Iron Chef

Only two weeks to go to Labor Day, so we couldn’t let a Sunday pass by without trying to complete another item on our Summer List. One of our favorite activities from last summer was our first Iron Chef competition. We split our family into two teams, boys against the girls. Last year the boys won by preparing the judge’s (Grandpa) favorite fruit salad as an appetizer. This year the girls were determined to win.

Our list of common ingredients included chicken, zucchini (what else am I going to do with it?), and chocolate chips. Then each team got to choose a secret ingredient that was revealed to the other team this morning. The girls chose oatmeal and the boys chose Swiss Chard… really?!

The cook-off started at 4:30 with all three courses to be served at 6:30. We take a little more time than the TV show since we only have one kitchen. My sweetie is a much better cook than me, so we make the boys cook outside where they have the option to grill, Dutch Oven, or use the hotplate on the grill. They can also use the oven if needed (we try to be nice about these things, although after the chard thing they didn’t really deserve it).

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

One of the best things about this competition is that we try to make something new and maybe a bit unusual. Grandpa is always a good sport and he eats everything. His all-time favorite food is homemade bread. Last year we made rolls as part of both meals. This year I forgot to make that stipulation, and the first thing my sweetie did was mix up a big batch of Dutch Oven rolls. The other rule is that everything has to be made from scratch with ingredients we have on hand or in the garden.

We were pretty sure we had a winner this year. The Drama Queen printed some recipes for Teriyaki Chicken and Tempura Vegetables. I know my dad loves Japanese food since he has a Japanese daughter-in-law. We also figured that a good bar cookie would top that off just perfectly.

We had planned a salad for an appetizer, but the guys got to the lettuce first, so Bossy pulled off a miracle by making Swiss Chard veggie sushi. She used thin sliced cucumber, carrots, and zucchini and rolled it into chard leaves with a little rice to hold it all together. It was surprisingly good (although the boys beat it out with their fruited salad. They used lettuce and chard, but then they added fresh strawberries and apricots (I still have a ton of them if you are interested!) carrots and nuts. They even made a homemade vinaigrette!

Ok, maybe they deserved that one. But our Teriyaki Chicken with rice and Tempura Veggies beat out their Zucchini Boats with Chicken and Pasta hands down. Not even their homemade rolls could save them. My sweetie agreed that our food was tastier!

So it was all up to the final dessert. The boys had a good one. Sport and the Dog Walker made Rice Krispie squares with chocolate chips stirred in. The little kids had already given it the thumbs-up! But in the end, my Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookie bars were declared the winner.

We had a great time sharing our food, talking and laughing and just being together. Last year the girls (losers) were required to do the cleanup. This year we just earned bragging rights…I’m still not sure how that happened…next year I’m going to write down ALL the rules before we start! Thanks for being the judge, Grandpa!