The turnout was great and the food was even better. This was a lot of fun to host, thanks to everyone for coming and bringing their A-game. We missed a few regulars but saw some new faces as well.
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| Jack had fun meeting lots of people |
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| It was Sam's birthday :) |
Now for the dishes...
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| The Winner: Sarah and Keith's habañero pineapple pork. Nothing needs to be said about the festive plating, but what pictures can't convey is how beautifully tender the meat was, and how well-balanced the seasoning was. Fantastic work. |
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2nd Place: Jen and Ben's habañero cheesecake wontons. These crispy shells burst with spice and flavor. A surprising amount of heat was balanced by the creaminess and sweetness of the lime cheesecake. Gorgeous plating, too!
I don't have photos for the 3rd place winner and the honorable mention...
3rd Place: Guille, JP and Sam's unbelievable and quasi-unpronouncable spicy passionfruit tequila cocktail. This drink was completely unique, I've never tasted the combination of flavors in it before. There was candied ginger and jalapeño, I believe, sitting very subtly behind the sweet cold refreshment of the passionfruit. It was stunningly orange, as well.
Honorable mention: Donny's chicken enchiladas. A credit to the dish. All the elements you'd want: green chili, melted cheese, fall-apart tender chicken, and in the perfect proportion. |
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| Jon and Esmé's bacon "hatch cups" with chili-shallot confit. This was the most intricately plated dish I've yet seen at an Iron Chef. The bacon cups had to hold a dollop of delicate shallot concoction without spilling. They were like woven baskets of flavor. Jon, I'm forgetting the exact phrasing you used to describe the dish; I'll update if you remind me. |
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| Rachel's champignons fumes ét sauce chili. Really excellent thin Thai chili sauce on these nicely-cooked shrooms. |
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| Dave's Jimmy Nardello-olive tapenade. The color of this was incredible, because he made it with bright red sweet frying peppers straight from the farmer's markets. Delicious, salty and hearty. |
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| Derek and Kindall's chocolate-coated, ricotta-stuffed yellow peppers. A totally surprising dish. The yellow peppers were still raw, and added a nice crunch to this unexpected dessert. |
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| Robin's inspired chili-rhubarb pie (unforgettable due to his running entrance, carrying a nearly red-hot cast iron pan that must have burnt a hole in his passenger seat) |
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| Jessie's moist, irresistable "Peaches 'n Steam" peach-habañero cupcakes |
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| Derek and Kindall's jalapeño hush puppies with jalepeño tzaziki. They look good, don't they? They were, too. Spicy, crispy-fried cornmeal with a cooling dipping sauce. |
Thanks to Keith and Jon W. for the photos! I some other outstanding dishes that aren't shown above, due to a lack of planning on my part:
- Andrea and Tabitha's veggie enchiladas, the spinach counterpart to the honorable mention above
- Clay and Erica's lime-jalepeño cookies, which were an incredibly successful last-minute effort
Congratulations again to, well, everyone. I ate enough for 4 people, and I usually only eat enough for 2. Great work.
