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.
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