Don't Bogart that Smoker

There's yet another reality competition show on TV. No surprise...it's a cooking show, which really seem to be saturating the TV landscape these days. I'm not complaining. I would rather watch people cooking than people proving they couldn't pass a fifth grade history test or yet another news expose that will be back after these words from their sponsor to tell me what common household item may actually be killing me.

The Food Network has given us The Next Iron Chef. As you would expect, the show is a competition to determine the next Iron Chef. A number of accomplished chefs, as opposed to the usual crop of wide-eyed semi-professionals, are vying to join that wacky cook-off show, Iron Chef America (itself a U.S. redo of the grand 'ol Iron Chef from Japan, the Birthplace of TV Awesomeness).

So far, host Alton Brown looks like he is thoroughly enjoying himself. Taking special delight in giving the competitors extremely difficult taks. Episode 1 had the chefs trying to create desert out of things such as tripe, catfish, beef, squid and salmon. Episode 2 found the remaining competitors trying to emulate the new trend toward using scientific methods to create food using precision instruments and chemicals. I'm no fan of foam unless it's riding high on a sea of stout, but it's grand fun watching professionals unfamiliar with it attempt to whip some up.

Chef Wiley Dufresne, a molecular gastronomist, gives the group some instruction in the use of chemicals (liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream anyone?). There is also a demonstration of various PolyScience kitchen gadgets. These machines are spectacular. There's the Thermal Circulator, allowing liquid heating control to 0.09 F and the full Thermal Circulating Baths, a sous vide cooking system used in combination with the high-powered Vacuum Sealer. At the end of the counter, we find the Anti-Griddle, an instant-freeze griddle top at a temperature of negative 30 F.

Last, but not least, there was the coolest item of the bunch, the Smoking Gun. Three guesses as to how they thought this device up. I don't have any use for it, but I want one.