Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[Mluv]

Discuss the episode.

Oh we will, don't worry.

Hello all!

[WhataJoke]

It looks like something the cat gacked.

LOL seriously that looks completely nasty. Nikki's bear dropping mushrooms have been dethroned easily by the new champion for the nastiest looking food of the season.

[SimonBao]

That picture does not look appatizing at all. And while I understand that many peanut suaces are made with peanut butter... they're typically much thinner. Her dish looks like she glopped peanutbutter in a pot with a little bit ot veg. oil. It's so freakin' thick! This looks like very poorly done Tai food.

Siva, the Thai embassy is on the phone. They want to arrange your extradition to Thailand to face charges of blasphemy. Not even poorly done Thai food looks like Stephie's plate. LOL

The sauces are indeed typically thin, but also heavily flavored. And Stephie does know that, she has a background with some SE Asian cooking.

But this episode, Stephie seemed to be in a state of personal collapse.

[SivartAlappes]

Mark is "concerned" that a 12 year old American kid from a challenged background has never had a curry before. Sorry - MacCurry hasn't been test-marketed in his neighborhood yet. I'm sure he's familiar with Mac-10 though.

I'm 24, and I've never had curry!

[WhataJoke]

I am quite serious.

I watched the same as you did, I've read the same blogs you did, I've looked at the camera plates and read the recipes.

When I want dinner, I need a meal that has protein in it. I need a meal that comes with complex carbohydrates. Both Stephie's dish and Mark's dish are offputting and unappealing. But Stephie's dish packs protein and complex carbs. Mark's dish has neither protein and very little complex carbs. Sweet potatoes have some but they're also mostly simple starch.

Hence, one of those unappealing meals will at least leave my body feeling satisfied and fed. And one won't.

When I want Dinner I want something that tasted good. If I want to fill myself with disgusting yet nourishing protien I'll grab my Whey Shakes or a power bar.

For Tom and the Judges to nit-pick Marks dish on one random nutritional qualification while another contestants food looks like the Mob used it to dispose of the body of Mr. Peanut is simply comedic, unbelieveable misdirection.

[SimonBao]

Mark's exit interview might be described as bizarre.

He calls Padma "Yoko Ono" and accuses her of breaking up the band. Anyone help me understand that reference? I know who the Beatles were and what Yoko Ono is accused of, but tie that to Padma for me?

He also reasserts that a vegetarian meal that includes no protein is "healthy."

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 1, 2008 - 10:56 AM

[SivartAlappes]

Maureen, I have to disagree with you. It was not a crime for Antonia to assemble her Stir Fried Noodle Meal. Probably should not call that PASTA as it's not even similar to what most people think of as a pasta meal. It was both clever and healthy and she demonstrated more health know-how than Mark the VegMan.

Antonia used whole wheat pasta, which from a nutritional standpoint is entirely different from ordinary dry pasta. Whole wheat noodles are complex carbohydrates; ordinary pasta is basically simple starch. Each of her servings came with only 4 ounces of chicken breast, which makes it low-fat and low-cholesterol. She turned the whole wheat in the pasta into a powerful complete protein by adding edamame to the stir-fry.

So if you look at that dish, it's low fat, low cholesterol, has the preferred carbohydrates, and is packing serious protein, well beyond what chicken alone can offer.

You may not like her, or may not like the dish, but she did exactly as she was challenged to do.

It looks mighty dry though, doesn't it? Maybe add some soy sauce.

[SimonBao]

When I want Dinner I want something that tasted good. If I want to fill myself with disgusting yet nourishing protien I'll grab my Whey Shakes or a power bar.

For Tom and the Judges to nit-pick Marks dish on one random nutritional qualification while another contestants food looks like the Mob used it to dispose of the body of Mr. Peanut is simply comedic, unbelieveable misdirection.

Well, by all accounts, Mark's dish didn't taste good. And the challenge made it abundantly clear that it was to be a healthy and nutritious meal. So I would not call that nit-picking on one random nutritional qualification, to point out that his veggie dish is neither healthy, nor nutritious. Nor delicious. Stephies dismal chicken does at least amount to a meal. Mark's does not, not by how I define a meal.

Emphasis... they were to create a MEAL. Not a dish.

I realize you have a point to make, but your point can't discredit the fact that I would prefer the unappealing chicken and couscous over the unappealing sweet veggie curry.

[SimonBao]

It looks mighty dry though, doesn't it? Maybe add some soy sauce.

Antonia's dish apparently did come with a drizzle of Teriyaki. Which for a freshly stir-fried dish is probably all one needs.

You may have noticed, very often the Camera Plate photos of the food look extremely dry. The cheftestants are responsible for plating those themselves, so they should look their best, but often the photos look like they were taken hours after that food got plated....

[rugbynut]

Well Well Well...I'm late as usual, but so glad to see that the two most annoying things from the episode were picked up by others.

1. Double dippers. I love The Blais, but he got busted. So did Dale, also during the EC, later in the episode. I am fairly sure that we see him taste off of a wooden spoon and almost instantly replace it into his pan.

2. Calling that dish a Puttanesca, much less making the kid tell the judges that. Tsk Tsk.

Despite all of the conspiracy theorists around here, I happen to agree with the choice for PYKAG. Maybe not because of that episode in particular, but overall it was time for Mark to go. He has been barely hanging on for weeks. I do think that Calicchio kind of tipped his hand a little too, when he mentioned that up to this point Steph has been strong (or something like that) at judge's table. Whether anyone likes it or not, past performance is a factor. Which is also why I think Mark's welcome had finally run out.

Personally, I had The Blais, Dale, and The Beast (Jen) picked for final three for the past month (or so). Obviously I had to readjust that, and I threw in Steph for Jen. Although last night's episode showed a monumental drop in her confidence level. Her thinking and cooking were clearly affected.

[SivartAlappes]

Emphasis... they were to create a MEAL. Not a dish.

Very true... which is why I think Mark just spent the $10 poorly.

[SimonBao]

Just an FYI, Lee Anne does now have a blog up, and confirms that there was Chef Access To The Pantry. Doesn't mention how extensive she made the pantry this time, but at least they had a pantry to fill in some blanks with.

She also has praise for some (who may not be the expected ones), some criticisms that aren't the same as what we already heard...

And Mark's curry was the least favorite meal among the Child Diners, as well as the Judges. Lee Anne's blog seems to emphasize that explicit expectation, those meals really had to please the kids.

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 1, 2008 - 10:54 AM

[SivartAlappes]

But this episode, Stephie seemed to be in a state of personal collapse.

Which I don't understand! This challenge would have been so much fun for me, I don't know why she'd stress to the point she is.

[Radyms13]

Does anyone know of a tropical deserted island that I can buy? I just heard of a new reality show *Hurl*. They take competitive eaters, have them eat a bunch of stuff and the put them through ridiculous challenges like riding a roller coaster to see who hurls. I thought Springer was bad, and the folks on the court shows. Can't understand the people who go on the clean house show when they live like pigs and the intervention show makes me sick to think about it.

Every time I think we have gotten as shallow as we can get----someone drains a little more water out of the pool.

[SivartAlappes]

Mark's exit interview might be described as bizarre.

He calls Padma "Yoko Ono" and accuses her of breaking up the band. Anyone help me understand that reference? I know who the Beatles were and what Yoko Ono is accused of, but tie that to Padma for me?

He also reasserts that a vegetarian meal that includes no protein is "healthy."

I keep getting a "video not found" message.

[teleburst]

Tele, not all Snark is Good Snark. Some Snark is best left in the pot rather than on the plate.

Perhaps. And maybe it didn't come off the way I intended but I happen to find Uncle Ben's and vaudeville blackface fairly offensive and I was snarking on that sort of commercially embedded racism, not trying to be racist (and I used Rev. Wright because the right wing's reaction to him seems pretty racist as well). I did misfire though because I meant to use that other bastion of condescending marketing, Aunt Jemina, instead of Mrs. Butterworth. I guess I probably just saw the Geico commercial featuring her. Plus, I recently saw "CSA", the what-if-the-Civil-War-was-won-by -the-South movie that took racist advertising to its ultimate conclusion.

I guess when I see Uncle Ben, Uncle Remus and Al Jolson (and the famous [expletive deleted] Chicken featured in the great movie, Ghost World), the snark just naturally oozes from the pot to the plate. But you're right - snark falls flat on its face if you have to explain it.

[WhataJoke]

Well, by all accounts, Mark's dish didn't taste good. And the challenge made it abundantly clear that it was to be a healthy and nutritious meal. So I would not call that nit-picking on one random nutritional qualification, to point out that his veggie dish is neither healthy, nor nutritious. Nor delicious. Stephies dismal chicken does at least amount to a meal. Mark's does not, not by how I define a meal.

Emphasis... they were to create a MEAL. Not a dish.

I realize you have a point to make, but your point can't discredit the fact that I would prefer the unappealing chicken and couscous over the unappealing sweet veggie curry.

You really think you would like something that Tom called "offputting" and I believe Padma said she detested? Did she say detested?
If that truely is the case then our taste buds are on completely divergant paths.


But to my main point:
Its absolutely nitpicking to call out one random nutritional value when someone else serves something that would cause the ACLU to unleash the lawyers if it was served in prison! LOL. When last week a team ignored a rule of the challenge entirely they skated bye. Mark misses one nutritional point and loses to prison food.

Top Chef indeed!

[SimonBao]

I keep getting a "video not found" message.

Apologies Siva, there was an error in the URL. I've corrected it in the original, now just try here.

[SimonBao]

You really think you would like something that Tom called "offputting" and I believe Padma said she detested? Did she say detested?
If that truely is the case then our taste buds are on completely divergant paths.


But to my main point:
Its absolutely nitpicking to call out one random nutritional value when someone else serves something that would cause the ACLU to unleash the lawyers if it was served in prison! LOL. When last week a team ignored a rule of the challenge entirely they skated bye. Mark misses one nutritional point and loses to prison food.

Top Chef indeed!

I encourage you to take this up with the Child Diners. Who apparently are also on some divergent path.

Be forewarned however. Bring that kind of attitude, and those kids know where their chef buddies have stored the knives. LOL

[WhataJoke]

Just an FYI, Lee Anne does now have a blog up, and confirms that there was Chef Access To The Pantry. Doesn't mention how extensive she made the pantry this time, but at least they had a pantry to fill in some blanks with.

She also has praise for some (who may not be the expected ones), some criticisms that aren't the same as what we already heard...

And Mark's curry was the least favorite meal among the Child Diners, as well as the Judges. Lee Anne's blog seems to emphasize that explicit expectation, those meals really had to please the kids.

Another Blog up on Pravda!

LOL and the comment cards mysteriously show up again to justify another completely laughable offing.

What episode was it that Tom told the chefs to cook for him? LOL.