If you're referring to their use of chorizo (and minimal use at that), then we must agree to disagree.

I don't eat pork. But, I understand the difference between Spanish & Polish cuisine.

yeah, but any of those comments would still maintain a privileging of "classic french" techniques, which in this day and age, is ridiculous.

While I'm not Spike's "grandma" I have become a fan these past weeks. There is something about him and the way he approaches his work and people that is intense and appealing. Someone called it a sincere quality in his approach in an earlier comment and I agree but can't describe it any better either but it's there. Also, this has developed over time. You suggest that Lisa got a pass because she's a woman for a token TC winner perhaps to stack the deck a little. I agree there is a reason she was not sent home when the guest judge said her dish "cold congealed shrimp" was the worse of the night. Historically that alone would have done it...so I do think something is unreal about keeping her as a finalist instead of Spike.And regarding leadership I wasn't specifically thinking about the Restaurant Wars episode alone but by the way he works with people throughout the challenges...through example. It's subtle so you have to view with an open mind. Get past his surface edge and you may become a fan too.

Doga, I am the sort of person who shows up at a friend's parents' Passover Seder, comes in the door, says "I didn't know what to bring for dinner, so I got some nice Challah here...." Tell hosts I've brought a shrimp cocktail dish to their Purim party... comment about giving people bacon cheeseburgers, "but it's OK, I made them with Kosher beef..." Never DO any of that... just say inappropriate things, that's all.

ummm...we can't be talking about the same person.

spike's major contribution was making a BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH A CREME FRAICHE QUENELLE.

are you kidding? he's also always got a s**t-eating grin on his face that is completely obnoxious, is incapable of working in a team, and shows deplorable kitchen skills (the butchery excluded).

the silly hats aren't helping either.

LOL.....Simon, I had a horrid flashback.....way back in the dark ages, in my struggling college days, one of my friends tried a recipe that included rice, velveeta cheese, and black olives, oh lordie we were ill for days! (Including my friend who concoted it, she was relegated to never ever ever ever making anything like it again, though she was one heck of a baker....apple pie that just, oh my goodness! *wink*)
Jazz

Mild correction: he is incapable of working in a team unless it consists primarily of "his boys". He did fine in the block party challenge (he and Dale hadn't yet butted heads at that point) and he was one of the top teams when he was working with Andrew.

It's when his team consists primarily of people he's not "down with" that he starts dogging it.

lol You should try. It's kind of fun to make it and try different things to add to it. I've never made baked ziti though. My next goal is to try to make stuffed shells.

My dad doesn't usually like to watch cooking shows unless it's Lidia Bastianich and her Italian cooking show, but he'll watch Alton with my brother and I. We like how he teaches you something new each episode and that he's really funny about it. I haven't caught any of his Feasting on Asphalt shows yet.

Silver, Lidia is also talented as a teacher. And most people appreciate the fact that, though she is a chef and restauranteur, the focus of her show is on cooking for (and with) family, at home.

She's often been nominated as someone who might have a role in Top Chef, should they ever look for a professional who can offer a guiding hand to contestants. (As well as the back of a wooden spoon, as needed.)

Do look out for the Feasting on Asphalt shows, maybe the rebroadcast those in summer. The shows are about food, but mostly are also about us, Americans, taken in all complexity and humor and peculiarity.

No, I'm referring to their mixing of chorizo and Polish sausage, a fact supported by two of their comments, Ted noticing it as he ate it and the sight of both types of sausage on their prep table at the time of dish assembly. If you watch the episode again and pause right after Andrew and Spike discover that there are no electic appliances in the back, you'll see the two type of sausages in a hotel pan on the table. But pause quickly, because you've only got about two seconds of panning camera. The chorizo is the red sausage.

LOL. Love it.

So, with this season winding down......what would people think if Top Chef changed its format to one resembling that of the World Cup?

For the first five weeks, 16 chefs are pitted against each other in groups of four (it is possible to do this without any two of the chefs being together in the same group twice). The winning chef in each challenge gets 4 points, the runner-up 3, the also-ran 2, and the loser 1.

At the end of the five weeks, the scores are tallied up, and the bottom four are eliminated. The remaining 12 go on in the current format.

The advantages to this are:

--we get to know all of the chefs, instead of losing the first 2 before we really get to know them

--we get 2 new episodes each week (2 groups per episode)

--the producers get 1 more episode, with even more opportunities for product placement

--it's at least a month before we have to sit through a team challenge

Thoughts?

LOL....Then you must not like the brocolli and rice casserole with cheese, huh? Its one of the dishes people make when they can't think of anything else to make, you know, like the green bean casserole. I will eat either..but, I don't really think they are "all that"....not at all.

Are you kidding? If we could have 2 episodes every week....I would LOVE it.

Simon, do all your family members have the same attitude re bone-in-fish as you have? If so, maybe I should dump Partner for you. (Just kidding! ) I really do love most of the Filipino food that Partner and in-laws feed me all the time. But my number one annoyance by far is the bones they leave in the cooked fish they serve -- even in fish soups! They just don't seem to get how difficult it can be for someone to eat fish that way who simply was not trained how to do it as a kid.

Actually, I miscounted--we'd have 6 more episodes than we currently have, not just 1. I counted weeks instead of episodes and forgot that I'd offered two-a-weeks for the first 5 weeks.

And Spike used a grain by throwing a piece of bread on his plate.

BFD.

Sounds to me like someone needs to make you a fish and rice lasagna, just flowing with delicious, gooey cheese.

Well, I'm sure it was whole-grain bread!

Reminds me of a church dinner back in rural Kansas at my Dad's church when I was a kid. The women's group wanted to celebrate a traditional Jewish seder as part of the Lenten/Holy Week observances. Only problem was that they couldn't find any lamb for sale in our little farm town.

So they served ham instead.

My father couldn't stop laughing when he came home from work that day.

KS, long story, no Viet family members to speak of, but I do know all about the Annoyance of the Bones.

If Spike or anyone else wants to elevate Vietnamese to a world-class cuisine, the place to start is with eliminating unmanageable bones from fish dishes. And eliminating the resulting Debris Field that decorates a dining table during a meal, with bones and fragments and god knows what that thing is laying all over the place.

To me, there's few things as revolting as watching a fellow diner spit out a mouthful of fish bones into her hand and dump that into a bowl on the table.

I'm very strict about bones, and never serve a fish soup or any fish dish that has tiny bones all throughout. To be honest, I don't know what is the hold-up with Viet technique, not catching up with the rest of the world. It's very easy to make boneless equivalents of all the Canh Chua soups, the seafood egg drop soups, etc. Filet that damb fish, make your soup broth with the bones and head, season it, then make your soup. You cannot make a good Canh Chua by starting with just fish fillets, that claim is true... but you need never serve people a dish that requires me to go get the Fish Hook Remover so I can dislodge bones from throats.

All the Viet "haute cuisine" places do it exactly as I do... all those fish bones are for making your broth, not for eating.

Hey Guys,
Seriously, this picture is wrong. This is an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It's a very important representation of the Catholic faith. I know we kid, but come 'on. I really don't want to be the board police, but I grew up in the Roman Catholic faith and defacing this image is pretty offensive .

Apologies Sam.

Just so you know, no one here has done any altering to images, those are images other people elsewhere have produced.

When did Blais & Mrs. procreate?

I know when I saw that she was serving that shrimp cold, and, yet, still had the butter on the plate, I knew the taste would be off. If you're serving something like that, with dairy, you better damn well have it, at least, room temperature.

I went to an Italian hot spot in town that shall remain nameless (Galileo), and we got the 7 course meal. Everything was great until the pasta course, which was fettucine, with a tepid alfredo sauce. I took one bite and sent it back. Life is too damn short to endure bad food, especially at a **** eatery. I knew right then that Roberto Donna was not on the premises.

Let's face it, Lisa made it to the finale because Spike frittered away his advantage by picking those awful damn scallops. It wasn't beacuse that shrimp dish was so delicious.

Thanks. I myself, was surprised how strongly offended I felt when I saw it. I'm not a devout Catholic at all, but still....

subject closed

It's a chat board, and to say differently is a little disingenuous. Of course one wants to be read! Are you saying that you don't?

I grew up eating non-dairy cuisine as well. I'm not a picky eater at all, but I draw the line with cheesy rice and cheesy seafood. My hubby hates "green bean casserole" b/c of the way it looks and the taste. I have a sister-in-law who brings it to our get togethers all the time and he swore he will never it eat. Because I like challenges, I experimented and came up with "gourmet" version of it made from scratch, and it's now one of his faves.

And yet you continue to post, which says nothing to me about who you are, as a person.

Nine months ago, I'd guess!

Seriously, though, I'd think the sprout might have been a farewell gift to the missus just before he took his fauxhawk to Chi-town.

If you'd like to add something to dairy/non-dairy discussions, scallops frozen or dry-packed, Bourdain's 30+ yrs. of kitchen/travel/tasting experience vs. Tom Colicchio's on-the-line experience or quenelles vs. tornades, your personal experiences in tasting and preparing various World and/or regional cuisines or even a "Hiya", THEN I'm all ears (or eyes, as is the case).

If all you feel like doing is complaining and insulting others, then I invite you to go google some other site that might better suit your interests.

Who's got less of a life, the "board irregulars" or the guy who has nothing better to do than to create an account and log on just to complain about them?

As you oh so originally stated yourself, Kettle meet pot. Pot meet Kettle.

I have a pretty simple question. If steaks are so easy to cook why is it that so many places mess it up? I've had beutifully cut steaks that have been almost inedible, and, if they're that easy to fix then explain that to me, especially when these same places have prepared difficult dishes with style and great flavor.

It can't, therefore, be that easy.

If you said something of interest, or had some great insight, then you could complain, but, it seems, as if your complaining is the end, in itself, to you, and that is just not very interesting, or insightful.

So good luck with that.

Lisa drives me insane. Her food is boring and not well-thought out. But, worst of all, would it kill her to try to be pleasant or smile? It's like she is suffering form the world's worst case of constipation. She always looked pissed off and disgusted. At least Spike had spirit and enthusiasm. Lisa just looks like she wants to kill everyone.

9 months ago would have been the end of August--and yet, the impression I got watching the Kid Chef episode was that he and his wife hadn't gotten started having kids yet......

Maybe molecular gastronomy reduces the gestation period.

DC, it is that easy, if you do it all the time. And, with some training or reading or someone teaching you about the meat.

But in some restaurants, no one knows better than to just put an inexperienced, untrained someone in front of a grill and tell them to do steaks.

If you haven't already done so, read Colicchio's blog, he writes of Steaks He's Known. Not really, but he does say why it's not that easy. Colicchio looks for a chef with really deep knowledge of that meat and what it takes to get it exactly right.

A shrink would have a natural ball with you. You write to tell people that you don't care what they say about you, and that proves that you care a little too much. People write long intricate papers about the likes of you. Now you can write and tell me that you don't care, but, right now, your life seems to be centered around proving your indiference to us, which is kind of pathetic.

Um....why are we all feeding the troll?

That would make sense, since filming was in the fall, so he could have done the deed shortly before departing for the City of the Big Shoulders.

He said being around the kids made him want to make a whole bunch of little Blaises. That remark certainly didn't preclude the fact that he'd already gotten started.


You think a pocket smoker was involved?

Jim—

I, for one have reported "it." I hope others have done likewise.

Ooh! I do believe I just painted a target on my own chest!

One thing I know for sure.... I will not be ordering any of those steaks that were shown in the episode anytime soon!!. I went to thier website and you can order the Tomahawk,,,,about 24oz dry aged beef...at almost $100.00 a steak!!. I would have to win the lottery first( and maybe sell my first born also ) before I could afford that kind of price tag. Oh well, Costco here I come for wet aged beef instead.

Simon, I actually have read pieces by a lot of well respected chefs who prepare beef, in all it's different aspects, and it's not that easy, if you don't understand the cut you're preparing, the technique you're using, the proper way to season the beef, etc., then it's not going to be great.

For instance, I prefer a nice New York strip to a Fillet, because of the grain. Fillets always seem like a blob of meat, to me, and I prefer the grain of a strip. Other people feel otherwise, and I know someone who can make a Fillet sing, which, to me, is almost impossible.

When you say that the biggest thing about cooking a steak is not messing it up, then you're making certain that your cooking is never transcendent. I don't want "okay". I want something I can rhapsodise about later.

Because it's kind of amusing to see how deep that hole they're digging can get. They will soon be in Asia.

Everybody enjoy the weekend, I'll be among the "caterers" for future BIL Nicky's Big@ss Graduation Weekend of Partying.

Just as an FYI, it's Ital Amer food tonight, including Don Altomello's Mixed Cannoli for dessert.

In various meals throughout the weekend, we have managed to Menu In some local stuff, such as Taylor Pork Roll and Amish Sage Saugages, all the local seafood and my own smoked bluefish and bluefish salad, steamed crabs and the "just in" strawberries, and bowls of "CapeMaypino." And as much local fruits and veg as we can get hold of.

But also:

* The pasta salad that Zoi should have made, with grilled and oven-roasted veggies.
* The turkey salad and sandwich wraps Spike should have made
* The lettuce cups filled with grilled meats and treats that lots of the chefs have done good versions of.
* A grilled beef salad that I'm going to make pretty close to "Chips & Shreds."
* And the Goi Cuon Spike should have been making all along, filled with fresh-off-the grill fish.

Everyone have a nice weekend!

Sounds good. Have fun, and see you next week, when you can tell us all how it went.

Tom—

I don't know whether this will change your mind about filet, but when I prepare it as follows, it sings Verdi (the "Brindisi" from La Traviata)!

I start with a nice, 2-inch thick cut. I crank up the exhaust fan and preheat the oven to 450. Then I superheat a cast iron pan with a schmear of olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt on the bottom. When a drop of water "dances" on the pan, I throw in the steak, let it sit for 5 minutes (for me) for rare or 7 for medium rare (for Schmoogie); I like mine to "moo."

I then flip the steak, shove the whole pan into the oven, and give it another 5 to 7 minutes. Finally, I pull the pan from the oven, plate the filets, and let them rest 5 minutes before serving.

They come out with a beautiful brown crust every time and are perfectly done in the middle.

BTW, I've used this same technique with a duck breast, except I use peanut or canola oil, start the breast (scored) skin-side down, and brush it with hoisin sauce after flipping it before it goes into the oven. Works like a charm!

Dammit! now I'm hungry!

DC, I have had beef tenderloin fillet, was served that last weekend actually, in a Surf & Turf I certainly didn't pay for. But I'm just not a fan of that meat. I know it's popular but I think it pales in comparison to other cuts that have more flavor and texture.

Some cooks or chefs assert that all a steak should ever receive is some salt, heat, pepper. James Beard wrote about how he always needed to melt butter on his steak.

But even though it's the simplest, purest cut of meat there is, cooked the simplest and purest method there is... one can still play with the steak. Can still add flavors to it... ask me next week and I'll tell you how some Viets season strip steaks or ribeye steaks before cooking them. It's quite good really but would anger a purist.

It's been in his bio that they were expecting a baby in the Spring. She's a beautiful baby.