| 11/17/2009 |
TOP CHEF 5.11 - Strippin' (SPOILERS)
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My apologies on not getting a recap out sooner... An itchy trigger finger on my remote ended up erasing last weeks Top Chef before I had a chance to sit down, rewatch it, and recap it.
From breakfast in bed to a night out on the town. The cheftestants are kept busy this morning making and delivering room service order for Padma and her sleepover mate Nigella Lawson.
Allow me a moment to talk about Nigella... She is insane. I mean, I'm sure she is clinically sane, but she has a tendency to act like a sex-crazed lunatic over food. I LOVE HER! She is like a bobblehead. Have you seen her show? She has a small O every time she whips up some dish in the kitchen that just excites her sense. Plus, I love her accent.
Anyway...
Padma & Nigella are waiting in bed for the chefs to bring them their spin on breakfast. Jennifer serves up Shit On A Shingle. She actually calls it that and gives it to them like that. Whether or not the dish was creative or winning, I just thought it was hilarious that she actually says that to the judges. It was kind of awesome. Jennifer has mentally checked out.
But Jennifer's shit is good... or at least better than Robin's blintzes. Bryan ended up in the bottom as well because the vanilla he used in his dish was too overpowering.
Kevin and Eli are in the top. Kevin's take on steak and eggs are a hit (as always). Eli tossed together his version of a rueben for breakfast. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why I've been craving a Ruenben lately. Damn you, Eli!
Eli ends up taking the top honor with his breakfast Rueben, Brueben if you will. His Bruenben will the only recipe from this season to go in the Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook. Brueben or not, he doesn't get immunity.
For their Elimination Challenge they take a tour of The Strip and must create a dish inspired by one of the casinos. The draw knives to determine which casino they will visit. The must create 175 portions of their casino-inspired dish.
This seems like an easy challenge, but also an easy challenge to get tripped up by. I've been to Vegas. I spent the three days walking around with a libation in my hand. I recall the fountains outside the Bellagio. I also remember a slew of porn promoters flicking strippers collector's cards, much like baseball cards. So the dish that I might create based on my experience might be biased
Jennifer pulled Excalibur. She made New York strip with a red wine reduction, beets, truffles and herbs. The idea was to be like the sword in the stone. Though I'm not sure the whole stone/meat comparison was a good idea.
Kevin drew the Mirage. He made wild Alaskan sockeye salmon with Napa cabbage and cucumber.
Brother Mike had New York New York. He cooked a boneless chicken wing confit with curry and a blue cheese disc.
Robin pulled the Bellagio. She prepared panna cotta. She also made a sugar topping that was supposed to resemble a Dale Chihuly sculpture in the casino. It didn't work out and she never used it.
Bryan drew Mandalay Bay. He made an escabeche of halibut with bouillabaisse consommé, parsley coulis and garlic chips.
Eli had Circus, Circus and made a caramel apple peanut soup with popcorn and raspberry froth.
In the top were Kevin, Brother Mike, and Bryan. The winner... Brother Mike! I'm sure he'll be happy considering he's been bitching for a while now about not winning.
In the bottom were Robin, Eli, and Jennifer. (AGAIN!) I find it intersting that the people that took the challenge a little too literally are the ones in the bottom.
The person packing it in... ROBIN!!! I can't say I'm saddened by this. She out stayed her welcome. She out lasted her entertainment value. She wasn't going to win.
I think the final few contestants have been pretty obvious from the beginning. I wouldn't have picked her to be anywhere close to the finals. So I'm not upset she's gone. But now who will be the person that the show focuses it's ire on? Eli... I'm looking at you! |
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I posted this @ 11/17/2009 05:15:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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