Last night on Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef,” the contestants were asked by the chairman to create two dishes using a secret Mexican-themed ingredient, tamarind. I’m not sure what it tastes like, but I think it’s tangy along the lines of miso paste. Anyway, they were asked to create two dishes–a savory and a sweet, with 90 minutes to both shop and cook. Chef Mullen began with a 5 minute advantage because he won the previous challenge.
After shopping, the chefs went to work, with chef Mehta once again trying to make ice cream. Host Alton Brown wandered over to Mehta and started giving him a hard time, but the chef was adamant he was making the right choice. Meanwhile, chef Appleman was using a pressure cooker to make his soup, and he wound up burning it but still saving what was not burnt. Then with a few minutes remaining, the chairman threw another twist at them–they had to make a drink as well, also with tamarind incorporated. Yikes.
