Recipes: Don't try this at home

Chef Jose Garces provided the recipes for the five dishes he and his two assistants created in a mock Iron Chef America competition. We have not tested them, nor do we plan to. We offer them to show their complexity, and to prove that some American chefs do, indeed, use the metric system. Sometimes.

Pecan-crusted brioche French toast, Roquefort maple butter, crispy duck confit, and black cherry

Serves 4

4 slices brioche, cut about 1 inch thick

2 cups heavy cream

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1½ cups pecan crust (recipe follows)

1/8 cup Roquefort maple butter (recipe follows)

2 duck legs confit, bones removed, leg and thigh split

¼ cup black cherries in syrup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat butter in a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Combine heavy cream, eggs, and granulated sugar and whisk together until well combined. Dredge brioche slices in custard mixture until completely saturated. Transfer bread slices to pecan crust and coat completely. Pan fry brioche slices, two at a time, until golden on both sides. Transfer French toast slices to a lined sheet tray and bake until custard is set, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season confit duck legs with salt and fresh ground pepper and sear until crispy and warmed through.

Garnish French toast slices with Roquefort maple butter, crispy duck confit, and black cherries. Drizzle with black cherry syrup.

Pecan crust

Serves 4

1 cup pecan halves, toasted

½ cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

In a food processor, combine pecan halves, panko, light brown sugar, and salt, and grind to the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Reserve in a sealed dry container until ready to use.

Roquefort maple butter

Serves 4

4 ounces Roquefort cheese, softened

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Combine softened Roquefort, softened butter, and maple syrup and fold together until completely combined. Roquefort maple butter is best used very cold, so make it one day ahead of time and store refrigerated until ready to use.

Serrano ham and spinach salad, Cabrales croquettes, smoked bacon, and spiced almonds

Serves 4

8 slices Serrano ham

8 ounces baby spinach

1/8 cup red onion, shaved

1/8 cup Cabrales cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons smoked bacon, cooked

4 Cabrales croquettes (recipe follows)

¼ cup sherry vinaigrette (recipe follows)

¼ cup spiced almonds (recipe follows)

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Cabrales croquettes

Serves 4

2 ounces unsalted butter

2 ounces all-purpose flour

6 ounces whole milk

4 ounces Cabrales cheese, crumbled

2 silver gelatin sheets, reconstituted in cold water

6 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

Melt butter in a small sauce pot over low heat. Add all-purpose flour and cook until a white roux is formed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, and cook until béchamel is thick and creamy. Add Cabrales cheese and continue to cook until cheese is melted and sauce is completely incorporated. Fold in softened gelatin sheets and transfer to a parchment-lined sheet tray to cool.

Using your hands, form Cabrales croquette mixture into small ovals. Freeze croquettes in a sealed container until ready to bread and fry. Preheat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.

Lightly dredge frozen croquettes in all-purpose flour. Transfer to beaten eggs and lightly coat, then coat evenly in bread crumbs. Fry croquettes in hot vegetable oil until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a paper-lined sheet tray.

Sherry vinaigrette

Serves 4

2 tablespoons shallots, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine

½ cup aged sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons honey

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine shallots, thyme, and aged sherry vinegar in a small bowl and allow to macerate for 10 minutes. Add mustard, honey, olive oil, and vegetable oil and mix well. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Spiced almonds

Serves 4

¼ cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon simple syrup

1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika

Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine sliced almonds, simple syrup, smoked paprika, and salt and toss to coat. Spread almonds in a thin single layer on a sheet tray (lined with a nonstick mat, like Silpat) and bake until lightly toasted, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before use. Once cooked, store almonds in a sealed dry container until ready to use.

Combine baby spinach, red onion, smoked bacon, Cabrales cheese, and sherry vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Divide dressed salad among four chilled plates and garnish with sliced Serrano ham and spiced almonds. Serve with warm Cabrales croquettes.

Seared buffalo tenderloin, Maytag bleu-crusted portobello cap, wilted escarole, and blue cheese jus

Serves 4

4 buffalo tenderloin portions, about 6 ounces each

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium-size portobello mushroom caps, stems and ribs removed

¼ cup Maytag bleu cheese crust (recipe follows)

4 cups escarole, washed

2 tablespoons shallots, brunoise

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar

½ cup blue cheese jus (recipe follows)

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season buffalo tenderloin steaks with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sear steaks on one side, turn once, and transfer to hot oven to cook to desired doneness, about 5 to 6 minutes for medium rare. Allow steaks to rest for 3 minutes before slicing and serving.

Meanwhile, heat a separate large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brush portobello mushrooms with vegetable oil and season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sear mushroom caps, cap side down, until nicely caramelized, about 3 minutes. Remove mushroom caps from sauté pan and fill with Maytag bleu cheese crust. Transfer mushroom caps to hot oven and bake until cheese is soft and lightly gratinéed, about 5 minutes. Cut each mushroom in half before serving and divide among four plates.

Heat remaining vegetable oil in a large stainless steel sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat shallots and garlic until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add escarole and cook until just wilted. Deglaze pan with sherry wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Add butter and cook until escarole is wilted and saucy.

Maytag bleu cheese crust

Serves 4

¼ cup Maytag bleu cheese, softened

3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

1 teaspoon Italian parsley, minced

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine softened bleu cheese, panko bread crumbs, thyme, parsley, and ground black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.

Blue cheese jus

(Made in advance)

Serves 4

5 pounds veal marrow bones

2 cups Spanish onion, rough chop

1 cup carrots, peeled and rough chop

1 cup celery, rough chop

12 ounces tomato paste

1 cup beefsteak tomato, rough chop

2 cups dry red wine

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

4 fresh thyme sprigs

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon juniper berries

2 gallons cold water

1 ounce Maytag bleu cheese

1 ounce unsalted butter

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast veal marrow bones in a large, preheated roasting pan until caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer roasted veal bones to a large stockpot and set aside. Add onion, carrot, and celery to roasting pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until well caramelized. Add tomato paste and beefsteak tomatoes and cook until nicely caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add red wine, rosemary, thyme, black peppercorns, and juniper berries and cook until wine is reduced by three-quarters. Transfer cooked vegetables to stockpot with roasted veal bones and cover with cold water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for four hours. Strain veal stock through chino cloth and discard bones. Continue to reduce stock over medium heat, skimming any impurities that rise to the surface, to about 1½ cups of reduced veal sauce.

Transfer one-third of veal-stock reduction to a small sauce pot and reserve remainder in freezer for later use.

Add Maytag bleu cheese and unsalted butter and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Gorgonzola soufflé

Note: all ingredients in this recipe must be weighed; volume measurements are not exact

115 grams unsalted butter

60 grams bread flour

350 grams whole milk

195 grams egg yolks

320 grams egg whites

30 grams granulated sugar

130 grams granulated sugar

140 grams Gorgonzola cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a sauce pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add bread flour and stir to incorporate. Cook until a blond roux is formed, about 10 minutes. Slowly add milk and whisk to incorporate. Bring mixture to a low boil and continue to cook until sauce thickens, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, one by one, slowly add egg yolks, stirring constantly. Fold in 30 grams of sugar. Weigh out 480 grams base (above) and combine with softened Gorgonzola cheese.

Combine egg whites and remaining 130 grams of sugar and whip to stiff peaks. Fold one-quarter of the egg whites into soufflé base, then gently fold base into remaining egg whites.

Evenly grease the bottom and sides of soufflé cups with butter and lightly coat with flour. Add soufflé mix to each cup, leaving about a half-inch of space at the top of each cup. Transfer soufflés to oven and bake until fully risen, about 9 minutes. Do not open oven door while soufflés are baking. Serve hot.

BBQ quail, blue cheese macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and red slaw with blue cheese vinaigrette

Serves 4

4 semi-boneless whole quail

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup spicy BBQ sauce (recipe follows)

2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked

1½ cups blue cheese sauce (recipe follows)

2 cups baked beans (recipe follows)

2 cups red cabbage slaw base (recipe follows)

¾ cup bleu cheese vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sear quail and transfer to oven to cook, about 6 minutes. Remove pan from oven and glaze quail on all sides with spicy barbecue sauce. Continue to cook on stove top until sauce is slightly reduced and quail are well glazed. Serve with bleu cheese macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and red cabbage slaw.

Spicy BBQ sauce

Serves 4

½ Spanish onion, charred

1 beefsteak tomato, quartered and charred

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup tomato ketchup

¼ cup chicken stock

1/8 cup Crystal hot sauce

¼ cup apple-cider vinegar

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pot and cook over low heat until reduced by one-third. Transfer sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Blue cheese sauce

Serves 4

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

4 ounces bleu cheese, softened

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Melt butter in a small sauce pot over low heat. Add all-purpose flour and cook until a white roux is formed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, and cook until béchamel is thick and creamy. Add bleu cheese and continue to stir until completely incorporated. Add cooked macaroni and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Baked beans

Serves 4

1 cup great northern beans, soaked overnight

1/8 cup smoked bacon, small dice

¼ cup Spanish onion, small dice

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon Colman's dry mustard powder

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon red chile flakes

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

In a medium sauce pot, cook beans in lightly salted water until about 80 percent tender, about 1½ to 2 hours. Drain and reserve cooking liquid. In a separate sauce pot, render smoked bacon until crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion and sweat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add molasses, mustard powder, ketchup, brown sugar, chile flakes, reserved bean-cooking liquid, and beans and cook over low heat until beans are very tender, about 30 additional minutes. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Red cabbage slaw

Serves 4

3 cups red cabbage, shredded

¼ cup carrot, julienned

1/8 cup red onion, julienned

¾ cup bleu cheese vinaigrette (see recipe)

Bleu cheese vinaigrette

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons wine vinegar

Juice of 1 fresh lemon, about 2 tablespoons

½ cup vegetable oil

2 ounces bleu cheese, softened

Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine egg yolks, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor and puree until eggs are slightly frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in vegetable oil until completely emulsified. Add bleu cheese and continue to mix until bleu cheese is completely incorporated. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Store chilled in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

To assemble the dish, combine red cabbage, carrot, and red onion and dress with blue cheese vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and fresh black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.