This recipe uses Brandywine tomatoes, that’s my favorite heirloom tomato. I always have at least one plant of Brandywine’s growing in my garden. This summer I have them growing in red and yellow.

Linguini with Heirloom Tomato, Capers, Anchovies and Chilies – Summer Recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup brandy wine heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
3 cloves sliced garlic
6 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed and minced
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon capers, drained
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup sliced flat leaf parsley
1 cup toasted breadcrumbs
1 pound dried linguini

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic and sweat it for two minutes, then add the chili flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Drop the pasta in the boiling water. Add the tomatoes, capers and anchovies to the sauté pan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and add extra virgin olive oil and parsley. Strain pasta and add directly to sauce. Toss and place in 4 bowls. Top with breadcrumbs.

Serves 4 to 6

Did you know that besides appearing on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” Chef Symon also stars on “Dinner: Impossible,” he’s also made appearances on several other Food Network programs including, “The Melting Pot”, “Sara’s Secrets”, “Ready, Set, Cook” and “Food Nation”.

Here are the other two recipes in Michael Symon’s summer meal:

Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta

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Summer Recipes From Chef Michael Symon 3

I have the onion, dill and mint growing in my kitchen garden too. I love it during the summer when I can step right outside my front door to have fresh ingredients to prepare a meal.

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta – Summer Recipe

1 pound heirloom tomatoes (use an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors)
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 half red onion, shaved thinly and soaked in ice water to cover for 10 minutes
¼ pound cucumber (approximately 1/3 cucumber), thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup pitted whole kalamata olives
1 cup barrel-aged feta crumbled
¼ cup fresh dill roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh mint roughly chopped
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes into bite sized chunks. Drain the onion and pat dry. Place the garlic, a pinch of salt, and the vinegar into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking.

Add all ingredients except the tomatoes and feta and let marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and feta, and toss gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place on a large platter and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Check out the other great summer recipes in Chef Michael Symon’s summer meal.

Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup

Linguini With Heirloom Tomato

Post from: Blisstree

Summer Recipes From Chef Michael Symon 2

About Chef Michael Symon:

Chef Symon is owner of Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, as well as Roast in Detroit. Michael is renowned in the culinary world and adored in his hometown, Cleveland, Ohio. Chef/owner of critically acclaimed restaurants Lola and Lolita and chef/partner of newly opened Roast in Detroit Michigan, Michael has earned much attention through the years for his engaging cooking style.

Chef Symon shared 3 easy summer recipes I can share with you here at Blisstree, here is the first one.

Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup – Summer Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves sliced garlic
1 medium red onion, small dice
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon picked oregano
1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
1 bottle Pilsner Urquell
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
½ cup buttermilk blue cheese

Heat the olive oil in a four-quart pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and a three-fingered pinch of salt and sweat them for two minutes.

Add the garlic and continue to sweat them for two more minutes. Add the tomatoes and beer and bring to simmer. Add the cream, sriracha sauce, and oregano and simmer for 45 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender and add the blue cheese and blend until smooth, or add the blue cheese and with a hand blender, blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or chinois into a clean pot.

Taste adjust the seasoning if necessary and reheat to serve.

Here are the other two summer recipes from Chef Michael Symon:

Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta

Linguini With Heirloom Tomato

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Summer Recipes From Iron Chef Michael Symon

Jennifer is due in April and Cat is due three months later in July. The couple already have two older sons from the same donor they used for their current pregnancies, so all the children are biologically related.

Says Cat: “Jennifer and I are thrilled to go through the wonderful experience of pregnancy together. We started the in-vitro process 5 years ago. This has been a miracle for us and we’ll now have 4 beautiful children.”

Congrats to Cat and Jennifer!

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Iron Chef Cat Cora Pregnant

 image:  www.freeimages.co.uk

I came across this great article from The Vancouver Sun.  Writer, Randy Shore has two sons.  His oldest son they call the “Garburator”…never turns is head from food and is willing to try anything.  Dylan, the youngest is “The Fussy Eater”.  Fortunately, Dylan loves watching Iron Chef America and even the original dubbed Japanese food show.  It probably is a guy thing.  That thirst for competition.  So, what better way to try and encourage his “Fussy Eater” than a Iron Chef Home Challenge.

From Randy Shore:

He is as mesmerized by Battle Carrot as he is by Battle Sea Cucumber, only one of which has any real likelihood of passing his tightly pursed lips.

But — parents, listen closely — when he was made Iron Chef for an evening at home, he touched salmon, cooked salmon and ate salmon, even the raw dish.

….In that spirit Dylan himself selected sockeye salmon for his theme ingredient. Two days of menu planning ensued and a large sockeye fillet was acquired.

First course was to be salmon tartare. We trimmed and chopped the salmon and haggled about the elements of the dish.

Capers were a non-starter, quickly replaced by finely diced dill pickles. Green onion was permitted along with sea salt and pepper and a drizzle of my private stash of unfiltered olive oil.

“Okay, you need to taste it so we can adjust the seasoning,” I said.

Dylan looked me over for signs of mirth. None were present.

“It’s not cooked,” he protested. I explained to the incredulous chef that tartare is a raw dish.

“But we don’t know where that salmon has been,” he countered.

“It’s been in the ocean,” I said. “Taste it.”

Dylan fought all his natural instincts and placed raw fish in his mouth.

“It needs more pepper.”

The tartare was served in hefty bourbon glasses as the first course.

The Iron Chef “Home Edition” was ultimately a success.  Have you ever been able to transform your own “Fussy Eater”?

Read more from Shore’s Vancouver Sun article.

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Making Your Picky Eater Into an Iron Chef

 It has been announced and the rumors are true.  In the Spring of 2008 there will be a new game for the Wii, Iron Chef America. 

From Gaming Target:

IRON CHEF GETS A NEW PLATFORM
Building off the success of the recent spin off reality series, The Next Iron Chef, which premiered to 3.3 million viewers on Food Network, licensee Destineer will release the Nintendo Wii Iron Chef America video game. Offering players an interactive experience where they can be an Iron Chef, the game will make its way to retail in 2008.

 The sad news (maybe) is that according to Kotaku:

TRUE STORY: When the Wii Remote was first shown off, the first thing I thought of was an Iron Chef game. It seemed like the perfect way to both make me very happy and make anyone who made it millions of dollars. Fast forward to 2008, and here we have an Iron Chef game! For the Wii! Except…it’s for some bullshit reality TV show that’s not really Iron Chef. No no no no no NO. You can put any mug on the cover you like, if there’s no Takeshi Kaga, there’s no Iron Chef.

Now, by reading all the comments, I realized that these were some hardcore gamers, many of which did not reside in the USA, or just loved all things Japanese.  I understand the love for the original, but I love them both.   I am not sure if the gamers’ disappointment is because it is Iron Chef America or if it is the game content. So, I have yet to figure-out what exactly the game will do.  I am trying to imagine, simulating running around a kitchen and cooking really fast.  I guess more will be revealed come this Spring.  I may have to go and purchase me a Wii.

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Iron Chef Game for the Wii

 Paula Deen becomes an Iron Chef???  Well, not exactly.  Tonight Paula Deen joins Southern girl and Iron Chef Cat Cora in Kitchen Stadium.  They compete against The “Ultimate” Tyler Florence and Dinner Impossible Chef Robert Irvine.  Their competition…dessert.  I don’t know gentleman…I think that Paula Deen may be able to win this battle with one hand tied behind her back. 

Paul Deen in Kitchen Stadium…this should be one fun evening.  Competition Dessert on Iron Chef America airs tonight at 9 pm EST on the Food Network.

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Paula Deen Becomes an Iron Chef

I hope that you all were able to see the finale of the Next Iron Chef.  It was great.  I enjoy watching the Iron Chef because I think it makes for great culinary competition, but this time the stakes were for more than just bragging rights.

Besh and Symon were both incredible.  They are after-all great chefs, but in the end Symon won and his face will be there underneath the spotlights and rotating pedestal.

After reading several blogs, including those of the judges, there does seem to be a little controversy even here in Kitchen Stadium.  At the last minute the judging came down to not only Ruhlman, Donatella and Andrew, but our three Iron Chefs as well (yes, I said three…we will get to that in a minute).  It appears that the Iron Chef’s voted for Symon while Donatella and Andrew voted for Besh.  According to Ruhlman the discussion was much longer then what ended-up on the episode.  Donatella and Andrew thought that he won the challenge and they took into consideration each and every challenge.  That said, Symon did win 4 of the previous challenges where as Besh won one.  The Iron Chefs only knew from that one challenge and in their minds Symon scored.  From the discussion and comments that were shown, the Iron Chefs didn’t feel that Besh made the secret ingredient (swordfish) the star of the plate.

According to Andrew Knowlton, Besh tended to be much more creative in his dish and his presentation, but Symon’s flavors were bolder, and of course food is all about the flavor.  As to Knowlton’s opinion:

I won’t bore you with what I thought of each and every dish, but I do have some general comments. To be honest, both of the chefs’ dishes fell a little flat in terms of creativity and taste. This was only the second time in the competition that the chefs could really cook how and what they wanted. I think they both played it a little safe, trying not to mess up and hoping the other one would. Besh was the more creative of the two in terms of both presentation and technique. His smoked swordfish with corn blini was not only clever, it was one of the best dishes of the battle. His swordfish brandade agnolotti swam circles around Symon’s ravioli. But Besh made one costly mistake—the crunchy roll of lobster and lemon-cured swordfish would have been ok on “Battle Lobster,” not on “Battle Swordfish.” Overall, his dishes were well seasoned and perfectly executed. And don’t forget he did a swordfish dessert, which had to count for something.

Symon, I thought, was less successful. All his plating looked similar and three of his dishes failed to impress. His first dish, the marinated swordfish with lamb’s tongue, radish, and wasabi tobiko would have been helped by a little restraint. The swordfish ravioli was dry and mealy and the flavors from the apples and truffle butter overwhelmed the mild flavor of the fish. Too much sweetness from pineapple and coconut marred the spicy roasted swordfish—a little more heat would have helped balance the dish. But two of his dishes were winners—olive oil-poached swordfish with olives, dill, and fennel (a kind of tuna Niçoise riff) and braised swordfish collar with chorizo, clams, and saffron. With any luck, more restaurants will start serving fish collar.

In the end, the votes were 4-2 in favor of Symon.  According to Ruhlman, Donatella was none too pleased, she accused him of being the swing vote and argued with him, Flay and Cora.  She has appeared to take this personally.

The Next Iron Chef was great TV.  What I loved about this show is that there was no drama, just fun competition and food.  No one cried, no one got in a fight.  These were all professionals enjoying the challenges and having fun ribbing each other.  Their careers were not on the line, just their egos and a TV Show.

Symon will start to earn his stripes as his first battle airs on Sunday, November 18th.  My opinion is that this finale will not be the last challenge we see between Symon and Besh.  I see another culinary smack-down in the works, “Symon and Besh:  The Re-Match”.

As to the absence of one of our Iron Chef’s, where was Mario Batali???  I think we know, even after press releases stating that he will still be a part of Kitchen Stadium, Mario and the Food Network have gone their separate ways.  If this was just a scheduling conflict they would have mentioned this…but they said nothing of Mario or his absence.  I ended up feeling that it was not the swordfish that was the secret ingredient but rather the elephant sitting in the room. 

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The Next Iron Chef Is…

Hopefully you have been keeping up with Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef.  I have finally caught-up with it due to one of the best inventions of the modern world…the DVR.  My life would not be complete without it.

In case you are at a loss, the Food Network is looking for a new Iron Chef to become a part of Kitchen Stadium.  Does that mean one of our Iron Chef’s is being shown the door???  Hmmm….are we losing our dear Mario forever???

The competition began with 8 great chefs and is now down to three:  Chris Cosentino, John Besh, and Michael Symon.  All three are well-trained and accomplished chefs and restaurateurs.  If you have been watching I think that we all are figuring it is going to come down between Chef Besh and Chef Symon.  The key to the competition is consistency in the dishes.  As an Iron Chef you just can’t have too many off dishes.  Each competition they have to come up with 5 and it is very rare to see an Iron Chef completely bomb a dish let alone a whole competition.  It is not just skill, but performing under pressure, time contraints with a lot of variables.

This last episode was eerily reminiscent.  It might be that it is close to Halloween, but I had a deja vu moment.  Yes, the competition was airplane food.  I will say that our Iron Chef competitors did better than those at Top Chef.  Know one was feeling physically ill from the food.

During this last episode there was a lot of hostility towards the camera crew.  I for one would have been wanting to rip them apart as well, but to learn more in regards to this matter, read writer and Iron Chef judge, Michael Ruhlman’s blog.

If you missed any episodes go to the website to see the shows that are aired, learn more about the chefs and judges.

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The Next Iron Chef

If you are still trying to decide what to serve your guests at your own personal Oscar Party check-out Epicurious.  They have tips on Wine Selections, choosing champagne and recipes for your award winning party.

They have some great ideas for a party of hors d’oeuvres, a buffet or a casual dinner.  If you have a favorite nominated movie, they even have a dinner menu for each of the 5 nominated Best Picture movies.

So, grab your popcorn, or your Caviar Puff Pastry and enjoy the show.

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Epicurious Red Carpet Recipes