Last night we were (among other clothed activities that still kept us up past 3 AM) watching the season finale of last summer's Great Food Truck Race as Middle Feast took the win. Now it's finally time for a new season, this year with a Route 66 theme. Start your engines, ladies and gentlemen, it's gonna be a wild ride!
Well, we're not starting out in Radiator Springs. Instead we start and end with water, going from Santa Monica to Chicago. Before we even get introduced to the teams we learn their first task, selling $200 worth of their signature dish at the Santa Monica Pier to be allowed to go to the Route 66 kiosk and get a map to their next destination. I do kinda miss watching their faces as they see their truck for the first time.
We have a father-daughter team making Central American soul food that so far looks like regular soul food. We have a waffle empire, since waffles seem to be the new bacon these days. We'll see what Mike thinks of the New Yorkers making Italian food and if he likes them more than he liked Dom. We have a husband, wife, and daughter making Cuban food...yum! Too bad they can't remember to turn on the rice cooker. There's an Asian truck and a spice-based truck that so far is making Indian food but may still reach into other types of spice. Globally Delicious burgers? We'll see how they end up. The Spice Girls are looking to live for themselves and get validation to show their kids later. That doesn't usually seem like a winning strategy, but we'll see. The waffle guys are asking people if they've heard of their truck, which doesn't seem useful two states away from home.
The Spice Girls reach their goal first, and Tyler tells the rest to stop. I'm wondering if the others have only what they told so far as their first seed money, especially since Tyler just gave the Spice Girls an extra $100 for their seed money. Yep, that's the deal, and you can sail away from Cuba right now since the family only sold $20 worth. Whew, they all just got $66 more in their tills, because Food Network loves a theme. That still leaves the Cuban family sitting on a third the seed money of anyone else.
The glimpse going into commercial shows one of the trucks with smoke coming out of it on the side of the road. Um, guys, you're supposed to park and THEN cook!!! Here's an interesting twist...the Asian dumpling team is talking about how they've always called their truck Diva because she's temperamental. Did Food Network decide to cut costs this time by only using teams that already owned their own food trucks? Part of what I liked about the past seasons was teams getting their shiny new trucks, especially since learning from a food truck owner here that most food trucks are a good 20 years old when a business gets ahold of them. The waffle truck team is 3 brothers from Provo. I guess we can see what they've done now that their missions are over. Fourteen kids in the family, and one of them is having trouble naming all of his siblings in the right order!
Arriving in Arizona. The Spice Girls are branching out to another country and hoping to beat the heat by taking their signature curry dish off the menu and replacing it with a jerk chicken lettuce wrap. The Cuban family is at least allowed to mitigate their disaster by using their leftovers from Santa Monica as they start cooking. As long as it's not Soylent Green. It sounds like the Asian team is doing a corn dog banh mi. I wonder if that would be a Gene Weingarten Google-nope. Looks like it is! I can see that as an answer to a challenge, but doing it on purpose is just weird.
Time to find a parking spot. The soul food family finds a bass fishing competition...good spot to sell to country boys. Burger boys are in the same spot, and we find out that they met because they were both in love with the same girl. Instead of fighting over her, they formed a bromance over food. The waffle truck, the Spice Girls, and the Cuban family found the only landmark in town to sell at. The Apple Dumpling Gang starts to see smoke...apparently Diva wants to be taken out to dinner herself before she puts out again. They have no money to pay the tow truck, so they have to convince a tow truck operator to leave the tow truck hooked up to the food truck as collateral that they will actually pay up once they've sold some food. I *really* don't like this. The New Yorkers are at a skate park.
The Spice Girls have people waiting in line for over an hour and add their tikka masala back into their menu because it's fast to serve. The soul food truck finds the bass competition isn't biting and decide to move. The Apple Dumpling Gang decides the same despite it costing them $100 for a tow each time they move. The Waffle Boys like working with their siblings...good thing the truck only fits 3 of them, since they can't remember all of their siblings' names. The Apple Dumpling Gang is pulling their hair out. I hope they at least made enough to pay the tow truck driver! If they get eliminated, are they going to just have to stay in Arizona until they make enough to get the truck repaired?
Cooking challenge time: fish and chips. Which makes no sense without the explanation that the bridge in town is actually a reassembly of the real London Bridge. Winner gets $500 and could be the only chance the Apple Dumpling Gang has. The Waffle Boys are stopping to go to church before they make their food. I hope for their sake that they're not staying for priesthood after the Sacrament meeting! At least they'll play on Sunday, unlike the BYU basketball team. It could work out really well for them if they shop and prep while everyone else is in priesthood/relief society/Sunday school and leave the truck at church to sell as everyone leaves. They do not go that route, however. The Spice Girls' fish is taking too long to cook, which could make up for the Waffle Boys going to church. Nope, the Spice Girls join the Apple Dumpling Gang, the New Yorkers, and the Guava Tree to finish first. The New Yorkers were the first team, which seals the deal for the Apple Dumpling Gang. I don't think the Waffle Boys starting late will make up for three tows. The Cuban trick is having mechanical issues as well, but the dad is able to fix it. Dad Points for the win!
Tyler comments that it's been a while since everyone on the show already had their own food trucks. I didn't see the first few seasons of this to have known that. Wow, the Waffle Boys didn't just stay alive, they won!! They had half again what the next team did! Guess they did have plenty of time to go to church! There's a good example that when you give to God, he takes care of you. Guava Tree and the Apple Dumpling Gang are at the bottom, but the Apple Dumpling Gang is somehow safe. In a beautiful display of sportsmanship, first the Apple Dumpling Gang and then the other teams run over to hug the Guava Tree family. Tyler says that Food Network will get Diva to the next destination, Flagstaff, but then it will be up to them to get it fixed or keep it moving some other way. Just as long as the Apple Dumpling Gang doesn't try to pull off a madcap caper that's fun for the whole family to fix it! Tune in next week to find out.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Food Network Star Finale
Dom, Eddie Football, or Lenny Jr? Ok, if you've been following the show or this blog, you know that this really isn't a question. There's not much original about any of them, but Lenny comes the closest with his Cajun cuisine and shines on camera to boot. But we have to go through the rigamarole of reminiscing with the other contestants and pretending we don't know what's going to happen.
The finale actually tends to be my least favorite episode until the last minute because nothing else actually happens. On Hell's Kitchen, the finale has the ultimate competition with each contestant having their own dinner service with their own menu. THAT is how to do a finale. Watching Dom fail at rocking a Christmas sweater all over again just isn't as compelling no matter how much everyone laughs at it. We've already seen them shoot the pilots, and they're not even cooking in the pilots this year! This is going to be a much shorter post than the others because there's not much that I haven't already snarked on unless they bring in outtakes.
Well, here come the dancing outtakes! Brian Boitano's pirouette is more graceful than Eddie Football's...whatever the heck that is. Hashtag Matthew offers to teach Bobby how to twerk. I'm not sure if I'm glad or disappointed that never made it to camera! We do get a nice view of Giada's cleavage as she presses Brian Boitano about his box and what she'll find inside. I'm sure some viewers would like a retrospective of Giada's dresses here, but they mostly only show the ones without significant boobage showing.
Pilot time. Lenny does get a little weird standing on an empty street to shill his version, and he may have just opened the door for Eddie and Dom. Before getting to Dom, they cover Mama Michelle quitting. Susie emphasizes "no regrets," but Michelle's face shows that she really does regret it. Dom's pilot is very good, particularly impressive for him, but it doesn't seem any different from Food Network's other offerings. Eddie Football does shine during his pilot, so Lenny leaving the door open may bring the decision to how many of the judges want to spend the next year or two feeling Eddie up.
Decisions, decisions. This is starting to seem like a 50-50 decision rather than a gimme for Lenny. Maybe I won't have to start using his real name after all. Susie and Bob see why Giada and Bobby advocated for Dom before and Giada describes him as shiny happy people. I still think he's the clear runner up here, though.
And Eddie Football beats out Lenny! So much for thinking this episode would just be Lenny and the Chipmunks. He did have the better pilot and the better guns, as the parting shot displays beautifully.
Next Food Truck Race starts next weekend, and we'll see if I can keep up with posting. Until next week, marshmallows!
The finale actually tends to be my least favorite episode until the last minute because nothing else actually happens. On Hell's Kitchen, the finale has the ultimate competition with each contestant having their own dinner service with their own menu. THAT is how to do a finale. Watching Dom fail at rocking a Christmas sweater all over again just isn't as compelling no matter how much everyone laughs at it. We've already seen them shoot the pilots, and they're not even cooking in the pilots this year! This is going to be a much shorter post than the others because there's not much that I haven't already snarked on unless they bring in outtakes.
Well, here come the dancing outtakes! Brian Boitano's pirouette is more graceful than Eddie Football's...whatever the heck that is. Hashtag Matthew offers to teach Bobby how to twerk. I'm not sure if I'm glad or disappointed that never made it to camera! We do get a nice view of Giada's cleavage as she presses Brian Boitano about his box and what she'll find inside. I'm sure some viewers would like a retrospective of Giada's dresses here, but they mostly only show the ones without significant boobage showing.
Pilot time. Lenny does get a little weird standing on an empty street to shill his version, and he may have just opened the door for Eddie and Dom. Before getting to Dom, they cover Mama Michelle quitting. Susie emphasizes "no regrets," but Michelle's face shows that she really does regret it. Dom's pilot is very good, particularly impressive for him, but it doesn't seem any different from Food Network's other offerings. Eddie Football does shine during his pilot, so Lenny leaving the door open may bring the decision to how many of the judges want to spend the next year or two feeling Eddie up.
Decisions, decisions. This is starting to seem like a 50-50 decision rather than a gimme for Lenny. Maybe I won't have to start using his real name after all. Susie and Bob see why Giada and Bobby advocated for Dom before and Giada describes him as shiny happy people. I still think he's the clear runner up here, though.
And Eddie Football beats out Lenny! So much for thinking this episode would just be Lenny and the Chipmunks. He did have the better pilot and the better guns, as the parting shot displays beautifully.
Next Food Truck Race starts next weekend, and we'll see if I can keep up with posting. Until next week, marshmallows!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Food Network Star 8/9/15
Final Four...again. We start with the final 3 having the carrot of making a pilot dangled in front of them. But they may not be the final 3 because we have the Star Salvation winner coming back to spoil the fun.
Dom's back, baby! Let's see if he can knock off one of the Wonderboys. The men get 45 minutes to cook for their lives with sous chefs from the eliminated finalists. With some of them, I'm not really sure if they would be more of a help or a hindrance. Eddie Football takes Alex. Dom takes Hashtag Matthew for some reason. Lenny Jr. takes Emilia, remembering how well they worked together in Week 5. Brian Boitano tries to choose Bobby...I'd join him in that!!! Since Bobby's disappointingly not up for grabs, he gets Rue. Mama Rosa, Mama Sita, and Christina get to go home again since they are still not wanted.
Eddie Football is making a spiced meatball with a ginger carrot puree. Lenny is making fried catfish with a crawfish etoufee. Brian Boitano is making lamb sausages with tabbouleh. Dom is making a pasta bolognese. Dom expects Matthew to take orders, but he decides he wants to go off the map and sabotage Dom. Brian Boitano talks about how much he likes sausages. There really is nothing more to say here, the joke is already written. Matthew isn't Dom's only sabotage, as Mr. Italian has issues with the pasta machine. Matthew ignoring Dom's orders actually works out for him, as he turns out a good sauce. But then he ruins it by grabbing his lost shaker of hashtags and coming up with #YoloBolo. I just can't even. Next contestant! Ooh, Brian Boitano and his sausages, they'll be more fun! While Brian Boitano is jiggling his sausages, Lenny and Emilia have jiggle cornbread. Rue was right and Brian Boitano's sausages aren't juicy enough. Eddie Football makes the cardinal mistake of putting something on the plate the judges are not supposed to eat...unless he's hoping to watch the sweat glinting on Giada's cleavage as she eats a whole habanero. Except she's not actually showing cleavage today.
One take only for the videos. We'll see how Dom does with that. Eddie Football stumbles worse than I was afraid Dom would. Dom is shaking in front of the camera. Wow, I'm not sure who's worse between him and Eddie. I was hoping for so much more from both of them. As Brian Boitano starts his sausages, Lenny thinks he has stiff competition. But then the wheels fall off the bus. Eddie and Dom might be safe after all, we will see. Either way, the only questions at this point are who Lenny's runners-up will be. Dom stumbles in his presentation but then picks it up and helps us to get more pleasure from flour and eggs than from Brian Boitano's sausages. I can't even understand Eddie! Dude, football players are supposed to run wind sprints, not speak them.
Lenny is perfectly safe, and then there are the other three. Dom gets to make a pilot! Now who goes home, Eddie Football or Brian Boitano? Eddie is safe, so I never have to use Brian Boitano's real name. Mike said I'll have to start using Lenny's real name eventually, but I'll wait till he wins to use it. The boys pop open a bottle of champagne. Who would have thought that Dom would be there for it at the beginning?
Lenny's filming his pilot at a chicken and waffles joint in New York called Sweet Chick. Who is his guest director? Rachel Ray!!! Because I don't read her magazine or watch her talk show, it feels like I'm seeing again one of the greats from the past, like if Emeril came out of retirement. I really do miss 30-Minute Meals and $40 a Day. Lenny wants to do a show where he travels to eat fried food. That's gonna help his figure. Still, you know you're doing well when the director wants to use the first take of the intro. When it comes time to tasting, Lenny starts to fall apart.
Eddie Football also gets to meet Rachel, who immediately starts checking out the gun show. I'm jealous! Eddie has performance anxiety, though. He's filming at a barbecue place. Is this the first year where the pilots are not showcasing the contestants as chefs? Whether Eddie beats Lenny or not, he does at least earn a kiss on the head from Rachel.
Dom meets Rachel at a "Traditional and Vegan Italian Restaurant." Vegan Italian? Really? If you say so. Dom stumbles as usual, but at least he has multiple takes this time. Tune in Sunday to watch him and Eddie lose to Lenny!
Dom's back, baby! Let's see if he can knock off one of the Wonderboys. The men get 45 minutes to cook for their lives with sous chefs from the eliminated finalists. With some of them, I'm not really sure if they would be more of a help or a hindrance. Eddie Football takes Alex. Dom takes Hashtag Matthew for some reason. Lenny Jr. takes Emilia, remembering how well they worked together in Week 5. Brian Boitano tries to choose Bobby...I'd join him in that!!! Since Bobby's disappointingly not up for grabs, he gets Rue. Mama Rosa, Mama Sita, and Christina get to go home again since they are still not wanted.
Eddie Football is making a spiced meatball with a ginger carrot puree. Lenny is making fried catfish with a crawfish etoufee. Brian Boitano is making lamb sausages with tabbouleh. Dom is making a pasta bolognese. Dom expects Matthew to take orders, but he decides he wants to go off the map and sabotage Dom. Brian Boitano talks about how much he likes sausages. There really is nothing more to say here, the joke is already written. Matthew isn't Dom's only sabotage, as Mr. Italian has issues with the pasta machine. Matthew ignoring Dom's orders actually works out for him, as he turns out a good sauce. But then he ruins it by grabbing his lost shaker of hashtags and coming up with #YoloBolo. I just can't even. Next contestant! Ooh, Brian Boitano and his sausages, they'll be more fun! While Brian Boitano is jiggling his sausages, Lenny and Emilia have jiggle cornbread. Rue was right and Brian Boitano's sausages aren't juicy enough. Eddie Football makes the cardinal mistake of putting something on the plate the judges are not supposed to eat...unless he's hoping to watch the sweat glinting on Giada's cleavage as she eats a whole habanero. Except she's not actually showing cleavage today.
One take only for the videos. We'll see how Dom does with that. Eddie Football stumbles worse than I was afraid Dom would. Dom is shaking in front of the camera. Wow, I'm not sure who's worse between him and Eddie. I was hoping for so much more from both of them. As Brian Boitano starts his sausages, Lenny thinks he has stiff competition. But then the wheels fall off the bus. Eddie and Dom might be safe after all, we will see. Either way, the only questions at this point are who Lenny's runners-up will be. Dom stumbles in his presentation but then picks it up and helps us to get more pleasure from flour and eggs than from Brian Boitano's sausages. I can't even understand Eddie! Dude, football players are supposed to run wind sprints, not speak them.
Lenny is perfectly safe, and then there are the other three. Dom gets to make a pilot! Now who goes home, Eddie Football or Brian Boitano? Eddie is safe, so I never have to use Brian Boitano's real name. Mike said I'll have to start using Lenny's real name eventually, but I'll wait till he wins to use it. The boys pop open a bottle of champagne. Who would have thought that Dom would be there for it at the beginning?
Lenny's filming his pilot at a chicken and waffles joint in New York called Sweet Chick. Who is his guest director? Rachel Ray!!! Because I don't read her magazine or watch her talk show, it feels like I'm seeing again one of the greats from the past, like if Emeril came out of retirement. I really do miss 30-Minute Meals and $40 a Day. Lenny wants to do a show where he travels to eat fried food. That's gonna help his figure. Still, you know you're doing well when the director wants to use the first take of the intro. When it comes time to tasting, Lenny starts to fall apart.
Eddie Football also gets to meet Rachel, who immediately starts checking out the gun show. I'm jealous! Eddie has performance anxiety, though. He's filming at a barbecue place. Is this the first year where the pilots are not showcasing the contestants as chefs? Whether Eddie beats Lenny or not, he does at least earn a kiss on the head from Rachel.
Dom meets Rachel at a "Traditional and Vegan Italian Restaurant." Vegan Italian? Really? If you say so. Dom stumbles as usual, but at least he has multiple takes this time. Tune in Sunday to watch him and Eddie lose to Lenny!
Food Network Star - Star Salvation 8/9/15
While we were out (or at least not watching episodes online), the eliminated finalists have been trying to work their way back into the field under the guidance of Alex Guarnaschelli and Jeff Mauro.
They waited to start until they had 4 eliminated finalists, so we have Christina, Hashtag Matt, Mama Rosa, and Mama Sita competing on tacos. Mama Rosa is making chicken parm tacos. Alrighty then. Hashtag Matt still needs to remember he's on tv and not on Twitter. Christina's food saves her over Mama Sita.
Rue comes in next, and we'll see if she can bring out her flavor again. This dish and presentation have to capture the moment when they fell in love with cooking. I would have to make my great-grandmother's sour cream sugar cookies, especially since it's only half an hour of cooking time, not long enough to make my pie crust. Rue thinks her beef cubes for stew are bite-sized...is she feeding dinosaurs? Mama Rosa's mascarpone wontons leak out, leaving shells as empty as her hopes. She tries to recover by deconstructing it and putting some extra cheese on the plate, but it looks too pre-made. Christina makes a soup that seizes up and talks about depriving her husband of mushrooms. Hashtag Matthew makes a salmon fillet in a buerre blanc. Mama Rosa leaves and Emilia comes in. We are back to zero Mamas since Mama Michelle quit and isn't returning for salvation.
I would say Emilia has a chance to show less arrogance in this show, but she dashes those hopes right away. The contestants have to make a dish using ingredients that also go into Bobby Flay's barbecue sauce. Hashtag Matt's making grilled shrimp ceviche. Missing the point much? Rue is making chicken breasts sized for dinosaurs, so we'll see if those cook in time. As we head to commercial break, all four cooks seem to set the kitchen on fire at once. Star Salvation isn't supposed to refer to the medics saving everyone's lives, people!! Christina's steak and Rue's chicken are raw, so we'll see if they are able to salvage their dishes. Emilia made some sort of Indian veggie dish where she subbed everything out for other things. Christina goes home.
Now we get to play with avocados! I love making my guac, but I'm not sure how I would class that up for television. Emilia wants to take a page from Alton Brown's book and make avocado cake in the microwave. I hope this one doesn't leave the judges looking green around the gills. Hashtag Matthew is deep frying his avocado. Rue is making something with an avocado peanut butter sauce, but using her avocado two ways saved her and Matthew goes home.
Enter Dom, who is told he is the best cook out of them. They get a mystery ingredient to use, and Emilia gets squash blossoms...nice fit. However, her oil is not hot enough to fry them. Dom gets rosemary-lavender. I hope he can keep the herb from getting overpowered in his pasta dish. Rue uses sorghum in her chili con carne. Emilia's presentation disconnect sends her home.
Finale time, and Alex joins the crowd! They get 25 minutes to make one perfect bite. Rue is making butter poached salmon topped with brussels sprouts. Alex is making some sort of cheese sandwich from London. Dom is making a lamb chop with cauliflower puree.
The winner is...not to be learned until the next episode. I WAS about to go to bed, but now I'm going to push it out and watch the next episode.
They waited to start until they had 4 eliminated finalists, so we have Christina, Hashtag Matt, Mama Rosa, and Mama Sita competing on tacos. Mama Rosa is making chicken parm tacos. Alrighty then. Hashtag Matt still needs to remember he's on tv and not on Twitter. Christina's food saves her over Mama Sita.
Rue comes in next, and we'll see if she can bring out her flavor again. This dish and presentation have to capture the moment when they fell in love with cooking. I would have to make my great-grandmother's sour cream sugar cookies, especially since it's only half an hour of cooking time, not long enough to make my pie crust. Rue thinks her beef cubes for stew are bite-sized...is she feeding dinosaurs? Mama Rosa's mascarpone wontons leak out, leaving shells as empty as her hopes. She tries to recover by deconstructing it and putting some extra cheese on the plate, but it looks too pre-made. Christina makes a soup that seizes up and talks about depriving her husband of mushrooms. Hashtag Matthew makes a salmon fillet in a buerre blanc. Mama Rosa leaves and Emilia comes in. We are back to zero Mamas since Mama Michelle quit and isn't returning for salvation.
I would say Emilia has a chance to show less arrogance in this show, but she dashes those hopes right away. The contestants have to make a dish using ingredients that also go into Bobby Flay's barbecue sauce. Hashtag Matt's making grilled shrimp ceviche. Missing the point much? Rue is making chicken breasts sized for dinosaurs, so we'll see if those cook in time. As we head to commercial break, all four cooks seem to set the kitchen on fire at once. Star Salvation isn't supposed to refer to the medics saving everyone's lives, people!! Christina's steak and Rue's chicken are raw, so we'll see if they are able to salvage their dishes. Emilia made some sort of Indian veggie dish where she subbed everything out for other things. Christina goes home.
Now we get to play with avocados! I love making my guac, but I'm not sure how I would class that up for television. Emilia wants to take a page from Alton Brown's book and make avocado cake in the microwave. I hope this one doesn't leave the judges looking green around the gills. Hashtag Matthew is deep frying his avocado. Rue is making something with an avocado peanut butter sauce, but using her avocado two ways saved her and Matthew goes home.
Enter Dom, who is told he is the best cook out of them. They get a mystery ingredient to use, and Emilia gets squash blossoms...nice fit. However, her oil is not hot enough to fry them. Dom gets rosemary-lavender. I hope he can keep the herb from getting overpowered in his pasta dish. Rue uses sorghum in her chili con carne. Emilia's presentation disconnect sends her home.
Finale time, and Alex joins the crowd! They get 25 minutes to make one perfect bite. Rue is making butter poached salmon topped with brussels sprouts. Alex is making some sort of cheese sandwich from London. Dom is making a lamb chop with cauliflower puree.
The winner is...not to be learned until the next episode. I WAS about to go to bed, but now I'm going to push it out and watch the next episode.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Food Network Star 8/2/15
I know, I know, I'm late again. And now I have three episodes to blog, because we get to also see who comes back from Star Salvation. For now, though, we get the First Final Four in between me jumping up to check on the corn fritters I'm making.
Live from New York, it's Food Network Star! Each of the guys gets a topic to present for two minutes. Eddie Football gets summer burger toppings, and he hopes that the trend of burgers winning will continue. I hope so, because you need a rally monkey, my man. Next up is after school snacks, and Mike roots for this to go to Brian Boitano. However, Lenny looks to Bobby like he enjoys snacks, so he gets this one. Alex the Sandwich King gets one-pot meals for a hot date. About the only way I can see him meld this with his theme is either pulled pork or one hella gourmet Manwich. Mike's thinking some sort of small calzones that can be deep fried in the pot. Alex is psyching himself out from the beginning, though, thinking about it as talking to a beautiful girl for two minutes. Brian Boitano gets breakfast and complains about the amount of times he's had to tackle eggs on this show. Just because you never do it in your private life is no reason not to expand your horizons now.
The contestants only get 30 minutes, so there goes the pulled pork idea. Alex is making a Portuguese bouillabaisse instead, but he thinks he can make the whole thing and add a million and a half ingredients in two minutes. Lenny is kinda taking it easy, making pigs in a blanket and ants on a log. Eddie Football somehow grew up in America without ever hearing of ants on a log. He's making beer battered onion rings and jerk ketchup to top a Caribbean burger. Brian Boitano is making egg crostini with smoked salmon spread. He's right that he has some lovely colors, especially with paper-thin radish slices on it.
Eddie Football presents first. I do like that he interacts with the host from the beginning. He's dancing back and forth a bit, but in a much more smooth manner than Michelle a couple weeks ago. He gets the attention of the host, who comments on how tight his muscles are! Eddie's radiant and Bobby can't stop grinning. Brian Boitano is next, and his motor mouth is leaving the host gaping. He flubs the actual cooking as the food processor did not want to work, but we will see if Alex screws up and saves him. Alex's time is ticking away on the story part of his presentation, because he still hasn't learned to cook and talk at the same time. The host also dings him on putting garlic in a date night meal. Yeah, he saved Brian Boitano's ass on this one. Lenny is also saving him with how simple his ideas are. Dude, at least use some andouille or something! Eddie Football was clearly the shining star in this challenge.
Snacking on my corn fritters as I blog the rest of this episode brings me back to summer nights with my grandma making them at the family cottage in Massachusetts. We'll see how the boys remember summer as they put together a 30-minute live show about summer food, alternating 5-minute segments. Their guest judges are from The Kitchen, including Alex getting faced with the first Sandwich King, Jeff Mauro. Eddie Football gets to parcel out the segments as his reward for winning the mentor challenge. He takes summer veggies for himself instead of sabotaging Lenny with it. He's not about to give Lenny indoor grilling, though, handing that to Brian Boitano instead. Brian Boitano's starting to annoy me with the pouting when he doesn't get what he wants here. Alex gets family reunions despite only ever having been to one, which leaves summer sweets for Lenny, with a crack from Bobby about not making pigs in a blanket.
Summer cookin', happens so fast. Unless you're Alex and his ingredient list, anyway. The boys have to include each other in their segments, but they at least have some time to plan together. Brian Boitano wants to plow through a complicated-sounding shrimp recipe, but we'll see if he gets plowed by the other contestants, especially as he has no plans for including them. Eddie Football starts out by planning just how to include his cohosts. Alex wants to make ramen, because his one and only reunion was in Indonesia. And everyone else starts smiling as they feel their chances rise. Jay wants to make a strawberry cocktail and coconut chocolate tarts, but we will see if he gets them done in time.
Eddie is making pasta out of veggie ribbons, which fits with his health focus. Brian Boitano is also grilling corn, which always makes me happy, but we will see if he can come back from his undercooked shrimp at the Fourth of July challenge. Jay gets his tart shells done just in time, but can he get the filling in place? Filling, yes, but no decoration or garnish.
The show is in front of a studio audience, which means Alex is a goner. He compares it to skydiving, but he's out of parachutes unless someone else gift wraps one and hands it to him. Eddie fumbles the pass as he puts his veggies into the pan, but it gives Brian Boitano a chance to take the pan and be included and he plays it off well. Brian Boitano wants to bring the grill inside and set your home on fire. Or is that his flaming personality? He's so in love with himself that he only uses his cohosts to model the word he just made up. As Mike says, he just made himself into that guy that you never want to invite to another cookout. And that's before he starts talking about someone going through his trash!! Wait, WHAT? I'm going to have to rewind and catch this again. He talks about his mother going through his trash at the family restaurant, but if he explains it gets cut off. Now let's see Alex's soupy reunion. He creates openings for the guys to be involved, but they have no clue what to say. Eddie Football finally jumps in to smell the broth, but that's nowhere near enough to salvage this segment. I think Lenny's tarts are safe. He involves the other cohosts by asking them what summer sweets they love. He includes his POV, but he still has 2 minutes left AFTER everyone has tasted. Good thing he has his cocktail as well!
Alex hopes his ramen is good enough to save him. Better start packing your bags for Asia, boy. Brian Boitano makes up for his past performance on shrimp but not for his presentation. Jay's tarts seem unfinished with no garnish, tarnishing his stellar presence on screen. Eddie Football's food scores a touchdown and gets the two-point conversion to boot. Giada pays lip service to this being a tough decision, but we all know it's not. You have a clear winner, a clear loser, and two people to fill the middle of the pack. They pretend that Brian Boitano is being considered for elimination before dropping the news on Alex.
The episode is gone and so are my corn fritters, so it might be bedtime. If you see another post from me tonight, it will because my determination overwhelmed my good sense.
Live from New York, it's Food Network Star! Each of the guys gets a topic to present for two minutes. Eddie Football gets summer burger toppings, and he hopes that the trend of burgers winning will continue. I hope so, because you need a rally monkey, my man. Next up is after school snacks, and Mike roots for this to go to Brian Boitano. However, Lenny looks to Bobby like he enjoys snacks, so he gets this one. Alex the Sandwich King gets one-pot meals for a hot date. About the only way I can see him meld this with his theme is either pulled pork or one hella gourmet Manwich. Mike's thinking some sort of small calzones that can be deep fried in the pot. Alex is psyching himself out from the beginning, though, thinking about it as talking to a beautiful girl for two minutes. Brian Boitano gets breakfast and complains about the amount of times he's had to tackle eggs on this show. Just because you never do it in your private life is no reason not to expand your horizons now.
The contestants only get 30 minutes, so there goes the pulled pork idea. Alex is making a Portuguese bouillabaisse instead, but he thinks he can make the whole thing and add a million and a half ingredients in two minutes. Lenny is kinda taking it easy, making pigs in a blanket and ants on a log. Eddie Football somehow grew up in America without ever hearing of ants on a log. He's making beer battered onion rings and jerk ketchup to top a Caribbean burger. Brian Boitano is making egg crostini with smoked salmon spread. He's right that he has some lovely colors, especially with paper-thin radish slices on it.
Eddie Football presents first. I do like that he interacts with the host from the beginning. He's dancing back and forth a bit, but in a much more smooth manner than Michelle a couple weeks ago. He gets the attention of the host, who comments on how tight his muscles are! Eddie's radiant and Bobby can't stop grinning. Brian Boitano is next, and his motor mouth is leaving the host gaping. He flubs the actual cooking as the food processor did not want to work, but we will see if Alex screws up and saves him. Alex's time is ticking away on the story part of his presentation, because he still hasn't learned to cook and talk at the same time. The host also dings him on putting garlic in a date night meal. Yeah, he saved Brian Boitano's ass on this one. Lenny is also saving him with how simple his ideas are. Dude, at least use some andouille or something! Eddie Football was clearly the shining star in this challenge.
Snacking on my corn fritters as I blog the rest of this episode brings me back to summer nights with my grandma making them at the family cottage in Massachusetts. We'll see how the boys remember summer as they put together a 30-minute live show about summer food, alternating 5-minute segments. Their guest judges are from The Kitchen, including Alex getting faced with the first Sandwich King, Jeff Mauro. Eddie Football gets to parcel out the segments as his reward for winning the mentor challenge. He takes summer veggies for himself instead of sabotaging Lenny with it. He's not about to give Lenny indoor grilling, though, handing that to Brian Boitano instead. Brian Boitano's starting to annoy me with the pouting when he doesn't get what he wants here. Alex gets family reunions despite only ever having been to one, which leaves summer sweets for Lenny, with a crack from Bobby about not making pigs in a blanket.
Summer cookin', happens so fast. Unless you're Alex and his ingredient list, anyway. The boys have to include each other in their segments, but they at least have some time to plan together. Brian Boitano wants to plow through a complicated-sounding shrimp recipe, but we'll see if he gets plowed by the other contestants, especially as he has no plans for including them. Eddie Football starts out by planning just how to include his cohosts. Alex wants to make ramen, because his one and only reunion was in Indonesia. And everyone else starts smiling as they feel their chances rise. Jay wants to make a strawberry cocktail and coconut chocolate tarts, but we will see if he gets them done in time.
Eddie is making pasta out of veggie ribbons, which fits with his health focus. Brian Boitano is also grilling corn, which always makes me happy, but we will see if he can come back from his undercooked shrimp at the Fourth of July challenge. Jay gets his tart shells done just in time, but can he get the filling in place? Filling, yes, but no decoration or garnish.
The show is in front of a studio audience, which means Alex is a goner. He compares it to skydiving, but he's out of parachutes unless someone else gift wraps one and hands it to him. Eddie fumbles the pass as he puts his veggies into the pan, but it gives Brian Boitano a chance to take the pan and be included and he plays it off well. Brian Boitano wants to bring the grill inside and set your home on fire. Or is that his flaming personality? He's so in love with himself that he only uses his cohosts to model the word he just made up. As Mike says, he just made himself into that guy that you never want to invite to another cookout. And that's before he starts talking about someone going through his trash!! Wait, WHAT? I'm going to have to rewind and catch this again. He talks about his mother going through his trash at the family restaurant, but if he explains it gets cut off. Now let's see Alex's soupy reunion. He creates openings for the guys to be involved, but they have no clue what to say. Eddie Football finally jumps in to smell the broth, but that's nowhere near enough to salvage this segment. I think Lenny's tarts are safe. He involves the other cohosts by asking them what summer sweets they love. He includes his POV, but he still has 2 minutes left AFTER everyone has tasted. Good thing he has his cocktail as well!
Alex hopes his ramen is good enough to save him. Better start packing your bags for Asia, boy. Brian Boitano makes up for his past performance on shrimp but not for his presentation. Jay's tarts seem unfinished with no garnish, tarnishing his stellar presence on screen. Eddie Football's food scores a touchdown and gets the two-point conversion to boot. Giada pays lip service to this being a tough decision, but we all know it's not. You have a clear winner, a clear loser, and two people to fill the middle of the pack. They pretend that Brian Boitano is being considered for elimination before dropping the news on Alex.
The episode is gone and so are my corn fritters, so it might be bedtime. If you see another post from me tonight, it will because my determination overwhelmed my good sense.
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