It has become something of a practice that when I cook — I am not the primary cook at home for a host of reasons including my propensity for shortcuts and lack of follow-through (LOFT)— somehow Iron Chef ratings break out.
Last night I made a somewhat tame version of Butter Chicken. I take that back: Indian Butter Chicken is in itself somewhat tame. I made Butter Chicken.
It was fun to learn how many tomatoes go into the dish, and that the secret behind its richness is cashew butter (the butter butter is obvious, and it's there, too).
Thanks to the LOFT I mentioned, Richard made the rice and zucchini. They were heavenly!
Before we break down the scoring, here's a new rule that we implemented: No-one gets to rate his/her own dish. So, the total possible points for each of the three elements was 20 points (there being 3 of us at the table last night). I think in the future we will refine this game to be more authentic — 5 points each for presentation, taste, and creativity, rather than a flat 10 possible points for the dish.
Richard's rice drew in 19/20 points: it WAS really nice rice with shallot and saffron, nice separate grains.
But, oh, the zucchini. What happened there? 8?
The zucchini itself was young, fresh, summer zucchini and was cooked perfectly, a quick seasoned sautée in the pan, with a nice chiffonade of scallion and a quick rasp of parmesan on top. So what happened?
A 10-year-old was at the table. Zucchini is still a hard sell. He gave it a 2, even though he is known to be naturally veg-leaning. I am complicit in the low score as well, giving it a 6/10. Why? I am not sure! Maybe it's because, though I "love" zucchini and yellow summer squash cooked this way, it is still a squash and — forgive me — I have not yet fully cozied up to the category.
I live in a dream world where a 10 for zucchini makes it truly memorable and transporting...
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