Iron Chef: Battle Cornucopia

Several weeks ago, I decided I wanted to create a dish that used all my favorite flavors from my favorite season.  I started talking to some of the cooks at work about ideas for how to combine apple, pork, pumpkin, and chai tea or chai spices into one awesome, mind-blowing distillation of autumn.  It quickly became apparent that the possibilities were many, and everyone had a different take on it.  Before long (and thanks to the enthusiastic suggestion and sign-making efforts of my co-worker Heather) things had escalated from a casual idea on my part to an almost restaurant-wide Iron Chef-style challenge.

Coming up this Monday, I (along with my coworkers) will be tasting around 10-12 dishes that meet the following set of criteria:

1.  They will all contain some form of pork, apple, pumpkin, and chai spice (all forms are eligible, i.e. applesauce and apple cider are as eligible as whole apples, and even just frying everything in bacon grease would satisfy the pork requirement)

2.  They must contain no grains (wheat, corn, soy, etc.)

3.  Any dairy must be full-fat, real-deal dairy.  No skim milk, no fillers

4.  Minimal or no added sweetener

Yes, as the person initiating the idea, and as one of the official contest judges, I was able to stipulate an “all dishes must be primal” clause.  What does that mean for you, the reader?  Why, it means that after Monday, I’ll be posting a list of the dishes, the results, and, with permission of the owner, the recipes, if not for all the dishes, then at least the top three.  Stay tuned for some exciting reporting on Iron Chef: Battle Cornucopia, and a whole bunch of great autumnal recipes!