Boat Food - Deluxe Edition

A few weeks ago Dustin came up with the idea to have a "boat compatible" Iron Chef competition. The rules were simple: two dishes, 15 minutes or less, all done with supplies that could conceivably be available on the trip to Bermuda!

Yolande and Phil sitting in the judges chairs of Hines kitchen stadium, where amateur cooks pit their culinary creations against one another!

In 3, 2, 1.....

Dustin was first up and made good dishes to warm you up in foul weather: Egg drop Hot and Sour Soup, and crispy fried udon noodles with shrimp in a spicy-sweet sauce. Dustin got extra points from the kitchen stadium judges for practicality and time, particularly since he finished both dishes (and a bonus dessert) in less than the allotted 15 minutes!

Dustin's crispy fried udon with shrimp sizzling away.

A view of Dustin's udon and Soups plated for presentation to the judges.

Phil was next up, and prepared his locally famous tuna tartare with avocado and tomato, followed by the comfort food faves - breaded fresh cod, peas, and mashed potatoes. Phil's dishes again scored big with the judges on practicality, and he too finished in less than 15 minutes!

Phil at work in the kitchen organizing his ingredients...potato buds, a must on the trip!

A key to Phil's rapid time was the double-knife-chop technique he employed on the tuna for the tartare!

Phil's favorite, baby peas!

Yolande was next to put on a spread for the judges with asparagus frittata followed by sea scallops in a lemon marscapone on a bed of black spaghetti. She also wowed the judges with a bonus appetizer of burrata drizzled with balsamic vinegar (burrata is an Italian cheese composed of a sheet of thin mozzarella filled with fresh ricotta and cream)...ooooh this was good! The judges scored Yolande's dishes highly, and they certainly were the most gourmet.

Yolande putting some of the black spaghetti on to boil.

Yummy burrata!

Yolande's scallop dish, very impressive looking with the black spaghetti!

Rochelle was last to compete and prepared dishes of bocconcini, basil and tomato salad made with fresh home-made cheese, and veal with asparagus. Hard not to score points with the judges with these simple but delicious ingredients. Rochelle also pleased judges with a bonus desert from Backpacker's pantry.

Rochelle's bocconcini salad.

Veal and asparagus to end off the night!

And of course we had to try out some beverages to see what might be boat worthy!! This competition was so much fun, and it was amazing to see what excellent dishes could be created in as little as 15 minutes!