Previously on “Top Chef”: the chefs were asked to cook for the Asian night market. They were randomly assigned cuisines, not that that helped everyone anyway. Jae won for making a very balanced dish. Jackson did well despite not being able to taste anything. Sam left his potatoes at the Top Chef Kitchen, so he grilled some on the day of, and they were raw. Then he strangely insisted he was an innovator and had grilled potatoes on purpose. He never admitted it was a mistake. Not even in confessional! So he was sent home. (click for more)
On Last Chance Kitchen, Sam continued to insist he was a genius for grilling potatoes, and of course he and Leia were asked to make potatoes. Sam's potatoes were too greasy so Leia won with her sweet potato hash.
Monique is not particularly happy to be in the middle. She talks about her kids and doing something for herself.
In the kitchen there are biscuits. Jae is not happy. She doesn't bake, she likes to get baked. Heh. Chef Chris Williams is here. He talks about his grandmother and then Padma makes a terrible pun so the less said the better. The Quickfire is to make biscuits from scratch. But not just biscuits, a complete dish. Winner gets “a considerable advantage”.
Only 45 minutes. Monique has made biscuits before but she really wants her recipe. I think she's going to use lardo, which is cured fatty meat. That would probably be good. Damarr is feeling pretty confident, because in his family you aren't just given recipes, you have to make them over and over until the elders are satisfied. Jackson is making ostrich? He acknowledges it might be stupid. Robert is going to go for a shortcake thing, more sweet. Maybe some masa harina. Luke has been in Europe and the mockery of “biscuits and gravy” is real. “Biscuits” means cookies and no one makes milk gravy, just brown gravy. Jae is making fried chicken because fuck it, she knows how to make fried chicken. Buddha says basically the same thing. Nick for some reason has cookie cutters shaped like Mississippi. Some people are doing sweet and some savory. Jackson is still on his crispy cheese from last time. I thought they had plenty of ovens but I guess not, they're sharing. Ashley has gigantic biscuits and she's putting them in the fryer because otherwise they won't bake in time. Jackson thinks his biscuits might be raw and someone promises him they're fine.
Jackson: scallion biscuit glazed in hot maple with ostrich sausage, crispy cheddar, and fried egg. I think the cheddar is breaded because it looks like there's a hash brown in there. Sarah: biscuit with mushroom maple gravy and poached egg. Robert: sweet corn biscuit with Japanese brown sugar, strawberries, and whipped cream. Ashleigh: fried black pepper biscuit with apple molasses, country ham and chow chow with moonshine vinegar. Chow chow is a spicy tomato relish. Jo: biscuit with chorizo vegetable hash and spiced butter. Nick: Mississippi buttermilk biscuit with crispy pork belly and F.R.O.G. jelly. That stands for fig, raspberry, orange, and grapefruit. Damarr: drop biscuit with shirred egg, smoked bacon and hot honey. Shirred eggs are baked. Monique: biscuit with lardo and onion jam. Jae: buttermilk biscuit with buttermilk fried chicken and gochujang hot honey sauce. Luke: buttermilk biscuit with sweet corn and candied kumquat chili jam. Evelyn: biscuit with poached egg, chorizo country gravy and marinated tomatoes. Buddha: buttermilk biscuit with fried chicken, hot honey and cheddar.
Buddha's biscuit was too crumbly and had too many things. Jae overworked her biscuits and there was too much chicken. Ashleigh's frying made her biscuit very crumbly and there was too much pepper. Damarr had the right texture. Evelyn also did well, and hilariously she's like “who me?” when they say her name. Jackson took a risk with the ostrich and fried cheese. The winner is Jackson. Huh. “Still don't have immunity! So did I win!” Heh.
Padma introduces Wylie Dufresne, who has short hair now. Buddha is impressed, and excited. It's a team challenge, and Jackson's advantage is that he can pick his teammate first and ALSO get an extra 30 minutes to cook tomorrow. He takes Buddha, because he knows Buddha's got the skills and techniques. Everyone else kind of pairs up with little drama. This is about taste and presentation.
Each pair has two dishes that look the same. A long string in a knot, with some black crumbs, red sauce, and green bits. The knots are slightly different colors but other than that it's pretty close. Each chef is tasting the dish in front of them but they're not trying each other's dishes. Damarr says he tastes cured foie gras with some kind of pepper sauce. Monique says cocoa, and Damarr interviews that there's no cocoa in there, unless she has some amazing palate that is way better than his. Wylie reveals that this is “pea-knot butter”. Peanut butter ganache, tied in a knot, on top of coffee cocoa “soil”, strawberry mango sauce, and fresh basil. On the left is “knot foie”; foie gras terrine, tied in a knot, with black sesame crumb, kimchi puree, and cilantro. Listen, this is so pretentious but I need it. I love this bullshit. If you have read this blog before you know I will order the weirdest thing on the menu just to try it. Maytag blue cheese ice cream with corn. Apples roasted at extremely low temperatures for a week. Heston Blumenthal has a course in his tasting menu where you eat a seafood dish that looks like sand and then there's an iPod inside a conch shell so you can listen to the ocean while you eat and I NEED to experience this. I would sign up for this tasting menu in a heartbeat. I have wanted a “seven deadly sins” dinner since it was on this show and now I have to add this. Nick is having his mind blown. For the Elimination challenge, you will make two dishes that look exactly alike but look completely different. Also it's a double elimination. This is the greatest idea. I have done this for April Fool's. If you buy unglazed mini cake donuts, you can put strawberry jam on then with chopped white chocolate, and then put them next to Bagel Bites and they look close enough to fool people.
Everyone freaks out. Nick says crab cake and apple pie? Jae is really freaking out because she doesn't bake and she doesn't want to send Nick home. Jo and Evelyn are stuck but Evelyn wants to start with the visual and go from there, which seems to work. Buddha is taking the lead and Jackson doesn't mind at all. Ashleigh and Luke seem to agree, and like everyone else they are doing one savory dish and one sweet. I mean you don't have to but it does make the most sense. Sarah says shrimp toast and strawberry panna cotta, and Robert is fine with this. He interviews with Sarah that they're opposites, as Sarah in the kitchen says you can mold panna cotta in whatever shape you want. Except very few people have successfully done panna cotta here. Shopping is fun. Nick and Jae are both doing noodles in some form. They seem psyched.
2 hours to cook today. Sarah wants some allergy meds, because she's slightly allergic to shrimp. But Robert reveals that yesterday she sucked on some crawfish and they both giggle. He has to get his panna cotta in to set. Ashleigh and Luke don't want to sacrifice flavor to looks. Sarah tells Nick and Jae they're a perfect odd couple. “You're like our parents!” Oof. Buddha is putting strawberries in the sous vide. Jo says this challenge is about survival. She can see how much Evelyn wants it, and it's not that she doesn't want it, but she doesn't want to screw Evelyn over. Monique and Damarr compare colors of ice cream and chicken liver mousse, respectively. Jae spiralizes daikon and it's the right thickness but she's got to add some turmeric for color. Jo interviews that they wanted to braise their pork belly today, but it's not quite done. No one forgets anything this time.
Back home, Buddha is feeling the pressure because he was picked first. But Jackson has confidence in his fancy gastronomy skills. Evelyn and Jo eat ice cream and talk about not losing.
Jackson and Buddha get to show up 30 minutes early to get started on Day Two. Jackson is depending on Buddha a lot, but cooking for Wylie is a dream of Buddha's. Everyone else comes in for their two hours of cooking. Immediately Robert says his panna cotta hasn't set. I am telling you, panna cotta is a curse. Sarah says they should melt them down, add more gelatin and see if they can set them now. Robert points out that he can't just change his dish, because Sarah then has to change her dish. Luke and Ashleigh are feeling confident. He says they've been teammates twice before so they're good. Jo knows her and Evelyn's dishes taste different, but her cauliflower puree isn't thick enough to look like Evelyn's cheesecake. Monique asks Jae what she's doing over there and Jae is like “no I'm busy leave me alone.” As they are plating, Buddha tells Jackson to do something, and Jackson asks him if something is chive oil. Buddha says yes, and then says he could just taste it. Jackson mutters that tasting “is not [his] thing right now” but if Buddha reacts to this we don't see it. Tom, Padma, Gail, Wylie, and Kristen come in.
Jackson: “Everything But the Bagel”: salmon tartare, capers, shallots, cream cheese bavarois, marinated tomato and buttermilk scallion dressing. Bavarois is Bavarian cream, which means cream and eggs that sets up solid. Buddha: “Strawberries and Cream”: white chocolate panna cotta, strawberry jelly, strawberry bon bons with cream and basil dressing. Both have a tuille, the panna cotta is wrapped in the jelly so it looks like a tomato. OK they are not perfectly identical but they look damn close. Padma says the dessert is the best one they've had this season certainly. Tom is shocked that Jackson went from “everything bagel” to this.
Sarah: shrimp sausage, brown butter brioche crumb with compressed cucumber pickles and pepper sauce. Robert: strawberry panna cotta with crème fraiche, Japanese brown sugar crumble, kiwi and basil. The panna cotta is too pale, but the rest of it is pretty close. Robert admits the panna cotta didn't quite set the way he wanted. Gail says they're both off, texturally, but they taste great.
Jae: daikon salad with walnut crumbs, and chilled jasmine lime broth. Nick: button mushroom beurre blanc noodles with mushroom puree, red pepper coulis and mushroom jus. The noodles and daikon aren't quite exactly the same but other than that they're both a bundle of noodles, some puree with red dots, and clear broth. The noodles are a little overcooked but the judges are glad for two savory dishes and they're delicious.
Jo: crispy pork belly, cauliflower puree, crispy garlic, and daikon relish with five spice glaze. Evelyn: goat cheese cheesecake, cardamom chocolate sauce, sesame crumble, apples and matcha. The apples and daikon aren't the same color but it's two glazed brown squares with diced relish. The pork belly is overcooked, and the cheesecake is sweet.
Ashleigh: scallops with compressed honeydew, kanzuri, toasted walnut and apple cider broth. Kanzuri is fermented chili paste. Luke: king oyster mushroom with pickled cucumber, carrot puree and mushroom seaweed oil broth. The scallops and mushrooms are sliced and alternated with either honeydew or cucumber, and then the broths look the same. Luke says the slicing was his idea. Luke's dish is intense and Ashleigh's melon was a surprise.
Damarr: chicken liver mousse and cornbread sandwich, with dukkah and tomato chili jam. Monique: coffee ice cream sandwich, olive oil streusel, with candied lime zest and fruit gel. The only reason they don't look identical is the ice cream melted a little before they got the photo. The cornbread is a little dense but they love the rest of it. Monique was safe but it also was really good. Padma tells Wylie he made everyone step it up.
Judges' Table. Ashleigh and Luke, and Jackson and Buddha are the top two teams. Ashleigh and Luke were progressive and they were striking. Tom absolutely loved the slicing and alternating things. Jackson and Buddha were playful. They started with classics and did something new. Jackson and Buddha are the winners. Buddha says he's winning this for his dad, who just passed away.
Losing teams are Sarah and Robert, and Evelyn and Jo. So why did we spend so much time on Monique wanting to not be safe anymore? Robert knows his panna cotta wasn't great. He had a recipe, but he usually doesn't put fruit in it and that messed up the set. Sarah struggled with the shrimp mousse, because she is allergic to shrimp. Why make it then? The mousse was too loose. They thought of shapes first, what could they make in the same shape? The cooking was off. Now for Jo and Evelyn. The cauliflower puree was too thin and the pork belly was too dry. Jo says they cooked the pork belly yesterday, then pressed it and cooked it again today. When they pressed it, they cooled it down but not in the liquid. Evelyn gets emotional, talking about how she's going to push herself.
Sarah and Robert didn't have the right textures. Also Sarah screwed herself by choosing to make something she couldn't really taste and didn't have experience with. Jo and Evelyn were troubleshooting right up until the end. Gail says she'd eat Robert's dessert again way before she'd eat Evelyn's again.
Both teams made mistakes in basic cooking. Robert and Sarah are eliminated. Robert says he and Sarah both kind of feel like they let the other one down. Sarah interviews that she's really gained a lot here.
Next week: Brooke is here, BBQ, Tom shows up to give them a twist of course, he says something is “whelming”.
Last Chance Kitchen: there's only one episode so are two people out? Who knows. Robert thinks if this wasn't a double elimination he would still be in the competition. He should have spoken up more. Sarah feels they had a good idea but the cooking got away from them.
Leia is shocked to see them, because they won the challenge she went out on. Tom says they should double the judges, so Brooke comes out. Robert is more intimated to cook for Brooke than Tom. Tom says two of them will stay in LCK.
They will each create two dishes, one savory and one sweet. Tom will judge the savory dishes, and Brooke will judge the sweet. But you still only get 30 minutes. Tom will pick his favorite savory dish, and then Brooke will pick her favorite sweet dish out of the two chefs left. Those two will be safe and move on to the next episode. Sarah jokes that they did such a great job in cooking in 4 hours, 30 minutes is no problem.
Leia is making donuts and pork chops, both with apples. The pork chops are thin enough to cook quickly. Sarah wants Brooke to think she's cool, so she is also doing similar dishes to save on prep. She also wants to make pudding, which needs fancy flavors to not be boring. Robert is making ceviche, but he has to cut up the shrimp or it won't cure in time. Sarah is also making jerk-seasoned sea bass. Stephanie and Sam make comments but honestly they are a lame peanut gallery. Robert puts cream in his pancake batter instead of buttermilk, so it won't rise, but he doesn't have time to redo it.
Tom Time! Robert does not disclose his issues with his batter. Sarah runs around while trying to talk to Tom and Brooke. Robert's pancakes aren't even cooking. They're just goo. Leia's caramel has solidified into a lump and then some runny liquid. She thinks it looks OK. Robert hopes his ceviche is good enough to win.
Sarah: jerk Chilean sea bass in coconut broth with fennel, pomegranate and cilantro relish. Also coconut cream pudding, topped with pomegranate, star fruit and lime zest. When Brooke scoops it up, it looks very soupy. Leia: pan roasted pork chop with pan-roasted apple sauce. And apple caramel ricotta donuts. Robert: shrimp ceviche with chili paste, fried prawn cracker, cilantro and red onion. And buttermilk pancake with blueberry sauce and maple seasoned whipped cream.
Tom says Sarah's fish has a lot of different textures and the fish is nicely cooked. Leia nailed the pork and the apples are cooked through. Robert did a fine ceviche. The winner here is Sarah. Her jerk seasoning didn't overpower everything else. Brooke admits she got lucky because the pudding was terrible.
Leia's donuts are good and the caramel did set properly. Robert's pancakes are very thin but they did get some crispy bits. Brooke says the winner is Leia. So that means Robert is out. He says if he could go back and do things differently he'd read the labels on his ingredients. Heh. But he knows they weren't up to the right level.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment