We’d all hoped for the month to pass quickly so that the next Iron Chef Chicago battle could begin. Challengers deduced what theme ingredient the Reigning Iron Chef (ahem… me) would choose for Battle 2. Fruits? Spices? Meat, perhaps? The possibilities were limitless. Concurrently, I’d conjured up a rather long list of possible theme ingredients, realizing that the second time around was much more difficult and inspiration-less. Basil was easy – it’s my favorite herb and once I saw Battle Basil on the TV Iron Chef, I knew that I was leaning toward choosing it for a reason. And I was sold; ingredient chosen. This time, there was no IC-inspired moment, but rather a long list of possibilities drawn from various recipes in my box and in my stack. I made my final decision about a week before the battle. Honey. And then, two nights before, I made my...
