PP Kitchen: March Iron Chef Challenge

[Gaelen]

Okay, this challenge has only one rule--you must include the "Iron Chef" ingredient in each of the Protein Power Plan compliant dishes that you create. By "PP compliant," we mean that each dish should provide servings which help keep you on plan:
For a main dish: each serving must contain no more than 10g ECC and at least 20g protein
For a side dish, appetizer or dessert: each serving must contain no more than 7g ECC and at least 10g protein per serving

Create at least three dishes using the secret "Iron Chef" ingredient and any other ingredients you want to use. As in the FoodTV show "Iron Chef," the secret ingredient must be a principal ingredient or taste-critical ingredient in each recipe idea that you submit.
Please submit your recipe ideas for this week's challenge before Saturday, March 17 at noon.

This week's secret ingredient is:

SPINACH

Varieties available to choose from on the Iron Chef table are fresh whole leaf spinach, fresh baby spinach pre-washed in bags, frozen chopped spinach, and frozen leaf spinach. Take as much as you want of any kinds of spinach that you want to use. You may combine your spinach selections with any other types of ingredients you like to create your recipes; money and seasonal or regional availability are no object--your pantry has no limits.

Have at it, PP chefs. How would YOU "Iron Chef" with spinach?

[Missy]

:D SPINACH!!! OH YUMMY!!! I love Spinach..and I used to HATE IT! lol....

Gosh....what could I do to get into this one....hum....I'm not a great cook...but well...this is easier then the other contests!!!

I think I have TWO recipes....already! :D

[maxlharris]

This week's secret ingredient is:

SPINACH

Have at it, PP chefs. How would YOU "Iron Chef" with spinach?

I don't eat it, so no help here.

I would Iron Chef it by giving it to wife and saying, "You want it? You figure it out."

[Gaelen]

aw, c'mon Max...it's not easy being green food. ;)

[maxlharris]

aw, c'mon Max...it's not easy being green food. ;)

You might look at my diet and assume that I am a vegetable rights advocate. :D

[maxlharris]

Course, if I were in this:
Might do a salad (for the wife) with baby spinach, black olives, feta crumbles, and a vinaigrette made with oregano, lemon, olive oil and I dunno what else.
Then: spinach, egg, cheese and whatever else goes into a crustless quiche. Maybe some shrooms. Which I might bake in phyllo doughs.
Next: gonna stuff a chicken breast with a spinach, parm and cream cheese concoction, and bake at 350 for 15 mins (my over runs hot & fast)
Finally: Break out the ice cream maker, cause it's time to discover the sweet side of spinach. Use KevinPa's MCC ice cream recipe, only with spinach and pine nuts. MUHAHAHA! It's not iron chef (the real version) without the ice cream maker!

[LisaS]

Like Iron Chef Michiba - I will write out my menu ahead of time - with the dishes to follow after I work them out:
1) My Bleu Heaven
2) Royal Boats
3) Red and Green

[Gaelen]

Okay, now I'm curious...my dishes don't have nearly such exotic names.

Spinach and Parmesan Gems (appetizers)
Portobello mushroom caps stuffed with Saag Paneer
Tilapia rollups (spinach and carrots inside) with lemon and greens sauce and buttered almond crumb
And a light salad of baby spinach leaves, melon balls and fried spicy walnuts to cleanse the palate

(no way am I going to crank up an ice cream machine for spinach!)

[LisaS]

silly names give me wiggle room to change my mind between now and the deadline in case something needs adjusting <g>

[maxlharris]

(no way am I going to crank up an ice cream machine for spinach!)

It cannot be Iron Chef without a Spinach Dessert.

Not willing to get the torrent of Chen Kenichi vs. The Prince of Cheese just to see if they made one, but my thinking is Spinach, minced into marscapone, honey, walnuts, and maybe baked-wrapped like a spanakopita.

Again, I have had spinach that I liked once (it was "flash fried", wife said nothing like real spinach), so my talk is from the posterior.

[Gaelen]

It cannot be Iron Chef without a Spinach Dessert.
...my thinking is Spinach, minced into marscapone, honey, walnuts, and maybe baked-wrapped like a spanakopita.

LOL...but Max, I like the direction of that recipe.

[LisaS]

I'll post my recipes tonight (I hope) I've worked out the ECC & Protein for most of them - but then tweaked something in a sauce and haven't redone it - :D

[Missy]

I'll post my recipes tonight (I hope) I've worked out the ECC & Protein for most of them - but then tweaked something in a sauce and haven't redone it - :D


I'mmmmmmmmmmmmmm waiting. :D

[LisaS]

Red & Green - Makes 2 Servings, 37g PRO, 6 ECC each

2 Chicken breasts, raw (PRO count based on 4oz cooked per person)
4 T Spinach Pesto (receipe below)
1 receipe Red Pepper Salad (recipe below)
1 T Italian dressing (homemade or bottle, but 0 ECC)

1. Brush the dressing on both sides of the chicken and let sit.
2. Prepare the Red Pepper Salad
3. Start the chicken breasts on a grill or grill pan.
4. Prepare the Pesto.
5. Serve each breast (in a suitably stylish manner) with 2 T pesto and ½ the Red Pepper Salad as a side dish..

Red Pepper Salad
1 Red Pepper, roasted & skinned
50 g bottled sweet cherry peppers
50 g bottled roasted red peppers
1 sl onion (about 20 g or ¼”) grilled or roasted

1) Slice the peppers into small julienne.
2) Chop the roasted onion slice into small dice.
3) Combine all . You can add just a bit of the olive oil from on of the bottles or a little from your pantry. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach Pesto
2 C raw baby spinach
½ C fresh basil leaves
¼ C fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic
¾ C olive oil
2 T pine nuts
2 T grated parmesan cheese

Combine leaves, garlic, pine nuts & parmesan in a blender and buzz. Add olive oil and process until combined. If you have a different method to make pesto, go ahead, but use these ingredients. Makes about 1 1/3 C. Refrigerate the leftovers for another use.

[LisaS]

My Bleu Heaven Salad – Serves 2 as a salad course, 14 g PRO, 3 ECC per serving

2 slices bacon
1 oz Bleu Cheese, crumbled
2 C torn raw baby spinach
2 C torn romaine
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (or diced)
1 receipe Hot Bacon Dressing (follows)

1) Dice the bacon and fry it up. Remove the bacon from the pan.
2) Make the Dressing.
3) Combine the greens and toss with the hot dressing.
4) Divide onto two plates and top each with ½ the bacon, ½ the cheese & ½ the egg.

Hot Bacon Dressing
2 tsp bacon drippings – if you don’t have that much in the pan, add additional oil (like a mild olive or canola)
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 T finely minced onion
sweetener equiv to 1 tsp sugar

1) Heat the drippings/oil in the pan from the bacon.
2) Soften the onion in the pan on low.
3) Add the vinegar and sweetener and whisk well to combine.
4) Remove from the heat.

[LisaS]

Royal Boats (Mu Shu Pork boats) Appetizer Serves 4 , at least 12g PRO, 7 ECC each
Filling
8 oz pork tenderloin
½ C canned bamboo shoots
½ C mung bean sprouts
2 eggs
2 T ginger root, fine dice
1 dried Tree Ear mushroom
1 scallion
1 t dark sesame oil
1 t dry Sherry
2 T soy sauce
1 t corn starch (or equiv thickening power)
1 C shredded baby spinach
2-3 T oil for frying – I like peanut, but coconut could work

Wraps
1 C shredded baby spinach
1 head butter lettuce or romaine, leafed
1 recipe Mock Hoisin Sauce (or a LC sauce of your own choosing)

For the Filling:
1) Rehydrate the tree ear in hot water for about 20 mins
2) Slice the bamboo shoots into matchsticks
3) Slice the scallion into thin strips on the diagonal
4) When the tree ear is soft, slice very thin, like chiffonade
5) Cut the pork into matchsticks.
6) Combine the soy, sherry & cornstarch in a bowl and add the pork and let rest.
7) Heat 2T oil in a wok or pan of choice.
8) Add the ginger and fry until fragrant and then remove.
9) Whisk the eggs and add to pan. Either make egg crepe & then shred or make scrambled with very small pieces when set. Remove.
10) Add more oil if needed and stir-fry the pork. When just about done, add the other veggies, except the spinach. Add the spinach and the eggs at the very end, stirring to reheat and then remove from heat.

To serve:
Take a lettuce leaf, brush with some sauce, add some pork mixture and top with more shredded spinach. Or, put the spinach on the leaf and top with the pork mixture. Enjoy.

Mock Hoisin
I do this by eye but here it is more or less.
1 T LC BBQ sauce (I use KC Low Carb)
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp SF orange marmalade or other SF jam
½ tsp siracha hot sauce
splash worchestershire

Make it early and let it sit so the flavors meld. You can cut with water. If it seems too hot, add a little sweetener but not too much. If too salty, start over with ½ the soy sauce.. Sometimes I add a little low-carb ketchup as well. Whatever tastes good to you, do it. Or use none at all. Or you could try to make a plum sauce.

[LisaS]

have I mentioned that I HATE cooked spinach in all forms that I've ever tasted. So these are mostly raw or barely cooked - and probably not too prominant on the spinach flavor - so not exactly highlighting the flavor of the secret ingredient - but I'd eat them so that's something. Probably not use the shreds on the mu shu in real life, but it needed more spinach for this purpose. :D

[Gaelen]

mine are coming...hopefully this afternoon. I was out of commission yesterday with an anesthesia hangover, but I'll try to get the recipes up by the end of the day (and before my nephew's lacrosse game!)

[Missy]

mine are coming...hopefully this afternoon. I was out of commission yesterday with an anesthesia hangover, but I'll try to get the recipes up by the end of the day (and before my nephew's lacrosse game!)


I'm WWWWWWWAIIIIITTTTINNNNNNGGGGG!!! (anesthesia HANGOVER!:eek: You okay??) ~ hey that was MY EXCUSE GAELEN!!! lol

Oh Lisa....YUMMY!!!! :D