Tonight was the bacon episode on Iron Chef America, pitting Bobby Flay against Susur Lee.
In honor of the event, I had bacon in every meal today. This morning I had a breakfast burrito (bacon, egg, cheese, tomato, olives and sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla), for lunch I had a BLT, and for dinner I had spaghetti carbonara.
One of the judges for this episode of Iron Chef was comedian Mo Rocca, which made for some memorable quotes:
“When I was growing up in my house, we had a quota of four strips of bacon because of health concerns. So this is going to be the most delicious betrayal of my family to shovel down 10 plates of bacon.”
“I agree that it is so moist and so delicious and with the maple syrup, what a wonderful tribute to Canada. You should totally feed this to Celine Dion. She would be obese within a month, it’s so good.” (referring to the Irish Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin)
“In my dreams, there is a drive-thru window where I can pick one of these up every morning on the run. In a word, it’s McDelectable.” (referring to the Green Onion Pancake, Quail Egg and Caviar)
“Maybe my imagination is getting away from me, but I just feel like this food is so rich that I’m just gonna die. But it’s a great way to go out.” (referring to the Deconstructed Pancetta Carbonara)
“This is the 11th plate, I guess, of bacon we’ve had. And I just want you to know that if I don’t make it out of kitchen stadium alive, I really like your Irish bacon.” (referring to the Irish Bacon with Pineapple and Jalepeno Broth)
Here’s a list of the dishes prepared by each chef:
FLAY
- Shellfish and Bacon Tapas
- Bacon Risotto with Quail Egg and Green Onion
- Jerk Rubbed Whole Slab Bacon with Mango Sauce
- Deconstructed Pancetta Carbonara
- Irish Bacon with Pineapple and Jalepeno Broth
LEE
- Irish Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
- Lionhead with Potatoes and Spinach Sauce
- Shanghai-style Pork with Cabbage, Polenta and Apples
- Green Onion Pancake, Quail Egg and Caviar (this was my favorite)
- Irish and American Bacon Scallop with Roasted Pineapple
- Pork Tart with Quail
And the verdict was a rare tie, which makes perfect sense. Because when bacon is involved, no one is a loser.