Battle Bourbon, at Jon and Caitlin's Mod-loft: November 5, 2011

This one was somewhat sparsely attended, probably on account of the holiday season. Those who stayed home missed out, however, as Jon and Caitlin know how to throw a party—and everyone knows how to cook.

Congrats to Steve, who could have won many times in the past with great dishes, but finally took home his first trophy with these pulled pork bourbon sliders. As always, the trophy was metaphorical. 

We look forward to the next installment, likely to take place in January. Prepare yourselves for battle ???!

Steve Luu preparing his winning dish: bourbon-citrus pulled pork sliders with onion relish.

Sam and Guille's delicious apple-bourbon bread pudding.

Elizabeth and Max's high-class bourbon chicken. Yes, like at the mall. 

Battle Peach, at Dave and Uppie's

I, uh, don't seem to have photos of this one. Hrm...

Jon Myers won!

Battle Ginger: Max and Elizabeth's place, April 23, 2011

What a feast. Probably my favorite set of dishes of any of the battles I've been to so far. Nice work all! Thanks to Lisa for the photos, which look awesome.

Congratulations to Dave Andrew, who took top prize with his outstanding ginger vichyssoise. We all look forward to the first Iron Chef hosted by Dave and Uppie, who know how to throw a party.

Liz Warren took second place with a refreshing and balanced ginger summer slaw, and Steve Luu took third with a beautifully cooked and plated dish of ginger shrimp and candied walnuts.

Honorable mention went to one of several delectable desserts: ginger lime pie from the elusive but talented Adrian.

Lisa's Ginger Beignets with Pear and Ginger Dipping Sauce. They are NOT DONUTS, yo.

Guille and Sam brought some arts and crafts vibe with a build-your-own carnitas taco station. You know it's a bangin' Iron Chef when Guille doesn't even place.

Andrea and Tabitha would have us believe that they just "threw together" this delicious ginger beet coconut curry. I loved it, and I usually don't go for beets.

Adrian's Gilligan's Island Pie (because of the Professor, get it? Oh, wait. Ginger.). Really great.

Jon W. and Esmé put their usual whimsy into these ginger pop tarts. Great ginger flavor, and a nice egg wash to make them shiny.

Steve Luu needs to drag his lady to the party next time so that she can hear everyone talk about how good his food is. Here's his note-perfect Ginger Walnut Shrimp.

Liz W. and Seth made a refreshing and perfectly balanced summer slaw with sesame and pickled ginger.

...and the winner, this oh-so-buttery avocado ginger vichyssoise by long-time listener, first-time caller Dave! Congratulations, and please send the recipe.

Battle Mint: The Wilson Homestead, February 26, 2011

This was a cozy edition of Iron Chef, with dishes that all went together as a meal: bruschetta, chilled soup, salad, roasted carrots and dessert. Jessie Wilson hosted, and went straight from dinner to celebrating her birthday.

Thanks to Jen Holland for the pics!

I can't remember the order of all the dishes, but I believe that the minted roast carrots and chilled cucumber soup took second and third place. Chocolate banana bread pudding with mint créme anglaise took the top slot, and Max and Elizabeth will host Battle Ginger in April.

Liz's minted roast carrots

Jen and Ben's goat cheese bruschetta w/mint

Jon W. and Esmé's raspberry mint salad with quinoa and chile almonds

Elizabeth and Max's chocolate banana bread pudding with mint créme anglaise

Steve's chilled spicy cucumber mint soup

Jon explains how to plate his dish

Max looks disapproving, Elizabeth looks purple

The birthday girl has a laugh with Steve before tasting

Ben has a vested interest in the outcome (that pun happened, deal with it)

Battle Coconut: Hosted by Jen and Ben

Jen and Ben hosted Battle Coconut on January 28, 2011. Thanks to Keith and Jon W. for the pics and details.

Steve's Coconut Milk and Red Bean Pudding

Jon W.'s "C4B"

3rd Place: Adrian's Coconut Fish Curry

Danny's "Al Dente" Bean Stew with Fried Plantains

The full menu

Honorable Mention for Innovation: Guille and Sam's Chilled Coconut Mango Soup

HOSTS ARE AWESOME

Derek and Kindall's Coconut-Coconut Curry with Veggies and Fried Tofu

Liz's Coconut "Custard," (tasty but jiggly)

1st Place: Jessie's Honey-Glazed Bone-In Pork Chops stuffed with Raspberry-Jalapeño Coconut

Honorable Mention for Presentation: Andrea and Tabitha's "Lookin' at my Sugar Lumps" Mango Sticky Rice

Honorable Mention for Genre Recipe: Keith and Sarah's Girl Scout Cookies with Coconut Milk (no Girl Scouts were harmed)

2nd Place: Lisa O.'s Coconut Parfait

Carvin' Hero

Battle Chili Pepper: The Knight-Lieberman Hut, September 18

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.

Jack had fun meeting lots of people

It was Sam's birthday :)

 

Now for the dishes...

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.

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.

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.

Rachel's champignons fumes ét sauce chili. Really excellent thin Thai chili sauce on these nicely-cooked shrooms.

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.

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.

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)

Jessie's moist, irresistable "Peaches 'n Steam" peach-habañero cupcakes

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.