IRON CHEF RESIDENCE: Pita Burger

Several weeks ago, a man's fantasy became a reality in a form never seen before: Counter Stadium, a tiny cooking arena in the corner of a student dorm. The motivation for spending his non-existent fortune to create Counter Stadium was to encounter new and original cuisines. To realize his dream, he secretly started choosing the top chefs of various styles of cooking, and he named his men the Iron Chefs. Iron Chef Comfort Food. Iron Chef Fancy. Iron Chef Spicy. What inspiration does today's leftovers bring to the challenger? And how will the Iron Chef fight back? Whose cuisine reigns supreme? The heat will be on!

Allez Cuisine!

The challenger has chosen for today's battle: IRON CHEF COMFORT FOOD in the food battle, ground beef.

PITA BURGER
INGREDIENTS:

• ground beef (approx 1/2 pound)
• pita
• tomato
• garlic powder
• worcestershire sauce
• sweet paprika
• salt
• pepper
• liquid smoke

CONDIMENTS

• mayonnaise
• Cheeze Whiz
• ranch dressing
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a bowl, mix ground beef and last 6 ingredients on list, form into oval patties
2. Place patties on grill (in my case, a George Foreman grill), cook to preference
3. chop tomato
4. heat pita (over GF grill, oven, microwave etc)
5. assemble burger, place on condiments, enjoy
   

For this twist on an old American classic, I was inspired by a Bobby Flay Throwdown, where he battled for burgers with a woman who did a Greek burger using ground lamb and pitas. I liked this Mediterranean theme, but I didn't have lamb, tzatziki or the proper cheese. I only had the pita, ground beef, and a sense of imagination.

The burger itself had a lot of flavour. The liquid smoke, the paprika, the Worcestershire sauce all gave the ground beef something to sing about. I wish I had a good cheddar for the cheese, or even some feta - Cheeze Whiz just seemed too, plastic.

I also put on too much mayo and ranch for dressing - it was good, but at times masked the flavour of the burger. This is the great debate I can often have with food like burgers. I loved the taste of the meat, the seasoning, all on its own. But I also love the additions, the condiments, that which takes a good burger to bigger heights.

For comfort food, this hit the spot. I really like using the pita for buns and would consider it even with a more traditional burger. I would still love to do the Greek burger, but this was certainly an enjoyable dinner.

ICR WINNER: me

IRON CHEF RESIDENCE: Buffalo Chicken & Kerla Chips

Five weeks ago, a man's fantasy became a reality in a form never seen before: Counter Stadium, a tiny cooking arena in the corner of a student dorm. The motivation for spending his non-existent fortune to create Counter Stadium was to encounter new and original cuisines. To realize his dream, he secretly started choosing the top chefs of various styles of cooking, and he named his men the Iron Chefs. Iron Chef Comfort Food. Iron Chef Fancy. Iron Chef Spicy. What inspiration does today's leftovers bring to the challenger? And how will the Iron Chef fight back? Whose cuisine reigns supreme? The heat will be on!

Allez Cuisine!

Welcome to the newest segment in the Lord of the Wings blog, Iron Chef Residence! Ok, its not really at all like the TV show, but ICR will bring some simple, sometimes exciting and often spicy meals that are created during the summer when the caf is not available.

This particular entry, from several weeks ago now, is brought to you by IRON CHEF SPICY.

Dry Buffalo Chicken & Kerala Chips Challenge:

DRY BUFFALO CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large chicken breast
• IRIE Buffalo Chicken Seasoning
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. in a ziplock bag, coat chicken with Buffalo Chicken Seasoning, let sit for at least an hour to one day
2. pre-heat toaster oven to 300-400
3. place on grilling rack, cook for 15-20 minutes or until done
   

KERALA CHIPS

INGREDIENTS:

• oil
• red chili powder
• garlic powder
• sweet smoked paprika
• cumin
• curry
• liquid smoke
• 3rd Degree hot sauce
• 1 large baking potato

INSTRUCTIONS

1. slice potato into chips (as thick as you desire)
2. place sliced potato into bowl of cold water for at least 30 minutes
3. in a separate bowl, mix first 8 ingredients into a paste
4. dry potato chips, then mix with paste
5. grill on George Foreman Grill (or whatever you have, you could bake them)
   until cooked through and crispy.

This was definitely a meal with a lot of flavour and a lot of kick. The chicken was very simple and did taste great. HOWEVER, I coated the chicken with the BC Seasoning and made it into a crust - which was waaaaay too much. Overpowered the dish and by the end, was too much. Next time I would mix it with flour/cornmeal to make a crust, or just put less seasoning next time.

IRIE BC seasoning really doesn't taste like Buffalo sauce in any way, but its a great seasoning in general.

The Kerala Chips come from a vague recipe of a french fry seasoning LJ's parents make. They are from Kerala, a province in the South of India, where some of the spiciest Indian food comes from. I don't know if this recipe actually comes from Kerala, but it works for me.

This was a good little meal, and on of the first I cooked for the summer. It was packed with flavour (too much in some cases) and I was definitely reaching for my drink after almost every bite. The Kerala Chips turned out perfect (I didn't know how 'grilling' them on the GF Grill would work, but it worked great).

ICR WINNER: me