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I'm a bit of a foodie. I'm not hardcore with it, but I do, for instance, watch FoodTV more than any other channel. I really enjoy new recipes, and I've taken my cooking skills much farther in the three years I've been married than I ever dreamed I would even want to. It's a hobby, and not something I would want to pursue professionally, but I really do enjoy it. I also have a serious fixation with Alton Brown (originator of my sodium chloride containment unit) and his show, Good Eats--I've even been known to say something like "But then, I'm not a nutritional anthropologist" loudly in public just in hopes that one might appear from behind a bush. I do try to refrain from writing about food, though, because.. well.. does anyone really care what I had for dinner tonight?
FoodTV is currently airing Iron Chef America. If you haven't seen the original (Japanese) Iron Chef, you really should try to locate it and watch it sometime. It's utterly fascinating. Basically, you have two chefs and a panel of judges, along with one crazy millionaire sponsoring the whole thing. The two chefs compete, using an ingredient they have no knowledge of before the competition, by preparing about five dishes on the fly. They're judged on taste, presentation and originality. The thing that makes it fascinating is how completely.. not joking at all they are about the whole thing, and the utterly bizarre things they do with these ingredients. (They sometimes attempt dessert, for example, with.. say, seafood. Nuff said.) The problem with watching it all the time (which we don't) is that they're so.. foreign. I don't mean this as an insult in any way, but it's fully possible to watch fifteen episodes straight without seeing a single thing that I would even dream of eating. They use ingredients that I've never heard of, and then there are ingredients that I would have to sell my left arm to be able to afford the tiniest smidgeon of. I was watching Bobby Flay's second battle with Morimoto a week or two ago and laughed out loud at one of the judges, who complained about how Flay had used the lobster in a way that Japanese people would never do (deep-fried in corn meal, I believe) because of the expense. Meanwhile, in the same show, the Iron Chef was taking a ball of lobster goo and coating it with truffles. I rest my case.
I've really been looking forward, then, to Iron Chef America. The same terrific concept but with celebrity chefs I know, and best of all, commentated by Alton Brown. ( Iron Chef America spoilers and discussion behind the cut. )
FoodTV is currently airing Iron Chef America. If you haven't seen the original (Japanese) Iron Chef, you really should try to locate it and watch it sometime. It's utterly fascinating. Basically, you have two chefs and a panel of judges, along with one crazy millionaire sponsoring the whole thing. The two chefs compete, using an ingredient they have no knowledge of before the competition, by preparing about five dishes on the fly. They're judged on taste, presentation and originality. The thing that makes it fascinating is how completely.. not joking at all they are about the whole thing, and the utterly bizarre things they do with these ingredients. (They sometimes attempt dessert, for example, with.. say, seafood. Nuff said.) The problem with watching it all the time (which we don't) is that they're so.. foreign. I don't mean this as an insult in any way, but it's fully possible to watch fifteen episodes straight without seeing a single thing that I would even dream of eating. They use ingredients that I've never heard of, and then there are ingredients that I would have to sell my left arm to be able to afford the tiniest smidgeon of. I was watching Bobby Flay's second battle with Morimoto a week or two ago and laughed out loud at one of the judges, who complained about how Flay had used the lobster in a way that Japanese people would never do (deep-fried in corn meal, I believe) because of the expense. Meanwhile, in the same show, the Iron Chef was taking a ball of lobster goo and coating it with truffles. I rest my case.
I've really been looking forward, then, to Iron Chef America. The same terrific concept but with celebrity chefs I know, and best of all, commentated by Alton Brown. ( Iron Chef America spoilers and discussion behind the cut. )
