Meet
our Gretna Dinner Club Iron Chef 2012…. Eric!
We
came, we saw, we cooked our hearts out… but only one could prevail. Our friend
Eric nearly swept the vote for our first ever Iron Chef Gretna competition with
his “Cinnamon Dusted Bacon, Honey Crisp Apple and Gouda Pizza”. It was
amazingly delicious and, among many other fantastic dishes we sampled, best
highlighted our secret ingredient for the night’s festivity – cinnamon!
Most
of our Dinner Clubs are arranged so that we know well in advance what we, and
others, are preparing; however this one was different. We did know what portion
of the meal we were to prepare. For example, I was assigned the soup. What we
didn’t know was what our highlight ingredient was to be; at least until a
couple of days before. Once we knew it was cinnamon the planning began!
Everyone
hustled to research a recipe for their course. We planned, we shopped, we
prepared, and here’s what we ended up dining on for the night:
Appetizer
– Cinnamon dusted bacon, honey crisp
apple and gouda
Soup
– Cinnamon, ginger and chicken soup with
cinnamon-garlic crouton
Salad
– Arugula, apple and grape salad with
cinnamon dressing
Entrée
– Cinnamon roasted pork tenderloin with
honey, soy and garlic
Side
– Smashed, roasted root vegetables with
cinnamon cheese
Dessert
– Apple turnovers with rich
cinnamon-caramel sauce and black walnut cinnamon ice cream
 |
| Eric's winning dish! Cinnamon-dusted Bacon, Honeycrisp Apple and Gouda Pizza! |
It
may sound like too much of one thing, but I just can’t say enough how well
everyone did incorporating the ingredient without overpowering or exhausting the
palate. In the savory dishes, such as my soup, cinnamon was more of an aroma
than the focus of your taste buds. Dessert, of course, was deliciously
“cinnamon-ey” and the homemade black walnut ice cream was definitely a crowd
pleaser.
I
loved the interesting application of cinnamon in the salad dressing that
included more common dressing elements like mayonnaise and lemon juice. This
was a great example of incorporating the spice in a detectable, but not
overwhelming way. Cinnamon can be an excellent part of so many savory recipes;
it’s not just for sweets. Watch later this week for more on cinnamon and its
uses.
Everyone
did a fantastic job, but the use of cinnamon dusted over the warm, melty deliciousness
of gouda
I
don’t know for sure what recipe Chef Eric used, other than he mentioned that he
began with a recipe, but added the cinnamon on his own and took liberties with
his preparation. Here’s a link to one bacon, apple and gouda
 |
| Apple Dumpling with Black Walnut Cinnamon Ice Cream |
