Flay/Symon
vs. Garces/Forgione: Battle Thanksgiving
November 13
It's another
Thanksgiving in Kitchen Stadium, but rather than your
usual turkey shoot, it's going to be an all-out knife
fight pitting one team of Tetsujin against another. In
what could be called Seniors vs. Juniors, Iron Chefs
Bobby Flay and Michael Symon are taking their turkey
aggressions out on their junior brethren Iron Chefs Jose
Garces and Marc Forgione.
The
Challengers:
Iron Chefs Flay & Symon are
undefeated in Thanksgiving battles. Will their streak
continue as Forgione faces his first Turkey Day match as
an Iron Chef? Luckily, he has the assistance of Jose
Garces, certainly no stranger to prepping a side dish
here and there that wows the panel.
Prepare for battle.
FLAY/SYMON
Clarisa Martino, sous-chef |
VS |
GARCES/FORGIONE
Michael Fiorello, sous-chef |
Southwestern/Mediterranean |
COOKING STYLE |
Latin Fusion/Modern
French |
The
Theme Ingredient:
everything you need to create the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner: turkeys,
greens, breads, potatoes, and the all-important cranberries.
The Rules: Each team must create a five-course
meal, with each course utilizing the theme ingredients, within 60
minutes. The judges will score the dishes on a 20-point scale: 10 points
taste, 5 points plating and presentation, 5 points creativity and use of
ingredient. The team that best articulates the theme ingredient through
their dishes wins.
The battle clock is set at 60 minutes, which will start
when the Chairman, with full heart and empty stomach, utters the words
of his dear uncle.... "Allez cuisine!"
And Battle Thanksgiving is on in Kitchen
Stadium.
Forgione has already won a Thanksgiving
battle in KSA as the finale of "Next Iron Chef III". Symon's breaking
down the turkey to keep the breast together, as well as an attempt to
smoke the thighs. Both chefs will be working heavily with sweet
potatoes. Garces is going to elevate "modern traditional", while
Forgione is cooking by feel... using a scale. They're going to smoke
bluepoint oysters. Flay's strategy: Mediterranean with an American
finish. Symon continues to butcher turkeys, while his teammate is
working on a sweet potato gratin. The typical game is going to be played
today, but you also have to remember that the judges will have strong
expectations for American classics.
And with that, Forgione's making his own
marshmallow fluff. And then there's also some sausage. Flay/Symon is
making a meat glue for Symon's breasts. Flay has diced chorizo while
Symon has vacuum-sealed stuffed turkey breasts. Garces seals pancetta
turkey while Forgione has apples and cinnamon on the heat. Their
souschef Michael is making a boudin blanc sausage.
"Fifteen minutes have elapsed." Time to
meet...
Tonight's Judges...
- PR specialist Karine Bakhoum (KB Network News)
- Actor Henry Winkler ("Royal Pains", "Children's Hospital")
- Actress Cady Huffman
Bit of trivia: as far as female judges on
the ICA panel, Karine and Cady are 1-2.
Symon is cooking his turkey sous-vide...
as is Garces. Forgione is taking some duck skin and making a bit of
cracker out of it. Garces has lobster as well as what he's calling
"turkey orange gelee". Will Clarisa make an ice cream out of her
milk-cream-vanilla mixture?
"Thirty minutes have elapsed." Let's
catch up. Flay has lobsters in a pot. Symon has turkey, bacon, butter,
flour, and turkey stock in a Dutch oven. Clarisa's cream mixture is
currently in the blast chiller, not the ice-cream machine. Garces has a
pan of onion, white wine, potatoes, and turkey stock on the heat.
Forgione is whipping sweet potatoes, while Michael is handling beans of
all shapes and sizes.
Garces is turning turkey livers into
mousse, while Forgione is making his father's recipe for Thanksgiving
dinner. Flay is adding brown sugar into his cranberry sauce. Forgione is
making an apple soufflé thanks to some beaten egg whites. Forgione is
going to roast some planked lobsters, while the mousse on the left hand
side is getting ready to set.
"Fifteen minutes to go."
Flay has cranberry sauce and mashed
potatoed with brown butter. Lobster tails are being finished, while eggs
are being coddled. Garces/Forgione counters with salted caramel,
pancetta turkey, and apple-cinnamon soufflé.
With six minutes to go, Flay/Symon has a
salad with egg and pumpkin soup. Garces/Forgione has sweet potato
ravioli. Bobby Flay also has a polenta dish with lobster. Clarisa is
finished with ice cream. Forgione is serving lobster on its plank. Sweet
potato gratin family style is done. Turkey rolls... done. Ravioli...
done. Cranberry beans... done. And another turkey roll is done. Garces
is adding some salad to the turkey medallions. Berries and apples are
still working on the left side. They have dressing and salad, but the
dessert is a mystery. Forgione/Garces also has the turkey, the souffle,
salad with oysters, sausage, and ravioli. Flay/Symon are done with their
dessert, polenta, salad, soup, and turkey with all the dressing. And
we're down to...
"Five seconds... three... two... one... "
And Battle Thanksgiving is history. Put it down and walk away.
TASTING & JUDGMENT
Forgione/Garces:
"Our approach was to do a little modern interpretation of the holiday and bring
it to a new level."
- Deconstructed Smoked Oyster Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Ravioli
- Turkey & Black Truffle Boudin Blanc
- Thanksgiving Feast - Pancetta-Wrapped Turkey Breast, Turkey Liver Terrine with
Turkey Gelee, Cranberry Compote, Raisin Walnut Bread, and Mustard
- "Apple Pie" Souffle
Flay/Symon:
"Thanksigving is really all about family. We want the meal to really
progress that way."
- Pumpkin Soup
- Green Bean Salad on Poached egg
- Seafood Polenta
- Thanksgiving Feast - Stuffed Turkey Breast, Smoked Turkey Gravy, Goat Cheese
Dressing, Cabernet Cranberry Sauce, Roasted Vegetables, and Sweet Potato Gratin
- Apple Blackberry Crisp
Forgione & Garces elevated the
traditional Thanksgiving dinner, expanding and enhancing what they like
about it with their combined food knowledge. Each of Flay & Symon's
dishes had its own identity to contribute to the overall theme. The
judges appear to be deadlocked, but there can only be one winning team
of Iron Chefs. Who takes it? Modern or traditional? Whose Thanksgiving
cuisine reigns supreme? The verdict...
|
FLAY/SYMON |
GARCES/FORGIONE |
Taste |
29 |
25 |
Plating |
15 |
14 |
Originality |
15 |
15 |
... by one sweet
point.... 59-54 in favor of Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and
Mike Symon. They were one point shy of perfection, but a
win is a win, and both chefs remain unmatched in
Thanksgiving matches.
Until next battle, we bid
you good eating.
To see this episode in its entirety, go to
www.foodnetwork.com/ica. |