Tess

I watched for this on a rerun and couldn't even see the label. Product placement must not have been at work.

Sure-- agreed. It really doesn't much matter and anyway, I think this started with my mistake.

My thought was that in the food industry Cornell would mean more than "Ivy League," so why say it? I guess if you feel the need to put on your c.v. that your parents are nuclear f***ing physicists you might have some reason. Edited to add: also, there are many undergrad programs that compare perfectly well to Ivy ones. Stanford and Swarthmore are not Ivy League-- so what? It seems like kind of an old-fashioned thing to emphasize.

Does he say he went to the Ivy League? He went to Cornell which I thought was not traditionally referred to as an Ivy school.

I think "white trash" is a horrible expression, but until very recently it was unfortunately quite accepted even among people who ordinarily would not think of using a slur. That Stephen would use it of Ken suggests to me that he isn't really very aware of the word's history and he just thinks of it as one of the few remaining insults that's still allowable. Which is stupid, and I'm not a fan of his anyway, but I don't think it was a catastrophic personality leak. I am still surprised and rather sad that everyone hates Tiffani. I love her, although not as much as Lee Ann.

Agreed. I was not impressed with how Dave acted on that episode at all. Espcially from someone who made to the finals and hardly has a grievance here compared to some other people. Frankly, I can't help thinking they both would have been treated differently had the genders been reversed. I don't think Tiffani's behavior would have been considered that out of the way in a guy. In fact, I still like her. (She acted very dumb when she recommended Miguel get the boot and then lied about it, though.) Stephen did a pretty good job with his apology, I thought. It necessarily came across as contrived but he knew he should do it and he sucked it up pretty well. What is wrong with Ken?

Maybe wine blogs seem more useful if (like me) you aren't that knowledgeable, just interested. I read both food and wine blogs a lot, just looking for ideas, and often find very helpful ones. From reading blogs in areas where I am more of an expert, I have a good idea of the pitfalls of the medium. I am not so naive as to take anything as gospel-- whether it's on a blog or in a more formal publication.

I usually have some kind of brandy-soaked fruit in the house and the most common way we end up using them is to put a few on a dessert-type cheese tray. They do offset the blue cheeses very well. With some marcona almonds or other nuts-- delicious.

Stuff them with foie gras.

Before you make a special trip to WF, mine does not carry the diet Hansen's, just the regular. The only source I know of is Trader Joe's.

I think TC's blog said that Harold got a bottle of Shafer for winning the quick-fire.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It just seems a little less workable to me with the way cooking progresses. Hey, maybe they should just get Tim Gunn. What I really want to see is a battle of the reality stars type thing pitting contestants from Top Chef and Project Runway against each other at different tasks. I'd like to see Jay McCarroll cooking, for example.

Hansen's makes diet sodas with Splenda. I like the ginger ale a lot. The other flavors I mostly haven't tried. A dash of pomegranate or cranberry juice makes the ginger ale taste even less "diet," as does a dash of Angostura bitters.

Agreed, a mentor would be helpful but it's a little harder for me to see how one would work in a kitchen. Critiques after the fact, such as, "So-and-so, you're getting too one-note," sure. But Tim went around critiquing people as they worked. You can't stop cooking to talk the way you can stop sewing.

Thank you, tammy. Yes, it's well worth a read. His writing style is very funny. "Quaffable" food?

I would love to read Stepehn's blog but the design is driving me nuts! When I pull up a blog entry I can only read the first bit. I can't get the thing to scroll up and down for the life of me. Anyone else with this problem? My picks now are Lee Anne-- very much my favorite Tiffani or Harold-- about the same level, for me Dave-- just not the same cooking as the other three

We had the strangest experience ordering sandwiches poolside at the Rio in Las Vegas last week. First my friend ordered a "chicken po'boy" and got a chicken salad sub, chicken salad obviously out of a tub. "That *is* a chicken po' boy," we were told when we asked. The next day it was a "pulled pork" sandwich which turned out to be a chicken breast, all in one piece, with barbecue sauce. It started to seem like a practical joke.

I was thinking the same thing, only if they had seen stuff like Queer Eye they probably didn't expect to get anything so crappy. People on those shows usually get a very expensive and seemingly classy (for reality TV) event and a lot of free stuff to boot.

I like to pan-fry tofu shirataki, especially the linguini shape. It takes some patience but you can get them fairly crispy. I do it with no oil and add small amounts of sauce to the pan to keep them from sticking.

As much as I think he was ready to go, that's why I don't like the back-to-back team challenges. They hit him in his exact weakness twice. Even if he hadn't been acting like a tool, it would have been natural for him to fall into the wine guy role. Which is why he probably wouldn't have come in first anyway: the show's not Top Sommelier. But I would have liked to see him and Dave each do one dish before leaving. (Assuming Dave leaves next; I hope to god not Tiffani.)

I think Harold, Lee Ann and Tiffani would be about right for the final three and probably what a lot of people would have predicted early on. I cannot imagine Dave not being the one to leave next based on cooking skill, but of course there are other factors. I hated that wedding challenge. I'm tired of the team challenges because of the amount of backbiting and stuff they seem to lead to. They are fair enough given the concerns of restaurants in the real world, but a challenge where nobody does very well and all the customers are disappointed is just stupid.

Is it considered OK in most kitchens to drink on the clock? When I hear people talk about it, it's like it's something unusual. I would feel a little uneasy about sending alcoholic drinks to people on the job. Maybe I'm just thinking of one of Poppy Brite's restaurant novels, where a whole kitchen gets fired for drinking beer.

I think this stuff happens a lot more-- and is less controversial-- in places like Vegas and Tahoe. More people are tourists and have less chance to become favored regulars. Plus, some people are already being favored way out of proportion by being heavy gamblers. People tip/bribe for everything.

Someone on here mentioned mixing the salted water from grating cucumbers into nigori. I think that's a brilliant idea. Maybe add some gin? Some people make cucumber-infused vodka with coriander/cilantro and peppercorns.

Agreed, it was really stupid of Tiffani to deny what she said. They asked contestants to evaluate each other starting with the first episode and there is nothing wrong with saying what you think. I also thought that as awful as Miguel was, it was time for Andrea to go home. She doesn't have the full package for this contest. She gave them the perfect grounds to throw her out with the cold potato pancake. The salt thing, on the other hand, happened in the kitchen. It is so hard to predict a winner with this because (as on Project Runway) there is luck involved. With the guest judges for example. Ted was wowed by Stephen's dish but we've all seen him do the same kind of thing several times. It could get a lot more capricious than that too. (I liked Stephen a lot better this time, though.)