Iron Chef Michael Symon News

Michael Symon's newest TV show, Cook Like an Iron Chef, debuts tonight at 10pm on the Cooking Channel, a new station from the creators of the Food Network. From the Cooking Channel's Website:

Iron Chef Mike Symon is breaking out of Kitchen Stadium to share his creative process and techniques for turning your favorite secret ingredients into unique, daring and delicious food. Chef Symon arms you with an arsenal of dishes that deliver perfect 10's for taste, presentation and creativity to help you do battle for the discerning judges at your own kitchen table.

According to Symon, "It's essentially a show for the people who've watched Food Network forever and are ready to learn something more advanced or more creative."

He sees the show being for serious foodies who are ready to take the next step as a home cook. Of course the only way to take that next step is to get in the kitchen and cook, so after you watch the show, be sure to pick your favorite recipe from Live to Cook, head to your local farmers market for some fresh, local ingredients, and get in the kitchen and cook.

The Cooking Channel is 158 with Time Warner Cable in Avon Lake - no HD available yet - check with your provider to find out what station it is in your area. Unfortunately this station does not come with the standard service that we have with Time Warner so I won't be able to see the show. Hopefully it will show up on Hulu.

Update I: The Cooking Channel is 456 with AT&T Uverse - Thanks Sarah! Can you pull any strings to get Uverse to serve Avon Lake?

Update II: The Cooking Channel is 232 with Direct TV. Thanks Shawnee's Girl! 

Update III: The Cooking Channel is 127 with Cox Communications. Thanks DaniP! 

I also wanted to mention a charity event Michael Symon is hosting at his flagship restaurant, Lola Bistro, Sunday, August 1st from 6-9 p.m. Food for Life will benefit three charities that are near and dear to Symon - Autism Speaks, Share Our Strength and Urban Community School. Symon will be hosting a long list of culinary all-stars from Cleveland and across the country including:

• Michael Schwartz - Michael's Genuine, Miami, FL
• Vinnie Dotolo & Jon Shook - Animal, Los Angeles, CA
• Jonathan Waxman - Barbuto, New York, NY
• Koren Grieveson - Avec, Chicago, IL
• Michael Sheerin - Blackbird,Chicago, IL
• Mary Sue Milliken - Border Grill, Santa Monica, CA and Las Vegas, NV
• Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud - Vetri, Osteria and Amis, Philadelphia, PA
• Anne Burrell - Food Network, New York, NY
• Joey Campanaro - The Little Owl, New York, NY
• Jonathan Sawyer - The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland, OH
• Rocco Whalen - Fahrenheit, Cleveland, OH
• Paul Minillo - The Baricelli Inn, Cleveland, OH
• Nate Appleman - Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria, New York, NY
• Eric Williams - Momocho, Cleveland, OH
• Scot Jones - Vegiterranean, Cleveland, OH

In addition to amazing food and mingling with some of the countries best chefs, the event will also feature music, entertainment, and auctions. It's sure to be a great event and I'm disappointed that I will be out of town that day.

Tickets are $200, with VIP tickets, full tables and special sponsorship opportunities available. A $1,000 VIP ticket includes an invitation to a private dinner at Symon's home on Saturday, July 31, and a party at the Greenhouse Tavern after the benefit. For more information and to buy tickets online, go to join.strength.org/foodforlife or call 1-888-273-6141.

2010 Veggie U Food & Wine Celebration

My beautiful wife on the grounds of the beautiful Culinary Vegetable Institute

My wife was the lucky winner of a pair of tickets  to the 2010 Veggie U Food & Wine Festival on the grounds of the Culinary Vegetable Institute. (Thanks again Cleveland Foodie!!!)

It was HOT under the main tasting tent. Fortunately they had fans misting water and Jeni's Ice Cream to cool us down.

The Food & Wine benefit is an annual benefit featuring gourmet cuisine prepared by chefs from all over the country, wines from top vineyards, cooking demos, and an exclusive auction, all benefiting Veggie U. Veggie U's mission is to promote the well-being of children through a healthy lifestyle.  Veggie U is dedicated to the creation and distribution of curricula nationally, with a focus on making wise food choices, combating adolescent and juvenile disease, and attaining an understanding of sustainable agriculture.

 Some of the beautiful produce on display courtesy of the Culinary Vegetable Institute (sorry, the photo doesn't even begin to give it justice)

Tickets weren't cheap at $175, but considering the great cause and number of renowned chefs, serving great food with pristine ingredients from the Culinary Vegetable Institute, this event was worth the cost of admission.

We took a lot of pictures as we made our way through the stations and I thought I'd share some of our favorite dishes with you.There was obviously lots of great food but one dish was our runaway favorite - Chef Michael Deligatta's squash blossom stuffed with fire roasted heirloom sweet corn and Silver Lake chevre with spicy peach chutney.

Easily the best dish of the festival - Chef Michael Deligatta's Squash Blossom Stuffed with Fire Roasted Heirloom Sweet Corn and Silver Lake Chevre with Spicy Peach Chutney

 

The blossoms were lightly fried and stuffed with a delicious, creamy filling. This is the only station we went back to for seconds thirds. The chef said these are on his summer menu so if you want to try them head down to the Inn at Versailles.

My second favorite came at the hands of Chef Jamie McFadden of Cuisiniers in Winter Park, FL and was the most unlikely candidate - A Study of Peas.

Peas three different ways

Anyone care for a champagne cocktail featuring peas? Bring it on! Skeptical at first, I could have drank this light, refreshing drink all day. It was the perfect compliment to the heat. They also served a cold spring pea soup and a sweet pea and fava bean bruschetta. All three dishes were executed perfectly, letting the quality of the Chef's Garden peas shine through. If Chef Jamie ever goes on Iron Chef, he should hope for peas as the secret ingredient!

There were lots of other great dishes, but these two really stood out from the crowd, in my opinion. Here are some shots of our other favorite dishes:

 

Dumpling of Braised Grass-Fed Beef, Maytag Bleu Cheese, Heirloom Tomoato Confit by Chef Leo Bushey of Perfect Production Fine Catering

Short Ribs with Radish and Turnip Salad by Chef Tony Dee of Barton G in Miami Beach

Roasted Summer Corn Salad with Smokey Rubbed Hanger Steak by Chef Dave Martin from Top Chef Season 1

Beautiful artwork carved out of fruits and veggies

It was amazing how quickly he was able to create these!

 Chilled Watermelon & Cucumber Salad by Chef Rachel Spieth from Three Birds in Lakewood

Porcini Mushroom Dusted Lambchops over Heirloom Tomato & Shaved Fennel Salad with 12 yr aged Balsamic by Chef Ray Comisky of Capital Grille

 

 Beet-i-ful Terrine, Mascarpone Cream Beet Cherry Puree, Mache by Chef Tim Maxim

Gunpowder Bison Flank Steak "Bahn Mi" with Fois Gras Butter and Chef's Garden Produce Fixin's Bar by Chefs Beej Flamholz and Erica Wides

"Fixin's Bar"

Unfortunately my camera battery died half way through the evening so I didn't capture the rest of the food we sampled. Needless to say, we didn't go home hungry. The event also featured wine tasting demos with master sommeliers - we missed these, wish they started a little later as we were too busy eating to make it to these sessions, live music, food demos with Martha Foose, Jonathon Sawyer from The Greenhouse Tavern, and Dave Martin & Lee Ann Wong from Top Chef.

If you are interested in supporting the mission of Veggie U, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

Did you attend the 2010 Veggie U Food & Wine Celebration? What was your favorite dish???

Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Wow, has it really been almost a month since I posted? I know, as Metromix producer Janet Nguyen told me recently, I've been a really bad blogger. Worse yet, I haven't even been cooking much in the past month. June has been a blur for me. It was an extremely busy month at work and I got pretty burned out on cooking after all the work I put into the rib burnoff (which I didn't win but more importantly we raised lots of money). Fortunately, things have calmed down a little at work and I am finding some motivation in the kitchen.

I went to the Crocker Park Farmer's Market this past Saturday for the first time since May and saw some beautiful squash blossoms for sale.

Fresh squash blossoms 

I had never eaten squash blossoms but I heard they were pretty good. They weren't cheap at $5 for 5 blossoms, but we were having some people over for dinner on Sunday so I thought I'd pick some up for everyone to try. I also noticed a new (to me) vendor, The Ornery Goat, selling goat's milk & cheese at the Crocker Farmers Market. They were sampling feta, four different types of chevre (chive & onion, chipotle, garlic dill, and plain), and fresh goats milk. I tasted them all and decided on the chipotle and chive & onion. The goat milk was also very interesting. It was very rich (like whole milk) and had a slight tang to it. It is definitely worth checking out next time you are at the market.

 The assembly line

I decided to stuff the squash blossoms with goat cheese, coat them in flour, and deep fry them. The flowers were a little delicate but I was able to successfully fill each of the blossoms with cheese and twist the petals together to seal them up.

Battered squash blossoms waiting to go in the fryer

Next, I dipped them in egg and then tossed them in flour until they were coated. I put a pot with an inch or two of canola oil over medium heat. To test when the oil was hot enough, I dropped a little flour in and it fried the flour without burning it so in went the squash blossoms. I didn't have enough oil to cover them completely so after a minute or so I flipped each blossom over to cook the other side. After both sides looked nice and crispy, I removed each blossom.

Fried squash blossom stuffed with Ornery Goat Chevre

The squash blossoms turned out pretty good. The goat cheese paired perfectly with the delicate squash taste of the blossom. I especially liked the chipotle chevre as it gave a little heat to the dish. If I had it to do over again, I probably would experiment with a batter rather than just the egg / flour coating. I forgot to season the flour so the crispy exterior was on the bland side. 

If you like to try new foods or are looking for something unique to serve at a party this summer, stuffed, fried squash blossoms are sure to make your be a hit and make for great conversation too.

Have you ever tried squash blossoms? What is your favorite recipe?