Pssst. Your fly is down.

Simon, I've been trying to get through the avalanche of posts before I add my own thoughts on last night's show, but I can't resist tagging on a brief comment here.

I was surprised last night at the comments from the judges, and am also surprised today, at all the posted comments expressing shock at the combination of peanuts and tomatoes. I don't have one-thousandth the culinary knowledge you obviously have -- but I too have eaten dishes in West Africa with peanut butter and tomatoes, and have found them delicious. (By the way, I would love to see that list of recipes you mention -- I would love to try to replicate, allbeit amateurishly, some of the dishes I have loved in Africa.)

I got a lot of flack last week by suggesting that some foods just do not go well together. I was wrong in what I wrote, and I deserved the criticism I got. I think a similar lesson may apply here regarding Stephanie's misture of ingredients. It's not the combination of tomatoes and peanut butter that failed Stephanie. She just didn't do it in a successful way.

Glowing?

Oh I have to..Sorry Second try

I really do love this guy and the food
stuff too.

Don't let your

*snort*
NiCi, do you remember where I put that large roll of paper towels? PG is testing monitor quality control tonight.

KEILBASA???????????



TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Things to fierce to mention... in polite society

Hi, Siv, and welcome! Please share recipe for creamcheese patties.

Perhaps. Or perhaps she's "learned" to not stand straight in an attempt to be the petite little thing Americans love

The pool was COLD!!!!

Do women even know about shrinkage?

hee hee hee!

No need to card me, I'm old as dirt... or maybe I just feel that way!

Aunt Orpha, well she had this look - One did not mess with her! and as a child I was afraid of her (and "the Look!"). But I found out that it was just a big old facade...
One time she was babysitting us and I was trying to make myself a peanutbutter sandwich. These were the days when the peanutbutter came in big glass jars (why do I feel so OLD writing that?!) and it was a brand new jar. I was having trouble opening it and accidently dropped it on the floor. Broken glass and peanutbutter as far as the eye could see. I wanted to RUN! but was barefooted and could not. When AO came in I expected my young life to pianfully end. Her first question was if I was alright and then she made me stand still while she cleaned up all the peanutbutter and broken glass so I would not get cut. What an old softie!!! (But you would never have known it from "the Look"!).

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

NOT ENOUGH PROZAC .....................

CAUSE IT CAN'T BE ME PANTS

I AIN'T WEARIN ANY

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Here it is *throwing almost depleted roll to Pita*
Sorry there is not much left, PG has had me wiping down my monitor and keyboard all afternoon!!!

And you didn't help with the "fly is down" comment!

I think we do.

I mean ...well...I always kinda notice whenst things seem to magically disappear.
It takes the fun right outtha' beach

George....On Seinfeld......Priceless.

My mom makes Paprika Chicken with far more frequency than I'd EVER want! lol

They do thanks to Seinfeld!

Well, how was I supposed to know he didn't have on any pants? I must clean my glasses.

8U THERE'S A POLITE SOCIETY ????

WHERE????

JUST WONDERIN WHAT CHEEKS THAT WILDCAT'S
TONGUE

HAS SEEN

AIN'T THAT POLITE ENOUGH

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

"I think that you think that a certain something is not all that it could be, when, in fact, it is all that it should be... And more!"
"I'm sure it is."
"Look, you don't understand. There was shrinkage." - George and Jane, in "The Hamptons"

Actually if you think back, Pat Robertson was condemned as a nut ball by all news media - liberal or conservative. And, yes, they did run it over and over. Have you forgotten the man ran for President while doing this? LOL And, please, I'm not joining in on a war. Just making a slight correction. You are both very entitled to your opinions.

Again, with my cooking style, it's something insanely easy but tastes fantastic!

Get a pot of water and put both cauliflower and broccoli. You're going to let it rise to a boil with the veggies inside (this will obviously take a lot longer than just boiling water, but you want the veggies to actually be a little over coocked so they're very soft.

Drain the water out and mash the cauliflower and broccoli as you would with mashed potatoes. Season it with salt and pepper. Put in some cream softened cream cheese and mix it in thouroughly.

Have a bowl of flower waiting. Depending on your tastes, you can either leave the flower plain (since the veggie/creamcheese mixture is already seasoned), or you can add either paprika for a more classic taste, or even chili powder or cheyenne if you want a little kick!

This WILL BE STICKY! take some of the veggie/creamcheese mixture and put it in the flower. Make sure it's well covered with the flower as you form it into a patties.

Have a pan hot and ready to go with some vegitable oil (you can use olive oil if you prefer). Then, fry the patties until they're a golden brown and a little crispy around the edges.

You can eat them as is, or even dip them in ranch dressing!

LOL! So did mine. It is still a staple though and can stretch a chicken. Notice to all... I did not say choke.

OK, I've finally gotten through all the posts on this thread, so I will add a few disjointed thoughts of my own:

First, like dcjew/simplebear, I really liked this episode. I liked its focus on real-world, down-to-earth food realities -- i.e., how to cook a good, wholesome, nutritious meal for a family that is on a budget and needs something that the kids will eat without complaining. As someone who personally buys organic as much as possible and only grows organically in my garden, I loved the fact that this challenge was more concerned with health and nutrition than high-brow gimmickry. (I think that Richard is one of the most talented of this season's contestants, as were Marcel and Hung in the seasons before, but I honestly find myself gagging when they seem to revel in chemical cooking, rather than bringing out the natural, wonderful flavors of foods.)

Second, I can't help but agree with the numerous posters who found it ironic that the cooking on a budget challenge involved shopping at Whole Foods. It would have been a bit more real-world to march everyone down to Aldi's, a discount food chain that I know has at least a few stores in the Chicago area since some of my in-laws shop there. (But, since Whole Foods is one of the corporate sponsors of the Top Chef, I guess there's no way around that limitation.)

Third, after reading all last week's posts, I finally got convinced of the "worst dish loses" theory of judging. After this week's show, I'm not so convinced anymore. Up until last night, Stephanie was one of the three chefs I thought most likely to win (along with Richard and Dale). But last night, it is hard to believe that her food was not the absolute worst. The judges don't use words like "detest" unless something is really, horribly bad. I can't help believe that the judges chose to save someone who was the worst in one week because she has such a strong history of earlier performance (much like when Richard was saved despite the scales on his fish).

I think that, instead of eliminating one person with a really, really bad dish but otherwise proven culinary skills, they chose to eliminate someone with a record of nothing but mediocrity. The highest praise I recall Mark ever receiving was for making a dish where the NZ version of Vegemite actually, supposedly tasted good.

For me, however, the truth is that, if the judges were going to eliminate someone even if s/he did not produce the worst food, I wish they would have canned the chef whose last success was cooking bacon and who otherwise has demonstrated little other than having the absolutely most horrible personality in the history of Top Chef.

JUDGING BY THAT RESPONCE PG.................

A ............

SEE BUT NOT DO ................

KINDA THING EH

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Ohhh. That wildcat has been around...

some cheeks

and missed out on a few others

Good job, Pita!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO K

NOTE TO SELF.......

WOMANS AWAKENING TO SHRINKAGE......

SEINFELD

DANG THAT SEINFELD

ALL THAT TIME PRECEEDING

WE HAD EM FOOLED

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Confoundus say:
One cannot do
What one does not have

I either expect no responce or another attempt at revisionist history.

Good effort though

Yes but the heat more than makes up for it, right?

And KS too add to what you said, according to the guest judges blog (and I view all the blogs for show propaganda now) Lisa's food was bland and unseasoned and he liked both Mark and Stephanies food which is insane to me.

I remember glass jars. I kind of miss them.
I bet it was quite a relief to find out that Auntie wasn't as cranky as she appeared, huh? That is a very sweet story! Thanks for sharing!

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO...................K

THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS EPISODE......

THE KNOCK KNOCK JOKE

THE BAD THING........................

EVERYTHING ELSE .............

OH....

FAREWELL TO THE MAORI WARRIOR

AND HIS GRUMBLIN STICK

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..................K

NOTE TO SELF

HEAT HELPS IN RISING......................

GET NEW HEAT GUN...............................

USE OF STORY OF JONNY "HIDIN AND SEEKIN MAKIN SEARCHIN MORE FUN"

NO LONGER NEEDED ..............



DANG THAT SEINFELD



TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Like I said, I cited Erik's corn dogs--and the absence of a recipe for pomegranate ketchup--as an example of the recipes being inaccurate. If this results in Erik's ketchup recipe getting on the site, I'll consider myself to have done my good deed for the decade.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

LOOKS LIKE THE J1GG IS UP

DANG I TOLD THAT WOMAN I WAS SPONGE WORTHY

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

As a frequent restaurant guest and a previous rest. owner - you should keep your station clean (cross contamination is but one of the worries). Plus, it makes one look like a hack if s/he can't keep up with hir station. Call yourself whatever you like - if you don't have the time to prepare your food AND clean up after yourself then you are overburdened and should not be in an "industrial" kitchen. IMHO

Not disagreeing but this seems OT to me!

And I'll GLADLY meet you there!

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT THERE NIC???

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..........K

KNOCK KNOCK................

WHOS THERE?

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DUNNO

UUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH DUNNO WHO

I DUNNO WHO EITHER ..................

BUT IT COULD BE FUN



TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Hello again!

I tried to read, and read, and read, but I figured that it was safe to just jump in and put in my two cents.
It looks like we all agree that once again following the rules is the forgotten rule by the judges.

Oh no, JME. Not Elaine! Oh, say it ain't so.

Well, I keep dangerous foods from contaminating one another. I'm not STUPID! But when working in the restraunt, I cared more about getting the customers their food in a nice quick manner. Cleaning the station between each plate would make food take more time to get out.

I agree with ya, girl. I get confused week to week. Ah well, it does give us food for discussion on the ol' boards!

Just jumping in here. Hi all!

This is the first season of TC I've watched, so cannot compare to previous seasons. Frankly, I've given up expecting there to be rules that are followed when it comes to choosing who wins and who goes home. I do like Stephanie a lot, and have been very nervous the last two episodes!

As far as recipes and blogs go, how nice to be able to change history.

Another sign of increasing age, when one starts telling sweet stories of ones childhood - just steal my false teeth if I start repeating myself! (thee, no theeth!)

Ya know... I'm 35 and even I can not believe how much things have changed. We didn't have malls. My grandmother had milk delivery up into the '80's. We didn't have a thousand tv channels or video games and we played outdoors! The good old days really weren't that long ago. Heck, I got bent out of shape when Quik starting coming in a plastic container!

Whatever you say, dear. I am glad that you can bring all of your experience to this endeavor. Best of luck. Hopefully you can bring your GF to TC and ask her what to cook anytime you need input.