We’ve channeled our inner Chairman Kaga to develop these five easy steps to hosting your own Iron Chef party:

1) Invite guests. Aim for an even number of guests that can easily be split into two teams (make sure everyone will fit in your kitchen). Think about separating couples who usually cook together, or try a theme like guys vs. gals. Not everyone loves to cook, so it’s best to alert guests ahead of time if dinner involves cooking. Tell guests to dress casually.

2) Choose secret ingredients. Pick a protein, starch, and vegetable that the teams will use to create a complete meal. Think about what fits within your budget: 6 oz. portions of chicken breast for 10 people will be more affordable than 6 oz. portions of wild Alaskan halibut. Chose vegetables that are in-season and abundant (this month: Asparagus). Try non-mainstream starches like polenta, quinoa, or couscous. Stock your pantry with staples like milk, flour, eggs, oils, vinegars, fresh herbs, cheeses, and spices. Put all the pantry ingredients in an easy-to-access spot that is centrally located to both teams.

3) Prepare your “Kitchen Stadium.” Designate areas in your kitchen for each team. Lay out knives, cutting boards, prep bowls, pots and pans, cook’s tools, aprons and towels. Specify burners and shelves in the oven for each team to use. If counter space is an issue, set up additional work stations on the dining room table for chopping or prep work.

4) Setting rules of engagement. Once guests arrive, divide them into their teams. Unveil the secret ingredients (red cloth and dry ice presentation optional) and reveal the “Kitchen Stadium” work stations where they’ll prepare the meal. Start a countdown timer for 1 hour and shout, “Allez Cuisine!” (French for “Go and cook!”).

5) Judgment. Whose cuisine reigns supreme? Ask two guests to join you to form a judgment panel. Have each team plate up their meals, with an extra serving for the judges to “Rate the Plate.” While guests dine on their creations, have judges score each team’s meal based on categories such as: taste, plate presentation, and originality. Announce the winning Iron Chef team, and reward them with a bottle of bubbly, homemade trophy (think tinfoil wrapped GI-Joe), or gourmand prizes like a tapas cookbook or chef toque.

Still sounds like too much work? Book the cooking party experts at Parties That Cook to throw their Iron Chef-inspired Kitchen Challenge party in the convenience of your home. Their friendly and knowledgeable chefs will do cooking demos, offer culinary advice, and best of all, they’ll bring everything with them: ingredients, aprons, kitchen equipment, dishware, and even music!

1. Upgrade your cleaning products - Today it’s extremely easy to replace toxic cleansers with non-toxic options that are readily available in most grocery stores. Just look for non-toxic cleaners that lack a laundry list of warnings on the label.

2. Purify your water - Being green means not only doing what’s good for the environment, but also what’s good for us. As a result of land condition, municipal cleaning methods, and various influences along the path from source to kitchen faucet, water is full of impurities and contaminants. Opt for full home systems, under sink installations, or a simple filtered water pitcher to remove most, if not all, undesirables for the best drinking, cooking and cleaning water available.

3. Buy in bulk - In general, try to downsize shopping for foods wrapped in excessive packaging. Shop the in-store bulk bins – dried fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, cereal, and snacks. Try to minimize buying pre-packaged concoctions.

4. Check your cookware - Forget non-stick finishes as they contain harmful PFCs (perfluorochemicals) that end up in your food at some point. Opt for stainless steel, clay, ceramic, or choose cast-iron cookware for an extra boost of iron in your diet.

5. Reformat your food storage system - Go for glass, ceramic, or even metal containers and try using empty paper milk cartons for freezing liquids. Though popular and economic, plastic containers can leach contaminants into your food when filled with hot food or microwaved.

Looking to capture the heart of someone special this Valentine’s Day? We recommend these five seductive, spicy, and sensual recipes designed to make anyone’s heart beat a little faster!

1. Sweetheart Goat Cheese Amaretti Cake with Passionate Pomegranate Molasses-Glazed Raspberries
2. Prince Charming’s Chipotle Mac ‘n’ Cheese
3. Heart-Shaped Butternut Squash Ravioli with Seductive Sage-Marsala Brown Butter
4. Cupid’s Bow-l of Carrot Soup with Arrow of Chile Peanut Pesto
5. Hearts of Polenta Toast with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto and Goat Cheese
6. “Be Mine” Chocolate Bread Pudding with Very Lick-able Caramel Sauce

Recipes created by Parties That Cook

It may be a dog-eat-dog world out there, but you can support your four-legged friends by attending next Wednesday’s Cooking Party Benefit for Pets Unlimited! Parties That Cook will be hosting the bash at the Sur La Table Union Square store next Wednesday night from 6:30 -8:30 pm. For a minimum donation of $75, you’ll learn to cook (and eat!) a bounty of appetizer dishes. Wine and beverages are provided, too! It’s a fabulous deal and for a great cause! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Pets Unlimited, a non-profit community services organization that ensures the humane care and treatment of animals. 

At Parties That Cook, we have a special place in our heart for Pets Unlimited. MeToo (pictured above) is an honorary member of the Parties That Cook family.  He was adopted from Pets Unlimited just last month, and has declared himself right at home with our Founder and Executive Chef, Bibby Gignilliat.  Bibby, who will be hosting the benefit, also has two other kitties from Pets Unlimited: Ruby the sweetheart, and Stinker who’s quite mischievous! We encourage all pet lovers to come show their support! 

Cooking Party Benefit for Pets Unlimited
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
6:30 – 8:30 pm at Sur La Table Union Square
Note:  Event is for humans only, so please leave Rover at home!

To sign up for the Cooking Party Benefit for Pets Unlimited, please call 415-568-3081 or email donations@petsunlimited.org

A peek at what’s on the menu….
Paws-itively Scrumptious Ahi Tuna Tartare in Sesame Won Ton Cups
Lamb and Beef Köfte with Soft Feta Centers and growling-good Garlicky Tahini
Polpettini you’ll roll over for: Little Meatballs Braised in Tomatoes, Garlic and White Wine
Pup-ular Porcini Mushroom and Fontina Puff Pastry Tartlets
Crab Potstickers with meowth-watering Sesame-Ginger Dipping Sauce
Fetching Sweet Potato Galette Frisbees with Sage Crème Fraîche*
Lickable Lettuce Cups with Minced Gingered Chicken
Bark-tastic Mexican Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Submit your dish. The best recipe wins a private cooking party for 16.

Since last week’s posting about a feisty cooking competition among the Parties That Cook staff, we’ve received a slew of emails from home chefs wishing they could get in on a piece of the cooking action. In the name of good food, we feel it’s our duty to answer your call!

Grab your knife and spatula….You’ve officially been challenged to the first-ever Virtual Cook-Off brought to you by Parties That Cook!

Send us your most original appetizer recipe with photo to cookoff@partiesthatcook.com by April 30th, 2008. Include your name, contact info, and a couple of lines about why your dish should win. Entries will be judged on originality, taste, and presentation. Your recipe should be mind-blowingly delicious and possible to prepare in an hour or less. One entry per person, please.

We will eat our way through the entries and announce a winner on May 20th. The first prize winner will receive a private cooking party for 16, courtesy of Parties That Cook ($1200 value, redeem in San Francisco Bay Area or Chicago). Runners up will win tickets to our Gourmet Dating events or the Sumptuous Small Plates recipe card deck, featuring PTC’s best recipes and entertaining tips. The winning recipes will be inducted into the culinary hall of fame here on The Side Dish, and have the chance to become the next hit dish at our Parties That Cook events.

*Read the Official Contest Rules*

One of our lead chefs, Mick, recently came up with the idea of holding a recipe competition among the Parties That Cook chefs and office staff. What a fabulous idea, we thought! Why not invite the best chefs we know in the city to bring in their favorite appetizer dishes in a definitive contest for culinary pride? We have to admit we had our own secret agenda – to swipe new recipe ideas for next season’s Sumptuous Small Plates menu.

At 6 pm, chefs and staff began filing into the office with steamy Tupperware containers and bundles of herbs in hand. Each contestant hovered over their secret concoctions, assembling nibbles ever so delicately. The warming scent of curry filled the room, and the ovens glowed upon the luscious tartlets plumping within. With the pop of a prosecco bottle, tension melted as colleagues began playfully inquiring as to which inferior dish the other had made.

Our bellies growled as dish after dish populated the buffet. And, finally it was time for feasting and judgment! The awe inspiring spread before us included, just to name a few: Potato Galette with Smoked Salmon and Dill Cream, vegan Sweet Potato & Corn Bhajji (fritters), Key Lime Cheesecake Mousse with Graham Cookie Crust, and Indian Curry Vegetables in Wonton Cups.

After each contestant presented their dish and asserted why their creation should win, the judges went to work – fiercely sampling and re-sampling. The cream of the crop will forever go down in the history books as the Official 2008 PTC Cook-Off Champions.

Drum roll please….

First Place: Sweet Corn Hush Puppies with Jalapeno Marmalade by Chef John Silva

Tasting notes - A delicate balance of sweet, spicy and crispy fried goodness. Invokes memories of the South.

Second Place: Somen Noodle Salad tucked in Inari Pockets by Lauren Hahn

Tasting notes – Refreshing summery dish dressed with dashi dressing, and made portable with the help of bean curd pockets. PTC hired Lauren to be their Marketing Manager purely on her ability to describe this homespun specialty in salivatory detail.

Third Place:  Tartlets of Blue Cheese, Apple, Onion and Honey by Chef Mick Dimas

Tasting notes (diligently provided by Chef Mick with his entry) – Savory and sweet, this small tart provides the flavor of two dishes in one! Taste, taste, taste: It is off the charts delish!

Fourth Place: Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Jicama Slaw, Grapefruit & Nuoc Cham Sauce by Chef Linda Esposito

Tasting notes – A unique take on the traditional. Highly adaptable recipe that can be vegetarian, vegan and is (most importantly) kind to the waistline.

Ingredients:
For the Jalapeno Marmalade:
4 large jalapenos, stems and seeds removed
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup vinegar
2 tsp salt

For the Sweet Corn Hush Puppies:
2 cups sifted fine stone ground corn meal
1 cup sweet white corn
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups corn oil
Directions:
Place the oil into a heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium until oil reaches 375 degrees.

For the Marmalade:
Place the jalapenos along with the vinegar and salt into a food processor and puree until a smooth liquid is formed. Add this to a small sauce pan over high heat and add in the sugar. Stirring often, cook for 10 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat and allow to briefly cool and transfer to a small bowl.

For the Hush Puppies:
Stir corn meal, sugar, soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Create a small well in the center and add the egg, buttermilk, and corn and beat until frothy. Add just enough of the cold water to make dough a good dropping consistency.

Using a spoon and working in small batches, carefully place about 1 tablespoon of the batter into the oil at a time and cook until golden. Turn the hush puppies after about 1 minute and continue to cook on the other side. Remove with a spider and transfer to a cooling rack. Season with salt.

Server the hush puppies with the marmalade and enjoy.

Recipe created by John Silva

2 Tbls Olive Oil
2 Onions, sliced into thin strips
1/3 C Water
1/2 teaspoon kosher Salt
2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and cut in 1/4 inch dice
6oz Castillo Blue Cheese or equal amount of Cambazola, cut into 1/4 cubes.
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped and divided
1 16 oz package Frozen Puff Pastry (keep frozen just until ready to use)
2 Tbls Honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat, until it is hot and beginning to shimmer. Add the sliced onions and salt, stir to make sure all the onions are coated with oil and then add the water to the pan and cover for 10 minutes to allow the onions to soften.

Once the onions are softened, add the diced apples and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, until the apples are soft and the onions just begin to turn a light brown. Remove from heat add the cheese and half of the thyme, making sure the cheese melts into the onion mixture. Let cool, in freezer for 10 minutes.

Cut the frozen puff pastry sheets into 2” squares.

Once the onion mixture has cooled place a spoonful of the mixture into the center of each square of puff pastry and place on parchment covered sheet pan and place in oven for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven once the tartlets are golden brown.

While still hot from the oven drizzle tartlets with honey and then place a bit of thyme on each as a garnish. Place on serving platter and enjoy!

Makes 32 tartlets.

Created by Mick Dimas

20 inari pockets

1 package somen noodles
1 block of kamaboko (pink and white fishcake), sliced into thin sticks
1 japanese cucumber, julienned
2 eggs, beaten and cooked in a thin pancake over low heat, sliced into thin strips
2 stalks green onion, chopped
Some lettuce, shredded
A few pieces of ham or char siu pork, sliced into thin strips
Nori, torn into small pieces (or seaweed salad may also be used)

For the dressing:
2/3 cup dashi stock
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce (lite)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Cook somen noodles, drain and chill.
Lay somen noodles into a dish or baking pan. (I like to create individual servings by twisting the noodles, pasta-style, into bundles.)
Artfully layer the fishcake, eggs, onion, lettuce, ham, and nori on top of the noodles.

Bring dashi stock to a boil, turn off heat and stir in sugar until dissolved.
Add soy sauce and sesame oil, stir.

Serve salad with the dressing on the side.
Serve in bite-sized inari pockets and be sure to mix the dressing into the noodles prior to stuffing into pockets and adding toppings.
Serves 20.

Created by Lauren Hahn

20 round 8-inch Vietnamese rice paper

Prepare the candied nuts: In heavy medium skillet over medium heat, bring sugar, olive oil and vinegar to boil until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats nuts evenly, about 7 minutes. Turn nuts out onto greased foil. Using fork, separate nuts and cool completely till harden. Break nuts into small pieces.

Prepare the sauce: Make the shallot oil by frying sliced shallots in 1/3 cup of canola oil till golden brown. In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together.

Prepare the filling: Bring salted water to boil. Drop rice vermicelli in, bring to boil again. Remove from heat, cover and soak for 15 minutes. Drain and fluff.

Prepare the slaw: Using a food processor or a sharp knife, shred both cabbages (2mm); julienne jicama and carrots finely into shoestring strips. Place vegetables in separate bowls and toss with a tablespoon of Nuoc Cham each. Peel grapefruit, remove skin, pith, membranes and seeds. Chiffonade cilantro, scallion, Rau Ram and Thai basil and toss together to mix. Remove ribs from butter lettuce and tear into 2 x 3 inch pieces each.

Assemble the springrolls: Line a baking sheet with a damp tea towel and have another damp towel ready to cover the rolls. Line a cutting board with a third damp towel. Have all spring roll filling and vegetables mise en place.

Fill a large sauté pan with 2 inches of water. Add 1 spoon of sugar, bring water to a boil, then turn heat to very low. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time, dip half the disc into the hot water, holding one corner with your fingers or a pair of chopsticks. Let it sit for about 5 seconds. Quickly dip the other half and remove and spread out flat on lined cutting board.

Lay a leaf of lettuce over the bottom third of the rice paper. Lay a thin layer of rice noodles on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of grapefruit sacs, 1 tablespoon herb mixture and 1 tablespoon of pecans. Lay a small amount of carrots, red and napa cabbage on top of the lettuce. Place 3 pieces of jicama sticks and press together to compact. Lay 2 pieces of mint down on the middle third of the rice paper. Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a tight cylinder. You want the mint to show through the wrapping. Lay the rolls flap side down on the moistened towel and cover with another moist towel until ready to serve (or cover tightly with Saran wrap). Patch any broken areas with small pieces of soaked, rice paper.

Serve: Cut the spring rolls into half crosswise and serve with nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Serves: 20

Created by Linda Esposito