Ok- thanks, missed that.
I was hoping they would make a nod to her Jewish heritage and make the chefs go Kosher.
Natalie Portman and Padma’s flirtation was just damn sexy. From what Natalie was saying she seems like the kind of girl it’d be fun to smoke a joint with.
I’m starting to really want Kevin to win this. I was wanting Michael to. I wanted it to be a showdown between Michael and Bryan but I’m liking Kevin more and more.
Mike the Dick really just always thought that he’d never go home before Robin, and that was a part of his overconfidence. I think it would’ve been more interesting if Robin went home because Mike would’ve put that overconfidence away without her and would’ve stepped up in an interesting way. But I think he was punished for his arrogance.
Yeah. I’m giving her projected final four spot to Eli now. He’s come on pretty strong and she’s wilting. It’s kind of painful to watch. On the other hand, Kevin’s cleaning house and looks like a distinct favorite, not part of a a group of the four best contestants. And his food did look good.
I’ve said in the last couple of threads that they tend to send people home for a combination of bad cooking and a sin of some kind. I don’t know if Mike’s dish was necessarily the worst, but he was being punished for being arrogant and blase about it.
Tough shit. 
I’ve been watching this show for two months and it’s usually a beef and pork festival. It’s interesting to watch the human drama and everything, but essentially I’d eat none of the food prepared on the entire show except the desserts and an occasional hors d’ouvre. It wasn’t a great episode but I liked the change of pace. If they can cater to the sustainability crowd, they can do a vegetarian meal.
In fact I was kind of amazed how much bitching and handwaving the chefs did about the challenge. Some of them reacted like they’d been asked to prepare a traditional Martian recipe out of a cookbook written in Mandarin. Maybe I’m underestimating how much of a curveball the steakhouse/vegetarian thing was. But these people are very confident in their cooking skills, and there are lots of vegetarians out there, especially in the major metro areas where most of them work. You would think cooking a vegetarian meal was harder than working in a blindfolded relay or fighting with eight other people in one kitchen.
I agree, though, that it’s not a surprise a big Hollywood actress is a vegetarian. That’s about the least shocking thing I’ve ever heard.
Well, they certainly contain more protein than most vegetables, but i wouldn’t really describe them as “very high” in protein.
Your own link shows that 100g of morels contains 2.7g of protein. I can get more protein than that from a single 20g slice of Tofurkey. Chickpeas have about 9g of protein per 100g (cooked weight), and the same weight of soybeans has over 15g of protein.
While i love mushrooms, and use them a lot to add substance and flavor to my cooking, as a vegetarian i wouldn’t rely on them to provide me with protein in any significant quantity.
Yeah, it’s amazing how no-one bats an eyelid when these gourmet chefs are asked to cook on open campfires after spending the night in tents, or are asked to make a meal out of some processed crap foods from a vending machine, but ask them to put together a meal without meat from a professional kitchen with a massively-stocked pantry of top-quality ingredients, and the whining begins.
Yeah, overall very disappointing.
I have a close friend who’s vegetarian and gluten intolerant, and also can’t do more than a little dairy at a time. I’ve had some damn good meals in her little tiny apartment.
Was there no tofu available? No quinoa? Brown rice?
About the things Brian didn’t plate)
[QUOTE=Speak to me Maddie!]
It looked like a tempura dumpling to me, but I’m not sure from the brothers’ conversation whether or not he failed to plate it in time or if he chose not plate it because it didn’t work.
[/QUOTE]
The post-dinner parting comment on them was something like “They’re all grease anyway” so it’s probably just as well that he didn’t serve them.
Agreed. I am a vegetarian, but I cook meat for my omnivorous husband, and we’re both eager to see what’s new each week when we get the latest big-box-o’-veggies from our community-supported agriculture share. Vegetables are not garnish. They’re not healthy crap you push aside so you can shovel in something that’s actually yummy. Chefs who can’t be creative with vegetables and can’t make them taste delicious without using meat are not that talented.
Although that comment came from Michael, the brother who is constantly fucking with Brian and putting him down. I’m not sure i’d place too much stock in it. Also, whatever they were, they had been sitting there for over an hour by the time Michael made that comment; even good fried stuff can taste greasy after it’s cold and old.
I think the brother thing is probably overplayed for the show, and that they have a keen sense of competition with each other, even if they’re generally supportive. But yeah, calling out Kevin’s winning dish was unnecessary, and made him look bitter and petty. It seems like both brothers come really close to winning one challenge or another, but never quite seal the deal, and that frustration shows on their faces very well.
Yeah, that’s pretty funny isn’t it?
I don’t think it’s overplayed at all. I think they’re being pretty genuine. I think that both of them are TERRIFIED of losing out on the show early and letting the other trounce them. I think they could probably handle losing to one another, not like it, be pissed off about it, but I think they could handle it. I don’t think they are prepared to go home before the field has been seriously thinned. If both of them are not in the top 4, I would be very surprised.
I was thinking that too. Plus it seems like they’re used to being awesome chefs in their usual circles, and not always measuring up to their own expectations is really starting to get to them.
Yeah, after that comment, I told the SO “yeah, how dare another chef actually make a “simple” food that people actually like to eat more than your fancy assed dish”.
Heck, wasnt one of the most raved about dishes last year Carla’s? fresh green peas ?
On this topic, you might like this Saturday Night Live short (might not be the best for viewing at work) where she raps about her life and what she’s really like.
Edit: billfish - And let’s not forget that one of the people raving over it was Jacques Pepin, who had requested the dish. I would die happy if someone like him ever appreciated my food that much.
Ah yes, I forgot about the illiteracy chips. I’m sure “cook a dish that includes a bunch of potato chips” is every chef’s dream. That was some godawful product placement.
I don’t mean they were being insincere. I think the show overemphasizes those moments to milk dramatic conflict from the duo, while for them, they’re just brothers being brothers. And I think they’re both too self-confident in their own abilities (for good reasons) to be terrified of getting the boot early. They’re just smart and careful (especially Brian).
But Jen is terrified (and probably the most self-critical, perhaps in the history of the show), and it’s really starting to show, now. If Eli has any shot of playing a spoiler, she appears to be the most likely of unexpectedly getting bounced (especially since, w/two consecutive Judges Table appearances, the groundwork for any justification has already been conveniently layed out).
I think mhendo was actually referring to the quickfire challenge from season 2 where they literally had to make a dish from items in a vending machine. I don’t remember anything else about other than Michael basically throwing the challenge by smushing up a Snickers bar and sticking a Cheeto into it.
Am I mixing up my seasons? Didn’t they already have a vegan challenge with Zooey Deschanel?