MSRadell

That's one of the most complimentary description I've heard of her!

Don't forget, Adam was psyched with his spot. He went as far as saying his background was gonna make it very easy for him. Unfortunately, he was definitely proven wrong during the filming. Aaron was the most scared going in yet did the best job. I personally think taking all three to the finals with a good move since there was clearly no loser nor winner in last night's competition. The question is what will they do next week if the same situation arises?

Maybe looked the prettiest but of playing the part pork on it certainly was a huge mistake. She would've been better off portioning the pork smaller (off the bone) and making it sampling portions like her other dishes. Adam smoked everything which was his big mistake so actually none of them did a stellar job on the buffets. Aaron's crab cakes were actually as high end at things got. As for the film segments, Aaron certainly did the best job there.

I can handle Rachel and Sandra but the Neelys are just ridiculous. I'm not sure where they came from but I would say would go back. They may run a successful restaurant business but they certainly don't have an enjoyable television show. And now they got a roadshow? At least I'll have more free time, one less show on television to consider watching.

I actually enjoy Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! He finds some extremely interesting places to eat and I'd like to visit many of them. I also like how he interacts with the owners and the kitchens. Guys Big Bite is also still on regularly and he does cook on that show.

After I shake off the old ash and refill the basket with new charcoal I don't see any difference in burn time either. I still can do a 12-14 hour cook without adding charcoal without a problem. (Temp 225 +/-)

On my Kamado I just close down both vents and the fire goes out due to lack of a air. I then can shake off the ash and reuse the remaining charcoal. ← I don't like to do this on my Komodo or any of my charcoal grills because it's much harder to gauge how a fire will burn or control it properly when using pre-used coals. You just never know what exactly you're dealing with in such cases. OTOH, my method can be a bit wasteful if I miscalculate how much fuel I'm going to need. =R= ← I never have any problem controlling temperatures with new or pre-used charcoal. I always add fresh charcoal when I start a new fire, I wonder if this helps or if my technique is different than yours?

On my Kamado I just close down both vents and the fire goes out due to lack of a air. I then can shake off the ash and reuse the remaining charcoal. I take the ashes after their cooled and spread them on the garden, ash from pure charcoal is a good a nutrient.

Everybody you mentioned except Bobby is rapidly phasing out of the Food Network. Their main draws now are Paula Dean and her sons, Rachel Ray, Guy, Sandra Lee, etc. I agree we all know these things but if you look at the general American public I'll bet > 90% have no idea what to do with a whole fish nor do they care. Many if not most of them have never seen nor had a garden to grow fresh produce and probably haven't been to a farmers market. Based on this FN is just making the shows at the level of their viewers.

To make any of those three those dishes in the classical sense would require much more time than the contestants had available. Any one can make them quite acceptably given the required time. The challenge was too be innovative enough to be able to create a reasonable quickly cooked substitute, which they all did. The Wellington other than presentation was a very nice dish. The Coq au Vin probably would've been quite good if they'd combined the sauce and chicken prior to serving and the Turducken probably would've been the best except for the accident while cooking it. I actually think they were all quite creative in their approach, nobody could have made (even a professional as you imply) the classic dish in the time available. I certainly don't believe a good Food Network Star has to be into "The French Food Thing" as you call it. Matter of fact it's refreshing to see that some of them are not into it! I do agree and a contest should like what they cooked. Again I don't think that someone needs to be a "Food Authority" to win the contest. They just have to have the right personality and sufficient knowledge to carry off the show. Just look at the background of some of their existing stars. Some people are not into working with whole fish and there's nothing wrong with that. As long as the person is competent with what they cook, be it vegetarian, Jewish (no shellfish or pork here) or whatever they shouldn't be criticized for dishes they have no knowledge of. According to your definition every contestant would have to be a graduate of a high end culinary school, have years of experience and be an executive chef. These people might be able to cook but probably wouldn't have the personality that makes a show successful!

Have you tried using a starter chimney? You stuff the bottom of it with wadded of newspaper, fill it with charcoal and you have coals in about 10 minutes. You then dump them into your cooker, cover with more charcoal and you're ready to go! I've also had pretty good success with electric starter for smoking when you don't want such a hot fire. As for burn time and temperature control, I don't have an issue at all with my Kamado. I just close the top and bottom vents down and I can hold whatever temperature I want. For smoking I told 225 and use about 4 pounds of charcoal in 12 hours. Of course the Kamado and others like it (Big Green Egg, etc.) are quite airtight and you can actually put out a charcoal fire by closing down the vents. This may not be possible with a Weber or grill of that type.

The Neely's have to be the worst show on FN. And they're actually going to get a second show! (Road Food, they used to be done by the Dean boys) Makes you wonder what the producers are thinking. They have no cooking ability and spend the entire show yakking about whatever. Actually, I think I'd probably watch any of the remaining contestants before I'd watch the Neely's.

I've never seen Royal Oak Briquettes of any kind around here (although I admit I don't look very hard for briquettes) what part of the country do you live in that you can get them? All we ever around here is Kingsford which is junk. I'm assuming since I have some additives that they still produce more ash, is this true? Is there burning time as long as good lump charcoal? It would be interesting to see how they compare to some of the charcoals evaluated at this site: Charcoal Comparisons

I'm surprised to see that word used positively in a thread where true grilling addicts are discussing their passion! I never use briquettes because of some of the chemicals used in their manufacture and due to the large quantity of ash they create. Do you really use them or were you just talking figuratively?

I swing both ways as you so eloquently put it. Like you, I prefer charcoal for grilling but my wife has the same opinion that sometimes foods get too smoky. She particularly does not like whole chickens cooked over charcoal but she's okay with beef in the most pork dishes cooked over wood. In order to have the best of both worlds I have a Kamado that I use mainly with charcoal (I also have the gas option) as well as a Broil King gas grill with a spit and side burner. The Kamado works great for smoking and grilling and I can hold temps from 225 to 700 with a problem. Needless to say this is my grill of choice. Both kinds of grills have a place as long as you use them appropriately.

It actually seems like they've changed what they're looking for in hosts that they pick through this program, I don't even think some of the early winners would do well in some of the tasks that they ask the competitors to complete now days. Overall they have two types of hosts, recognized chefs (Bobby, Symon, Mario, etc.) and then the "pretty faces" that have a lot of personality. Out of all their shows the new one with the Neely's is certainly the worst in my opinion. They may run a good barbecue restaurant at home but the show is 80% talk and 20% BS. I've yet to see one dish on their show that interests me at all.

I found when I first moved to France that the only way to do it is to do it! You'll find that the French become very helpful in helping you when you just try to speak a language. You also probably find that many of them actually can speak English (probably quite good) but just don't want to. The more you trying to speak French the more open they will become with you and probably will start speaking some English. Of course I'm sure you've found that the French you learned isn't the French they speak!

Finally somebody who works on the waitstaff of a restaurant who has some sense and realizes what the term gratuity mean! I'm sure you normally get great tips because you think like and respect your customers! I wish you were a waitress at a restaurant I am a regular customer of.

I don't think that's necessarily true. You could agree with the amount of the autograt when you arrive but after eating you could feel the service was lousy in the autograt amount was too high. In that case you should talk to the manager and explain the situation. Nine times out of 10 they won't have a problem reducing the amount of the autograt. Definitely have to agree with this! There was no reason to have the confrontation, the customer paid his bill. Maybe he didn't leave you what you wanted for a tip but he paid what he wanted to, or what he felt appropriate. If I was in a restaurant and saw this happen it certainly would be a place I wouldn't return to. I would however bring it to the attention of management.

I enjoy burgers I made myself but it's hard to find a restaurant that cooks them to my liking because of state regulations. I can find Steak Tartar but not a medium-rare burger which makes no sense. Of course I do truly enjoy a a nice medium-rare steak too.

Could it be because the waitstaffs wanted to make more and just raised their expectations? Do you think it would help all the employees of a company to get a salary increase because the tell their boss that that's what's expected? How does the waitstaff explain to the kitchen staff that now they're making an even higher salary in the kitchen people do? I know several people who work as waitstaff in a midlevel restaurant who make well in excess of $80,000 which based on the hours they work and how hard they work seems excessive. Not disputing that everyone needs to make what they're worth but they shouldn't expect to make themselves rich working in the service industry.

Does this mean that we can justify overturning some of that stupid laws that require burgers 160° on the grounds that it creates carcinogens? Certainly sounds like a great approach to me! Actually, isn't the greatest portion of BaP's created by the combustion process not by the contact of the food to the grate? If this is true then the water cooled grate would have no affect on the level of carcinogens. Also, the claim of the meat being juicier sounds wrong since searing the outside of the meat is what keeps the juices in.

Katie, Your comment here touches on one of my pet peeves about tipping. The standard tip has forever been 15% until recent years when it has crept up to 18% or even 20%. How is the increase in the standard tip justified? Is it because service has gotten better? I don't think so, if anything as part of the overall dining experience I feel service has declined in recent years. Is it because of inflation and the rising cost of living? If this is true then the servers cost of living adjustment would come from the fact that the price of dining out has risen as fast (or faster many cases) so the standard 15% tip would be based on a larger bill, thus the servers income should rise in proportion. Since neither of these appear to be the reason for the increase in the standard can't I'm not sure what is. The diners as well as others that work in the restaurant (back of a house etc.) have been lucky to see their salaries keep up with the rising cost of living. Why should servers who in many cases see a higher level of income than most of the restaurant staff expect their salary to grow faster than the cost of living is rising? I won't even get into the topic of mandatory gratuity since I also have very strong feelings on that topic also.

Actually, I greatly prefer ground pepper so just leave the peppermill on the table so I can use it as I can fit.

After having lived in France for several years I can assure you that even a restaurant receiving 1 Michelin star is a wonderful place to dine. Having 2 or 3 makes a restaurant truly remarkable. I had an opportunity to dine at several 3 star restaurants and each one was a truly memorable experience. I just wish I could figure out how to get the job sampling all the restaurants! The pride restaurant owners take in having Michelin star(s) is also remarkable. They are extremely proud to receive them and truly think it's a death sentence to their business if they ever lose them. I haven't had the opportunity to visit any of the American Restaurants that have obtained stars after Michelin published their reviews but looking at some that I visited before the Michelin books were published I feel confident that the North American rankings also are well founded.