Friday night grateful list: Favorites

Tonight, everything is my favorite. You know, how you said it when you were little... That's my faaaay-vor-ite. (Well, that's how *I* said it, anyway...)

Beautiful sunsets are my favorite. We have had quite a few these past couple of weeks... makes me think spring really is just around the corner. Or is it already here?? Cross your fingers!

Afternoon jaunts to the "bigger town" with my husband are my favorite. It was just such a sweet and lovely afternoon, even though we were both so tired (see reference to coffee, below).

Fun, colorful, cheap finds at TJ Maxx are my favorite.

Anticipation of sleep is my favorite. It is almost as good as sleep itself... but not quite (yes, keep reading to find out why so tired).

Messages on Facebook from my SIL are my favorite.

This font is my favorite. Like, beyond favorite. Double favorite, maybe even triple.

parispro

Big mugs of coffee at 4:30 a.m. are my favorite--to enjoy while rousting the teen out of bed and going through the morning routine--much too early (band trip)!

Laughter is my favorite. Had the biggest laugh at work this week--I can't remember now what it was all about. It was a group laugh, pretty funny at the time. Would not mind doing more of THAT.

People who are big-hearted with their time and have kind words for others are my favorite.

Telling my loved ones: You are loved, and hearing it in return--those are both my favorite.

Colorful fabrics and yarns are my favorite.

quilt

Kristen is my favorite! Definitely. So glad she won Top Chef.



Friends who answer the phone with cheery voices are my favorite. Texts are also good. Friends who text me back are my favorite. (That implies I have friends who don't text me back, which isn't really true. Everyone texts back... eventually! And no, this is not a hint that anyone needs to text back sooner. Really. Except maybe Seth, who doesn't read this blog anyway, whew. That way I can talk about him all I want.)

Hugs from Seth are my favorite.

Cheese is my favorite. Almost any cheese, any form.... yum.

fondue

Having a productive day is sooooo my favorite. Checking things off my list? Also my favorite.

Good hair days are my favorite.

Words that inspire and remind me are my favorite.

humble

Lifting up in prayer dear ones who face pain, sickness, loss, fear, anxiety, pressures, grief, the cares of the world; that's my favorite.

I felt fully 10 years old, as I typed this. The repetitiveness speech patterns of being little and saying things over and over again, and driving your parents nuts, remember that? Ha. That WAS my favorite!

I am grateful for ALL my favorites on this Friday night.

What's your favorite?

Monday morning inspiration

here goes the weekend, here comes another week! A few of the things that passed my way this weekend, that brought me inspiration in starting a new week:

  "

I was rather captivated by the penguins, but it wasn't lost on me that he was trying to surf in ANTARCTICA. Crazy cold. Crazy guy.

I also saw this paragraph by Pema Chodron, from her book Awakening Loving-Kindness. It really resonated:

"Our life's work is to use what we have been given to wake up. If there were two people exactly the same--same body, same speech, same mind, same mother, same father, same house, same food, everything the same--one of them could use what he has to wake up and the other could use it to become more resentful, bitter, and sour. It doesn't matter what you are given, whether it's a physical deformity or enormous wealth or poverty, beauty or ugliness, mental stability or mental instability, life in the middle of a mad house or life in the middle of a peaceful silent desert. Whatever you're given can wake you up or put you to sleep. That's the challenge of now: what are you going to do with what you have already--your body, your speech, your mind?"

My last little piece of inspiration came in the form of my favorite chef being booted from Top Chef. I am no longer an AVID Top Chef watcher--meaning, live TV on the night that it airs. No, the only show that gets such adoration from me currently is Downton Abbey.

But, I did do a little catching up on Top Chef Seattle this weekend, and watched, slack-jawed, as one of the best chefs of the season got axed. In many ways, it was the "right" thing to do, but boy was it hard to watch. Reading Tom Colicchio's blog about it, later, was helpful, and echoed what I'd been thinking about Kristen's character and willingness to have the buck stop with her and her restaurant, both in concept and execution.

Here's my short version (in case you're not a watcher): Kristen (on the left in the somewhat editorialized photo above) had an overly ambition restaurant concept. She had three team members to assist her, and she assigned them dishes. Josie (who should have gone home, in my humble opinion) didn't make her dish (bouillabaisse) on the day she should have (giving it time to deepen in flavor and make any necessary adjustments before service), didn't make it the way she should have and didn't taste it until it was going out. Lucky for her, the sauce was apparently very good, there just wasn't enough of it on the plate. (There were, however, issues with her seafood--some being undercooked, other pieces overcooked, so I was hopeful *that* would do her in). Kristen plated the judges' servings, Josie didn't speak up and say "More sauce!" So, Kristen goes home: her restaurant, her concept, dish goes wrong, it's on her. (If you'd like a longer, more  strident recap, here's one I enjoyed from the LA Times.)

And where exactly was I was inspired? Well, in a setting where throwing other contestants "under the bus" is de rigueur, Kristen’s ownership and refusal spell out in detail the goings-on in the kitchen (Josie is a slacker with a bad attitude) when she so easily could have showed a lot of character. And according to Tom: "It shows, further, that she truly understands what it means to run a restaurant kitchen and be responsible for every plate that leaves it." She didn't whine, didn't pout, didn't cry, but left with her head held high. I can't help but think we'll be seeing her again.

What inspired you this weekend to get out there and have a great week? I'd love to hear it.

Top Chef Season 7: Episode 2

eek two and already I'm late with my little Top Chef commentary. Oh dear. But my excuse this week is that I completely forgot it was on! I'm not sure that's a valid excuse, but I was also a bit distracted by getting a couple of wisdom teeth janked Thursday morning. Now THAT's an excuse.

So this week started out with a fun quickfire, pretty standard Top Chef stuff except for one little twist... chefs get to cook together in teams of two--really together: the cheftestants wore an apron that tied them together and they each had to use one hand to contribute to the effort! Yikes.

The visiting judge for this episode was Sam Kass, Assistant White House Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator. He works with Michelle Obama on programs to utilize local and organic foods in the White House and to spread the word nationwide. I liked his tidbit of advice prior to the quickfire: "Leave your egos at the door and forget about taking credit." I think that fell on mostly deaf ears...

In honor of being in D.C., they made a bi-partisandwich. Ha. (I have a feeling we'll get lots of those kinds of political-angle dishes and challenges...)
Teams:
Arnold + Kelly: Curry-rubbed chicken, honey and sambal, cucumber, mint, dill and cilantro. This one sounds delicious to me.

Kenny + Ed: Chile-rubbed tuna, cucumber-mango slaw on multigrain. They liked the flavor on this one.

Angelo + Tracy: Fish sandwich (flounder, spicy mayo, pickled red onions). Good flavor, say the judges.

Tiffany + Lynne: Flatbread saltimbocca with goat cheese, artichokes, peppers and white asparagus--was deemed pretty messy to eat.

Andrea + Kevin: "Philly Cuban" (pork, pickle, mustard, gruyere). The gruyere sounds good to me!

Amanda + Tamesha: Proscuitto, swiss, dijon and pepper salsa.

Alex + Tim: "Croque Madame" interpretation: lamb, mornay sauce and egg.

Jacqueline + Stephen: Chicken with avocado and onion. Judges thought this one was boring, no real flavor.

Sam Kass judged the sandwiches and put two teams at the bottom of the spectrum: Stephen + Jacqueline, Lynne +  Tiffany. He also named the top two: Tracy + Angelo, Kenny + Ed: Tracy and Angelo take it with their fresh flavor and spice. (Angelo is on a roll... Everyone is feeling it.)

Elimination challenge: based off Let's Move, Michelle Obama's initiative to increase childhood health and nutrition. So the challenge was to cook a healthy lunch on a budget... the average public school budget: $2.68 per child; $134 for 50 kids - $4 (labor and supplies) = $130 for each team. The meal needed to consist of a main course, side, salad, dessert.

It was kind of humorous that they were SO far away from Whole Foods for this shopping expedition. And even at the no-name food wholesaler, they had a challenge getting through the line without needing to shave major $$ off the total. Cooking on a budget... kind of gave them a new perspective on what schools have to work with, I'm sure!

Then back to the kitchen they go: already some personality tweaks going around between cheftestants. You'd think these people had been cooking together in really tight spaces for weeks on end rather than this being the second challenge. It will be interesting to see how it plays out in the coming weeks...

Teams of four for the elimination challenge based off duos above:
1. Kenny, Ed, Angelo and Tracy: Chicken burger, sweet potato puree, apple bread pudding and celery and peanut butter

2. Jacqueline, Stephen, Amanda, Tamesha: Braised chicken thigh, sweet onion rice, green bean and tomato salad, banana pudding with strawberries

3. Andrea, Kevin, Alex, Tim: Picnic themed with coleslaw, BBQ chicken, mac and cheese, melon

4. Tiffany, Lynne, Kelly, Arnold: Black bean cake, pork carnitas, corn salad and carmelized sweet potatoes with sherbet

They turned things upside down by bringing in the losing teams first: teams 1 and 2. That left the other teams in the stew room, really confused! They had been feeling so confident until that moment... And for the two losing teams, it got rather interesting at the judges table. They started taking shots back and forth at each other: everyone was all of a sudden a nutrition expert and able to tell the OTHER team how they should have built a better menu and which dishes shouldn't have made it to the kids. The judges just sat back and let them have at each other for a little bit, then sent them back to stew before naming the loser.

Then they sent out the winning team: Kelly/Arnold/Tiffany/Lynne. The judges were impressed with the variety of vegetables, color, texture and total nutrition. Kelly was the overall winner with her made-from-scratch whole grain taco shells and pork carnitas.

They called in Ed, Kenny, Jacqueline and Amanda (two from team 1 and two from team 2) to declare who would pack their knives and go... and it ended up that Jacqueline's over-sweetened-yet-still-starchy banana pudding sent her home... Ironic, given her statement at the beginning of the show of wanting to win the quickfire so that she could just "breathe for a moment"--like they'd at this for months! Now she'll get more than a moment or two to catch her breath! I would have been really sad to see Kenny go so quickly, as he's such a bright spot and did so well last week. But he learned his lesson (hopefully) to speak up about the menu planning if he sees issues, and ESPECIALLY to look out for himself if two other people on the team have immunity. Oh yeah, he'll be watching his back around Angelo even more now!

For a fun and really comprehensive blog about Top Chef (other than the Bravo site), go to Blogging Top Chef. Lots of info about past cheftestants too!

Summertime means Top Chef! (Even if it doesn't feel like summer...)

o a couple of years ago (back in those early, giddy-with-blogging days) I blogged about Top Chef every week. Then last year, didn't. I am on the fence about how committed I could be to it this year, but I'm going to start off as if that's the plan and see how it goes...

(I'm also thinking that part of my reticence to commit is our general "meh" reaction to all things "reality TV" lately--Seth stated a lack of interest in watching So You Think You Can Dance this season and at first I thought he was joshin' me... HIM, not want to watch the b-boys and hip-hop and his favorite choreographers? We sat down together to watch the first night of real competition, just to see, and by the third dance, we were both a little bored. I know. That sounds downright scandalous. But it just seemed like more of the same old same old. Now, we didn't actually delete it from our dvr, so it's possible that on some really pathetically bored day later this summer we could get back into it, but I'm thinking the prospects are looking a wee bit grim...)

But back to Top Chef... I didn't approach seeing it on my dvr line up with great anticipation. More like, we'll see. And I was immediately swept into the season, happily. Partly, I think I was just so excited to see that Eric Ripert is now at the judges table each week. I got giddy and reached for my lap top. Silly girl. What can I say? The guy is amazing. AND seems like a decent person. In chefdom, as in life? So rare. And I was glad to see Tom and Gail back too, of course. But Eric! That's something.

After the introductions, before heading into the quickfire, I had a couple of early favorites: Arnold (the dancing in his audition video, not really a good way to judge cooking but he seems like he has a great  personality), Jacqueline (I know, I'm a sucker for the self-taught caterer, what can I say?), and Lynn (the CIA instructor). And I had an immediate "must go home NOW" reaction to John, the dredlocked one. Hmmm. Why do they have to bring the nutty ones (and I'm not judging just based on looks here, really... there was a vibe, I swear)? I get the arrogant and drama-filled, but bringing the crazy-eyed just seems kinda mean.

Speaking of mean, I need to get this out of the way: Cleavage much, Padma? I get that if you haven't ever had the "visible girls" thing working for you in the past and postpartum it's like a gift has been dropped in your lap (literally) you just might want to show it off. But it couldn't pass without a comment, that's all I'm saying. Maybe I'll have a special section this year called "Cleavage Watch" each week... That'll get the blog readership up, don't you think?

On to the quickfire: They did that really great mise en place challenge where you really have to bring tha skillz:
1. Peel 10 potatoes. Top 12 chefs to do this move on.
2. Brunoise (1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 inch dice. EVEN dice.) 10 cups of onions. Top 8 chefs move on.
3. Break down 4 whole chickens. Top 4 chefs move on.

One guy won ALL of those challenges: Kenny. He was fast. Amazingly fast. Like no one else was even close. I loved it. His nearest competitor, Angelo, did not. This is going to be an interesting competition between the two of them. After the quickfire, it almost seemed like it was just the two of them competing... but it's early. Sometimes those early hotshots can flame out and get sent packing... and sometimes they last the whole way.

Next, the top 4 compete to make a dish using their chicken, onion and potatoes from the mise en place.
Angelo: roasted wing and thigh with curry potato noodles
Kevin: wings with hot and sour broth
Tim: potato galette
Kenny: duo of chicken

Kevin and Tim were deemed too salty and too creamy respectively, and Angelo came over Kenny. Normally I'm not really put off by confident, even overly confident, contestants, but there's something about Angelo I'm not so into. We'll see. He might grow on me, but right now I'd much rather see Kenny whup 'em.

Moving on to the elimination challenge: Angelo and Kenny were captains; they chose teams of the group and each chef competed in groups of four/five. They served a regional dish to a crowd of 300, cocktail-room style, something that reflects who they are as a chef, where they come from. There were lots of great looking/sounding dishes, but it all went a little too quick for me to get notes down... suffice it to say that I was hungry by the end of watching the judges get to chow on 17 different appetizers!

And, my heart gets a little bunny thump just watching them get ready for the event on site. Takes me back to those catering days... minutes before guests arrive and it’s all rush and hustle before the calm that takes over during the actual event.

(Another side note: Gail’s going to do Top Chef: Just Desserts, according to Padma. Finally, a Top Chef I’d be interested in participating in! And judging!)

When all is said and done, here's how it shakes out:
Winners from each group: Kenny, Kevin, Angelo, Alex = Angelo wins.
Losers from each group: John, Jacqueline, Steven, Tim = John goes home. Thank goodness.

As always, there were cheftestants who got next to zero camera time, and those who were immediate front runners in terms of standing out for their food and/or personality. It will be intriguing to see how that all shakes out in the coming weeks...

And now that the first episode is over, my top picks are Kenny, still Lynne (I think she's got some potential), Arnold (hopeful...), and maybe Ed. I also like Kelly and Andrea.

Onward to the competition! 

Top Chef Masters, Round 2 (and a roundabout-very-late restaurant review)

o the cast of the upcoming season of Top Chef Masters has been revealed, and there are some fun and exciting chefs to watch. I know I wasn't a big fan last season--it was all too respectful and professional, I believe I said. Alas, I can't help but be excited to give the show another shot; I'm a sucker like that. Good food, good chefs... maybe a couple hotheads in the bunch, I'm sure!

The new season starts April 7 on Bravo! Plenty of time for the excitement to build between now and then...

Competing chefs for this season, and their restaurant (or, at least, their flagship):
Jody Adams -- Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.
Govind Armstrong -- 8 oz. Burger Bar, Los Angeles
Graham Elliot Bowles -- Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago
Jimmy Bradley -- The Red Cat, New York, N.Y.
David Burke -- David Burke Townhouse, New York, N.Y.
Wylie Dufresne -- wd~50, New York, N.Y.
Susan Feniger - Street, Los Angeles
Debbie Gold -- The American Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo.
Carmen Gonzalez -- Chef Consultant, New York, N.Y.
Maria Hines - Tilth, Seattle
Susur Lee -- Madeline's, Toronto
Ludo Lefebvre -- Ludo Bites, Los Angeles
Tony Mantuano -- Spiaggia, Chicago
Rick Moonen -- Rick Moonen's RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
Mark Peel -- Campanile, Los Angeles
Monica Pope -- t'afia, Houston
Thierry Rautureau -- Rover's, Seattle
Marcus Samuelsson -- The Red Rooster, New York, N.Y. (This is odd. Marcus is usually listed as the chef of Aquavit... and The Red Rooster has no web site that I can find... mystery.)
Ana Sortun -- Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.
Rick Tramonto -- TRU, Chicago
Jerry Traunfeld -- Poppy, Seattle
Jonathan Waxman -- Barbuto, New York, N.Y.

Looking at all the different web sites for the restaurants just now was amazing--there is such talent out there, such diversity, it will make for a great season, I'm sure. They seem to be going with a broader chef base this time, fewer of the recognized "grand master" names like Chiarello and Puck and Bayless. There are a few bring-backs from last season--Ludo Lefebvre... Mark Peel... Wylie Dufresne--and I'm not sure the purpose of that. But I'm most excited to see how Marina Hines of Tilth of Seattle, does. I had the sublime pleasure of eating there late last summer with a good friend after getting together and trying on wedding dresses for her upcoming nuptials this summer. Well, she tried on dresses and I watched and gave thumbs up and down and inbetween...

Tilth fed us an amazing meal--one of those experiences where each bite is better than the one before, the portions are exactly the right size so you leave full but not stuffed and even have room for dessert. Truly a quintessential summer dining experience. One I am craving right about now when the freshest thing in the grocery store is... apples from cold storage? Can't really think of anything that is getting delivered right now that's not be trucked a gobzillion miles, or coming from cold storage...

But let's not dwell on that. Summer is coming again, eventually. And even though it's months later, here are a few pictures from the evening at Tilth. Forgive the iPhone shots, it's what I had on hand...

This amazing little appetizer had goat cheese on a cracker, with a sliced fresh fig on top. Wonderful.

 

Dear friend and bride-to-be Kate. 

  

Mid bite. A common look for me...

  

Ricotta gnocci. Light as a feather.

  

 Corn flan in corn soup. Amazing.

  

Another amazing soup, cucumber I believe...

 

Now it's really gotten dark in the restaurant; the candle has to come o-so-near. This is a dish of heavenly little squash--zucchinis and patty pan squashes, steamed just so with a nutty pesto on top. Summer eating at its best! I swear we ate dessert too, but I must have been in a slight food coma and forgot to take pictures. (That or it just got too dark.) If you're ever in Seattle in the Wallingford area, check out Tilth. A quiet, unassuming little house with a patio out front, very cozy seating inside, and wonderful service throughout the evening.

I know these pictures don't do the meal or the evening justice. It's a reminder that I should post immediately after the experience, since the summer menu is long gone (the food had much better names than I was able to tag above)... but this meal is in my memory forever. Thanks for a lovely evening, Kate! Let's do it again, soon!

Top Chef Masters: how the pros cook!

Sometimes it works in your favor to have too much going on, or a really bad memory... I had COMPLETELY forgotten that Top Chef Masters was starting soon. Soon, as in: tonight. So the dvr was not prepared and I rushed down to get it all fired up, only to have it record 9 minutes of the first showing. The second showing got bumped by reruns of New Adventures of Old Christine and current showing of SYTYCD. Many thanks to Bravo for having nothing else to run tonight: I finally got the third showing taped in its entirety.

What a lead in! Can the drama of TCM match the drama of Sher’s dvr? Undoubtedly not. And, my hunch going in (that this will be pretty civilized, these are professionals, after all) was more or less played out. But there was a bit of fun along the way. And some complete flops, to make those of us without a James Beard award feel much better about ourselves.

First off, new host. Not so much into her. It’s not a Padma thing, I’m not all fluffy for her… and maybe this one improve with time? We’ll see. She is Kelly Choi, completely unknown to me before tonight, but apparently best known for a TV show, Eat Out NY.

So the season consists of 6 episodes with 4 master chefs in each episode, and then, presumably, a finale.

The contestants for tonight, with their restaurant and their charity of choice (if they win!):
Hubert Keller. Fleur de Lys, San Francisco. Make A Wish Foundation.
Christopher Lee. Aureole, NYC. Autism Speaks.
Tim Love. Lonesome Star Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX. March of Dimes.
Michael Schlow. Radius, Boston, MA. Cam Neely Foundation.

They get right into the quickfire with a favorite quickfire from Top Chef past: dessert. This time for Girl Scouts! The guys have 45 minutes to pull it off. The girl scouts rank the chefs and award stars:
Hubert: Meringue swans, the Coolest Glass Dish *ever* with fruit and sabayon. The girls loved it! 5 stars.
Michael: Brownie with honey ice cream and peanut butter chocolates. He tanked—ice cream messy and cake not cooked. Amazingly, he still got 2.5 stars. I’m not sure the girls noticed.
Tim: Strawberry milkshakes, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chicken-fried strawberries (really, chicken fried? I love fried like the next guy, but that seemed just too “Texas” for me. Ugh.). 3.5 stars.
Christopher: French toast with caramelized bananas and orange sauce. Seemed fairly unremarkable. 3.5 stars.

The best part was that the chefs got to watch the girls eat, but the girls didn’t know. So they were chatty and honest and fairly critical and the guys had a real good laugh listening to them. Some comments surprised, but others were just spot on. And, harsh as it was to see an established chef tank, it was also heartening. Stuff happens. To everyone.

Then on to the elimination challenge: Create a meal in a dorm room with a toaster oven and hot plate. Two hours to prep and cook three-courses. Holy cow. Grilled cheese on an iron, anyone? Some of these guys don’t even know what a microwave is! Or so they claim. There was a funny little interlude with Hubert Keller playing with the buttons on the microwave, saying, “I have one in my kitchen but I’ve never used it.” Really? Seems unlikely.

So they decide to cook:
Michael: Salmon crudo, cabbage soup, and pork a la apicius (I have no idea what that means)
Hubert: Scottish salmon, carrot and pea soup with cinnamon (that doesn’t sound good to me AT ALL) and macaroni and cheese with prawns
Tim: Scallop carpaccio, squash and corn posole, skirt steak and braised kale
Christopher: Red snapper ceviche, creamy risotto, pan roasted pork chop

I must say, it is nice to only have to keep track of what four people are cooking… this feels similar to the end of a Top Chef season when the riff-raff has been whittled away. These chefs really seemed like they were all good guys having fun together. Lots of mutual respect, joking, probably especially from Keller, who I would consider the “master of the masters,” as Christopher later says…

So off they go to cook IN the dorm rooms. WITH the students there. This would not be high on my list of fun things to try. But they are game and do a great job of jerry-rigging things as needed to make it work. The biggest oops of this round is that Tim accidentally froze all his ingredients. Stuck them in an empty “cooler” and came back in the morning to find it all rock solid. So we’ll never know just what he was planning on making, but as you can see from his menu, not a fresh thing in sight. Poor guy, that would be hard to recover from, but he just kept plugging along!

New info of the evening: Hubert Keller would be a DJ if he wasn’t a chef.

After they fed the students and judges—oops, “critics” for these chefs—no real “knife-packing” here—they went to the critics table. And one other difference from the “real” Top Chef—this stew room is amply supplied with alcohol and looks like a chef’s table in the middle of a kitchen restaurant; no back-of-kitchen supply closet to sweat in for these masters.

Critic’s table
James Oseland, editor of Saveur
Gael Greene, New York restaurant critic
Jay Rayner, The London Observer

They talk, they debate, they sort-of-don’t-like some things and mostly like others. But generally they are fairly mellow and respectful and award points to each contestant with the winner being Hubert Keller. No shock there. He just kind of owns the kitchen, if you know what I mean. Confident, and in that confidence he is able to be kind and accommodating of others. No arrogance (that we saw, anyway). Hurray for that. Oh, and you’d think he’d hung the moon the way they raved about how he rinsed the macaroni with cold water in the shower (to stop the cooking) and then heated it back up with hot water from the shower as well… come on, we’ve all done that, right? Ha. It just goes to show that many times a big part of the kitchen battle is problem solving.

Teaser for future episodes: Neil Patrick Harris and Zooey Deschanel as future critics. Really?! How fun. I know, what do they know about food? We’ll find out.

OK, I’ve rambled on a bit. Can you tell I’ve missed Top Chef? Sniff. I feel like my life has meaning, once again. Well, for six weeks anyway.

Top Chef: After the final rose

Ha ha ha. Not quite the Bachelor, thankfully. While Hosea may have gotten a little flack for winning Top Chef, it hasn't nearly had the press coverage of that OTHER reality show this week. Thankfully.

Anyway, I almost forgot about this final hoo-ha episode of Top Chef, but when I saw that it had been recorded on our dvr I was quite pleased. I always enjoy the recap and the video montages, and of course, the fan favorite! This episode was no exception, and actually went a long way toward reminding me why I enjoyed this season so much, in spite of my recent whining about the winner...

These cheftestants really enjoyed competing with each other, almost all of the time. Sure there were some tiffs and spats and Jamie didn't appreciate the love Stefan had (still has!) for her, but there weren't really any of those over the top bleep-fest-shouting-matches as in seasons past. I remember noting that when they helped each other out a number of times--either sharing ingredients or helping finish a fellow chef's dish. It seemed more collegial than in seasons past, and some of the previous "unseen" footage underscored that.

And of course, it was fun to see the video tributes to the finalists, and other bits about the birthday curse, Carla's kookiness, who was the biggest crier, and of course, the whole Hosea-Leah romance. Enough already. My favorite video was the bromance between Fabio and Stefan, of course, and all the kissing of Stefan's bald head! I don't think I buy Stefan's rather weak, "I'm relieved I didn't win" defense. Yeah, right. Because that's why you put yourself through that whole ordeal, to come in second place. Sounds about right. Hmmm.

Oh, and the other thing that pleasantly surprised me was how un-annoying Toby Young came across. Fairly mellow, a little tongue in cheek, and having a good sense of humor about how he'd been perceived so far this year. I had to give him a few points for that. The editors undoubtedly had a lot to do with how snarky he came across at the judges' table.

In the end, the lovely outcome that Fabio was the fan favorite made my day--not much suspense there, as he was pretty much the only one in major contention who hadn't had a video tribute yet. But still, he was an endearing candidate who seemed to have a good grasp on his cooking, his attitude and what it meant to compete. Kudos to him! $10K is nothing to sniff at... although maybe Stefan is glad he wasn't voted fan favorite? Ha. The way he was portrayed, I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the top 5, even.

There are some great videos at bravotv.com; I'd have posted them here, but had some real trouble embedding them, so head on over and have a laugh!

Top Chef Finale, Part 2, the real deal, the end

The most disappointing episode of the season. Or: How Carla and Stefan bunged it up big time so Hosea could walk away with a title he doesn't deserve.

Uh-oh. Think I have an opinion? Think I'm disappointed? You'd be right. Not only did it not turn out the way I was hoping (and I had some flex there... I'd even have been OK with Carla at this point), but it was essentially a very boring and dry hour of television. There wasn't a single compelling thing about it. The food didn't even look that interesting.

Now you're just dying to read the rest of this, aren't you? Trust me, I'm actually making myself write it...

So they're given the directive: Cook the best three-course meal of your life. Sounds like a dream scenario, no? It's amazing what people will do with that sentence...

Along come Richard (season 4), Marcel (season 2) and Casey (season 4) to help out Hosea, Stefan and Carla, respectively. That alone turns out to be Carla's undoing... (see, I can build more drama than Bravo).

They cook at Commander's Palace, reknowned New Orlean's restaurant. They have the usual prep time the day before, cook time the day of. They each plan a menu, and none of the menus look or sound exceptional in any way.

They do have a table of 12 distinguished judges to cook for:

Susan Spicer of Bayona Restaurant in New Orleans

John Besh of August Restaurant in New Orleans

Hubert Keller, of many restaurants in many places

Rocco Despirito, food personality! (I made that up. I can't think of any other way to describe his brand of food/media/hype. Not that that's a bad thing.)

Tory McPHail, the executive chef of Commander's Palace.

Branford Marsalis, jazz musician phenomenon

Ti Martin, one of the owners of Commander's Palace.

Toby Young (Again? Back? Really? Yes, unfortunately. Though he was pretty inconsequential at the final judges' table.)

Fabio Vivani, recently departed from the contest. I thought this a real testament to their opinion of his food that he was invited along. I really grew to enjoy Fabio throughout this contest. I would have loved for him to be there in place of Hosea.

And of course: Gail, Tom and Padma, the holy trinity of Top Chef judging.

The one twist of the night is that three unique proteins are brought in to make a passed appetizer. Hosea wins the little contest to see who chooses the protein and assigns the others; he chooses the redfish and assigns crab to Carla and alligator to Stefan (wanting to stick it to Stefan, of course). As it turns out, they all rock this assignment, so going into the sit-down portion of the meal it's pretty much anyone's game.

Three fairly unmemorable courses later and they're back at the judges' table. Meanwhile, Carla bombed one course when her blue cheese souffle wouldn't rise, and no one was impressed with her sous vide course either--it didn't seem like her style and everyone pretty much figured (correctly) that Casey played a big hand in that style of cooking. They really felt Carla should have stuck to what she does best, her way, her style.

Stefan took some hits for doing dessert, and for doing it, as Gail Simmons said, "Very 1982." Ouch. As well, he did a fish carpaccio that he'd frozen the salmon and halibut for and when it thawed on the plate it was watery. No good. The fact that he made really great squab for his main protein was lost on them at that point. The other two courses did him in.

It really was Hosea's to lose at that point. He did all his courses well, and his venision was really good, no big mistakes, and all three courses progressed nicely in depth and heft. So there he goes: Top Chef Season 5.

Color me completely beige about the whole thing.

See you next season! Well, probably before, but you know what I mean... I will miss this weekly writing deadline! Maybe I'll have to find another food show to follow...

Top Chef, Part One of the Finale!

Everyone shows up in New Orleans to cook for Emeril. Hmmm, I have my doubts. I'm not really that into it on many levels. Yes to the competition, but not a seafood gal. Not a Cajun gal. This will be about watching, not salivating.

How much time has elapsed? Enough time for Fabio and Carla to both get goofy (goofier in Carla’s case) hair. Hosea and Stefan’s hair both look the same—ha! Bald boys. Not much to change up. So they roll up to Houmas House plantation (see picture below). Emeril's out front with with Padma and Tom. Button bursting Emeril, the King of Creole. He seems so proud and happy to be hosting.

Quickfire time. The finalists get to relax and enjoy some southern hospitality as they won’t be competing. Out come Jamie, Jeff and Leah, the last three knife-packers. They don’t know what’s going on… they get a chance to get back in to the competition!

This doesn't impress the finalists. It's one more chef to have to compete with at the REAL finale. Says Hosea: “That’s not really the math I want right now.” Ah well, does any of that have to do with Leah being in the re-cook crew?

The three losers get a chance back in to the competition by making a crawfish dish that Emeril will say is "winning." Off they go! Jeff makes crawfish and grits with andouille sausage. Leah makes gumbo with andouille sausage. (Are we sensing a trend?) And Jamie makes corn cakes with poached eggs and greens and a crawfish cream sauce. I think there was andouille sausage in there somewhere. Her dish sounds like the one I'd have liked best. Emeril, not so much. He picks Jeff. This is the same Jeff who says about himself (in the third person, always a favorite of mine) "Jeff’s mind has a couple of different people talking in it," as he's talking about running crazy during the quickfire. Really? That's not really a sentence you want to say out loud. One would think.

But it's only kind of a win... Jeff has to take the elimination challenge completely, winner take all, to get into the finale.

So the cheftestants all go Delmonico’s for dinner. I'm a bit nervous for them. Is it too much to think that they could have something sprung on them while they’re at dinner? That might be mean, but I would love that… some all-night cooking session… but no, that would be too gritty. They all get safely through dinner and on to a good night's sleep.

The finale set up is catering for party of 100. Create two appetizers: a creole dish and another of your choice to feed the crowd, and a cocktail. Prep and cook for five hours. One hour to set up before the party. Emeril says, “Bring your technique.” I found that humorous, given his reputation. But there's more to gumbo than I thought.

The winner of challenge wins a car. Everyone is quite excited about this. Fabio’s car is a piece of “poo-op” (say that with an Italian accent); he has really grown on me with his funny little sayings. He really works the Italian angle.

The cooking prep gets to take place at Emeril's flagship restaurant, Delmonico’s, where they had dinner the night before. They get full access to the kitchen and ingredients. How fun! No excuses for not having the right cajun spices.

And then... they cook:
Hosea: Gumbo, pecan crusted catfish
Carla: Oyster stew, shrimp and andouille beignet

Stefan: Duck and rabit gumbo with grits, apple beignet
Jeff: Fried oyster with sausage and arugula, crawfish pots de crème
Fabio: Sausage and rabbit maque choux with grits, crawfish and crab stew with homemade pasta, muffuletta bread

Tom seems to have less of a poker face than usual as he's strolling the kitchen mid-prep. Some rolled eyes, some “yikes” looks. Not sure why he seems more this way, this year. Does he doubt the talent? Just getting tired of the whole thing?

The event takes place at the New Orleans Museum of Art and is a masquerade ball. The beauty of the moment: Gail is BACK!!! I didn't realize how much I would miss her until she went away! Carla also seemed overjoyed, actually yelped when she saw Gail. Yeah, Carla didn’t have a lot of love for the Toby. Me neither.

Emeril is a very giving judge. Mostly nice things to say at the party. Seems eager to please. Maybe he’ll save his criticism for the judge’s table? There was some really fun presentation of some of the dishes in clear bowls and little boxes. Together the clump of judges moves from one station to the next... some general comments...

Jeff: Favorite cocktail of the night. Pots de crème was good, great texture. Oyster dish was good, the flavor of New Orleans. Generally the judges loved his food.
Fabio: They thought he did a good job of doing creole with Italian touch. Didn’t like his cocktail. Wanted some heat from his pasta.
Stefan: Gumbo over grits. Good grits. Gumbo not so much. Beignet not so good. Too calm, not stressed at all, they weren’t impressed with that attitude.
Carla: Oyster stew was very good. Beignet was smokin’ hot, herbal note at end, could have eaten all night; Emeril thought it was OK to do in batches and folks got them fresh.
Hosea: Gail liked his roux. Emeril thought it was as good as any restaurant in town. Fish dish seemed like it could be complicated, but wasn’t.

Sounds to me from the first round of discussion that Stefan is going home. Wow, if Jeff wins, then Fabio is out too? There go the Europeans… and their confident strut. But Jeff has to be the overall winner to make that happen… will that happen? He'd have to beat out Carla and Hosea... And then, good lord, Carla wins again. Simplicity, temperature, balance, flavor, yet creative, so says Emeril. Sad to see Jeff go when his food was so good, and thought so highly of. He was never my favorite, but he did give it his all with this challenge, I felt.

Stefan is gone, I feel pretty sure. OMG it is Fabio! I am stunned. And sad. I would not have thought Stefan would make it through that judge's table… they must really like his food to put up with that attitude.

Now we are down to Hosea, Carla and Stefan. Not how I would have pictured it. At this point I am loathe to back Stefan, don't like Hosea, and well, maybe Carla will pull it off. That would be amazing. Amazing as in shocking and unbelievable.

Here's a great recap I enjoyed reading tonight. You'd think I'd get tired of this stuff. You'd be wrong. But, for the record, I don't read anyone else's recap until I've written my own. Don't know why, just seems more fair that way...

Top Chef Season 5, Episode 12

Down to five! Next stop: New Orleans and the finale.

As is to be expected, when the stakes go up, the Big Guns Judges come in. No newcomer, Wylie Dufresne, molecular gastronomer wunderkind, arrives to preside over the quickfire. Apparently he could eat breakfast for every meal, and eggs Benedict is his all-time favorite (more on that to come...); now that’s my kind of cook. While I’ve never been a big fan of the molecular leanings, and I ALWAYS want to give Wylie a haircut, he is suddenly endeared to me. Eggs and hollandaise are a very happy combo to me!

Wylie asks the final five to make him breakfast, with eggs done perfectly! I'm surprised there isn't some Incredible Edible Egg logo behind them all...

I’ve heard said before, and Wylie said it again, egg cookery is a good way to see what someone is capable of in the kitchen. So here goes. And they have an hour. Where did all this time come from? Seems more like a mellow-fire, not a quickfire! I seem to remember quickfires as 15 minutes… maybe 30? This season it seems like there have been a number of longer ones.

They all run around whipping up this and that. There were some creative attempts—Hosea with his tempura egg—and some more mainstream menu choices—Leah, Fabio… Stefan got a kudos mention for his technique and his handling of both savory and sweet for breakfast, but then there was Carla, rockin’ it old school with her clever green eggs and ham. That could have gone either way in my humble opinion… and luckily it turned out great and Wylie loved it. Hilarious that the only meal that DIDN’T have any molecular elements was the one that won! Good for Carla. She’s in the zone. (Seth was watching with me again, and was very happy with her win!)

For the elimination challenge, out comes the ever-present knife block: Each of them has a course to cook for a judge, with 2 hours to cook and prep and cook at Capitale in Lower Manhatten. The judges, top-notch all, were told to request their “last supper.” I was surprised with some of their choices, but it made me ponder what MY last meal would be… but that’s a whole other post.

So:
Fabio picks Lidia Bastianich: Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions and leafy salad
Hosea picks Susan Ungaro (president of the James Beard Foundation): Shrimp scampi with tomatoes provencal
Stefan picks Marcus Samuelsson: Salmon with spinach (“There’s nothing I could possibly screw up with this dish.” I knew when he said those words that he’d regret them… famous last words…)
Leah picks Wylie Dufresne: Egg benedict. I'm sure she's thinking, really, didn't I just do eggs?
Carla picks Jacques Pepin: Roast squab with peas

Carla was given the option of choosing one of the other chef’s meals, if she liked them better that the one she drew. She liked what she picked, and stayed with Jacques Pepin. (Have I mentioned that I’ve met him? At the French Culinary Institute in NYC, I had him sign a cookbook for a friend. It made me very happy. He told me that he has a daughter who lives in Portland. He was very friendly in a nice fatherly way and I was a wee bit star-struck.)

Fun snippet between quickfire and elimination: The crew went Perilla, Harold’s restaurant. He won Top Chef, Season 1, way back when, and was sympathetic and encouraging for their Top Chef journey.

The next day they headed out to cook! The courses were staggered 30 minutes apart, Leah went first since she had the breakfast-y dish.

Suddenly there’s a commotion and it appears that Fabio has broken his finger. Pretend this is in an Italian accent: “To the hospital? No way. I would rather chop this finger off. Sear it on the flat top and deal with it tomorrow.” He gets wrapped up and continues on. It’s a little painful watching him peel potatoes…

Tom comes into the kitchen with his suit on, dressy dressy. Says don’t embarrass me out there tonight. Wow, that’s a lot of confidence… I don’t think he’s ever said that before, sounds like he doubts they can do it. There have been plenty of gold-weight judges on the show before… why say that now? Does he think this lot is a bunch of losers?

Leah goes first, hollandaise a little thick. Fairly traditional. Egg white a little watery, doesn’t have the textures down.

Stefan: Thinks he could win (of course!). Salmon with potatoes, spinach. It’s unanimous: salmon horribly overcooked. Dill sauce good, well seasoned. Spinach pretty so-so.

Hosea: Initially the comments are that he did a fine job between creativity and traditional. But Pepin says he didn’t cook from the gut. And there’s some question whether his version of scampi was traditional or HIS version.

Fabio: Had a real hard time butchering the chicken with one hand. But they love it. Chicken is awesome. This is the first course where the cheftestant channeled their chef. Not so much on the salad (was called “airplane food”). Lydia was very happy with her last meal.

Carla: Temperature of squab concerned her as it was going out. Pepin loved it—it was true to what he wanted. Comfort food for him, memories from childhood. Butter tarragon peas, everyone loved. Really simple, but breast overcooked a bit for Marco. There was audacity in serving something so simple. Jacques could die happy with that meal.

Off they go to the judges table; Jacques is in the final along with the usuals. Toby is pretty mild these days. Less scripted, less interesting.

They called the whole group in to talk about the food. From the comments at the dinner I thought they could have just called in Carla and Fabio for the top two and left Stefan, Hosea and Leah to stew before they came out as the losers. But no, let’s talk all together!

When they all came back in, I thought it might actually go to Carla. Everyone loved those peas. But peas win it? Really? Say it isn’t so. Thankfully it wasn’t. Fabio! Whew. In spite of his broken finger, he won it!

Carla sees herself as the tortoise picking up speed! She’s safe and going to New Orleans. And Carla and Fabio are dismissed so the judges can talk to the bottom three.

Stefan the stress ball, all curled up with his arms folded across his chest; he looks like he thinks it’s going to be him. For a minute I think so too. Hosea and Leah are both pretty deadpan. I bet cuddling on the sofa feels like a million miles away. And luckily, for me anyway, it’s Leah that is sent home. Whew.

For the finale, it's Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans. This is kind of an odd choice, considering Emeril’s reputation in the food world. His restaurants are considered top-tier, but his style on his cooking shows is considered pretty low-brow by most established chefs, and I am just surprised that Colicchio and Co. are going there. Will be interesting to watch…

Top Chef Season 5, Episode 11

So we kick off the top 6 with a fabulous favorite, Eric Ripert. There aren't too many yummier chefs around, in my humble opinion. He has always seemed so down to earth for all his many stars and accolades. His restaurant, Le Bernadin, is considered the pinnacle of French eating in NYC. Check out their web site. Completely breaks my rule for no music on a web page. Just gorgeous and ethereal and makes me want to book a ticket to NYC. Now. And then there's his other web site, Avec Eric, which is also quite fun.

So, with Eric around, it has to be fish. And more fish. For the elimination challenge, a three-round fish fillet tournament!

Round 1: 2 whole sardines to be filleted. 5 minutes to clean and and butterfly according to Eric’s instruction. Off they go... Priceless: the look on Eric’s face when he saw Carla’s fish… not so well done... Jamie's out as well. Fabio rocked. But apparently Leah did best. Hmm.

Round 2: Arctic char: fillet it. Again, 5 minutes. Leah stopped. Stuck out her bottom lip and just kind of pouted. (Of course Hosea has an opinion about that.) Out: Leah and Fabio. Winner of that round: Hosea.

Round 3: Eel: peel it and fillet it. Recently killed, but still may move while you’re working on it… wow. According to Stefan, skinning eel is like riding a bike. Yeah, right. Even in Germany I don’t think that’s true… However, Stefan DID rather rock this round… no immunity but "a really useful advantage," says Padma. (Since when does eel = fish? I get "seafood," but not fish per se. I'm just a seafood wimp, I guess.)

Here comes the lull... lunch in the private room at Le Bernadin. (Hello chefs, be on the ready, I don’t think that’s all there is to it… hello, pay attention chefs… but no, they are placidly just eating away in la-la land...) Six courses in, out comes the knife block. They must now recreate one of the dishes they just ate. And Stefan gets to choose his first. Lucky man. Some of those dishes were definitely more complicated than others. They got two hours to prep and then Chef Eric came around to taste and give subtle advice. Tension. Pressure. Being watched while cooking. Breathe.

And so it went... judges get to eat the Le Bernadin original and compare it to the Top Chef attempt.

Sourdough-crusted red snapper with tomato basil consommé: Fabio. Eric was pretty impressed, details make the difference, a good forgery…

Baked mahimahi with miso and matsutake mushroom sauce: Leah. A definite flavor difference between the orignal and the ripoff. Fish overcooked, miso sauce not quite like the original.

Baked lobster with asparagus and hollandaise sauce: Stefan. They immediately notice that Stefan's sauce is not as light. (Eric's is made in blender. Good to know.) Well-seasoned asparagus. Lobster very much the same. Sauce tastes very good. Very, very close, says Eric.

Oil-poached escolar with potato crisps in a red wine béarnaise: Carla. She was cooking right down to the wire. (Really great the way the cheftestants help each other out. Carla would not have had a dish to present without her cohorts.) From Eric: Potatoes not as crispy as they should be. However, it was one of the more difficult dishes. She was loyal to original dish. She got it.

Za’atar-spiced monkfish with black garlic: Hosea. Fish overcooked. And, from Tom, monkfish needs to rest before you cut it (also good to know, new information for me). Hosea had never cooked with za’atar spice before and there was too much on the fish. But, fairly close with the sauce.

Sauteed black bass with braised celery with serrano ham peppercorn sauce: Jamie. Celery blanched out, way too salty. Salt aside, fish is well cooked. Although, according to Toby, not merely unremarkable, it’s remarkably poor, says she fell flat on her face. Tom actually defended her and said it wasn’t as easy as it looks. Eric agreed, not an easy dish.

On top: Carla, Stefan and Fabio. All did well, but the winner is: Stefan. Thank goodness. I was going to freak if Carla won another one. And Stefan won the book from Eric, as well as an amazing gift of working for a week at Le Bernardin and then flying to the Food and Wine Classic at Pebble Beach. (Watch out, that site also has music, and it's not quite the treat that Le Bernadin's is.) Holy cow, that’s an honor wrapped up in a giant pretty bow.

Jamie, Leah, Hosea on the losing end…
Hosea... somewhat surprised to be there. Hadn’t cooked with za’atar. Fish was overcooked, sauce was good, fish didn’t rest. The judges didn't really have anything new to say, but the dish wasn't inedible.

Leah tries to say she knew what she did wrong, but I’m not sure she really does. Missed the mark. Toby had least amount of miso, which resulted in rather dull fish, apparently. And briefly, the quickfire lay-down came back to haunt her. Tom asks about the giving up… she regrets giving up. Tried her best with the elimination fish.

Jamie: Celery was oversalted. She knew it, over-reduced… Padma says it wasn’t appetizing to look at or eat, would have sent it back if she could have. Whole dish completely toxic, didn’t want to eat more than one bite: Toby. Knew the mistakes, she says, couldn’t fix them, it was too late at that point…

I’d pick Jamie to go home. And sure enough, so did they.

Check out this defense of the Jamie-knife-packing on Eric's site. And this one in the Village Voice. Apparently it's all the rage to think that they're going to keep Leah and Hosea around to milk the wee bit 'o drama out of their pettiness... I'm not so sure. Jamie did quite well to this point, but now it really is down to the details between good and great, and she just didn't cut it in this challenge. And other than some selective editing for maximum petty comments, Leah and Hosea seem to be pretty much old news by now.

Down to five... so who's out before the top 4? My bet would be Carla or Leah, neither of which deserve to be in the finals. Can we send both home? I wasn't horribly sad to see Jamie go, but when I think about who should be in the finals, I think of her... so now I'm a little sad. Sniff.

For some great clips of Top Chef "behind the scenes," check out the bravotv.com site, as well as hulu. And here's a fun blog I like to follow that has some good fun at Top Chef's expense.

Top Chef Season 5, Episode 10: Super Bowl!

And so it begins... the countdown to the finale. Kind of cool to make it all Super Bowl related, but when I remember that they shot this six months ago, it makes me laugh. Kind of like the ever-present product over-placement... this time with our friends at Quaker Oats...

Yes, it was the Quaker Oats Quickfire... Padma arrives with Scott Conant, who just opened Scarpetta in NYC in 2008 and got three stars from the NYTimes. Very cool. Hard to do. Also a 2004 Food and Wine Best New Chef. So a judge with chops.

They assign everyone to a food group: veggies, fruit, fish, meat, seafood, poultry, dairy... I would have been stumped, initially, other than some sort of fruit crisp. Oats aren't a part of my daily crusting of food... but these guys stepped up the challenge and crusted EVERYTHING, even eggplant, which didn't turn out so hot for Fabio, who picked vegetables. According to him: "There is not reason to eat vegetables when there is meat and fish around." Yeah, well, even a major meat eater should have known not to encrust eggplant with oats!

They have 45 minutes and come up oat-crusted shrimp (Jamie), oat crusted weiner schnitzel (Hosea), banana mousse with oat petit fours (Stefan), fish with oat crust, bacon and escarole (Leah, doing fish again after last week!), oat-crusted tofu and oatmeal/lentil salad (Carla), eggplant and oats (Fabio, who gets interrupted in his explanation by Scott, who says his dish "speaks for itself;" more drama with these two later...) and oat-crusted chicken paillard with grits and fried zucchini (Jeff, once again, too much going on on the plate!).

Great quote from Carla: "The creative monkeys can’t be quieted in Jeff." Ha. Good one.

Fumbles: Leah: fish overcooked (switch from last week!), whole dish clashed with bacon; Fabio: encrusting eggplant was bad idea; Jeff: all brown, heavy plate.

Winner: Stefan!
Other top dishes: Carla and Jamie

So on to the elimination challenge, where all-stars from past TC seasons come out to play.
Spike, Andrew, Josie, Andrea, Camile, Nikki, Miguel all arrive to each take on a Season 5 cheftestant. They each cook for a different NFL team/city and need to represent the area cuisine in their dishes.

Stefan's advantage from winning the quickfire is to pick his team and his opponent: Dallas Cowboys and Andrea. He seems to remember Andrea as a vegetarian who went home pretty early in Season 1. I remember the same, though she claims now NOT to be a vegetarian. Hmm.

Other pairings:
Green Bay Packers: Fabio v. Spike
San Francisio 49ers: Jamie v. Camille
Miami Dolphins: Jeff v. Josie
Seattle Seahawks: Hosea v. Miguel
New Orleans Saints: Carla v. Andrew
New York Giants: Leah v. Nikki

Love Spike and Andrew… for short periods of time. For any extended period, I get drained. I can only imagine prep time in the TC kitchen... like toddlers, really. I was following them on Twitter for a bit during Top Chef, but it's way too ADD for me. Which is saying something.

So Seth watched with me and came up with his faves again quite quickly: Fabio and Carla—he likes spunky Carla. I will hold judgment on his taste in women for at least a few more years. I can appreciate that he sees the "Muppet" in her and likes the quirk.

My favorites remain: Stefan and Jamie, and a little bit of Fabio. Stefan doesn't annoy me like he seems to others... maybe he would in person. But I just see him poking people, playing around, being somewhat charming in his arrogance...

So they all cooked in front of an audience, two cooks per round. A touchdown is 7 points (judges), fan favorite: 3 points. So when you win big, it's 10 points! If you lose a round, on the chopping block you go.

So after some quick rounds of cooking:
Leah v. Nikki up first—Leah won by 3 judges, Nikki got the fan field goal.
Miguel v. Hosea—Hosea won 3 judges and the fans, so Hosea has 10 points.
Carla v. Andrew—Carla unanimously with the judges! Andrew won fan points.

Lovely quote from Carla: "Sometimes you have to have quick love." Really, Carla?

Stefan v. Andrea—Two and two on judges, fans voted for Andrea hands down.
SHOCK. Stefan got beat. He was floored and humbled. Ha. I think it was good for him.
Jamie v. Camille—Two and two on judges, Jamie carries it with the fans.
Jeff v. Josie—Josie got 3 judges, and three fans. Jeff is going down.
Spike v. Fabio—Judges went with Spike, fans went with Fabio…

Total points: Home: 37; All Stars: 33

Winner: Carla.

Can you hear the intake of breath? I am shocked. She won two tickets to the Super Bowl! (Seth is very happy.)

Judges comments:
Carla—The love was there. Even Toby said so. Everyone thought it was all good; Tom liked it too. Hosea—Unique, Asian, great to make a salmon roll and have still medium rare inside. His food draws you back, said Scott Conant. Jamie—Tom liked it even though he didn’t vote for it. Nice comments from Scott about her cooking style, that she was fun to watch and she worked well with her food. That was nice to hear as it's usually all about the taste. Leah—Simple, good dish.

And on to the losing chefs... Stefan, Fabio and Jeff:
Initially I thought it would be Jeff going home, but then worried for a moment when Fabio decided to get defensive about his meat (vension). As Tom said, it was already dead, didn’t need to be killed again… Scott pretty much told Fabio to shut up and accept that he made a losing dish. It was a bit tense. I didn't think too much more of it until I read today on gawker.com about the judging (mostly entertainment value, though their assessment of Andrew and Spike is dead on). Curious. I don't know why Scott thought Fabio so terrible, but he definitely didn't seem to take to the guy, and it didn't all seem to be about the food. I thought Fabio handled himself well at judge's table, and especially at the end, when he accepted his second chance graciously.

Oh, but then I gave it away. Drat. But you knew already. No way Stefan's going home (even though he was missing the strong flavors Dallas is known for). No way Fabio's going home (even though Scott Conant probably wanted him to). But Jeff... no protecting him. Alas, Mr. No-Eye-Contact and Too-Many-Elements-on-a-Plate packed his knives and went back to Miami... but a good loser, truly.

From Seth to the losers as they were defending their dishes: Zip it, bite it, suck it up. (Is this my kid or what?!)

Down to six. It's getting good. I was pleased pleased pleased to see the Season 5 cheftestants really do well against the All Stars. I think it probably reaffirmed for all of them (except maybe Stefan, who was expecting to roll over Andrea... figuratively as well as it seems literally...) that they belong there and they CAN cook. In that closed environment with only each other week in and week out, it's been evident that even the good cooks can start to doubt themselves.

And it seems we get to move past that whole icky Leah and Hosea thing. Other than his snide comments about her fish, they seemed to just avoid each other. Finally.

Top Chef, Season 5, Episode 9: Restaurant Wars!

Or: Hosea and Leah go too far.
Or: Lessons in Running a Professional Kitchen by Leah.
Or: Top Chef, High School Style.
(Kim, sorry for stealing your blog title style!)

Couldn't have seen that one coming! Ha. They've only been baiting us for weeks. The drama unfolds below...

Quickfire: Padma and Stephen Starr, restauranteur extraordinaire, challenge the cheftestants to conceive a tasting menu showcasing a restaurant concept. Two winners, one each to head up the restaurants during the elimination of Restaurant Wars! So, no immunity tonight!

On the bottom: Jeff: Salmon isn't the fish to impress apparently. Side note: why can't Jeff make eye contact? Can't look at the camera for any period of time. Not the next Food Network star, I'm thinking.
Fabio: Menu didn't inspire as a restaurant concept. I liked his lunch idea, but it wasn't new or interesting... did like how he took offense to his filet mignon sandwich being called a cheesesteak! Ha.

So the winners, from a mostly fishy menu, lots of "New American” ideas… whatever.
Radhika: Great seasonings, and emerging concept: Indian flavors.
Leah: Clean and forward thinking, Asian influence. (And this she threw together, on the fly, no concept in advance… I’m thinking lucky break.)

So the Restaurant War is on. But first, we have to have a little inappropriate evening cuddle time back at Chez Chef. They had been teasing to it for weeks, but it really was rather mild--what they showed anyway. It seems to prove that eventually people do forget the cameras are on. Or they drink too much. Or a combination thereof. Regardless, quite childish given that they both are supposed to be in respective relationships AND they have to go on to work together/compete against each other. And somehow they both wake up the next day and are ashamed? Whatever. Grow up.

Moving on...thankfully.

Restaurant name: Sahana
Concept: Old spice trade
Radhika: Front of house
Jamie
Carla
Jeff

Restaurant name: Sunset Lounge
Concept: Asian influence
Leah
Hosea
Fabio: Front of house
Stefan

So they work fast and furious for 24 hours to bang out the restaurant. Pier One, restaurant supply stores, Whole Foods and some giant food warehouse... how fun! They had $5,000 to spend on decor, $3,000 on food. I think it should have been switched!

It is easy to see right off that Radhika is in way over her head, not comfortable as a leader (she says as much) and happy to let the others conceive their own dishes based on the loose "spice trade/middle eastern foods" concept. They all get along, for the most part, and Jamie steps into the sous chef/leader position. Jeff works with Jamie while Carla does desserts. With Carla's history so far with desserts, that seems best. Or does it? Ominous noises. Don't look to the end. Don't. Keep your eyes up here.

Team Sahana races around getting ready for service, the time seems really short as usual. Good Jeff quote: I feel like a hummingbird on cocaine. Both teams feel behind though; Leah never even makes it out of the kitchen to see what the front of the house looks like! But Fabio has it all under control!

At the Sunset Lounge, Leah is completely lackluster as a leader as well. She and Hosea give each other a wide berth, Fabio is setting up the front of the house, and Stefan is on desserts. Leah has some pouty moment with her fish and the boniness of it, and Hosea gives her advice to cut them out. Not great advice, but it seems to work, though it certainly isn’t pretty. Unfortunately, she somehow neglects to properly cook the pieces going to the judges, and it is deemed the worst dish of the night. Not such a lucky break there.

Later, when Carla's desserts go out, she knows she hasn't done a good job. She is such a funny lady--her comment is, "A train wreck is a comin', lord I know it is!" Ha. She has no idea how much of a train wreck. No one likes her spiced chocolate cake (how hard is that to wreck?) and her yogurts never set up, so they are more like yogurt soup. Ugh.

Fabio looks good at front of house for the Sunset Lounge in his white suit! He says: "We can serve monkey ass [it was hard to hear with his thick accent, but I swear he did say "ass," I'm not making it up!] and empty clam shell, I'm running the front of the house." The difference between his confidence level and Radhika's is palpable. Radhika is mousey in appearance and demeanor, almost shuffling around, and avoiding her hostess duties. She spends as much time as she can back in the kitchen, and the really appalling thing is that the judges get up and LEAVE her restaurant without her coming to say goodbye--she's hanging out in the kitchen. Wow.

So heading to judges table we know that Stefan's desserts rocked. He did a chocolate rice parfait and a lemongrass ginger panna cotta. Even tough guy Stephen Starr thought they were the best dishes of the night. And he finished with a mango-dark chocolate-mint lollipop. Sounds kind of good, and I'm not even a dark chocolate fan.

We also know that Carla's desserts sucked. And that Radhika's service was appalling. So that made their team a little less appealing. On the other side, Leah's fish was horrible, but Stefan's desserts and Fabio's front-of-house performance was what saved her. (Ugh for us having to see her and Hosea and their adolescent post-coital avoidance moments. I can't wait until one of them is gone now.)

So sure enough, the Sunset Lounge crew wins the day, with Stefan taking home top honors. I still don't see what's so annoying about him. I think he's kind of charming. Not great language, kind of bull headed, but that's probably what separates him from the pack. Radhika needed an ounce of his tenacity and energy, but had none. Zippo on the stamina.

But first, we get to hear from Carla about her amazingly bad desserts:"But I had a good time. I thought, if I can't send out a good dessert, I'm going to send out some love with this dessert." To which our visiting judge replied, "Keep the love in the kitchen. Send out good desserts." The fact that his comment seemed somehow shocking to her tells me (and not for the first time) that she’s living on borrowed time. Tick tock, Beeker lady. (Seth and I think she and Beeker from the Muppets are separated at birth… and that’s really not a mean comparison, really. Endearing.)

Even with that refreshingly honest but unacceptable attitude from Carla, Radhika got the ax. Whew. About time. Originally I had some hopes pinned to her, but it's been a long time since I've seen anything really “wow” from her, or any energy to speak of. Bye bye.

Oh and Toby Young was pretty quiet in this episode. Apparently he's aware of his bad press from the first couple of episodes. He wrote a piece for The Spectator that was pretty full of himself, classic Toby. Loves to be hated, he does. But someone in the editing room is actually helping the audience out, since he's been largely cut out of late. Not too sad about that!

And in other Top Chef news, sweet Chef Colicchio was at an inaugural party this week and saved Joan Nathan from choking on a chicken bone. Way to go, Tom!

Top Chef, Season 5, Episode 8

I have a hard time starting in without giving a major spoiler right off the bat. But I'm not going to. And no, don't look down at the last paragraph. I know your kind. I am your kind. But see if you can actually pull out some willpower and read through my little rundown to get to the ta-da moment, OK?

I was looking forward to this episode ever since I saw that Hung (winner, season 3) was going to be there for judging. I really liked him, and especially respected his speed and agility with a knife. So when he came around to judge the cheftestants in the quickfire, I knew it would be good. They all had to cook with canned and boxed ingredients, not exactly what a chef would immediately reach for. Hard to get good flavor. Oh, and they had to do it in 15 minutes. Whew. They ran and scrambled and chopped and came up with a variety of interesting options. On the bottom of the pile were some waffles from Leah, a bruschetta from Jamie and a bean dip from Rahdika. In the winner's circle were Fabio, Stefan and Jeff. And, believe it or not, two of the top three had Spam in them. Can you believe it? I couldn't. Stefan came out on top with immunity for the elimination challenge, and he was immediately puffed up. (Which seemed natural of course, but he then followed up his victory by sniping with Jamie about the menu later, which saddened me... I have been liking him of late. Oh well.)

First a little background, so you can know just how yummy and wonderful tonight's episode was for me. I was watching Seth's basketball practice tonight and of course had my book along. (I can only watch a bunch of 12-year-olds with a basketball for so long, and his practices run at least 2 hours. Yes, 2 hours. Boggles my mind as well.) Anyway, I am reading The Reach of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, the third in his wonderful chef series... and I am in the part where he's talking about a chef who runs a fabulous farm-to-kitchen restaurant in Maine. I am in love with this idea, and was just thoroughly enjoying reading about the whole process and how idyllic it all sounds (and yes, a lot of work), and then here comes the elimination challenge tonight... to cook at Blue Hill restaurant on the properties of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. How fabulous is that?


Watching them walk the farm and pick produce and see the animals, I almost forgot that we had our first major fog day of 2009 here in Walla Walla, and many more will follow, apparently. It was sunny and warm and the produce was just beautiful. The only thing I was just on pins and needles thinking would happen--that they'd have to pick out their animal and then actually kill it--didn't happen.

But they did have to butcher to a large extent, and that's what completely undid two teams. When Seth (yes I had a little extra viewing help tonight, thank goodness there wasn't a ton of swearing!) and I saw the menus as they planned them out, the fact that Team Chicken had their protein in three courses seemed like overkill--cutlets, roasted legs AND a chicken soup. Why? Team Pork did two courses of protein, Team Lamb did one. I thought, with Ariane's history of meat-cooking, that Team Lamb would rock. Not so much.

Here are the menus:
Team Pork (Fabio, Jeff and Rahdika)
Roasted pork loin
Sausage ravioli with pesto
Fried green tomatoes (the saving grace of the team, apparently!)
Grilled corn salad with bacon
Creme brulee

Team Chicken (Stefan, Carla and Jamie)
Chicken cutlet
Lemon herb roasted chicken
Chicken ravioli soup
Nectarine-strawberry tartlet (top dessert, Carla's pastry rocks!)

Team Lamb (Hosea, Leah and Ariane)
Roasted duo of lamb (didn't see anything "duo" about it...)
Heirloom tomato salad
Rosemay and garlic mashed potatoes
Swiss chard
Summer berry trifle

Can't you just taste the possibility in those menus? Yummy. And they ate outside, all the farmers and kitchen staff together, family style. It made me want so badly to have sunshine and picnics and fresh berries!

Alas, it was not all yummy... Team Chicken ended up taking the day, proving once again it's not what it looks like on paper, but how each dish is executed. Apparently both the pork and lamb were truly butchered, too much fat was taken off, and twice Chef Colicchio made his point about "If you can get meat on the bone, cook it on the bone. Better flavor." So that popped Team Chicken to the top, and Dan Barber, guest judge and chef at Blue Hill, declared them all winners. All the stress and tension between Stefan and Jamie that took place in the menu planning was gone (big surprise).

So to uncover who was the worst of the worst (Padma's comment was that any number of chefs could have been sent home tonight...), they grilled both Team Pork and Team Lamb. They picked apart the butchering, how the lamb loins were tied (made me quite proud of my string technique! Tenderloin for 70 later, and I was a pro back in the day...), the desserts, you name it. And at the end of the day, the lady who rose on her meat, fell on her meat (sword), if you will... Ariane packed her knives and went. (Can you see me doing the vindication dance? I'm doing it!). There were moments when I thought I had it all wrong and she might take the whole pie home, but somewhere deep down I just knew she didn't have it in her. And to lose it over meat seems rather ironic given that she rocked meat a number of times earlier... ah well.

Side note: So someone in the editing room must have gotten smacked around for the major Toby Young commenting from last week, as he was largely non-commenty until the judges table, and even then it was rather thin... other than his comment about having unprotected sex with pork. What? Huh? I think he makes up clever (sounding, to him) comments at home, and then tries to figure out where to pop up with them on the show. It just doesn't sound spontaneous, extemporaneous, however you want to say it. I'm kind of over him. He's funny, of course, but seems like he's funny for the sake of funny, rather than humorous. Fine line, he ain't walkin' it....

And then there were 8.