Warning: The post below contains spoilers, so if you TiVo'd last night's "Iron Chef America" and don't want to know who won, I suggest you stop reading now.

Last night, the oddest battle in the history of Kitchen Stadium took place, a battle of the Food Network All-Stars that pit Mario Batali and Rachael Ray against Bobby Flay and Giada de Laurentiis. The theme ingredient was cranberries. It seemed to take Rachael and Mario several minutes to find their groove, with Rachael seeming to get flustered and Mario looking a little impatient, although the pair seemed to have the dishes they would do divided up already. It looked like things started out very smoothly for Bobby and Giada, on the other hand, who both appeared focused. As time wore on, however, Rachael adapted more and more to the kitchen and the pressure of the time began to affect Giada's performance. Bobby did his usual good work, but unfortunately, the judges weren't as impressed with Giada's plates as they were with Rachael's -- although it probably didn't hurt that Mario bribed them all with cranberry Bellini's halfway through the competition!

From the fact that both women seemed a bit stressed out at the end of the cooking period, it seems as though neither would be eager to return to the stadium. If the Food Network is thinking of doing another All-Star battle, however, how about Ina Garten vs. Paula Deen?

Perhaps you don't drink as much caffeine as I do, so you are able to fall asleep at a decent hour, say 10:00 PM. If that's the case, then you probably haven't noticed that the usual 11:00 PM broadcast of the original Japanese Iron Chef has disappeared from the Food Network.

I have looked all over the web for information, but nothing has turned up as to why. Only that it's gone.

Now I am not going to sugar-coat my distaste for the new Iron Chef America. Sure, I love that Alton Brown in the host, and the old Chairman Kaga's "nephew" is pretty hot when he does all that martial artistry, but I am not particularly fond of the show. Sure, I realize that the original Japanese version was completely contrived, but at least they pretended like it truly was a challenge. On Iron Chef America, it's just so...boring. And what happened to ingredients that would flop around on the stage like live eel, and creations like...seabass mousse?

At least the Food Network replaced the 11:00 time slot with Good Eats, which other than Paula Deen is just about the only thing I can watch now, but is little consolation for the loss of the brocade caped, leather glove-clad, Liberace of a Chairman, Kaga.

A few weeks ago, we managed to find out that an upcoming episode of Iron Chef America would feature both Rachael Ray and Giada de Laurentiis, pairing Rachael with Mario Batali and Giada with Bobby Flay. Even the wordsmith host of the show thinks that this battle will be one for the record books, saying “The only way this battle could be better for the Food Network would be for them to have Emeril Lagasse as the secret ingredient” in an article in the Ithaca Journal.

The episode was actually filmed in January, but it is scheduled to air sometime in November, which means that Rachael and Giada have already done their thing in Kitchen Stadium – and both report that it was one of their most challenging experiences. Interestingly enough, the article also gives confirmation that the chefs learn about the ingredients in advance, as before the taping the ingredient was revealed to them: cranberries. Given the ingredient, the episode will most likely air in mid-November or around Thanksgiving, but we’ll have to wait until then to see how well the celebrity chef pairings worked together and to find out whose cuisine reigned supreme.

MSNBC has officially uncovered the secrets that make Iron Chef America work - and unlike the Amateur Gourmet, they don't seem to have been required to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The "secret" ingredient is chosen from a list of five possible ingredients that are given to the chefs prior to the filming of the show. While they don't generally know the actual one that will be used, the time they are given to plan certainly does not make it a surprise. To get the effect of a surprise, some scenes - including the reveal of the ingredient - are subject to multiple takes. The actually cooking time is still strictly held to 60 minutes, even though some ingredients may be simmering or nearly ready to use when the clock starts.

If you are anything like me, in addition to being a fan of Iron Chef America, you've wondered what it's like to actually be inside kitchen stadium during a culinary battle. Not as one of the chefs, of course, but simply as a spectator. Unfortunately, due to the confidentiality agreement that studio audiences must sign, it seems unlikely that many first hand accounts of what the live show is like are going to come our way. Fortunately, though, the Amateur Gourmet is a risk taker (who read the confidentially agreement carefully) and decided to reveal as much as he could about the taping without facing a $1,000,000 fine.

I had heard a rumor that Kitchen Stadium was on the West Coast, but it turns out that it is filmed in New York in the same studio where Emeril Live! and 30 Minute Meals are taped. Despite the fact that Adam couldn't say who participated in the battle he saw, we can safely assume that it was an episode scheduled for next season. He also seemed to share my suspicion that the secret ingredients are not very secret to the Iron Chefs, since not one of them looked surprised to hear what it was. But even with some of the magic missing, the Amateur Gourmet couldn't praise Alton Brown's performance as commentator highly enough and really enjoyed watching the top class iron chefs cook.

I am a big fan of the Iron Chef shows, both the American version and the original, Japanese version. The shows are a culinary competition between two outstanding and acclaimed chefs. One, of course, is an "Iron Chef" - a standing competitor and always the favorite, rather like the home team in sports. The challenger is a restaurateur or chef that cooks against one of the Iron Chefs to see "whose cuisine reigns supreme." The dishes must feature a theme ingredient that is revealed to competitors at the beginning of the show, though I have heard that they are presented with several potential ingredients in advance. During the "battle", which lasts one hour, the chefs must prepare 5 dishes, which are almost always unusual, innovative and elaborately plated. Once the battle has come to an end, the dishes are tasted and judged on taste, creativity and presentation by a panel of judges, which can include a variety of critics, writers and actors.

Bobby Flay is one of the American Iron Chefs. He also updates his own site fairly frequently, announcing various news items and when they are filming new episodes of the Iron Chef. Recently, he mentioned that this season will feature a battle including some of the other Food Network celebrity chefs, namely Giada deLaurentiis and Rachael Ray. They will be pairing up with Bobby and Mario Batali, respectively. I would be inclined to think that Bobby has the advantage with Giada, who formerly worked at Spago, on his side, but perhaps Rachael will surprise us. She certainly has a knack for quickly-cooked meals. There is no known air date for this celebrity chef battle, yet.