Tag Archives: MasterChef (US)

TV reviews

Masterchef Junior:Six Becomes Four After Pop-Up Problem(Episode 5)

MasterChef-Junior-LogoThe most challenging part of Masterchef is the restaurant (or similar) challenge where you cook either for the public or invited guests. On Masterchef we have seen cheftestants run breakfast in a major hotel, do weddings, and take over a restaurant to serve a meal. It has been on Masterchef Junior as well and this year they decided to do it with a pop-up restaurant. These are the will-o’the-wisp of the restaurant world: restaurants that magically appear for a moment somewhere and are gone. Unlike the mythical will-o’-the-wisp that  lure you off safe trails at night, these attract those who have been invited to partake of these meals. Often social media or a telephone call alerts you to its upcoming existence. And it no doubt they get the ire of local oversight agencies who can neither regulate them nor get any fees paid for them to operate.

Since we are going to drop two at the end, this episode will really put the kids to the test. The question you have to ask is whether you want them to run a meal service. Remember these kids have never worked in a professional kitchen which means lots of pressure and stress to get the food out. It is one thing to help out in the home kitchen but quite another to have customers waiting for your food to arrive at their plates in a timely fashion. It is an intense experience that is very hard for adults to do and just as tough for kids to do as well. Even the best and brightest of this bunch is going to find this challenge difficult.

And it was. Both teams–led by Samuel (Blue) and Abby(Red)– both had major problems getting food out. Gordon was expediter and we all know how he fiery he gets with poorly made food. You could see Gordon really struggling to not let loose. Oona had problems with deep frying, Adaiah had never cooked filet mignon, Logan made multiple mistakes in seasoning. Gordon had to take time and counsel them to do better. Graham had to step in at one point to show how to step it up. The good news is that in the end both teams delivered good meals. The bad news is that one team had to loose and that was Samuel’s. Usually when a team loses on Masterchef, you face the dreaded pressure test where you cook some fiendish dish the judges have decided for you to cook. The cooking challenge was the elimination challenge so they merely had to decide which two of the losing team to send home: Samuel, Oona or Sean.

It was inevitable the decision to send Oona and Sean home since Samuel was the better of the three. However it was hard to see Oona go. She was really impressive and I thought it possible for her to be in the semifinal or top two. She has the drive, passion, and creativity. But this challenge showed that none of these kids were ready to work in a professional kitchen yet. This episode, like last week, had an odd feel to it. Again something was missing like the usual magic and sparkle the show has. It was like half a show really, as if a lot was chopped and edited out. Sean’s comment that working with Gordon was “traumatizing” will no doubt raise concerns about the pressure of the show on kids. At any rate we now move on to the semifinals which has Abby, Adaiah, Logan and Samuel now competing for the trophy and money. My concern is, especially watching Gordon having a talk with Logan in this episode, that the fine line between treating them as kids as opposed to adults is becoming harder for the judges.


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TV reviews

Masterchef Junior:Perfect Eggs and Signature Dish (Episode 4)

egginpanIt is Thanksgiving week but not on Masterchef Junior season 2. Nope, no turkey and all the trimmings here. I am surprised they did not have one. It would be a great challenge to have these kids come up with an upscale turkey meal for Thanksgiving. Instead we get a fried egg challenge and have them cook their signature dish. This was an underwhelming episode and perhaps one of the reasons Joe “the stare” Bastianich has decided to move on from the Masterchef franchise in 2015 (except for filmed episodes of the next season already in the can). Really this was one episode you could miss and come back later to watch. Or not at all.

So the kids all line up to learn they will cook perfectly made sunny side up eggs. They have done this on Masterchef but not on the junior side of the show. Oh and they have ten minutes to cook as many as they can. Perfectly. Off they go to get the pans nice and hot, and cracking those eggs into the pans. If these kids saw what happened on that Masterchef episode, they would have doubled their efforts to do it right. In that episode three former contenders were cooking eggs for the chance to return to the show. It was brutal as the judges tossed any egg and its plate into the trash that did not measure up. Nor did they mention the number of eggs cooked perfectly would have a very important impact on the next challenge.

Now I suppose the lesson here is consistency. In restaurants, each meal has to be perfection on the plate each and every time. And mastering how to perfectly cook sunny side up eggs is one way to do this. The adults did not fare well in the challenge and most of the kids end up overcooking them or worse. Abby got only two eggs correct while the others got four to ten eggs right. Sean got ten for the win.There was no trip to the pantry tonight and no selection of foods to be done by the winner. Instead the number of eggs successfully cooked meant the number of ingredients in your signature dish. Great for most but it left Abby with just 2 ingredients. Oh boy. Gordon tried to console her but it came out kind of flat to me. In fact he was smiling way too much about it as if he was happy it occurred.

We learn the various restaurant dreams the kids have. Abby wants to have a combined veterinary and restaurant. Bring your animal in for care and then sit down for a meal! It will be called Horses and Courses. Logan wants to have an underwater bistro! Moving on….Graham decides to reveal he started out at 17 as a dishwasher in a restaurant. And it turns out his mentor to get into the business back then was none other than Gordon Ramsay. Moving on again….Abby is limited to two ingredients and decides to do salmon & asparagus done five ways. Samuel is going to do a blood orange glazed duck breast with zucchini and pasta. Just be careful to select the right fruit. His restaurant will be called Le Samuel with a French-Asian theme. He even has drawn what the restaurant will look like and describes it. Ah filler can be interesting in an episode that is well, boring. At least he has thought out his restaurant but he needs to work on recognizing his fruits and vegetables first like cucumber and zucchini. Now that is a trick question since both cucumber and zucchini are fruits but treated as culinary vegetables. It is easy at first glance to make the mistake but they are not that hard to distinguish upon close examination.

The dishes went from really good (Abby, Adaiah and Samuel) to not that good (Logan, Levi, Sean, Oona and Sean). On the bottom were Josh, Levi, Oona and Sean. Both Oona and Sean were saved sending Josh and Levi home. Levi said the best part was meeting Ramsay. Josh says Samuel or Sean will be the winner.

As the credits rolled by, I really thought this episode just lacked the punch of the previous episodes. Something was very off here. Libby Hill over at Grub Street says that the elimination challenge was flat.

There was a certain winning quality about watching the kids talk about their imagined restaurants and showing off their elaborately planned layouts, some meticulously colored. And sure it was darling to see a little girl extoll the virtues of her future restaurant — called “Horses and Courses” — complete with ride-up pony parking, but the rhythms of the episode were a complete disaster. The entire thing was so ill-timed that dish-tasting and judging began halfway through the episode, since it means the show had to devote an entire 20 minutes to the criticism of hardworking children.

Her criticism is that the judges do the good cop/bad cop routine too much. Meaning while they praise they good efforts, they continually ding you for the mistakes. She cites Logan as an example of this. Joe said his meat was good but that his rice was overcooked and lacked salt. And that was that. Gordon praises the meat and knocks the rice as well and then spends more time explaining his critique:“I just expected you to be a little more elaborate. And I have to be honest with you because we are looking for the best youngster. And you’re normally up there. So I am just slightly underwhelmed.” He goes on later to say he took seven ingredients and made them look like three. Others clearly get that Gordon is unhappy. Samuel even whistled. Logan looked rattled from the experience.

Gordon thinks Logan is so much better and was clearly disappointed in what was presented. So he gave him a more stinging rebuke in order to light a fire under the kid. It did succeed in knocking Logan down; he looked pretty down afterwards. Gordon never raised his voice, never cursed or said anything obscene. Perhaps that is what disturbs some who watch it. The message is clear enough: you can do better so do better! It is drill instructor light. On the other hand, the continued harping seems pointless. Logan got the message so why did Gordon keep beating the dead horse? Because I think he was frustrated with what he saw with his dish and probably other ones as well. He had enough and decided to vent. It was at the expense of a child who may have felt brow-beaten by the time it was over.

At any rate I felt this whole episode was pointless. Other than learning the kids restaurant desires, it is neither here nor there in the entirety of the show. This is that episode, and every show has one, where they know it is something to fill the schedule and nothing more. Pun intended, this was a turkey of an episode that ought to have been scuttled. I would preferred to have seen the famous WKRP episode with now classic turkey drop in it.


TV reviews

MasterChef is a Reality Show

Photo:Fox
Photo:Fox

Ben Starr, who was in season 2, reportedly posted a “bitter blog post”  about MasterChef in which he wrote in part “it is highly engineered fiction.” He went on apparently to reveal many secrets of the show such as editing voice overs and other things to keep the show entertaining. And he reveals how the show contract gives producers the right to do anything they want with your image that might be“disparaging, defamatory, embarrassing, or of an otherwise unfavorable nature….” So naturally I went over to Ben Starr’s blog to see the post in question. However it is no longer there and has been removed. Ben Starr though did address what was reported in the media:

The blog post it referenced was a years-old post saying “farewell” to the MasterChef brand.  I no longer want to be associated with the brand, I no longer watch the show, and I don’t really want to think about it any longer.  I am truly grateful for what it brought me…a horde of amazing foodie fans around the world…many dear, dear friends from across the seasons who’ve become as important to me as family…and enough exposure that I’ve been able to not only start a successful business, but do lots of charity work around the country to benefit those in need.  I was nothing but clear that MY OWN EXPERIENCE with the show was excellent, and I wouldn’t have changed anything about it.  The post was not meant to be a condemnation of MasterChef, but to encourage people to treat ALL television as entertainment rather than actual reality, to avoid developing character judgements about reality TV contestants, and to encourage folks to spend their time doing quality things that improve themselves and benefit the world at large.

That hardly sounds like someone bitter about being on Masterchef. His blog reveals someone passionate about life and food and not resentful of Masterchef. His comments are simply warning that if you decide to participate in reality television, that it comes with lots of caveats. It means you will not be in touch with your family, probably moved around a lot within hotels or to different hotels, have tough schedules that make you work late or early. And you give up the right to control your image. They do that to maximize entertainment value. So far that is not unusual for most reality shows. Of course anything that seems to criticize Masterchef and its creator Gordon Ramsay is fair game for gossip news sites and their like minded brethren on television. It made screaming headlines like this at Radar:

‘MasterChef’ Is ‘Fake!’ Former Contestants Speaks Out About Behind-The-Scenes Trickery

You can say the same about Dancing With The Stars. Live audience members have to adhere to a dress code(evening clothes, no jeans or flipflops, hair and makeup done right, good looking shoes, and of course your fingernails had better look good too). The audience is told to be enthusiastic and DWTS t-shirts are incentives to clap your hands. Is that a bad thing? Hardly. They want the audience to be well groomed and enthusiastic. And from the articles I read about people who attend, it is a fun time.

Another funny tidbit he allegedly said was that everyone wore the same thing every day. That reminded me of the old show Adventures of Superman. In that show, they wore the same clothes all the time because they taped the shows one right after the other. But if you watch MasterChef over the years, you notice that is not quite correct. They wear a rotation of clothes. It is possible they did do this in the early seasons (and possibly to make it easier to do voice overs or edits) but they appear to have stopped this. The reason is obvious. Fans are not stupid and have digital recording devices like TIVO™ that record shows. And they do notice things like when on Hells Kitchen they tried to pass off a phony edit as taking place later in the season but playback showed someone who had been tossed off weeks before there! And on MasterChef fans are going to notice if you have contestants wear exactly the same outfits each and every time. Everyone knows for instance that in the early parts of the show with lots of contests, they do not show everyone’s dish being judged in the elimination round and edit out the judges comments to just one to save on time.

In the end it looks like what gossip news likes to do: the drive by. They are like old fashioned gangsters in those big cars with tommy guns sticking out the windows. They aim and fire hoping it will get attention. And then they drive away leaving lots of people angry at what they did. That is how the so-called entertainment press operates for the most part. They take a small sliver of truth and then stretch it as far it will go for the headline. Sometimes it works and sometimes it gets them in court when they actually lie (and are caught red handed). And in this case, it was a drive by that in the end accomplishes nothing except get Ben Starr pretty steamed at how they patched together things he wrote about MasterChef to make it into something it was not.

Sources:
1. ‘MasterChef’ Is ‘Fake!’ Former Contestants Speaks Out About Behind-The-Scenes Trickery(7 Nov 2014,RadarOnline)
2. Regarding the Daily Post Article(8 Nov 2014, Ben Starr blog)
3.‘Dancing With The Stars’ Audience Experience Dazzling As A Mirror Ball(20 Oct 2011, Washington Times)


Miscellaneous, TV reviews

MasterChef Junior Season 2 Update

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

MasterChef Junior will now be premiering on Tuesday 4 Nov at 8 p.m. in Utopia’s old time slot (that failing show is now banished to Friday). A new cast of very young cheftestants is ready and eager to prove they are just as good as the ones 18+. And of course our culinary trio of Joe Bastianich, Gordon Elliot, and Gordon Ramsay are going to lead them on this food journey. Unlike the other show, foul language will not be used (although Gordon did break down last year and say a rude word but then he had a whole bowl of cream dumped on his head!). And of course these being very young kids, they are being watched by a team of medics and other personnel to make sure all is well. If you want to see interviews of the kids competing, go to MasterChef Junior at Fox.com.


 

TV reviews

Masterchef (US) Season 5 Comes To An End

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

It is all over now as season five of MasterChef (US) has come to an end with Courtney declared the winner. This season possibly saw the two best matched contenders for the title. Both are exceptional in presentation and technique and rarely made mistakes. Elizabeth set a record for this season (and perhaps the entire series this far) as never being in a pressure test. Personally I think Elizabeth is the more talented of the two and in the long run it will be interesting to see who has a more successful culinary career. Both ought to do well but Elizabeth might very well surpass Courtney in the end. As for Courtney, no more dancing in a gentleman’s club for her. She can give those glamorous heels a rest for a while.

This season fared well for not having a real villain as in past seasons. Last year there was Krissi, an odious person who really ought never ought to have been there. Leslie might have been a villain considering how he grated on people early, especially Ahran. Instead of getting worse he managed to bring it under control. He and Ahran became friends later on. However he was not shy about those he really disliked: Cutter and Daniel. Daniel he saw as untrustworthy and a pretender. And Cutter was in his own zone often unable to do tasks asked of him. Leslie got rattled though when under pressure (like at Dinah’s) and goofed up as well. Leslie though was determined and never really gave up. And had he not screwed up substituting salt for sugar in the pressure test against Courtney, he likely would have been up against Elizabeth. Gordon is right: the culinary world is not just for the young but for the seasoned as well. Julia Child would concur on that sentiment

Missing this season were the preliminary rounds where we see them audition before the judges. We often saw what they cooked to impress the judges to give them the first apron. And we also saw a fair amount of those who brought dishes that fell well below the standards being sought. The reason was probably scheduling. So they did not show the preliminary rounds and went straight to the top thirty and the final cut for the MasterChef competition. It made the season move much quicker. The challenges were as usual though with the twists and turns we have come to accept. No big stars stopped by a lot of culinary stars did in the semifinal where fifty chefs showed up. Many of them had shows on Food Network like Cat Cora or Duff Goldman. Too bad Mario Batali did not make an appearance but then he likely still is on contract with Food Network. We also saw Gordon’s wife Tana in the Valentine’s Day episode. In both his UK and US Kitchen Nightmares show he often as to be away on that day or Mother’s Day.

The formula for the show has remained more or less the same. They start with a very large group then whittle it down to a manageable size (about twenty) for the final competition. Each episode has two challenges (mystery box and elimination challenge) or a field challenge in which the losing team faces the dreaded pressure test. Always someone goes home but on occasion it is two that go home. Judges are impressed with creativity, passion, flavor, and taste. They absolutely dislike dishes that are too simple, below MasterChef quality, completely disregard culinary rules, or are just absurd (like Tali’s crab dish that Graham called a horror show in season three). It infuriates them when someone they know is talented produces a bad dish.

They try to mix up the challenges but I humbly suggest they have used up the army and marines for food challenges! Head down to San Diego where the navy has ships and personnel. Believe me officers and crew on ships would love to be part of a Masterchef challenge. It is also likely that next year they will tie in (like the did with Glee) with another Fox show. I hope it is Sleepy Hollow! Make that a spooky themed episode with Headless delivering the winner. Okay that might be over the top but you get the point.

So we put this season into the done column with Courtney the winner for season five. Now we wait until next summer when we see a whole new crop of aspiring amateur chefs wanting to prove to Gordon, Graham, and Joe they are the best in the country. They just have to prove it with every dish they make. No pressure at all.

—–
I was highly critical of the pressure test required making truffles. I wrote that very few people make them at home and even doubted the Masterchef judges could cook them. Well I was wrong on that last part (somewhat). It appears Gordon Ramsay does know how to make them by hand. Here are two YouTube cooking lessons where he is showing his kids how to make chocolate mint truffles for Christmas Day.

Titanic, TV reviews

MasterChef:Final Four and then Final Three (Part 2)

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Recap: Christian was sent home leaving Courtney, Cutter, Elizabeth and Leslie as the top four.

I will be honest here, I did not expect the top four not have Christian in it. I am further surprised both Cutter and Leslie made it. Neither were on my list for the top four but Courtney and Elizabeth were.

Now I expected when the two teams were formed that Team Red (Courtney and Elizabeth) would easily best Team Blue(Cutter and Leslie). They both had to cook with foods that were not that difficult to work with. That is not what happened at all. Instead both teams had problems. Individually both Courtney and Elizabeth are perhaps the best home cooks ever on the show. Yet they canceled each other out producing a weird appetizer but their entrée was at least better though not up to their usual high standards. Their lack of communication meant they each made sauces and did not tell the other.  Not unsurprisingly Cutter and Leslie did not do well either. Leslie decided to let Cutter do his thing and not interfere much. Cutter tried to work with Leslie and found him not wanting to talk much. So both of them made mistakes–critical ones–like screwing up a sauce that ought to have been easy to do.

Photo: Canterel(Wikipedia)
Photo: Canterel(Wikipedia)

So in the end both teams produced fair to awful dishes. It was unbelievable that both teams would end up this way. And just by a millimeter, Courtney and Elizabeth got saved. Personally I would have either sent them all back to cook one dish that would sort it out better. But since I am not in charge, it is but a dream in my head. So Cutter and Leslie now go into a culinary thunderdome and they have to cook from the box they did not choose: California. And they had to cook three separate dishes for each of the chefs. It came all down to a Salad Niçoise with seared tuna in the end. Cutter had the better looking one but his tuna was sliced too thick and not well cooked. Leslie’s dish was a real mess! He forgot the quail egg but got the tuna right along with the vinaigrette for the salad. And getting the tuna right was what saved Leslie. The long saga that was called The Cutter Zone has finally ended. He had his moments but there was just no way he would be in the top two.

Now we have our top three: Courtney, Elizabeth and Leslie. My money is still on Elizabeth to win this over Courtney. I cannot see Leslie in the top two unless either he really steps up the plate and one of the other two really goofs something up bad. We are now in the final round and soon a new Masterchef will be crowned.


TV reviews

Masterchef:Final Five Become Four and Then Three(Part 1)

(Note:This was a two hour episode. So I will break the commentary into two parts.)

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Last week we saw Jaimee depart leaving Courtney, Christian, Christian, Cutter, and Leslie. Now that we are down to the final five, the pressure is really on. To add more to that pressure, select friends or family members drop by. Aside from the previews, the big clue is the very big mystery box that usually signifies either a special guest or a very unusual food challenge ahead. In this case it was Courtney’s six year old brother who she does not see often. Cutter’s adoptive father and Christian’s girlfriend are also there. Elizabeth gets to see her husband and we finally get to see the woman that is married to Leslie. Gordon asks jokingly if she ever found his off switch. She quips not in 20 years or words to that effect. Then the family members tell them food they miss, which becomes the challenge for the evening.

Of course being Masterchef it has to be upscale. Christian’s girlfriend likes his gumbo and he has to do that in an hour! Gumbo, depending on the recipe, can take from just under three hours to several hours. He manages to pull it off to the delight of the judges. Graham calls it a taste of the ocean. Courtney did a macaroni and cheese with truffles and lobster and topped with a quail egg. Now that was daring and she pulls it off as well. Finally Elizabeth brings up her meatballs and grits. The meatballs are made with different meats, herbs, and tomato sauce. And the grits were good as well. Elizabeth is the winner while Leslie and Cutter stand in the back disappointed they were not called up.

Select Cuts

Photo:Vincent Diamante(Wikipedia)
Photo:Vincent Diamante(Wikipedia)

Just a bit of culinary history. In the old days people had to make sure every part of an animal that was slaughtered did not go to waste. One it maximized its use and second did not waste anything. The highest quality cuts went to those who could afford them leaving the less popular ones for those on more tight budgets. So Elizabeth gets to select some parts that her fellow contestants will be cooking up–ox heart, lamb’s heart, veal brains, and buffalo testicles. Yummy! Elizabeth’s facial ticks while they show these parts shows how she tried to keep from showing her disgust (or desire to upchuck). She was glad not to have to cook any of them and of course is immediately in the top four. Back out in the main area, they are not that thrilled either at having to cook these parts. Of course Elizabeth choose which ones they would cook.

Courtney got the bull testicles. Elizabeth figured it would throw her for a loop. Perhaps for a moment or two but she took the challenge head on. A miss by Elizabeth on this one. Instead of flailing, she cooked them to perfection by what the judges said. Bravo!

Cutter got the ox heart. It is a large mass that looks suitable for long braising. For perhaps the first time, Cutter produces a stellar dish that wows the judges. The Cutter Zone has finally arrived. At first it looked bad for him but the final presentation was awesome.

Leslie got the lamb’s tongue. At least it was not veal brains. But Leslie did not clean the tongue properly leaving an unpleasant aftertaste in Gordon’s mouth. It also did not look stellar either but it was not all bad. Still at this stage of the game, the smallest thing out of place will send you home.

Christian got the brains. They try to make it sound less awful by saying “veal brains” but of course veal comes from cattle (young cattle to be precises). Head cheese used to be made from either pig or cow brains (it still is in some places)mostly though it is just spices and meat not from brains anymore. I thought Christian would nail this one but instead he got flustered, twisted, and turned around. It alarmed the judges to see him flailing about. For Elizabeth, it was a direct hit. He produced an awful dish overall though the brains were good. But everything else about the dish was all bad.

Courtney won the round proving she can take just about anything thrown her way. Cutter also got the save as well and now there are three in the final four. That leaves the judges to decide between Christian or Leslie. Unfortunately Christian is sent home. A very talented young man who found this challenge a bridge too far. He leaves with his head high and Gordon offering to invest in his food truck. That is one food truck I would visit and likely will do very well. Now we have the final four: Courtney, Cutter, Elizabeth and Leslie. And in the next round it will be two teams (boys vs girls) duking it out to win a coveted spot in the top three. The losing team compete against each other in a culinary thunderdome. Just without Mel Gibson.

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TV reviews

Masterchef: Restaurant Takeover And Croquembouche

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Six contestants remain. They broke into two teams to cook food in a high end restaurant. And it was not easy at all. The team that seemed poised to win lost while the team most likely to fail won. And the pressure test, making a croquembouche, sent home another favorite.

They were at Sunset Marquis, known as the place many rock bands and singers have hung out at, in West Hollywood. They took over Cavatina for the night where Michael Schlow was waiting to instruct them on the dishes they will cook tonight. Team Blue (Jaimee) had Christian and Courtney. Team Red (Leslie) had The Cutter Zone and Elizabeth. Smart money was on Team Blue to win because everyone knows Leslie and Cutter do not get along. And it would send their ratings right to the floor. And Gordon Ramsay is expediting, so you know it will not go well if the dishes are in bad shape.

Jaimee, however, may be a good cook but not a chef (meaning running a brigade). We saw once before how she failed to lead her team and let other team members run things. This time it is down to two other people. And she had a hard time leading. Dishes were going out slow and she knew it was not going well. So she voluntarily gave up her title to Courtney. Except Courtney had real problems with the gnocchi dish. The gnocchi dish was different in that it was a pot a choux which required more finesse to make sure it did not fall apart on the plate. Her dishes looked bad and she admitted it when Gordon pointed out the problem. So she handed the reigns over to Christian and things improved. Dishes went out and fewer problems occurred.

Leslie is determined to be a good leader this time. His last time up as a team leader was abysmal and resulted in a mutiny. This time he means business! And he is demanding they toe the line. Elizabeth is not a problem and does just fine but Leslie and The Cutter Zone get into it early. And loudly. This forces an intervention by Gordon who makes them shake hands and make up. Things are going well after that until they get to the entrees. Once again tension erupts between the two and it looks bad. Gordon has to intervene again and remind them about the customers. And their loud voices. Peace is restored and food goes out.

Joe is not with the judges tonight due to some issue with his restaurant. So Graham is doing front of the house. Both teams get good and bad reviews. So when it is all over, Gordon announces they will determine the winner tomorrow in the Masterchef kitchen. I wondered if it is was so close that it was a tie and that they would have to do some extra cooking to win it all. But I was wrong. I suspect both teams were close but not a tie. One diner said they thought Christians steak lacked flavor. At any rate, the winner is Team Red. Leslie is happy to not face the dreaded pressure test. Elizabeth realizes she does not want to work in a professional kitchen. And Cutter is happy it all worked out in the end.

Croquembouch wedding cake Photo:Eric Baker(Wikipedia)
Croquembouche wedding cake
Photo:Eric Baker(Wikipedia)

The Croquembouche of doom
Christian, Courtney and Jaimee have to make this elegant French wedding dessert. It looks fantastic! It is a cone of choux pastry balls (profiteroles) piled in a cone with caramel threads. Now these three have to make it. Leslie is glad he gets to sit out this pressure test. Jaimee and Courtney get to work right away but Christian is not so thrilled with the task. So his lacks passion and other things that put him into the bottom. Courtney, who has never made one, goes all in and thinks of family. It came out very well and both Gordon and Graham are quite happy with it. Jaimee though, has used too much sugar. So while her cone is the best of the bunch, the sugar has become like glue holding the pastry balls in place. She cannot free one for Gordon. A very sad outcome that sent her home at the end. Christian got by but just barely. The good news is that they think highly of her and let her know she has doors open to her in New York. I hope she takes Gordon up on his offer. She is a good cook and with mentoring will become great at whatever she does.

Now we are down to the final five: Christian, Courtney, Elizabeth, Leslie, and The Cutter Zone. My rankings are:
1. Elizabeth
2. Courtney & Christian (tie)
3. Leslie
4. The Cutter Zone


TV reviews

Masterchef:Apples and Dim Sum

Dim sum breakfast in Hong Kong. Photo: Public Domain
Dim sum breakfast in Hong Kong.
Photo: Public Domain

We are down to the final seven after Daniel was sent home last week. It does not seem so long ago when there were thirty finalists standing in the Masterchef kitchen. It is no surprise that Courtney, Elizabeth, Christian or Big Willie are still there. Leslie and Jaimee are not a surprise either, but The Cutter Zone is. Never thought he would make it this far. He has had some bad outcomes but shockingly others did worse paving his way into the final seven. But this episode not only saw apples being used for savory dishes but a tag teamed competition to cook dim sum that sent another popular cheftestant home.

The mystery box awaits but first they get notes from home. Real notes they can read that hopefully inspire them to go on. And the mystery box has lots of apples, so many that they fall to the floor for dramatic effect (I pity the poor staff people that have to clean them up). But they are not for dessert but for a savory dish. That keeps the show from being predictable and forces them all to be creative. The three top dishes all used pork. Christian had an apple stuffed pork chop with bacon, brussels sprouts, zucchini and red apples. Leslie had an apple stuffed pork loin with bacon and gruyere cheese with apple mashed potatoes. And Courtney had a pork loin stuffed with apple, pancetta, swiss chard with pink lady apple juice sauce and an apple and celeriac salad. A lot going on there. All three dishes were terrific and, to be honest, I would want to eat all three! But since only one can win, Courtney gets the win. Just keep a kitten away from Elizabeth who made a dumb comment about stabbing one if Courtney won.

And for I think the first time in Masterchef history, the judges decide the elimination contest will be to cook five perfectly done dim sum dishes. I love dim sum but I know it is a lot of work to pull off. It is not prepared food unless you buy it so and most good restaurants make it from scratch (frozen dim sum is about as appealing as warm milk on a hot day). Courtney gets the choice of selecting the teams. And her chief targets are Big Willie, Christian, and Elizabeth. Jamiee is good but in her mind beatable as is Leslie. The Cutter Zone is in a world of his own but easy to set up for a fall. Courtney pairs up Christian and Big Willie, Elizabeth and The Cutter Zone, and by default Jaimee and Leslie. And the twist is that this is a tag-team challenge so only one will be cooking/prepping while the other sits out watching the other working.

By putting Christian and Big Willie together, she probably knew they would clash and burn. Meaning while Christian is a decent cook, Willie does not do upscale well. He also works deliberately rather than rushing. Christian yells at him a lot rattling Willie. Jaimee and Leslie are also having problems as well. It looks like they are just not working well either. Elizabeth and The Cutter Zone seem to be humming along and working okay. Ah but looks can be deceiving and in this episode what you think you saw was not exactly as it turned out at all. You would think the worst dish would come from Jaimee and Leslie.

Au contraire! Though they seemed to be out of sync they produced the best dim sum of the challenge. Gordon thought it would be a disaster as did the others. Instead it looked beautiful and tasted great by what the judges said. It was obvious these two were not in any danger of being sent home tonight. Which brings us to Willie and Christian. Burnt pot stickers, rubber balls for dumplings, no sauce for the pork buns, and under seasoned cabbage. Really quite shocking to see it come out this way from two normally strong chefs. Gordon sums it up best and say both do not deserve to continue in this competition. Wow. What a punch in the gut that was to these guys. Elizabeth and Cutter’s was just as bad. Nothing tasted or looked good. Nothing was seasoned. Courtney hit bullseye here. In fact I really thought it would send Cutter home.

Photo:Fox
Photo:Fox

But those culinary gods are tricky and mysterious in their ways. If it had been me, I would have dropped one (the worst) from each team. My choices would have been The Cutter Zone and Willie. Not to be though. After sending up Jaimee and Leslie (and the most forced hug ever on the show), they sent up Cutter and Elizabeth. Really? They said by just the smallest margin (like .008) they eke out a save. Christian and Willie now face the angel of death and the scythe of his. I was thinking of the old nursery rhyme:

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Or something more ominous like when that demon praying mantis on Buffy:The Vampire Slayer was deciding to mate and then kill either Zander or the other guy before they were rescued.

Sadly Willie is sent home in the end. A really nice guy with a positive attitude. He was liked by just about everyone because, well, he was a nice guy who rarely said anything nasty about anyone. Even Courtney. They sent him home because his time was simply up. Christian is the better upscale cook of the two (and the ego that goes with it). I wish Cutter had been in that spot and sent home. Willie has ten times more ability than Cutter in this competition. Cutter has gotten lucky but that will run out eventually. And next week it looks like Leslie and Cutter are getting into it in another restaurant episode.

So here are my power rankings:
1. Courtney
2. Jaimee (moves up since Elizabeth tumbled this episode)
3. Elizabeth
4. Leslie
5. Christian(moves down due to being in last place)
6. The Cutter Zone

So who do you think will make top four and top two?

Masterchef Cookbooks

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TV reviews

Masterchef: Pick Your Partner and the Three Egg Challenge

It is week 12 of Masterchef US. Eight are left after Ahran was sent home last week.

A cock and a hen roosting together Photo:Andrei Niemimäki
A cock and a hen roosting together.
Photo:Andrei Niemimäki

Ah the humble chicken. So versatile and popular around the world. Before the pig was brought to Mexico by the Spanish, chicken was the meat most ate. Now our brave cheftestants will deal with chicken cut up and randomly assigned to them. In teams. Yes once again the Culinary Trio has decided that this challenge will be done in teams. But instead of making a winner of a challenge decide it (or do it themselves), they have to decide amongst themselves. So that means if you want to pair up with someone who is really good, you had better use your best talking points. The most surprising match up was Elizabeth and Leslie. Elizabeth and Leslie got into it early in the competition. But Leslie made the simple play that he would defer to her in what ever she did. And it worked resulting in one of the best dishes of the night saving them from the dreaded pressure test. Another surprising combination was Courtney and Christian. Both have sparred in the past but worked well as a team producing also a delicious dish that saved them.

But the teams that failed were Jaimee and Daniel & Willie and Cutter. Jaimee and Daniel did chicken wings. They were okay but nothing that screamed Masterchef. Joe said they looked like something he would get at an airport. Ouch. Cutter and Willie were all over the place during the cooking with confusing styles that resulted in a poor dish. So the they all get to face the dreaded pressure test. Except it was actually three challenges and each challenge would have a winner saved. The final two would battle it out as to who would stay.

Now remember in the past they have made people cook the perfect fried egg. Sounds simple until you have to cook a lot of them and they have to meet the exacting standards of Gordon, Graham, and Joe. This first round had them do a poached egg. Tricky but not so hard to do providing you follow some basic techniques. Some hot water, a little vinegar, and some seasoning usually will do the trick. As Daniel found out, stirring the water with the egg can result in a disaster, like the yolk separating from the egg white. I have never seen that before, a poached egg with no yolk in it. Joe could not believe it either. The Cutter Zone pierced the egg during plating so it splattered. Thankfully it was cooked and Gordon liked it. Jaimee did okay as did Willie. And Willie was deemed the best and headed up to the balcony.

The next challenge was egg ravioli. Now I have never seen this type of dish before where you put egg yolk inside a ravioli. It is a take on the poached egg but the twist it is inside the pasta. So both the pasta and the egg have to be done right. Yikes! Turns out it is not that unusual. I found many recipes during a web search. Here is one at Food Network by Mario Batali, and another by Martha Stewart. This is something I might want to try as it sounds like a great combination. Of course you have to get the pasta right, seal the egg yolk inside it so no water can get inside, and have the courage to place it in hot water for a period of time. If it comes out right, bravo! Done poorly and you get the Bronx jeer (look that one up if you are not familiar with that term).

The Cutter Zone did something odd to his ravioli. He used a fork to press down the sides making indentations. It got jeers from Gordon. Yet that was not a problem in the end since his egg ravioli was deemed the best of the lot. Amazing. I thought Jaimee would have nailed it. Daniel’s was not closed properly so water got in turning the yolk not so runny. More like a set fried egg. So The Cutter Zone scores big and heads to safety leaving Jaimee and Daniel at the bottom. Jaimee was a surprise because she is usually a consistently good cook. Not surprised by Daniel being there. Both wish they could do a Harry Potter and wave a wand to disappear. Alas they now face….

The Dreaded Egg Souffle

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Souffle. Many a chef will perspire making it. And now Jaimee and Daniel now must cook a stunning cheese souffle. Both struggle to get it done and have to watch carefully as it forms in the oven. Will it rise or not? Fortunately both are successful in that regard but, of course, looks are not as important as its taste. Both have their plusses and minuses. Daniel though over salts his souffle. And usually in most food competitions using too much salt not only puts you in the bottom but can often end your chances. For Daniel, it was the end of the road. He gave up his job to enter the Masterchef competition. He has shown considerable talent over many challenges but it is not to be. And so we bid farewell to Daniel. Up on the balcony you know Leslie, who despised Daniel, was gleeful about finally seeing him going. Seven aspiring masterchefs left.

My money is still on Courtney vs Elizabeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww8RDaJzGak

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