Gourmet Plays 'Iron Chef' - Avocado Smackdown

by Alex Van Buren, Posted May 26th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Venerable food mag Gourmet has been keeping it (un)real lately, from editor Ruth Reichl's bizarro star turn as Amy Winehouse and Kiss' Gene Simmons to today's "Iron Chef"-style smackdown between two test kitchen toques.

Today the steely, dry-humored Maggie Ruggiero (the woman behind an astounding fried cubano) faces off against bald-pated Ian Knauer, who pulls the cross-armed, stern smackdown stance off rather better. The ingredient du jour? Avocado, sweet and savory. The savory dishes both have a certain Asian flair and the sweet (shown above) basically blew our minds and made us want to go use a blowtorch on everything in our kitchen cabinets. Avocado marshmallow on a stick?! Maggie, let's be friends. Ian, not to be outdone, turns out a gorgeous avocado creme brulée.

The two share a window through which they taunt one another, like a modern day Statler and Waldorf. Maggie on Ian: "Razzle dazzle; flash in the pan ... [I'm] someone who enjoys eating food and not just playing with it." Ian on Maggie: "We were born on the same day. She's a little older than I am. She's got experience on her side. I have youth." Oh, snap! Check the video, vote and let us know who you think owned it.

Filed Under: On the Blogs
Tags: avocado, gourmet, ian knauer, IanKnauer, iron chef, IronChef, maggie ruggiero, MaggieRuggiero

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-27-2009 @5:38PM NYCubsFan said... I'll vote for Maggie. Avocado toasted marshmallow! Are you kidding me?

I only recently discovered avocados in sweet dishes, and am amazed at how well they work. The fat helps, and it is unsaturated with no cholesterol, which makes it even better.
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