rebecca

In honor of my most recent holiday: anything with matzah!! The crumbs go willy-nilly throughout the vehicle, regardless of anything I try to contain them (napkins, plastic baggies, bullet proof vests...) Then again, that might be a problem anywhere, and not in any way a car-specific problem. I agree with Dakki's implication. Anything small with a wrapper - it becomes easier to let it fall then carefully hold onto while trying to locate your makeshift trash can. That one has happened to me a lot.

Starting to wonder if this is sacrilege or something, but I cut it into slices, peel and all, and eat it straight off the pith. Not a lot gets lost in the slicing, and I don't need anything other than my knife...

I can't wait for the pictures!! And, yes, please keep us up to date on the progress!

It seems at this point that you just need to have a sweets table that looks savory and vice versa!

This appears to just be a Let's-Celebrate-SodaStream thread, in which case I'll happily join! In my family we get through a bottle or two a day, and many more when guests are around. The new smaller cannisters seem almost pointless, at least for our type of use, but luckily we have the larger cannisters for our setup. Unfortunately they cannot do refills of the large ones at the local Sur La Table, so we have to order them online and wait for delivery. I wasn't really a fan of any of the syrup flavors, but I like to make my own (less sweet!) sodas by putting the heavily carbonated water in juices and the like. Those usually come out very nicely

Are you more interested in dishes that look like one food but are actually others, or food that just looks like something you've never seen? I remember once on top chef someone (probably richard!) made dessert that looked like a baked egg, but was a panna cotta with a mango puree. Or you could do something along the lines of two things that look the same, but taste different. E.g. a chunky tomato sauce with parsley served with sliced baguette, and a chunky strawberry sauce with mint served with sliced brioche or something like that...

That would actually be awesome. I would totally go for that!

Did anyone else notice the positive-energy music in this episode? I don't think they have done this in the past, or at least I don't remember it happening before, but the music... I had this incredible feeling of "wow, this is going to be great!!" especially when the judges went to their second seatings... it made it feel less like brutal competition and more like two extremely lucky and talented chefs given the opportunity and honor to cook for some awesome people. I kinda liked it

I think it really is a combination of things. A lot of people have been saying that they are not really able to do much that is complex or unfamiliar in the morning, so simple or rehearsed is key. Secondly, there is a lot less variety associated with breakfast foods than other meals (as a vast generalization) so we get much more used to those same few things. Then it turns into habit. So, if the only things I am up to making in the morning are eggs and toast or oatmeal, then that is what I will eat a lot of. If I eat a lot of those items then habits form (and therefore brain patterns and even neurological pathways on a long enough/early enough time scale) making it harder to break away from those things I am used to. Maybe I am more adventurous when I go out to breakfast, and don't have to cook for myself, or if I make brunch at noon, and have time to become more functional and therefore more experimental in the mornings. I dunno. Just an idea

All these things, plus they are on TV! They may be used to pressure in the kitchen, but I would guess there is at least a different kind of nervousness when you know you have a national audience of potentially new customers, who may choose to come or not come to your restaurant based on your performance. And then there are all the lights, the countdown clock and someone in the next room rehearsing clever criticisms they will say directly to your face. It's gotta be tough, and things happen =/

Yeah, I think it is one of those things that i can buy for a tasting circle with about a dozen girlfriends

A sincere congratulations to Richard! And well done to both talented chefs!

Absolutely! All in favor say "Aye!" Aye! - If they add another 30 minutes to each episode. Touché.

A delicious one I have made in the past is a snap pea salad inspired by something I once had at Chez Panisse. It has snap peas, mint and parsley, and a dressing of yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and s&p.

I dunno. I feel like they made a big deal of Michelle Bernstein giving Mike license to do crazy things, but none of that for Antonia. I don't think she could have gotten away with anything interpreted to true Antonia style. Absolutely! All in favor say "Aye!"

Dim Sum. A majority of the dumplings are finicky, delicate, complicated, time sensitive, and hard to make on a small-home-scale. Easier just to go to a proper dim sum place, sit right next to the kitchen doors, and wait for that first wave

Of course I ask for more lettuce and less meat, but it always varies. Some places are just generally stingier than others...

Specifically, my dad taught me how to make flaky biscuits, gravy, and scrambled eggs. Those were the techniques that he took care to pass on. But he was also the one who did a majority of the cooking when I was young (house-husband) and from watching him I learned how to approach family nutrition and regular day menus. My mother taught me cookies! And how to make whole wheat bread, or at least a very specific kind now with the official moniker of "mom bread." But, most important I think, she taught me how to choose produce... squeezing avocados, sniffing peaches, etc. That is one of the great pillars of my own cooking to this day! Also, while I liked food as a kid, I really got into cooking and food explorations and experiments with the influence of my uncle. He likes to experiment himself, and often he is the one to show me unknown techniques like nor mai gai or biryani. Not that I can do them by myself... yet!

Puff pastry. I can do it... but I don't wanna. Also pho. Some people are properly set up for that undertaking, but I don't have the time or capacity to do it right. And there are some amazing Vietnamese restaurants that require a ten minute walk. Or a phone call.

I think that is probably the case, but on the other hand Michael Voltaggio hasn't been doing Quickfires for the past however long. Or at least as recently. (This was right after the hiatus, right?) I am still a bit confused, however, by how Mike got this far? I mean no disrespect, but he didn't do this well in his own season, and now he is up against (arguably) better contestants. I don't remember why he was sent home the last time. Was it nerves or something? Maybe he has just improved as a chef since then. Or maybe it is all happenstance alone.

That is a wonderful way to put it! I am the same. I know a lot of people like lots of meat, but I like a little bit of turkey or tuna and a lot of lettuce and veggies for crunch!

If we are talking "highly processed foods" I would argue that the base for most artificial vegetable products would be algae or seaweed because they grow so fast, and as IndyRob points out, their breeding grounds are not anywhere that humans are (currently trying to develop. Nutrient rich, certainly, but it would have to be given new flavor and form. But for ease and speed of production, I think the harvesting of algae will eventually become a large part of what we consume.

That could be its own thread!! Salty/sweet things are the best! Chocolate things with salt are particularly good, but I would include fruit salsas, kettle corn, chicken apple sausage, etc. this ice cream is in good company!

Playing devils advocate, if we can find a way to get all our necessary nutrients into our food even in their artificial capacity, the loss of "authentic sources" shouldn't be a problem. Our bodies wouldn't know the difference, and we if can make fish without fishing and depleting the natural supply then fish populations would grow. Not sure how they would become extinct from that. There would always be romantics (amongst which I'd likely be included) that lament the loss of "real" products, but if you can artificially create an identical product, then what does "real" matter? (If you are not creating the same product, then the point is moot...) I think this is a totally valid point. It is also where I see the challenge for artificial food creation. I don't know how far into the future we are thinking of for this artificial food, but I think we as a people, as a species have a much poorer understanding of the processes of the human body, nutrition, actual requirements, etc, than we think we do. Creating artificial food that is good for us, that can actually mimic what what our bodies evolved to process, is way farther off than we think.

Yeah, I miss that good ole day (singular) in Season 1 where two chefs were asked to serve "the best meal of their life." No strings, no twists, no sharing meal times... If the Wikipedia article is to be believed, then that is what this seasons two finalists are in for. (Also, remember when there weren't five of them?) I really really hope the last challenge is just that simple.