Iron Chef America

I really do love watching the foodnetwork. Tonight I'm watching the international battle Forgione against a chef from Thailand. The entire time I was watching I was contemplating what I would cook given the theme.

TEA LEAVES

The Iron Chefs have to be amazing chefs to find out the secret ingredient on spot and create a menu and then execute it for the first time in one hour. I am always in awe. The first 8 minutes of the show have passed and the chefs are in constant motion, pulling some of the most amazing ingredients and concepts. I've seen bacon, tuna, watermelon, jicama, pork. In one hour, each chef and his team will create a range of dishes, from appetizer to dessert. I can't wait for what they come up with.

The 20 minute first course is a new twist since the last time I watched (which was admittedly a while ago) and at the 30 minute mark adds a new ingredient? What? Ok they have to use coffee in at least one dish as well.

And the entire time I watch, I've been thinking of what I could do (given the resources, time and skill... none of which I actually have, but, a girl can dream...)

So what would I do or try to do with tea leaves? There are so many options, so many different kinds of tea. Black, White, Oolong, Jasmine, Green...

I think my menu would be something like:

• 1st course served in 20 minutes: Salad with Arugula, strawberries, and avocado with a Jasmine viniagrette (which in theory would be accomplished by slowly sauteeing the leaves in olive creating an emulsion and tossing with a little bit of  apple cider vinegar) served with Jasmine and Strawberry tea
• Green tea and coffee crusted turkey fingers with honey mustard
• Spicy Black Tea Ramen
• Lemon Earl Gray Roasted Chicken and asparagus
• Oolong crusted Whitefish seared and served with oolong and blackberry and pear risotto
• White Tea Raspberry Scones served with a fresh berry compote and a white tea clotted cream of course presented with an individual Tea pot steeping with white tea, rose and berries
• Green Tea Macarons with honey cream, Chocolate coffee macarons with oolong buttercream

It took me an entire hour to come up with my menu and I honestly have no idea how any of the concepts would come out, but I had fun watching and fantasizing my dream menu. I was utterly impressed with the menus that the iron chefs created. I never would have come up with anything similar and I certainly wouldn't have been able to execute quite so smoothly. Guess that's why I'm not an Iron Chef. :) 

And now sleep calls. 

--Raspberry Truffle

P.S. I had no idea that there were so many versions of Iron Chef all over the world.