mix of diced onion, carrot, and celery Paul used to flavor his soup is a mirepoix. It is named for its inventor, the cook of the Duc de Lévis-Mirepoix, a general and ambassador for Louis XV of France in the eighteenth century.
“The worst part was having our cell phones confiscated and not having the opportunity to call home. I had great support from my wife and children. I knew they were safe and in a good place, but not getting to say good night to my babies was very difficult. . . .”
—Adrien Sharp
Amy wondered if she wanted to be there; she was starting to crack under the strain and she missed her family . . . “I’m telling you that if you have a decision to make between me and these other people, I would send me home,” she said, but stopped short of saying she wanted to go home. When she was saved, it was not against her wishes. Adrien, who had given up his job to compete, was eliminated.
LIMA BEAN SOUP
with Parmesan Bacon Crisp
Recipe courtesy Paul McCullough
Yield: 6 servings • P
rep Time: 10 minutes • Cook Time: 40 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
⅔ cup diced onion
⅓ cup diced carrot
⅓ cup diced celery
3 cups frozen lima beans, thawed
1 apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
4 cups chicken broth
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CRISP
Cooking spray
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fully cooked crumbled bacon
Sour cream, for serving (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the butter and the oil over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Cook the lima beans in boiling water until very soft, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add the beans and apple to the pot with the vegetables. Pour in the broth. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the apple is tender. Using a hand blender, purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. FOR THE CRISP: Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and coat with the cooking spray. Make 6 lines of Parmesan, about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long, on the sheet and sprinkle with the bacon. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese and bacon are golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool. Peel the crisp from the foil and serve on the side of each bowl. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream.
∗ NOTE: For more flavor, add ½ cup Parmesan and ¼ cup bacon to the soup before puréeing. A dollop of sour cream gives this healthy soup a creamy finish.
“When Alton Brown had us lift the big silver lid to reveal our least favorite ingredient, I was mortified because I loathe lima beans. I thought, ‘How can I make it the star when all I remember doing as a kid is slipping them to the dog under the dinner table?’ I thought, ‘Transform it into a soup and add some bacon.’ So, on the spot, I came up with this recipe idea. I added flavor to chicken broth by making a mirepoix first. Then once it was all puréed, I was so thrilled with how delicious it turned out. I’ve made this soup a few times since the show. Do I love lima beans? . . . No. But I don’t loathe them anymore either. Thanks, Alton!”
—Paul McCullough
Allez Cuisine!
“Iron Chef is a gruesome ordeal. I don’t envy anyone having to do it. But none of the finalists shrinks from doing it because by the time they make it to the Iron Chef challenge they’ve already been put through the wringer.”
—Alton Brown
When episode seven brought the finalists to the Institute of Culinary Education, they had a pretty good idea of what they were in for: Iron Chef.
“I was so excited to be a part of Iron Chef, I actually thought I was gonna pop out of my skin! It was a truly memorable time, and I would love to have another shot at it one day when I’m a little more experienced.”
—Joshua “Jag” Garcia
This ultimate Next Food Network Star challenge was played out in two hour-long battles in which two finalists would face off against each other in preparing three dishes using a secret ingredient. In the first hour, Rory would go up against Paul; Amy would battle it out with Jag in the second hour. The finalists had help from surprise sous-chefs, the former finalists.
For Paul versus Rory, the secret ingredient was striped bass.
Rory battled with an ingredient she’d never used before, while Alton asked the two noncooking chefs to provide commentary for 50 percent of their score. He asked Jag if Rory was using wild or farmed striped bass. Jag guessed wild. Wrong. Alton asked Amy how they got the light texture on the panko Paul was using, and Amy retrieved the packet, read off the ingredients, and concluded that panko was more of a bread product than a standard bread crumb. “She’s good,” said Bobby.
In judging, Iron Chef Cat Cora said Rory’s Pan-Seared Sea Bass was cooked perfectly. Susie liked Rory’s “Backyard Bistro”; her Beer-Battered Sea Bass Wrapped in Bacon was a hit with everyone, but her napoleon, less so. Paul’s Ceviche was “summer on a plate” but underseasoned. The Fish Baked with Blackberries was bland; his Panko-Fried Fish was more successful.
“The Iron Chefs do bring a whole level of intimidation to the competition.”
—Cat Cora
“And so it is with an open heart and an empty stomach that I say to you, in the words of our chairman: ‘Allez cuisine!’”
—Alton Brown
“They should be in awe of doing Iron Chef. Entering a kitchen stadium is not for the faint of heart. I take Iron Chef very seriously too. The people who do Iron Chef are hard-core chefs and they’re there to crack your head open. This is a softer version of that. They’re not really trying out for Iron Chef.”
—Bobby Flay
Question: “What’s the craziest ingredient you’ve seen on Iron Chef?”
Cat Cora: “Barracuda. It’s not the best fish to try to make something wonderful out of. It’s hard to scale or gut and it’s a fin fish so you have to fillet it just right to get the meat out of it and it has an oiliness. Almost like yellowtail but not as yummy. You have to work to get it really nice.”
“Iron Chef is like a level ten. Star is like a level three. If they could make barracuda into something even remotely palatable, they would be onto a winner. It’s an idiosyncratic fish, gamey and oily and incredibly difficult to cook well. If the judges could even swallow what they made, it would be a success.”
—Alton Brown
“‘Plummy’ is what I said . . .”
For Amy versus Jag, the secret ingredient was chicken.
Amy’s Iron Chef dishes were Casbah Lollipops, Moroccan Chicken Stew, and her stuffed-chicken recipe.
“I made this up after Alton lifted the lid. I had a whole chicken, and I wanted to be able to use the parts that could be used most efficiently in the allotted time. I looked at the breasts. My go-to approaches are to pound it out flat for a paillard or to stuff it. I use goat cheese a lot, and the fresh mushrooms were a logical accompaniment, with the dried mushrooms a good start for a sauce.
“I seldom cook the same thing many times. I enjoy cooking on the fly. I go to the store and buy ingredients that look good and figure out what I want to cook.”
—Amy Finley
While Amy was getting into a groove, Paul was intimidated by his role as commentator. When Alton asked what was Moroccan about Amy’s Moroccan Stew, Paul failed to mention the spices. Alton asked Rory if Jag was using red pepper flakes or red chili flakes? “A chili is a pepper,” she answered. Wrong. Rory looked at the camera: “Kids, stay in school. I dropped out at sixteen. Wrong move.”
Alton: Paul, what’s in that can?
Paul: Those are whole plum tomatoes.
Alton: What kind of tomatoes?
Paul: Plum.
Alton: Where are they from?
Paul: Plummy . . .
They were San Marzano tomatoes, an important designation. “‘Plummy’ is what I said,” noted Paul. “How embarrassing.”
“The Iron Chef Challenge was a nightmare for me. When we showed up at ICE, I was so intimidated because I had no formal culinary training. Amy, Rory, and Jag all went to culinary school, so I felt at a huge disadvantage and it frazzled me to the core. The cooking part of the challenge went all right, but when it was my turn to commentate I felt so nervous and choked. Rather than staying calm and focused, I started making jokes and not taking it seriously.”
—Paul McCullough
Jag’s overzealous grilling set off the smoke alarms. “Hey, Jag. Way to grill!” said Bobby.
At the judges’ table, Cat praised the cinnamon on Amy’s Lollipop but wanted more flavor. Everyone loved the stuffed chicken, and the stew was a “home run” for Cat. Jag’s Chicken and Goat Cheese Wonton was overpowered by vinegar. Bobby asked what was Caribbean about the Caribbean Soup, and Jag couldn�
��t say. No one liked his Chicken with Saffron-Lime Cream Sauce. With all of the criticism, Jag found it hard to hold it together. He was distraught and embarrassed over his performance.
But it was Paul, after long deliberations, who was sent home.
“Iron Chef was the most fun. Absolutely a riot from beginning to end. It was the most relaxed I was because I felt the focus was not on me. There were other people, the camera was moving around, and it played to my strengths cooking on the fly. The reporting part was fun, a bit like writing. I’m a bit of a food geek, and to be able to do that with Alton Brown, the king of the food geeks, was exciting. And to do well felt good.”
—Amy Finley
GOAT-CHEESE-AND-MUSHROOM-STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
Recipe courtesy Amy Finley
Yield: 6 servings • Prep Time: 45 minutes • Cook Time: 40 minutes • Inactive Prep Time: 5 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy
6 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (10 ounces each)
