With D.C.'s record standing at 2–2 in Kitchen Stadium – a win and a loss against Bobby Flay and Masaharu Morimoto each - Sunday night’s Thanksgiving-themed episode of Iron Chef America pitted Agraria’s head chef Ricky Moore against the Chairman’s newest Iron Chef, Michael Symon.

From the beginning, the odds seemed stacked against Iron Chef Symon, who felt the pressure to earn his first victory after having won the Next Iron Chef competition. Add to the fact that Agraria specializes in using farm-fresh products to create rustic--yet contemporary--American dishes; Moore was a perfect choice for Battle Thanksgiving. Or perhaps Moore was chosen due to the fact that, according to Tim Carman of the City Paper, Moore was once considered to compete in the Next Iron Chef. Despite his near brush with fame, Moore has moved on and was recently named the new head chef of Indebleu.

Even the judges seemed to have preferred Moore’s Thanksgiving selections over Symon’s. They fawned over his pumpkin soup and bacon wrapped venison, while commenting on the aroma of his sweet potato streusel and the inventiveness of creating a crispy skinned turkey by deep-frying when hours of roasting wasn't an option.

Image of Iron Chef Symon from the Food Network's website

Symon’s menu, on the other hand, must have piqued the judges’ interests more. Straying a bit further from a traditional Thanksgiving meal – particularly by keeping his dishes lighter with the addition some form of acidity into each – Symon didn’t appear to have garnered as many praises.

But that’s TV for you; editors choose how the night progresses. Take as an example the created drama when Moore found that his venison was undercooked or when Symon accidentally spilled a bit of grappa on his apple fennel crisp. Didn't matter a lick in the end, but spelled certain doom if you were watching.

In the end, the dignity of the newest Iron Chef was preserved with a 51-43 win over Moore.

Ricky Moore
Pumpkin soup with bacon and shiitake ragout
Cornbread dressing and braised turkey
Deep-fried turkey with cranberry sauce
Bacon wrapped venison with potato robuchon
Sweet potato streusel with maple-pecan ice cream

Taste: 22
Plating: 11
Originality: 10

Michael Symon
Fried oyster over crab, corn and sweet potato salad
"Turducken" - poached duck egg with chicken liver sauce and turkey cracklins
Braised turkey with squash and cranberry
Apple fennel crisp with creme fraiche ice cream

Taste: 26
Plating: 11
Originality: 14

The Food Network will replay the battle Wednesday night at 9 p.m. and midnight and Friday night at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Or you can head down to Indebleu to try out Chef Moore’s new menu yourself.