Carla is playing with Glad bags, so is she the one going home? Leah is cleaning up. She says, "I need to cook good food." Yeah, well, that hasn’t happened yet.
"There’s no room left for error," says Hosea.
They start the Quickfire. Padma is with a cute guy, oh, Scott Conant. He got 3 stars from the New York Times last July for Scarpetta. She explains something about squares and football. Oh gosh, this is going to be complicated.
They have to write their names in a certain square and that determines what they’re cooking. Fabio says, "There is no reason to eat vegetables when there is meat and fish around.” Padma reveals the key ingredient that they all have to use - OATS. I guess that's why she calls it the Quaker Oats Quickfire challenge. What this has to do with the Super Bowl, I'll never know.
"He can’t quiet the creative monkeys," Carla says about Jeff. They rush around.
The Quickfire Dishes:
Stefan – Dairy
Banana Mousse with Quaker Oats & Oat-Almond Petit Four
We don't hear Scott's reaction to it.
Fabio – Vegetables
Quaker Oats–Crusted Eggplant with Corn & Parmesan Salad
Fabio is upset with Scott’s reaction.
Carla – Nuts & Grains
Pecan & Quaker Oats –Crusted Tofu with Oatmeal & Lentil Salad
Scott: “What was the tofu marinated in?”
Jamie – Fruits
Coconut & Quaker Oats -Crusted Shrimp, Nectarine Salsa & Avocado Crème Fraiche
Scott: “What else is in the crust?”
Hosea – Meat
Quaker Oats–Crusted Wiener Schnitzel with Warm Potato Salad & Mustard Sauce
Scott: “Thank you,” and shakes his hand.
Leah – Seafood
Quaker Oats–Crusted Branzino & Mussels with Escarole & Bacon
Scott wants to know what the inspiration is for the bacon with the escarole. Leah says, “I love bacon.” Deep.
Jeff – Poultry
Quaker Oats–Crusted Chicken Paillard, Grits & Fried Zucchini
The Losers:
Padma asks Scott who fumbled.
Leah had a good idea, but it wasn’t executed properly. In Fabio’s dish, he only tasted the oats. Scott said Jeff’s dish was very brown looking and heavy.
The Winners:
Carla did a great job bringing in the tofu. Jamie’s shrimp was cooked perfectly. Stefan’s dish had great texture and great flavor combinations.
Stefan wins. He pretends to be surprised, but then reminds us that he’s won 5 challenges in a row.
For the Elimination Challenge, they're told that there’s a surprise in the Stew Room. Oh, yeah, that’s what they call that room. They each get football jersey-ed chef’s coats in honor of the Super Bowl. Leah wants to cook for Tom Brady because he’s hot.
Back in the kitchen, they find out about the Top Chef Bowl. The opposition is a bunch of former Top Chef All-Stars. Spike and Andrew are there along with Josie(?) Andrea, Camille(?), Nikki - "the human pasta machine" and Miguel from season one.
Jamie says she’s a little intimidated.
Each Season Five chef will compete against a former Cheftestant. They pick teams according to ingredients that match different football teams’ home cities.
Stefan gets to pick his competitor first. He picks Andrea. Fabio says,“She really doesn’t cook nothing but vegetables.” The rest of them huddle to choose ingredients. It’s a little confusing.
Somehow chefs are chosing ingredients and who they're cooking against. I just know that Carla is going head to head against Andrew and that they have 2 hours to plan a dish.
Jamie’s mind goes blank. She has no idea what to do. Jeff is cooking against Josie and the Miami Dolphins is his team. Josie played for a professional football team. (?!?) How did she do that? They’re doing a bunch of cooking, which I guess is just a test for tomorrow. This is not making all that much sense.
Spike says that all the anxiety of being on Top Chef is coming back. Fabio says, "This is not cooking, it’s rushing.” Oh, and he mentions monkey ass again this week…he must really love it.
Andrew is gross. Leah sounds really bored as she says New York has no regional cuisine.
Stefan says maybe Andrea finally learned to cook since she left Top Chef. I’m not finding this all that interesting. The commercial with Stephanie and some homely guy in a weird hat is not holding my attention either. I do love the Dr Pepper commercial with the “Where everybody knows your name” song. Too cute.
It's the next day. They wake up. Hosea is stressing out about cooking his dish. Fabio can’t believe that he’s 30 years old and he has to sleep in a bunk bed. His Mama is sick and he needs the prize money to pay for her care. Stefan mocks Carla for meditating and “getting centered”. He is a jerk. They put on their chef’s coats with names and numbers on the back and arrive at ICE for the challenge.
They’re in a dem kitchen with culinary students for the first Top Chef Bowl. These are the rules. They’re almost as confusing as football’s:
1) Two chefs cook per Round
2) Judges’ vote scores A touchdown (7 points) What does that mean?
3) Fan tasters’ vote scores a Field Goal (3 points) Huh? Maybe this will be made clearer as they proceed.
Padma does look cute in her football jersey. The judges are there. Toby looks really snarly and bored. Scott looks hot and Tom is Tom. (Shave!)
Round 1 is Nikki versus Leah. There’s cheering from the audience which includes the chefs who have been eliminated. Why is Padma standing right there as they cook? Each pair is cooking at the same time on opposite ends of the dem bench. They have to finish in 20 minutes.
Nikki: Chicken Livers with Onions & Goat Cheese on Challah
Leah: NY Strip with Creamed Corn, Snap Peas & Arugula Salad
The votes: Padma picks Leah’s. Toby picks Nikki’s. Hey, what happens with a tie? Scott picks Leah’s and so does Tom. The five “fans” voted 3 to 2 for Nikki (are you still with me?), so Leah has 7 points and wins freedom from elimination and Nikki contributes 3 points to her team.
Wait, I have another question. What happens if all of this season’s chefs win in the individual cook-off? Then how do they eliminate anyone? I suppose this is set-up, so that won’t happen.
Hosea is next, cooking against Miguel. Hosea thinks Miguel is doing too much and he (Hosea) keeps saying he feels good about his dish. So he’ll probably lose and complain about it.
Hosea: Crispy Salmon Roll with Ginger-Blackberry Sauce (That makes me want to have dessert. Of course, most things make me want to have dessert.)
Miguel: Cedar Plank Salmon with Noodles & Mushrooms
Padma: Hosea. Toby: Hosea. Scott: Hosea. Tom has to be contrary. He votes for Miguel. The fans vote for Hosea unanimously.
Carla is worried because the two current-season chefs before her have won. Carla says she knows NOTHING about football. She seems to be more scattered than usual.
Carla: Crayfish & Andouille Gumbo over Stone-Ground Grits
Andrew: Crayfish Crudo with A Spicy Lime Vinaigrette
The judges all vote for Carla. She doesn’t win the fan vote, but that’s okay. The All-Stars are still ahead.
Stefan kisses Andrea at the beginning and tells us that of course he will beat her. She says she likes spicy food like her men. Stefan says he’s in love with her. “Call me”, he says. Eww.
Stefan: Roasted Pork with Coleslaw & NY Steak with Corn Salad
Andrea: Tex-Mex Chili with Fried Corn Chips & Guacamole Coleslaw
These are the votes - Padma: Andrea. Toby: Andrea. Scott: Stefan. Tom: Stefan.
The fans break the tie. They prefer Andrea’s dish. Stefan’s not so in love with her anymore.
Andrew mocks Stefan’s accent (really well.) Hosea is happy that Stefan lost. Jamie is opposite Camille. Jamie thinks her dish is weird.
Camille: Miso Sweet Potato Mash with Mustard Crab Meat & Salad
Jamie: Crab Cioppino with Olives, Basil & Toasted Sourdough
Padma: Jamie. Toby: Jamie. Scott: Camille. Tom: Camille
The fans break the tie and vote for Jamie.
Jeff versus Josie
Josie: Warm Rock Shrimp Ceviche with Papaya
Jeff: Rock Shrimp Ceviche with Sangria Sorbet
Only Padma votes for Jeff. The fans also preferred Josie’s. Jeff is a big loser. Ok, so he’s the one going home, I bet.
Fabio says let’s get ready to rumble. The score is All Stars: 26 Home Team: 34. So if he loses big, their team JUST loses. He’s cooking against Spike.
Fabio is cooking venison in honor of the “hunting thing that’s going on in Wisconsin” and cheese in honor of the state's cheese-making. He asks Spike what cheese is in HIS dish to honor Wisconsin cheese-making. Spike says he doesn’t have any cheese. "If your food is big like your mouth, you win for sure," says Fabio.
Spike: Five-Spice Venison with Port Reduction & Micro Herb Salad
Fabio: Venison with Mustard Sauce & Mache Salad with Cheddar
Padma: Spike. Toby: Fabio. Scott: “Fabio overcooked that poor venison” He thinks Spike nailed it, so he votes for Spike. Tom really liked Fabio's sauce, but said the venison was already dead and it wasn’t necessary to kill it again. He votes for Spike. The fans go with Fabio, so he loses the round, but the Home Team wins with 37 points and the All Stars have 33 points.
The judges don't go into detail about what they thought about the dishes, but it seems that Fabio’s was the worst cooked. Are you as uninterested as I am? This week's episode has no verve.
In the coming up next clip, before the commercial, they show Fabio tangling with Scott at Judge’s table, ending with Scott saying, “I’M the judge, not you.” Uh-oh.
I just figured out why Stephen Starr seemed so nice and encouraging. He isn’t a chef. I guess it’s his job, among a million other things, to keep his chefs happy, so he’s a bit more supportive. Of all the judges, guest and otherwise (I’m not including Padma, who, until this episode, I didn’t even know was a full fledged judge) Stephen was the most encouraging. Of course, Toby isn’t a chef either, but that doesn’t keep him from being nasty.
Leah rubs it in and says to Stefan “I can’t believe you lost to Andrea.” Hosea says (to us) that whichever of the three losing chefs get axed, it makes his chances better, because they’re all “incredible” cooks.
Padma calls in the winning chefs. Why are all three girls wearing strange looking headbands? Tom says, "Nice Work." Toby thought Carla’s dish tasted really authentic. AND he said he “tasted the love”. Tom said they really, REALLY enjoyed it.
Tom thought Hosea’s dish was cooked excellently. Scott too. Toby liked that you didn’t need utensils to eat it, which is perfect when you’re watching a football game. (Why is he wearing yellow-tinted glasses?) Tom liked the dish too, even though he didn’t vote for it. Scott says he likes the way Jamie cooks. Leah said her dish was simple.
Scott announces the winner: Carla. Yay!
Scott tells her she’s won two tickets to the Super Bowl!!!!!! She yelps, “SHUT UP!!!” (I’d take a prize like that and put it on Ebay and get 2 tickets to Maui.) Touchdown!, she tells us. I’m not sure what Ba-Dow Ba-Dow means.
When Stefan hears what the prize is, profanity ensues. The three go in. Padma tells them seriously that one of them is going home.
They start with Fabio, who immediately admits that the meat was overcooked (when they tasted it). He sliced the meat, he says, and put it on top of hot cabbage and THAT overcooked it, because his dish was tasted second. He said it was beautifully pink when he sliced it.
Obviously Fabio should have taken the wait time into account, but I actually do feel for him. There IS a world of difference between tasting something at first and then tasting it 5 to 10 minutes later. Stuff does continue to cook after it leaves the pot, skillet or grill...but I suppose he’s supposed to know that.
Do I think he should go home for that? No, because I like him. But if that truly IS the most poorly executed dish of the week, then HE’S dead meat, right along with his venison.
Tom refuses to believe that it was medium rare when it went on the plate. Scott says INTENTIONS have nothing to do with anything and the only thing that matters is what’s on the plate in front of him. He wants Fabio to admit making a mistake, which he refuses to do. OY, this is not good.
Then Scott goes on to blast the other elements of the dish – the greens were wilted, the cheese had no acid. His goose is cooked…THEN Fabio argues back, "ACID with Cheese?! Puleez." Uh-oh, I don’t think you wanna be dissing the judge…"Take it easy," Scott says, "I’M the judge here, not you!" This is turning into a smackdown. And Scott goes on to say that everyone always wants to make great food and “You FAILED to make a perfect dish. That’s not our fault, that’s YOUR fault.” Awright already, we get the point. Even Tom is watching silently…
I did go back to look when Fabio first presented his dish and he’s actually saying that the meat was more cooked than he wanted it to be. So he was completely lying to the judges, which is fine when you’re trying not to be eliminated. Plus it’s not like he’s lying ABOUT anyone else or taking THEM down…l will be shocked if it’s not Fabio going home.
Even Stefan looks apprehensive when they get to him. Toby says his problem was that the dish was uninspired. Stefan is so cowed by the exchange between Fabio and Scott that he says, “I apologize. Sorry.”
Scott said there should have been more flavor and that the ironic thing was he had CHOSEN to cook against Andrea. Tom smirks and says, "You thought she was going to be weak.” WELL, YEAH!!! He’s not going to choose to cook against Escoffier if he has the chance to cook against the Colonel, is he?
This is getting nasty and dumb. There must be a problem when I feel I have to defend Stefan. And to his credit, he completely refused to engage the judges.
On to Jeff. He goes into a lengthy explanation about how he was trying to create a more fine dining dish and when he saw plastic plates, he was a bit put off. Tom is put off by that explanation and doesn’t understand what a plastic plate has to do with it. Again, I do sort of understand what Jeff is saying. Plastic plates are one kind of dining experience and eating off china is another. However THIS WAS a Superbowl challenge, so he's lucky they weren't eating out of cheeseheads.
He digs himself into a hole even further when he says he got beaten by a hot bean ceviche, as if he was above making that kind of dish. Tom says he got beaten by the fact that his dish wasn’t as flavorful. Jeff goes on to say he did about 19 more things than she did – a cilantro sauce, blah blah. I think he better stop or this isn’t going to go well for him. But, actually it's okay, because I’d prefer him going home than Fabio, so keep talking, Jeff. Finally Tom says his dish was “a watered down version of ceviche”.
Tom admits, when the chefs have left the room, that the 3 on the chopping block are among their stronger competitors. Scott repeats that Stefan’s salad was dreadful. Padma says it was abominable. Goodness.
Toby amazingly defends Fabio, saying he was dealt the most difficult hand. Scott isn’t having any of it. He says they CHOSE what they wanted to do. Tom blasts Jeff for complaining that Josie’s dish wasn't a real ceviche, while his wasn't either and that he POACHED his shrimp. Mon Dieu!
I don’t like the judges this week, but I have to say I was completely bored and uninterested in the outcome UNTIL Fabio started arguing with Scott. Let's see what they do.
Commercial for fan favorite. Who do you think should win? I think I’ll vote for Ariane.
Tom reiterates what the challenge was and what they didn’t like about each dish. And going home is… JEFF!!! Wow, I would have been happy with that any other week, but tonight I didn’t think any of them should go home. THEN Fabio opens his mouth again. Don’t do it! He says he believes in second chances and tonight he got the biggest one of this life.
Jeff says he has a problem keeping it simple (as if the rest of them suck for being TOO simple.) He’s very disappointed and says it’s going to stick with him for at least a decade. I wonder how he feels now.
They better perk up future episodes, or pick their competitors better. This season, no one is sickeningly obnoxious. No one is an obvious prodigy in the kitchen. No one is drop dead gorgeous. No one is creepy and scary. And I guess it IS looking as if it will be a showdown between Jamie and Stefan.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Anne Fire Up Pizza
Secrets of A Restaurant Chef with Anne Burrell
The Secret to Grilled Pizza
Parmigiano Sformato with Piquillo Peppers and Almonds
Grilled Pizzettas with Parmigiano, Prosciutto and Arugula and with Taleggio and Puttanesca
I’m excited that Anne is doing pizza. I’m always on the lookout for a better pizza dough recipe. Oh, she’s making GRILLED pizza, which I like, but it isn't quite as challenging to cook as a traditional dough. But let’s see what she does.
Anne adds yeast and sugar into warm tap water. She stirs it and lets it sit for 15 minutes. I approve of proofing the yeast. I never DON'T proof it.
She sprays little foil containers for her sformato or flan. (Let’s be honest, that’s not an attractive name for a dish.) The foil cups are sitting in a big roasting pan. Anne mixes together 2 cups of cream, 4 eggs, 1 cup of parm, a little pinch of cayenne and some salt. They go into the “ramies” and get baked in a water bath.
To make life easier, our restaurant chef pours the flan mixture into a pitcher and THEN into the ramekins and returns them to the roasting pan. Anne likes this recipe, because she can do them ahead. She fills the pan with hot water half way up, covers it with foil and puts them into a 325°F. oven for 20 - 25 minutes. “Easy breezy,” she says.
For the pizza dough, Anne adds 1½ cups of flour and makes a well in the middle. She says that’s how you should always combine wet with dry ingredients to avoid lumps. Olive oil goes into the well. She stirs in the activated yeast and then she “needs to knead it” in order to develop the gluten, which is “the protein that holds everything together.” She kneads the dough by hand.
You may be surprised when I tell you that I was hoping that Anne would make her pizza dough in the food processor. Sometimes I think I over-process mine and I wanted to see how she did it.
Anne doesn’t say NOT to use a food processor and it’s pretty hard to believe that, in her restaurant, pizza dough is made by hand. Of course, we should learn how to do it by hand before we turn to help from a machine, but, after that, all bets are off.
Another thing is that she’s making a tiny amount of dough – only 1½ cups – so it is a easy to knead it by hand.
She puts her kneaded dough in a bowl and covers it, “to do its yeasty thing”, which is to rise. It should sit in a warm place.
Anne moves on to making an infused olive oil with Fresno peppers, which are medium hot, she says. She slices them thickly and they go into a pan with plenty of olive oil. She heats it for a minute.
She toasts almonds in a 350°F oven. I use the microwave. She checks the flans, being careful not to spill the water. They’re done. She removes them from the water to cool off. Anne says they are absolutely fine done the day before.
She juliennes piquillo peppers for a salad. I don’t love these, even though they are Spanish and not as nasty as the American ones.
For the topping. she mixes together chopped tomatoes, slivered Gaeta olives, capers, chili peppers and olive “erl”. That can’t be bad! The sformati are cooling. (That sounds like the word for old tires in Italian.)
Anne is “ready to get rolling”…literally, as she grabs the dough and a rolling pin. She forms them into golf ball shapes on a floured board. She rolls them into crazy shapes, but she says it's fine if you want to be a “circle person”. Mine are usually oval. She throws the dough right on to the hot grill. It has that “burnt toast feeling”. The first one bubbles and Anne turns it over, back and forth, a few times.
"It’s not easy being cheesy", Anne chants as she preps her cheeses. The Parmesan is ready to go. There’s more dough flipping. She cuts the rind off the Taleggio. She says you can use any cheese you like - mozzarella and bleu cheese, for example. The 2 rolled out doughs go on a baking sheet. One is topped with the Taleggio and tomato mixture. The other gets Parmesan cheese before it goes into the oven, and prosciutto, arugula and chili oil after it comes out. The pizzas are baked at 425°F. until the cheesy stuff melts, about 3 or 4 minutes.
The Parmesan flans go back in the oven to warm up.
Anne cuts the pizzas on a board. She tops the tomato pizza with fresh parsley. The Parm one is topped with prosciutto, arugula and her gorgeous chili oil, which “gives it a little zip and brings everybody together”. Is Anne talking about bringing together the guests OR the ingredients? I guess both.
She tastes. Cheesy, delicious, lovely!
Anne gets the garnish for the sformati ready. She dresses the piquillos and almonds with sherry vinegar, beautiful olive oil and salt. She adds some greens. She unmolds a flan perfectly and dresses it with the salad. It’s really, really pretty. That would be a nice first course, or luncheon dish. (Does any have luncheon anymore?) She tastes. Fantastic. Anne reminds us that most of it can be done ahead and we can be superstars at our own pizza party.
The pizzas looked great, but what I also like about these recipes is that they show different ways to serve pizza. I love to top my pizza, homemade OR store-bought, with salad. The components can be used in different ways too. The tomato mixture would be good as a garnish for grilled meat or fish or to top a pilaf or other rice dish.
The Secret to Grilled Pizza
Parmigiano Sformato with Piquillo Peppers and Almonds
Grilled Pizzettas with Parmigiano, Prosciutto and Arugula and with Taleggio and Puttanesca
I’m excited that Anne is doing pizza. I’m always on the lookout for a better pizza dough recipe. Oh, she’s making GRILLED pizza, which I like, but it isn't quite as challenging to cook as a traditional dough. But let’s see what she does.
Anne adds yeast and sugar into warm tap water. She stirs it and lets it sit for 15 minutes. I approve of proofing the yeast. I never DON'T proof it.
She sprays little foil containers for her sformato or flan. (Let’s be honest, that’s not an attractive name for a dish.) The foil cups are sitting in a big roasting pan. Anne mixes together 2 cups of cream, 4 eggs, 1 cup of parm, a little pinch of cayenne and some salt. They go into the “ramies” and get baked in a water bath.
To make life easier, our restaurant chef pours the flan mixture into a pitcher and THEN into the ramekins and returns them to the roasting pan. Anne likes this recipe, because she can do them ahead. She fills the pan with hot water half way up, covers it with foil and puts them into a 325°F. oven for 20 - 25 minutes. “Easy breezy,” she says.
For the pizza dough, Anne adds 1½ cups of flour and makes a well in the middle. She says that’s how you should always combine wet with dry ingredients to avoid lumps. Olive oil goes into the well. She stirs in the activated yeast and then she “needs to knead it” in order to develop the gluten, which is “the protein that holds everything together.” She kneads the dough by hand.
You may be surprised when I tell you that I was hoping that Anne would make her pizza dough in the food processor. Sometimes I think I over-process mine and I wanted to see how she did it.
Anne doesn’t say NOT to use a food processor and it’s pretty hard to believe that, in her restaurant, pizza dough is made by hand. Of course, we should learn how to do it by hand before we turn to help from a machine, but, after that, all bets are off.
Another thing is that she’s making a tiny amount of dough – only 1½ cups – so it is a easy to knead it by hand.
She puts her kneaded dough in a bowl and covers it, “to do its yeasty thing”, which is to rise. It should sit in a warm place.
Anne moves on to making an infused olive oil with Fresno peppers, which are medium hot, she says. She slices them thickly and they go into a pan with plenty of olive oil. She heats it for a minute.
She toasts almonds in a 350°F oven. I use the microwave. She checks the flans, being careful not to spill the water. They’re done. She removes them from the water to cool off. Anne says they are absolutely fine done the day before.
She juliennes piquillo peppers for a salad. I don’t love these, even though they are Spanish and not as nasty as the American ones.
For the topping. she mixes together chopped tomatoes, slivered Gaeta olives, capers, chili peppers and olive “erl”. That can’t be bad! The sformati are cooling. (That sounds like the word for old tires in Italian.)
Anne is “ready to get rolling”…literally, as she grabs the dough and a rolling pin. She forms them into golf ball shapes on a floured board. She rolls them into crazy shapes, but she says it's fine if you want to be a “circle person”. Mine are usually oval. She throws the dough right on to the hot grill. It has that “burnt toast feeling”. The first one bubbles and Anne turns it over, back and forth, a few times.
"It’s not easy being cheesy", Anne chants as she preps her cheeses. The Parmesan is ready to go. There’s more dough flipping. She cuts the rind off the Taleggio. She says you can use any cheese you like - mozzarella and bleu cheese, for example. The 2 rolled out doughs go on a baking sheet. One is topped with the Taleggio and tomato mixture. The other gets Parmesan cheese before it goes into the oven, and prosciutto, arugula and chili oil after it comes out. The pizzas are baked at 425°F. until the cheesy stuff melts, about 3 or 4 minutes.
The Parmesan flans go back in the oven to warm up.
Anne cuts the pizzas on a board. She tops the tomato pizza with fresh parsley. The Parm one is topped with prosciutto, arugula and her gorgeous chili oil, which “gives it a little zip and brings everybody together”. Is Anne talking about bringing together the guests OR the ingredients? I guess both.
She tastes. Cheesy, delicious, lovely!
Anne gets the garnish for the sformati ready. She dresses the piquillos and almonds with sherry vinegar, beautiful olive oil and salt. She adds some greens. She unmolds a flan perfectly and dresses it with the salad. It’s really, really pretty. That would be a nice first course, or luncheon dish. (Does any have luncheon anymore?) She tastes. Fantastic. Anne reminds us that most of it can be done ahead and we can be superstars at our own pizza party.
The pizzas looked great, but what I also like about these recipes is that they show different ways to serve pizza. I love to top my pizza, homemade OR store-bought, with salad. The components can be used in different ways too. The tomato mixture would be good as a garnish for grilled meat or fish or to top a pilaf or other rice dish.
Lisa Fernandes Wins Top Chef
Well, not exactly. Lisa Fernandes, the Top Chef cheftestant (thanks DC) everyone loved to hate, won a Top Chef cooking challenge on The View yesterday.
Padma was on and hosted a competition with Whoopi and Sherri as additional tasters and judges. The chefs had to prepare a family friendly meal as cheaply as possible. Stephen, the snobby wine guy, made a very elegant meal for 4 that came in under 20 dollars. He made a chicken version of a classic veal dish. It did not look appetizing, but was apparently very tasty.
Lisa (with a haircut that must have been done at an army base), made a panko crusted chicken that the ladies went wild for. And Spike made a phyllo pizza with many brightly colored peppers, which anyone who’s gone to a store lately knows are really expensive. He also had a honey sweetened yogurt dessert that was enthusiastically received. His meal, though, came in at 27 dollars plus.
It was weird because Padma thought she had to be the difficult judge in the group and she kept asking belligerent questions like, “Can you substitute fish sticks for this?” Or “If the kids are allergic to nuts, can you leave them out?” NO, PADMA, THE DISH MUST HAVE NUTS IN IT!!!! What do you think? Puhleez….she was being really witchy. The food must have been good because Whoopi and Sherri were shoveling in food at a rate not seen since feeding time at the zoo.
Ultimately Lisa pulled off the win and she received…NOTHING, but she did get a plug in for “a product line” she’s developing and a cook book. The recipes are here.
Padma was on and hosted a competition with Whoopi and Sherri as additional tasters and judges. The chefs had to prepare a family friendly meal as cheaply as possible. Stephen, the snobby wine guy, made a very elegant meal for 4 that came in under 20 dollars. He made a chicken version of a classic veal dish. It did not look appetizing, but was apparently very tasty.
Lisa (with a haircut that must have been done at an army base), made a panko crusted chicken that the ladies went wild for. And Spike made a phyllo pizza with many brightly colored peppers, which anyone who’s gone to a store lately knows are really expensive. He also had a honey sweetened yogurt dessert that was enthusiastically received. His meal, though, came in at 27 dollars plus.
It was weird because Padma thought she had to be the difficult judge in the group and she kept asking belligerent questions like, “Can you substitute fish sticks for this?” Or “If the kids are allergic to nuts, can you leave them out?” NO, PADMA, THE DISH MUST HAVE NUTS IN IT!!!! What do you think? Puhleez….she was being really witchy. The food must have been good because Whoopi and Sherri were shoveling in food at a rate not seen since feeding time at the zoo.
Ultimately Lisa pulled off the win and she received…NOTHING, but she did get a plug in for “a product line” she’s developing and a cook book. The recipes are here.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Martin Yan, the Comedian, Wishes Us A Happy Year Of The Ox
I admit that sometimes I forget about people (cooking pros, I’m thinking of at the moment) that have been around for so long, I just take them for granted. Martin Yan deserves much more respect than that.
Even Katheeeee Leeeee couldn't compete with his firecracker sharp delivery this morning on the Today Show. Martin demonstrated Firecracker Beef in honor of Chinese New Year. Touting his healthful cooking, he said, “Look at this physical specimen, I just celebrated my 88th birthday.” Yan can really whoop it up. Plus he can really chop, stir-fry and cook up a storm.
A few years ago he did Firecracker Chicken on the Today Show, which is the same idea, but happily a different recipe.
Today's recipe is here.
Enjoy the video:
Even Katheeeee Leeeee couldn't compete with his firecracker sharp delivery this morning on the Today Show. Martin demonstrated Firecracker Beef in honor of Chinese New Year. Touting his healthful cooking, he said, “Look at this physical specimen, I just celebrated my 88th birthday.” Yan can really whoop it up. Plus he can really chop, stir-fry and cook up a storm.
A few years ago he did Firecracker Chicken on the Today Show, which is the same idea, but happily a different recipe.
Today's recipe is here.
Enjoy the video:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Chefs Want Healthier Food Policies
Remember that dinner the night before inauguration day when Tom saved Joan Nathan’s life? That happened at a fundraiser for DC Central_Kitchen (among others). There were many renowned chefs in the room that night. They are hoping that Barack Obama will institute new policies that will improve the quality of our food supply and turn people away from processed foods and towards a diet of natural, more sustainable food.
Top Chef has been promoting the same platform. 2 weeks ago, the Elimination Challenge took place at Dan Barber’s restaurant and farm, which uses sustainable farming practices and wants to educate folks about where their food comes from.
Other chefs have specific ideas about food policy, many dealing with promoting small farms. Daniel Boulud thinks that small farms should have their own agency at the DOA, where their goals could be more easily implemented.
Lidia Bastianich says the government should carry out regulations that help, not hurt, small farmers and make it possible for them to compete with “the big giants”.
And our very own Tom doesn’t believe that these same giant farms should get as many subsidies and that GEO's should be labeled clearly.
That's all fine on a more global basis, but I personally would love to know what the Obama’s eat everyday – what cheese they like on their grilled cheese, if they drink organic milk; are their eggs cage-free? And does a boxed mix ever make it onto their shelves?
Those questions may never be answered and we’ll probably have to settle for seeing what policies the President supports to encourage a healthier, most sustainable food supply that doesn’t work against the small farmer.
Top Chef has been promoting the same platform. 2 weeks ago, the Elimination Challenge took place at Dan Barber’s restaurant and farm, which uses sustainable farming practices and wants to educate folks about where their food comes from.
Other chefs have specific ideas about food policy, many dealing with promoting small farms. Daniel Boulud thinks that small farms should have their own agency at the DOA, where their goals could be more easily implemented.
Lidia Bastianich says the government should carry out regulations that help, not hurt, small farmers and make it possible for them to compete with “the big giants”.
And our very own Tom doesn’t believe that these same giant farms should get as many subsidies and that GEO's should be labeled clearly.
That's all fine on a more global basis, but I personally would love to know what the Obama’s eat everyday – what cheese they like on their grilled cheese, if they drink organic milk; are their eggs cage-free? And does a boxed mix ever make it onto their shelves?
Those questions may never be answered and we’ll probably have to settle for seeing what policies the President supports to encourage a healthier, most sustainable food supply that doesn’t work against the small farmer.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Top Chef: Restaurant Wars - Part Two…Plus Who Knew Stephen Starr Was Such A Sweetie?
I’m talking about guest judge Stephen Starr, who is a super-successful restaurateur. He comes across as a warm and caring mentor, as well as an awfully adept business person.
The guests and diners begin to arrive. Jamie yells at the waiters and is PO’ed that Radhika isn’t taking the lead. The judges arrive. Radhika greets them. Life-saver Tom looks fed up already and mocks the appetizer of Whole Wheat Naan with Garlic Oil. Padma explains what it is. Padma and Stephen like the taste (but maybe because they’re hungry).
Next out is Curried Carrot Soup with Smoked Paprika Oil and Raita. That looks pretty. Then Chickpea Cake with Seared Scallop, Masala Tomato Sauce & Arugula Salad. They taste the soup. Tom and Stephen like it. Stephen loves the chickpea cake. A woman guest LOVED the scallops.
The entrees: White Lentil Tabouli, Seared Snapper, Tomato Water (I would have left that out of the name of the dish) & Pea Shoots; Cinnamon & Saffron Braised Lamb Shank with Israeli Couscous.
Tom thinks the lamb shank was executed well and glazed nicely. Stephen likes it. They must be editing out all of Toby’s remarks. He’s strangely silent. Oh, here he is. Toby says the couscous tastes like dishwater. Stephen laughs and says “You’re rough.” Toby might as well as said bah humbug.
Tom says the snapper is only okay. Stephen doesn’t like his fish floating in liquid. Some other guest agrees that there is too much liquid on the plate.
Carla says her frozen desserts are a hot mess:
Spiced Chocolate Cake, Crème Fromage & Cashew Brittle;
Fig and Minted Frozen Yogurts (STOP putting the “S” there)
Baklava Cigars
We’re getting more detail on the dishes. They sound much better.
The judges don’t have the proper silverware. Toby asks for a spoon. Stephen says it’s not big deal. Oh, they’re allowing Toby to speak again. He goes on about how this meal reminds him of the career of Elvis Presley, where it started off incredibly well and…Stephen finishes…it died on the toilet. Padma looks incredulous. Toby has to add, “THAT comes later.” Okay boys.
Other diners agree dessert was really bad.
Radhika is not doing a good job at hostessing. People say she looks tense and flustered. Toby says you need someone extroverted. Plus she disappears from the dining room for long stretches.
The judges get up to leave. Tom is appalled that they don’t get a good-bye, because Radhika is nowhere to be found.
The next team is up. Fabio says he’s using a really thick accent to charm people. Stephen says Fabio was fabulous at the door.
Fabio serves an Amuse Bouche - Vegetable Roll with Mushrooms, Carrots, Cabbage & Sweet Chili Sauce. That sounds nasty.
Stephen said it’s second rate. Tom: I‘ve had better frozen egg rolls.
One person said it amused her bouche.
First courses: Tuna & Salmon Sashimi, Radish Salad & Yuzu Vinaigrette; Coconut Curry Bisque with Shrimp Dumplings (THAT sounds good.) Stephen smiles. Toby says,”Too potent, shocking.” Padma says the food needed salt.
Leah says her fish sucks.
Entrees: Braised Beef Short Ribs with Ginger, Vegetable & Beef Demi-Glace
Seared Black Cod, Fresh Vegetables & Chinese Cabbage
Oh, one of these must be the undercooked thing that Padma was talking about. They all like short ribs, so it must be Leah’s sucky fish.
Some comments: “That sauce is brutal.” “The actual cod is undercooked.” Stephen says, “Ah, that’s a shame.” He really sounds sorry. I like him. Stephen’s not ready to pounce on the first mistake.
Wait, something is coming back to me. I know why I liked Dale so much. He was a sous chef at Buddakan, one of Stephen’s really terrific restaurants. I love Buddakan. I love Dale, so I guess there’s no reason why I wouldn’t love Stephen Starr.
Fabio asks Padma what’s wrong with the fish. She says it’s undercooked. He apologizes and takes it away.
Leah apologizes to Hosea. Hosea to the camera: “All the life force of our team just went out the window.”
Maybe if you two hadn’t been making goo-goo eyes at each other the night before, this wouldn't have happened.
Fabio tries to make it all better with the desserts: Chocolate Rice Parfait, Grapefruit Jelly & Pineapple; Lemongrass & Ginger Panna Cotta, Peach Purée & Ginger Honey
Why would I want Grapefruit Jelly after dinner and why did he ruin this chocolate thing with rice?
I really and truly know NOTHING! The judges love the desserts. Stephen: The desserts are better in this restaurant.” Toby: “Easily the best component of the meal.” Tom: “Yeah, easily.” Tom says Stefan could very well have saved his team tonight and he certainly saved himself.
Fabio brings out a palate cleanser of Frozen Mango, Bitter Chocolate & Mint Lollipop with Green Tea. All the judges loved it. Radhika is sure she’s going home. Carla is too. The only way Leah is not going home she says is if the other team did sh****er than they did.
Stephen chooses Sahana as the better restaurant, but he says they also have to weigh Stefan’s dessert on the other team. Tom says they have to factor in the superior greeting of Team Sunset Lounge (such a bad name) and the fact that Fabio actually said goodbye to them.
Oh no, Leah’s staying and Radhika’s going. Is that what’s going to happen?
Toby agrees that the food was marginally better in Radhika’s restaurant, but the service was so much better here.
That IS what I always say. Nothing makes a good meal worse than BAD service. And nothing can enhance a so-so meal more than GOOD service. But I’m not so sure I feel that way in this instance. This IS a COOKING competition. There’s no dispute that Radhika has a lousy personality and appears sullen and unhappy, but it looks as if her team cooked the better meal.
Padma asks to see the Sunset Lounge Team. The diners preferred their restaurant by a small margin. The reason their team is the winning team is because of Fabio’s service and Stefan’s desserts. Toby says Fabio was charming and won him over.
Okay, great, now he can be a greeter for any Friday’s in the country. That’s important, I agree, but, actually, I’m a bit torn. In that room, at that moment, shouldn’t the food be the overriding factor?
Tom tells Leah that the cod was the worst thing they had all evening. If Fabio and Stefan hadn’t saved the team, SHE would be going home. Stephen announces the winner – Stefan. He gets a great prize – a boatload of GE appliances.
The other team goes in. Radhika answers “I’m not sure,” when asked what went wrong. Stephen gently says he liked this restaurant better, BUT “The desserts here failed miserably,” he reluctantly told her.
Carla says her problem was trying to do too much. Tom laughs when Carla explains that even though she knew her dishes were horrible, she was sending out love with them, because that’s how she rolls. When Tom queries her, she says strongly, “That is my belief, Tom.”
She should STAY for that reason right there…or maybe that’s why she should go home. Even though the freezers were failing, Tom said, Carla should have told Radhika and Radhika could have called it yogurt soup.
He says ”Radhika, do you think you should go home for this?” She says, snottily, that if it’s an issue with the front of the house, then it’s her fault, and she can’t argue with them…as if she’s washing her hands of anything that happened in the back. Go Home. She’s so painful as she basically admits that she took no responsibility for anything. Tom says as a chef-owner you have to follow through with things.
Stephen gently explains, “As a chef owner, you have to assume no one will do their job properly.”
My goodness, Stephen Starr is really a lovely guy. He felt truly bad when dishes failed. He seemed to want to instruct the cheftestents (there I go again with my new word) in restaurant management know-how. Now if only I could get a reservation at one of his restaurants on a Saturday Night.
The chefs go out. The judges discuss. They all agree that Jeff and Jamie pulled their weight. Many of the comment cards said “Where is the hostess?” Tom: ”She seems beat down. She seems over it.” Stephen says it looks like the entire team was basically on its own and now well-supervised. Toby: “If we had decided to judge this challenge solely on the basis of the food, then they wouldn’t have even been out here.” He finally makes a good point. So I guess Radhika is going home.
Then Tom spits out, “TWO desserts! (Carla) could have gotten ONE wrong. She got them BOTH wrong.“ Stephen agrees that Carla can’t blame Radhika for the cake. Stephen says that if one of his pastry chefs knew a dessert was bad going out, but she was sending it out with love, he would fire her. They had a laugh over Carla.
Okay and the loser is…Radhika. She’s mad because she went home for being in the front of the house and this is a cooking competition. YEAH!!! That’s why you were a moron for being in the back!
She says her problem is that she gives more than she takes. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! That’s like when people are asked about their character flaws and they say, “MY problem is that I’m just too nice.”
Radhika continues that she’s learned a lot while on Top Chef about how she tries too hard to accommodate people. When did that happen? She walked around with a long face, joyless, inspiration-less and just a total drag. She’s looking forward to going home to all the “recognition”.
It’s probably a bad sign when you want EVERYONE to go home. There was an interesting comment I got about Jamie and Stefan perhaps being the two finalists. It never occurred to me that Stefan would win, but perhaps that’s where this is all going and we’ve all spent an awful amount of time crowning the biggest nincompoop Top Chef.
The guests and diners begin to arrive. Jamie yells at the waiters and is PO’ed that Radhika isn’t taking the lead. The judges arrive. Radhika greets them. Life-saver Tom looks fed up already and mocks the appetizer of Whole Wheat Naan with Garlic Oil. Padma explains what it is. Padma and Stephen like the taste (but maybe because they’re hungry).
Next out is Curried Carrot Soup with Smoked Paprika Oil and Raita. That looks pretty. Then Chickpea Cake with Seared Scallop, Masala Tomato Sauce & Arugula Salad. They taste the soup. Tom and Stephen like it. Stephen loves the chickpea cake. A woman guest LOVED the scallops.
The entrees: White Lentil Tabouli, Seared Snapper, Tomato Water (I would have left that out of the name of the dish) & Pea Shoots; Cinnamon & Saffron Braised Lamb Shank with Israeli Couscous.
Tom thinks the lamb shank was executed well and glazed nicely. Stephen likes it. They must be editing out all of Toby’s remarks. He’s strangely silent. Oh, here he is. Toby says the couscous tastes like dishwater. Stephen laughs and says “You’re rough.” Toby might as well as said bah humbug.
Tom says the snapper is only okay. Stephen doesn’t like his fish floating in liquid. Some other guest agrees that there is too much liquid on the plate.
Carla says her frozen desserts are a hot mess:
Spiced Chocolate Cake, Crème Fromage & Cashew Brittle;
Fig and Minted Frozen Yogurts (STOP putting the “S” there)
Baklava Cigars
We’re getting more detail on the dishes. They sound much better.
The judges don’t have the proper silverware. Toby asks for a spoon. Stephen says it’s not big deal. Oh, they’re allowing Toby to speak again. He goes on about how this meal reminds him of the career of Elvis Presley, where it started off incredibly well and…Stephen finishes…it died on the toilet. Padma looks incredulous. Toby has to add, “THAT comes later.” Okay boys.
Other diners agree dessert was really bad.
Radhika is not doing a good job at hostessing. People say she looks tense and flustered. Toby says you need someone extroverted. Plus she disappears from the dining room for long stretches.
The judges get up to leave. Tom is appalled that they don’t get a good-bye, because Radhika is nowhere to be found.
The next team is up. Fabio says he’s using a really thick accent to charm people. Stephen says Fabio was fabulous at the door.
Fabio serves an Amuse Bouche - Vegetable Roll with Mushrooms, Carrots, Cabbage & Sweet Chili Sauce. That sounds nasty.
Stephen said it’s second rate. Tom: I‘ve had better frozen egg rolls.
One person said it amused her bouche.
First courses: Tuna & Salmon Sashimi, Radish Salad & Yuzu Vinaigrette; Coconut Curry Bisque with Shrimp Dumplings (THAT sounds good.) Stephen smiles. Toby says,”Too potent, shocking.” Padma says the food needed salt.
Leah says her fish sucks.
Entrees: Braised Beef Short Ribs with Ginger, Vegetable & Beef Demi-Glace
Seared Black Cod, Fresh Vegetables & Chinese Cabbage
Oh, one of these must be the undercooked thing that Padma was talking about. They all like short ribs, so it must be Leah’s sucky fish.
Some comments: “That sauce is brutal.” “The actual cod is undercooked.” Stephen says, “Ah, that’s a shame.” He really sounds sorry. I like him. Stephen’s not ready to pounce on the first mistake.
Wait, something is coming back to me. I know why I liked Dale so much. He was a sous chef at Buddakan, one of Stephen’s really terrific restaurants. I love Buddakan. I love Dale, so I guess there’s no reason why I wouldn’t love Stephen Starr.
Fabio asks Padma what’s wrong with the fish. She says it’s undercooked. He apologizes and takes it away.
Leah apologizes to Hosea. Hosea to the camera: “All the life force of our team just went out the window.”
Maybe if you two hadn’t been making goo-goo eyes at each other the night before, this wouldn't have happened.
Fabio tries to make it all better with the desserts: Chocolate Rice Parfait, Grapefruit Jelly & Pineapple; Lemongrass & Ginger Panna Cotta, Peach Purée & Ginger Honey
Why would I want Grapefruit Jelly after dinner and why did he ruin this chocolate thing with rice?
I really and truly know NOTHING! The judges love the desserts. Stephen: The desserts are better in this restaurant.” Toby: “Easily the best component of the meal.” Tom: “Yeah, easily.” Tom says Stefan could very well have saved his team tonight and he certainly saved himself.
Fabio brings out a palate cleanser of Frozen Mango, Bitter Chocolate & Mint Lollipop with Green Tea. All the judges loved it. Radhika is sure she’s going home. Carla is too. The only way Leah is not going home she says is if the other team did sh****er than they did.
Stephen chooses Sahana as the better restaurant, but he says they also have to weigh Stefan’s dessert on the other team. Tom says they have to factor in the superior greeting of Team Sunset Lounge (such a bad name) and the fact that Fabio actually said goodbye to them.
Oh no, Leah’s staying and Radhika’s going. Is that what’s going to happen?
Toby agrees that the food was marginally better in Radhika’s restaurant, but the service was so much better here.
That IS what I always say. Nothing makes a good meal worse than BAD service. And nothing can enhance a so-so meal more than GOOD service. But I’m not so sure I feel that way in this instance. This IS a COOKING competition. There’s no dispute that Radhika has a lousy personality and appears sullen and unhappy, but it looks as if her team cooked the better meal.
Padma asks to see the Sunset Lounge Team. The diners preferred their restaurant by a small margin. The reason their team is the winning team is because of Fabio’s service and Stefan’s desserts. Toby says Fabio was charming and won him over.
Okay, great, now he can be a greeter for any Friday’s in the country. That’s important, I agree, but, actually, I’m a bit torn. In that room, at that moment, shouldn’t the food be the overriding factor?
Tom tells Leah that the cod was the worst thing they had all evening. If Fabio and Stefan hadn’t saved the team, SHE would be going home. Stephen announces the winner – Stefan. He gets a great prize – a boatload of GE appliances.
The other team goes in. Radhika answers “I’m not sure,” when asked what went wrong. Stephen gently says he liked this restaurant better, BUT “The desserts here failed miserably,” he reluctantly told her.
Carla says her problem was trying to do too much. Tom laughs when Carla explains that even though she knew her dishes were horrible, she was sending out love with them, because that’s how she rolls. When Tom queries her, she says strongly, “That is my belief, Tom.”
She should STAY for that reason right there…or maybe that’s why she should go home. Even though the freezers were failing, Tom said, Carla should have told Radhika and Radhika could have called it yogurt soup.
He says ”Radhika, do you think you should go home for this?” She says, snottily, that if it’s an issue with the front of the house, then it’s her fault, and she can’t argue with them…as if she’s washing her hands of anything that happened in the back. Go Home. She’s so painful as she basically admits that she took no responsibility for anything. Tom says as a chef-owner you have to follow through with things.
Stephen gently explains, “As a chef owner, you have to assume no one will do their job properly.”
My goodness, Stephen Starr is really a lovely guy. He felt truly bad when dishes failed. He seemed to want to instruct the cheftestents (there I go again with my new word) in restaurant management know-how. Now if only I could get a reservation at one of his restaurants on a Saturday Night.
The chefs go out. The judges discuss. They all agree that Jeff and Jamie pulled their weight. Many of the comment cards said “Where is the hostess?” Tom: ”She seems beat down. She seems over it.” Stephen says it looks like the entire team was basically on its own and now well-supervised. Toby: “If we had decided to judge this challenge solely on the basis of the food, then they wouldn’t have even been out here.” He finally makes a good point. So I guess Radhika is going home.
Then Tom spits out, “TWO desserts! (Carla) could have gotten ONE wrong. She got them BOTH wrong.“ Stephen agrees that Carla can’t blame Radhika for the cake. Stephen says that if one of his pastry chefs knew a dessert was bad going out, but she was sending it out with love, he would fire her. They had a laugh over Carla.
Okay and the loser is…Radhika. She’s mad because she went home for being in the front of the house and this is a cooking competition. YEAH!!! That’s why you were a moron for being in the back!
She says her problem is that she gives more than she takes. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! That’s like when people are asked about their character flaws and they say, “MY problem is that I’m just too nice.”
Radhika continues that she’s learned a lot while on Top Chef about how she tries too hard to accommodate people. When did that happen? She walked around with a long face, joyless, inspiration-less and just a total drag. She’s looking forward to going home to all the “recognition”.
It’s probably a bad sign when you want EVERYONE to go home. There was an interesting comment I got about Jamie and Stefan perhaps being the two finalists. It never occurred to me that Stefan would win, but perhaps that’s where this is all going and we’ve all spent an awful amount of time crowning the biggest nincompoop Top Chef.
Top Chef: Part One – It’s War!!!
I’m talking about RESTAURANT Wars, of course.
At the beginning of the episode, they show too many people to get a hint of who’s going to be leaving. Radhika says Leah and Hosea had a hand in Ariane’s removal. Leah feels bad, but then said Ariane didn’t defend herself.
Quickfire Challenge
Padma introduces Stephen Starr. This is exciting. I love his restaurants. (I’ve been to 7 out of 11 of his Philadelphia restaurants.) Morimoto opened his first restaurant with Stephen Starr in Philadelphia in 2001. I love fusion cuisine and so does SS.
Padma says it’s time for Restaurant Wars! It’s not just about the food, Stephen says. It’s about the design, the service, the ambience and the concept. AMEN!!!
They have to create one dish to showcase their idea for a prospective restaurant. That’s a big order. They give them 30 minutes and they can use anything in the Top Chef kitchen. The two winners will be the chef owners of the two Restaurant Wars Kitchen.
They run and grab stuff. Oh, there’s the name of Jeff’s place of employment again. THAT is so off-putting.
Leah’s snapper smells “like ass”, she says, and she throws it away and starts over.
Jamie doesn’t want to win, because she says the leader usually goes home.
Carla’s concept is “homey, rustic foods”.
Cod Seared in Tomato Oil with Italian Salsa & Mache Green Salad
That could be good...Stephan says he doesn’t taste enough salt. Uh-oh.
Hosea wants to do a seafood restaurant with Mediterranean flavors and world cuisine. In other words, everything in the universe.
Shrimp with Morel, Mushroom Cream Sauce, Garlic Potato Purée & Poached Asparagus
Sorry…but BORING! What the heck do I know?! Stephen says, “Very good.”
Leah, sounding really bored, tells them what her dish is.
Tempura Poussin with Dashi, Soy Sauce & Rice Wine Vinegar
I like her not at all, but I think that sounds good. Stephen: “It’s tasty, it’s very good.” (We also learn her mom is from the Philippines, so I guess her concept is Asian-y.)
Stefan, unappetizingly licking his lips, says his concept is Euro-American. Stephen: “What does that mean?” Old stuff from Europe mixed with an American twist. Boy, it’s lucky these folks aren’t PR professionals, because their descriptive and selling skills are sorely lacking.
Trio of Asparagus – Fried White Asparagus with Trout, Asparagus Salad & White Asparagus Soup
I suppose for that tiny window of time when white asparagus is in season, that would be fine, but I don’t really like asparagus enough to eat it three different ways.
Stephen:” Very good”. I can't tell if that's good or bad.
American, simple and fresh from Jeff
Grilled Salmon with Sunchoke & Artichoke Purée, Grilled Corn & Asparagus Salad
A three year old could make that…it’s so lacking in pizzazz. Leah’s has been the most noteworthy, which is good, because if she’s picked she’ll fail and then she’ll be gone.
Stephen: “For some reason, it’s a little mushy.” Jeff looks SHOCKED.
Guess who says this: “My background is Indian, but my restaurant would be globally influenced.” Radhika, of course.
Stephen looks bored with her. The thing about his restaurants, which the chefs may very well not know, is that each one has a distinct point of view, not some vague "global" thing. Whether Cuban, or high-end sushi (is that okay to describe Morimoto that way?) or old time diner with fusion food and INCREDIBLE skinny fries, there is a guiding vision to each one. The chefs are being too loosy goosey on the concept. SS wants to see a specific dish from each chef with a precise perspective and I think Leah has come the closest, even though she is unable to spit it out in words. Let’s see.
Oh, sorry, back to Radhika.
Pan Seared Cod, Butter Braised Corn, Spinach & Chorizo with Cream Sauce
BLECHHH!!! I wouldn’t order that.
In my inimical ability for accurate predictions (not): “Very well seasoned”, Stephen says.
Seasonal cooking is Jamie’s concept.
Chilean Sea Bass with Creamed Corn, Bacon, Peas & Garlic Scape (Huh? Garlic what? Is that thinly sliced fried garlic? No it’s not, it’s this. I just learned something.)
Stephen: “I appreciate the simplicity, THOUGH it’s refreshing to get something so simple.” Why did he say THOUGH?
Fabio says if you do well with your BRANCH business, your restaurant will do well. WHAT??? What’s a Branch Business? OH, sorry, he said lunch…lunch business. His concept involves having a whole meal on one plate for a quick lunch. Not a bad idea.
Tuna & Swordfish Carpacchio, Roasted Vegetable Salad, Filet Mignon Sandwich. Fabio’s portions were TINY and the salad looked like it had died on the plate and started oozing stuff.
Stephen says “Cheesesteak!” Fabio says it’s a high end cheesesteak. Stephen: “It’s a little salty,” and that salad is decomposing in front of our eyes…
The losers:
Jeff – salmon wasn’t the right fish to choose to blow him away.
Fabio – He liked his passion, but he didn’t get it as a restaurant concept. (Stephen didn’t mention the vegetables melting on the plate.)
The winners:
His favorites were Radhika, who represents an emerging cuisine AND…
LEAH!!! (I KNEW she was going to win.) Go me! Go me! "Her food is clean and forward thinking," Stephen continues. Good…one of them will be going home.
“My ass is one the line.” That’s the second time Leah uses the word “ass” this episode. I’m no prude, but it just sounds coarse. Of course, Dale was foulmouthed, but I didn’t care, because Dale could cook up a storm and only failed in one dish. Leah, it seems, has only succeeded in one dish.
Padma tells Radhika and Leah that they’ll be opening their restaurants tomorrow night for one night only. Radhika picks Jamie, Carla and Jeff on her team. Leah picks Hosea (Surprise! Not!), then Fabio, and Stefan gets left for last.
I think Leah has the better cooks.
Radhika names her restaurant Sahana, which means strong and powerful in Sanskrit. She asks if Jeff wants to do front of the house. He doesn’t want to. She halfheartedly says she’ll do the front. Bad choice. NOW that will give them a reason to send her home - if it’s YOUR restaurant, you NEED to be in the back. This should be good.
Leah’s doing an Asian concept. Fabio immediately offers to do the front of the house, because he’s not that familiar with that cuisine. Hosea sticks his nose in and doesn’t want her to “get run over’ by “the Fabio and Stefan show”.
They buy the stuff and the food. Each team gets $5000 to spend at Pier One for décor. Back at the apartment, they plan their menu. It should be “Pretty, small, tight and sexy,” says Stefan. Those words coming from HIM are disturbing. Leah is fed up.
Carla is acting clueless. Radhika is giving Jamie lots of responsibility because she’s too wimpy to take charge.
Hosea and Leah complain to each other about Stefan. He’s doing desserts, so he’ll be in his own little world. Leah and Hosea sleep all over each other. Is this Real World? Leah says she’s never cheated on a boyfriend before and Hosea isn’t happy.
Morning dawns and Hosea regrets “kissing” Leah. They both feel weird. They each want to be with their significant others after this whole thing.
Some go to Whole Foods; some to Restaurant Depot. Leah’s restaurant name (thought up by Stefan, which I had to replay several times, because I had no idea what he was saying – is Sunset Lounge. He pronounces it Sn-set LOUNGE. I don;t like that name.
Team Sunset Lounge
Leah, Hosea, Fabio & Stefan,
Concept: “Asian Influence”.
I asked my LA-based daughter what she thought of the name "Sunset Lounge" and she said, "Is it a restaurant for hookers and their rusty needles?” A chip off the old block...I’m so proud.
Team Sahana
Radhika, Jamie, Jeff and Carla
Concept: “The Old Spice Trade”
They run around shopping, making sure we see them calling each other on their Sidekicks. They go to Bridgewaters restaurant to use their kitchen. They get to work.
Sunset Lounge Menu
Egg Roll
Sashimi Two Ways
Short Ribs
Coconut Curry Bisque
Seared Cod
Chocolate Parfait
Panna Cotta
Sahana Menu
Curried Carrot Soup
Grilled Scallop with Chickpea Cake
Braised Lamb Shank
Seared Snapper
Baklava
Chocolate Cake
Frozen Yogurts
Maybe I’m an uneducated dolt who doesn’t appreciate Sanskrit, but I hate that name. It makes me think that they misspelled Sahara, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN an awesome name.
Plus things I hate on that menu –
Any carrot soup but my own
The idea that Chocolate Cake is going to win restaurant wars
Baklava
The word Yogurt with an "S" on it
Hosea asks Leah cooking questions and she’s not concentrating. She keeps saying how she feels bad about what happened. Are they just running the same interview over and over?
Jamie’s cooking frozen lamb. Leah shows Hosea the cod with bones. Okay, I should just watch the end, because I know where there is going.
NOW they’re calling the dessert “Spiced Chocolate Cake with Cashew Brittle”. THAT sounds good. What did they write on the menu? I’m confused.
Fabio is working in the front of the house. Stefan’s desserts are not freezing. Neither are Carla’s.
Radhika goes in the back and Carla wants her opinion on things and she’s just not giving it. She is a terrible leader.
Fabio cleans up good and knows it. He says we can serve “Monkey ass in an empty clam shell” and because he’ll do such a good job in the front of the house, everything will be fine. (Ass-mentioning number three, BTW.)
Was that massive lightening or special effects right before we see a preview of Padma saying to someone, I think it’s really undercooked?
The judging…next time.
At the beginning of the episode, they show too many people to get a hint of who’s going to be leaving. Radhika says Leah and Hosea had a hand in Ariane’s removal. Leah feels bad, but then said Ariane didn’t defend herself.
Quickfire Challenge
Padma introduces Stephen Starr. This is exciting. I love his restaurants. (I’ve been to 7 out of 11 of his Philadelphia restaurants.) Morimoto opened his first restaurant with Stephen Starr in Philadelphia in 2001. I love fusion cuisine and so does SS.
Padma says it’s time for Restaurant Wars! It’s not just about the food, Stephen says. It’s about the design, the service, the ambience and the concept. AMEN!!!
They have to create one dish to showcase their idea for a prospective restaurant. That’s a big order. They give them 30 minutes and they can use anything in the Top Chef kitchen. The two winners will be the chef owners of the two Restaurant Wars Kitchen.
They run and grab stuff. Oh, there’s the name of Jeff’s place of employment again. THAT is so off-putting.
Leah’s snapper smells “like ass”, she says, and she throws it away and starts over.
Jamie doesn’t want to win, because she says the leader usually goes home.
Carla’s concept is “homey, rustic foods”.
Cod Seared in Tomato Oil with Italian Salsa & Mache Green Salad
That could be good...Stephan says he doesn’t taste enough salt. Uh-oh.
Hosea wants to do a seafood restaurant with Mediterranean flavors and world cuisine. In other words, everything in the universe.
Shrimp with Morel, Mushroom Cream Sauce, Garlic Potato Purée & Poached Asparagus
Sorry…but BORING! What the heck do I know?! Stephen says, “Very good.”
Leah, sounding really bored, tells them what her dish is.
Tempura Poussin with Dashi, Soy Sauce & Rice Wine Vinegar
I like her not at all, but I think that sounds good. Stephen: “It’s tasty, it’s very good.” (We also learn her mom is from the Philippines, so I guess her concept is Asian-y.)
Stefan, unappetizingly licking his lips, says his concept is Euro-American. Stephen: “What does that mean?” Old stuff from Europe mixed with an American twist. Boy, it’s lucky these folks aren’t PR professionals, because their descriptive and selling skills are sorely lacking.
Trio of Asparagus – Fried White Asparagus with Trout, Asparagus Salad & White Asparagus Soup
I suppose for that tiny window of time when white asparagus is in season, that would be fine, but I don’t really like asparagus enough to eat it three different ways.
Stephen:” Very good”. I can't tell if that's good or bad.
American, simple and fresh from Jeff
Grilled Salmon with Sunchoke & Artichoke Purée, Grilled Corn & Asparagus Salad
A three year old could make that…it’s so lacking in pizzazz. Leah’s has been the most noteworthy, which is good, because if she’s picked she’ll fail and then she’ll be gone.
Stephen: “For some reason, it’s a little mushy.” Jeff looks SHOCKED.
Guess who says this: “My background is Indian, but my restaurant would be globally influenced.” Radhika, of course.
Stephen looks bored with her. The thing about his restaurants, which the chefs may very well not know, is that each one has a distinct point of view, not some vague "global" thing. Whether Cuban, or high-end sushi (is that okay to describe Morimoto that way?) or old time diner with fusion food and INCREDIBLE skinny fries, there is a guiding vision to each one. The chefs are being too loosy goosey on the concept. SS wants to see a specific dish from each chef with a precise perspective and I think Leah has come the closest, even though she is unable to spit it out in words. Let’s see.
Oh, sorry, back to Radhika.
Pan Seared Cod, Butter Braised Corn, Spinach & Chorizo with Cream Sauce
BLECHHH!!! I wouldn’t order that.
In my inimical ability for accurate predictions (not): “Very well seasoned”, Stephen says.
Seasonal cooking is Jamie’s concept.
Chilean Sea Bass with Creamed Corn, Bacon, Peas & Garlic Scape (Huh? Garlic what? Is that thinly sliced fried garlic? No it’s not, it’s this. I just learned something.)
Stephen: “I appreciate the simplicity, THOUGH it’s refreshing to get something so simple.” Why did he say THOUGH?
Fabio says if you do well with your BRANCH business, your restaurant will do well. WHAT??? What’s a Branch Business? OH, sorry, he said lunch…lunch business. His concept involves having a whole meal on one plate for a quick lunch. Not a bad idea.
Tuna & Swordfish Carpacchio, Roasted Vegetable Salad, Filet Mignon Sandwich. Fabio’s portions were TINY and the salad looked like it had died on the plate and started oozing stuff.
Stephen says “Cheesesteak!” Fabio says it’s a high end cheesesteak. Stephen: “It’s a little salty,” and that salad is decomposing in front of our eyes…
The losers:
Jeff – salmon wasn’t the right fish to choose to blow him away.
Fabio – He liked his passion, but he didn’t get it as a restaurant concept. (Stephen didn’t mention the vegetables melting on the plate.)
The winners:
His favorites were Radhika, who represents an emerging cuisine AND…
LEAH!!! (I KNEW she was going to win.) Go me! Go me! "Her food is clean and forward thinking," Stephen continues. Good…one of them will be going home.
“My ass is one the line.” That’s the second time Leah uses the word “ass” this episode. I’m no prude, but it just sounds coarse. Of course, Dale was foulmouthed, but I didn’t care, because Dale could cook up a storm and only failed in one dish. Leah, it seems, has only succeeded in one dish.
Padma tells Radhika and Leah that they’ll be opening their restaurants tomorrow night for one night only. Radhika picks Jamie, Carla and Jeff on her team. Leah picks Hosea (Surprise! Not!), then Fabio, and Stefan gets left for last.
I think Leah has the better cooks.
Radhika names her restaurant Sahana, which means strong and powerful in Sanskrit. She asks if Jeff wants to do front of the house. He doesn’t want to. She halfheartedly says she’ll do the front. Bad choice. NOW that will give them a reason to send her home - if it’s YOUR restaurant, you NEED to be in the back. This should be good.
Leah’s doing an Asian concept. Fabio immediately offers to do the front of the house, because he’s not that familiar with that cuisine. Hosea sticks his nose in and doesn’t want her to “get run over’ by “the Fabio and Stefan show”.
They buy the stuff and the food. Each team gets $5000 to spend at Pier One for décor. Back at the apartment, they plan their menu. It should be “Pretty, small, tight and sexy,” says Stefan. Those words coming from HIM are disturbing. Leah is fed up.
Carla is acting clueless. Radhika is giving Jamie lots of responsibility because she’s too wimpy to take charge.
Hosea and Leah complain to each other about Stefan. He’s doing desserts, so he’ll be in his own little world. Leah and Hosea sleep all over each other. Is this Real World? Leah says she’s never cheated on a boyfriend before and Hosea isn’t happy.
Morning dawns and Hosea regrets “kissing” Leah. They both feel weird. They each want to be with their significant others after this whole thing.
Some go to Whole Foods; some to Restaurant Depot. Leah’s restaurant name (thought up by Stefan, which I had to replay several times, because I had no idea what he was saying – is Sunset Lounge. He pronounces it Sn-set LOUNGE. I don;t like that name.
Team Sunset Lounge
Leah, Hosea, Fabio & Stefan,
Concept: “Asian Influence”.
I asked my LA-based daughter what she thought of the name "Sunset Lounge" and she said, "Is it a restaurant for hookers and their rusty needles?” A chip off the old block...I’m so proud.
Team Sahana
Radhika, Jamie, Jeff and Carla
Concept: “The Old Spice Trade”
They run around shopping, making sure we see them calling each other on their Sidekicks. They go to Bridgewaters restaurant to use their kitchen. They get to work.
Sunset Lounge Menu
Egg Roll
Sashimi Two Ways
Short Ribs
Coconut Curry Bisque
Seared Cod
Chocolate Parfait
Panna Cotta
Sahana Menu
Curried Carrot Soup
Grilled Scallop with Chickpea Cake
Braised Lamb Shank
Seared Snapper
Baklava
Chocolate Cake
Frozen Yogurts
Maybe I’m an uneducated dolt who doesn’t appreciate Sanskrit, but I hate that name. It makes me think that they misspelled Sahara, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN an awesome name.
Plus things I hate on that menu –
Any carrot soup but my own
The idea that Chocolate Cake is going to win restaurant wars
Baklava
The word Yogurt with an "S" on it
Hosea asks Leah cooking questions and she’s not concentrating. She keeps saying how she feels bad about what happened. Are they just running the same interview over and over?
Jamie’s cooking frozen lamb. Leah shows Hosea the cod with bones. Okay, I should just watch the end, because I know where there is going.
NOW they’re calling the dessert “Spiced Chocolate Cake with Cashew Brittle”. THAT sounds good. What did they write on the menu? I’m confused.
Fabio is working in the front of the house. Stefan’s desserts are not freezing. Neither are Carla’s.
Radhika goes in the back and Carla wants her opinion on things and she’s just not giving it. She is a terrible leader.
Fabio cleans up good and knows it. He says we can serve “Monkey ass in an empty clam shell” and because he’ll do such a good job in the front of the house, everything will be fine. (Ass-mentioning number three, BTW.)
Was that massive lightening or special effects right before we see a preview of Padma saying to someone, I think it’s really undercooked?
The judging…next time.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Bam!!! Emeril To Guest Judge On Top Chef
Emeril will be the guest judge in the penultimate episode of this season's Top Chef, airing February 18th. That week's challenge will take place in New Orleans and will leave 3 cheftestents* to compete in the next week's finale on February 25th.
*Thanks, DC, for that great word. I did find that it HAS been used before, but I was clueless until YOU used it.
*Thanks, DC, for that great word. I did find that it HAS been used before, but I was clueless until YOU used it.
It’s Not Just Luck With Ina
Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten
Pot Luck Dinner
Scott's Short Ribs
Cheddar Dill Cornbread
Stewed Fresh Berries
I’m not entirely sure what is going on. The Food Network was running promos saying this episode of the Barefoot Contessa was the premiere of the new Barefoot Contessa series. I thought that meant they were done with “Back To Basics” and were now just calling it Barefoot Contessa. But, no, the screen says Back to Basics. Whatever! I guess the promos make as much sense as their website. Anyway, I’m just happy to see Ina…I don’t care WHAT they call her show.
Ina tells us that she likes pot luck dinners. All the guests get “their assignments” and they meet at one person’s house. She says the “proof is in the party” and how fun they are.
Today, Ina is bringing the main course of short ribs and cheddar dill cornbread to...Oh Goodie!...TR’s house and he is making dessert. Friend Kirk is bringing the wine. I don’t know who he is, but if the Barefoot Contessa likes him, then so do I.
Ina meets up with the boys for coffee, and TR comes up with the pot luck idea, even though she’s already told us about it. She assigns TR the dessert.
Ina’s three pot luck rules:
Make it ahead.
Make things that travel well.
Make it SO delicious.
Back in the kitchen, Ina takes out 9 gorgeous trimmed short ribs. She sprinkles them with LOTS of salt and roasts them at 400°F. for 15 minutes, which will caramelize the outside. LOTS of pepper goes on. She says doing them on top of the stove is annoying. I know what she means about the greasy clean-up.
TR swaggers into a bakery. He resists all these beautiful desserts and buys only heavy cream, because he’s making Ina’s Meringues Chantilly himself.
Ina chops up leeks, carrots, onions and sweats them in a large pot with ¼ cup olive oil. She chops up fennel, too, after coring it and adds it. She doesn’t love raw fennel, but adores it cooked with its anise flavor. Because the short ribs are so rich, she likes to add lots of fresh vegetables. (They won't be particularly fresh after cooking for hours, but okay...) She gives it the pot “big stir” and cooks the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes.
Ina is such a pro. She is 100 percent comfortable in front of the camera. She never performs. She’s just THERE, cooking and showing us as she goes. I imagine that if there were no cameras and we were standing right next to her, her demeanor would be exactly the same. She is pretty much flawless. I just love her!
Ina likes that everyone feels involved in a potluck party. That is so opposite to MY way of entertaining, where if someone brings something, I stash it in the laundry room, and hope no one notices. I don’t want anyone taking the glory away from me! Ina is so generous in her entertaining.
She adds 3 cloves of garlic to the vegetables. She cooks that for a minute and then adds 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 1 bottle of burgundy. Ina says if you cook with cheap wine, your dinner will taste cheap.
I’ve mentioned this article before about how cooking with cheap wine makes no difference. I still tend to side with Ina, but it is interesting to think that cheaper wines ARE fine for cooking. Normally, I use decent wine in cooking, maybe not the finest, but ones that I can stand to drink, certainly.
Ina cooks the wine and vegetable mixture, uncovered, for 10 minutes to reduce the wine by half. She takes out the short ribs and turns down the oven to 300°F. She seasons the sauce with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (Didn't the meat already have an ENORMOUS amount of salt?)
Then Ina makes an herb bouquet with rosemary and fresh thyme by tying them together. That makes it easy to remove. She puts the ribs on top of the sauce. She says TR’s dessert better be good to go with her great ribs. A tablespoon of brown sugar goes in with 6 cups of beef stock (she’s using homemade). The pot gets brought to a simmer and put in the oven, covered, for 2 hours.
TR used to work for the Barefoot Contessa shop, when he was 15 years old, Ina says, and that she taught him a lot. Interesting. She says tonight he’s on his own with dessert. That sounds like a challenge.
TR buys the fruits for the sauce – raspberries and blueberries. He’s going to make dessert all by himself with no help from her and next time, he says, he should make the whole meal by himself.
Ina takes the heavy pot out of the oven. She removes the short ribs and reduces the sauce to intensify the flavor, remarking that the bones have flavored and thickened the sauce.
Perhaps to justify cooking 3 (huge) short ribs per person, she says it’s amazing how they reduce in size. She removes the bundle of herbs, which is nothing but stems. She skims some fat and reduces it for 20 minutes.
She says there’s nothing like a pot luck party for stress-free entertaining, where each person only has to do one thing. I have one better, Ina, GO TO A RESTAURANT! ;-)
She stirs the reduced sauce. She tastes and loves it. She adds back in the short ribs to heat up together.
Back to TR, who is planning to make Ina’s Meringues Chantilly in a beautiful blue KitchenAid. He makes the fruit sauce with blueberries, raspberries, water and sugar and a bit of orange zest.
TR is reading from the recipe and he’s laid the recipe on top of the stove. I'm sure it's about to burst into flames...Be careful! He’s cooked the mixture for 8 minutes. He turns it off and add 2 teaspoons of Framboise liqueuer and stirs in the fresh fruit.
Then he turns his attention to the meringue recipe, where it says to bake them for 2 hours and then to let them sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight. He says WHAT?!! He runs off camera. Meanwhile, we see Ina working on her last recipe.
Why do I think he’ll be revisiting that bakery for a few meringue shells? He broke the first rule of cooking – READ THE ENTIRE RECIPE THROUGH BEFORE YOU START COOKING.
For Ina’s cornbread, she measures 3 cups of flour, which she sort of moves around to lighten before measuring, with 1 cup of cornmeal, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons of salt.
She melts 2 sticks of butter and cracks 3 eggs in a bowl. (This is one time she strays from her rule of cracking eggs in a separate bowl before adding them.) She mixes 2 cups of milk into the eggs and whisks in the melted butter. She pours the wet ingredients into the dry ones, telling us not to over mix. She grates 2 cups of extra sharp cheddar by hand and stirs that in.
She runs her knife along the stems of the dill and chops one cup and adds it to the mixture. She lets the batter it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking, which allows the cornmeal to absorb the milk and eggs. I don’t do that. Maybe I should, but would that make the finished product less moist?
Ina grates more cheese for the topping. She puts the mixture into a 9 by 13 pan and adds more cheddar on top. She bakes it at 350°F. for 35 minutes. Her part is done.
TR is rushing around. He goes back to the pastry shop and gets the last 3 meringues and runs out the door…without paying the 12 dollars they cost. Wow, that’s pricey! He’s lucky there are only three of them eating tonight.
Ina is packing up the car. TR hopes to get home before Ina arrives. He does. Ina serves dinner. Kirk comes in with one (only?) bottle of wine. They tuck into the short ribs and cornbread. Kirk says it’s unbelievable. TR says Ina never disappoints.
TR brings out dessert and admits he didn’t make the meringues. Gosh, she got that out of him quickly. I guess Ina’s time in the government makes her a super adept interrogator. Ina wants to know how that happened. He says he’s sticking with the Barefoot motto of buying something and making something. Ina says next time HE'S making dinner and SHE’S buying dessert. Oh, and Kirk is definitely bringing the wine.
Pot Luck Dinner
Scott's Short Ribs
Cheddar Dill Cornbread
Stewed Fresh Berries
I’m not entirely sure what is going on. The Food Network was running promos saying this episode of the Barefoot Contessa was the premiere of the new Barefoot Contessa series. I thought that meant they were done with “Back To Basics” and were now just calling it Barefoot Contessa. But, no, the screen says Back to Basics. Whatever! I guess the promos make as much sense as their website. Anyway, I’m just happy to see Ina…I don’t care WHAT they call her show.
Ina tells us that she likes pot luck dinners. All the guests get “their assignments” and they meet at one person’s house. She says the “proof is in the party” and how fun they are.
Today, Ina is bringing the main course of short ribs and cheddar dill cornbread to...Oh Goodie!...TR’s house and he is making dessert. Friend Kirk is bringing the wine. I don’t know who he is, but if the Barefoot Contessa likes him, then so do I.
Ina meets up with the boys for coffee, and TR comes up with the pot luck idea, even though she’s already told us about it. She assigns TR the dessert.
Ina’s three pot luck rules:
Make it ahead.
Make things that travel well.
Make it SO delicious.
Back in the kitchen, Ina takes out 9 gorgeous trimmed short ribs. She sprinkles them with LOTS of salt and roasts them at 400°F. for 15 minutes, which will caramelize the outside. LOTS of pepper goes on. She says doing them on top of the stove is annoying. I know what she means about the greasy clean-up.
TR swaggers into a bakery. He resists all these beautiful desserts and buys only heavy cream, because he’s making Ina’s Meringues Chantilly himself.
Ina chops up leeks, carrots, onions and sweats them in a large pot with ¼ cup olive oil. She chops up fennel, too, after coring it and adds it. She doesn’t love raw fennel, but adores it cooked with its anise flavor. Because the short ribs are so rich, she likes to add lots of fresh vegetables. (They won't be particularly fresh after cooking for hours, but okay...) She gives it the pot “big stir” and cooks the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes.
Ina is such a pro. She is 100 percent comfortable in front of the camera. She never performs. She’s just THERE, cooking and showing us as she goes. I imagine that if there were no cameras and we were standing right next to her, her demeanor would be exactly the same. She is pretty much flawless. I just love her!
Ina likes that everyone feels involved in a potluck party. That is so opposite to MY way of entertaining, where if someone brings something, I stash it in the laundry room, and hope no one notices. I don’t want anyone taking the glory away from me! Ina is so generous in her entertaining.
She adds 3 cloves of garlic to the vegetables. She cooks that for a minute and then adds 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 1 bottle of burgundy. Ina says if you cook with cheap wine, your dinner will taste cheap.
I’ve mentioned this article before about how cooking with cheap wine makes no difference. I still tend to side with Ina, but it is interesting to think that cheaper wines ARE fine for cooking. Normally, I use decent wine in cooking, maybe not the finest, but ones that I can stand to drink, certainly.
Ina cooks the wine and vegetable mixture, uncovered, for 10 minutes to reduce the wine by half. She takes out the short ribs and turns down the oven to 300°F. She seasons the sauce with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (Didn't the meat already have an ENORMOUS amount of salt?)
Then Ina makes an herb bouquet with rosemary and fresh thyme by tying them together. That makes it easy to remove. She puts the ribs on top of the sauce. She says TR’s dessert better be good to go with her great ribs. A tablespoon of brown sugar goes in with 6 cups of beef stock (she’s using homemade). The pot gets brought to a simmer and put in the oven, covered, for 2 hours.
TR used to work for the Barefoot Contessa shop, when he was 15 years old, Ina says, and that she taught him a lot. Interesting. She says tonight he’s on his own with dessert. That sounds like a challenge.
TR buys the fruits for the sauce – raspberries and blueberries. He’s going to make dessert all by himself with no help from her and next time, he says, he should make the whole meal by himself.
Ina takes the heavy pot out of the oven. She removes the short ribs and reduces the sauce to intensify the flavor, remarking that the bones have flavored and thickened the sauce.
Perhaps to justify cooking 3 (huge) short ribs per person, she says it’s amazing how they reduce in size. She removes the bundle of herbs, which is nothing but stems. She skims some fat and reduces it for 20 minutes.
She says there’s nothing like a pot luck party for stress-free entertaining, where each person only has to do one thing. I have one better, Ina, GO TO A RESTAURANT! ;-)
She stirs the reduced sauce. She tastes and loves it. She adds back in the short ribs to heat up together.
Back to TR, who is planning to make Ina’s Meringues Chantilly in a beautiful blue KitchenAid. He makes the fruit sauce with blueberries, raspberries, water and sugar and a bit of orange zest.
TR is reading from the recipe and he’s laid the recipe on top of the stove. I'm sure it's about to burst into flames...Be careful! He’s cooked the mixture for 8 minutes. He turns it off and add 2 teaspoons of Framboise liqueuer and stirs in the fresh fruit.
Then he turns his attention to the meringue recipe, where it says to bake them for 2 hours and then to let them sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight. He says WHAT?!! He runs off camera. Meanwhile, we see Ina working on her last recipe.
Why do I think he’ll be revisiting that bakery for a few meringue shells? He broke the first rule of cooking – READ THE ENTIRE RECIPE THROUGH BEFORE YOU START COOKING.
For Ina’s cornbread, she measures 3 cups of flour, which she sort of moves around to lighten before measuring, with 1 cup of cornmeal, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons of salt.
She melts 2 sticks of butter and cracks 3 eggs in a bowl. (This is one time she strays from her rule of cracking eggs in a separate bowl before adding them.) She mixes 2 cups of milk into the eggs and whisks in the melted butter. She pours the wet ingredients into the dry ones, telling us not to over mix. She grates 2 cups of extra sharp cheddar by hand and stirs that in.
She runs her knife along the stems of the dill and chops one cup and adds it to the mixture. She lets the batter it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking, which allows the cornmeal to absorb the milk and eggs. I don’t do that. Maybe I should, but would that make the finished product less moist?
Ina grates more cheese for the topping. She puts the mixture into a 9 by 13 pan and adds more cheddar on top. She bakes it at 350°F. for 35 minutes. Her part is done.
TR is rushing around. He goes back to the pastry shop and gets the last 3 meringues and runs out the door…without paying the 12 dollars they cost. Wow, that’s pricey! He’s lucky there are only three of them eating tonight.
Ina is packing up the car. TR hopes to get home before Ina arrives. He does. Ina serves dinner. Kirk comes in with one (only?) bottle of wine. They tuck into the short ribs and cornbread. Kirk says it’s unbelievable. TR says Ina never disappoints.
TR brings out dessert and admits he didn’t make the meringues. Gosh, she got that out of him quickly. I guess Ina’s time in the government makes her a super adept interrogator. Ina wants to know how that happened. He says he’s sticking with the Barefoot motto of buying something and making something. Ina says next time HE'S making dinner and SHE’S buying dessert. Oh, and Kirk is definitely bringing the wine.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tom Colicchio – Chef, Restaurateur, Life Saver
It's no exaggeration to say that Chef and Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio, saved the life of a food writer at a food event in Washington on Monday. And luckily, writer Ezra Klein was there to write about it for The Internet Food Association.
Joan Nathan , Tom C AND Ezra Klein were all at the Art. Food. Hope
benefit when Nathan started choking on a piece of chicken. Alice Waters screamed (to a room full of chefs and food professionals) if anyone knew the Heimlich. Tom rushed over. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and all was well. "I just happened to be nearby," he explained later. Wow, I don’t want to make light of the situation, but that is sooo hot. Apparently, Joan Nathan thought so too, when she said “He’s so strong.” She owes him a really good chopped liver platter or some awesome chicken soup.
She joins an interesting list of celebrities saved by the technique, including Cher and Goldie Hawn, according to the Heimlich Institute, which also estimates that over 50,000 lives have been saved since 1974 when Dr. Henry Heimlich first introduced the technique. Incidentally, it's also been used to save asthma sufferers in the throes of potentially fatal attacks.
I have 2 family members with first hand experience of Dr. Heimlich’s maneuver. Many years ago when we first lived in South Africa, we were thanking a friend’s mother for the use of a car. I brought her a lovely (or so I thought at the time) gift box of assorted chocolates and nuts. As we were chatting outside, she went in to answer the phone.
Moments later, she ran out, gasping for air. HER HUSBAND, in a panic, turned to FACE her, and started trying to use the technique. MY HUSBAND, in a split second, sized up the situation, ran over and, standing BEHIND her, used his fist and pushed in and up. A hazelnut popped out.
SHE was grateful…I was mortified…that my gift had caused such havoc. My friend reported that, for weeks after, her parents cooed at each other with renewed love and affection. She also mentioned that my husband had broken 2 of her mother's ribs. Apparently, that’s not at all uncommon and she was grateful to be alive to feel it.
The second situation came about when my father-in-law was on vacation. He was having a meal and suddenly he realized he was choking. I guess he was in a room full of clueless old codgers, so, thankfully, he realized he would have to save himself. He stood up and threw himself against the edge of the table (which is the alternate technique for self-Heimliching) and out popped a piece of food.
My husband’s, father-in-law’s and Tom’s situations all point to quick thinking and, more importantly, quick action. How would WE react in those situations? I’m certainly going to take a very close look at these instructions and this well-written description of the the Heimlich Maneuver, plus the video at the end of my post and keep them close by.
The other thing I’m going to do? Chew…really, really well.
Joan Nathan , Tom C AND Ezra Klein were all at the Art. Food. Hope
benefit when Nathan started choking on a piece of chicken. Alice Waters screamed (to a room full of chefs and food professionals) if anyone knew the Heimlich. Tom rushed over. He performed the Heimlich maneuver and all was well. "I just happened to be nearby," he explained later. Wow, I don’t want to make light of the situation, but that is sooo hot. Apparently, Joan Nathan thought so too, when she said “He’s so strong.” She owes him a really good chopped liver platter or some awesome chicken soup.
She joins an interesting list of celebrities saved by the technique, including Cher and Goldie Hawn, according to the Heimlich Institute, which also estimates that over 50,000 lives have been saved since 1974 when Dr. Henry Heimlich first introduced the technique. Incidentally, it's also been used to save asthma sufferers in the throes of potentially fatal attacks.
I have 2 family members with first hand experience of Dr. Heimlich’s maneuver. Many years ago when we first lived in South Africa, we were thanking a friend’s mother for the use of a car. I brought her a lovely (or so I thought at the time) gift box of assorted chocolates and nuts. As we were chatting outside, she went in to answer the phone.
Moments later, she ran out, gasping for air. HER HUSBAND, in a panic, turned to FACE her, and started trying to use the technique. MY HUSBAND, in a split second, sized up the situation, ran over and, standing BEHIND her, used his fist and pushed in and up. A hazelnut popped out.
SHE was grateful…I was mortified…that my gift had caused such havoc. My friend reported that, for weeks after, her parents cooed at each other with renewed love and affection. She also mentioned that my husband had broken 2 of her mother's ribs. Apparently, that’s not at all uncommon and she was grateful to be alive to feel it.
The second situation came about when my father-in-law was on vacation. He was having a meal and suddenly he realized he was choking. I guess he was in a room full of clueless old codgers, so, thankfully, he realized he would have to save himself. He stood up and threw himself against the edge of the table (which is the alternate technique for self-Heimliching) and out popped a piece of food.
My husband’s, father-in-law’s and Tom’s situations all point to quick thinking and, more importantly, quick action. How would WE react in those situations? I’m certainly going to take a very close look at these instructions and this well-written description of the the Heimlich Maneuver, plus the video at the end of my post and keep them close by.
The other thing I’m going to do? Chew…really, really well.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Cheers To The 44th Chief!
On this feel good day, I’m reminded of these words from our new President when he addressed the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston as the junior Senator from Illinois.
"I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on earth is my story even possible."
And then today:
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord..Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested...that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon...we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
Before President Obama's many challenges begin in earnest, I wanted an appropriate way to salute our new President. What better way than with a made-to-order custom cocktail?!! I thought back to his Hawaiian childhood and I remembered our visit to Hawaii a few years ago and my nightly cocktail called a Lava Flow – a super-tropical version of a Piña Colada.
Some of the recipes have coconut rum, like Malibu, but somehow that didn't seem very presidential, so I went with light rum instead. The fruit purée is usually strawberries. I’ve adding some blueberries to boost the antioxidant level for our health conscious President.
I’ve also strained the purée, so the Secret Service or official food tasters don’t have to worry about anything untoward getting caught in the Barely-Baby-Boomer-in-Chief’s teeth. Plus I like a bit of crushed ice in a drink like this, which has the added benefit of diluting the alcohol and calories (somewhat) for an obviously fit president.
(In Hawaii, the cocktail glass is rimmed with Li Hing powder - a sweet and salty plum powder. My packet was 4 years old, so I opted for colored sugar.)
There are two different ways of assembling this drink. In one, the fruit purée is spooned into the bottom of the glass and the rest of the cocktail is poured over; in the other, the fruit purée is added on the top and is supposed to represent flowing lava.
I have to say that I didn’t feel that either one particularly resembled a lava flow like my beautiful cocktails on Oahu did. But, gosh, were they good! I also went one step further in splendid deliciousness and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Okay, not the healthiest move, but today is a red banner day that deserves an extra special glorious cocktail to mark its significance.
Inauguration Lava Flow Cocktail (serves one President)
2 tablespoons red sugar in a saucer 1/4 cup light rum 1/4 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup coconut cream 1 banana 1/2 cup crushed ice 1/2 cup strawberries and blueberries, mixed Wet rim of glass with water. Dip and twist in sugar. Repeat until you have a nice rim of sugar on the glass. Place rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, banana and crushed ice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared glass; or pitcher if the fruit purée is going on the bottom of the glass. In the same blender (with the rum mixture poured out), purée the strawberries and blueberries together. Strain through sieve. Version one: Carefully pour fruit purée in bottom of prepared glass. Pour rest of cocktail over. Garnish with umbrella-ed pineapple slice and clementine sections. Version two: Pour rum mixture in bottom of prepared glass. Carefully spoon in fruit purée. Garnish. Cheers…To The Chief! 
Mr. President, Lunch Is Served
The menu for the inaugural luncheon held in the Capital for the new President is a tribute to Abraham Lincoln. It's not only being served on replicas of Lincoln's china, the food are said to reflect some of Lincoln’s favorite foods as well.
Seafood Stew
Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Valley
Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney
Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing
Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Winter Vegetables
Pinot Noir 2005, Golden Eye, Anderson Valley
Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake with Ice Cream
Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvee”, Korbel, California Champagne
Note: The whole world may be trying to look at these recipes, so the links may not work for the moment.
Seafood Stew
Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Duckhorn Vineyards, Napa Valley
Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney
Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing
Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Winter Vegetables
Pinot Noir 2005, Golden Eye, Anderson Valley
Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake with Ice Cream
Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvee”, Korbel, California Champagne
Note: The whole world may be trying to look at these recipes, so the links may not work for the moment.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Chopped Is Tops
I took a casual look at a new show on the Food Network hosted by Ted Allen . Chopped is an action packed cooking competition show, with an interesting way of doing things.
They start out with 4 chefs. They each get the same basket of ingredients that they must use to create a first course in a certain amount of time. That gets judged and one chef gets CHOPPED. The next three go on to make a main course with a different bunch of ingredients. Again, one is eliminated and 2 chefs are left to compete in the dessert course, with the winner walking away with $10,000. I like that all the contestants are chefs and they’re all dressed identically in rather natty chef’s attire.
I love the Southern catering chef, Sandy. A pastry chef, Katie, has trouble with octopus, but turns out a good first course. Octopus and oyster sauce are 2 of the ingredients. Pretty boy Perry struggles, but makes it through to the next round. Summer, the 4th chef, gets “chopped”.
Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the three judges. She’s very good - thoughtful and knowledgeable. The other two are Aaron Sanchez, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
The ingredients for the next round, the entrée, are duck breast, green onion, ginger and honey. This seems like a no brainer. Sandy is unfazed, since he understands the classic way to cook a duck breast. Perry is fine and has a vision of what he’s doing, but Katie seems less expert in her concept of the dish.
Perry cuts himself, while the judges watch. They love that Sandy is grilling scallions right over the gas flame. Pastry chef Katie is making a crepe, adding a bit of cocoa. Perry says what the hell is that? Ted does a bit of chit chat with the working cooks. Alex remarks that the crepe idea could be great or could be the worst thing they’ve ever eaten.
After coming up with something as unusual and sophisticated as a cocoa crepe for the duck, strangely, Katie is having a hard time with the scallions. She decides to cook them in butter, saying it will take a miracle for her to survive this round.
The judges actually like the crepes. It’s the scallions there’s some criticism of. They like Perry’s dish, although Perry includes cilantro a second time and has no starch on his plate. The best part of Sandy is his charming accent. (He sounds exactly like Art Smith.)
There is a miracle for 21 year old pastry chef Katie, (even though there is no sign of Sully anywhere). Perry gets CHOPPED. He’s mad.
Just Sandy and Katie compete in the dessert round. Katie is confident. The ingredients they have to use are prunes, animal crackers and cream cheese. They both laugh. Animal crackers? Just when I was thinking so highly of this show…
Katie decides on a mousse or semifreddo. Sandy makes a “soup”. Sandy’s resigned to Katie being the one that’s probably going to win the $10,000.
I like the recap before the last commercial break.
They judge the desserts. I like Sandy’s honest reply to the judge who questions his use of mint as a garnish, when there is no mint in the dish. He says, completely without guile, that garnishing with mint is an old catering trick, which is done for the color and that nothing leaves the kitchen without a sprig. I don’t disagree with the judge, but I liked Sandy’s down to earth answer.
I was taught that the garnish must be edible and that it should be an element of the dish. Katie actually broke both those rules, when she plated her entrée on a red cabbage leaf. It DID look a lot more colorful, but there was no cabbage in the dish and the leaf was not meant to be eaten. Judge Alex mentioned that she was a bit confused by it. I would think that’s high on the list of the things you would want to avoid – confusing the judges.
Sandy seems to have the advantage going into the final judging. Let’s see what happens. Sandy pulls it out and wins. The judges all tell Katie how bright her future is. She cries and is very disappointed. Sandy is grinning ear to ear. He’s thrilled with his first time ever winning anything.
I have to say that this did remind me a bit of another situation where a young female pastry whiz was up against an older, seemingly more experienced, guy. I wasn’t happy with the outcome in THAT case, but here I think Sandy showed his chops and deserved NOT to be CHOPPED.
One of the things I really like about this show is that, in the final judging, they take into account the chef’s menu AS A WHOLE. The contestant's fate doesn’t lie in a single ingredient, dish or technique. I like that there’s little extraneous stuff going on. It’s all about the cooking, it’s all about the actual dishes they produce. There’s no over the top host, judge OR contestant.
Food Network, THANK YOU for a well-done, entertaining, interesting show (finally), about which I have little bad to say.
They start out with 4 chefs. They each get the same basket of ingredients that they must use to create a first course in a certain amount of time. That gets judged and one chef gets CHOPPED. The next three go on to make a main course with a different bunch of ingredients. Again, one is eliminated and 2 chefs are left to compete in the dessert course, with the winner walking away with $10,000. I like that all the contestants are chefs and they’re all dressed identically in rather natty chef’s attire.
I love the Southern catering chef, Sandy. A pastry chef, Katie, has trouble with octopus, but turns out a good first course. Octopus and oyster sauce are 2 of the ingredients. Pretty boy Perry struggles, but makes it through to the next round. Summer, the 4th chef, gets “chopped”.
Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the three judges. She’s very good - thoughtful and knowledgeable. The other two are Aaron Sanchez, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
The ingredients for the next round, the entrée, are duck breast, green onion, ginger and honey. This seems like a no brainer. Sandy is unfazed, since he understands the classic way to cook a duck breast. Perry is fine and has a vision of what he’s doing, but Katie seems less expert in her concept of the dish.
Perry cuts himself, while the judges watch. They love that Sandy is grilling scallions right over the gas flame. Pastry chef Katie is making a crepe, adding a bit of cocoa. Perry says what the hell is that? Ted does a bit of chit chat with the working cooks. Alex remarks that the crepe idea could be great or could be the worst thing they’ve ever eaten.
After coming up with something as unusual and sophisticated as a cocoa crepe for the duck, strangely, Katie is having a hard time with the scallions. She decides to cook them in butter, saying it will take a miracle for her to survive this round.
The judges actually like the crepes. It’s the scallions there’s some criticism of. They like Perry’s dish, although Perry includes cilantro a second time and has no starch on his plate. The best part of Sandy is his charming accent. (He sounds exactly like Art Smith.)
There is a miracle for 21 year old pastry chef Katie, (even though there is no sign of Sully anywhere). Perry gets CHOPPED. He’s mad.
Just Sandy and Katie compete in the dessert round. Katie is confident. The ingredients they have to use are prunes, animal crackers and cream cheese. They both laugh. Animal crackers? Just when I was thinking so highly of this show…
Katie decides on a mousse or semifreddo. Sandy makes a “soup”. Sandy’s resigned to Katie being the one that’s probably going to win the $10,000.
I like the recap before the last commercial break.
They judge the desserts. I like Sandy’s honest reply to the judge who questions his use of mint as a garnish, when there is no mint in the dish. He says, completely without guile, that garnishing with mint is an old catering trick, which is done for the color and that nothing leaves the kitchen without a sprig. I don’t disagree with the judge, but I liked Sandy’s down to earth answer.
I was taught that the garnish must be edible and that it should be an element of the dish. Katie actually broke both those rules, when she plated her entrée on a red cabbage leaf. It DID look a lot more colorful, but there was no cabbage in the dish and the leaf was not meant to be eaten. Judge Alex mentioned that she was a bit confused by it. I would think that’s high on the list of the things you would want to avoid – confusing the judges.
Sandy seems to have the advantage going into the final judging. Let’s see what happens. Sandy pulls it out and wins. The judges all tell Katie how bright her future is. She cries and is very disappointed. Sandy is grinning ear to ear. He’s thrilled with his first time ever winning anything.
I have to say that this did remind me a bit of another situation where a young female pastry whiz was up against an older, seemingly more experienced, guy. I wasn’t happy with the outcome in THAT case, but here I think Sandy showed his chops and deserved NOT to be CHOPPED.
One of the things I really like about this show is that, in the final judging, they take into account the chef’s menu AS A WHOLE. The contestant's fate doesn’t lie in a single ingredient, dish or technique. I like that there’s little extraneous stuff going on. It’s all about the cooking, it’s all about the actual dishes they produce. There’s no over the top host, judge OR contestant.
Food Network, THANK YOU for a well-done, entertaining, interesting show (finally), about which I have little bad to say.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Top Chef - Down Home On The Farm And The Wrong Chef Went Home
Is it really necessary to see Glad Press’n Seal in almost the first shot? It seems like they said, “Stefan, in this shot we want you to cover this dish with Press’n Seal. Make sure your hand is just so, so we get a perfect shot of the box.” It’s so obvious that it’s annoying.
Jeff is putting on a shirt and Leah is drying her hair, so one of the three must be going home. I vote for Stefan. Oh, he hasn’t done anything wrong yet. Okay, I’ll wait 58 minutes and then I’ll vote for him to go home.
Leah and Hosea are special friends.
Padma is in the kitchen with Hung Huynh, the winner of season 3. I didn’t watch that season, so I have no sense of what his deal is. He seems to be famous for being fast.
The Quickfire Challenge consists of, as Jeff puts it, dealing with “a bunch of garbage”. I never liked him as much as when he said that. There’s a whole gurney filled with canned food that they have to use.
Padma explains it as “creating a delicious dish without fresh ingredients”. That sounds nasty, as if they want them to use rotten ingredients, but, no, she means no FRESH, as in unprocessed, ingredients. This is another dumb challenge. Who cares if they can use condensed soup in a decent way? Let’s hope they never really would.
In honor of Hung being the fastest Top Chef “in history” (that’s a bit histrionic, isn’t it?), they only have 15 minutes. The clock starts and they race to choose the ingredients. Radhika says she NEVER uses canned ingredients, like “housewives” do. *Bleep* her, could she be more patronizing? Stefan is opening a can with the tip of a knife. I DO NOT approve of that. He entreats Hosea to give him some of his spam. He does.
The dishes do look decent.
Leah
Waffles with Strawberries & Sausage
Hung: “Crunchy.”
Stefan
Baked Bean & Spam Soup with Grilled Cheese & Spam Sandwich
Hung: “Was the soup well-seasoned or did you add something to it?”
Fabio
Mac & Cheese with Roasted Artichoke & Chili Pepper
Hung: “I like the heat.”
Radhika
Spicy Red Bean Dip with Grilled Bread
Just a “Thank You” from Padma.
Hosea
Sweet Pea Soup with Spam, Onion Rings, Pork Rinds & Hearts of Palm
Hung: “Pork rinds? I love pork rinds.”
Jeff
Deep Fried Baby Conch, Coconut Sauce & Pina Colada
Hung: “Is there fish sauce in there. You can’t hide that from me.”
Jamie
Bruschetta with Garbanzo Beans, Artichoke & Smoked Mussels
No reaction from Hung.
Ariane
Open-faced Turkey Spam, Sandwich with Gravy & Cranberry-Pineapple Chutney
That sounds really vile. Plus it was made on white bread. It looks like hospital food from 5 decades ago.
Padma:”There’s turkey spam?” I wondered that too, but SHE’S the one who gave them the challenge. Hung: “Interesting.“
Carla
Asian Salmon Cake with Fried Green Beans & Lemongrass-Ginger Mayo
That actually sounds good. Padma and Hung agree that the mayonnaise is pretty good.
Leah disappoints Hung. He also doesn’t like Radhika’s or Jamie’s dish. Hosea made one of his favorite dishes. Stefan and Jeff did too. Hung thought Jeff used his time wisely. The winner is Stefan. Ick. Hosea should never have shared his spam. Oh, that’s what Hosea just said. Padma thanks Hung.
The Elimination Challenge is Back to Basics. YAY! Maybe the Contessa will show up. Oh, sorry, wrong network. They pick knives with the choices of chicken, pig or lamb on them. Ariane is on a team with Hosea and Leah. She is uncomfortable being with “the love birds”.
The chefs have to create a seasonal meal (including dessert) around pork, lamb or chicken for 16 people. Jamie is unhappy that she’s on a team with Stefan.
The teams confer on their menus, back at the apartment. Stefan and Jamie fight about the menu, which makes it difficult for Carla “to create, in that friction”. Fabio’s accent seems to be getting stronger. Jamie and Carla want to change the menu. Stefan doesn’t want to. Jamie and Stefan start throwing around the word douchebag and she storms out. Hosea is worried about the lamb. Ariane thinks Hosea and Leah aren’t listening to her.
They think they’re being taken to the store, but arrive at Dan Barber’s restaurant, Blue Hill, at Stone Barns farm. He greets them along with 3 of the farmers, who will “shop” with the chefs. They go out into the field and Jeff picks green tomatoes. Team Lamb goes a visit with the sheep. The pigs get visited by Team Pig, where Fabio waxes lyrical about the value of life. Team Chicken is surrounded by lots of chickens. One of them attacks Jamie. Stefan says he likes being outnumbered by hens. He is such a putz.
They walk into the kitchen of the restaurant and the proteins are waiting for them. Radhika wanted to do a fig bread pudding, but because there are no figs, she’s not doing it. It doesn’t take a genius to think…why not make it without the figs?!!
Leah’s unhappy that she’s only doing the salad and dessert.
Fabio is unhappy that Radhika takes one hour to peel and grill a bunch of corn on the cob. Tom walks in and asks what everyone is doing. Tom asks Carla who her team leader is. She says let’s make Stefan the leader.
Tom is happy that they’re on the farm. He thinks that Team Lamb should have kept the lamb on the bone. He thinks it’s too warm out for chicken soup from Team Chicken. This WAS supposed to be a seasonal menu. He thinks the Crème Brûlée is a bit simple from the Pork Team, even as he reminds us someone was sent home for a bad crème brûlée.
Hosea is worried that Ariane is taking too long. To help her, Leah ties the lamb up quickly, but not well.
The guests arrive at picnic table outside. The chefs bring out the food. Jamie is worried their food is too simple.
Jamie, Stefan and Carla - Team Chicken
Chicken Cutlet with Mizuna, Corn, Onion & Tomato Salad
Lemon-Herb Roasted Chicken with Tomato Salad
Chicken Ravioli Soup
Nectarine & Strawberry Tartlet with Thyme, Cream & Lemon Zest
Padma: “I don’t really the point of the chicken team making the soup.” Tom: “Yeah, not on an 85 degree day.” A guest agrees that it’s too hot for soup, but says it was really, REALLY great. Toby, on the chicken cutlet: “The outside was quite crispy.” Dan likes it too. The head farmer, Shannon, thought the chicken was a bit dry.
Back in the kitchen Carla tries to tell Jamie everything was good.
Ariane, Hosea and Leah - Team Lamb
Roasted Duo of Lamb
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Summer Berry Trifle with Vanilla Cream
Dan: “The lamb is a mess.”
What did I say at the beginning? Leah is going home. I’ll bet my remote on it.
Tom: “Poor butchering.” Toby: “You’ve heard the expression Mutton dressed as lamb? This was lamb dressed as mutton.” Of course, if they hated it that much, I suppose it should be Ariane going home (even though I don't think she should), but it was Leah they showed drying her hair at the beginning, so I’m still going with her.
Padma on Team Lamb’s potatoes: “Lovely...” Tom likes the Swiss Chard. Other folks commented negatively on Team Lamb’s menu - they sliced it with the grain, so all the juices ran out and made it a bit dry. I think that was more a function of finishing the cooking just in time and not giving it time to rest.
Tom: “If you’re honoring the protein, this was no way to honor the lamb.”
Jeff, Fabio and Radhika - Team Pork
Sausage, Zucchini & Eggplant Ravioli with Pesto
Fried Green Tomato with Tomato Jam
Seared Pork Loin & Grilled Corn Salad with Bacon
Vanilla & Lavender-Scented Crème Brûlée
Pork Team’s ravioli is fine, says Padma, but you can only taste the pesto. Toby: ”The pesto is the big bad wolf, which has blown this pig’s house down.” Tom is unhappy that they also took the meat off the bone. They all like the fried green tomatoes.
They move on to dessert. Tom: “Carla makes a great crust.” He loves that she used thyme in the dessert. Dan: “Intelligently done.” Everyone seemed to like it.
Padma thought Team Pork’s crème brulée was too sweet. Toby says it tastes like someone emptied a Pimm’s on it. The other judges are polite and pretend to understand what he’s talking about. One of the head farmers liked the dessert.
Team Lamb's trifle doesn't go over so well. Dan: “Unappealing to look at.” Closeup on Leah. Bye bye, girl.
The chefs are back in their holding cell. Padma slinks out and wants to see Jamie, Stefan and Carla. Theirs were the winning dishes. Padma says Carla’s dessert was their favorite. Dan announces the winner – All Of Them. They hug. Carla – “Whoo-Hoo!” No prize again? Both of the other teams get sent in.
Padma says both teams did poorly. The Pig Team: Toby and Tom were unhappy that the fat was removed from the porker. Jeff said he did it. Dan doesn’t agree with that decision. They criticize Fabio’s pesto. There was too much of it and it was too strong.
Tom criticizes Radhika and how slow she was.
Ariane defends the way they cooked the lamb and she gets criticized by the judges. The whole team gets skewered for the lamb in general and for Ariane doing everything.
Padma says there are a number of chefs who should go home. “Bloodless and anemic” is how Toby describes the pork dish. He goes on to say when he’s faced with a beautiful piece of meat, he wants to have full blown unprotected sex with it, and here he didn’t even get to first base. Tom smirks. Ahem…is the food criticism in England, perhaps, slanted a bit differently than it is here?
Dan feels the errors were much worse with the lamb than the pork. The judges are also unhappy with Radhika’s laziness. Padma and Toby have it out a bit. She feels sorry for Ariane, because at least she went in there and butchered the lamb. Toby says he feels sorry for her too, because she can’t cook. Padma takes exception with that. Toby asks isn’t our “rubric” to COMPLETELY ignore what’s gone on before? Tom jumps in and says YES, absolutely.
Crikey, this is the mistake they made in sending Dale home, because one week he completely stank. The judges go on and on about how bad all the chefs were this week. Leah is going home, I’m sticking with that.
And WRONG AGAIN! Ariane goes home. She’s disappointed. She thinks Hosea and Leah were not good team players.
This was a huge mistake. The idea that they are judged ONLY for their last meal is ridiculous. Of course their overall competence should be in the mix. Ariane wasn’t afraid to jump in and get her hands dirty. The little misfits, Leah and Radhika, who hung back and let others do all the work and take the fall, are still there. Dumb. It seems clear from the preview that, next week, it will be Leah that goes home. It should have been this week.
Jeff is putting on a shirt and Leah is drying her hair, so one of the three must be going home. I vote for Stefan. Oh, he hasn’t done anything wrong yet. Okay, I’ll wait 58 minutes and then I’ll vote for him to go home.
Leah and Hosea are special friends.
Padma is in the kitchen with Hung Huynh, the winner of season 3. I didn’t watch that season, so I have no sense of what his deal is. He seems to be famous for being fast.
The Quickfire Challenge consists of, as Jeff puts it, dealing with “a bunch of garbage”. I never liked him as much as when he said that. There’s a whole gurney filled with canned food that they have to use.
Padma explains it as “creating a delicious dish without fresh ingredients”. That sounds nasty, as if they want them to use rotten ingredients, but, no, she means no FRESH, as in unprocessed, ingredients. This is another dumb challenge. Who cares if they can use condensed soup in a decent way? Let’s hope they never really would.
In honor of Hung being the fastest Top Chef “in history” (that’s a bit histrionic, isn’t it?), they only have 15 minutes. The clock starts and they race to choose the ingredients. Radhika says she NEVER uses canned ingredients, like “housewives” do. *Bleep* her, could she be more patronizing? Stefan is opening a can with the tip of a knife. I DO NOT approve of that. He entreats Hosea to give him some of his spam. He does.
The dishes do look decent.
Leah
Waffles with Strawberries & Sausage
Hung: “Crunchy.”
Stefan
Baked Bean & Spam Soup with Grilled Cheese & Spam Sandwich
Hung: “Was the soup well-seasoned or did you add something to it?”
Fabio
Mac & Cheese with Roasted Artichoke & Chili Pepper
Hung: “I like the heat.”
Radhika
Spicy Red Bean Dip with Grilled Bread
Just a “Thank You” from Padma.
Hosea
Sweet Pea Soup with Spam, Onion Rings, Pork Rinds & Hearts of Palm
Hung: “Pork rinds? I love pork rinds.”
Jeff
Deep Fried Baby Conch, Coconut Sauce & Pina Colada
Hung: “Is there fish sauce in there. You can’t hide that from me.”
Jamie
Bruschetta with Garbanzo Beans, Artichoke & Smoked Mussels
No reaction from Hung.
Ariane
Open-faced Turkey Spam, Sandwich with Gravy & Cranberry-Pineapple Chutney
That sounds really vile. Plus it was made on white bread. It looks like hospital food from 5 decades ago.
Padma:”There’s turkey spam?” I wondered that too, but SHE’S the one who gave them the challenge. Hung: “Interesting.“
Carla
Asian Salmon Cake with Fried Green Beans & Lemongrass-Ginger Mayo
That actually sounds good. Padma and Hung agree that the mayonnaise is pretty good.
Leah disappoints Hung. He also doesn’t like Radhika’s or Jamie’s dish. Hosea made one of his favorite dishes. Stefan and Jeff did too. Hung thought Jeff used his time wisely. The winner is Stefan. Ick. Hosea should never have shared his spam. Oh, that’s what Hosea just said. Padma thanks Hung.
The Elimination Challenge is Back to Basics. YAY! Maybe the Contessa will show up. Oh, sorry, wrong network. They pick knives with the choices of chicken, pig or lamb on them. Ariane is on a team with Hosea and Leah. She is uncomfortable being with “the love birds”.
The chefs have to create a seasonal meal (including dessert) around pork, lamb or chicken for 16 people. Jamie is unhappy that she’s on a team with Stefan.
The teams confer on their menus, back at the apartment. Stefan and Jamie fight about the menu, which makes it difficult for Carla “to create, in that friction”. Fabio’s accent seems to be getting stronger. Jamie and Carla want to change the menu. Stefan doesn’t want to. Jamie and Stefan start throwing around the word douchebag and she storms out. Hosea is worried about the lamb. Ariane thinks Hosea and Leah aren’t listening to her.
They think they’re being taken to the store, but arrive at Dan Barber’s restaurant, Blue Hill, at Stone Barns farm. He greets them along with 3 of the farmers, who will “shop” with the chefs. They go out into the field and Jeff picks green tomatoes. Team Lamb goes a visit with the sheep. The pigs get visited by Team Pig, where Fabio waxes lyrical about the value of life. Team Chicken is surrounded by lots of chickens. One of them attacks Jamie. Stefan says he likes being outnumbered by hens. He is such a putz.
They walk into the kitchen of the restaurant and the proteins are waiting for them. Radhika wanted to do a fig bread pudding, but because there are no figs, she’s not doing it. It doesn’t take a genius to think…why not make it without the figs?!!
Leah’s unhappy that she’s only doing the salad and dessert.
Fabio is unhappy that Radhika takes one hour to peel and grill a bunch of corn on the cob. Tom walks in and asks what everyone is doing. Tom asks Carla who her team leader is. She says let’s make Stefan the leader.
Tom is happy that they’re on the farm. He thinks that Team Lamb should have kept the lamb on the bone. He thinks it’s too warm out for chicken soup from Team Chicken. This WAS supposed to be a seasonal menu. He thinks the Crème Brûlée is a bit simple from the Pork Team, even as he reminds us someone was sent home for a bad crème brûlée.
Hosea is worried that Ariane is taking too long. To help her, Leah ties the lamb up quickly, but not well.
The guests arrive at picnic table outside. The chefs bring out the food. Jamie is worried their food is too simple.
Jamie, Stefan and Carla - Team Chicken
Chicken Cutlet with Mizuna, Corn, Onion & Tomato Salad
Lemon-Herb Roasted Chicken with Tomato Salad
Chicken Ravioli Soup
Nectarine & Strawberry Tartlet with Thyme, Cream & Lemon Zest
Padma: “I don’t really the point of the chicken team making the soup.” Tom: “Yeah, not on an 85 degree day.” A guest agrees that it’s too hot for soup, but says it was really, REALLY great. Toby, on the chicken cutlet: “The outside was quite crispy.” Dan likes it too. The head farmer, Shannon, thought the chicken was a bit dry.
Back in the kitchen Carla tries to tell Jamie everything was good.
Ariane, Hosea and Leah - Team Lamb
Roasted Duo of Lamb
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Summer Berry Trifle with Vanilla Cream
Dan: “The lamb is a mess.”
What did I say at the beginning? Leah is going home. I’ll bet my remote on it.
Tom: “Poor butchering.” Toby: “You’ve heard the expression Mutton dressed as lamb? This was lamb dressed as mutton.” Of course, if they hated it that much, I suppose it should be Ariane going home (even though I don't think she should), but it was Leah they showed drying her hair at the beginning, so I’m still going with her.
Padma on Team Lamb’s potatoes: “Lovely...” Tom likes the Swiss Chard. Other folks commented negatively on Team Lamb’s menu - they sliced it with the grain, so all the juices ran out and made it a bit dry. I think that was more a function of finishing the cooking just in time and not giving it time to rest.
Tom: “If you’re honoring the protein, this was no way to honor the lamb.”
Jeff, Fabio and Radhika - Team Pork
Sausage, Zucchini & Eggplant Ravioli with Pesto
Fried Green Tomato with Tomato Jam
Seared Pork Loin & Grilled Corn Salad with Bacon
Vanilla & Lavender-Scented Crème Brûlée
Pork Team’s ravioli is fine, says Padma, but you can only taste the pesto. Toby: ”The pesto is the big bad wolf, which has blown this pig’s house down.” Tom is unhappy that they also took the meat off the bone. They all like the fried green tomatoes.
They move on to dessert. Tom: “Carla makes a great crust.” He loves that she used thyme in the dessert. Dan: “Intelligently done.” Everyone seemed to like it.
Padma thought Team Pork’s crème brulée was too sweet. Toby says it tastes like someone emptied a Pimm’s on it. The other judges are polite and pretend to understand what he’s talking about. One of the head farmers liked the dessert.
Team Lamb's trifle doesn't go over so well. Dan: “Unappealing to look at.” Closeup on Leah. Bye bye, girl.
The chefs are back in their holding cell. Padma slinks out and wants to see Jamie, Stefan and Carla. Theirs were the winning dishes. Padma says Carla’s dessert was their favorite. Dan announces the winner – All Of Them. They hug. Carla – “Whoo-Hoo!” No prize again? Both of the other teams get sent in.
Padma says both teams did poorly. The Pig Team: Toby and Tom were unhappy that the fat was removed from the porker. Jeff said he did it. Dan doesn’t agree with that decision. They criticize Fabio’s pesto. There was too much of it and it was too strong.
Tom criticizes Radhika and how slow she was.
Ariane defends the way they cooked the lamb and she gets criticized by the judges. The whole team gets skewered for the lamb in general and for Ariane doing everything.
Padma says there are a number of chefs who should go home. “Bloodless and anemic” is how Toby describes the pork dish. He goes on to say when he’s faced with a beautiful piece of meat, he wants to have full blown unprotected sex with it, and here he didn’t even get to first base. Tom smirks. Ahem…is the food criticism in England, perhaps, slanted a bit differently than it is here?
Dan feels the errors were much worse with the lamb than the pork. The judges are also unhappy with Radhika’s laziness. Padma and Toby have it out a bit. She feels sorry for Ariane, because at least she went in there and butchered the lamb. Toby says he feels sorry for her too, because she can’t cook. Padma takes exception with that. Toby asks isn’t our “rubric” to COMPLETELY ignore what’s gone on before? Tom jumps in and says YES, absolutely.
Crikey, this is the mistake they made in sending Dale home, because one week he completely stank. The judges go on and on about how bad all the chefs were this week. Leah is going home, I’m sticking with that.
And WRONG AGAIN! Ariane goes home. She’s disappointed. She thinks Hosea and Leah were not good team players.
This was a huge mistake. The idea that they are judged ONLY for their last meal is ridiculous. Of course their overall competence should be in the mix. Ariane wasn’t afraid to jump in and get her hands dirty. The little misfits, Leah and Radhika, who hung back and let others do all the work and take the fall, are still there. Dumb. It seems clear from the preview that, next week, it will be Leah that goes home. It should have been this week.
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