Iron Chef Fans - A Look Back at a Classic Show

[Evo]

A few years ago I discovered the "Iron Chef" program on the Food Network. I have been addicted ever since.

The show is funny, informative, fast paced, and interesting. I love it. Why did they stop making new shows?

I have learned so much about Japanese food and culture, it's been a real eye opener. I wish I had seen this show before I went to Japan, I would have done so many things differently.

Does anyone else here watch it?

 

[hypatia]

I love the narraters, the female one just cracks me up. I must confess to stealing more than a few ideas from the show, mostly in how the food is presented. Its food art at its finest .

 

[JamesU]

I've seen it once or twice. it's okay...kinda...

 

[infinitetime]

Is that the one where the chinese guy bites a big chunk of a bell pepper in either the beginning or end of the show? I found that pretty hilarious!

 

[Evo]

Is that the one where the chinese guy bites a big chunk of a bell pepper in either the beginning or end of the show? I found that pretty hilarious!

Yes, that's the show, except he's Japanese. It's a very funny show.

 

[infinitetime]

Yes, that's the show, except he's Japanese. It's a very funny show.

Right, Japanese - that's what I meant... heehee


And it is pretty funny, now that I remember...I really like the dubbed-in voices of the taste testers...

 

[Moonbear]

When I had cable TV, years ago, I watched it. It was one of the few things on cable that made it worth having. I agree, it was a really addictive show. I'm not sure I really learned anything from it, but it was fun to watch.

 

[dduardo]

They have a new americanized version of iron chef hosted by Alton Brown. The season already ended but I'm sure they will have new episodes in the next couple of months.

 

[DocToxyn]

I love that show, I've even got a T-shirt. It's got all the battle ingredients listed on the back like a concert T-shirt. Part of the fun was glimpse into a different culture if afforded, plus the food looked great, although I could never eat turtle . The new American version is pretty good, but not the same. Alton Brown's commentary is spot-on and the food looks good, but it just doesn't have the same appeal. Also the other knock-off they tried to make with William Shatner was too horrible to even laugh at. Allez Cuisine!

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

My favorite is IC Sakai. Anyone that has watched the show for any length of time has seen him peel an apple in like 5 seconds. He seems so happy to be there strutting his stuff. I particularly like it when they make a sorbet out of odd things like SEAFOOD!

I saw one episode where a camera assistant didn't move the right way and one of the chefs spilled some soup or something and the look on the poor guys face was like DAMN! Not only did I get hot liquid all over me but I'll probably get fired AND get a proper "beat-down" as well. Love the show...did I mention I absolutely despise Bobby Flay. Well I do.

On the Japanese version when the tasters don't like something they are so polite as expected. On the American version I've actually heard them say things like "I didn't like this" and the look on the chefs face was "BURN IN HELL I ONLY HAD AN HOUR YOU HEIFER, YOU TRY MAKING A SAVORY ENTREE OUT OF CHOCOLATE!"

Did I mention I despise Bobby Flay? Then again I can't really cook and I'm not rich and famous either.

I like BBQ-U and Cooking with the CIA as well.

 

[Evo]

Bobby Flay

I love Alton Brown, but Iron Chef American just is not as good. The main problem is exactly what you said Echo 6, the tasters have no class. The comments by the tasting panel is what made the original so great and this one is lacking that element. How can the producers not get that? Also, the five course requirement is ridiculous, quantity over quality?

Don't even mention that Shatner debaucle.

DT - I saw the show were they had turtles...I had to change the channel.

 

[Moonbear]

I can't imagine an Americanized version of Iron Chef. Most of its appeal is that it's infused with Japanese culture.

 

[Evo]

I can't imagine an Americanized version of Iron Chef. Most of its appeal is that it's infused with Japanese culture.

Just be glad that you missed the version with William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in it.

What the hell were they thinking?

 

[Danger]

Can I consider myself an 'iron chef' because you need an iron stomach to eat my cooking?

 

[Moonbear]

Just be glad that you missed the version with William Shatner (Captain Kirk) in it.

What the hell were they thinking?

Shatner? That sounds awful. How can you...have someone host...Iron Chef...who pauses so...often...while speaking? It needs to be fast paced!

 

[Gokul43201]

Iron Chef was almost addictive. Used to be a time when I'd watch it around once a week...not anymore. And if you like Alton Brown, watch Good Eats.

 

[Evo]

Iron Chef was almost addictive. Used to be a time when I'd watch it around once a week...not anymore. And if you like Alton Brown, watch Good Eats.

I love Good Eats!

I think I've seen every Iron Chef show at least twice, so I don't watch as religiously as I did when they were new (here).

Alton

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/images/FF_102_brown1_f.jpg

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

Sorry, but I'm going on a slant for a min...Wasn't there an English cooking show one time called "2 Fat Broads" or something to that effect. I vaguely remember them riding a motorcycle with a sidecar and drinking more wine during their show than Julia Childs(RIP) and Justin Wilson(RIP also) put together. Whatever happened to the Galloping Gourmet? PBS here used to have a show where a Franciscan Monk baked just about every known kind of bread on the show and would have a portion of the show dedicated to a certain culture's "typical" bread and would sometimes have a guest demonstrate their technique. More often than not, that portion was taped like Ntnl Geographic.

One more glass of Port and it's beddie-bye for me. :zzz:

 

[Moonbear]

Sorry, but I'm going on a slant for a min...Wasn't there an English cooking show one time called "2 Fat Broads" or something to that effect. I vaguely remember them riding a motorcycle with a sidecar and drinking more wine during their show than Julia Childs(RIP) and Justin Wilson(RIP also) put together.

I think it was "Two Fat Ladies," but I'm not sure now. I know what show you're talking about though. Very funny, but I sure wouldn't try anything they cooked on that show! It seemed the theme was to just add more fat!

PBS here used to have a show where a Franciscan Monk baked just about every known kind of bread on the show and would have a portion of the show dedicated to a certain culture's "typical" bread and would sometimes have a guest demonstrate their technique. More often than not, that portion was taped like Ntnl Geographic.

I loved that show. I was just taking up bread-making around the time I first saw that show, so I was really appreciative of learning things like how to make cute shapes and stuff like that. He was pretty funny too - would say things I would not have expected from a monk...nothing bad, but just cracking jokes about the other brothers' eating habits and stuff like that.

 

[quantumdude]

When I moved out of the dorms (thereby leaving behind the college meal plan) and got my first apartment, The Food Network saved my life.

That's no exaggeration, I would have starved without them!

My favorite shows then: Grillin' and Chillin', Ruggerio to Go, From Martha's Kitchen (Laugh at me, and I'll ban your ass. She had a killer pierogie recipe! )

My favorite shows now: Boy Meets Grill, Everyday Italian, Paula's Kitchen (or whatever it's called), and Good Eats.

To tell you the truth, I've never watched Iron Chef because I was never interested in a cooking game show. But maybe I'll check it out now.

 

[Moonbear]

From Martha's Kitchen (Laugh at me, and I'll ban your ass. She had a killer pierogie recipe! )

I'll take my chances. It wasn't too funny until you made the threat.
(Oh, and I still have this "Get Out Of Banning Free" card I won in the thread-killer thread. I better use it before it expires now that the thread is dead. )

To tell you the truth, I've never watched Iron Chef because I was never interested in a cooking game show. But maybe I'll check it out now.

It's not so much a game show as a competition. No stupid quiz questions, no ditzy contestants, just real chefs frantically whipping up a 5 course meal with every course including one featured ingredient. It's hysterical watching them try to come up with a dessert from fish or broccoli. The taste testers are truly brave people.

 

[quantumdude]

Blasted Get Out of Banning Free card...

 

[Moonbear]

Blasted Get Out of Banning Free card...

Undoubtedly that's the reason franzbear had to die. He was just passing those out far too liberally for a while.

 

[quantumdude]

I think it was "Two Fat Ladies," but I'm not sure now. I know what show you're talking about though. Very funny, but I sure wouldn't try anything they cooked on that show! It seemed the theme was to just add more fat!

Totally! I remember watching that show when I first discovered FoodTV. They were making a casserole outdoors (the episode was about "scout cooking"). One of them said, "Now we need some butter", and the other one said, "Yes, about a pound should do it"

*PLOP*

And in it went.

I liked watching the show, but I never did try any of their recipes. It didn't help that one of them died just a few seasons after the show started!

 

[hypatia]

My favorite Food TV show is 30 minute Meals with Rachael Ray, she has forced me to buy EVOO by the gallons.
She has another show too, but I don't recall the name. She goes to places and only has so much money to spend on meals for the day.lol I want her job!

 

[FredGarvin]

Bobby Flay

I love Alton Brown, but Iron Chef American just is not as good.

Amen to that! Alton is a personal favorite of mine, but IC America is just plain bad. Good Eats is the best show on food IMO (I have many on tape). Bobby Flay is just an arrogant ass. He got his ass kicked on the Japanese Iron Chef a few years back.

The American version of IC is just another shining example of how we take really good foreign shows/movies and think that we can make them better by putting our spin on it. That is a hot spot topic with me. I won't get started.

 

[Moonbear]

My favorite Food TV show is 30 minute Meals with Rachael Ray, she has forced me to buy EVOO by the gallons.

You're buying Evo?

She has another show too, but I don't recall the name. She goes to places and only has so much money to spend on meals for the day.lol I want her job!

That reminds me of those "chef on a shoestring" spots some of those morning shows do (and I've seen it as an occassional spot on the evening news too). The premise is they'll give a chef something like $20 to make a gourmet dinner for two (first, $20 for a meal is hardly a shoestring budget; silly TV types have no clue), but then they calculate the cost the way you would in a restaurant: high quality balsamic vinegar was only 30 cents because they only used a tablespoon, or the lemon was 25 cents because they bought them 2/ $1 and only used half of a lemon. The dishes are usually pretty tasty looking, but the normal person doesn't get to buy their ingredients a tablespoon at a time.

 

[hypatia]

lmao@ EVO by the gallon

EVOO= extra virgin olive oil

 

[Evo]

Did anyone watch "Door Knock Dinners" with Gordon Elliott? He would walk around a neighbohood knocking on people's doors asking if they could come inside and cook a dinner from whatever the owner had in their kitchen. (he had a professional chef with him) Gordon Elliott is a hoot.

I liked the Two Fat Ladies, they were a hoot.

Tonight on the Food Channel they are having a competition for a new food show host. I hadn't been watching it becuase I hate those kind of competitions, but I caught part of it last week and now I have to see who wins. Oh please don't let it be the guy with the weird hair, he get's on my nerves, he's much too perky, but he seems to be the favorite. You can vote online during the finalshow so I'm voting for someone else.

 

[DocToxyn]

Whatever happened to the Galloping Gourmet?

The guys name was Graham Kerr and he reappeared for a while on another cooking show that featured lighter versions of the food he used to do on his previous show. I can't think of the name of the show (it might have just been Graham Kerr), but I still have a great chili recipe from him with red wine and bulghur wheat.

Did anyone watch "Door Knock Dinners" with Gordon Elliott? He would walk around a neighbohood knocking on people's doors asking if they could come inside and cook a dinner from whatever the owner had in their kitchen. (he had a professional chef with him) Gordon Elliott is a hoot.

That was a fun show, Gordon was very entertaining with the people who's homes he invaded. Did you see the one when they featured the Iron Chef's Sakai and Morimoto?

Good Eats is the best show on food IMO (I have many on tape).

Here-Here! Every show is so original, plus he knows his stuff (or at least does the research). His brined turkey recipe is awesome; curried cauliflower pickles, mighty duck, pot o' greens, city ham-all great dishes. Although I have to disagree with his over-use of the electric knife, those things are horrible.

 

[FredGarvin]

Here-Here! Every show is so original, plus he knows his stuff (or at least does the research). His brined turkey recipe is awesome; curried cauliflower pickles, mighty duck, pot o' greens, city ham-all great dishes. Although I have to disagree with his over-use of the electric knife, those things are horrible.

I love my electric knife!

Alton also went to film school (so I have read). Some of his takeoffs are pretty funny. His "American Beauty" parody in the intro to the pickling episode was pretty funny. He has my sense of humor and he does indeed do his research. Plus he doesn't have a gimmick like some annoying, over-hyped types (BAM!).

 

[Evo]

That was a fun show, Gordon was very entertaining with the people who's homes he invaded. Did you see the one when they featured the Iron Chef's Sakai and Morimoto?

Yes, I did! Didn't Sakai make somethin out of frozen fish sticks?

Here-Here! Every show is so original, plus he knows his stuff (or at least does the research). His brined turkey recipe is awesome; curried cauliflower pickles, mighty duck, pot o' greens, city ham-all great dishes. Although I have to disagree with his over-use of the electric knife, those things are horrible.

I used his brined Turkey trick last Thanksgiving, and his turkey roasting method and it was the best turkey ever!

 

[DocToxyn]

I love my electric knife!

Granted this is based off of old models that were in use in my parents/grandparents household so things may have changed but... Things I don't like about electric knives: it's basically a small chain saw and you get the same effects on the product you are cutting as you would on...well wood. The texture of the cut is ragged and there are pieces of "meatdust" which accumulate. Plus there was a distinct odor and grating sound of an electric appliance (ozone?) that never meshed well with the other pleasurable odors and sounds of Thanksgiving. Give me a good chunk of finely honed german steel any day.

Alton also went to film school (so I have read). Some of his takeoffs are pretty funny. His "American Beauty" parody in the intro to the pickling episode was pretty funny. He has my sense of humor and he does indeed do his research. Plus he doesn't have a gimmick like some annoying, over-hyped types (BAM!).

His supporting cast of characters (family) are also very amusing, as well as Alton's ability to "enter" a character, re. Bowl of Red and his Southern Boy. While I too share a professed dislike of the big "E" along with many other food snobs, he has done a lot of work to bring real cuisine to the average American and I have to commend him for that.

 

[DocToxyn]

I used his brined Turkey trick last Thanksgiving, and his turkey roasting method and it was the best turkey ever!

That one is a winner. Although recently I have been boning out the entire turkey with a dorsal approach (down through the backbone), stuffing it with a mixture of sourdough bread (toasted), herbs, sausage, dried fruit, eggs and heavy cream, stitching it back up like some kind of Franken'turkey and roasting it off. Man its good and no bones to carve around! This is in preparation for my eventual attempt at the Turducken, which is a chicken, boned and stuffed into a boned duck, which is then stuffed into a boned turkey . A few layers of different stuffing in between the layers and it's got to be good, its big in the south.

 

[Gokul43201]

Plus he doesn't have a gimmick like some annoying, over-hyped types (BAM!).

Bravo ! Bravo !

 

[Danger]

Give me a good chunk of finely honed german steel any day.

I can tell you for sure, as well, that an electric knife is just about useless in a fight.

This is in preparation for my eventual attempt at the Turducken

Yet another good reason that we pretty much ignore Thanksgiving up here. Who would go through all that when you can just have burgers and beer?

 

[Moonbear]

This is in preparation for my eventual attempt at the Turducken, which is a chicken, boned and stuffed into a boned duck, which is then stuffed into a boned turkey . A few layers of different stuffing in between the layers and it's got to be good, its big in the south.

Someone I know makes that every year (though I haven't been invited to his place for Thanksgiving yet...probably because he lives in a different state ). It sounds good until they get to the layer of oyster stuffing. I really don't like oysters, so I'd have to find a different substitute for that layer.

 

[DocToxyn]

Someone I know makes that every year (though I haven't been invited to his place for Thanksgiving yet...probably because he lives in a different state ). It sounds good until they get to the layer of oyster stuffing. I really don't like oysters, so I'd have to find a different substitute for that layer.

How about Giant Red Clams!

 

[Moonbear]

How about Giant Red Clams!

I think those are best avoided entirely. But maybe something with some other, less deadly variety of clam, or crabmeat might work. It seems like an expensive and time-consuming undertaking to start experimenting with stuffings without some idea of how the rest of it tastes first. As much as I don't like oysters, I think I'm going to have to taste it once with the oysters in it just to find out what the flavor combination is to determine if clams or crabmeat would be too "fishy" of a substitute (or go all out and use some lobster meat), unless I can find something devoid of seafood that would complement it well.

Have you ever had turducken, or just know what it is? I'm wondering if you really need to get all three layers to complement each other, or if nobody really has a mouth big enough to stuff in a bite that contains all the layers at the same time anyway. Would a sweet stuffing be bad? I'm thinking that a stuffing I used to make (if I can locate the recipe again) that has mandarin oranges in it might go well, and use the stronger sausage stuffing layer with the turkey (give that turkey some flavor), and the traditional cornbread stuffing with the chicken. The duck is the innermost layer of meat, right? That would make the layers: turkey, sausage stuffing, chicken, cornbread stuffing, duck, mandarin orange stuffing. I'll be you can just feel your arteries clogging after that meal (but that's why you only do it once a year). Maybe I'll start playing with boning chickens and see how I do on that.

What do you do with the legs and wings? Do you debone them too and tuck them inside each other, or do you just remove them from the duck and chicken and keep the turkey drumsticks only? I guess you could always just toss them into a pot and make a stock or soup out of them.

 

[FredGarvin]

Wow! Alton is listed in Wikipedia. A dubious honor to say the least.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Brown

I had no idea he worked on "The One I Love."

 

[DocToxyn]

Have you ever had turducken, or just know what it is? I'm wondering if you really need to get all three layers to complement each other, or if nobody really has a mouth big enough to stuff in a bite that contains all the layers at the same time anyway. Would a sweet stuffing be bad? I'm thinking that a stuffing I used to make (if I can locate the recipe again) that has mandarin oranges in it might go well, and use the stronger sausage stuffing layer with the turkey (give that turkey some flavor), and the traditional cornbread stuffing with the chicken. The duck is the innermost layer of meat, right? That would make the layers: turkey, sausage stuffing, chicken, cornbread stuffing, duck, mandarin orange stuffing. I'll be you can just feel your arteries clogging after that meal (but that's why you only do it once a year). Maybe I'll start playing with boning chickens and see how I do on that.

I haven't had it, it's just one of those "challenges" I have placed upon myself and I think it's chicken as the inner-most layer. A sweet stuffing should go well, especially with the duck and orange is a classic companion to duck (although I can't stand mandarin oranges). Typically the stuffings used in the recipe include a cornbread variant, a duxelles (mushroom-based stuffing) and a wild rice mix. I do like the sausage stuffing though, it does bring a lot of flavor and fat the party and makes for a great gravy. Although with its high fat content, the duck should play a similar role...mmmmmm duck fat! :!)

What do you do with the legs and wings? Do you debone them too and tuck them inside each other, or do you just remove them from the duck and chicken and keep the turkey drumsticks only? I guess you could always just toss them into a pot and make a stock or soup out of them.

For the turkey, I have always left the most distal bones on the appendages in situ, but would remove them from the inner birds. If you have large holes in the skin from removing those bones, you need to stitch them back up or you lose too much juice/stuffing. I have seen recipes where all bones were removed and after trussing the whole thing just looked like one big turkey loaf. It's more appealing to me to leave some semblance of turkey shape to the finished product. And yes, I do keep all the bones for stock, turkey soup is great made with rice and sweet potatoes.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I can tell you for sure, as well, that an electric knife is just about useless in a fight.

I was living in Japan when the show first appeared there. I am convinced that the contest is as fake as a professional wrestling match with the contest winner decided before the show is even taped. My wife, on the other hand, is of the mistaken opinion that the contest is real. Danger has it right.