Bock-Bock-Be-Ock! (supposed to be the sound a chicken makes!)

Must be nice to be able to re-invent reality whenever it does not suit you... but what does he take US for?

If you want me to go along with your little "re-invent reality" scheme it will take either some big bucks (in cash, no checks, please) or some very good, old whiskey (and plenty of it)!

Ooops, guess I still had some snark left over from last night (still a bit miffed about what was done to Jim!)

Do you mean to tell me that in an episode to cook a $10 meal for a family of four, they couldn't find any families of four in Chicago?

Ooops .......Wrong thread I'm so confused.
Bye! ...Enjoy!
'Cause I sure can't.

K!

(brevity lesson by Kanigirl )

Maybe it's possible that those were in the instructions we didn't hear... maybe. Maybe , maybe, maybe. The elves work hard to raise us mushrooms. That PB&T still gags me. Put me right off my morning coffee. And I'm ranking that ketchup as an ice cream topper right there with PB&T. I've made tomato preserves and they're quite tasty but I'm not ready to spread it on a sammich with peanut butter.

Antonia pulled a Mike Midgely--won both the quickfire and elimination challenges!

Same three on the bottom for both challenges!

Really glad Steph slid through--don't know what she was thinking tomato/peanut butter.

I, too, wondered about the $10 in Whole Foods---local superstore ok but Whole Foods??

Glad to see Nikki do well for a change.

Still have to deal with Spike.

Too bad about Mark, he was cute and funny, but not the strongest chef.

Lisa needs an asstitude adjustment in the worst way.

Wedding wars---Arrggghh---whey do they want these people to pull an all-nighter???

Bravo finally got it's act together----you can watch last nights episode on line. Think that will happen from now on?? Oh wait maybe for the even numbered episodes only.

KK i am snagging on here because I do not have time to read these first 13 pages before I go to work... I dont think there will be much discussion this week on this outcome; for Mark to make a curry for a family meal was dumb. Yes, curries are tasty but when youare cooking for the masses you realy are taking a risk with that and it bit him in the butt. Not to mention that it just wasn't very good per the judges. I was glad to see Steph dodge the bullet... she needs to watch out ... at this point she may not be so lucky next time.
Next week looks like it will be crazy.

But this is the TC board... It will get discussed until there is nothing left of the horsey... Read the first 13 pages... not many in agreement with you, yet. But it's early... B&B and Tele haven't appeared yet...

Thoughts on last night's episode:

This is not the first time Mark has become defensive and confrontational with the Judges when on the chopping block; he's done it on at least three occasions. His Kiwi charm just seems to have masked his comments. It was his time.

It's possible Steph peaked early and is on a downward spiral. She seems to have lost focus and the nerves are back. A real shame, because I thought she was a contender.

Lisa was taken down for contending the judgment at JT, but she was no more confrontational and unwilling to accept criticism than Mark. Lisa's problem is an overall aura of contentiousness.

Nikki: Who'da thunk it? She might redeem herself yet. Just wish she'd visit a good hairdresser.

And for next week:

Wedding Wars: Be afraid; be very afraid.

No, dear. BBB keeps you around for the ratings draw. You're like internet gold.

It's "Love By Association."

Everyone loves Hyde from That 70s Show. Mark must be the Son of Hyde. Hyde spent time stoning and surfing in New Zealand, spawned a child who grew up to cook. Mark.

I can't believe I made it through all the first 14 pages and only had two cups of coffee.

I agree with so many, but I'll throw my two cents in, too.


I have said repeatedly that I'm sure Nikki is a nice enough lady, but her dishes made me violent. I am happily eating my words today. I thought she created a fantastic, well rounded dish. I happily give up the circa 1976 coffee urn, too.

Lisa, once again, made me want to reach through my screen and throttle her. I will have to go back and hear her exact words, but she said something to the effect of not seasoning or not spicing food (someone please help me here!) for kids. Well, just what does she think little Spanish children eat? Or little Asian children? Italian, Greek, Portugese, Middle Eastern? Not all moms run their kitchens like diners and I, for one, don't make different meals for all the palates in my house. Moms don't cook with garlic, onions, s&p, peppers, chilies, etc. because kids won't eat them? BS.

Again, she showed me she's a pretentious little snot. It's one thing to be confident and arrogant, or else I wouldn't love Anthony Bourdain so much. Just make sure the product of your hind parts smells like roses. Bourdain has earned his chops. Lisa is still on the proving ground and she hasn't shown me a whole lot other than miso glazed bacon. Fab.

I was flabbergasted at Stephanie's dish. Completely flabbergasted. I was so disappointed. Quite frankly, I thought it looked like a vomitous mess. she spent the bulk of her $10 on chicken and it only made it in the craptacular peanutbutter-tomato sauce. Over cooked couscous? Wow. Just wow.

Truly, I didn't have a strong reaction to Mark's dish. I would have loved to see more veggies and some form of protein, but I didn't think it was as disasterous as Stephanie's. So long double Dipper.

Speaking of Double Dippers. I will bet dollars to donuts Richard was edited. I know with every fiber of my being he tasted from that spoon and kerplunk! it was back in the pot. In front of Tom!!! Nice dish. Scuzzy practices.

I definitely thought this was as tailored made a challenge for Antonia and Nikki as they could have got. I thought they both shined. I'd like Antonia to STFU, but that's a whole other issue.

Quickfire: Ay yi yi. Kudos to all of them. I need a whole 30 mins. They did theirs in 15. I don't care what they made. I was impressed.

I'll go back and reread some finer points. But, you all generally say what's on my mind a lot better than I can sputter it out.

Small rant for Dale---so you're short, it is what it is---deal with it. While modern medical science can do some amazing things adding six inches to your height isn't one of them yet. So get over it dude.

(I'm vertically challenged myself so I know whereof I speak).

I saw that too. I printed out the recipe the day after, and it did indeed include 2 ounces of Polish sausage--but we all know what Bravo's recipes are worth.

Just to establish a baseline... Antonia's joke with her daughter, "Knock knock... Who's there? Smell Map... Smell Map Who?" is exactly the kind of knock knock joke I like to tell little ones. Tasteless, taboo, the very joke most parents won't tell.

I rate "Smell Map" up there with "Hey kid, pull my finger." Which I've never done. But which I have to respect. LOL

Well, I'D'a thunk it. Nikki has two major strengths: comfort food and traditional Italian food. This challenge allowed her to use the former.

My 5 year old grandson tells this one "Why does Tigger smell bad?......Cause he plays with Pooh!"

Parts, I have to strongly disagree with you. I mean, very strongly.

A basic precept of contemporary vegetarian and vegan cooking is that a meal MUST still include a complete protein. Meaning, it includes all the essential amino acids needed by humans. An individual dish or side doesn't need to offer a complete protein, but that total meal must.

That's surprisingly easy to achieve, it's as old as agriculture, long ago achieved in all hemispheres and on all continents. One includes in the meal both one or more good high-protein whole grains (wheat being the go-to grain) and a good high-protein legume. Consumed together, that famous grain/legume combo is a complete protein. Chickpeas and whole wheat pita can do it on their own.

Or, one uses any of the few plant sources of (more or less) complete proteins. Soy beans, tofu, quinoa, etc. Peanuts are not bad but still should be offered in a meal with a whole grain in order to truly be "healthy." Mark had *some* peanut in that dish somewhere... but that dish does not meet a standard for being a healthy vegan or vegetarian meal. Conceptually, Mark was wrong from the get-go.

I agree, Exhibear.

To be honest, I cook weeknight meals for 3 for under $10 all the time. Look at what Antonia did and you know it's not that difficult. Granted, I shop the weekly specials and menu-plan ahead of time and pull ingredients from our pantry, but that ordinary Tuesday dinner almost always includes 1-2 leftover lunches as well.

BUT..... Whole Foods? Get serious. Americans who want to prepare healthy, nutritious, economical dinners for 4 for $10 are not shopping at Whole Foods. Not even for the sake of product placements.

It's a good thing this was shot in October/November cause $10 now just puts gas in the car to get to the store.

This is almost as funny as the "sloppy crop" re-edit of the Haircut to remove Elia. I really think it's hysterical at this point how obvious the shenanigans are.

Poor Ted must be hard up for a paycheck too.

I'm going to hold off responding to his blog until I can check the hard copy of the recipe I have at home, but I'm 99% sure that when they first posted Jen & Steph's recipe, it didn't have asparagus anywhere except in the title--and it does now.

KS, I also think the judges made it sound as if Stephanie's dish was just the worst-tasting of them. And I also think this may be one of those cases where, no matter what the judges say, past performance just has to sneak into their judgements. Stephie has done rocking food, Mark has not.

But I don't think adding more peanuts to the dish would have helped. That's just adding more of a weak source of complete protein. I don't see the point of offering an American family of four a vegetarian or vegan dish unless someone specifies that's what is wanted.

Good vegetarian or vegan dishes would be an interesting challenge. Last year's Elks Low-Cholesterol challenge showed that few of the chefs have a clue about nutrition and diet and cholesterol, it would be interesting to see how many know about vegetarian/vegan cooking.

I don't see how Tom could call the dish "offputting" and it have good flavor. I mean seriously, no matter how much damage control they do on the blogs, its just not going to wash.

What, you want them to cater a Bris?

Well I bet they used some itmes from the TC pantry and I have heard people suspect that they may have been cut a discount or two. It's like the Block party challenge. Do people really think all the people in the neighborhood had stocked pantries and fridges by accident?

I nominate we change the name of the show to Top Chenanigans.

Seven Buck-Buck-Buck-Bucks a pound!


Thats the sound chicken at Whole food makes.

Preview for next week

http://video.bravotv.com/player/?id=245967

Plenty of asstitude!!!

Let's not go overboard, WAJ. We already knew that the neighborhood had been told in advance that they'd be providing the food for that week's challenge. To say that Bravo rigged that one to favor one contestant over another would mean assuming:

1--That Bravo knew in advance the makeup of the two teams, and

2--That Bravo knew in advance which specific houses would be visited by a particular chef or pair of chefs.

In other words, it would mean assuming that Bravo and the elves are precognitive, and I don't think they are.

As for the discount, the only way that doesn't pass the smell test is if they haven't been getting that discount the whole season. Using the pantry is fine, IMABHO, because that's a resource the chefs have had for most of the season (with specific exceptions, like the 5-ingredient quickfire and the block party), and I, for one, very seldom have to buy EVERY ingredient for whatever I'm cooking; I usually have at least half of them on hand already.

For example, last night I made hamburgers with a bunch of things mixed into the meat. I only needed to buy the ground beef, the Parmesan cheese, and the onion; I already had the parsley, salt, pepper, and egg whites, and of those four, I only used up the egg whites. As for side dishes, I already had leftover rice and salad from a couple of days before.

Tonight, I'm going to boil up some rice, since I finished the last batch last night. All I need to buy there is a box of rice; I already have the butter and the salt, and obviously I already have the water.

And again we have Chef Tom pulling out the magic rulebook. Last week he made it dissappear when there was no polish sausage. This week it repeared to save someone based most likely on prior performance.

Like I said in the chat, I know Mark was done when he was going through his food like it was an episode of CSI.

In two weeks lets summarize:
Ignore one of the three main ingredinets in a challenge: Safe.
Leave out a protien on a challenge where the guideline seemed to be simply "healthy": Eliminated.

LMAO! And Vince McMahon thought he had a good thing going lol.

Silver, a peanut sauce is exactly what Stephie made, and those are commonly made with peanut butter.

And those can be fine sauces, but hers was just not well made at all. It appears to be nothing more than some chicken broth, peanut butter, some tomatoes, onion and garlic, and just a touch of oil.

That's a bad sauce. No way around it. No heat. No herbs. No spices. Too few flavorings and why tomatoes???

If you look at the camera plate Stephie prepared, the chicken also appears to be overcooked. And I'm not sure couscous was the right grain product to pair this with. With a better sauce, served over a bulgar wheat/wild rice/barley combo, probably be fine. Though not available for under $10.

Stephie, like Mark, misconceptualized this dish from the start...

But I'm still glad she is staying.

Not at all MLK.

Season 4 of Top Chef was filmed in October and November 2007 in Chicago.

Quick hits:

Spike - if you're going to do Pasta Puttenesca with an 11 year old, please don't tell them that you're doing "Wh0re's Pasta". At least don't describe to them that the odor of the olives and olive oil is somewhat descriptive of the name of the dish.

$40 to feed a family of four for one meal. C'mon guys. Not that big of a problem. Ramen is .35 a serving. Heck, you could do truffle ramen and have money left over for a dime bag for the single dad trying to pay his back child support.

Oprah's private chef? Hey dude, guess what? Lay off the butter. Oprah seems to be dressing mostly in black these days.

Antonia - why don't you just marry Manuel and have The Brady Bunch? After all, both of you abandoned your children for a few weeks and are now having guilt pangs the size of Wrigley Field. Or maybe you could season the food with your tears. Oooops, not original at all.

If Uncle Ben married Mrs. Butterworth, would their children go to Rev. Wright's church? Or would they suffer from Al Jolson's syndrome? Or would Oprah just buy them a new car?

Were those not the CUTEST kids ever? Is one of our CTs going to kill one of them before the day is over?

Spike is apparently easily impressed. Me? If the kid cuts his ring finger off and decides to use the finger as extra protein, then I'm impressed.

Spike's making soup. I hope it has ras el hanout in it.

I'd have my kid running to Starbucks for a Grande. That's just me though.

Oprah as a beard. I like it!

Spike, maybe you should do "Pasta-Mom-What -Are-These-Little-Hairs-Growing-Out-Of-My-Forbidden-Region" pasta. You might even be able to sell it to Dominoes.

My, Mr. I-Cook-For-Oprah, aren't we the catty little biach?

Look for Rice-A-Roni product placement when they go to San Francisco. It's the San Francisco treat, you know.

What, no Uncle Ben's rice pudding?

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.

Lisa thinks that making a curry for a family of four is a bad idea. Well, she obviously hasn't contacted customer service in a while and been told, "How may I provide you with excellent service". Oh yeah, how about substituting Mexican for Polish? <SNAP!>

I've finally got it. Lisa - prune.

Damn. Poor Nikki. Having to cook at 10 years old for herself. If true, I'm not being sarcastic when I say that...choke...that really blows. Really. And I'm not blaming the mother (or father, for that matter) since I'm getting ready to have to throw out a bunch of stuff in my fridge because I haven't really wanted to cook for a week - for myself. I can't imagine how hard it must be to cook for a young person to cook for themselves day after day, week after week, month after month. OK. Snark respite over.

Damn, Dale hurling himself into the turkey bratwurst maelstrom head-long. It shoud be interesting to see how he can do what the sausage sisers were afraid to do.

Kid with a microplaner. Warms the cockles of my heart. This kid will grow up to triumph on the 2035 show, Top Genetic Engineer Food Miner. When asked when he knew he would be a GEFM, he replies, "When I touched an archaic device called a microplaner and applied it on something that someone actually grew out of the ground based on the idea that random chance would induce it to flower and do it on an ancient form of mass communication called "television", an unusual auditory and visual medium that was actually projected on a glass or plastic screen visible to everyone in the room, I just knew that I'd be manipulating caloric stimuli in oirder to create a basic id response in susceptable human beings in order to transer their wealth to the the accounts of organizations that underwrite our current mass communication modules".

Andrew weighed 200 lbs? Guess he had a fullbodyectomy.

I only wish that Andrew had lost some weight in his eyes.

Mark - "Tom is a very well-seasoned chef...". What was edited out was the rest of his statment - "...he just needed a little acidity to balance the bitterness".

Peanut butter and tomato. Who are you cooking for - Elvis?

Tom will hoist a cool one with you after he gives you the axe. However, you're buying.

Apparently curry isn't going to go into school cafeterias everywhere.

That's something that bothered me, but I forgot to post it last night: doesn't a puttanesca involve anchovies, too?

Oh I'm not saying they rigged the pantries to help a particular contestant. I'm just saying that they absolutely made sure that those people had Tons of food available. Whether they were told to buy it, given gift certificates or had it sent to them is anyones guess.

But I do think the elves and Tom are precognitive. I think that the MO for this season from the start has been to keep the Amuse D-Bags around for wedding wars. Just look at the previews and you can see its a completely fabricated meatgrinder. Why have peeps that play nice with each other when A-Holes make for much better TV?

You'd be surprised. My roommate was over 300 in high school, and he's about 180 now.

Gail says, at this time anyway, that Mark's dish was the worst.

I can't and won't taste them, but I'm thinking of what would be the worst experience for me, coming home hungry on a Thursday night?

Mark's not very nutritious sweet veggie curry? Or Stephie's not-right chicken and couscous. I'd eat Stephie's dish, I'm afraid. I like chicken and I like couscous and can make myself get past the sauce.

Of course they did--but people normally would stock up for a block party. My guess is that Bravo gave them carte blanche, within reason, and reimbursed them.



That's not precognition, that's simply being able to read people. Reading Jen the first time, you know that she's going to defend Zoi under any circumstances, but you'd have to be precognitive to know that her specific action when Zoi finally gets aced is to kick a chair (as opposed to throwing it, kicking a locker, sitting and smoldering in silence, etc.).

Actually, we have no way of knowing that. Or of knowing what any of Mark's peers say or think about his comments to Colicchio.

We only know something when Magical Elves edit it into the program, for their purposes. For all we know, feedback to Mark on the wisdom of his comments may have consumed 2 hours in the Stew Room. But we see only what we're shown.

I thought Colicchio was shown responding with grace.

LMAO your not serious are you?

ER, we'll know a bit more if and when Lee Anne posts a blog. My own suspicion is that, for this Elimination, Lee Anne provided them with a very limited pantry to draw from. With most of their ingredients needing to be purchased. It's clear from Lee Anne's blog that when the Top Chef pantry is available to the chefs, it's a different pantry each and every time. She adds and removes ingredients to match the nature of the challenge.

Well, then we would have an occasion for pigs in blankets or franks and beans.

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 like something the cat gacked.

After Ted's blog how can we consider anything that is written in them as factual from this point out?
Unless he wrote that blog from a Mr. Fusion powered Delorian there was no way there was any Polish Sausage in Antonia and Lisa's Dish.

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

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.

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.