hsm

Our Fabio is apparently about to share how to do easy, stress-free Italian food, paired with a martini instead of wine in his new cookbook. More here including why he'd rather be Colicchio than Batali.

Proper, yes, but not pimping Brand kitchen appliances as well. Which, if I were Brand at the moment, I'd be less than thrilled. Because regardless of how or how not to cool off that much hot food, the take-away from LeAnn for the majority of viewers is...equipment failure.

Jamie may be getting the ego/insecure edit, but she's fueling it. Best she get over herself and stay focused before some silly mistake sends her packing. Before her time. Because the show is so heavily edited with judging table going on forever, reportedly, it's a little hard to imagine Tom & Co. chalking up the taste of the lamb to Arianna/not asking who else played a part in that dish. Otoh, a marinade rarely wins. The s&p answers reminded me of cooking safe to stay in the middle. It's not wrong, in the short term, it's just lame.

Give the producers a little credit. Rocco as judge was a brilliant move. ← Magical Elves, indeed. Maybe the hardest I have ever laughed at any episode. This week's knife-packer got the loser's edit from the get-go. Maybe it's stress that prevents some from hearing the details of a challenge - or ego that says doing something Unexpected will get them more points than doing something well. Have they not seen this show?

Alton Brown's baked brown rice recipe is easy, tasty and works well with brown basmati. It's converted some white-rice-only friends (no pun intended).

I've got a call out to a friend whose 88 year-old Mom still makes it. I'd like to try this year, too.

Oy and oh my. How did you know? Dad would have been 89 now, and while he seasonally manned the backyard grill, the only thing he cooked in our kitchen was salami and eggs. He had no interest in making anything else. But he - and we - loved this dish, so on some Sunday mornings, he diced the salami - more surfaces to get crisp - and poured in the eggs, stirred constantly and made sure everyone got all they wanted. Dad was raised in NYC and it's been 38 years since he made salami and eggs for me. I may have to make some soon.

I'm afraid we missed that announcement. Some people missed the dumplings, too, unfortunately, as there weren't enough of each to go around and while we were told we could order more of anything, that didn't mean it was delivered. But then, it's not like there wasn't enough to eat!

Iirc, we started out with soup bowls and ceramic spoons in the middle of the table. But they eventually were removed, never to be seen again. Tony's chicken, crispy mayo shrimp, those greens & Ma Po tofu all hit the spot. And fwiw, I've had that tofu there before and found it much, much spicier, as in, tofu floating in redish broth spicy.

It's here.

Nancy, thank you for posting that great report! And I'll add my wishes for a speedy, as painless as possible recovery.

This is very sad news. Her obituary is now up on the website. Abby's smiling face will be missed at the market, but it is one great part of her legacy. Celebrating the Midwestern Table is one of my favorite books.

Got you covered, the whole nutmeg and the microplane are on the counter now, will be at the church on Saturday.

I have 2 glass and one ceramic I can bring up on Saturday at 2.

Coming solo now and happy to help sous or set up or whatever's useful.

Every time I see Tusch gaze at Lisa I think she has it in the bag. (He practically jumped up and down in his seat after her singing presentation last week. Check that, he was totally bouncing.) At first I thought they kept Aaron around because they had decided he's their guy, but now I'm wondering if it wasn't to keep a little drama in this that a straight Lisa/Adam showdown would lack. TPTB are looking for Personality! Cooking skills seem to be optional, looking at the shows they're turning out at the moment. So, hard to tell, either Aaron or Adam seem like they'd be naturals for the next Road Trip! Although Lisa would be far more amusing. And she'd be packing that attitude.

Ronnie, My +1 is also out for Friday's dinner. Thanks, Hilary

My pal, Linda and I are happy to be sous cooks for anyone. Or pointing. I'm hell at pointing. I've also got a cooler to bring. Hilary

More like food NETWORK star. Emeril, gone. Mario, gone (from his instructional program, not yet from the game show), Alton, gone (except for hosting the game show - or maybe hosting a road show!). TNFNS is a game show, too. Doesn't mean it can't be entertaining, in that train wreck kind of way. But food authorities? I think the judges are looking for someone who can play a food authority on TV. Personality? You bet, like Sandra Lee? Please. And having a shtick you can define in one sentence and then pound into our heads? Gotcha. Tusch and Suzy are busy creating a road show for the Neeley's? 'nuff said. (Except I saw Duff say that and therefore, will love him forever.)

Good bye, Nipa. See you next season on Hell's Kitchen. Turns out the guy from Red Lobster loved Kelsey's Iron Chef white chocolate fish dish. Look for it on the menu starting tomorrow, the promo said. **crickets**And could Michael Symon please permanently replace Bobby Flay?

Ronnie, can you please add me and a +1 to Friday's dinner? Thanks! eta: My "probable" for Sat. is now a definite.

Because Gale was fighting for her girl Lisa? (She ran to her right after Stephanie won and it looked a little " BFF, I voted for you." to me.)I've got to call bullshit on their positioning of this single Meal of Your Life deciding the winner. How about a cooking cage match, then? 10 chefs enter, only one walks out. Funny how they were pretending there was a chance the title was going to someone who's been on the bottom 5 times. Really? Lisa's food looked good, if not spectacular and the editing seemed to be trying to cram some drama into this finale, what with Richard "choking" and Stephanie looking like the clear winner.

I don't know why Lisa's still there, but I've been waiting for a Richard and Stephanie finale for a long time. I hope they had fun. (Go, Steph!) eta: They've turned out what looked like great food and been good sports about it. Since this show in no way is all about the food, they've managed to make good TV watching without all the bad TV drama.

Brava! You so deserve the praise. Everything looked fantastic - and yes, perhaps a posting of that recipe to RecipeGullet is in order. (I can't find the pretty please emoticon.) edited because it's one word, cap R, cap G

Heh, even Rachel Ray needs her whole 30 minutes to create a schmeal, or whatever she's calling it these days. The Dallas Diva ever so much wants to impress the judges with just how great she'd look on their network. Suppose there's a tax write off for that wardrobe? After all, she's a Brand !