IndyRob

I agree completely. I can't know if the two worst dishes voted were actually the two worst, because I can't taste the food. That's why the integrity of the judging process is important. You couldn't make up a judging process with more built-in bias than this one. I really don't even care if Collichio says that the correct calls were made (gonna go look for his blog just tosee). This has me seriously wondering if I want to follow the rest of the season.

I was in the car today and was listening to a radio voice opining on the growing of tomatoes and how to get a great yield. This immediately had me thinking how to use this yield. Tomato Sauce, of course. Then I thought "Why do tomatoes seem to be the only fruit/veg that are used as a proper sauce? The immediate answers - Texture, moisture, tradition, taste - seemed somehow insufficient. Of all the fruits and vegetables in the world, the tomato seems to be the only one worthy of taking the starring role in a mother sauce. Can this be? Okay, there's applesauce, all sorts of fruit dessert sauces (but I'm thinking savory), hot pepper sauce (normally used as an ingredient, not a sauce). I searched for "eggplant sauce" and found recipes with more tomato than eggplant. Surely there's at least one fruit/veg on the planet that is as worthy as the tomato. Anyone? Is the tomato that unique? I'm not well traveled so I may be way off base and may benefit from your experiences.

Half of my ancestors are Scandinavians who are notorious for white foods. Spicy foods were really a challenge for me as a youth. But I think sour cream was a big discovery. Whether it's chili or nachos or anything else, I think putting spicy in sour cream is a safe way to introduce the flavors without the full-on assault. Now I can handle stuff spicier than my adventurous son can. But I still don't get spicy for the sake of spicy.

I agree with you in that eliminating a team is unfair. But I think that a) did happen. Arnold was an elimination challenge winner. He got sent packing for undercooked pasta that he he didn't do and was clearly fighting against (during the cooking, not the judging). As for b) are you you really expected to dispatch your teammate in order to win?

I am almost angry about the elimination challenge. Without even going into how it turned out, a very strong contender with a weak partner would have a very good chance of going home (unless they hit him/her over the head with a frying pan and lock them in the cooler). And I wish they'd stop running teasers that telegraph what's going to happen.

I was a little taken aback when I briefly thought someone could go home for a pie. Then I realized it was a quick fire - and a good one. It was also one of the few where, after seeing what was produced, I thought that there would be no way I could've been in the bottom three and might've even been near the top. Three hours for a quick fire? Sweet. Immediately I thought of a couple of ways to cheat on the crust if I could make it up elsewhere (like the ganache pie that didn't seem to have a traditional crust). But the challenge left me with a question. I'm pretty sure I've seen someone whipping out a recipe on paper before. Are they allowed *any* access to recipes they've brought with them, or basic cookbooks? I've made many successful traditional pie crusts before, but couldn't for the life of me recall the proportions of the ingredients. I'd just need 20 seconds with a standard recipe. It that available to them?

I'll give a sentimental fictional vote for Ragueneau from Cyrano de Bergerac. Feeder of poets and warriors (and a poet/warrior). Cyrano was actually based on a real person (sans the famous love tragedy). I wonder if a Ragueneau could have also existed....

My son took my wife and I out today for Father's Day and I, inspired by this thread, chose Culver's (bonus - relatively cheap for him). As far as the burger goes, I'd rank it tops among those we have in the midwest. The patties are Wendy's-like, but IMHO a touch better, and all the other elements of the burger are better. The sides were a little disappointing. Not bad, but not much better than acceptable either. I was excited by the cheese curds, but knew I would be ordering a burger with cheese so I chose the Onion Rings. Luckily, my wife ordered the cheese curds. My son went for the crinkle fries. One cheese curd was enough for me. Almost more batter than cheese it seemed. They went unfinished. My onion rings were unremarkable. They went unfinished. I think my son's fries were finished with the help of his runner's appetite - and ketchup. My chocolate malt was not bad, but decidedly not very malty. Still, their menu is impressively vast for this sort of place. It would be hard for anyone not to find something to their liking. And as to whether it qualifies as fast food, I'd say it ekes in under the wire. There is a drive-thru, but you order at the window and then park with a number on your car. We ate in, and as has already been noted, the food was delivered to the table. But it was only 5-7 minutes. I've had worse waits while standing in (or in a car outside of) a busy true fast food joint.

Since posting this I've tried the Boar's Head Pork & Beef dogs. IMHO, the All Beef one are much better. Also, to expand on the Detroit Coney's, the dog is a natural casing dog that's a little bland in and of itself. But the flavors come from the sauce which is a sort of greek inspired chili (a good amount of cumin, I think). This is topped with a line of yellow mustard and then some chopped yellow onions go on. This creates a layering of flavors that nears perfection.

The first episode can be seen here... http://realitytvfan.org/2009/12/19/top-chef-usa-1-episode-1/ I was wrong about a them having a home cook, but there is a culinary student/model. One executive chef, but otherwise, the term 'restaurant chef' seems to be used loosely. Harold is described as one, but later says "As a sous chef,..."

This, I think, goes to my point. I do want to see a skillful amateur in the mix. It puts the whole thing in context. When, as in the first season (IIRC), when a professional chef (a particularly annoying one) went before the amateur, it has meaning. I can't taste the food. I need something I can relate to. There are thousands of people that can put up better fare, with more soul, but generally in more limited quantities. In the early stages I want to see chefs beat those first on their way to the prize. I don't want it to become a professional inner circle thing.

Maybe, but I'm wondering if it's more of an indirect consequence of Collichio's high standards - which has resulted in all the high profile chefs who they've been able to get as judges. It wouldn't be hard for me to believe that Eric Ripert watches the show (or maybe doesn't but hears about it in his kitchen), and thinks "Why did that Miguel guy get on when my own Jennifer is so much better?" So as he agrees to judge an episode, maybe he says "I've got a person who would be great for next season...." I'm not trying to foster conspiracy theories, but maybe they need to look at a fourth series called something like Top Chef: Ladder. Part of the prize would be entry into the next season of Top Chef. Let Bourdain or someone take the Collichio role. Bourdain and bad food would be classic. Regarding John, I just noticed they have a video on the website that may elaborate on his thought process, but I haven't it watched yet. But I'll go ahead and make a fool of myself by posting my initial thoughts.... The original criticism was that the maple syrup flavor didn't come through (and pre-made pastry). But as it looked like it was coming down to the wire, I thought to myself "He's not going down for not enough maple." But then they mentioned that the pastry had gone soft. That's when I thought he might be doomed. I think something that catches even the Masters out is not being in complete control. He either didn't anticipate, or didn't think about a mousse-like substance sitting on puff pastry for as long as it did. Too bad, he was certainly a character.

The level of entrants continues to rise, it seems. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand that the popularity has made it a high stakes affair, but I thought the show was originally about the dreams of up and coming chefs. This season we have two sous chefs and an assistant professor at a culinary school - all the rest appear to be executive chefs or chef/owners. Of course the publicity is valuable, but weren't they already in a much larger competition with much higher stakes? Plus, I'm not sure how the line between Top Chef and Top Chef masters is determined (stars and/or rosettes?). I also miss the odd home cook thrown in as an underdog.

Yes, it looks like every Maine-type lobster I've seen and was cooked (it's bright red) and then frozen. I weighed it and it's only 11 ounces. It says "Wild caught". I have seen lobster tails from other areas of the globe about the same size. Are we trying to empty the Atlantic before the oil from the gulf reaches it? There was a sticker on the package that said "Great for grilling", but I'm not so sure about that. I think I just want to heat it through.

Whenever I walk into a supermarket for any item I always buzz the meat/seafood sections looking for bargains. Today, in the largest landlocked city in America, I stumbled upon $5 lobsters. I picked one up and looked at it. Quite small. Any reasonably fit Languistine could probably kick its butt, but nevertheless it looked quite, ummm, lobstery in its frozen pre-cooked state. So I made an executive decision to buy one despite my wife's seafood aversion. (hey, it's 5 bucks) So, it's frozen, it's cooked, the shell (which I have a lot of relative to meat) has something to give. Maybe I can finally do Lobster Ravioli. But also, why are we getting mini lobsters?

I used to be able to buy fresh dough from Trader Joe's (and they were generally good), but they carry it no longer. But C'mon, if you have a mixer with a dough hook it's no big deal. Make a big batch of dough, ball it up and put, say, six balls on a sheet pan and freeze them. Put each frozen ball into a ziplock bag (try to get most of the air out) and then into the freezer again. From there you just need to remember to transfer a ball into the refrigerator 24-96 hours before you want pizza. I used to pay 79 cents for one ball at TJs, but can make them (in 20 minutes) for way less than half that price - and I know how long they've been around, what the hydration is, and have a lot more control in other ways.

I've been watching and they have two wonderful new stars. A woman calling herself Julia Child (apparently a reference to the movie Julie & Julia), and a guy named Graham Kerr who seems to want to emulate the style of the movie Pulp Fiction with an even greater degree of 1970's historical veracity. But seriously, that's all there is there. Between PBS, Fine Living, Planet Green, The Travel Channel, etc., it's already getting its butt kicked, IMHO.

I think the finalists this time were very iconic. But for me, I think this was the most, um..., ambiguous final result of any Top Chef variant I remember. The previous TCM top three (plus Collichio perhaps) gave four stars to each chef (hopefully that wasn't some sort of agreement). So it was down to the regular judges. Out of the three judges, two gave 5 star ratings to different chefs. With it being so close, and with Bayless, Chiarello, Keller and Collichio there, I have a bit of a problem accepting this result as..., well, authoritative. And that's not to say I have any bones to pick with any of the finalists. I just have a lot more respect for the chefs than the critics.

Wow, even after the Top Chef reference (and before clicking the link) I had trouble figuring this out. Marcel Vigneron? um... Oh wait! Just plain Marcel! From Top Chef. Okay, I'll give it a trial. For me, Marcel started out as the new Stephen (Asprinio), but then a fascinating thing started to happen...the other contestants - in reacting to him - started melting down left and right. I think Marcel stayed roughly the same throughout while others, perhaps culminating in the Cliff incident, began showing the worst sides of themselves. And while Elian did eventually win, I think he was by then coming off as a rather nasty character - much in contrast to Harold Dieterle, who had some nastiness going on around him, but which he was able to stay out of. But, I think I'd like to see Jonathan Waxman punk both Marcel and Elian. But yeah, I'll give it a go. Although the idea from the article of teaming him up with Richard Blaise would've been brilliant - if they could develop a working relationship (which I think they could).

Needs salt. I like the lobster and butter solution (poached in a beurre monte if I can have a little water). Or a McDonald's McChicken sandwich placed inside a Double Cheeseburger.

I wonder if, in some restaurants, it might be possible - after ordering - to ask to stand next to the pass for five minutes - while promising not to get in the way and further promising to delay nothing. Presumably, you could take it out of the dining room and be able to shoot more dishes.

I'm starting my second run of herbs in my AeroGarden (hydroponic system). You can get everything you need for as little as $50 and you can have them set up and running in about 30 minutes. I was generally pleased with my first run, but learned some important things.... My main problem was that the basil and dill shot up to goodly heights causing me to raise the lights. The more they were raised, the more the short plants (thyme, oregano, etc) got cheated of light. So I never got any good harvests of those. It might've been better had I cut the taller ones back earlier than the instructions implied. So I think buying the small ones is better. You can have more than one unit running with herbs that will play well together. You can also have gardens staggered at different levels of development. But since I have a 6 pod one, I'm starting basil and peppers but will transplant them outside as soon as they get close to the light. Then I'll either start new ones, or replace them with something smaller. I also recommend the Master Gardener kit. Although, you'll likely receive a season's worth of pods when you order, they might not be the exactly you want (custom kits can be purchased separately). I found I didn't have much use for dill (when it was at its height I should've taken the whole thing and did gravlax). The mint went pretty much unused as well. The MG kit gives you the hardware and nutrients to do your own pods with your own seeds. You can also go with third party generic hydroponic grow medium and nutrients (save the plastic cages for reuse). But you are locked into the OEM grow bulbs. Of course, the best thing is that it's a year-round deal. I got mine for Christmas and was harvesting herbs in February. Other downsides mentioned before: Lights: Yes, they're bright and are on for all but around 6 hours per day. Noise: Noticeable if you're close. Worse if you develop a pump problem. I don't think this is common, but has been mentioned on message boards so it's not uncommon (often they are replaced gratis). Electricity: I saw a thread where someone calculated the costs. They were minimal. If you have a green thumb, I might not recommend them. But for people with brown thumbs like mine, it has been very good.

Under the mom & pop heading, I highly recommend "The Donut Shop" at about 55th and Keystone. I've only had the donuts (the best in the region, but get there early), but it also gets good reviews for general breakfast and lunch. Be prepared for a sort of Waffle House ambiance. Another mom & pop is Greek Tony's at 116th and Rangeline Rd. Best submarine sandwiches in Indy. Order the Italian. Hockey fans will approve of the ambiance. Under quirky, but often well reviewed, is the Three Sister's Cafe in Broad Ripple. But it also is also often poorly reviewed due to service (I'm guessing it's down to which sister you get). We tried to go on Mother's Day but apparently some of the sisters were also mothers and it was closed. Better restaurants: Broad Ripple Steak House. Voted best steak house in Indy. Been there - very good. Brugge Brasserie. I've not been there, but it's clearly a good (and well reviewed) brasserie.

We gutted and re-did our entire kitchen. The appliances were mostly top of the line but we skimped elsewhere. But all-in-all we got a good result, although the master plan hasn't played out yet. In the countertop department, we had to go with laminate counter tops. But, we have one wall where the range is. On the right of the range is a 24" cabinet which I topped with a butcher block reclaimed from an old table. Since to the right of that is a space where a door opens, I had a few inches extra, but not enough to go with a 30" cabinet. So the butcher block was oversized to provide as much working space as possible. There's about a 5" overhang (with a curve cut into it to lessen the possibility of catching the corner when going out the door. The overhang also allowed us to slide in a stainless steel garbage can with the foot operated lids (we have garbage curious dogs) underneath. So this allows me to simply wipe the onions skins and other prep refuse directly into the trash. On the other side we have a 4' run of plastic laminate, but soon that will become marble or granite. That's where the pastry and pasta is done and a marble surface would help there. For the other side where the sink and service areas are, I think the plastic laminate is just fine. But if we ever run out of other things to do, I could see upgrading to Corian. So I guess what I'm saying is that you can mix and match counter materials to your needs/budget. And also if you have a plan, you can settle in some areas for now with the knowledge that you have a future goal. Sinkwise, we opted for the basic two basin stainless steel sink with separate hose on the right. Absolutely no complaints with this. The left basin is reserved for the draining rack for quick wash items and pizza pans too big for the dishwasher. Offset drains do make sense to me though. The stress of the hose on the tap seems bogus to me. Plus, if you have small children, you need to be prepared for the possibility of being menaced by a super soaker. Would your DH leave you defenseless against such an onslaught? (insert discussion of flooring materials and liquids here)

I like that idea. But it almost requires frozen fat that could be pushed out a small tube. Whereas a sort of fine julienne of meat and fat could be bundled up and compressed.