What is an Iron Chef Adventure?

Food with a Twist:

Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, and over the years I have also come to enjoy concocting my own recipes. With some free time this summer, I started looking for a fun challenge... after a little brainstorming the idea for my own twist on Food Network's Iron Chef was born.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the undertaking. While helping my Mom out by covering dinner, Iron Chef challenges also push me to be more creative in kitchen and try out ideas I never would have before. As an added bonus, it is fun to invite guests over for dinner and let them get involved by choosing the meal's secret ingredient.

The Inspiration:

During a traditional Iron Chef episode, a challenger chef is invited to Kitchen Stadium and battles against an Iron Chef (current ones include Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, and Mario Batali). With only an hour and two sous chefs to serve up between 4 and 6 dishes, the show gets quite interesting. On top of that, there is another catch- both chefs are given a "secret ingredient" right before the challenge that they must showcase in all of their dishes, which are judged on Taste, Plating, and Originality.

My Challenge:

• 1 secret ingredient
• 4 courses
• 6 hours
• 8 shopping dollars per judge*
• open pantry, closed book, and no extra help

To increase the difficulty (and excitement!) of future challenges, I may shorten the amount of time, tighten the budget, and increase the number of courses.

*In support of sustainable practices, locally grown and/or organic ingredients are purchased whenever possible.