Cooking Club - Pumpkin Iron Chef Challenge

In the spirit of competition, and I do like to compete - especially in things I have a chance of winning, Jillian decided to make October's theme an Iron Chef one. The ingredient was pumpkin, of course. Imogen, Rose and I were on one team and Jillian, Dana, and Mel on the other. We were all too nice to really judge each other's work. So we all ended up winning. BOOO!


Team 1

(just as an aside, almost every member from my team used an actual pumpkin and not the canned stuff)

Appetizer - Baked Brie with Pumpkin Chutney (Rosemary)
I will definitely make the chutney again, and really, who doesn't like warm gooey cheese?

Main - Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage (Danielle)
A flop. Pumpkin is waterier than the potatoes and therefore I needed to add a tonne more flour. More than I brought, which meant I had to switch to whole wheat flour. I like whole wheat, but not in this recipe. Yuck!

Dessert - Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce (Imogen)
The night's winner in my opinion. I adore bread pudding and this had a great balance of warm spices and sweetness

Team 2

Appetizer - Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque (Melanie)
This had the most pure pumpkin flavour. I might have added some more earthy flavoured herbs.

Main - Pumpkin Seed Crusted Lamb with Chipotle Sauce (Jillian)
Another good one. The sauce was one I will make again.

Dessert - Pumpkin Ice Cream with Pumpkin Seed Brittle (Dana)
A flop as well, though the flavours were quite good. Dana learned that using a candy thermometer when making brittle is a necessity as opposed to a suggestion.