Quick Fire Challenge:
Tom joined Padma in the quick fire challenge. The chefs did a knife pull to be separated into 2 teams: Fork and Spoon.

Bride:Antonia, Stephanie, Richard, Andrew
Groom:Dale, Nikki, Spike, Lisa

So for the quick fire is the relay race for the Mise en Place Tray. They need to 1)peel and supreme 5 oranges, 2)clean and turn 2 artichokes, 3)clean and 2 fillets off a monk fish, 4) make 1 quart of mayonnaise. They get a couple of minutes to decide who does what. Right off the bat Stephanie and her team know what they are doing. The other team was having problems figuring out who would do what and Dale is disgusted that the others hadn’t made mayo by hand since culinary school.

Lisa and Antonia go head to head on the oranges. Lisa smoked her. Then we move onto to Spike vs Andrew. Spike was flying and he evened up the race. Then is was Richard vs Dale on the fish. I have to say that I thought they would be evenly matched. They ended pretty much dead even. So then we have Stephanie and Nikki head to head on the mayo. Nikki seems to be faltering whereas Stephanie does this all the time. So Stephanie rocked it out and won! Dale just flips out a bit and punched a locker.

Challenge:

So instead of Restaurant Wars they are doing Wedding Wars. So each team will cater to half the guests (125 guest each) and get $5,000 to do it with. The bride and groom (Corey and JP) run their own restaurant and wedding venue. The team that won the challenge got to choose bride or groom’s side. The chefs will be working through the night.

Groom’s side:
Appetizer’s: Various Flat Breads, Brushetta
Buffet: Tortellini, Antipasti, Filet Mignon, Chilean Sea Bass, Orecchiette with Ragu
Groom’s Cake: Hazelnut Chocolate

The groom is Italian and that is the food choice. Nikki seemed to take control because Spike and Lisa differed to her but she wouldn’t take responsibility. Dale on the other hand was not willing to give over control. So Nikki won’t lead. Everyone believed that Dale was doing to much and not really doing it well.

Bride:
Appetizers: Pizza, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Short Ribs and Blue Cheese wrapped in Phyllo
Buffet: Crispy Chicken, Brisket, Filet Mignon, Creamed Spinach, Potato Gratin
Wedding Cake: Chocolate and Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

The bride is Southern. So mid-west meets the south. Richard instigated the choosing the Bride. Richard definitely has more of a team mentality (ie helping on others dishes) but Andrew didn’t appreciate it. Andrew seems to wants to have his own separate dish.

Judgment:

Gale Gand was the guest judge. I love her and everything I have seen her on. I use her recipes.

So during service everything started shaking out. The winner seemed obvious. The groom’s side had thick and dry brushetta. Whereas on the bride side the judges disliked (ok, I think hated) the chicken dish and the creamed spinach.

Not surprisingly, the bride’s team won. Richard won individually but he deferred to Stephanie since she did the wedding cake. The prize was $2,000 gift certificate to Crate and Barrel so they are going to split it.

When the groom’s team was brought out Dale and Spike got into it. Full out yelling in front of the judges. Dale got slammed for doing to much and not pulling the menu in. Nikki got kicked out for not stepping up as a leader and for bad pasta.

Labels: Top Chef, tv

Quick Fire Challenge:
The guest judge is Art Smith(Oprah’s Chef). The quick fire is a 15minute entree but they could use the Uncle Ben’s products, including the microwavable rices. I am already predicting that Mark isn’t long for this competition. Dale, Richard and Antonia were the top 3 with Antonia winning.

Elimination Challenge:
Inspired by the group call Common Threads, they are to devise a meal for family of 4 that is simple to prepare at home for $10. The key term is so simple a child can do it. They are shopping at Whole Foods and that would be hard. The only way I keep my per meal cost down is by using an ingredient in many dishes. Therefore you use it all.

So after all the whining and moaning at the grocery store all the chefs finally bought all their stuff. So each chef got a kid to assist them. I saw Antonia’s assistant reach out to shake her hand and she gave him 5. Then she tells him that he will “get” to cut all the veggies with the big knife.

Mark says he is concerned because he is doing a curry and his assistant has never had one. Duh! We are in America and most people here don’t eat curries all the time. In the “British Empire” it is considered a comfort food but not here. He needs to either trust the food or change it.

Menus:
Lisa- Roast Chicken with Edamame and Black Beans, Peanut Butter and Apple French Toast
Spike- Pasta Puttenesca, Carrot Soup and Roasted Apples
Richard- Roast Chicken, Apple, Avocado, Beet Salad and Black Beans
Dale- Turkey Bratwurst with Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage and Apples
Andrew- Chicken Pailliard with a Shaved Fennel Salad
Antonia- Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry with Wheat Noodles
Mark- Vegetable Curry, Cinnamon Rice and Cucumber Salad
Stephanie- Couscous with Veggies, Chicken in a Peanut Sauce, with a Apple Yogurt Granola Dessert
Nikki- Roasted Chicken with Mixed Vegetables with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Judging:

Mark got dinged for not enough protein. Dale got dinged for to strong of flavors. They were saying that Antonia’s food was real life for her and they loved it. Stephanie’s couscous wasn’t well cooked and the judges thought that tomato and peanut wasn’t a good combo.

Andrew, Nikki and Antonia were up in front of the judges first. Nikki’s one pot was a big hit. The judges loved the combo of orange and fennel salad in Andrews. They just loved Antonia’s and she won!

The judges then saw Lisa, Stephanie and Mark. Mark claimed the reason he was in the bottom was that Tom didn’t like him. Mark was slammed for just using sweet potato and cucumber, especially with out enough protein. Lisa’s edamame was bland and under cooked. Lisa’s beans were also under seasoned. I totally seconded Art Smith’s comment that couscous just isn’t that hard to cook. Stephanie’s dish was also just to complicated. In the end Mark was out.

Labels: Top Chef, tv

This last week has been nuts with real life so I am just going to give a very brief summary. Go over to Bravo to get more blood and guts.

The Quick Fire was dessert and they were told if they didn’t have a recipe to wing it! How can you not throw together a dessert? I understand baking being a challenge because it is science but not having a dessert? What is wrong with people? You are coming to a cooking competition and dessert has been a problem for people every season so memorize a recipe. Padma did say dessert not pastry. Richard won the quickfire with the banana scallop.

They tell everyone that they are going to 2nd City for a show and it seems no one realizes that it is a trap. Did they not see the Miami night out last season? The 2nd Citiers started having people call out an emotion, color, and an ingredient. The Elimination Challenge was to cook a 5 course meal with each course to be based on an ingredient, color, and mood combo given by the audience. Then they “assume” they are cooking and serving in the Top Chef kitchen. You know what they say about Assuming;)? In the end Jen was sent home.

Later this week I hope to review the next episode in a little more detail!

Get ready for another exciting episode and some sarcasm!

So Spike is hearing that some think he should have been the one to go home. Maybe if he didn’t act like such a douche others wouldn’t want to send him home. To Lisa’s credit the whole interaction with Dale bothered her and she did try to make a passable peace. Dale even apologized for how he talked to her.

Quick Fire:

So our guest judge is Koren Grieveson. I have never heard of her. The theme is Simple Pleasures. They got to taste 3 out of 16 beers and choose 1 to make a dish to pair with it. They will have 30 minutes cooking. Dale put pretzels in the food processor and was surprised when they turned to dust. What did he expect? Jennifer got a hat tip because she was the last chef and her beignets weren’t greasy and were still light. The bottom was Nikki, Spike, and Dale. The top was Richard, Stephanie, and Jennifer. The winner was Jennifer.

Elimination:

The Challenge was to go to the Bears game and cook at the tailgate party. The fans will determine the top and bottom 3. Then the judges will decide the winner and loser. They had 30 minutes to shop and $350. Spike claims wings first. Mark was mad others used shrimp because then how could he “throw some shrimp on the Barbie”? Ryan proclaims himself a metro-sexual and not a fan of sports.

They had 2 hours to prep and get packed up. It was funny to see Lisa beating the skirt steak with a rolling pin. That is one way to get out aggression. The refrigerators were so full that they were taping them to make sure the frigs didn’t open.

Once prep was over they all went back and apartments and relaxed. Then Spike and Mark are in the bath together (clothed). Just a little freaky!

Spike: Fire Spiced Wings, Jicama and Pinapple Slaw with Lime Dressing
Dale: Baby Back Ribs in Tandori Marinade and Potato Salad with Raisins and Mango.
Richard: Pate Melt Burger
Nikki: Sausage and Pepper Heroes, Grilled Shrimp with Hot Sauce, Spiced Cider
Mark: Chicken and Scallion Skewers with Soy and Onion Glaze, New Zealand Corn Chowder
Ryan: Bread Salad, Marinated Chicken Thighs, Poached Pears, Chili Spiked Cocoa
Stephanie: Pork Tenderloin with Pear, Potato and Bacon Salad with Rosemary Vinaigrette
Jennifer: Chicken Marinated with Harissa and a Quinoa Tabouli
Antonia: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich, Pickled onion with Pineapple and Banana
Andrew: Beer and Mustard Honey Glazed Shrimp with Parsnip/Potato Whip, Apple Chutney and Bacon
Lisa: Skirt Steak and Corn Cakes with Salsa Verde

Then we get to Soldier Field. They had an hour to work. Everyone was given the choice between a gas and charcoal BBQ’s. Mark was the only one that chose charcoal. The guest judge in the elimination was local chef Paul Kahan and we had Gail this time instead of Ted. We had 3 huge Bears legend. Spike claims to be a Bears fan and then asked when the last time they won the Super Bowl. Bad question. That will get the crowd against him. Ryan was really working the crowd and that could definitely help him. He actually had the fans helping him. Andrew was wearing a helmet because “this is his game”. Then his ears got stuck in the helmet. Mark had big problems with the grill and he was very messy. Nikki was just about out of food before the judges tasted. So the judges didn’t get Peppers, Onions, and Sauce. Nikki was just hoping that the fans votes would just take her into the middle.

Judgment:

First up were Antonia, Dale and Stephanie. They were the fan favorites! The judges loved all of the top 3 and they chose Dale the winner. He got a Bears Top Chef jersey and the grill he used! The bottom 3 were Mark, Nikki and Ryan. I guess Ryan’s playing with the fans didn’t out weigh bad food. The judges were holding Nikki very accountable for not making her own sausage and for running out of onions, peppers and sauce. They also thought that having shrimp on the side was odd. They thought that poached pears with creme freshe and huckleberry sauce was crazy for tailgating. Gail also didn’t like the bread salad at all. Ryan went on about bringing California flair but Tom reminded him that wasn’t what the challenge wasn’t about. They felt Mark’s soup was ok but gritty texture. They also felt his area and presentation was a mess. In the end Ryan was bounced. I think it is because he specifically didn’t want to make what would work. He was above it.

Technorati Tags: Bravo, Top Chef

So here we all are again. The kids are napping and Top Chef is purring on the Tivo. Let’s go!

Quick Fire Challenge:

So into the Quickfire Challenge. Ming Tsai is our guest judge. I used to watch him on East Meets West and he, like us all, is getting older.

So we are doing a palette challenge. They did pairs in which the chefs had to pick out the higher quality item. They did maple syrup, bacon, crab, chocolate, butter, cheddar, soy, sake, caviar, pork, and olive oil. There were more (15) but those were the ones I saw. The lowest was Stephanie with 6. Ryan and Jen tied for second with 11. The winner was Antonia with 12 out of 15.

Elimination Challenge:

This week’s elimination challenge was the Meals on Wheels Chicago Celebrity Chef Ball. They were responsible for the first course. The theme was the 4 elements fire, water, earth and air. They were then split into 4 teams.

Team Water: Richard, Mark, Dish: Suvee Poached Wild Salmon with Watercress Salad and Parsnip Vanilla Puree, Tapioca Faux Caviar

Team Fire: Dale, Stephanie, Lisa Dish: Prawns and Bacon with Chili Salad

Team Earth: Antonia, Zoi, Spike Dish: Carpachio with Wild mushrooms, Sun Chokes Aoili

Team Air: Ryan, Jen, Nikki Dish: Duck Breast with Herb Salad and a Shot of Proseco

Team Fire was having issues in the planning stage because they couldn’t agree on the deviled eggs they are apparently going to do. Then they get to the supermarket and change their mind. Then change their mind again.

All the teams were cooking at a new facility. Team Water set themselves apart from everyone else. Lisa seems very negative towards life and others. Tom didn’t seem impressed with Water’s plan at all with the Suvee. Tom said that Team Water seemed cocky, Air didn’t seem to have a clear idea of the dish, Fire may have gone to spicy for 1st course. Tom didn’t say anything about Earth so do I just assume that they win?

As we are in the last 15 minutes Team Water hasn’t started plating. Then there was a mention of scales on their fish. They decided to check them as they put the fish on the plate. Then Spike on Earth’s team thinks that Zoi’s seasoning is to light on the mushrooms. Richard said that there are compromises in cooking for all these people and implied that scales was one of the compromises. I don’t think so. It isn’t like that is done in the rushed end.

So onto Judges comments during the eating. Ming Tsai got some of Water’s scales and Tom said salmon was one of the things that aren’t good suveed. Then onto Fire’s food. Padma said the shrimp was good and everyone else said it was hot and good. Then Team Air’s was up next. Gail said that they didn’t render the skin. Tom isn’t a fan of the drink with the dish. Then Team Earth was up. Gail said Rosemary was bad and others said it was bland. One of the diners said if they were a judge that someone from the Earth team would be going home. It seems all the judges agreed that the Fire team’s dish was good, that the salmon had no texture, the Air dish Tom didn’t get. Gail and Tom seemed to dislike the Earth dish the most.

Judging Panel:

The Fire Team won right off with out any bad comments. The one winner out of the team won a trip. Lisa won with her interesting Bacon technique with the syrup and miso. Dale is bitter. Teams sent back were Earth and Water. When Team Water was asked who cleaned the fish Richard asked in what way. What was Richard really asking? I think he was deflecting. Ming pointed out to Antonia that she was wrong about the idea of Butternut Squash soup being bad. The judges said that the carpachio was bland except the Rosemary in the mushrooms that didn’t go with the beef. Tom really didn’t like that the Earth team allowed themselves to be driven by the person with immunity. Zoi was sent home for her mushrooms.

Then the arguing broke out. Spike said that it was Antonia’s fault. Then they went back and forth over whether Antonia had said she would do soup if that was what they wanted (which she did). Then Jen makes a comment about sending Zoi home. Then Dale made a comment and Lisa basically said shut up and Dale yelled at her.

So personalities are in it now. Let’s see what happens next! See you all next week.

Technorati Tags: Bravo, Top Chef

So I am sitting here with a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream watching Top Chef. So prepare for my sarcasm as it comes;).

So we are starting with our quick fire with guest judge Daniel Boulud. The challenge is to create a vegetable plate with 3 techniques to impress. I am with Lisa in the get done mentality over fancy techniques. (I would love to learn them though!)Ok, I thought it was going to just be knife skills. But some of them were doing quinels (I may have spelled it wrong;) and supremes, I can do all that. I guess I am better than I thought;).

Spike is talking about doing scallion curls with a tool to cut it for him and then dunk them in water. I have to say I saw that on crudite plates as a child. Then to use a tool to cut it?!?!? But dude what did Spike do to that mushroom? He called it a tournee and looked cool. Is that just the cool cutting or is there flavor in it?

The winner of the quick fire was Dale with an Asian inspired plate. It seemed really interesting and there were definitely knife skills there.

The Elimination Challenge is to create a dinner where each course is inspired by your favorite movie. It is a 6 course meal and they will cooking in pairs. As a reward for winning, Dale got to pick who to cook with and he joined with Richard and Andrew for the first course.

So the team of Richard, Andrew and Dale are 1st course and are going with a Willie Wonka theme. (Smoked Salmon with faux caviar and wasabi white chocolate sauce)

Spike and Manuel are going with Good Morning Vietnam for 2nd course. (Summer Roll with Chili Rubbed Chilean Sea Bass and Pickled Swiss Chard)

Jen and Nikki are 3rd course with Il Postino. (Tortellini with Cavolo Nero, Ricotta, Pecorino, Squash and Peppercorn)

Ryan and Mark have 4th course and are going with A Christmas Story. Ryan doesn’t know the difference between New England and New Zealand. This doesn’t not speak well of his intelligence. (Quail Breast with Carrots Puree, Cranberry Chutney and Quail Spring Roll)

Antonia and Zoi have 5th course with Talk to Her. (Rack of Lamb with Cauliflower Saffron Puree and Romesco)

Lisa and Stephanie have the 6th course with Top Secret.(New York Strip Steak and Braised Short Rib and Apple Potstickers with Carmel Sauce)

Andrew wanting to go out to the guests as an UmpaLumpa is kind of freaking.

Lisa and Stephanie’s steak looks so good!

Richard is using his electric smoker again but this time it quits working. It appears they are trying to jerry rig something but they end up having to abandon it.

Padma called course 2 dead on. They wanted to do Vietnamese cooking and then went trolling for a movie. What was up with the little odd piece of chard on the side.

I thought when Mark and Ryan was talking about the scene from the Christmas Story where they went and ate duck. I was shocked we didn’t hear anyone ask where the duck was.

The 5th course seemed to go off kilter. The girls talked about vibrancy but the plate was boring looking.

There seemed to be a lot of Asian influence in the steak dish and I don’t remember that much in Top Secret. But one of the guests hit my pet issue on the head. She said that none of the components were something she could make at home and that scored well for her.

Richard and his Willie Wonka team won the challenge!

Talk to Her and Good Morning Vietnam was in the bottom. It was real clear right away that someone from Good Morning Vietnam was going to eat it. The question is, the leader that led into a ditch or the fool who followed? The follower, Manuel, got sent home.

Technorati Tags: Bravo, Top Chef

I finished the 3rd episode this season and am the only person a little disappointed with this group? So if you haven’t guessed, I have a lot of grousing to do. First off, I am so sick of Andrew and his smack talk. Can he please be the next one to go?

This week’s quick fire challenge was to make fine dining tacos. Not many of them seemed to really branch out in order to make tacos into fine dining. But Richard seemed to impress Rick Bayless (this week’s guest judge) with a jicama shelled taco. Richard seemed to deserve to win because he seemed to pair traditional flavors with a cool twist.

The chefs got to split themselves into teams for this week’s challenge and I thought that in itself was very interesting. This week’s elimination challenge was to cook for a block party and to get the food from the neighborhood’s own pantries. So the chefs go door to door to get food and some of them thought that the people who be wary about letting in strangers. This was a huge block party and there was TV vans and cameras on the block. I have a feeling that all the neighbors were warned prepared to have their doors knocked on. Then the red team went to a house with a woman with a large well stocked pantry and seemed shocked. Maybe this just strikes close to home but come on, your a chef. You have a well stocked kitchen, don’t you?

Nikki is really get on my nerves also. She wasn’t sure about how she could melt down Velveeta in a sauce and it not dry out. Is she really a chef? Then, for a 2nd week in a row, she is trying to camouflage another bad dish and fails. Luckily for her she was on the (narrowly) winning team. Richard, who had immunity, was called on the carpet for making a dish that wasn’t paella and then calling paella. I think that the only reason the blue team won was that fruit crumble with the sweet wonton that Stephanie came up with. Let me just interject here, a sweet wonton was so impressive? I have been making those and variations upon them for 2 years, yet I digress.

I found the pompous nature of the red team galling. I understand thinking that you were better than the other team but they couldn’t come up with one single reason that they were in the room as the losing team. They already knew that their corn dogs were soggy even if they didn’t realize that their Waldorf salad wasn’t crisp and that their pasta salad left something to be desired. I was applauding (on the inside, I had napping kids) when Tom told them that if they didn’t taste anything wrong with their food that they all had bad pallets. Then Andrew (I believe) said that if he was kicked out that security was going to have to take him out and that this was his house. I was blown away that someone did say something to him much less that they didn’t kick him out.

But, alas our corn dog maker, Erik, got kick to the curb and didn’t seem surprised at all.

Technorati Tags: Bravo, Top Chef

I will date the episodes based on when they are first shown (I Tivo is and watch it when ever I want;). I am doing this in the “as it comes to me” format so forgive lack of flow.

So the contestants had 30 minutes at the farmers market in Chicago. Was anyone else surprised at how rude Mark was at the market? Maybe they all were but the show showed him. So it didn’t surprise me went he left his bag behind and no one called out to him or caught up with him. As someone who shops with kids and everything, I have had people at markets make sure I have my stuff. It would shock me to see a vendor with it on his wrist and not call out to me but, when you don’t treat the vendor with respect?? I was also shocked that Whylie gave Mark credit for working around a forgotten item. But I saw Mark as complaining so that food must have been really go to win the Quick Fire.

(23 minutes in)Team Bear worrying about decor at the store? Focus on the food!

(About 25 minute in)Erik not knowing about all the cool tech toys? Watch more Food Network, I know about immersion circulators and I am a home cook.

(26 minutes in) Valerie is really crowding the pan, I don’t think those blinis will turn out for immediate consumption much less transport. They already look to thick and a little over done for transport.

(27:27 minute in) Those are nasty looking Stuffed Mushrooms. While food can taste good even if they look bad, I won’t even try it if I don’t know the person cooking. That would be a taste risk I wouldn’t try;).

(28 minutes in)Wow, it looked like no one was ready for time to be up.

(34 minutes in) Antonia is totally separating herself from Valerie’s blinis but she was willing to jump in and help fix Stephanie’s dish with her own idea.

(36 minutes in) What was that penguin on the table made from?

(37:20 minute in) I want that Moroccan Lamb Meatball.

(38 minute in) I think Nikki offered that Mushroom just to put Dale up for that bad dish. It would have been easy enough to just tell the judges that they got pulled.

(50 minutes in) It is like no one thought that a “garnish” would effect the taste. It was pecorino cheese, in addition to the cheese flavor there is a lot of salt in that.

(50 minutes in) Is it obvious to anyone else that this batch is going to fight for themselves in judging?

Technorati Tags: Top Chef, Reality TV, Food TV