This Iron Chef is a Girrrrrl!
Iron Chef America is a U.S.
cooking television program based on the original Japanese version of the show. The
program is an extreme culinary game show produced by the
Food Network.
On each episode a new challenger chef does “battle” with one of the
resident “Iron Chefs”, based on a theme ingredient. The Iron Chefs have
become celebrities in their own right and the program gets oodles of attention.
Cat Cora is currently the only female Iron Chef in a highly competitive
environment that’s usually dominated by men.
Cat takes over when it comes to Mediterranean, particularly Greek, French and Italian
food. She also sizzles in the kitchen with her Asian, spa, Creole, Southern/soul
food. Her culinary secret weapons are Global Santoku knife, ouzo, and a mortar/pestle.
Her cuisine is a blend of her Greek and Southern roots like her favorite dish Kota
Kapama (Greek cinnamon chicken), and slow-cooked lamb shanks with feta salsa verde.
She grew up in a Greek community in Jackson, Mississippi, having both a grandfather
and father as restaurateurs. Julia Child, Barbara Tropp, M. F. K. Fisher and her
grandmother, Alma were her culinary role models. She is responsible for coining
the term "Hellasian", which refers to a fusion cuisine combining Greek
and Asian cooking. Her cookbook is called
Cooking from the Hip.
Cora is a co-founder of Chefs For Humanity, known as "a grassroots coalition
of chefs and culinary professionals guided by a mission to quickly be able to raise
funds and provide resources for important emergency and humanitarian aid, nutritional
education, and hunger-related initiatives throughout the world". She is also
the Executive Chef at
Bon Appetit Magazine.
Cat Cora’s Saffron Honey-Roasted Chicken
Ingredients:
1 (2.5-3 lb) whole chicken
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (approximate)
kosher salt (for sprinkling)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels.
Place the chicken on a rack set in a roasting pan.
Melt 2 T. of butter in a small saucepan. Drizzle the butter over the chicken with
a little bit at a time, rubbing and turning the chicken so it's evenly coated on
every side. Don't wash the saucepan. Sprinkle the chicken with kosher salt.
Roast the chicken, breast side up, for 20 minutes; turn the chicken and roast for
10 more minutes. Meanwhile, pour the honey and water into the remaining butter.
Add the saffron; heat over low heat until thin enough to brush over the chicken.
Turn the chicken breast side up. With a pastry brush or a clean paper towel, brush
the mixture over the chicken. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until an instant-read
thermometer registers 170 degrees when inserted into the widest part of the thigh
without touching the bone. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 10
to 15 minutes before carving.
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