Last week, Maya and I hit the Apple store to shop for a new laptop for Ajay for his 40th birthday, which is just around the corner. He has had the Powerbook G4 for about 4 years, and is a true Apple convert. When it became clear that his computer had seen better days, there was no question in his mind that he would replace what he had with a new version of the exact same thing.
Me? I've always been a PC person. I am no expert, but you could say that I'm very computer savvy. I am proficient in all that Microsoft has to offer. I like to right-click my mouse, which I see as one of the major limiting factors of the Apple line.
That was before.
Before what? Well, before spending a few hours in the Apple store. When we bought the computer, we also decided to by Apple's One-to-One program which allows you to come in once a week for an hour and have one-to-one tutoring on anything you want to learn about on your Apple machine. How about that? So Ajay and I had our first session on Sunday morning and can I just say WOW????
I mean, I've always heard that Apple is much more user-friendly and more integrated than a PC. But for me, I guess I just didn't get it---I felt proud that I could happily navigate through all the obstacles my old PC threw at me. Who needs something so easy when you have decades of problem-solving under your belt??? I mean, can we say lazy?
During this first One-to-One session, we ran through all sorts of programs that came with the computer...from amazing photo capability with iPhoto, to the interface with my free iTouch that came with the computer to making our own music, we were like creative kids in a candy store! Maybe...just maybe....I'll create a photo book of our wedding photos before our 4 year anniversary!
The only sad part is that I'm afraid Ajay will never get to use his new computer...he'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hand.
Showing posts with label magical box of entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magical box of entertainment. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Top Chef Finale...Part 2
Okay, thanks to Bravo reruns, my Tivo actually did catch the finale episode and I'm able to watch it now...
We open with what a long, hard journey we're been through together...from using countless promotional products like Uncle Ben's microwave rice to Glad Storage of Everything products and Evian water. We witnessed the sabotage of Lisa's rice on several occasions, Dale's temper tantrums and Andrews frankly bizarre behavior. We saw Spike weasel his way through nearly an entire season, and witnessed lesbian girlfriends being torn apart by bad cooking and the spirit of competition. Now, here we are...Lisa, Stephanie, and Richard...and Lisa wasn't supposed to make it this far...and she didn't even get a congratulations for making it!!!!
We open in Puerto Rico to breakfast with the remaining contenders. There's obviously a little tension in the forced-together breakie...Stephanie has a hard time making eye contact with Lisa, and Richard tells us he doesn't think she should be there. Lisa tells us they're going to be beat by the under dog.
The chefs walk in to see three famous chefs standing in front of lots of protein options...April Bloomfield, Dan Barber, and Eric Ripert all wait to be selected to be the contestants sous chefs...and the chef you chose comes with the protein options in front of them. Stephanie gets to go first...she chooses Eric Ripert. Richard picks Dan Barber. That leaves Lisa to work with April Bloomfield. I wonder if Lisa will fall in love with her. Fish, poultry, then red meat and finally dessert will be the progression of the challenge. Stephanie's surprised that dessert is a requirement, Lisa says she doesn't really have a cake recipe, and she doesn't like to eat cake anyway. (I knew I didn't like her...I mean, really, who doesn't like cake???? Does she hate puppies, too?)
They start their prep today and have 3 hours to work. Tomorrow will be the big day. In the kitchen, surprisingly Lisa works well with her sous chef...April may just be the only person that Lisa "I don't like cake" clicks with all season. They get to work. Richard tells Dan what to do...remove the chicken skins..but he doesn't really have a cohesive plan yet. It's bound to evolve at some point, right? RIGHT? Stephanie begins micromanaging Eric Ripert...pointing out exactly how she'd like his fish filleted. She has a good sense of humor about herself and points out that he is probably quite capable of filleting fish.
So end of day one, we've seen some chopping, Glad product placement, and Richard demos cooking with liquid nitrogen for all the famous chefs. Lisa pounces on the opportunity to point out that Richard is too complex and she cooks with simple foods and simple ingredients (but no cake)...all the while the guest chefs sing Richard's praises and eat out of his hand at the idea of learning some new hot shot technique. Way to go Lisa "I don't do cake". And Richard is very proud to have showed the chefs stuff they didn't know about. You go Richard. Oh, and meanwhile, Lisa and her sous chef girlfriend are getting along famously. Stephanie tells us they're not used to seeing Lisa get along with anybody, so it's really a trip. April actually HUGS Lisa goodbye at the end of the day...is it love?
Next day, the contestants arrive to an empty kitchen...in walks Tom C. who breaks the news that their sous chefs aren't coming...the judges want to make sure that they live and die by their own hand. So the chefs get to work...Stephanie prioritizes, Lisa misses April, and Richard still doesn't really have a clear thought in his head about what he's making. Stephanie starts making pasta. Lisa tells us her menu is going to reflect her personality...ummm, bitter? unappealing? how do you make angry food? Oh! She says bold, salty, sweet, spicy...WOW! that's a seriously inaccurate understanding of oneself, Lisa "I don't like puppies".
Lisa's Menu...she's keeping it Asian...grilled prawns, Tom Kha Gai Soup and Dumplings, Wagyu Beef, and Thai Rice Pudding. Rice pudding? Hasn't she learned yet? From two rice cooking disasters and one rice pudding disaster, is that really the wisest choice? But then again, we are talking about Lisa "I don't like cake".
Richard tries to tell a story with his menu...he'll have us know that he isn't just a "cook with liquid nitrogen" kind of guy...he's deeper than that...he's not all bells and whistles...he's got substance...it's not just about smoke baths and whippets for him. He's going to tell his culinary story with a menu of Scallops, Guinea Hen w/ Foie Gras & eggs, some Pork Belly, and his famous Banana "Scallop" and Bacon Ice Cream for dessert...only, ummm, Richard, you've already served that banana scallop thingy two times this season...what's it going to take for you to do a "play on" something else...like, maybe turn a pineapple into a scallop? Or even a plantain from yesterweek's challenge? Couldn't a scallop be a scallop? Oh, yeah, you 're already doing that in your first course...
Stephanie is keepin' it real with a seared Red Snapper, followed by Quail with Lobster Ravioli & Quail Egg, Lamb Medallions, and a Ricotta Pound cake. I want to eat at Stephanie's table, please. Hers has cake!
Chef Tom comes in and talks to a clearly ruffled Richard, who attempts to explain his menu as "abstract"...which looks concerning to Chef Tom. Richard isn't doing too well under pressure...he tells Tom he's "in the shit right now" and Tom goes to talk to the ever more pleasant Stephanie. She's cool as a cucumber. Lisa is also relaxed and actually pleasant. Tom reflects to the camera that Richard's a mess, Stephanie's hangin' in there, and Lisa is....calm and cool...collected.
With an hour to go, Stephanie checks out her cake. She no likee. Lisa "the puppy kicker" calls her out on being a big sandbagger. Richard looks on. Lisa is calm. And somewhat likable, although she still doesn't like cake, which makes it difficult for me to like her. Richard tells us he's the best chef there with the most skill. He's a craftsman, an artist, if you will. Lisa definitely is in it to win it and thinks she's going to win. Stephanie says it's not about the $100K for her...it's about being Top Chef....Ahhhhh, the prestige of it all.
The diners arrive, Padma's wearing a gorgeous necklace...I can't take my eyes off it. The chefs come out and greet the judges and explain their culinary goals with the dinners. Padmas necklace sparkles.
They serve their first courses. The judges find Richard's scallop too complicated, Lisa's prawn too spicy, and Stephanie's red snapper juuuuust right.
Next course, the judges give Richard's offering a mixed review...although the technique was excellent, the flavors weren't quite right...perhaps a little to complicated again? Lisa's soup? They love it. Stephanie's quail breast? Balanced and delicate....but those leeks!!! They're undercooked? How dare she!!!!
Now the red meat course....Richard's pork belly is under seasoned....not crispy enough....Lisa's beef on the other hand, has good flavor, but not good texture...and Stephanie's lamb...they love it...the flavor combinations are phenomenal...they looooove it. Tom sums it up...Richard's dish needs work, Lisa's dish is pedestrian, and Stephanie's dish is juuuuuuust right. And Padma's necklace sparkles.
Now, finally we have dessert...Lisa's "may cake rot in hell" black Thai rice pudding with lime and mango creme, taro and coconut looks like...what did Anthony Bourdain call it the last time? Wood chips or pot pouri on baby food? Yeah, that's what it looks like. Stephanie offers up her ricotta pound cake with banana creme (in less expensive restaurants, the creme would be called cream). And finally, Richard "I'm not just a pretty nitrogen tank" creates dessert with what? A nitrogen tank!
Lisa's dish draws out some mixed feedback. Richard's dish was more about technique than flavor. And Stephanie's cake...well, it wasn't the greatest. So we learn once again that Top Chef contestants don't do dessert. It's really too bad that Bravo didn't contract with say, Duncan Hines for this challenge...you know...those microwave pudding cakes? That would have been a great way to finish off the whole season...with some good ol' fashioned microwave puddin' cake!! Or maybe some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls? Or why not some Hagen Daz sorbet? That sounds fancy enough to serve at a fine dinner, right guys?
Gayle says the politically correct thing...they've all won at this point. Tom points out all the different contestants strengths. It's huggy time apparently... everybody's had a good big dinner and lots of wine, and can't you just feeeeeel the love? And Padma's necklace sparkles so!
At the judge's table, now that everyone is full and drunk....Padma's eyes are lit up to match her necklace...is she happy or just tanked? The contenders show up to be judged. Richard explains his first course was supposed to be an explosion in your mouth...a palate wake up revelry if you will. Padma tells him it was under seasoned. Padma asks about Lisa's cake-hating shrimp. Lisa says she loves shrimp and wanted to serve them something the way she likes to eat it...spicy. The judges tell her it was too spicy. Gayle asks about Stephanie's Red Snapper...and then all the judges give her a metaphorical hug for filling their bellies with such perfect yummy goodness.
Next up, the second course feedback doesn't go so well for Richard. Lisa's love of soup shined through with unanimous praise, and Tom criticized Stephanie's uncooked leeks....she looked astounded...her mind is racing before our eyes...what??? I didn't cook the leeks? How could I have committed such a cardinal sin? Richard's pork belly falls flat for a lack of crispiness on the fatty part. Lisa's steak, too, falls flat, too. Stephanie's lamb wins the course again.
And dessert? Richard's was good. Lisa's was good. Stephanie's cake was fine, but the banana creme (mind you, not cream) fell short. They give the contestants an opportunity to say their peace...offer a culinary last word if you will. Stephanie pipes up with "pick me". Tom C. looks annoyed. Lisa, still ever the cake-hater, says "pick me!" Tom looks annoyed again. And Richard? he says he feels like he choked and over-thought things. And Padma's necklace sparkles.
In the Evian storage room, the chefs take a load off. The judge's discuss. They poll themselves per chef, per course. In the Evian room, Lisa tells Stephanie she nailed the first and third courses, while she herself nailed the second and fourth...leaving Richard out of the competition altogether. He looks hurt. Stung. He's not just a pretty nitrogen tank!
The judge's all have a preference. They call the chefs back for the results. More verbal hugs spill out to all the finalists. In the end....drumroll...STEPHANIE!!!!!! Richard rushes over to hug and congratulate her.....but huh?????? I didn't hear "congratulations" uttered from Lisa's cake-hating mouth. You remember, the lady who last episode made such a big to-do about how they didn't congratulate her when she made the finals? Interesting! Everybody is there to hug Stephanie...old contenders, the judges...very happy. But Richard looks terribly upset. And Lisa still hates cake. And Padma's necklace sparkles as we fade to black in yet another season of Top Chef.
We open with what a long, hard journey we're been through together...from using countless promotional products like Uncle Ben's microwave rice to Glad Storage of Everything products and Evian water. We witnessed the sabotage of Lisa's rice on several occasions, Dale's temper tantrums and Andrews frankly bizarre behavior. We saw Spike weasel his way through nearly an entire season, and witnessed lesbian girlfriends being torn apart by bad cooking and the spirit of competition. Now, here we are...Lisa, Stephanie, and Richard...and Lisa wasn't supposed to make it this far...and she didn't even get a congratulations for making it!!!!
We open in Puerto Rico to breakfast with the remaining contenders. There's obviously a little tension in the forced-together breakie...Stephanie has a hard time making eye contact with Lisa, and Richard tells us he doesn't think she should be there. Lisa tells us they're going to be beat by the under dog.
The chefs walk in to see three famous chefs standing in front of lots of protein options...April Bloomfield, Dan Barber, and Eric Ripert all wait to be selected to be the contestants sous chefs...and the chef you chose comes with the protein options in front of them. Stephanie gets to go first...she chooses Eric Ripert. Richard picks Dan Barber. That leaves Lisa to work with April Bloomfield. I wonder if Lisa will fall in love with her. Fish, poultry, then red meat and finally dessert will be the progression of the challenge. Stephanie's surprised that dessert is a requirement, Lisa says she doesn't really have a cake recipe, and she doesn't like to eat cake anyway. (I knew I didn't like her...I mean, really, who doesn't like cake???? Does she hate puppies, too?)
They start their prep today and have 3 hours to work. Tomorrow will be the big day. In the kitchen, surprisingly Lisa works well with her sous chef...April may just be the only person that Lisa "I don't like cake" clicks with all season. They get to work. Richard tells Dan what to do...remove the chicken skins..but he doesn't really have a cohesive plan yet. It's bound to evolve at some point, right? RIGHT? Stephanie begins micromanaging Eric Ripert...pointing out exactly how she'd like his fish filleted. She has a good sense of humor about herself and points out that he is probably quite capable of filleting fish.
So end of day one, we've seen some chopping, Glad product placement, and Richard demos cooking with liquid nitrogen for all the famous chefs. Lisa pounces on the opportunity to point out that Richard is too complex and she cooks with simple foods and simple ingredients (but no cake)...all the while the guest chefs sing Richard's praises and eat out of his hand at the idea of learning some new hot shot technique. Way to go Lisa "I don't do cake". And Richard is very proud to have showed the chefs stuff they didn't know about. You go Richard. Oh, and meanwhile, Lisa and her sous chef girlfriend are getting along famously. Stephanie tells us they're not used to seeing Lisa get along with anybody, so it's really a trip. April actually HUGS Lisa goodbye at the end of the day...is it love?
Next day, the contestants arrive to an empty kitchen...in walks Tom C. who breaks the news that their sous chefs aren't coming...the judges want to make sure that they live and die by their own hand. So the chefs get to work...Stephanie prioritizes, Lisa misses April, and Richard still doesn't really have a clear thought in his head about what he's making. Stephanie starts making pasta. Lisa tells us her menu is going to reflect her personality...ummm, bitter? unappealing? how do you make angry food? Oh! She says bold, salty, sweet, spicy...WOW! that's a seriously inaccurate understanding of oneself, Lisa "I don't like puppies".
Lisa's Menu...she's keeping it Asian...grilled prawns, Tom Kha Gai Soup and Dumplings, Wagyu Beef, and Thai Rice Pudding. Rice pudding? Hasn't she learned yet? From two rice cooking disasters and one rice pudding disaster, is that really the wisest choice? But then again, we are talking about Lisa "I don't like cake".
Richard tries to tell a story with his menu...he'll have us know that he isn't just a "cook with liquid nitrogen" kind of guy...he's deeper than that...he's not all bells and whistles...he's got substance...it's not just about smoke baths and whippets for him. He's going to tell his culinary story with a menu of Scallops, Guinea Hen w/ Foie Gras & eggs, some Pork Belly, and his famous Banana "Scallop" and Bacon Ice Cream for dessert...only, ummm, Richard, you've already served that banana scallop thingy two times this season...what's it going to take for you to do a "play on" something else...like, maybe turn a pineapple into a scallop? Or even a plantain from yesterweek's challenge? Couldn't a scallop be a scallop? Oh, yeah, you 're already doing that in your first course...
Stephanie is keepin' it real with a seared Red Snapper, followed by Quail with Lobster Ravioli & Quail Egg, Lamb Medallions, and a Ricotta Pound cake. I want to eat at Stephanie's table, please. Hers has cake!
Chef Tom comes in and talks to a clearly ruffled Richard, who attempts to explain his menu as "abstract"...which looks concerning to Chef Tom. Richard isn't doing too well under pressure...he tells Tom he's "in the shit right now" and Tom goes to talk to the ever more pleasant Stephanie. She's cool as a cucumber. Lisa is also relaxed and actually pleasant. Tom reflects to the camera that Richard's a mess, Stephanie's hangin' in there, and Lisa is....calm and cool...collected.
With an hour to go, Stephanie checks out her cake. She no likee. Lisa "the puppy kicker" calls her out on being a big sandbagger. Richard looks on. Lisa is calm. And somewhat likable, although she still doesn't like cake, which makes it difficult for me to like her. Richard tells us he's the best chef there with the most skill. He's a craftsman, an artist, if you will. Lisa definitely is in it to win it and thinks she's going to win. Stephanie says it's not about the $100K for her...it's about being Top Chef....Ahhhhh, the prestige of it all.
The diners arrive, Padma's wearing a gorgeous necklace...I can't take my eyes off it. The chefs come out and greet the judges and explain their culinary goals with the dinners. Padmas necklace sparkles.
They serve their first courses. The judges find Richard's scallop too complicated, Lisa's prawn too spicy, and Stephanie's red snapper juuuuust right.
Next course, the judges give Richard's offering a mixed review...although the technique was excellent, the flavors weren't quite right...perhaps a little to complicated again? Lisa's soup? They love it. Stephanie's quail breast? Balanced and delicate....but those leeks!!! They're undercooked? How dare she!!!!
Now the red meat course....Richard's pork belly is under seasoned....not crispy enough....Lisa's beef on the other hand, has good flavor, but not good texture...and Stephanie's lamb...they love it...the flavor combinations are phenomenal...they looooove it. Tom sums it up...Richard's dish needs work, Lisa's dish is pedestrian, and Stephanie's dish is juuuuuuust right. And Padma's necklace sparkles.
Now, finally we have dessert...Lisa's "may cake rot in hell" black Thai rice pudding with lime and mango creme, taro and coconut looks like...what did Anthony Bourdain call it the last time? Wood chips or pot pouri on baby food? Yeah, that's what it looks like. Stephanie offers up her ricotta pound cake with banana creme (in less expensive restaurants, the creme would be called cream). And finally, Richard "I'm not just a pretty nitrogen tank" creates dessert with what? A nitrogen tank!
Lisa's dish draws out some mixed feedback. Richard's dish was more about technique than flavor. And Stephanie's cake...well, it wasn't the greatest. So we learn once again that Top Chef contestants don't do dessert. It's really too bad that Bravo didn't contract with say, Duncan Hines for this challenge...you know...those microwave pudding cakes? That would have been a great way to finish off the whole season...with some good ol' fashioned microwave puddin' cake!! Or maybe some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls? Or why not some Hagen Daz sorbet? That sounds fancy enough to serve at a fine dinner, right guys?
Gayle says the politically correct thing...they've all won at this point. Tom points out all the different contestants strengths. It's huggy time apparently... everybody's had a good big dinner and lots of wine, and can't you just feeeeeel the love? And Padma's necklace sparkles so!
At the judge's table, now that everyone is full and drunk....Padma's eyes are lit up to match her necklace...is she happy or just tanked? The contenders show up to be judged. Richard explains his first course was supposed to be an explosion in your mouth...a palate wake up revelry if you will. Padma tells him it was under seasoned. Padma asks about Lisa's cake-hating shrimp. Lisa says she loves shrimp and wanted to serve them something the way she likes to eat it...spicy. The judges tell her it was too spicy. Gayle asks about Stephanie's Red Snapper...and then all the judges give her a metaphorical hug for filling their bellies with such perfect yummy goodness.
Next up, the second course feedback doesn't go so well for Richard. Lisa's love of soup shined through with unanimous praise, and Tom criticized Stephanie's uncooked leeks....she looked astounded...her mind is racing before our eyes...what??? I didn't cook the leeks? How could I have committed such a cardinal sin? Richard's pork belly falls flat for a lack of crispiness on the fatty part. Lisa's steak, too, falls flat, too. Stephanie's lamb wins the course again.
And dessert? Richard's was good. Lisa's was good. Stephanie's cake was fine, but the banana creme (mind you, not cream) fell short. They give the contestants an opportunity to say their peace...offer a culinary last word if you will. Stephanie pipes up with "pick me". Tom C. looks annoyed. Lisa, still ever the cake-hater, says "pick me!" Tom looks annoyed again. And Richard? he says he feels like he choked and over-thought things. And Padma's necklace sparkles.
In the Evian storage room, the chefs take a load off. The judge's discuss. They poll themselves per chef, per course. In the Evian room, Lisa tells Stephanie she nailed the first and third courses, while she herself nailed the second and fourth...leaving Richard out of the competition altogether. He looks hurt. Stung. He's not just a pretty nitrogen tank!
The judge's all have a preference. They call the chefs back for the results. More verbal hugs spill out to all the finalists. In the end....drumroll...STEPHANIE!!!!!! Richard rushes over to hug and congratulate her.....but huh?????? I didn't hear "congratulations" uttered from Lisa's cake-hating mouth. You remember, the lady who last episode made such a big to-do about how they didn't congratulate her when she made the finals? Interesting! Everybody is there to hug Stephanie...old contenders, the judges...very happy. But Richard looks terribly upset. And Lisa still hates cake. And Padma's necklace sparkles as we fade to black in yet another season of Top Chef.
Top Chef Finale...Part 1
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!
Last week I realized the Bravo channel had been added to our hi-def line up, and in reviewing the upcoming list of things for Tivo to record, I realized that the Top Chef finale would air an hour earlier (or 9 p.m.) on the hi-def channel. That means I could actually stand a chance of seeing the finale on Wednesday night rather than my typical Thursday morning viewing...see, I can't stay up much past 9:30 these days, so a 10 p.m. show is just not going to happen without Tivo.
All day yesterday I pumped myself up for the 9 p.m. viewing of Top Chef. at 8:59, I changed the channel to hi-def Bravo, only to hear "so I won Top Chef!!! I'm the first female to win! I am so happy" and I saw Stephanie on the TV, smiling from ear to ear. I just caught the tale end of the finale...the lineup on the Tivo guide was off by an hour. I just caught all the climax with none of the build up.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!!!!!
Last week I realized the Bravo channel had been added to our hi-def line up, and in reviewing the upcoming list of things for Tivo to record, I realized that the Top Chef finale would air an hour earlier (or 9 p.m.) on the hi-def channel. That means I could actually stand a chance of seeing the finale on Wednesday night rather than my typical Thursday morning viewing...see, I can't stay up much past 9:30 these days, so a 10 p.m. show is just not going to happen without Tivo.
All day yesterday I pumped myself up for the 9 p.m. viewing of Top Chef. at 8:59, I changed the channel to hi-def Bravo, only to hear "so I won Top Chef!!! I'm the first female to win! I am so happy" and I saw Stephanie on the TV, smiling from ear to ear. I just caught the tale end of the finale...the lineup on the Tivo guide was off by an hour. I just caught all the climax with none of the build up.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Top Chef Puerto Rico
The show opens, and we're reminded of last weeks butchery, Rick T.'s restaurant being overtaken by the remaining contenders, Spike's fatal flaw of not having a problem with frozen yucky scallops, Spike's ultimate demise, and Lisa squeaking through one more week....how is this possible???
Welcome to Puerto Rico! The show opens with the chefs arriving at the airport...obviously some time has elapsed...Stephanie traveled through Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia during the break. Antonia, on the other hand, opened her restaurant, and had been working 100 hours a week and her daughter is slowly adjusting to having no mother and no father....Richard shows up looking thinner and has a new found spring in his step....on the break did he set out to make some little Blaizes as he threatened to do when they were working with kids way back when? Oh, yeah, and Richard actually speaks his mind for once about the other chefs and reveals that people didn't think Lisa would be in the finals...umm, no kiddin'! It's totally a case of "which one of these chefs just doesn't belong here?" Lisa shows up, arms crossed, riding down the escalator with her new and improved more butchy haircut. Stephanie being the nice one gives her a hug, and then Lisa forces a hug out of Richard and Antonia. Can we say awkward???
They arrive to some fantastically beautiful spot where there's a table of ingredients awaiting. Welcome, chefs...now cook for us! I mean, seriously, do these people ever get to put their feet up?
It's the Quickfire Challenge. There will be a pre-challenge to eliminate one more person before the finale. Padma looks lovely in her fancy flowy top and shorty shorts and introduces Wilo Benet, a famous Puerto Rican chef. Padma explains that these Latin Americans love them some beach fritters....only she called them something else with lots of rolls of her tongue..freeee-tur-as or something like that. They go with beer. Make us some. And use plantains. Stephanie tells the camera in her experimenting with plantains, she doesn't really like them. Lisa tells us she's not scared of no plantains.
The chefs get cracking. Lisa hits the protein case first while the other chefs head straight for the plantain table sitting immediately in front of them. Smart girl...bad hair.
Then it happened...Blaize lights a fire on the stove which basically chars the ceiling, Lisa remarks holy explitive...Blaize asks everyone if they could smell his eyebrows. Lisa replies she does, and it's a little scary. Blaize says thank you. Lisa guffaws like it's the funniest joke she's ever heard. That's when I realized...poor Lisa...she's just socially awkward...she really craves interaction with other people....and all of her rage probably revolves around not being accepted by other people...she's just like everybody else and wants to be part of the gang...it's just that her personality prevents that most of the time. So there...I'll say it...I feel a little sorry for her.
The chefs chop and fry and scoop and the timer goes off and they all show us their jazz hands. Stephanie serves the judges first...holy yummy goodness...Tostones with rare tuna with pork and shrimp fritters with brown butter, lime and basil. Serve that up with a cold beer and you've just made this pregnant girl envious and bitter....I'm dying for sushi, and what I'd give for that cold beer on a hot day. Screw you guys!
Antonia serves up crispy oysters with cilantro plantain jam...she tells Padma with prompting that there isn't plantain in the actual fritter. Is that bad?
Lisa offers her Tostones with pan roasted duck with crispy duck skin and mango papaya chutney. She also serves a sweet plantain, red onion and chorizo fritter with chutney slaw....or kumquats, oranges, and cucumbers. Padma wolfs it down and pounds her beer...perhaps the spice was too much for her?
Finally Richard offers some spicy pork meatballs with ripe plantains that aren't cooked....and he offers up some fried plantains served with raw plantains as the play on salsa....um...I'm wondering if he tasted it because that sounds bland and yucky to me.
Padma and Wilo announce the bottom two...Antonia didn't use enough plantain and the consistency was bad. Richard also ended up in the bottom with dry meatballs and raw plantains....leaving Stephanie and Lisa in the top two. Ultimately Stephanie wins her first Quickfire Challenge. Then Wilo invites them to a Puerto Rican celebration for the afternoon. If I were the chefs, I seriously would have been like, "alright, now what do I have to cook under the guise of being invited to a party?" I mean, could this actually be a party for them to enjoy rather than a party that they start to enjoy and then are forced into the kitchen "just for fun"? I would be skeptical.
So later they're at a party, a pig being roasted, rum everywhere, a band, dancing, and a food buffet. In the background, a barefoot dancing Padma shows us some leg with some latin dancing. The contenders join in the party in the least possible way...in the back of their minds they probably think they'll be shoved into a kitchen to butcher another pig for the spicket.
Next day, the chefs are introduced to the next task...cook for a Puerto Rican party of 100 VIPs and Chefs at the governors house. No sweat. Tom C. shows them a dead pig. Poor Porky. They actually will have to butcher a pig! Holy Piggies!!!! They'll have to butcher it and make at least two different dishes using different parts of the pig. Then Chef Tom announces they'll have help...and in walks Dale, Nikki, Spike and Andrew...is there something wrong with Andrew? His eyes are watering. Has he been crying? Seriously...it looks like he just put down "the Kite Runner" and a box of tissues before walking on camera.
For winning the Quickfire Challenge, Stephanie gets to assign these Sous Chefs. And unlike her scheming ex-competitor Spike, she chooses who she thinks will get along the best because she wants a true competition and a harmonious kitchen. Stephanie therefore chooses Dale for herself, assigns Spike to Richard, Nikki works for Antonia, leaving Andrew for Lisa...and Andrew and Lisa don't get along. Oh wait a minute...Lisa doesn't get a long with Dale either...or anybody for that matter, so I'm thinking Stephanie did the best with what she had to work with. Anyway, upon the assignment, Andrew looks like tears are going to start streaming down his face....but says he'll play with honor...sniff sniff.
The contenders will have to stay in the kitchen and butcher their pigs, and their new sous chefs will go to the local market and buy for the menu that they'll be creating in the next hour or so. The teams seem to be well-matched and collaborative. The chefs all want to use local ingredients...but Lisa seems to be going Puerto Rican lock stock and barrel. Richard points out that the goal is to mold the challenge into something that works for your style and your strengths...it won't bode anyone well to ditch what they've been doing for the past years and try for example to cook a winning Puerto Rican menu. But we'll see. If anyone is angry enough to force it to work, it's Lisa.
The sous chefs head to the market, and who woulda known that they don't speak no English there...which, don't they understand...we're Americans? We don't know how to get along in the rest of the world if they're not willing to mold to what we need. I mean, what the hell? We don't speak Mexican! But nonetheless, the sous chefs are all able to come back with some great and interesting ingredients for their humble leaders.
Meanwhile, the chefs commence in breaking down their whole pig. A very violent scene unravels, and it's apparent that Spike is truly the only butcher in the contest...except for Antonia, who tells us it's not that hard, all you need is your chef's knife, follow the bone, and pry it out of the socket...see? not so hard!
Richard requests Spike pick up some Maltas...to marinate his ribs in. Spike and Richard give each other high fives. I'm so embarrassed. Then Antonia asks to use Richard's tape to label her stuff...but that's Richard's secret ingredient brought from home...Lisa badgers Andrew about not getting her any scallions. Andrew doesn't like her. At all. She throws some of the ingredients Andrew bought straight into the garbage. Richard tells the camera that Lisa has a bad attitude. Yeah, we know. Thanks, master of the obvious. And still she continues brow beating Andrew.
After all the prep, all the work, all the collaboration...the chefs pack up their stuff and put it in the fridge for overnight storage...except....HOLY PIG!!!!!! Dale leaves Stephanie's pork belly out on a shelf.
Next day, in walk the chefs. They realize the pork belly had been out all night...it looks like Dale is actually going to start crying. He feels horrible. I feel so bad for him. He may have just cost his friend the competition!!!! In a true show of strength, Stephanie keeps her cool, axes the pork belly from her menu, and improvises another dish on the fly. I knew I loved this girl. I mean, can we imagine how Lisa would have handled this honest mistake? The accusations of sabotage would have been flying for days!
Richard's menu goes a little something like this...BBQ Pork Shoulder, Pork Belly with Pickled Watermelon rind, Ham and Beans, and finally Ribs with Malta Glaze. That sounds fantastic to this girl eating for two.
Antonia's offering Pork Belly with Sweet Peppers, Pork Sausage with Pigeon Peas and Rice, and Curried Pork. It's becoming obvious that Antonia's game is off, she ain't doing so well...could it be utter exhaustion? Opening a restaurant before coming the the finale? Being without her daughter? Hmmm, I just don't get it Antonia!
Lisa's menu is Yuca and Pork Rellena, Citrus Braised Pork Belly, and Adobo Roasted Pork Tostone. Stephanie finalizes her re-vamped menu with Dale's help...they'll offer Chicharrones, Fruit and Prosciutto Salad, Coconut Pork with Plantain Pancake, and Pork Satay on Sugar Cane Skewers.
Antonia mentions for the 30th time that she wants to win. She doesn't want to go home. Foreshadowing? Hmmmm...she's off her game....she doesn't want to go home....her attention is divided...might as well give her the axe right now.
They transport to the party...the crowd enters. The chefs put on their final touches. Stephanie mentions one mistake will send you home. Richard says one fatal flaw is all you need. Lisa says she didn't come all this way just to be sent home.
The party starts...Antonia loads up a plate with all her stuff on it....it's a lot of food for one little plate. Padma tastes Stephanie's food...they love it. Her menu does not seem like a last minute improv. They love it all. Stephanie's safe. Next up is Richard. He offers the judges all the different components of his menu with a story of how the food relates to his life, his past. Let's just say they ate it up...the food, the stories....Richard is safe. Next up is Lisa...Let's just say they're not gobbling up her food. The judges taste a bit of everything, and then hand back nearly full plates...Lisa jokes that they aren't finishing her beautiful food...they're not entertained. She offers "lots of love" to the judges as they walk away. Poor girl...she just has no self awareness! She's not a warm and fuzzy "lots of love" kind of girl. Finally, we have Antonia...already pre-slotted for demise. She offers all the food on one plate; it looks like a big bunch of food all blending together. Padma, queen of lentils, asks how long the peas were soaked. Antonia tells her overnight. That's not a good thing...when the Indian asks about how long something was soaked, it tells me "they ain't done". Antonia....oh dear....you in trouble!
Now we're in the Puerto Rican Glad room. The chefs are tired. The judges discuss. Early on the judges reveal that Lisa and Antonia are in the bottom. Antonia mentions she knows her peas are undercooked. Padma comes in for Richard and Stephanie. Antonia tells us once again she doesn't want to go home. Meanwhile at the judges table...Padma tells Richard and Stephanie they are the top two. Tom C. tells Richard he did a great job simplifying. Wilo loved Stephanie's satays....and then announces that Richard won...and get this....he wins a new car! Richard's thrilled...smiling like he's never smiled before.
Now it's back to the Sad room...the not Glad room. The two remaining least favorites are called before the judges...Lisa doesn't have her angry face on just yet...she's almost gracious. Who is this newly hair-cutted softie? Tom C. calls her out on doing Latin food when she's known for Asian food. She tells us she lived in South Florida for 6 years and is very good with Latin food as a result. Then she lies to Wilo and tells him her little fritter things came out of the fryer 3 minutes before the guests started arriving....big lie...those bad boys were fried up and done an hour and a half before "times-up-jazz-hands"...I know because I made a mental note of it....I was thinking hmmmm, I wonder if those will stay crispy between now and service time. Regardless of the lies, they didn't like it...it was unbalanced. Now it's Antonia's turn for the wrath. They challenge her about those damn undercooked peas....she says she likes them al dente...ummm, hello, is there such a thing? Padma says absolutely not...it was a mistake that she's trying to cover up. They also challenge her about her choice to pile everything on the same plate....all the food became an indistinguishable pile of yuck.
They're sent back to the not Glad room while the judges discuss. They rag on Lisa's food. They rag on Antonia's food. Lisa tells Antonia she's going home. Antonia looks like she's about to break down. They decide. Antonia tells us one more time she doesn't want to go home. Back in front of the judges table, Lisa's arms-crossed angry faced body language returns...thank God...I was getting confused. Tom talks to the contestants. Tells them about their weaknesses....and the verdict's in....Antonia's heading home.
WHAT?
Lisa looks so happy that she can't contain herself...she covers her smile with her hand. Lisa slithered through again??? But we all know it was supposed to be Richard, Stephanie, and Antonia in the finale. Why are they doing this???? Antonia tells us once again she doesn't want to go home.
Back in the Glad room, Antonia hugs everyone goodbye and whispers in Stephanie's ear "kick their ass!" Antonia leaves blowing kisses to everybody, and tells us again she didn't want to go. Meanwhile, the remaining three sit in the room and look like they've been thoroughly beaten down...which is when Lisa found it the opportune moment to make it all about herself and her paranoia and calls them out for not congratulating her for making it through...and if that's not enough, she goes on to tell them that she's fully aware they were rooting for Antonia and don't like her. HUH???? Did she congratulate them? No. Then why does she expect them to congratulate her? What a freak!
Stephanie does the right thing and congratulates this horror of a person. Richard follows with congratulations, explaining he's just tired. Lisa tells them she feels like they think the wrong person just went home. Duh! Guess what...it's not just them, girlfriend. If for no other reason than your personality disorder! Seriously, have you ever entertained a therapist to help you work through your anger, paranoia, and need to lash out at everyone around you?
Next, on Top Chef...the finale. Lisa predicts she's going to win. Richard says he's the best. Stephanie wants to win. We're in for some drama!!!!
Welcome to Puerto Rico! The show opens with the chefs arriving at the airport...obviously some time has elapsed...Stephanie traveled through Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia during the break. Antonia, on the other hand, opened her restaurant, and had been working 100 hours a week and her daughter is slowly adjusting to having no mother and no father....Richard shows up looking thinner and has a new found spring in his step....on the break did he set out to make some little Blaizes as he threatened to do when they were working with kids way back when? Oh, yeah, and Richard actually speaks his mind for once about the other chefs and reveals that people didn't think Lisa would be in the finals...umm, no kiddin'! It's totally a case of "which one of these chefs just doesn't belong here?" Lisa shows up, arms crossed, riding down the escalator with her new and improved more butchy haircut. Stephanie being the nice one gives her a hug, and then Lisa forces a hug out of Richard and Antonia. Can we say awkward???
They arrive to some fantastically beautiful spot where there's a table of ingredients awaiting. Welcome, chefs...now cook for us! I mean, seriously, do these people ever get to put their feet up?
It's the Quickfire Challenge. There will be a pre-challenge to eliminate one more person before the finale. Padma looks lovely in her fancy flowy top and shorty shorts and introduces Wilo Benet, a famous Puerto Rican chef. Padma explains that these Latin Americans love them some beach fritters....only she called them something else with lots of rolls of her tongue..freeee-tur-as or something like that. They go with beer. Make us some. And use plantains. Stephanie tells the camera in her experimenting with plantains, she doesn't really like them. Lisa tells us she's not scared of no plantains.
The chefs get cracking. Lisa hits the protein case first while the other chefs head straight for the plantain table sitting immediately in front of them. Smart girl...bad hair.
Then it happened...Blaize lights a fire on the stove which basically chars the ceiling, Lisa remarks holy explitive...Blaize asks everyone if they could smell his eyebrows. Lisa replies she does, and it's a little scary. Blaize says thank you. Lisa guffaws like it's the funniest joke she's ever heard. That's when I realized...poor Lisa...she's just socially awkward...she really craves interaction with other people....and all of her rage probably revolves around not being accepted by other people...she's just like everybody else and wants to be part of the gang...it's just that her personality prevents that most of the time. So there...I'll say it...I feel a little sorry for her.
The chefs chop and fry and scoop and the timer goes off and they all show us their jazz hands. Stephanie serves the judges first...holy yummy goodness...Tostones with rare tuna with pork and shrimp fritters with brown butter, lime and basil. Serve that up with a cold beer and you've just made this pregnant girl envious and bitter....I'm dying for sushi, and what I'd give for that cold beer on a hot day. Screw you guys!
Antonia serves up crispy oysters with cilantro plantain jam...she tells Padma with prompting that there isn't plantain in the actual fritter. Is that bad?
Lisa offers her Tostones with pan roasted duck with crispy duck skin and mango papaya chutney. She also serves a sweet plantain, red onion and chorizo fritter with chutney slaw....or kumquats, oranges, and cucumbers. Padma wolfs it down and pounds her beer...perhaps the spice was too much for her?
Finally Richard offers some spicy pork meatballs with ripe plantains that aren't cooked....and he offers up some fried plantains served with raw plantains as the play on salsa....um...I'm wondering if he tasted it because that sounds bland and yucky to me.
Padma and Wilo announce the bottom two...Antonia didn't use enough plantain and the consistency was bad. Richard also ended up in the bottom with dry meatballs and raw plantains....leaving Stephanie and Lisa in the top two. Ultimately Stephanie wins her first Quickfire Challenge. Then Wilo invites them to a Puerto Rican celebration for the afternoon. If I were the chefs, I seriously would have been like, "alright, now what do I have to cook under the guise of being invited to a party?" I mean, could this actually be a party for them to enjoy rather than a party that they start to enjoy and then are forced into the kitchen "just for fun"? I would be skeptical.
So later they're at a party, a pig being roasted, rum everywhere, a band, dancing, and a food buffet. In the background, a barefoot dancing Padma shows us some leg with some latin dancing. The contenders join in the party in the least possible way...in the back of their minds they probably think they'll be shoved into a kitchen to butcher another pig for the spicket.
Next day, the chefs are introduced to the next task...cook for a Puerto Rican party of 100 VIPs and Chefs at the governors house. No sweat. Tom C. shows them a dead pig. Poor Porky. They actually will have to butcher a pig! Holy Piggies!!!! They'll have to butcher it and make at least two different dishes using different parts of the pig. Then Chef Tom announces they'll have help...and in walks Dale, Nikki, Spike and Andrew...is there something wrong with Andrew? His eyes are watering. Has he been crying? Seriously...it looks like he just put down "the Kite Runner" and a box of tissues before walking on camera.
For winning the Quickfire Challenge, Stephanie gets to assign these Sous Chefs. And unlike her scheming ex-competitor Spike, she chooses who she thinks will get along the best because she wants a true competition and a harmonious kitchen. Stephanie therefore chooses Dale for herself, assigns Spike to Richard, Nikki works for Antonia, leaving Andrew for Lisa...and Andrew and Lisa don't get along. Oh wait a minute...Lisa doesn't get a long with Dale either...or anybody for that matter, so I'm thinking Stephanie did the best with what she had to work with. Anyway, upon the assignment, Andrew looks like tears are going to start streaming down his face....but says he'll play with honor...sniff sniff.
The contenders will have to stay in the kitchen and butcher their pigs, and their new sous chefs will go to the local market and buy for the menu that they'll be creating in the next hour or so. The teams seem to be well-matched and collaborative. The chefs all want to use local ingredients...but Lisa seems to be going Puerto Rican lock stock and barrel. Richard points out that the goal is to mold the challenge into something that works for your style and your strengths...it won't bode anyone well to ditch what they've been doing for the past years and try for example to cook a winning Puerto Rican menu. But we'll see. If anyone is angry enough to force it to work, it's Lisa.
The sous chefs head to the market, and who woulda known that they don't speak no English there...which, don't they understand...we're Americans? We don't know how to get along in the rest of the world if they're not willing to mold to what we need. I mean, what the hell? We don't speak Mexican! But nonetheless, the sous chefs are all able to come back with some great and interesting ingredients for their humble leaders.
Meanwhile, the chefs commence in breaking down their whole pig. A very violent scene unravels, and it's apparent that Spike is truly the only butcher in the contest...except for Antonia, who tells us it's not that hard, all you need is your chef's knife, follow the bone, and pry it out of the socket...see? not so hard!
Richard requests Spike pick up some Maltas...to marinate his ribs in. Spike and Richard give each other high fives. I'm so embarrassed. Then Antonia asks to use Richard's tape to label her stuff...but that's Richard's secret ingredient brought from home...Lisa badgers Andrew about not getting her any scallions. Andrew doesn't like her. At all. She throws some of the ingredients Andrew bought straight into the garbage. Richard tells the camera that Lisa has a bad attitude. Yeah, we know. Thanks, master of the obvious. And still she continues brow beating Andrew.
After all the prep, all the work, all the collaboration...the chefs pack up their stuff and put it in the fridge for overnight storage...except....HOLY PIG!!!!!! Dale leaves Stephanie's pork belly out on a shelf.
Next day, in walk the chefs. They realize the pork belly had been out all night...it looks like Dale is actually going to start crying. He feels horrible. I feel so bad for him. He may have just cost his friend the competition!!!! In a true show of strength, Stephanie keeps her cool, axes the pork belly from her menu, and improvises another dish on the fly. I knew I loved this girl. I mean, can we imagine how Lisa would have handled this honest mistake? The accusations of sabotage would have been flying for days!
Richard's menu goes a little something like this...BBQ Pork Shoulder, Pork Belly with Pickled Watermelon rind, Ham and Beans, and finally Ribs with Malta Glaze. That sounds fantastic to this girl eating for two.
Antonia's offering Pork Belly with Sweet Peppers, Pork Sausage with Pigeon Peas and Rice, and Curried Pork. It's becoming obvious that Antonia's game is off, she ain't doing so well...could it be utter exhaustion? Opening a restaurant before coming the the finale? Being without her daughter? Hmmm, I just don't get it Antonia!
Lisa's menu is Yuca and Pork Rellena, Citrus Braised Pork Belly, and Adobo Roasted Pork Tostone. Stephanie finalizes her re-vamped menu with Dale's help...they'll offer Chicharrones, Fruit and Prosciutto Salad, Coconut Pork with Plantain Pancake, and Pork Satay on Sugar Cane Skewers.
Antonia mentions for the 30th time that she wants to win. She doesn't want to go home. Foreshadowing? Hmmmm...she's off her game....she doesn't want to go home....her attention is divided...might as well give her the axe right now.
They transport to the party...the crowd enters. The chefs put on their final touches. Stephanie mentions one mistake will send you home. Richard says one fatal flaw is all you need. Lisa says she didn't come all this way just to be sent home.
The party starts...Antonia loads up a plate with all her stuff on it....it's a lot of food for one little plate. Padma tastes Stephanie's food...they love it. Her menu does not seem like a last minute improv. They love it all. Stephanie's safe. Next up is Richard. He offers the judges all the different components of his menu with a story of how the food relates to his life, his past. Let's just say they ate it up...the food, the stories....Richard is safe. Next up is Lisa...Let's just say they're not gobbling up her food. The judges taste a bit of everything, and then hand back nearly full plates...Lisa jokes that they aren't finishing her beautiful food...they're not entertained. She offers "lots of love" to the judges as they walk away. Poor girl...she just has no self awareness! She's not a warm and fuzzy "lots of love" kind of girl. Finally, we have Antonia...already pre-slotted for demise. She offers all the food on one plate; it looks like a big bunch of food all blending together. Padma, queen of lentils, asks how long the peas were soaked. Antonia tells her overnight. That's not a good thing...when the Indian asks about how long something was soaked, it tells me "they ain't done". Antonia....oh dear....you in trouble!
Now we're in the Puerto Rican Glad room. The chefs are tired. The judges discuss. Early on the judges reveal that Lisa and Antonia are in the bottom. Antonia mentions she knows her peas are undercooked. Padma comes in for Richard and Stephanie. Antonia tells us once again she doesn't want to go home. Meanwhile at the judges table...Padma tells Richard and Stephanie they are the top two. Tom C. tells Richard he did a great job simplifying. Wilo loved Stephanie's satays....and then announces that Richard won...and get this....he wins a new car! Richard's thrilled...smiling like he's never smiled before.
Now it's back to the Sad room...the not Glad room. The two remaining least favorites are called before the judges...Lisa doesn't have her angry face on just yet...she's almost gracious. Who is this newly hair-cutted softie? Tom C. calls her out on doing Latin food when she's known for Asian food. She tells us she lived in South Florida for 6 years and is very good with Latin food as a result. Then she lies to Wilo and tells him her little fritter things came out of the fryer 3 minutes before the guests started arriving....big lie...those bad boys were fried up and done an hour and a half before "times-up-jazz-hands"...I know because I made a mental note of it....I was thinking hmmmm, I wonder if those will stay crispy between now and service time. Regardless of the lies, they didn't like it...it was unbalanced. Now it's Antonia's turn for the wrath. They challenge her about those damn undercooked peas....she says she likes them al dente...ummm, hello, is there such a thing? Padma says absolutely not...it was a mistake that she's trying to cover up. They also challenge her about her choice to pile everything on the same plate....all the food became an indistinguishable pile of yuck.
They're sent back to the not Glad room while the judges discuss. They rag on Lisa's food. They rag on Antonia's food. Lisa tells Antonia she's going home. Antonia looks like she's about to break down. They decide. Antonia tells us one more time she doesn't want to go home. Back in front of the judges table, Lisa's arms-crossed angry faced body language returns...thank God...I was getting confused. Tom talks to the contestants. Tells them about their weaknesses....and the verdict's in....Antonia's heading home.
WHAT?
Lisa looks so happy that she can't contain herself...she covers her smile with her hand. Lisa slithered through again??? But we all know it was supposed to be Richard, Stephanie, and Antonia in the finale. Why are they doing this???? Antonia tells us once again she doesn't want to go home.
Back in the Glad room, Antonia hugs everyone goodbye and whispers in Stephanie's ear "kick their ass!" Antonia leaves blowing kisses to everybody, and tells us again she didn't want to go. Meanwhile, the remaining three sit in the room and look like they've been thoroughly beaten down...which is when Lisa found it the opportune moment to make it all about herself and her paranoia and calls them out for not congratulating her for making it through...and if that's not enough, she goes on to tell them that she's fully aware they were rooting for Antonia and don't like her. HUH???? Did she congratulate them? No. Then why does she expect them to congratulate her? What a freak!
Stephanie does the right thing and congratulates this horror of a person. Richard follows with congratulations, explaining he's just tired. Lisa tells them she feels like they think the wrong person just went home. Duh! Guess what...it's not just them, girlfriend. If for no other reason than your personality disorder! Seriously, have you ever entertained a therapist to help you work through your anger, paranoia, and need to lash out at everyone around you?
Next, on Top Chef...the finale. Lisa predicts she's going to win. Richard says he's the best. Stephanie wants to win. We're in for some drama!!!!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Top Chef High Steaks
The show opens with a recap of last week...reminding us of just how mismatched the "competition" was...how everyone elses is to blame for Lisa's inability to make rice (maybe she should try the frozen pre-made microwave kind from Trader Joe's...that always works in a pinch for me!), how much of a weasel Spike is, and finally, that Dale was sent packin' for reasons that are still unclear when compared to Lisa's shortcomings that don't stop at rice.
The sun rises, the chefs are getting ready, everyone is sleep deprived. Antonia talks about being one more week away from the finale. Stephanie chimes in reminding us that there have never been this many women still competing at this point in the race. The team takes off and heads out for the Quickfire. They head to Alan Brothers, purveyors of dry aged beef, and put on all the protective clothing. Antonia mentions she's not good at cutting meat...in a pinch she can figure it out. Spike says both of his grandfathers were butchers and he can cut meat with the best of them. We're shown a big slab of meat, and the contestants are told they have to cut it into individual chops from the racks, making sure the bone is Frenched...Lisa immediately tells us just how difficult this is. The competition begins...they're given 20 minutes. Already I'm missing Dale and the catastrophe of slaughter he would have been sure to create...remember him mutilating that monk fish in the quickfire challenge?
The chefs go at it. They all complain about the level of difficulty. Only Spike has what seems to be a good strategy of removing the tough aged part first, and then going at dividing the steaks into chops, finally cleaning them up at the end. It's so easy it's not even funny, he says. Well, goody for you Spike, not everyone agrees. Lisa mentions it'll suck to go home before the final four. Again, is this foreshadowing already? Already she's mentioned the finale twice in the first 5 minutes of the show...so maybe she's going home!!! A girl can only hope. They call times-up, and Spike tells all the disappointed losers that he "rocked it"...what a nice guy.
They head back tot he Top Chef kitchen with their steaks that they've just mutilated. Padma and Rick Tramonto, a Chicago chef, is waiting for them. They're told now they'll do the second part of the quickfire challenge....huh? A two part quickfire? The steaks are definitely getting higher!!! This part of the of the challenge requires the contestants to make a tomahawk steak for Rick from the carcases that they just created back at Alan Brothers. Rick says making a steak is all about the cut and temperature...and he'll take his medium rare, please.
All the chefs use different strategies, and Spike once again boasts and brags about his expertise in this arena. The grill over open flames, oven roast, pan fry. And when time's up, Rick and Padma go through and cut into all the steaks...they don't even taste them. Rick is actually only looking for cut and temperature, just like he said. After inspecting all of them, he tells Steph she loses....the butchery was bad and the steak undercooked. She agreed. Richard's bad butchery was also called out, and it was also undercooked. Lisa and Spike and Antonia were given kudos for the challenge, and Spike ultimately won...as if we're surprised.
They announce the next challenge is to take over Rick's restaurant. He reminds them what a great restaurant it is and begs them not to be idiots and screw it up. Padma goes on to explain that each are responsible for an appetizer and an entree. And you have to create the menu based on what Rick has in his kitchen; Spike gets to pick his first because he "rocked" the challenge. Lisa as always reminds us why that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing to have that advantage...that's our little rain cloud, always looking for the rainy side of things! Oh yeah, and they restaurant is fully booked.
Oh wait a minute...no he didn't...no she didn't. Back at the house, Spike and Antonia are discussing Spike's excellence, and they talk about his grandfather's spirit butchering the meat through Spike...gimme a break...eye roll....whatever you say, freak. Spike says Stephanie is the best of the girl-chefs, and he would like to see Antonia go home. Richard tells us he has a lot to prove to his girlfriend Padma...not sure why he divulges this.
Meanwhile they arrive at the restaurant. Spike chooses his ingredients first...the tomahawk steaks and frozen scallops. Because with the "high steaks", why not cook the same exact thing for the judges that you just cooked this morning? That's totally a good idea. All the other chefs think he's nuts to chose a frozen seafood as his advantage ingredient. No one is in the least threatened by his "advantage" since no one knew how to cook a tomahawk in the first place, and no one cares to deal with frozen fish. This is totally opposite of his botched box lunch selection of yester-week when he chose his ingredients solely based on what would screw the other up. Might I suggest something in the middle, Spike? Perhaps a little bit of strategy coupled with a little bit of cooking what you want to cook?
The other chefs choose their ingredients. They're given 3 hours to prepare their menu and begin their prep. Lisa announces she's going to make peanut butter mashed potatoes. Okay, is a cartoon character cooking for 2 year olds? How disgusting does that sound?
Spike waits awhile to unwrap his scallops, and finds them really wet. Why the surprise? Isn't all previously frozen seafood a little wet? But Spike is freaking...how can you sear a wet scallop!? You can't!!! Oh no! He uses a rain forest worth of paper towels to try to dry them off, but we're left feeling very skeptical about how those little slimy balls of the sea will turn out.
Tom C. shows up to check in with the gang. Antonia tells him she's offering a warm mushroom salad with artichokes. poached egg and vinaigrette. In addition, she'll offer a bone-in rib eye with a caramelized gratin for her entree. Stephanie tells Tom C. the challenge is a good one. Richard tells him he's doing Hamachi as a starter and a beef tenderloin (to prove himself to his raven haired beauty, Padma, no doubt) with potatoes, turnips in red wine...Tom C. looks a little surprised at this choice because it's very simple for Richard. Lisa tells Tom C. she's doing grilled & chilled shrimp to start and a new york strip with spicy apple caramel and don't forget the peanut butter mashers...seriously...is she cooking for toddlers? Tom C. seems interested and scared at the same time. Spike shakes Tom's hand with gloved scallop-sodden hands and goes back to handling the scallops without changing the gloves. I'm sure Tom was happy to shake that fishy hand, as I'm sure the people who order the dish will be happy to know that he didn't change the glove after shaking hands. Call me crazy, but do we know what Tom was doing with those hands before coming to the kitchen? Sure he looks like a clean guy but do we know this? Anyway, Tom challenges Spike's choice of frozen seafood for his appetizer, and Spike tells him if he can make these things good, he can do anything. Doesn't sound like he's utilized his "advantage" to the fullest, does it?
The group is told Tom will be expediting the orders...this I'm sure is their attempt to not completely sink poor Rick's restaurant. Tom C. lays down the law of his kitchen. The chefs are excited to work with him hands on.
With 15 minutes to go, Spike begins second guessing himself...based on Tom's feedback. How could his advantage become a disadvantage!!!! Tom brings in the 3 guest judges...all prior season Top Chefs...they give solid words of advice, and dinner begins.
The judges immediately throw a wrench into everything by ordering a tasting menu, which isn't on the menu...basically they have to pull together six servings at 1/3 of the size. Lisa's unhappy about this...as usual. They start service...they start with Lisa's grilled & chilled shrimp....the verdict...it's not bad! Next up is Richard's play on veal and tuna....the verdict...delicious!!! Next up are Spike's slimy scallops...the verdict...ho hum....not terrible...not interesting. Stephanie's up and offers her sweetbreads with golden raisins and pine nuts and bacon....the verdict...yummy and better than Spike's. Finally they serve Antonia's mushroom and artichoke salad with a poached egg...looks good....but what's the verdict? Not the best appetizer...the lettuce got really soggy by the end of the dish due to the yolk running everywhere.
Next, Tom C. asks for their main dishes. Again, the judges wonder why Richard has deconstructed everything when the flavors work much better together...it creates too much work for the diner to put the perfect bites together. Okay, is it just me, or is that a pretty lame criticism? It's too much work? I actually enjoy making different bites with different components. Whatever...I guess I'm not the judge. Next up is Lisa "Sunshine" with her steak and those peanut butter mashers...and surprisingly Rick likes it...the others are not so impressed. Next is Spike's tomahawk steak...it's good but not a blow-away dish. Stephanie is up next with her tenderloin...the judges love it. Antonia is up next offering her rib eye. The judge's love it.
Back in the Glad storage room, Lisa proposes a fucking toast to all of the fucking contestants and they fucking rocked all the challenges and no matter fucking what, blah blah blah...whatever Lisa. Go spread your sunshine elsewhere. My prediction at this point is Spike is going home...but we'll see. Padma enters and asks for everyone. At the judge's table, Padma reminds them this is the last time at the table before the finale.
The judge's offer feedback to all of them...then we come to Spike and those slimy scallops. Spike blames Rick T. for having substandard ingredients in his restaurant...Rick T. will "take the shot" but seriously, is that the smartest thing to do? Insult the guest judge? I predict again Spike is goin' home! Let's see The Weasel get out of this one!
The judges deliberate...high marks for Stephanie and Antonia. Split remarks for Richard's food...good for the appetizer, mediocre for the main. Spike gets bad marks for scallops, and medium marks for the steak. Lisa is also in the bottom for the grilled & chilled shrimp and the overall nastiness of her being. They debate between the two of them...who will it be??? Thank God we're down to the Weasel and the Sunshine Spreader!
The chefs come back in the judges room to hear the verdict. They join hands...ewwwww. They announce the winner...as we thought...Stephanie wins based on both her appetizer and entree being judge favorites! Her prize...a cookbook from Rick T. and a suite of GE kitchen equipment...how awesome is that???
They tell Richard he's made it into the finale based on his appetizer, and Antonia also gets a pass to the finale based on her main dish. Now it's down to Spike and Lisa. Who's it going to be???? Lisa stands with a shitty glare on her face and arms crossed. Tom tells her she's been in the bottom 5 times, and Spike's been there 7 times. Spike is criticized that he chose bad scallops. The verdict.....Spike, pack your knives, buddy, you're going home, dude.
How is Lisa still here? is it her sunny disposition or warm personality?
Next week, Lisa's excited and predicts she will "shock the shit out of the judge's" in Puerto Rico...next stop...the finale. And a new even more butch haircut for Lisa...did she go to Richard's barber during the break??? Oh, and as always, here's a better blog than mine about Top Chef.
The sun rises, the chefs are getting ready, everyone is sleep deprived. Antonia talks about being one more week away from the finale. Stephanie chimes in reminding us that there have never been this many women still competing at this point in the race. The team takes off and heads out for the Quickfire. They head to Alan Brothers, purveyors of dry aged beef, and put on all the protective clothing. Antonia mentions she's not good at cutting meat...in a pinch she can figure it out. Spike says both of his grandfathers were butchers and he can cut meat with the best of them. We're shown a big slab of meat, and the contestants are told they have to cut it into individual chops from the racks, making sure the bone is Frenched...Lisa immediately tells us just how difficult this is. The competition begins...they're given 20 minutes. Already I'm missing Dale and the catastrophe of slaughter he would have been sure to create...remember him mutilating that monk fish in the quickfire challenge?
The chefs go at it. They all complain about the level of difficulty. Only Spike has what seems to be a good strategy of removing the tough aged part first, and then going at dividing the steaks into chops, finally cleaning them up at the end. It's so easy it's not even funny, he says. Well, goody for you Spike, not everyone agrees. Lisa mentions it'll suck to go home before the final four. Again, is this foreshadowing already? Already she's mentioned the finale twice in the first 5 minutes of the show...so maybe she's going home!!! A girl can only hope. They call times-up, and Spike tells all the disappointed losers that he "rocked it"...what a nice guy.
They head back tot he Top Chef kitchen with their steaks that they've just mutilated. Padma and Rick Tramonto, a Chicago chef, is waiting for them. They're told now they'll do the second part of the quickfire challenge....huh? A two part quickfire? The steaks are definitely getting higher!!! This part of the of the challenge requires the contestants to make a tomahawk steak for Rick from the carcases that they just created back at Alan Brothers. Rick says making a steak is all about the cut and temperature...and he'll take his medium rare, please.
All the chefs use different strategies, and Spike once again boasts and brags about his expertise in this arena. The grill over open flames, oven roast, pan fry. And when time's up, Rick and Padma go through and cut into all the steaks...they don't even taste them. Rick is actually only looking for cut and temperature, just like he said. After inspecting all of them, he tells Steph she loses....the butchery was bad and the steak undercooked. She agreed. Richard's bad butchery was also called out, and it was also undercooked. Lisa and Spike and Antonia were given kudos for the challenge, and Spike ultimately won...as if we're surprised.
They announce the next challenge is to take over Rick's restaurant. He reminds them what a great restaurant it is and begs them not to be idiots and screw it up. Padma goes on to explain that each are responsible for an appetizer and an entree. And you have to create the menu based on what Rick has in his kitchen; Spike gets to pick his first because he "rocked" the challenge. Lisa as always reminds us why that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing to have that advantage...that's our little rain cloud, always looking for the rainy side of things! Oh yeah, and they restaurant is fully booked.
Oh wait a minute...no he didn't...no she didn't. Back at the house, Spike and Antonia are discussing Spike's excellence, and they talk about his grandfather's spirit butchering the meat through Spike...gimme a break...eye roll....whatever you say, freak. Spike says Stephanie is the best of the girl-chefs, and he would like to see Antonia go home. Richard tells us he has a lot to prove to his girlfriend Padma...not sure why he divulges this.
Meanwhile they arrive at the restaurant. Spike chooses his ingredients first...the tomahawk steaks and frozen scallops. Because with the "high steaks", why not cook the same exact thing for the judges that you just cooked this morning? That's totally a good idea. All the other chefs think he's nuts to chose a frozen seafood as his advantage ingredient. No one is in the least threatened by his "advantage" since no one knew how to cook a tomahawk in the first place, and no one cares to deal with frozen fish. This is totally opposite of his botched box lunch selection of yester-week when he chose his ingredients solely based on what would screw the other up. Might I suggest something in the middle, Spike? Perhaps a little bit of strategy coupled with a little bit of cooking what you want to cook?
The other chefs choose their ingredients. They're given 3 hours to prepare their menu and begin their prep. Lisa announces she's going to make peanut butter mashed potatoes. Okay, is a cartoon character cooking for 2 year olds? How disgusting does that sound?
Spike waits awhile to unwrap his scallops, and finds them really wet. Why the surprise? Isn't all previously frozen seafood a little wet? But Spike is freaking...how can you sear a wet scallop!? You can't!!! Oh no! He uses a rain forest worth of paper towels to try to dry them off, but we're left feeling very skeptical about how those little slimy balls of the sea will turn out.
Tom C. shows up to check in with the gang. Antonia tells him she's offering a warm mushroom salad with artichokes. poached egg and vinaigrette. In addition, she'll offer a bone-in rib eye with a caramelized gratin for her entree. Stephanie tells Tom C. the challenge is a good one. Richard tells him he's doing Hamachi as a starter and a beef tenderloin (to prove himself to his raven haired beauty, Padma, no doubt) with potatoes, turnips in red wine...Tom C. looks a little surprised at this choice because it's very simple for Richard. Lisa tells Tom C. she's doing grilled & chilled shrimp to start and a new york strip with spicy apple caramel and don't forget the peanut butter mashers...seriously...is she cooking for toddlers? Tom C. seems interested and scared at the same time. Spike shakes Tom's hand with gloved scallop-sodden hands and goes back to handling the scallops without changing the gloves. I'm sure Tom was happy to shake that fishy hand, as I'm sure the people who order the dish will be happy to know that he didn't change the glove after shaking hands. Call me crazy, but do we know what Tom was doing with those hands before coming to the kitchen? Sure he looks like a clean guy but do we know this? Anyway, Tom challenges Spike's choice of frozen seafood for his appetizer, and Spike tells him if he can make these things good, he can do anything. Doesn't sound like he's utilized his "advantage" to the fullest, does it?
The group is told Tom will be expediting the orders...this I'm sure is their attempt to not completely sink poor Rick's restaurant. Tom C. lays down the law of his kitchen. The chefs are excited to work with him hands on.
With 15 minutes to go, Spike begins second guessing himself...based on Tom's feedback. How could his advantage become a disadvantage!!!! Tom brings in the 3 guest judges...all prior season Top Chefs...they give solid words of advice, and dinner begins.
The judges immediately throw a wrench into everything by ordering a tasting menu, which isn't on the menu...basically they have to pull together six servings at 1/3 of the size. Lisa's unhappy about this...as usual. They start service...they start with Lisa's grilled & chilled shrimp....the verdict...it's not bad! Next up is Richard's play on veal and tuna....the verdict...delicious!!! Next up are Spike's slimy scallops...the verdict...ho hum....not terrible...not interesting. Stephanie's up and offers her sweetbreads with golden raisins and pine nuts and bacon....the verdict...yummy and better than Spike's. Finally they serve Antonia's mushroom and artichoke salad with a poached egg...looks good....but what's the verdict? Not the best appetizer...the lettuce got really soggy by the end of the dish due to the yolk running everywhere.
Next, Tom C. asks for their main dishes. Again, the judges wonder why Richard has deconstructed everything when the flavors work much better together...it creates too much work for the diner to put the perfect bites together. Okay, is it just me, or is that a pretty lame criticism? It's too much work? I actually enjoy making different bites with different components. Whatever...I guess I'm not the judge. Next up is Lisa "Sunshine" with her steak and those peanut butter mashers...and surprisingly Rick likes it...the others are not so impressed. Next is Spike's tomahawk steak...it's good but not a blow-away dish. Stephanie is up next with her tenderloin...the judges love it. Antonia is up next offering her rib eye. The judge's love it.
Back in the Glad storage room, Lisa proposes a fucking toast to all of the fucking contestants and they fucking rocked all the challenges and no matter fucking what, blah blah blah...whatever Lisa. Go spread your sunshine elsewhere. My prediction at this point is Spike is going home...but we'll see. Padma enters and asks for everyone. At the judge's table, Padma reminds them this is the last time at the table before the finale.
The judge's offer feedback to all of them...then we come to Spike and those slimy scallops. Spike blames Rick T. for having substandard ingredients in his restaurant...Rick T. will "take the shot" but seriously, is that the smartest thing to do? Insult the guest judge? I predict again Spike is goin' home! Let's see The Weasel get out of this one!
The judges deliberate...high marks for Stephanie and Antonia. Split remarks for Richard's food...good for the appetizer, mediocre for the main. Spike gets bad marks for scallops, and medium marks for the steak. Lisa is also in the bottom for the grilled & chilled shrimp and the overall nastiness of her being. They debate between the two of them...who will it be??? Thank God we're down to the Weasel and the Sunshine Spreader!
The chefs come back in the judges room to hear the verdict. They join hands...ewwwww. They announce the winner...as we thought...Stephanie wins based on both her appetizer and entree being judge favorites! Her prize...a cookbook from Rick T. and a suite of GE kitchen equipment...how awesome is that???
They tell Richard he's made it into the finale based on his appetizer, and Antonia also gets a pass to the finale based on her main dish. Now it's down to Spike and Lisa. Who's it going to be???? Lisa stands with a shitty glare on her face and arms crossed. Tom tells her she's been in the bottom 5 times, and Spike's been there 7 times. Spike is criticized that he chose bad scallops. The verdict.....Spike, pack your knives, buddy, you're going home, dude.
How is Lisa still here? is it her sunny disposition or warm personality?
Next week, Lisa's excited and predicts she will "shock the shit out of the judge's" in Puerto Rico...next stop...the finale. And a new even more butch haircut for Lisa...did she go to Richard's barber during the break??? Oh, and as always, here's a better blog than mine about Top Chef.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Top Chef Restaurant Wars
Previously on Top Chef...we're reminded just how annoying Andrew is, and just how negative Lisa is. We're reminded that we're glad that Andrew is gone.
The quickfire challenge...Tom C. shows up 5:45 a.m. He turns on lights, gets people out of bed, and picks them up to go Lou Mitchell's Restaurant to work an egg station during breakfast. They're going to take turns at the egg station. As the chefs are introduced to the egg station and how things work, I notice with horror that Richard has adopted Dale's use of a headband. Richard is wearing a headband. Thinking back, I remember the kiwi Mark wearing his fuzzy 'fro in a headband, and I know that I've seen Dale with a headband on before...but Richard? Is this the ultimate "me, too, guys, me, too!" or what?
Anotonia goes first...she tells us she loves to test her abilities and jump into the middle of the line...as if this is her favorite daily activity. Whatever. Two eggs over hard. Two singles over easy sandwiches. Martin (the regular egg station chef) tells her to flip the eggs again. The owner lady asks if the potatoes are done. Times up. Next up is Stephanie, Dale then Richard then Spike, who tells us the key to working well in this type of environment is to be very methodical in your movements. He shows Martin that he's down with his peeps by speaking Spanish to him...Meanwhile we see flashbacks of Stephanie's poached egg disaster, her breaking yolks and starting over. Richard tells us he's not familiar with some of the breakfast lingo audibles...huh? Lisa sets a Styrofoam box almost on fire...she's "so fuckin' done". Waiters keep on comin'...barking orders...two eggs over easy, an egg over hard with sausage, what a stressful j-o-b!!! The owner decides the top two are Antonia and Dale, and Antonia ultimately wins. Once again, the only contestant that made a comment about how great they are for this challenge is the winner...couldn't have seen that coming! Sidenote: the woman who crowned Antonia has just forever changed the course of the show...if she had chosen Dale as the winner, the whole show would have been dramatically different. However, we at home could not have possibly known her power at this point.
Tom C. gives them an address...hello product placement! The chefs have to use their GPS mobile phone to figure out where to go next. Does anyone else need a nap by this point? I mean, Tom. C. woke them up before 6 a.m. and the already had to do a quickfire challenge...can't they take a nap yet?
They arrive at an unfamiliar building with Padma awaiting, and she announces Restaurant Wars is back. Lisa is "really fucking excited" about this...this is what she's "been fucking waiting for". They divide into two teams. Each restaurant will serve 35 dinner guests and have $1500 to spend on food and $5000 from Pier One for decor. As the winner of the Quickfire Challenge, Antonia's advantage is that she gets to choose her team! Okay, why not hand her immunity? Because with this group, there's only one obvious choice...She chooses Stephanie and Richard. Dale tells us he would've chose the same people if he were in Antonia's shoes...but in the end, it's a rematch of wedding wars..the dream team versus the dysfunctional ragers. Lisa, Dale and Spike...what a gaggle of freaks. What a team. Dale tells us he's not as upset as wedding wars because at least Nikki is gone and that's one less person to deal with. Poor Dale...always looking on the bright side of things.
At this point I'd like to predict that Team Antonia wins, and Lisa goes home. After all, she told us that her goal was to make it through (not to) Restaurant Wars.
Team Antonia sits down to plan...they're thinking gastric pub. Sounds great. Team Dale talks about family style Asian food with a good feel. How many things are wrong with this picture??? My idea of family-style is big bowls being passed from person to person...on Top Chef??? And Lisa talking about having a "good feel" restaurant is also a contradiction. Could she be the least self-aware person on the planet? Everything about Lisa screams angry lesbian with a chip on her shoulder. Both Lisa and Dale want to do executive chef, and ultimately Dale wins the coin toss. Spike reminds us that Lisa, Dale, and he all have Asian backgrounds, and they need to win in order to send one of the top contenders home.
They do their shopping at Whole Foods, then head off in the Highlander to Pier One. Boy that's a whole lot of product placement in one minute!! At Pier One the two teams set out to create a feel for their restaurants.
Back in the kitchen, Lisa is already fighting Dale about where in the kitchen she'll be working. They're off to a great start. Spike is in charge of decor. Their menu will consist of Shrimp Laksa and Pork & Pickled Plum Pot Stickers for the first course. For the second course, they'll serve Butterscotch Miso Scallops, and Braised Short Ribs. Finally, for dessert they're making Halo-Halo (flavored ice) and Mango Sticky Rice. Spike claims responsibility for the braised short ribs, which he points out he won't have to babysit...they cook for three and a half hours and you just let them go...okay, I get that he's also the general manager and in charge of the front of the house, but taking on only the short ribs seems to predict a disastrous frenzy of Dale getting angry for having to do all the work while Lisa scowls at the camera and talks smack about Dale. Oh, sorry, that was Wedding Wars. Or...nevermind...is this a total deja-vu?
On Team Antonia, Antonia will be Exec Chef, Richard will be in the kitchen and Stephanie will run the front of the house. The first course will be Beet and Goat Cheese Salad, and Linguine and Clams. Their second course will be Trout with Cauliflower & hazelnut brown butter and Lamb Leg & Loin. For dessert, they're offering Gorgonzola Cheesecake and Banana "Scallops". Stephanie is making the home made pasta (and Antonia didn't buy a backup pre-made, so you just know it's likely to be a problem...especially since they're already talking about how this pasta has to work.)
In walks Anthony Bourdain, who announces he's filling in for Tom C. today. I love Anthony B!!! He talks with both teams, and identifies the differences in the teams...Team Antonia are setting modest expectations, which makes it easier to really go above and beyond. However, they're not taking risks. On Team Dale, Tony thinks it could go really really well or really really badly...Asia's big! How well can you do at all those things??? Already his expectations are higher for Team Dale.
Tony B. announces they'll have an extra set of hands for each team, and in walks the fallen soldiers of yester-weeks. Nikki, Mark, tweaker boy Andrew, "I'm doing it for Zoi" Jen. Can I predict something? That team Antonia picks Nikki to do their pasta? And Team Dale? Who would want to work in that disaster of a kitchen? They choose Jen. Antonia takes Nikki, as predicted. Mark and Andrew aren't chosen....surprise.
Dale's avocado stuff is brown and unappealing looking, but apparently it tastes okay. In an attempt to save the dish, Dale works himself into a deeper hole, and Lisa begins bashing him for being on edge and losing it. Again, Lisa starts screaming that some one pulled her rice off. Sabotage!!!!! She blames Dale for setting a bad tone on the team, and Lisa can't be held responsible for her bad attitude when it's all Dale's fault...........huh??? Again with the self awareness. This lady needs some serious couch time with a shrink.
Nikki tells Richard that his clams are gritty. He claims he cleaned them well. Again, deja-vu? Didn't Richard leave mouthfuls of scales on his salmon earlier in the season? Maybe this guy shouldn't be trusted with seafood cleaning! They wash them again. No sweat. Team Antonia is all on board with all the dishes...not every man for himself and his dish like on Team Dale. Dale and Spike take turns tasting Lisa's soup, which is all smoke, no heat, and has a funky sour taste. Immediately Spike is staying clear of this ready-to-explode grenade...he won't be going down for her mistakes. In the meantime, Lisa's sticky rice isn't sticky. It's Dale's fault. She didn't want to make sticky rice. Dale should have made it...but he's working on something else. Dale tells Lisa to mix up a pastry filling to mix with the rice just to salvage some sort of dessert. It looks awful. The clock is ticking down, the stress is rising. It's almost time....it's on!!!
Antonia remains calm in her camera conversations. She knows something. Did they already win or what? Did her team win the prize? Talk about predictable.
Padma introduces Jose Andres from Spain...and everybody knows that the Spaniards are the leading front of gastronomic societies in the world. He's the host of Made in Spain, a great show on PBS. The judges sit down and begin the first course at Team Antonia's gastro-pub.
The decor is nice, conservative, and comfortable. The menus are simply printed. And most importantly, everything tastes good...the linguine with clams has great flavor and texture, and the beet salad gets compliments on the goat cheese they selected. Stephanie does a good job interacting with the judges and is well informed about the menu. The next course is the trout or lamb. The judges love the lamb and trout. They're flying through this competition. Again, Stephanie presents the final course with grace. Anthony B. mentions he is not a fan of the brown smear of chocolate beneath the banana...but all in all, they judges are impressed.
Now it's time to taste Team Dale's Disastrous Dinner. Okay, first of all, the decor...Spike went crazy mad with Buddhas...all different kinds of Buddhas...Zen Buddhist Buddhas, Hindu Buddhas....umm, maybe he doesn't realize they're different? Is this a Chinese restaurant? Or an Indian restaurant? Anyway...let's move on. Spike greets the judges, who are busy commenting on the purple napkins...are they circa Prince and Purple Rain or Aerosmith? Not a good way to start off. I mean, could it be worse? Oh, yes, it could, perhaps if the first course is Lisa's only HUGE mistake of a soup...offered to none other than Anthony "King of Laksa" Bourdain. But let's not focus on Lisa's bad food...let's focus on how she immediately shifts to Dale's attitude and how bad his delivery is with the wait staff. At this point, I'm uncertain if she could point any more fingers without growing another hand...
So the first course is served...the spicy shrimp laksa and home made pot stickers. They love the dumplings, but the soup is too smoky as we know. Next up is the scallop or short rib course. Spike points out that the portions aren't really right. Dale says serve the food and calls Spike a bleeping idiot after he leaves the room. Go team bad energy!!! The judges totally diss the scallops; who thought of butterscotch anyway??? Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Spike attempts to communicate with the waiters, but no one can hear a thing over Dale's shouting "let's go let's go let's go!" at the top of his lungs...Lisa yells back at him "Jesus!" Dale says she's just jealous that he's the Exec Chef, and by the way, she's also negative, doesn't take criticism well, etc. Okay...umm, and your behavior is stellar, Dale??? Spike brings in beers, attempts to diminish the tension, Dale says focus on getting dessert out, Lisa screams "we're not drinking!!!" and again, blames Dale as Exec Chef for her shortcomings in this challenge. I'm already salivating at what's bound to happen at the judges table...will they come to blows???
They serve the Halo-Halo, which looks disgusting and brown, but shines in comparison to what Anthony B. calls Lisa's baby vomit with wood chips sticky rice dessert. Ahhh, the foreshadowing. Lisa's dishes both sucked tonight, she's blaming Dale's lack of leadership and style throughout...could my dreams be coming true before my eyes? Is the Queen of Rage about to be sent packing? Meanwhile, again in the kitchen, Spike says all the diners loved everything...is he smoking the wacky tobaccy? Is this his attempt to call himself successful, as the guy in the front of the house? That way he can claim that people gave him great feedback?
So now it's time to hit the Glad storage room...the teams open beers...I half expect Lisa to break her bottle over Dale's head. Padma enters and asks for Team Antonia...big surprise. The team talks about their responsibilities, and Antonia doesn't look happy when the judges reveal that they love the pasta and the Gorgonzola...it appears Stephanie is going to steal her victory...can it be true?? Yes! Stephanie wins the challenge! She wins a culinary tour trip for two to Barcelona and a guided wine tasting, all with luxury accommodations. Go Stephanie!!!
Team Dale is called before the judges. The judges begin by ripping on the tablecloths and napkins, which Spike calls a group decision, but Lisa's rage-filled face says otherwise. They also ripped on the decor as being too formal for the food. Butterscotch scallops...Dale's baby...nothing seemed to work. The Laksa...it was awful...way too smoky. Lisa executed it poorly but it was Spike's idea, who tells the judges his Laksa is much different than Lisa's...the implications are not lost. It becomes a finger pointing free-for-all, with everyone wanting credit of the only good thing that was served, and everyone scattering like alley cats away from the awful ideas and outcomes. The Spaniard comes down on them for their lack of teamwork. Dale calls Lisa the weakest link. She pulls a knife and says you're only as good as your leader, and guts Dale to the bone. Okay, maybe there wasn't a knife fight, but there might as well have been. The room clears, the judges discuss. Bourdain brings up Lisa's body language and inability to take criticism from them or anyone else..which makes me ask..why is she there? Isn't she hoping to better herself and her skills by having access to some of the world's great chefs? No? She's just there for the cash prize? Oh, then that makes sense now! And Dale...those may be the last yucky sugary scallops that home boy makes for the judges of Top Chef.
It's go time...they call them back in and get a lecture from the judges...Dale is told he fell down hard from a leadership standpoint. Lisa's dishes were awful. Spike lucked out by choosing to be out of the kitchen on this one. And daaaaaaaaaaamn! It's Dale! I was wrong! Dale heads out. But Lisa gets to stay? How is this girl hanging on??????? Dale bares his soul and weeps in his last interview...poor Dale.
Oh yeah, if you want an even better blog on Top Chef, click here....
The quickfire challenge...Tom C. shows up 5:45 a.m. He turns on lights, gets people out of bed, and picks them up to go Lou Mitchell's Restaurant to work an egg station during breakfast. They're going to take turns at the egg station. As the chefs are introduced to the egg station and how things work, I notice with horror that Richard has adopted Dale's use of a headband. Richard is wearing a headband. Thinking back, I remember the kiwi Mark wearing his fuzzy 'fro in a headband, and I know that I've seen Dale with a headband on before...but Richard? Is this the ultimate "me, too, guys, me, too!" or what?
Anotonia goes first...she tells us she loves to test her abilities and jump into the middle of the line...as if this is her favorite daily activity. Whatever. Two eggs over hard. Two singles over easy sandwiches. Martin (the regular egg station chef) tells her to flip the eggs again. The owner lady asks if the potatoes are done. Times up. Next up is Stephanie, Dale then Richard then Spike, who tells us the key to working well in this type of environment is to be very methodical in your movements. He shows Martin that he's down with his peeps by speaking Spanish to him...Meanwhile we see flashbacks of Stephanie's poached egg disaster, her breaking yolks and starting over. Richard tells us he's not familiar with some of the breakfast lingo audibles...huh? Lisa sets a Styrofoam box almost on fire...she's "so fuckin' done". Waiters keep on comin'...barking orders...two eggs over easy, an egg over hard with sausage, what a stressful j-o-b!!! The owner decides the top two are Antonia and Dale, and Antonia ultimately wins. Once again, the only contestant that made a comment about how great they are for this challenge is the winner...couldn't have seen that coming! Sidenote: the woman who crowned Antonia has just forever changed the course of the show...if she had chosen Dale as the winner, the whole show would have been dramatically different. However, we at home could not have possibly known her power at this point.
Tom C. gives them an address...hello product placement! The chefs have to use their GPS mobile phone to figure out where to go next. Does anyone else need a nap by this point? I mean, Tom. C. woke them up before 6 a.m. and the already had to do a quickfire challenge...can't they take a nap yet?
They arrive at an unfamiliar building with Padma awaiting, and she announces Restaurant Wars is back. Lisa is "really fucking excited" about this...this is what she's "been fucking waiting for". They divide into two teams. Each restaurant will serve 35 dinner guests and have $1500 to spend on food and $5000 from Pier One for decor. As the winner of the Quickfire Challenge, Antonia's advantage is that she gets to choose her team! Okay, why not hand her immunity? Because with this group, there's only one obvious choice...She chooses Stephanie and Richard. Dale tells us he would've chose the same people if he were in Antonia's shoes...but in the end, it's a rematch of wedding wars..the dream team versus the dysfunctional ragers. Lisa, Dale and Spike...what a gaggle of freaks. What a team. Dale tells us he's not as upset as wedding wars because at least Nikki is gone and that's one less person to deal with. Poor Dale...always looking on the bright side of things.
At this point I'd like to predict that Team Antonia wins, and Lisa goes home. After all, she told us that her goal was to make it through (not to) Restaurant Wars.
Team Antonia sits down to plan...they're thinking gastric pub. Sounds great. Team Dale talks about family style Asian food with a good feel. How many things are wrong with this picture??? My idea of family-style is big bowls being passed from person to person...on Top Chef??? And Lisa talking about having a "good feel" restaurant is also a contradiction. Could she be the least self-aware person on the planet? Everything about Lisa screams angry lesbian with a chip on her shoulder. Both Lisa and Dale want to do executive chef, and ultimately Dale wins the coin toss. Spike reminds us that Lisa, Dale, and he all have Asian backgrounds, and they need to win in order to send one of the top contenders home.
They do their shopping at Whole Foods, then head off in the Highlander to Pier One. Boy that's a whole lot of product placement in one minute!! At Pier One the two teams set out to create a feel for their restaurants.
Back in the kitchen, Lisa is already fighting Dale about where in the kitchen she'll be working. They're off to a great start. Spike is in charge of decor. Their menu will consist of Shrimp Laksa and Pork & Pickled Plum Pot Stickers for the first course. For the second course, they'll serve Butterscotch Miso Scallops, and Braised Short Ribs. Finally, for dessert they're making Halo-Halo (flavored ice) and Mango Sticky Rice. Spike claims responsibility for the braised short ribs, which he points out he won't have to babysit...they cook for three and a half hours and you just let them go...okay, I get that he's also the general manager and in charge of the front of the house, but taking on only the short ribs seems to predict a disastrous frenzy of Dale getting angry for having to do all the work while Lisa scowls at the camera and talks smack about Dale. Oh, sorry, that was Wedding Wars. Or...nevermind...is this a total deja-vu?
On Team Antonia, Antonia will be Exec Chef, Richard will be in the kitchen and Stephanie will run the front of the house. The first course will be Beet and Goat Cheese Salad, and Linguine and Clams. Their second course will be Trout with Cauliflower & hazelnut brown butter and Lamb Leg & Loin. For dessert, they're offering Gorgonzola Cheesecake and Banana "Scallops". Stephanie is making the home made pasta (and Antonia didn't buy a backup pre-made, so you just know it's likely to be a problem...especially since they're already talking about how this pasta has to work.)
In walks Anthony Bourdain, who announces he's filling in for Tom C. today. I love Anthony B!!! He talks with both teams, and identifies the differences in the teams...Team Antonia are setting modest expectations, which makes it easier to really go above and beyond. However, they're not taking risks. On Team Dale, Tony thinks it could go really really well or really really badly...Asia's big! How well can you do at all those things??? Already his expectations are higher for Team Dale.
Tony B. announces they'll have an extra set of hands for each team, and in walks the fallen soldiers of yester-weeks. Nikki, Mark, tweaker boy Andrew, "I'm doing it for Zoi" Jen. Can I predict something? That team Antonia picks Nikki to do their pasta? And Team Dale? Who would want to work in that disaster of a kitchen? They choose Jen. Antonia takes Nikki, as predicted. Mark and Andrew aren't chosen....surprise.
Dale's avocado stuff is brown and unappealing looking, but apparently it tastes okay. In an attempt to save the dish, Dale works himself into a deeper hole, and Lisa begins bashing him for being on edge and losing it. Again, Lisa starts screaming that some one pulled her rice off. Sabotage!!!!! She blames Dale for setting a bad tone on the team, and Lisa can't be held responsible for her bad attitude when it's all Dale's fault...........huh??? Again with the self awareness. This lady needs some serious couch time with a shrink.
Nikki tells Richard that his clams are gritty. He claims he cleaned them well. Again, deja-vu? Didn't Richard leave mouthfuls of scales on his salmon earlier in the season? Maybe this guy shouldn't be trusted with seafood cleaning! They wash them again. No sweat. Team Antonia is all on board with all the dishes...not every man for himself and his dish like on Team Dale. Dale and Spike take turns tasting Lisa's soup, which is all smoke, no heat, and has a funky sour taste. Immediately Spike is staying clear of this ready-to-explode grenade...he won't be going down for her mistakes. In the meantime, Lisa's sticky rice isn't sticky. It's Dale's fault. She didn't want to make sticky rice. Dale should have made it...but he's working on something else. Dale tells Lisa to mix up a pastry filling to mix with the rice just to salvage some sort of dessert. It looks awful. The clock is ticking down, the stress is rising. It's almost time....it's on!!!
Antonia remains calm in her camera conversations. She knows something. Did they already win or what? Did her team win the prize? Talk about predictable.
Padma introduces Jose Andres from Spain...and everybody knows that the Spaniards are the leading front of gastronomic societies in the world. He's the host of Made in Spain, a great show on PBS. The judges sit down and begin the first course at Team Antonia's gastro-pub.
The decor is nice, conservative, and comfortable. The menus are simply printed. And most importantly, everything tastes good...the linguine with clams has great flavor and texture, and the beet salad gets compliments on the goat cheese they selected. Stephanie does a good job interacting with the judges and is well informed about the menu. The next course is the trout or lamb. The judges love the lamb and trout. They're flying through this competition. Again, Stephanie presents the final course with grace. Anthony B. mentions he is not a fan of the brown smear of chocolate beneath the banana...but all in all, they judges are impressed.
Now it's time to taste Team Dale's Disastrous Dinner. Okay, first of all, the decor...Spike went crazy mad with Buddhas...all different kinds of Buddhas...Zen Buddhist Buddhas, Hindu Buddhas....umm, maybe he doesn't realize they're different? Is this a Chinese restaurant? Or an Indian restaurant? Anyway...let's move on. Spike greets the judges, who are busy commenting on the purple napkins...are they circa Prince and Purple Rain or Aerosmith? Not a good way to start off. I mean, could it be worse? Oh, yes, it could, perhaps if the first course is Lisa's only HUGE mistake of a soup...offered to none other than Anthony "King of Laksa" Bourdain. But let's not focus on Lisa's bad food...let's focus on how she immediately shifts to Dale's attitude and how bad his delivery is with the wait staff. At this point, I'm uncertain if she could point any more fingers without growing another hand...
So the first course is served...the spicy shrimp laksa and home made pot stickers. They love the dumplings, but the soup is too smoky as we know. Next up is the scallop or short rib course. Spike points out that the portions aren't really right. Dale says serve the food and calls Spike a bleeping idiot after he leaves the room. Go team bad energy!!! The judges totally diss the scallops; who thought of butterscotch anyway??? Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Spike attempts to communicate with the waiters, but no one can hear a thing over Dale's shouting "let's go let's go let's go!" at the top of his lungs...Lisa yells back at him "Jesus!" Dale says she's just jealous that he's the Exec Chef, and by the way, she's also negative, doesn't take criticism well, etc. Okay...umm, and your behavior is stellar, Dale??? Spike brings in beers, attempts to diminish the tension, Dale says focus on getting dessert out, Lisa screams "we're not drinking!!!" and again, blames Dale as Exec Chef for her shortcomings in this challenge. I'm already salivating at what's bound to happen at the judges table...will they come to blows???
They serve the Halo-Halo, which looks disgusting and brown, but shines in comparison to what Anthony B. calls Lisa's baby vomit with wood chips sticky rice dessert. Ahhh, the foreshadowing. Lisa's dishes both sucked tonight, she's blaming Dale's lack of leadership and style throughout...could my dreams be coming true before my eyes? Is the Queen of Rage about to be sent packing? Meanwhile, again in the kitchen, Spike says all the diners loved everything...is he smoking the wacky tobaccy? Is this his attempt to call himself successful, as the guy in the front of the house? That way he can claim that people gave him great feedback?
So now it's time to hit the Glad storage room...the teams open beers...I half expect Lisa to break her bottle over Dale's head. Padma enters and asks for Team Antonia...big surprise. The team talks about their responsibilities, and Antonia doesn't look happy when the judges reveal that they love the pasta and the Gorgonzola...it appears Stephanie is going to steal her victory...can it be true?? Yes! Stephanie wins the challenge! She wins a culinary tour trip for two to Barcelona and a guided wine tasting, all with luxury accommodations. Go Stephanie!!!
Team Dale is called before the judges. The judges begin by ripping on the tablecloths and napkins, which Spike calls a group decision, but Lisa's rage-filled face says otherwise. They also ripped on the decor as being too formal for the food. Butterscotch scallops...Dale's baby...nothing seemed to work. The Laksa...it was awful...way too smoky. Lisa executed it poorly but it was Spike's idea, who tells the judges his Laksa is much different than Lisa's...the implications are not lost. It becomes a finger pointing free-for-all, with everyone wanting credit of the only good thing that was served, and everyone scattering like alley cats away from the awful ideas and outcomes. The Spaniard comes down on them for their lack of teamwork. Dale calls Lisa the weakest link. She pulls a knife and says you're only as good as your leader, and guts Dale to the bone. Okay, maybe there wasn't a knife fight, but there might as well have been. The room clears, the judges discuss. Bourdain brings up Lisa's body language and inability to take criticism from them or anyone else..which makes me ask..why is she there? Isn't she hoping to better herself and her skills by having access to some of the world's great chefs? No? She's just there for the cash prize? Oh, then that makes sense now! And Dale...those may be the last yucky sugary scallops that home boy makes for the judges of Top Chef.
It's go time...they call them back in and get a lecture from the judges...Dale is told he fell down hard from a leadership standpoint. Lisa's dishes were awful. Spike lucked out by choosing to be out of the kitchen on this one. And daaaaaaaaaaamn! It's Dale! I was wrong! Dale heads out. But Lisa gets to stay? How is this girl hanging on??????? Dale bares his soul and weeps in his last interview...poor Dale.
Oh yeah, if you want an even better blog on Top Chef, click here....
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Top Chef...Serve and Protect
The contestants were up for 40 hours during the last challenge, and after a quick cat nap, they're summoned back to the Top Chef Kitchen for a Quickfire Challenge.
As they're getting ready, the contenders say a few words to the camera...mostly about how they all hate Dale. Spike, once again, calls him a little bitch and hands out karmic predictions of Dale's demise in life because he's just a big meanie.
Andrew is super charged...to either kill or cook. What a freak.
Now the Quickfire Challenge...Bring Salad Sexy Back...in other words, come up with the next great salad of the millennium...a new Caesar, a new Waldorf... in 45 minutes. Ready, set, GO!!!!
Lisa, the Queen of Rage, looks around and sees people who don't deserve to be there..."they're not good chef's and their personalities suck". Umm, Lisa, I've got news for you...that was a Freudian self-assessment if I've ever heard one. This, by the way, was all said with her classic sour-puss face turned up to high.
Andrew the Freak decides on a Thai fruit salad. Judges say it's good. Spike makes a "sensual beef salad". Again, they like it. Lisa grills some squid and lobster and claims it's "spiced"....and the judges, once again, tell her they don't taste the spice at all and only taste the bananas. Stephanie makes a Fall Duet w/ pear vinaigrette, but doesn't finish plating it...bummer. Antonia makes a poached egg and bacon salad. Richard offered a "fresh and clean" salad...whatever that is...I don't see it taking the place of a Caesar. And finally, Dale makes a poached chicken salad with mirin and sake.
In the bottom, we find Richard (not acidic enough), Stephanie (didn't finish hers), and Lisa (no spice and all bananas). This leaves Spike, Anotonia, and Dale in the top, and Spike wins his first Quickfire Challenge. And if you think about it, putting steak in a salad almost guarantees high marks on flavor...smart! Andrew the Freak is the only one that's unmentionable.
So now comes the big elimination challenge...gourmet boxed lunch for Chicago Cops. The whole idea is to offer a healthful, hearty alternative to cheeseburgers and chili dogs. The rules are to include whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables in one box lunch. For winning the Q.F.C., Spike is allowed to shop for 10 minutes before the others, and one food from each group that he chooses is off limits to all the other chefs.
Andrew the Freak is super pumped about the challenge. He takes the opportunity to remind us all that he used to be a big fatty and that he studied nutrition. He's the one to beat in this competition...he thinks his creative and nutritional excellence provides him with more of an advantage than Spike's measly 10 minutes of extra shopping time and ingredient exclusions...which tells me he's already over-estimating himself.
Meanwhile, Spike is being a prick to the others by waving at them as he walks by shopping. Antonia points out that he chooses his ingredients based on what will throw the biggest monkey wrench in the other's menus rather than choosing things that will make a terrific lunch...and I for once agree with Antonia. Spike chooses whole grain bread, tomatoes, lettuce, and chicken...hardly seems "out of the box" thinking.
Andrew the Freak continues to go on and on and on about how creative he is, how much he knows about nutrition, and what Spike chose doesn't affect him at all. Foreshadowing his demise, perhaps?
In the end, Antonia makes a curried beef with Jasmine and brown rice and a fruit salad. Andrew makes parsnip and pine nut "rice" around a sushi roll with salmon tartar and veggies. Stephanie offers a mushroom and leek soup with meatballs. Dale brings up the Asian end with lettuce cups (made of cabbage, thanks to Spike) filled with marinated Bison and Vietnamese herbs. Antonia predicts Dale's going down because he only cooks Asian food. Meanwhile, Lisa works on her shrimp and veggies with brown rice and herb stir fry.
Tom C. enters...he approaches Lisa, who offers him some of her home made hot sauce to try...it's as if she's thinking "my dishes are under-spiced? Try this, a-hole!". Trusting Tom tries the hot sauce and it looks like his eyes might start bleeding...not sure he's too impressed with Lisa. Tom C. then approaches Spike and wants to see how he's using his advantage..."are you even using the tomatoes???" Spike says he may use them as a garnish...to show the other contestants what they are missing..." Tom C. isn't impressed. Richard shows Tom his quintessential health food burrito, saying "do you like burritos?" over and over...Tom C. answers, sure, if they're good, and looks at Richard's ingredients skeptically. See, Richard's burrito contains quinoa, lentils, rice, and tuna, wrapped in rice paper...doesn't sound too terribly tasty to me.
Later, Lisa realizes there's been a terrible sabotage in the Top Chef kitchen!!! Some one turned up her rice! It's burned on the outside and not done on the inside!!! Who has done this to her????!!! And even more entertaining than her "push the blame on other people" is that fact that no one is buying her story...accidents happen.
Now it's time to transport the food and write up their heating instructions. Richard is working his crowd with his question of the day "do you like burritos?" Spike comments to the camera just how old it's getting and just how many times Richard has asked that idiotic question. Meanwhile, Spike relies on scarcity to do his marketing for him and only puts out two lunch boxes at a time...again he focuses on everything but the food.
The judges show up. They comment that Andrew the Freak didn't use a whole grain. His "rice" was parsnips and pine nuts blended in a food processor...and it tasted funny! They talk about everybody else's food, leading us to the conclusion that Spike, Andrew the Freak, and Lisa are in the bottom. Again. I mean, seriously, how many times can Lisa be in the bottom and yet her sourpuss face keeps showing up week after week!?
The top 2 are....Stephanie and Dale. Say what you will about Dale (he's arrogant, doesn't play well with others, etc.) but he seems to be on top quite a bit! Stephanie, too has been a strong contender. I like her style...no boasting, no drama...she just cooks good stuff. In the end, Dale wins because his dish embodies the challenge...his bison wraps gave the diner the illusion of beef but in a much healthier way. They award him with a magnum of 2002 Rutherford Hill and a trip to Napa. And he smiles...like a real smile! He warmly thanks the judges. Who is this smiling guy? Dale is 5 for 20 wins. Not bad.
The losers, totally predictably, were Spike, Lisa, and Andrew the Freak. The judges tell Lisa her shrimp was yucky. She blames the uncooked rice sabotage for ruining her dish...they tell her it's not really about the rice. Her long beans weren't cooked, either... Her nostrils flare. She's full of rage, just as she is every other week.
Now Spike...what happened? You had so much time and you totally didn't use your advantage to it's fullest potential. The judges rag on him for serving a piece of lettuce, a sliced tomato, and a slice of bread...all of which required no creativity or prep. Oh yeah, and the chicken salad? It was nasty! Spike is angry. He doesn't take they're criticism well, and wisely insults the judges.
Now it's Andrew the Freak's turn. Again with the "I'm a nutrition guy"!!! The judges come down on him for serving a singular sushi roll or lunch and tell him it is not hearty or satisfying. And if that wasn't enough, it tasted disgusting. Lisa chimes in and throws Andrew the Freak under the bus for not meeting the criteria of the contest---his lunch didn't contain a whole grain. The judges look annoyed with the drama and Tom C. lets her know that they're aware of this. Andrew the Freaky Nutritional Guru didn't like that. His rage...trapped just beneath the surface begins to bubble out his ears. He fires back that people should eat every 3 hours...small meals! He's spitting venom! Tom C. asks him if he ever thought about who his audience was during the challenge...and what are the Cops going to eat after they're starving in another 3 hours....a candy bar? another sushi roll? And where is their next portion, and how would you keep it in their police car?
In the end, and very predictably, Andrew the Freak is asked to pack his knives. Spike tells Andrew "you're the man" and hugs him fiercely while glaring at the judges...what's with Spike and "his boys"? Seriously, the guy has some issues! Andrew tells the judges no security will be necessary, and asks to shake their hands...I don't know about them, but I would have been a little frightened of this dude approaching me!
Oh, and also, here's a link to a fantastic Top Chef review. Enjoy!
As they're getting ready, the contenders say a few words to the camera...mostly about how they all hate Dale. Spike, once again, calls him a little bitch and hands out karmic predictions of Dale's demise in life because he's just a big meanie.
Andrew is super charged...to either kill or cook. What a freak.
Now the Quickfire Challenge...Bring Salad Sexy Back...in other words, come up with the next great salad of the millennium...a new Caesar, a new Waldorf... in 45 minutes. Ready, set, GO!!!!
Lisa, the Queen of Rage, looks around and sees people who don't deserve to be there..."they're not good chef's and their personalities suck". Umm, Lisa, I've got news for you...that was a Freudian self-assessment if I've ever heard one. This, by the way, was all said with her classic sour-puss face turned up to high.
Andrew the Freak decides on a Thai fruit salad. Judges say it's good. Spike makes a "sensual beef salad". Again, they like it. Lisa grills some squid and lobster and claims it's "spiced"....and the judges, once again, tell her they don't taste the spice at all and only taste the bananas. Stephanie makes a Fall Duet w/ pear vinaigrette, but doesn't finish plating it...bummer. Antonia makes a poached egg and bacon salad. Richard offered a "fresh and clean" salad...whatever that is...I don't see it taking the place of a Caesar. And finally, Dale makes a poached chicken salad with mirin and sake.
In the bottom, we find Richard (not acidic enough), Stephanie (didn't finish hers), and Lisa (no spice and all bananas). This leaves Spike, Anotonia, and Dale in the top, and Spike wins his first Quickfire Challenge. And if you think about it, putting steak in a salad almost guarantees high marks on flavor...smart! Andrew the Freak is the only one that's unmentionable.
So now comes the big elimination challenge...gourmet boxed lunch for Chicago Cops. The whole idea is to offer a healthful, hearty alternative to cheeseburgers and chili dogs. The rules are to include whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables in one box lunch. For winning the Q.F.C., Spike is allowed to shop for 10 minutes before the others, and one food from each group that he chooses is off limits to all the other chefs.
Andrew the Freak is super pumped about the challenge. He takes the opportunity to remind us all that he used to be a big fatty and that he studied nutrition. He's the one to beat in this competition...he thinks his creative and nutritional excellence provides him with more of an advantage than Spike's measly 10 minutes of extra shopping time and ingredient exclusions...which tells me he's already over-estimating himself.
Meanwhile, Spike is being a prick to the others by waving at them as he walks by shopping. Antonia points out that he chooses his ingredients based on what will throw the biggest monkey wrench in the other's menus rather than choosing things that will make a terrific lunch...and I for once agree with Antonia. Spike chooses whole grain bread, tomatoes, lettuce, and chicken...hardly seems "out of the box" thinking.
Andrew the Freak continues to go on and on and on about how creative he is, how much he knows about nutrition, and what Spike chose doesn't affect him at all. Foreshadowing his demise, perhaps?
In the end, Antonia makes a curried beef with Jasmine and brown rice and a fruit salad. Andrew makes parsnip and pine nut "rice" around a sushi roll with salmon tartar and veggies. Stephanie offers a mushroom and leek soup with meatballs. Dale brings up the Asian end with lettuce cups (made of cabbage, thanks to Spike) filled with marinated Bison and Vietnamese herbs. Antonia predicts Dale's going down because he only cooks Asian food. Meanwhile, Lisa works on her shrimp and veggies with brown rice and herb stir fry.
Tom C. enters...he approaches Lisa, who offers him some of her home made hot sauce to try...it's as if she's thinking "my dishes are under-spiced? Try this, a-hole!". Trusting Tom tries the hot sauce and it looks like his eyes might start bleeding...not sure he's too impressed with Lisa. Tom C. then approaches Spike and wants to see how he's using his advantage..."are you even using the tomatoes???" Spike says he may use them as a garnish...to show the other contestants what they are missing..." Tom C. isn't impressed. Richard shows Tom his quintessential health food burrito, saying "do you like burritos?" over and over...Tom C. answers, sure, if they're good, and looks at Richard's ingredients skeptically. See, Richard's burrito contains quinoa, lentils, rice, and tuna, wrapped in rice paper...doesn't sound too terribly tasty to me.
Later, Lisa realizes there's been a terrible sabotage in the Top Chef kitchen!!! Some one turned up her rice! It's burned on the outside and not done on the inside!!! Who has done this to her????!!! And even more entertaining than her "push the blame on other people" is that fact that no one is buying her story...accidents happen.
Now it's time to transport the food and write up their heating instructions. Richard is working his crowd with his question of the day "do you like burritos?" Spike comments to the camera just how old it's getting and just how many times Richard has asked that idiotic question. Meanwhile, Spike relies on scarcity to do his marketing for him and only puts out two lunch boxes at a time...again he focuses on everything but the food.
The judges show up. They comment that Andrew the Freak didn't use a whole grain. His "rice" was parsnips and pine nuts blended in a food processor...and it tasted funny! They talk about everybody else's food, leading us to the conclusion that Spike, Andrew the Freak, and Lisa are in the bottom. Again. I mean, seriously, how many times can Lisa be in the bottom and yet her sourpuss face keeps showing up week after week!?
The top 2 are....Stephanie and Dale. Say what you will about Dale (he's arrogant, doesn't play well with others, etc.) but he seems to be on top quite a bit! Stephanie, too has been a strong contender. I like her style...no boasting, no drama...she just cooks good stuff. In the end, Dale wins because his dish embodies the challenge...his bison wraps gave the diner the illusion of beef but in a much healthier way. They award him with a magnum of 2002 Rutherford Hill and a trip to Napa. And he smiles...like a real smile! He warmly thanks the judges. Who is this smiling guy? Dale is 5 for 20 wins. Not bad.
The losers, totally predictably, were Spike, Lisa, and Andrew the Freak. The judges tell Lisa her shrimp was yucky. She blames the uncooked rice sabotage for ruining her dish...they tell her it's not really about the rice. Her long beans weren't cooked, either... Her nostrils flare. She's full of rage, just as she is every other week.
Now Spike...what happened? You had so much time and you totally didn't use your advantage to it's fullest potential. The judges rag on him for serving a piece of lettuce, a sliced tomato, and a slice of bread...all of which required no creativity or prep. Oh yeah, and the chicken salad? It was nasty! Spike is angry. He doesn't take they're criticism well, and wisely insults the judges.
Now it's Andrew the Freak's turn. Again with the "I'm a nutrition guy"!!! The judges come down on him for serving a singular sushi roll or lunch and tell him it is not hearty or satisfying. And if that wasn't enough, it tasted disgusting. Lisa chimes in and throws Andrew the Freak under the bus for not meeting the criteria of the contest---his lunch didn't contain a whole grain. The judges look annoyed with the drama and Tom C. lets her know that they're aware of this. Andrew the Freaky Nutritional Guru didn't like that. His rage...trapped just beneath the surface begins to bubble out his ears. He fires back that people should eat every 3 hours...small meals! He's spitting venom! Tom C. asks him if he ever thought about who his audience was during the challenge...and what are the Cops going to eat after they're starving in another 3 hours....a candy bar? another sushi roll? And where is their next portion, and how would you keep it in their police car?
In the end, and very predictably, Andrew the Freak is asked to pack his knives. Spike tells Andrew "you're the man" and hugs him fiercely while glaring at the judges...what's with Spike and "his boys"? Seriously, the guy has some issues! Andrew tells the judges no security will be necessary, and asks to shake their hands...I don't know about them, but I would have been a little frightened of this dude approaching me!
Oh, and also, here's a link to a fantastic Top Chef review. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Seriously...could I be more of a loser?
It's Wednesday!
Hump Day!
Top Chef is on tonight!
I can't wait!!!!
Woooopeeeee!
Hump Day!
Top Chef is on tonight!
I can't wait!!!!
Woooopeeeee!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
American Idol Commentary by my friend Sonia....
Below is my friend Sonia's account of what happened on American Idol last night...you know, the big top 4. Well, I thought Sonia's commentary was so right on that it actually saves me the time of doing a play by play because I agree so whole-heartedly with her assessment. However, I do reserve one difference of opinion noted below.
Here's what Sonia emailed...
--God, I'm so bored with the show now! I basically had the TV on mute until David Cook started singing. You're right--let's just give him the title of AI and end this thing! Speaking of David Cook, I didn't like his "Hungry Like the Wolf" performance at all. I really like him but I felt like he was shouting and he was so throaty and he ruined a great song! I guess I should give him a break though since he's more than proven himself over the course of the show.
My opinion: I agree...horrible song selection...out of all the songs in the hall of fame book, he chooses Duran Duran HLTW? And he proudly states that this song was released the year he was born...1982. Umm, as much as I love you David, you just totally irritated this pregnant old lady. I remember sleep-overs at my friend Christie's house, and we would drift off to sleep in her double bed gazing up at posters of Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, and the whole D.D. gang....and we're talking multiple posters. One above the headboard, one to the side of the bed, one at the foot of the bed...I was....11! I also wasn't in love with the arrangement. However, I must say that Dave totally redeemed himself with his thoughtful analysis of what the judges had to say. Dave Cook is the only one in this competition that seems to really listen to what they say, and not take criticism personally...I love that. His statement, "I could have done so much more with that song" was excellent.
Second song was better. David Cook is great. Just give him the title already.
My opinion: I agree. Give him the crown. Make him king. Just don't make me watch this show anymore...I'm bored!
--Sayisha looked amazing but her Tina Turner rendition was so high-pitched and she sounded so breathless and I found myself appreciating the REAL Tina Turner all the more! Thank you Simon for being the voice of reason! I can't understand why Paula and Randy liked it.
My opinion: I agree, totally. Sayesha is a lovely girl with a rocking body and she looks great on the stage...but I think she's "working it" a bit too much these days...it's as if she discovered her sexuality on the show during the show tunes week and now wants to allure the audience with legs and smiles rather than her voice. And don't get me wrong...the whole music industry is filled in with these types of performers...not everyone is a powerhouse and sex does sell. But I'm just over Sayesha. Sorry. I agree with Simon.
Even when Sayesha sings a real soulful song (still sounded too breathless), I just don't believe her. God, why is Paula crying? Has she heard the freakin' original? What the hell is wrong with her? And maybe I'm being too picky but when Sayesha compared the Civil Rights movement with her appearance in the top 4 on AI?! Christ! I know more about the Civil Rights movement than she does, I guarantee. Oh God...now Simon agrees with Paula!!! I take back my comment about Simon being the voice of reason. Oh God! Now Sayesha is crying! She'll probably be in the top 3 now. WTF! I'm sorry, I just don't buy the tears.
My opinion: I couldn't agree more, dude! The civil rights movement is parallel, in her mind, to her sexual awakening and making it to the top 4? Is someone becoming a legend in her own mind or what? Step away from the puddle Narcissus!
--Okay, Jason wasn't great but I'll take him over Sayesha ANY DAY because at least he's original.
My opinion: Okay, this is where I may slightly disagree. Umm...I hated Jason's performances this week. And I was rooting for him since the beginning of the season....I've always found him somewhat adorable. But lately, I've been trying to figure him out...like, why does he seem so vacant, why doesn't he seem to apply one bit of any of the judge's input? Why hasn't he attempted to make one single song "his own" by changing the arrangement, etc.? Does he take a Xanex before stage every time? (I experience the same vacancy when I take Xanex on an airplane...or maybe it's the wine that I wash it down with?) Then, it struck me. The dreadlocks, the Bob Marley....DUH!!!! He's stoned! That's it! And as a former teen pot smoker (or experimenter, however you'd like to categorize it), I can't believe that I didn't see it before. I mean, how old am I? How far removed am I? But that's not really what we're talking about today, is it? Let's just say between Sayesha and J.C., I don't really care who gets booted first...I'm totally over both of them.
Okay, so Jason wasn't great again with Mr. Tambourine Man but I'll take his furrowed brow over Sayesha's tears any day. I hope he ends up in the top 3 just because Sayesha should have been kicked off a long time ago.
My opinion: I have equal opinions of both these days. I'm just as annoyed with J.C.'s high-pitched whiny singing, brow furrowing, eye closing, bar stool sitting, acoustic guitar playing ass as I am with Sayesha's booty shaking, short skirt wearing, tear-streaked dramatic interpretations!
--David A. was good but not great. I found his performance very American Idol-ish--like, if a contestant is going to sing "Stand by me" on AI then they're going to sing it the way David did. And then there's the glimpse of the creepiness inside him I saw last week. But the fact is the boy is very talented and his rendition of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" had me tearing up so I can't despise him.
My opinion: Dude, maybe I'm just in a critical mood today, because I was more annoyed with his pre-recorded interview than anything...he sings "Stand by Me" to his dog in his room? If that story isn't planted by his stage-demon Dad, I don't know what is. How much more boy-next-door, Americana, wholesome and pure can this boy portray himself? Oh! He managed to make it slightly even better by singing to his dog in his room at home while meatloaf and au gratin potatoes are cooking downstairs in the kitchen while the whole family prepares for game night...Monopoly tonight! wooo hoo! Now...regarding the performance. He's talented. He has a beautiful voice. But this boy is made for the stage. I can totally imagine him having a Tony-filled career on Broadway...but a music contract? As in, people running out to buy his records? I don't think so.
--Love me Tender...I didn't like the arrangement of this song at all. The original has such a great melody--why did they change it. If David didn't sing the words "Love me Tender" I would not have known it was the same song. The judges liked it. I didn't get it at all.
My opinion: I couldn't agree more. As the sister of a full blown Elvis fanatic, I just can't support that performance. My brother could write a thesis on why every choice he made in this interpretation of Love me Tender was the wrong choice...but I'll just settle for I didn't love it.
Here's what Sonia emailed...
--God, I'm so bored with the show now! I basically had the TV on mute until David Cook started singing. You're right--let's just give him the title of AI and end this thing! Speaking of David Cook, I didn't like his "Hungry Like the Wolf" performance at all. I really like him but I felt like he was shouting and he was so throaty and he ruined a great song! I guess I should give him a break though since he's more than proven himself over the course of the show.
My opinion: I agree...horrible song selection...out of all the songs in the hall of fame book, he chooses Duran Duran HLTW? And he proudly states that this song was released the year he was born...1982. Umm, as much as I love you David, you just totally irritated this pregnant old lady. I remember sleep-overs at my friend Christie's house, and we would drift off to sleep in her double bed gazing up at posters of Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, and the whole D.D. gang....and we're talking multiple posters. One above the headboard, one to the side of the bed, one at the foot of the bed...I was....11! I also wasn't in love with the arrangement. However, I must say that Dave totally redeemed himself with his thoughtful analysis of what the judges had to say. Dave Cook is the only one in this competition that seems to really listen to what they say, and not take criticism personally...I love that. His statement, "I could have done so much more with that song" was excellent.
Second song was better. David Cook is great. Just give him the title already.
My opinion: I agree. Give him the crown. Make him king. Just don't make me watch this show anymore...I'm bored!
--Sayisha looked amazing but her Tina Turner rendition was so high-pitched and she sounded so breathless and I found myself appreciating the REAL Tina Turner all the more! Thank you Simon for being the voice of reason! I can't understand why Paula and Randy liked it.
My opinion: I agree, totally. Sayesha is a lovely girl with a rocking body and she looks great on the stage...but I think she's "working it" a bit too much these days...it's as if she discovered her sexuality on the show during the show tunes week and now wants to allure the audience with legs and smiles rather than her voice. And don't get me wrong...the whole music industry is filled in with these types of performers...not everyone is a powerhouse and sex does sell. But I'm just over Sayesha. Sorry. I agree with Simon.
Even when Sayesha sings a real soulful song (still sounded too breathless), I just don't believe her. God, why is Paula crying? Has she heard the freakin' original? What the hell is wrong with her? And maybe I'm being too picky but when Sayesha compared the Civil Rights movement with her appearance in the top 4 on AI?! Christ! I know more about the Civil Rights movement than she does, I guarantee. Oh God...now Simon agrees with Paula!!! I take back my comment about Simon being the voice of reason. Oh God! Now Sayesha is crying! She'll probably be in the top 3 now. WTF! I'm sorry, I just don't buy the tears.
My opinion: I couldn't agree more, dude! The civil rights movement is parallel, in her mind, to her sexual awakening and making it to the top 4? Is someone becoming a legend in her own mind or what? Step away from the puddle Narcissus!
--Okay, Jason wasn't great but I'll take him over Sayesha ANY DAY because at least he's original.
My opinion: Okay, this is where I may slightly disagree. Umm...I hated Jason's performances this week. And I was rooting for him since the beginning of the season....I've always found him somewhat adorable. But lately, I've been trying to figure him out...like, why does he seem so vacant, why doesn't he seem to apply one bit of any of the judge's input? Why hasn't he attempted to make one single song "his own" by changing the arrangement, etc.? Does he take a Xanex before stage every time? (I experience the same vacancy when I take Xanex on an airplane...or maybe it's the wine that I wash it down with?) Then, it struck me. The dreadlocks, the Bob Marley....DUH!!!! He's stoned! That's it! And as a former teen pot smoker (or experimenter, however you'd like to categorize it), I can't believe that I didn't see it before. I mean, how old am I? How far removed am I? But that's not really what we're talking about today, is it? Let's just say between Sayesha and J.C., I don't really care who gets booted first...I'm totally over both of them.
Okay, so Jason wasn't great again with Mr. Tambourine Man but I'll take his furrowed brow over Sayesha's tears any day. I hope he ends up in the top 3 just because Sayesha should have been kicked off a long time ago.
My opinion: I have equal opinions of both these days. I'm just as annoyed with J.C.'s high-pitched whiny singing, brow furrowing, eye closing, bar stool sitting, acoustic guitar playing ass as I am with Sayesha's booty shaking, short skirt wearing, tear-streaked dramatic interpretations!
--David A. was good but not great. I found his performance very American Idol-ish--like, if a contestant is going to sing "Stand by me" on AI then they're going to sing it the way David did. And then there's the glimpse of the creepiness inside him I saw last week. But the fact is the boy is very talented and his rendition of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" had me tearing up so I can't despise him.
My opinion: Dude, maybe I'm just in a critical mood today, because I was more annoyed with his pre-recorded interview than anything...he sings "Stand by Me" to his dog in his room? If that story isn't planted by his stage-demon Dad, I don't know what is. How much more boy-next-door, Americana, wholesome and pure can this boy portray himself? Oh! He managed to make it slightly even better by singing to his dog in his room at home while meatloaf and au gratin potatoes are cooking downstairs in the kitchen while the whole family prepares for game night...Monopoly tonight! wooo hoo! Now...regarding the performance. He's talented. He has a beautiful voice. But this boy is made for the stage. I can totally imagine him having a Tony-filled career on Broadway...but a music contract? As in, people running out to buy his records? I don't think so.
--Love me Tender...I didn't like the arrangement of this song at all. The original has such a great melody--why did they change it. If David didn't sing the words "Love me Tender" I would not have known it was the same song. The judges liked it. I didn't get it at all.
My opinion: I couldn't agree more. As the sister of a full blown Elvis fanatic, I just can't support that performance. My brother could write a thesis on why every choice he made in this interpretation of Love me Tender was the wrong choice...but I'll just settle for I didn't love it.
*Can't wait to watch Top Chef tomorrow! My opinion: There's a reason Thursday morning is my favorite time of the week. Tivo catches my favorite show Wednesday night at 10 (way past my bedtime) and serves it up to me on a delicious platter for my viewing entertainment with my coffee!!!!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Top Chef
This week, the quick-fire challenge consisted of making a complete meal in 15 minutes, with the aid of Uncle Ben's microwavable rice pouches. Helllllllo? Can we say corporate sponsorship? I mean, seriously, aside from it being food, what does a ready-made pouch of rice have to do with testing the capability of a chef? In this world of Tivo and other DVRs with capability of speeding through commercials, we're now being forced to hear about products during the shows we watch? Talk about corporate America taking over everything! But maybe that's just me. Whatever.
So the challenge...a couple of things of note...Mark's miso glazed turkey...umm, it didn't look good. It was brown. He tried to add color to the dish with a few tomatoes and snap peas, but it wasn't enough...the brown glazed brown turkey on a bed of brown premade rice just didn't look good. Sorry Mark...you know I love you but that looked gross. And secondly, Mark...dude, you need to learn a thing or two about cooking for people...I saw you once again taste from your stirring spoon, and put the spoon back in the miso glaze. Yuck. Being germ-aware (and not even a germophone), that just grosses me out. It occurred to me that you haven't been taught how a chef should taste...I learned this in cooking school myself. See, there are "tasting spoons" in a kitchen....they look like the miniature spoons you put in a sugar bowl. You dip one small spoon in the sauce, and spoon it into another little spoon. After you taste, the one that went in your mouth goes in the sink, and the one that dipped in the sauce remains clean for your next taste. It's simple.
Also in the quick fire, Stephanie said her dish was an idea she just came up with and thought it turned out good but she didn't taste it...Okay, Stephanie, in the beginning of the show you talked about realizing that a lot of people were going home and it was really getting serious now, and then you served a dish that you didn't even taste...to the judges??? Where is your focus? Is something going on with you. Like Mark, you're one of my favorites that I'm rooting for, but did you not get enough sleep? Drink too much the night before? Are you homesick? Oh, wait a minute, you're from Chicago!!! Step it up girlfriend! I know you can do it...you've had some amazing dishes up until now and it's like you hit a wall.
Richard Blaze...your tuna and heirloom tomatoes and ponzu looked fantastic...and it was obvious the guest chef Art "Oprah's Chef" loved it too. I also thought Spike's rice and veal stuffed tomatoes looked really good...especially since there was a 15 minute time limit! Finally, I thought Dale's stir fry looked delicious...mainly because I love fried rice dishes, and also love Asian long beans.
So the bottom 3 of the challenge...Lisa, Stephanie, and Mark. Interesting...some foreshadowing perhaps? It seems to me that Lisa is living in the bottom three and her head will soon be on the block if we viewers are lucky...her face during her critique, her arms folded across her chest, her overall defensive attitude was just painful. On the flip side, Stephanie as always kept it together, was composed, and at least seemed to listen to what they had to say about her dense pancake that she didn't taste. And at least Mark had a great sense of humor...after they tasted his and asked for sauce and told him it "needed something", he reflectively said, "I don't think I'll be in the top of this challenge, will I?"
Finally, as if we couldn't tell, Antonia won the challenge. Okay, I'm going to say this again...I hate that they do all the voice overs after the challenges. Everything Antonia said up until the challenge told us that she had won it...she was going to pull out the stops, believe in herself, stop second guessing herself....she's here to win challenges! Very easily and confidently said if you know you've already won it! But I was happy to see both Dale and Richard back in the top 3, as I think they are really talented.
Finally, onto the main event...the $10 Dinner for Four challenge.
Okay, I actually warmed up to Antonia during the challenge...working with kids showed us her softer side and helps to explain her steely persona while away from her daughter....that said, they're sudden focus on Antonia this episode totally told me that she was going to win the challenge and kind of ruined the surprise at the end.
Overall, I liked that Richard introduced beets to the kids, Andrew introduced them to fennel, and Mark did a curry. These guys didn't dumb down food for kids, they just tried to make good food that anyone would like. What I didn't like was how all the judges kind of slammed Mark for giving kids a curry. My husband grew up eating all sorts of curries...it's his comfort food to this day. I was irritated that Padma kind of toed the line with the other judges and didn't say, "Hey, curry is a huge part of the diets of people in other parts of the world...just because the U.S. doesn't see it that way doesn't mean that this guy is off his rocker"...but she didn't.
On the other hand, I also thought the pasta dishes were brilliant. Serving Pasta Putanesca to kids was a great idea...they think they're getting "spaghetti" but they're being offered olives, capers, and all sorts of things that are typically not on their plates.
So in the end, the Bottom 3 were, once again, Lisa, Stephanie and Mark. I hope it's Lisa!!! Art "Oprah's Chef" mentioned Lisa's inability to take criticism as potentially harmful for her career....well said. Send her home. If she's not going to learn anything while she's there, clear the path for others! That said, apparently Mark's curry turned out yucky. And dude, looking more closely at your curry...what the hell? No lentils for protein? No tofu? I mean, vegetarian is one thing, but give your dish a little balance. You can provide people with protein without serving meat. And Stephanie...dear, what were you thinking...the combination of flavors was so poorly planned and my goodness, that's been one of your talents up until now! Your perfectly coordinated and well executed balance of flavor. But doughy couscous? I mean, seriously, who can't make couscous? And a peanut sauce with the acid of the tomatoes looked awful. How is it possible that this is what you came up with for a life or death challenge? Again, I love you Stephanie, but seriously, that was a miss. I think the error was thinking she had to dumb down what she normally makes when in reality she just had to simplify what she normally makes...does that make sense? Like rather than making something totally different for the home cook, she could have just simplified one of her more gourmet dishes to make it accessible...which is probably easier said than done, I suppose.
But in the end, it was Mark's day to leave. Poor Mark. I'm going to miss his humor and personality and accent and his slovenly kitchen etiquette. I'll miss seeing him taking bubble baths with Spike, walking around with his moppy hair pulled back in a scrunchy. I'll miss watching him closely while he's working to count how many times his tasting spoon goes back in the bowl. I'll miss wondering if he picks up food off the floor and applies the 3-second rule. Bye Mark. Good Luck. I'll miss you!
So the challenge...a couple of things of note...Mark's miso glazed turkey...umm, it didn't look good. It was brown. He tried to add color to the dish with a few tomatoes and snap peas, but it wasn't enough...the brown glazed brown turkey on a bed of brown premade rice just didn't look good. Sorry Mark...you know I love you but that looked gross. And secondly, Mark...dude, you need to learn a thing or two about cooking for people...I saw you once again taste from your stirring spoon, and put the spoon back in the miso glaze. Yuck. Being germ-aware (and not even a germophone), that just grosses me out. It occurred to me that you haven't been taught how a chef should taste...I learned this in cooking school myself. See, there are "tasting spoons" in a kitchen....they look like the miniature spoons you put in a sugar bowl. You dip one small spoon in the sauce, and spoon it into another little spoon. After you taste, the one that went in your mouth goes in the sink, and the one that dipped in the sauce remains clean for your next taste. It's simple.
Also in the quick fire, Stephanie said her dish was an idea she just came up with and thought it turned out good but she didn't taste it...Okay, Stephanie, in the beginning of the show you talked about realizing that a lot of people were going home and it was really getting serious now, and then you served a dish that you didn't even taste...to the judges??? Where is your focus? Is something going on with you. Like Mark, you're one of my favorites that I'm rooting for, but did you not get enough sleep? Drink too much the night before? Are you homesick? Oh, wait a minute, you're from Chicago!!! Step it up girlfriend! I know you can do it...you've had some amazing dishes up until now and it's like you hit a wall.
Richard Blaze...your tuna and heirloom tomatoes and ponzu looked fantastic...and it was obvious the guest chef Art "Oprah's Chef" loved it too. I also thought Spike's rice and veal stuffed tomatoes looked really good...especially since there was a 15 minute time limit! Finally, I thought Dale's stir fry looked delicious...mainly because I love fried rice dishes, and also love Asian long beans.
So the bottom 3 of the challenge...Lisa, Stephanie, and Mark. Interesting...some foreshadowing perhaps? It seems to me that Lisa is living in the bottom three and her head will soon be on the block if we viewers are lucky...her face during her critique, her arms folded across her chest, her overall defensive attitude was just painful. On the flip side, Stephanie as always kept it together, was composed, and at least seemed to listen to what they had to say about her dense pancake that she didn't taste. And at least Mark had a great sense of humor...after they tasted his and asked for sauce and told him it "needed something", he reflectively said, "I don't think I'll be in the top of this challenge, will I?"
Finally, as if we couldn't tell, Antonia won the challenge. Okay, I'm going to say this again...I hate that they do all the voice overs after the challenges. Everything Antonia said up until the challenge told us that she had won it...she was going to pull out the stops, believe in herself, stop second guessing herself....she's here to win challenges! Very easily and confidently said if you know you've already won it! But I was happy to see both Dale and Richard back in the top 3, as I think they are really talented.
Finally, onto the main event...the $10 Dinner for Four challenge.
Okay, I actually warmed up to Antonia during the challenge...working with kids showed us her softer side and helps to explain her steely persona while away from her daughter....that said, they're sudden focus on Antonia this episode totally told me that she was going to win the challenge and kind of ruined the surprise at the end.
Overall, I liked that Richard introduced beets to the kids, Andrew introduced them to fennel, and Mark did a curry. These guys didn't dumb down food for kids, they just tried to make good food that anyone would like. What I didn't like was how all the judges kind of slammed Mark for giving kids a curry. My husband grew up eating all sorts of curries...it's his comfort food to this day. I was irritated that Padma kind of toed the line with the other judges and didn't say, "Hey, curry is a huge part of the diets of people in other parts of the world...just because the U.S. doesn't see it that way doesn't mean that this guy is off his rocker"...but she didn't.
On the other hand, I also thought the pasta dishes were brilliant. Serving Pasta Putanesca to kids was a great idea...they think they're getting "spaghetti" but they're being offered olives, capers, and all sorts of things that are typically not on their plates.
So in the end, the Bottom 3 were, once again, Lisa, Stephanie and Mark. I hope it's Lisa!!! Art "Oprah's Chef" mentioned Lisa's inability to take criticism as potentially harmful for her career....well said. Send her home. If she's not going to learn anything while she's there, clear the path for others! That said, apparently Mark's curry turned out yucky. And dude, looking more closely at your curry...what the hell? No lentils for protein? No tofu? I mean, vegetarian is one thing, but give your dish a little balance. You can provide people with protein without serving meat. And Stephanie...dear, what were you thinking...the combination of flavors was so poorly planned and my goodness, that's been one of your talents up until now! Your perfectly coordinated and well executed balance of flavor. But doughy couscous? I mean, seriously, who can't make couscous? And a peanut sauce with the acid of the tomatoes looked awful. How is it possible that this is what you came up with for a life or death challenge? Again, I love you Stephanie, but seriously, that was a miss. I think the error was thinking she had to dumb down what she normally makes when in reality she just had to simplify what she normally makes...does that make sense? Like rather than making something totally different for the home cook, she could have just simplified one of her more gourmet dishes to make it accessible...which is probably easier said than done, I suppose.
But in the end, it was Mark's day to leave. Poor Mark. I'm going to miss his humor and personality and accent and his slovenly kitchen etiquette. I'll miss seeing him taking bubble baths with Spike, walking around with his moppy hair pulled back in a scrunchy. I'll miss watching him closely while he's working to count how many times his tasting spoon goes back in the bowl. I'll miss wondering if he picks up food off the floor and applies the 3-second rule. Bye Mark. Good Luck. I'll miss you!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Reality
Reality...baby is on the way.
Reality...there is a lot I still have to do.
Reality...television????
Rather than hanging the curtains, finishing the nursery's wall hangings, working on the baby registry, washing the linens that will go on the crib, or even just making my own bed...let's talk about reality TV!!!! (This is an excerpt from an email to a friend...)
Okay, on American Idol this week....
Bummer...Carly's gone. I thought she had a fantastic voice.... But I guess Sayesha did pull it out on show tunes night and saved herself for one more week. I don't know about you but I thought the theme this week was kind of tough for 20-something's. I mean, not many of them grew up singing show tunes or going to the theatre except for maybe David Archuletta...but not even sure about that. Anyway...I was bummed to see Carly go...she smiled through her whole "Jesus Christ, Superstar" performance on the night of the competition and really looked like she had a good time---I liked that she didn't look angry during that performance!
The others...as much of a cutie pie as Jason Castro is, I wasn't crazy about his performance either, but I think he just picked the only song he knew out of the song book...no? I liked David Archuletta's performance, and I thought Dave Cook was good too. But I have to say, I'm kind of over Brooke's nasally cracking voice...all of her performances are a little boring to me...I know she's a sweet sensitive girl but is it just me or is she almost always on the verge of tears??
This week on Top Chef
Okay, Top Chef...I love this show!!! I love this season! This past show I realized something though...Richard Blaze is annoying!!! His jokes aren't funny. He's always trying to prove himself witty, and he's just not! Ajay and I were cracking up when he said "my food is like me, tongue in cheek, witty"...yeah, whatever. Ajay said "did he just say "I'm witty"????" Which I thought was a great point...who walks around saying I'm witty???? And during his dinner presentation, it occurred to me one of the reasons he's not funny is he tries too hard, and then dumbs things down so people get it...like "the tofu doesn't know if it's steak or tofu...it's perplexed!!!" Yeah, we get it...you wouldn't have had to explain it, dude.
On the food...let's see..I did think the Tofu was incredibly creative and deserved to win...but I thought a lot of the other dishes looked great. But here's where I'll focus my commentary...The bottom 4 people...
First of all I have a serious beef with Lisa and Antonia...the ones that made Chilean sea bass rather than drunken polish sausage. Didn't Ryan get sent home last week for cooking California cuisine at a tailgate? Didn't Tom Collichio say first and foremost you have to cook for the occasion, and then it has to taste good...or something like that? I'm not quoting him verbatim, but this week it's like they changed the rules to first it has to taste good, then you have to follow the guidelines. Because while I do agree that Stephanie and Jen's dish was kind of a mess and needed simplifying and the bread didn't seem to work for any of the judges, at least they attempted to follow the criteria of the challenge. For that reason, I felt like the judges should have sent one of the other team home.
And by the way...I hated the Antonia/Lisa team!!!! (Even though Jen was annoying me with all the "I'm doing it for Zoi"---dude, seriously, Zoi was voted off...get over it...maybe if you try to do it for yourself you would do better!) But seriously...I thought the Antonia/Lisa team was awful...their personalities make me feel yucky! Antonia is tough to like, but the Lisa? she's just awful...you know the one I'm talking about, the one Dale told off for having a bad attitude and being negative? She's just miserable! I mean, girlfriend, you've made it to Top Chef! You're on national television! The whole country is watching you! Maybe a little less negativity is in order??? You've got a lot to be thankful for! I was totally losing it when the judges were giving Lisa criticism, she was giving them all dirty looks and just scowling. She had no humility, and was completely incapable of really hearing what they were saying...she just jumped into being totally ugly and defensive...I was hoping she'd go home. You know how some people like that are good for the show and add drama? She's not that person! She just makes mean and negative comments all the time...not good TV.
I also really enjoyed Spike and Andrew working together with the yellow love theme...Spike finally got to make his soup and his personality was fun and whimsical...they didn't freak when there was no equipment...they just rolled with it and made the most of it and had fun. I love that.
Who else...Stephanie...I felt like she kind of got the shaft...she's such a good chef and has proven herself week after week. I think she got pulled into Jens' phallic scenario and she even said early on that the bread is not going to work well...I'm just glad she wasn't sent home because she's one of my favorites. And the Kiwi, Mark...his personality is really coming out too. He's funny. I love the way he speaks. He always makes funny comments like "it's not about that, it's about this, isn't it?" with his cute inflection and accent.
Okay, that wraps it up for me...another week of dodging real reality for reality television. Maybe I'll hang the curtains...or at least brush my teeth?
Reality...there is a lot I still have to do.
Reality...television????
Rather than hanging the curtains, finishing the nursery's wall hangings, working on the baby registry, washing the linens that will go on the crib, or even just making my own bed...let's talk about reality TV!!!! (This is an excerpt from an email to a friend...)
Okay, on American Idol this week....
Bummer...Carly's gone. I thought she had a fantastic voice.... But I guess Sayesha did pull it out on show tunes night and saved herself for one more week. I don't know about you but I thought the theme this week was kind of tough for 20-something's. I mean, not many of them grew up singing show tunes or going to the theatre except for maybe David Archuletta...but not even sure about that. Anyway...I was bummed to see Carly go...she smiled through her whole "Jesus Christ, Superstar" performance on the night of the competition and really looked like she had a good time---I liked that she didn't look angry during that performance!
The others...as much of a cutie pie as Jason Castro is, I wasn't crazy about his performance either, but I think he just picked the only song he knew out of the song book...no? I liked David Archuletta's performance, and I thought Dave Cook was good too. But I have to say, I'm kind of over Brooke's nasally cracking voice...all of her performances are a little boring to me...I know she's a sweet sensitive girl but is it just me or is she almost always on the verge of tears??
This week on Top Chef
Okay, Top Chef...I love this show!!! I love this season! This past show I realized something though...Richard Blaze is annoying!!! His jokes aren't funny. He's always trying to prove himself witty, and he's just not! Ajay and I were cracking up when he said "my food is like me, tongue in cheek, witty"...yeah, whatever. Ajay said "did he just say "I'm witty"????" Which I thought was a great point...who walks around saying I'm witty???? And during his dinner presentation, it occurred to me one of the reasons he's not funny is he tries too hard, and then dumbs things down so people get it...like "the tofu doesn't know if it's steak or tofu...it's perplexed!!!" Yeah, we get it...you wouldn't have had to explain it, dude.
On the food...let's see..I did think the Tofu was incredibly creative and deserved to win...but I thought a lot of the other dishes looked great. But here's where I'll focus my commentary...The bottom 4 people...
First of all I have a serious beef with Lisa and Antonia...the ones that made Chilean sea bass rather than drunken polish sausage. Didn't Ryan get sent home last week for cooking California cuisine at a tailgate? Didn't Tom Collichio say first and foremost you have to cook for the occasion, and then it has to taste good...or something like that? I'm not quoting him verbatim, but this week it's like they changed the rules to first it has to taste good, then you have to follow the guidelines. Because while I do agree that Stephanie and Jen's dish was kind of a mess and needed simplifying and the bread didn't seem to work for any of the judges, at least they attempted to follow the criteria of the challenge. For that reason, I felt like the judges should have sent one of the other team home.
And by the way...I hated the Antonia/Lisa team!!!! (Even though Jen was annoying me with all the "I'm doing it for Zoi"---dude, seriously, Zoi was voted off...get over it...maybe if you try to do it for yourself you would do better!) But seriously...I thought the Antonia/Lisa team was awful...their personalities make me feel yucky! Antonia is tough to like, but the Lisa? she's just awful...you know the one I'm talking about, the one Dale told off for having a bad attitude and being negative? She's just miserable! I mean, girlfriend, you've made it to Top Chef! You're on national television! The whole country is watching you! Maybe a little less negativity is in order??? You've got a lot to be thankful for! I was totally losing it when the judges were giving Lisa criticism, she was giving them all dirty looks and just scowling. She had no humility, and was completely incapable of really hearing what they were saying...she just jumped into being totally ugly and defensive...I was hoping she'd go home. You know how some people like that are good for the show and add drama? She's not that person! She just makes mean and negative comments all the time...not good TV.
I also really enjoyed Spike and Andrew working together with the yellow love theme...Spike finally got to make his soup and his personality was fun and whimsical...they didn't freak when there was no equipment...they just rolled with it and made the most of it and had fun. I love that.
Who else...Stephanie...I felt like she kind of got the shaft...she's such a good chef and has proven herself week after week. I think she got pulled into Jens' phallic scenario and she even said early on that the bread is not going to work well...I'm just glad she wasn't sent home because she's one of my favorites. And the Kiwi, Mark...his personality is really coming out too. He's funny. I love the way he speaks. He always makes funny comments like "it's not about that, it's about this, isn't it?" with his cute inflection and accent.
Okay, that wraps it up for me...another week of dodging real reality for reality television. Maybe I'll hang the curtains...or at least brush my teeth?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Guilty pleasure
Rock of Love 2....there, I said it. I feel dirty, yes, but I said it.
I got an email a little while ago from a friend from college. She confided in me that this mindless reality show is among her guilty pleasures. I don't think I've admitted this on the blog before, but I have not missed a single episode of Rock of Love, season 1 or season 2. In fact, I hope Bret Michaels never finds true love so this show can air new episodes year after year. I know, I'm sorry Bret. I just don't know who else could host such a phenomenal show.
So last week's season finale got me a little fired up. I'm going to insert an email I sent to my sister that captures my feelings on Bret's choice...his Rock of Love....
So here's my email to my sister:
Okay....seriously...I think the bottom line is that Bret is stupid. Daisy is stupid. Amber is annoying. They are all just bluchgh!!!!! Here's my arm chair psychologist analysis....
Bret:
Just like last season, Bret over-thought the whole thing...he chose the girl that most people would deem the "right choice" but Amber is not the right choice for him....his reservations about her were dead-on...do you really think she's the person to go on tour with and watch him make out with other girls and have threesomes with???? Bret chose the girl who he thinks he would like to match up with, but the bottom line is that he's a trashy aging rock star who will always think with his penis and be drawn to the Daisys in the world. He's not up for a real relationship with Amber, and that's okay...a leopard can't change his spots!
Amber:
I don't think she'll be happy with life on the road. I don't think she'd be okay with an "open" relationship either if she stays behind. But Bret is a bad boy...he needs a girl on the road with him if he has any hope of staying loyal to her. And another thing...in the beginning of the finale show, when Daisy, Amber and Bret were having dinner in Cancun, it felt like Amber was trying to win in an interview...she just had the perfect answer for everything and really "handled" things...only in real life, people don't like to be handled or managed. So she made her point...I don't even remember what the point was...but it just felt like she was on a job interview and she's clueless about that characteristic in herself. I really believe Bret's gut feeling was right...this competition was something for Amber to win.
Daisy:
Oh good lord. She should just shut up and look pretty. When they were out on the boat down below having a conversation, Daisy's lack of brains and lack in ability to articulate thoughts and feelings was just painful. Bret posed some very straightforward thoughts and questions, and it was like Daisy just couldn't form thoughts or sentences. And why was she so horrible to Amber...it really did show how immature she was and how she just didn't get it. Her little attempts to start fights and say mean things were just dumb. She looked like she was just out of her league when she tried to interact with Amber.
In conclusion, the whole thing left me feeling like whatever...y'all all deserve each other. Amber will go on being perky and obnoxious and bubbly and keep on trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she is in fact sexy even though that's not really who she is, and Daisy will enter into adult entertainment and have a really nice XXX film career...or maybe she'll end up with Tommy Lee or Eddie Van Halen...who knows. And Bret? He'll have Rock of Love 3 within another year.
Now, just to keep it real, I have to say that my sister had the exact opposite opinion. She felt that Bret did in fact make the right decision by choosing Amber. She's closer to his age, is able to communicate her thoughts, and they seemed to be very comfortable with each other. My sister went on to point out that yes, Bret has lived his life on the road with tons of slutty girls throwing themselves at him, but maybe he's outgrown that at 44 years of age.
My sister has a point...if I were Bret, I would feel like a child molester dating a 25 year old. I mean, he could actually be Daisy's Dad...and that's creepy! I remember after my parents divorced, my sweet lonely Dad dated a girl...a young girl...like, my sister's age...and that was just yucky....but that's a different story for another day. Anyway...maybe Bret is ready for some one with substance...maybe he would like to be with a woman he can be proud of. Maybe Amber is his Rock of Love...I for one hope not. I'm looking forward to Rock of Love 3!!!!
I got an email a little while ago from a friend from college. She confided in me that this mindless reality show is among her guilty pleasures. I don't think I've admitted this on the blog before, but I have not missed a single episode of Rock of Love, season 1 or season 2. In fact, I hope Bret Michaels never finds true love so this show can air new episodes year after year. I know, I'm sorry Bret. I just don't know who else could host such a phenomenal show.
So last week's season finale got me a little fired up. I'm going to insert an email I sent to my sister that captures my feelings on Bret's choice...his Rock of Love....
So here's my email to my sister:
Okay....seriously...I think the bottom line is that Bret is stupid. Daisy is stupid. Amber is annoying. They are all just bluchgh!!!!! Here's my arm chair psychologist analysis....
Bret:
Just like last season, Bret over-thought the whole thing...he chose the girl that most people would deem the "right choice" but Amber is not the right choice for him....his reservations about her were dead-on...do you really think she's the person to go on tour with and watch him make out with other girls and have threesomes with???? Bret chose the girl who he thinks he would like to match up with, but the bottom line is that he's a trashy aging rock star who will always think with his penis and be drawn to the Daisys in the world. He's not up for a real relationship with Amber, and that's okay...a leopard can't change his spots!
Amber:
I don't think she'll be happy with life on the road. I don't think she'd be okay with an "open" relationship either if she stays behind. But Bret is a bad boy...he needs a girl on the road with him if he has any hope of staying loyal to her. And another thing...in the beginning of the finale show, when Daisy, Amber and Bret were having dinner in Cancun, it felt like Amber was trying to win in an interview...she just had the perfect answer for everything and really "handled" things...only in real life, people don't like to be handled or managed. So she made her point...I don't even remember what the point was...but it just felt like she was on a job interview and she's clueless about that characteristic in herself. I really believe Bret's gut feeling was right...this competition was something for Amber to win.
Daisy:
Oh good lord. She should just shut up and look pretty. When they were out on the boat down below having a conversation, Daisy's lack of brains and lack in ability to articulate thoughts and feelings was just painful. Bret posed some very straightforward thoughts and questions, and it was like Daisy just couldn't form thoughts or sentences. And why was she so horrible to Amber...it really did show how immature she was and how she just didn't get it. Her little attempts to start fights and say mean things were just dumb. She looked like she was just out of her league when she tried to interact with Amber.
In conclusion, the whole thing left me feeling like whatever...y'all all deserve each other. Amber will go on being perky and obnoxious and bubbly and keep on trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she is in fact sexy even though that's not really who she is, and Daisy will enter into adult entertainment and have a really nice XXX film career...or maybe she'll end up with Tommy Lee or Eddie Van Halen...who knows. And Bret? He'll have Rock of Love 3 within another year.
Now, just to keep it real, I have to say that my sister had the exact opposite opinion. She felt that Bret did in fact make the right decision by choosing Amber. She's closer to his age, is able to communicate her thoughts, and they seemed to be very comfortable with each other. My sister went on to point out that yes, Bret has lived his life on the road with tons of slutty girls throwing themselves at him, but maybe he's outgrown that at 44 years of age.
My sister has a point...if I were Bret, I would feel like a child molester dating a 25 year old. I mean, he could actually be Daisy's Dad...and that's creepy! I remember after my parents divorced, my sweet lonely Dad dated a girl...a young girl...like, my sister's age...and that was just yucky....but that's a different story for another day. Anyway...maybe Bret is ready for some one with substance...maybe he would like to be with a woman he can be proud of. Maybe Amber is his Rock of Love...I for one hope not. I'm looking forward to Rock of Love 3!!!!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sick of being sick!!! (In Treatment)
I haven't written lately because I've been couch-bound with a nasty cold/sinus infection. It's the worst I've had in my memory. This week I've literally done nothing but try to sleep, rest, try to sleep, and watch TV on the couch.
That said, I must confess to a new addiction...no, not American Idol...that is an old addiction. My new addiction is called In Treatment on HBO. If you haven't seen this show, here's the premise: It airs Monday thru Friday (9:30 p.m. here in California). Monday thru Thursday you sit in on therapy sessions with four different patients, one per day, with Paul, the shrink. On Friday, you sit in on Paul's therapy session with his shrink.
This show is so well-acted. It's story line is ever-twisting. The characters have so much depth. And drama!!! Wow, I just can't get enough of it. The first patient we're introduced to is Laura. She's a lovely woman around 30 years old. Over the course of the weeks, you learn she is an anesthesiology resident, very quick, bright, and witty. She's also a seductress, was a Lolita wanna-be as a teenager, and has developed feelings for Paul, which, in the world of psychology is labeled as transference.
Over the course of the weeks, she manipulates Paul, and does everything in her power to allure him into her lair. In one session, she tells Paul in explicit detail about how she got drunk and had a sexual encounter with a complete stranger in a bar bathroom, and in the following session shares that she has accepted a marriage proposal from her on again/off again boyfriend (whom she has basically manipulated into proposing by giving him an ultimatum---which she claims he delivered to her). All of this is done in an attempt to make Paul jealous and win him over. When that doesn't work, she sets her sights on one of Paul's patients, Alex. Alex is a whole other can of worms.
I guess if you have to be sick, and 18 weeks pregnant with twins, there is a remedy....called In Treatment!!!!
That said, I must confess to a new addiction...no, not American Idol...that is an old addiction. My new addiction is called In Treatment on HBO. If you haven't seen this show, here's the premise: It airs Monday thru Friday (9:30 p.m. here in California). Monday thru Thursday you sit in on therapy sessions with four different patients, one per day, with Paul, the shrink. On Friday, you sit in on Paul's therapy session with his shrink.
This show is so well-acted. It's story line is ever-twisting. The characters have so much depth. And drama!!! Wow, I just can't get enough of it. The first patient we're introduced to is Laura. She's a lovely woman around 30 years old. Over the course of the weeks, you learn she is an anesthesiology resident, very quick, bright, and witty. She's also a seductress, was a Lolita wanna-be as a teenager, and has developed feelings for Paul, which, in the world of psychology is labeled as transference.
Over the course of the weeks, she manipulates Paul, and does everything in her power to allure him into her lair. In one session, she tells Paul in explicit detail about how she got drunk and had a sexual encounter with a complete stranger in a bar bathroom, and in the following session shares that she has accepted a marriage proposal from her on again/off again boyfriend (whom she has basically manipulated into proposing by giving him an ultimatum---which she claims he delivered to her). All of this is done in an attempt to make Paul jealous and win him over. When that doesn't work, she sets her sights on one of Paul's patients, Alex. Alex is a whole other can of worms.
I guess if you have to be sick, and 18 weeks pregnant with twins, there is a remedy....called In Treatment!!!!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Charmed, I'm sure
The past few weeks I've had good and bad days...fewer good than bad. On the days that I'm not doing so well either because of headaches or nausea, I pass the time by reading books about twins, searching for the perfect crib on the internet, or watching re-runs of Charmed on TNT. Yes, this is admittedly bad television.
Why, then, have I become addicted? Why is it almost my duty to see every episode from 1998 to 2006? I can't really explain it. There are elements of the show that I just find irresistable...one of them being that because of the writer's strike, there's nothing on TV and this is a series that I never followed, so it's all new to me. Also I love that the stars are all smart powerful girls who manage to maintain hectic lives and save the world from evil...all while remaining fashionable. And speaking of fashionable...maybe I just like to see cute outfits since the majority of my days are spent in oversized shirts and leggings or sweats or even flannel pjs. What I can admit is that I also loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so there is a common theme of the good guys being powerful young women who kick demonic butt. Again, why this is appealing to me is still somewhat of a mystery...and I can't even believe that I'm admitting this bizarre component of my personality.
So, all of that said, I'm actually going to post this blog about watching bad TV. It really must reflect all the excitement around here...nausea, migraines, and bad TV!!!
Why, then, have I become addicted? Why is it almost my duty to see every episode from 1998 to 2006? I can't really explain it. There are elements of the show that I just find irresistable...one of them being that because of the writer's strike, there's nothing on TV and this is a series that I never followed, so it's all new to me. Also I love that the stars are all smart powerful girls who manage to maintain hectic lives and save the world from evil...all while remaining fashionable. And speaking of fashionable...maybe I just like to see cute outfits since the majority of my days are spent in oversized shirts and leggings or sweats or even flannel pjs. What I can admit is that I also loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so there is a common theme of the good guys being powerful young women who kick demonic butt. Again, why this is appealing to me is still somewhat of a mystery...and I can't even believe that I'm admitting this bizarre component of my personality.
So, all of that said, I'm actually going to post this blog about watching bad TV. It really must reflect all the excitement around here...nausea, migraines, and bad TV!!!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Project Runway: What's the Skinny
Okay, the challenge this week was to work with women who had recently lost a lot of weight. They wore their favorite outfits from their heavier days and the designers were challenged to make something new out of the old clothes. I liked that challenge...how cool would it be to reinvent all the outfits that you used to like but just can't wear another time.
Anyway, Jack has an infection on his mouth and face...he's swelling up like a balloon, and decides that he needs to take care of himself and withdraw from the contest to seek medical treatment. Bummer...I liked Jack. In a short amount of time, he's already won a challenge, and I felt like we hadn't seen his best work yet. I hope they'll let him come back next season because he really didn't get a chance to show us his stuff. Bye Jack!
And hellllllllllllllooooooooo Chris. Since the competition was down one man, they decided to bring back Chis. I liked Chris too and was glad to see him get another chance.
Several of the re-designed outfits were very good....I liked Kevin's and Christian's the best, although it pains me to say so because I am so annoyed by Christian. I mean, this week he said, "I'm way bettter than them" referring to the competition....his attitude is so DUMB.....you can't even begin to explain to him about his own lack of awareness because he's too young and stupid to get it. But to give him full credit, he rocked the competition this week. I thought his outfit was the best re-do.
I was also concerned to see Chris in the bottom again. There's no doubt that he's a likable guy and is talented...the only thing I question is can he transition from costume making to fashion design....this week's outfit really reinforced that. His outfit really did look like it was made for a 1950's movie...I agreed with Michael Kor's....all she was missing was a beret.
In the end, Steve deserved his last place defeat....his dress was awful...there was nothing stylish about it, I'm sure the woman would have donated it to the Goodwill when she got home, and the outfit did nothing to express who he is as a designer....he failed across the board. I will say that I thought he got the worst piece of clothing to transform...that wedding dress was hideous, but the judges were right...he could have deconstructed the fabric in some way and transformed the dress into a white cocktail dress or something...I just thought he was completely overwhelmed by his bad luck. It seemed like he was defeated the second his name was chosen for the wedding dress re-design.
Bye, Steve!
Anyway, Jack has an infection on his mouth and face...he's swelling up like a balloon, and decides that he needs to take care of himself and withdraw from the contest to seek medical treatment. Bummer...I liked Jack. In a short amount of time, he's already won a challenge, and I felt like we hadn't seen his best work yet. I hope they'll let him come back next season because he really didn't get a chance to show us his stuff. Bye Jack!
And hellllllllllllllooooooooo Chris. Since the competition was down one man, they decided to bring back Chis. I liked Chris too and was glad to see him get another chance.
Several of the re-designed outfits were very good....I liked Kevin's and Christian's the best, although it pains me to say so because I am so annoyed by Christian. I mean, this week he said, "I'm way bettter than them" referring to the competition....his attitude is so DUMB.....you can't even begin to explain to him about his own lack of awareness because he's too young and stupid to get it. But to give him full credit, he rocked the competition this week. I thought his outfit was the best re-do.
I was also concerned to see Chris in the bottom again. There's no doubt that he's a likable guy and is talented...the only thing I question is can he transition from costume making to fashion design....this week's outfit really reinforced that. His outfit really did look like it was made for a 1950's movie...I agreed with Michael Kor's....all she was missing was a beret.
In the end, Steve deserved his last place defeat....his dress was awful...there was nothing stylish about it, I'm sure the woman would have donated it to the Goodwill when she got home, and the outfit did nothing to express who he is as a designer....he failed across the board. I will say that I thought he got the worst piece of clothing to transform...that wedding dress was hideous, but the judges were right...he could have deconstructed the fabric in some way and transformed the dress into a white cocktail dress or something...I just thought he was completely overwhelmed by his bad luck. It seemed like he was defeated the second his name was chosen for the wedding dress re-design.
Bye, Steve!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Project Runway: Contestants Taken Out of the Comfort Zone
This week, during the opening segment, Christian, my favorite person to hate, mentions "I just make clothes so much better than the other designers". This after sucking so fiercely with the $15 challenge last week....clearly he's learned a lot of humility between last week and this week. And why shouldn't he be so much better than all the others...he's 21 after all and has a world of experience that he brings to the table...for one, he can sew fast. Forget that his designs have been less than consistent a this point. I HATE HIM.
Now we enter into the challenge....they announce that this week's challenge is to make an outfit for Tiki Barber, a former linebacker and current Today Show whatever you call it....correspondent? He's on the show. He needs an outfit. Design it. Keep in mind this former football player has a good sense of fashion and he has a big booty, a big muscular neck, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Okay, aside from the muscular neck, I can relate to wanting to somewhat disguise or play down a booty.
They're given $150 to design an outfit. Why are they all freaking out? No one except the one guy has ever done men's clothing apparently.
Here's where I'm a little irritated. Jack takes off his shorts, deconstructs them, and uses them as a pattern. Alright...initially, I'm okay with this...he's being resourceful. And he's a nice guy. Victoria and Carmen ask to borrow his deconstructed shorts to make their pants out of this pattern, too. Jack does them this favor. Hmmmm. I don't know how I feel about this...are they taking advantage of his generosity, or is it just me? And what kind of competition would this be if everyone just created a pattern out of what they were already wearing? Or better yet, they could all trace the same thing and everyone could make the same outfit!
This week, I liked Kit. I liked that she seems pretty mature and insightful...at one point she said something like, here we are so stressed out and we forget that we're actually living our dream right now...pretty bright and a pretty good perspective...especially being only 26.
Oh, and I still like Rami..I liked his smart ass remark that his pants looked great and he didn't use a pattern at all. He has a point. Back to Jack...I wonder...is he simply a nice guy who helped others in need, or is this part of his strategy to build alliances and be able to call in favors later....hmmm.
Ricki...I changed my mind...I feel that I've given him a fair enough of time and I do not like him. He's too stressed out all the time. That fellow needs some self esteem or something...he puts the pressure of the world on his shoulders every week and it makes me stressed out to watch his struggle every week.
Then comes special guest Ginny Barker, Kiki's wife. Okay, this lady takes what her husband wears very very seriously...she looks at everything with an extremely critical eye. I loved that she called who was it...Carmen's? jacket a Member's Only remake.
In the end, Jack won. I thought his outfit looked great, but there is still the fact that he traced the pants off his body to "create" his pants.
And Carmen goes home...that's okay...I didn't think too highly of her, especially after saving so much time by tracing Jack's pants, and then completely screwing up her jacket and not finishing the shirt. Bye bye Carmen!
Now we enter into the challenge....they announce that this week's challenge is to make an outfit for Tiki Barber, a former linebacker and current Today Show whatever you call it....correspondent? He's on the show. He needs an outfit. Design it. Keep in mind this former football player has a good sense of fashion and he has a big booty, a big muscular neck, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Okay, aside from the muscular neck, I can relate to wanting to somewhat disguise or play down a booty.
They're given $150 to design an outfit. Why are they all freaking out? No one except the one guy has ever done men's clothing apparently.
Here's where I'm a little irritated. Jack takes off his shorts, deconstructs them, and uses them as a pattern. Alright...initially, I'm okay with this...he's being resourceful. And he's a nice guy. Victoria and Carmen ask to borrow his deconstructed shorts to make their pants out of this pattern, too. Jack does them this favor. Hmmmm. I don't know how I feel about this...are they taking advantage of his generosity, or is it just me? And what kind of competition would this be if everyone just created a pattern out of what they were already wearing? Or better yet, they could all trace the same thing and everyone could make the same outfit!
This week, I liked Kit. I liked that she seems pretty mature and insightful...at one point she said something like, here we are so stressed out and we forget that we're actually living our dream right now...pretty bright and a pretty good perspective...especially being only 26.
Oh, and I still like Rami..I liked his smart ass remark that his pants looked great and he didn't use a pattern at all. He has a point. Back to Jack...I wonder...is he simply a nice guy who helped others in need, or is this part of his strategy to build alliances and be able to call in favors later....hmmm.
Ricki...I changed my mind...I feel that I've given him a fair enough of time and I do not like him. He's too stressed out all the time. That fellow needs some self esteem or something...he puts the pressure of the world on his shoulders every week and it makes me stressed out to watch his struggle every week.
Then comes special guest Ginny Barker, Kiki's wife. Okay, this lady takes what her husband wears very very seriously...she looks at everything with an extremely critical eye. I loved that she called who was it...Carmen's? jacket a Member's Only remake.
In the end, Jack won. I thought his outfit looked great, but there is still the fact that he traced the pants off his body to "create" his pants.
And Carmen goes home...that's okay...I didn't think too highly of her, especially after saving so much time by tracing Jack's pants, and then completely screwing up her jacket and not finishing the shirt. Bye bye Carmen!
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