Slamdunkpro

I went back and looked and I don't think the FoH person has ever been eliminated. It's usually been the "executive Chef" of the losing team.

My thoughts According to his blog, this was Colicchio's pet script idea - Tom, please pack your typewriter and go Richard/Marcel/Fabio's strategy worked. If they were eliminating 3 people that whole team would have gone but the judges seemed unwilling to single anyone out LOL at Colicchio's comment "Fabio didn't contribute" - he did all the scut work Colicchio's fishing buddy as the guest judge? Seriously? The editing and camera work was very disjointed - I had a hard time following who's dish was who's The last two episodes have been pretty meh, hope it picks up with Restaurant Wars next week The Colicchio effect was in full force this episode. From the edits, I'd have sent Marcel and Richard packing, but Tiffany ran head first into Colicchio's "my way or the highway" philosophy with her bluefish; Jamie might as well have been wearing a red chef's jacket for the last two episodes. Richard was spared because he's the likable front runner and it's obvious that Marcel is now getting the ***hole edit (although it looks like there would be plenty to choose from if he left). If all the front runners go early who's going to watch or care about the finale? Lastly it seems that it's really true that getting teamed with Antonia is truly the black hand of death as every single one of her teammates has been eliminated while teamed with her.

This episode really soured me on the whole series. The producer's creative tank is clearly empty. The farcical "speed challenge" where Colicchio A) already knows what he's going to make B) has all his mise already selected and set up C) Didn't have to fight for stove stop space. D) Didn't have to scrum for ingredients with 8 other people. Spare me. I wonder how many times he rehearsed this. Props to Marcel for taking Colicchio's leftover fish (and from his dish it looked like his leftover mise too) Enough with the team challenges where there is no downside for screwing team mates as long as your food is OK The whole dim sum thing was so convoluted; why did 2 chefs have to be on the floor? They clearly weren't missed when they went back to the kitchen. Note to Mike - Expediting is more than yelling on a phone to "get more food out". The cheftestants have obviously taken a pointer from the ghost of Jennifer and realized that since the diner's input no longer counts, who cares if they get fed or not, just cook for the judges. Why do the cheftestants continue to try and make stuff they have no clue about (Casey)? As soon as she pick chicken feet I turned to the wife and said "she's toast" and they did look nasty.

Thanks, unfortunately the only 14" guard that Messermeister makes is for a slicer and it's too thin (narrow?) to accommodate the curvature of either the cimeter or the butcher blade. The same problem exists with the plastic file binder clips. What I need is a guard that is as tall (wide?) as a chef's knife guard but 14 inches long - around 2.5" x 14".

Anyone have a source for the slide on knife guards that would fit either a 14 inch Cimeter or butcher knife? Even blanks that I could shape to fit would be helpful. I'm tired of poking holes in my knife case.

It depends on the jurisdiction - In Maryland, if you have a liquor license and serve alcohol for consumption on premise, your patron would be correct, you do have to provide public washrooms without restriction as a condition of your liquor license.

Another thought.... Since he became executive producer I'm starting to believe that it's Colicchio's decision alone who wins. Perhaps Gail and Toby and Padma bring things up that he didn't notice at first, but I really think it's up to him. The winner does what Colicchio thinks is cool. Pork/Bacon being the cool thing right now, but it's not everything. Colicchio is always looking for the next thing, the thing that he is interested in rather then what we think is cool. Putting bacon in everything is so 2008. (See the I don't like bacon in my dessert comment.) Kevin's comments about the Pork belly and the brisket were spot on. They should be soft, but not mushy. I too have eaten the short ribs at Colicchio's place and found them to be way overcooked.

I have it from a pretty good source that Kevin's dismissal was an unscripted moment; my source said that the reason they held the camera tight on Padma then cut to Kevin was because the rest of the judges were staring at Padma in shock; some with their mouths hanging open. I'd love to see the raw footage.

I though the judging was a little "gushy" - "Oh it was so wonderful what you turned out bla bla bla" They really need a couple of peer judges. Keller's quick fire was really impressive, as was his elimination challenge but,,,,,,, should he have been DQ'd for going outside the dorm room to do his pasta? The little segment with the microwave confounding the chefs was almost the best part of the show.

It was interesting after all the flap about the editing of the segments from Ol' Pumpkinhead's show how the promos were structured to manipulate the viewer's opinion of the wannabes. Lisa was clearly uncomfortable with heights, yet they hoisted her up in the wine tower. It also seemed that Guy "super tool" Fieri was dogging her the entire time. Lisa was also the only one who had no supporting cast. Aaron had the easiest time. he just had to walk through a shot then do a shot surrounded by a support cast at the craps table. In addition to having support players around, Bobby Flay was pretty supportive and helpful. I thought Adam had the hardest set up as he not only had lines; but marks to hit and steps to follow. I have the same complaint with TNFNS's buffet challenge as I do with Top Chef. $1000 seems like a great budget to do a buffet for 50 ($20 per head) until you find out you have to shop at Whole Paycheck. Also letting Lisa leave the package of Monkfish that slipped out of her cart is bush league. It's the final - "hey, you dropped this" isn't going to end the world. Lisa's food looked meh. That pork roast was toast. Adam use of the wok station as a smoker was clever, but his wings were burned. Aaron's food was way too institutional. The crab cakes may have been good, but fried food on a steam table isn't the best idea. Plus how funny was it that Guy "tool man"; who brought us hot dogs and tater tots on one episode of his "cooking" show was the one complaining that the food was too simple. As for the ending - Clearly Aaron is the designated winner and they had to do something to not have to eliminate him.

TNFNS drinking game: Every time someone cries, you chug.

I thought that was a pretty weak comment on Martha's part (didn't she look thrilled to be there) - Montreal Steak Seasoning doesn't have any beef in it.

Agreed, but I also remember Colicchio saying something about "if they were that bad don't use them" and I wonder if it was a case of (in the behind the scenes rule reading that LeeAnn does before each comp) he had to use them since he picked them.

hmm, that's not exactly what Colicchio said in his blog."Along with the high-end steaks they had provided for the show, Allen Bros. had included a variety of other products to round out the restaurant’s existing stock, including frozen scallops, which is how they came to be in Tramonto’s walk-in. I learned later that Rick knew this when we taped the show, but chose not to make a federal case out of it. But as a colleague and fan of Rick’s, I feel it’s important to set the record straight." I smell.........spin!

Worst....Top Chef episode.....ever! You know a show is in trouble when they start bringing in animals, C-list celebrity judges (Oprah's personal chef??? that's the best they could do?), kids, or Ted McGinley. Whatever happened to guest judges making insightful comments and critiques of the food? Mr. PC's big line was on the rice salad "I like the hot and the cold together" Brilliant! What , this guy been hanging around Oprah and he's never seen a McDLT???? I agree with Mark that Colicchio "just didn't like him" - this isn't the first time that Colicchio has held one contestant to a different standard. $10? At Whole Paycheck? For 4? I don't think so. Last time I was at our WP a whole chicken was around $8.50.

There is a poster on another board I frequent who says (I know, I know) that he knows Dale pretty well, and that Dale can be a pretty angry drunk. FWIW.

I think that was Goodfellas

Could it be that the level of the contestants has gotten high enough that this week's elimination seemed really nitpicky? Kudos to Spike & Manuel for refusing to throw each other under the bus. Manuel - classiest exit ever! I think it's fortunate that Richard's smoke pipe broke. I'm certain Colicchio would have roasted him for the third use of that trick. Anyone else hoping to see flaming hog balls when the two girls mentioned their movie was Top Secret? You could tell from the look on Ted Allen's face it was running through his mind.

Seconded - this one wasn't very interesting. What a waste of WD, I don't think he uttered 25 words.

This is anecdotal but none the less: Cora seems to draw the most "non-foodie" judges - the TV people, the musicians, the horrible comics. (her own publicist is almost always a judge when she competes) Or to put it bluntly - they always load Cora's judge's panel.

I'm doing 22 on Wednesday. My wood of choice is a 70/30 mix of apple and cherry. Apple wood will be sweet and mild, Maple will be sweeter. Cherry can be a little strong but will give the bird a glorious reddish finish. Regardless of which wood you choose don't over smoke the bird. It doesn't take a lot of wood.

depends on budget a little, vacmaster svp 10 good not too costly koch top of line a little more expensive ← I was thinking about the SVP15, if i could find a used Koch so much the better.

I'm seriously considering getting a chamber vacuum sealer as the cost of the bags vs the ones for my foodsaver would offset the cost of the sealer in just over 10 months. (I do a lot of vacuum sealing) It would have the additional benefit of not drawing the liquid out of wet product. Anyone have any brand recommendations or other thoughts?

I've been to both Rockville and Falls Church. The Falls Church location is a looong hike from the Metro. Parking is a pain at the Falls Church location - but the "tickets" have no meaning (private lot). Biggest pain at the Rockville location is it's on the Pike. The Rockville Store is a little bigger, but they both have the same stock. For dried and ground peppers I prefer Pendery's out of Ft.Worth Lastly, it's really easy to spend a lot of money

Watching the finale again, Casey was exhibiting the classic signs of altitude sickness. Confusion, loss of focus, disjointed speech, and others. If you watch her in several scenes, she's clearly gasping for air and trying to control her breathing. This might be partially a case of nerves but they were at 11,000 feet and altitude sickness can come on after only a short time if you are sensitive to altitude.