i noticed last spring/early summer a number of her status messages mentioned a lot of travel, or were of the 'it's good to be home' kind but didn't really put much into it because, well, many people will do a lot of traveling for a lot of reasons.
i've been following the ads on the food network website, and of course we never FF through them if it's a new one on tv. but boy was i surprised when i got an email last week wednesday.
Be Our Guest To Watch The Next Iron Chef read the subject line. ok, i'm thinking it's more reminding me to not miss watching it, or to set the dvr if i'm not home that night. boy was i wrong! instead i find the following:
Is Chef Holly Smith The Next Iron Chef?
Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita was chosen, along with nine other chefs, to compete for the title of The Next Iron Chef on the second season of this popular Food Network series that challenges the culinary skill and mettle of its talented contestants.
Please join Holly and her loyal fans at Cafe Juanita on Sunday, October 4th as the battle unfolds on the first episode of this exciting series. We’re delighted that The Next Iron Chef premiere party at Cafe Juanita will be sponsored by Verizon FiOS TV. We’ll be bringing in flat screen televisions for the occasion so you won’t miss a single slice, dice, julienne or chiffonade.
The festivities, complete with food and drink, begin at 7:30 p.m., with the episode to air at 9 p.m.
Space is limited, so RSVP promptly (425) 823-1505
i guess there were about 50 of us (?) i think if everyone, including the staff who were working had taken a seat we would've filled the main floor of the restaurant. but we did have a few chairs open in a location not 100% best for viewing. verizon/fios brought in three 52" flat screens (i think they were 52") and as it turned out, they gave 1 of them to Chef to take home! yay!
the food was fantastic. they had about 10 appys circulating throughout the night. (no, no pics of the food, you've pretty much seen the actual platings already on my blog) i hope i can remember all of them! so here they are in no particular order
1. Grilled Octopus with Fennel, Green sauce and Chickpea Puré on a toasted bread
2. Lemon Cracker with a La Tur cheese
3. Prosciutto Wrapped Crostini
4. Chilled Tomato Pompadoro in shot glasses
5. White Anchovies with a Green Puree rolled, on skewers
6. Smoked Trout with something on a Pumperknickel toast
7. Seared Foie Gras with Huckleberries, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs on a toasted bread
8. Carne Cruda on cracker
9. Housemade TandT Pork Fricco Sliders
10. La Tur Cheese Puff
11. Chocolate Mousse with Creme
plus thank you to Mark Ryan of Mark Ryan winery - he contributed a balthazar or his viognier to be served. on tap was also a red wine, a prosecco xxxxx, sidecars, a negroni, and a couple other options. i guess if you really wanted something different you could ask for it, but the selection was very well chosen and went spot on with the hors d'ouvres.
about 10 minutes before the show aired people took a seat and all eyes turned to the screens. 90 minutes of The Next Iron Chef ensued with a couple of added notes by Chef at the commercials. her 1st dish, a lamb kidney dish, had to sit at room temp for 5 hours before the judges got to taste it. her 2nd dish, jellyfish, apparently had be dehydrated so not only does she have a time limit to prepare a meal, she has to re-hydrate it! the jellyfish dish sat for about 6 hours before the judges got to it! i have to admit, i know there are a couple things you don't want to sit - room temp or not - like salty and really spicy dishes, because the flavors intensify with the wait. in fact, if you did see the show you heard the judges comment that it was so salty they couldn't eat it! one would think the judges (and network, producers etc) would realize not all dishes can sit out for an hour, let alone 5 or 6 and still be edible! not to mention a hot dish will obviously be cold! oh well, maybe they do, maybe they don't.
1 by 1 the chefs are sent back to the kitchen to cook another day, as Alton says. the last 3 chefs - Chef Holly, and 2 others - don't remember their names, just what they prepared. 1 had sea cucumber the other grasshoppers. at this point they talk about all three before sending someone back to the kitchen for another chance. they mention Chef Holly's 'over-saltiness' but she had done 2 preparations - 1 was a soup and they all cheered about it and decided that she was the only one who really stepped out of her comfort zone in deciding on a preparation - as an Italian chef she chose Thai for the jellyfish, and were intrigued to see what else she might do, so Chef Holly was safe! whew! talk about nail-biting! There was much cheering when she was deemed safe.
SWAG - signed posters and t-shirts was available for everyone if they wanted one.
i think a grand time was had by all!
 front door | |
 nathan the bartender |  jim pouring viognier from mark ryan winery |
 tweeting or updating FB status to reflect party happenings |  yum, sidecars |
 SWAG |  SWAG and guests |
 Chef Holly thanking everyone for being there and promising a fun night |  guests |
 guests |  Libby and Matt |
 Chef Holly talking to Matt |  taking our seats |
 taking our seats |  Libby, Chef Holly, and Matt |
 taking our seats |  the gang who help make Chef Holly and Cafe Juanita such a great place! |
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