Category:Iron Chef SA 003:Squash

Chair: jollygrinch

It’s fall, ladies and gentlemen, well it is in God’s one true hemisphere, at least. I love fall. In the Pacific Northwest it meas the return of the rain, crisp (moist) afternoon hikes through the woods, dirt cheap fresh mushrooms at the farmers markets, more apples than you can stuff yourself with, and much, much more. Fall flavors remind most of us of family warmth and happy times. More importantly, it gets cold so you can get away with that sweater to hide the weight you’ll undoubtedly pack on.

I wanted the theme for this round to reflect the flavors of the season. That only narrowed it down a little for me. I finally settled on a food that as a child horrified me and only recently have I come to appreciate.

Squash!

Or, more specifically, anything from the genus Cucurbita. This includes, proper squash (that is including but not limited to: zucchini, pattypan, yellow crookneck, hubbard squash, buttercup squash, cushaw squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, summer squash, etc) and pumpkins.

That’s a pretty wide variety of types and flavors. I could have tried to narrow it down, but then we could wind up in an argument with some biology geek and frankly that stuff makes my head hurt. More importantly, I look forward to your creativity.

Results

1st: Fresh Pumpkin Gnocchi, Fall Salad with Pepitas, Pumpkin Mousse by Kiteless
2nd: Zucchini Ravioli, Butternut Soup, and Pumpkin Fritters by GodsMullet
3rd: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Real Pumpkin by Criscodisco