The White House & Michelle on Iron Chef America tonight on the Food Network

[housewolf]

It's a special Iron Chef America tonight, with White House Chef Cristeta Comerford joining with Bobby Flay to challenge team Mario Batalli and Emeril Lagasse. Michelle Obama has the honor of introducing tonight's "secret ingredient", something from her White House garden. Should be fun viewing!




(Did you notice that Michelle's dress matches Mario Batalli's shoes?)



Did you know that the Food Network's viewership increased a whopping 26% in 2009??? Guess their challenge/competition strategy is working for them

article about tonight's episode and other new show, "Worst Cooks in America"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101613.html

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I voted against the judges and thought Batali and LaGasse had it.

But I wasn't a judge, so it doesn't matter.

[housewolf]

2. I thought that too

They actually won it on plating and originality, the Taste scores were exactly alike. Both teams did A LOT of different items this show. I liked the longer format with so many comments from the judges.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I liked the format, too.

Could you tell that Batali and Flay are not best buds? :)

LaGasse, on the other hand, is a mensch.

[Warpy]

5. Flay is a great chef, but it's hard to imagine him as best buds with anyone

Iron Chef audience bloggers have always noticed the tension among his staff. They're usually not happy people.

[Callalily]

4. Sadly I feel asleep during

the last portion of the judging. From above comment(s)I take it that Flay/Comerford won? Hmmmm . . . surprising. I think Commerfords sous chef should have won something, he was amazing.

I too liked the longer commentary format, and much to my amazement the judges were very articulate. I've watched Iron Chef where one of the judges was an actress (unknown to me) who was trying to make a "smart" comments and failed miserably. If I was a chef of the caliber that cooks on this show, I would be insulted to have someone like that judge me. Just my opinion.

[FarPoint]

6. Excellent showdown!

Highlight of the episode - Alton saying "I cannot FREAKING wait to watch Lagasse put this together"

If you watched it as I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the extended style video of the White House Garden, the theme focus of sustainable living foods/local ingredients with the garden produce.

So, I have yet to see the recipes posted for show, especially the raviolo's .... I am extremely driven to find the recipe by Mario Batali for those large raviolo with I think sweet potato-cheese filling and a fresh egg enclosed within the ravioli pillow. The egg was an amazing idea.... I want that recipe. If anyone has found it........oh, please share the goodies.


Too bad about the burnt radishes ...and, I thought Emeril was more showboating New Orleans with the coffee-beniet desert...It was just a bit too far off of the secret ingredient....fantastic I'm sure but off focus. Apparently Batali's vegetable medley was not a whoo factor for the Judges. I'm not connecting at all with Nigella Lawson anytime I see here of late. I'm going to watch it again, not sure who won in retrospect. My money was on Batali....Emeril I think has always admired the Iron Chef title....maybe a private wish, but he appeared out of his league a bit last night...Mario carried him like a big brother. Of course, with Anne Burrell there........that team was solid.

I think Comerford comes from a demanding venue from the White House but with a full, expert staff to work with...the stress is minimized that way. It showed. Flay and Comerford were destined to win...it was the heart or "Special Theme Episode" for this Iron Chef America......

Alton, he sure knows how to make me smile! He was great last night as was Ted Allen.....I'm glad I recorded it.

[housewolf]

9. Perhaps this recipe by Mario Batali could be adapted for a sweet potato filling

Uova da Raviolo (Ravioli with an Egg Inside)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/uova-da-raviolo-ravioli-with-an-egg-inside-recipe/index.html

If you Google "recipes sweet potato ravioli", you'll find many recipes to draw from.


Unfortunately, the I've never seen Food Network post the Iron Chef recipes on their site.

[FarPoint]

11. Thank You!

Now this will work just fine! I was in a jaw dropping state of amazement of the egg in the ravioli....I think it is brilliant! The recipe you linked explained exactly how to prepare this...the sweet potato filling was not my primary focus.

Now, I need to find the time and mood to practice.

Thanks to you, I can proceed soon! :toast: :bounce: :hi:

[housewolf]

16. More info on the egg-yolk revioli recipe/process

I happened across this post on a different forum today and thought about you and wanted to link to the info here. There's a post from someone who has made a similar recipe many time with a lot of tips that will help make them successful as well as a link to a 28-photo slideshow of a similar recipe being prepared.

Happy ravioli making!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/678010#5342293

[FarPoint]

17. Thank You!

I'm so very focused on this ravioli...:bounce:

[Kali]

7. no tee vee here - curious what the secret ingredient was?

[housewolf]

8. It was "anything from the White House garden"

It was kinda fun watching - All four chefs went out to the White House garden with these little chicken wire-and-wood baskets and they cut what they wanted from the garden. Sometimes 1 team took all of an item that the other team wanted - like the cauliflower and tomatillos. Then next we saw them in Iron Chef Stadium (a mystery as to how they and the produce all got back) and the show proceeded. They had loads of gorgeous late-harvest produce. I'm not sure when the show was filmed but everyone appeared to be to be comfortable in indoor-clothing, so it must have been in the late-summer or early-fall sometime.

[Kali]

10. ah "something" from the garden, I see

so cool that there IS a food garden at our house

[housewolf]

12. Maybe better described as "Food reflecting a healthy lifestyle using foods from the WH garden"

They wanted foods that showcased/highlighted the WH garden harvest and that were examples of types of dishes that contributed to a healthy lifestyle. Also fresh, locally-grown, high quality ingredients.

[pengillian101]

13. Mario Batalli's shoes

What a goofy outfit to wear to the White House.

[housewolf]

14. Mario's signature Croc's

I agree that they're pretty goofy looking... but he's been wearing them on tv for years, and Croc's has been making them the "Mario Batali New Bistro Shoes" for a couple years now, marketed to food workers.




Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), pioneer of a new breed of comfort footwear, today announced world-class chef and author Mario Batali has endorsed its new Bistro shoe. The new model, designed for restaurant and food service industry professionals, offers workplace comfort and features a special slip-resistant design. ...

“Crocs is very excited to announce the partnership with celebrity chef Mario Batali and the new Bistro shoe model,” said Ron Snyder, CEO of Crocs. “Mario has been a long-time fan and a visible supporter of Crocs shoes, and his endorsement further validates the benefits of Crocs shoes for the restaurant and food service industry.”

“It’s not hard to see that I’m a supporter of Crocs, given that I wear them on a daily basis. The new Bistro model brings functionality for the kitchen to the equation producing a product that I am happy to support,” said Batali.

The partnership with Chef Batali, who owns close to 50 pairs of the signature orange Beach model, will include ongoing appearances, testimonials and signature recipes posted to www.crocs.com. Perhaps most well-known for his role on Food Network’s wildly popular Iron Chef America, and his own series, Molto Mario, Batali is also the author of five cookbooks and owner of an ever-growing empire of 11 restaurants in New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Batali is especially fond of the new Bistro shoe because it offers high comfort to workers in the restaurant and food service industry, while it is specially designed to meet workplace standards with a closed heel. In addition to its special slip-resistant design, the shoe also features a thicker metatarsal area to help protect the top of the foot, as well as a supportive arch and foot bed circulation nubs to ensure all-day comfort. The exclusive Croslite™ material conforms to the foot creating a custom fit and the added looseness allows the foot to bend and expand naturally to reduce fatigue. All of the new models are odor- and bacteria-resistant and can be simply sterilized in clean water and bleach.

The Bistro (MSRP: $39.99) will be available in Mario Batali’s signature orange color, as well as in black, chocolate, navy, red, and white. The Bistro will be available to retailers in late summer 2007 in women’s sizes 6-12 and men’s sizes 4-13.

Article link: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070517005210&newsLang=en

pictures: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=mario+batali+crocs&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=


Mario was dressed in his standard chefswear, as were all the other chefs. But he likes to wear short pants, so the shoes really stand out.

:rofl:

[pengillian101]

15. Mario was dressed in his standard chefswear, as were all the other chefs. But he likes to wear short

I know and repeat - what a goofy outfit to wear to the WHITE HOUSE for a photo op. He certainly stood out, and not in a good way.

He shouldn't have stood out. What made matters worse was that he stood next to Michelle in her matching color dress. It looked cartoon-ish; he could have dressed appropriately for the circumstance and been more respectful.




He looks like a clown ready for a parade :rofl:

Perhaps he was just marketing those dumb-ass orange shoes while he had the limelight. It was inappropriate in my book, not that anyone needs to agree.