An Iron Chef Fans Diary, January, 2003

      Happy New Year

  Recent Battles:

  Wednesday, January 1st, 2003 New Year's Day Special;

   Iron Chef Ultimate Upsets Marathon,

   Starting at 12:00 Eastern or 11:00 Central

   And another timely update of Wooden Chef ! (7:30 CST)

  1. 11:00 - 12:00 a.m. CST 

     Main Ingredient:  Pork Bellies
     Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Cantonese Chinese   
     Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi  Challenger: Liang Shuqing

     This battle ends in a tie.

   Another timely update of Wooden Chef . (12:15)

 2. 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Konyaku - a gelatin made from roots, like potato starch
     Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Cantonese Chinese   
     Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi  Challenger: Liang Shuqing

     The tie breaker goes to Shuqing, who easily made four dishes to Chen's three.

 3. 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient: Pike Eel 
     Cooking Style: Neo Japanese vs. Kyoto Japanese   
     Iron Chef:  Masaharu Morimoto  Challenger: Yoshimi Tanigawa

     Tanigawa Wins !

 4. 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Lobster
     Cooking Style: French vs. Californian   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Ron Siegel

     Siegel wins easily with brilliant dishes !

 5. 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Tuna
     Cooking Style: French vs. French   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Shinya Tasaki The Wine Expert

     Although an amateur chef Tasaki wins !

 6. 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Sea Bass Tag Team Match
     Cooking Style: French / Japanese vs. Szechwan Chinese / Japanese   
     Iron Chefs: Chen Kenichi and Rokusaboro Michiba   Challengers: Joel Bruant and Masafumi Furutaka

     I think the best dish here is the Challenger's Baked Sea Bass Pie, shaped like a fish.

   Yet another timely update of Wooden Chef  (6:00 p.m.)

 7. 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Bean Sprouts 
     Cooking Style: French vs. Japanese   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Takeshi Okubo

     Member of the Hicachi group that has already won twice

 8. 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  Lamb
     Cooking Style: French vs. French   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Michael Husser

     Husser wins.

 9. 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. CST

     Main Ingredient:  21st Century Battle
     Cooking Style: French vs. Japanese   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Toshiro Kandagawa

     Kandagawa wins 98 to 88

    8:00 - 9:00 p.m. CST

    Main Ingredient:  Lobster - the Second Battle of the New Millennium - a rematch

    Cooking Style: Neo-Japanese vs. New York Style   
    Iron Chef:  Masaharu Morimoto  Challenger: Bobby Flay

    Flay wins, and jumps up on the counter again.

 10. 9:00 - 10:00 p.m. CST 

     Main Ingredient:  Piglets
     Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Italian   
     Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi  Challenger: Spano Stelvio

     Chairman Kaga boycotted this battle after his Iron Chefs had lost three in a row.

     Dr. Yukio Hattori filled in for Kaga. Chen wins as Kaga lurks behind the curtains.

 11. 10:00 - 11:00 p.m. CST 

     Main Ingredient: Homard ( lobster) 
     Cooking Style: French Nouvelle vs. Classical French   
     Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Tadaaki Shimizu

     Shimizu gives Sakai his first defeat.

 12. 11:00 - 12:00 p.m. CST 

     Main Ingredient:  Sea Bass Tag Team Match
     Cooking Style: French / Japanese vs. Szechwan Chinese / Japanese   
     Iron Chefs: Chen Kenichi and Rokusaboro Michiba   Challengers: Joel Bruant and Masafumi Furutaka

     Bruant and Furutaka won. Their Bass Pie was amazing.

another, well, timely update of Wooden Chef, the fourth one today (11:45 CST)

I am dead tired from working with Elaine on third shift last night and then doing

the Iron Chef thing all day, so I'm going to go to bed. O.K., I'll stay up just long enough

to see who is in the last battle.   

 13. 12:00 - 1:00 a.m. CST 

     Main Ingredient: Bell Peppers 
     Cooking Style: Japanese vs.  French  
     Iron Chef:  Rokusaboro Michiba  Challenger: Artur J. Rutter

     Rutter won, his Beef Medallions dish was brilliant.

 Friday, January 3th, 2003

 Main Ingredient:  Mochi Rice
 Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Japanese  
 Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi Sakai  Challenger:  Toshiyuki Nakagawa

 I thought I was ready to fight this battle after I made a big pot of rice, but was surprised to find out

 that Mochi is a kind of thick rice cake. Hum? what to substitute for it? Then Nakagawa pulled out

 the blowfish and Chen brought out the anglerfish liver. Will chicken livers substitute O.K.?

Saturday, January 4th, 2003   

and another update of Wooden Chef, the rest of the January battles are in the January, 2003 Diary.

New recipes include Turkey ,  Tuna,  and an update of the Lobster recipes.

 Saturday, January 4th, 2003   
 Main Ingredient:  Chinese Cabbage

 Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs.  Japanese   
 Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi   Challenger: Gyokubun Sai

 I think I've seen this battle, Chinese Cabbage is really Bok Choy right? No, that's Shanghai cabbage.

 This was big bushy leafy cabbage, heading towards being romaine lettuce. 

 Sunday, January 5th, 2003    

 Main Ingredient:  Angler
 Cooking Style: Maverick Japanese vs. Japanese   
  Iron Chef:  Rokusaboro Michiba  Challenger:  Yasuo Kawata

 Friday, January 10th, 2003   
 Main Ingredient: Turnips  
 Cooking Style: French vs. Japanese    
 Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai  Challenger: Kouji Yamada

 The TV schedule said it would be Beets, so I pulled all my cans of beets out of the pantry,

 but the theme was big white Turnips.  I happened to have a turnip left over from one of the turkey battles.

Saturday, January 11th, 2003          
Main Ingredient:  Udon Noodles  
Cooking Style: French vs. Japanese   
Iron Chef:  Hiroyuki Sakai    Challenger: Tooru Komori 

Sunday, January 12th, 2003  
Main Ingredient:   
Cooking Style:  Neo Japanese vs. Japanese   
Iron Chef:                        Challenger: 

Friday, January 17th, 2003

Main Ingredient:  Chinese Cabbage 
Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese  vs. Japanese        
Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi  Challenger:  Odachi Hisao

Saturday, January 18st, 2003           
Main Ingredient:  Red Snapper ( Morimoto's First Battle )   
Cooking Style: Neo Japanese vs. Italian   
Iron Chef: Masaharu Morimoto   Challenger:   Yukio Hirayama

Sunday, January 19nd, 2003 

Main Ingredient:  Mackerel     
Cooking Style: Maverick Japanese vs. Japanese   
Iron Chef:  Rokusaboro Michiba   Challenger:  Tatsuo Umemiya

Friday, January 24th, 2003 repeat
Main Ingredient: Carrot 

Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Japanese   
Iron Chef:  Chen Kenichi  Challenger:  Kiyoshi Takahashi

Saturday, January 25th, 2003                                 
Main Ingredient:  Broccoli    
Cooking Style:  Italian vs. Italian    
Iron Chef:  Masahiko Kobe    Challenger:  Mario Fritolli

Sunday, January 26th, 2003    No Show Due to a "Two Fat Ladies" Marathon              

Main Ingredient:  

Cooking Style: Szechwan Chinese vs. Japanese   
Iron Chef:                      Challenger:   

 Friday, January 31st, 2003 repeat

 Main Ingredient: Natto 
 Cooking Style: Maverick Japanese vs. Japanese   
 Iron Chef:  Rokusaboro Michiba  Challenger:  Kuniyuki Ishikawa

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