Okanagancook

So, the verdict is in. Whatcha think? Good on Shirley for giving up her pork belly. True class. The cooking was spectacular. Who wouldn't have wanted to eat any of those dishes. I thought giving them their sous chefs was heart-warming. I think Shirley's first pick was a waste and gave Brooke 'The Man'....a serious advantage. I think Shirley messed up picking Ramen and Tom's point about the proliferation of Ramen Joints and the standard set at them was well taken. The choice of an oyster was quite 'ballsy' especially those from the warm water of the Caribbean. Can't think they were near as good as the Pacific NW or New England oysters. But I guess the flavours she chose hide the quality of the oyster. I just found that an odd choice. The suckling pig shank OMG. I find it hard to imagine anything beating that. Shirley's dessert sounded amazing with so many elements. Brooke's win is a good story line. Too bad for Shirley, she is so passionate. Shirley and her mom made me cry.

Well, I really don't know where to begin. These last couple of pages of the dinner thread have my head spinning. EVERYTHING looks amazing made by EVERYONE. I have a 'spatchcockish' bird (cornish hen) in the freezer; I have a can of hearts of palm that I am stalling on using; I have some Gruyere in the fridge and fresh eggs in the fridge (recipe please!!); I have some nice potatoes and we love scalloped potatoes with the baked cheesy top; I have some steaks in the freezer; and now I want Kim's cucumber sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. Tonight we are having Jerk Chicken and I bet you will never guess where I got the most awesome recipe for the sauce! Martha Stewart. Also have some baked okra; kind of a refried bean dish with plenty of garlic so it seems and some rice with mushrooms. I hope to remember to take a picture for the gallery here. Bravo everyone! cheers ps, can't wait for our asparagus season...another month and a half. I never buy out of season. Just isn't as good.

Mussel envy! My DH is deathly allergic. Sadly I only eat them when I am out at a decent restaurant. Bread is a perfect side.

Beautiful looking meat. Nice string work too! We get free range, grass fed lambs each year from a farm not far from here. We used to be able to get them whole so we could cut them up as we liked but that can't happen anymore. I really enjoyed the butchery. Oh well. The necks are usually sliced which I do a nice braise with. Fantastic meat. The tongues and hearts I am in the process of cooking sous vide. The legs are so tender one can cut thick steaks and grill them. Some end up in curries or kebabs. Most of the other meat are chops or whole shoulders/legs. The 'stew' meat is awful...usually the belly so it is very, very fatty. I spend the time trimming and that is made into stews/braises. Thankfully there aren't many packages of that. Can't get caul fat here.

Is the wine Chardonnay?

Last night was long beans with ground pork flavoured with fish sauce/sugar/garlic/Thai red curry paste; stir fried broccoli and little mushrooms; steamed rice with a dollop of chilies in oil.

Brilliant. Applies to mayo too I would imagine.

So, we are down to the last show next week with Shirley and Brooke. i think Sheldon got shafted for a better storyline of Brooke winning from Last Chance Kitchen to avenge her loss to a returnee from LCK. Sure his fish was not done well but they loved the other components compared to Brooke's dish which they found muddled even though she cooked her fish well. who will win? my money is on Brooke if they can cook their own food.

I was just about to add a new topic about this after reading the first three days of competition. It is worth a read as well as delving into the comments after the decision. I agree that some pairings seem odd so it will be interesting to see how the reviewers handle it.

These were very good links. Thank you.

I think this topic should be renamed "First Meal of the Day" after seeing the variety of items being consumed!

Nice. I've done two like at your temperature but I think mine were on the Big Green Egg for the duration and I wrapped them in foil after 5 hours of smoking. Cherry should be ok. Sounds great....I'm on the same page. Thanks for sharing your method.

I thought I took a picture but it didn't turn out. A tray of tiny meatballs destined for a Thai style pork meat balls and watercress soup. 1 lb of minced pork mixed with 20 black peppercorns, a clove of garlic and a couple of sprigs of coriander pounded together before mixing. These are poached in chicken stock flavoured with some fish sauce for two minutes then a bunch of watercress is added for another 3 minutes of simmering. Served with chopped green onion. Delicious and simple.

Last two dinners were the same: a big salad, fat free dressing and 100 grams of cooked shrimp. This is about 250 calories. Breakfast was tea and beef jerky. Lunch was the same sized salad but with one boiled egg instead of the shrimp. I'm on the 2 - 5 diet . We will see how it goes. (http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/fast-diet-review) Tonight's unrestricted eating meal will be a healthy stir fry of chicken and pineapple with some broccoli/mushroom stir fry and 1/2 c of steamed rice. Oh, and some Wine

What temperature do you use, 225F? how much does it weigh? what wood are you using? I am asking 'cause I have three roasts of about 4lbs in my freezer. cheers

@robirdstx You're KILLING me!

Nice demo @Shelby

A Gamay might work too.

I LOVE avocados. Looks fantastic. A bit messy to eat though?

Or a dry Riesling, a Chenin Blanc, Soave from Italy, Muscadet. These are all wines with a good bit of acidity.

I agree with the above! I am out.

@Shelby OMG. Your pizza I need some pizza soon.

I believe he said that a tender cut of meat like a pork tenderloin doesn't need to be sous vide and that method results in loss of too much moisture from the meat. Something about it cooking very quickly in a pan.

Did they turn out tender this time? 130F for ? long. All good save for those nasty sprouts

I hear you about procrastinating with regard to binning food. But today I just asked myself, "are you going to eat this? No, that's why it's still here. Enough." Have a cocktail and go back to the freezer with garbage bag in hand.