Thursday, November 27, 2008
Top Chef: Foo Fighters Thanksgiving
In the quick fire the contestants draw knives to select recipes from previous seasons. However a few minutes into the contest Padma throws a wrench into their plans. They have to turn these recipes into a soup!
The standouts were Jamie, Leah and Daniel. Leah took the win and immunity.
The elimination challenge was to cook thanksgiving dinner for the Foo Fighters and their entourage. However the real challenge will be the kitchen they are given. One burner and a slew of microwaves and toaster ovens. They are given some time to adjust their plans.
Team Sexy Pants versus Team Cougar. Interesting names.
Team Cougar goes first. The fig stuffing was not received well. The mac and cheese (with bacon) was loved. Ariane's turkey was done perfectly. A good win for her.
Team Sexy Pants had a very good vegan cornbread stuffing. Their turkey was not as good as Team Cougar's.
They went up to deserts now. The tiramasu that was made by Team Sexy Pants was smart and well received. Team Cougars pumpkin mousse was not good. The smores were not as well received as I thought it would be.
Team Sexy Pants won. I was a bit surprised by that. I was already writing up a paragraph for Team Cougar's winning. That means one member of Team Cougar has to go home.
At judges table the team stuck together pretty well. No real finger pointing, just compliments. That was good to see.
It comes down to Jeff, Daniel and Richard. Richard leaves after failing to execute his banana smores. Once again the lesson is STAY AWAY FROM DESSERTS ON TOP CHEF! They are poison to your chances.
Labels: Television, Top Chef
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Top Chef - episode 2 - "Show Your Craft"
The Quickfire! - Create a signature hotdog. This challenge could be so interesting and fun. Gotta go chili dog right? Someone has to do one. Nice crisp onions and some cheese on top.
Wow, looks like I was way off. That's why these chefs are WAY better than me.
Jill didn't make her own hot dog and was called out by Padma. No one said they had to MAKE a hot dog but still a risky move.
I like Radhika's kabob style hot dog. Looked good in a nice toasted bun.
Oh no! Padma found a piece of bone in Jamie's. That is NOT good. Thank goodness this wasn't an elimination challenge. She would be on the block for sure. Dodges a bullet as this is just a quick fire.
Jill's store bought hot dog came back to haunt her. This is a chef contest. You gotta make things. Reheating isn't going to cut it.
Stefan gets called out but with no real reasoning. I guess the flavors didn't really mesh.
Radhika's was in the top. Looked and sounded good. Fabio's did as well with his Mediterranean style dog. Hosea rounds out the top with his hot dog with smoked bacon.
Radhika wins and is given immunity for the elimination challege.
Tough to really tell too much with this quick fire. You don't want to judge these chef's based on how the interpret a hot dog.
The elimination challenge is a 3 course "new american" lunch menu. Each person is given 1 dish. So this is a bit weird. 5 take apps, 5 take entree, 5 take deserts.
Fabio, Hosea, Jamie Melissa and Leah take the apps.
Stefan, Alex, Eugene, Jill and Jeff take entrees.
Jill is using Ostrich eggs. An interesting choice that might get her credit or come back to bite her in the ass.
Carla, Ariane, Daniel, Richard and Radhika take desserts.
Ariane talks about how she doesn't usually do desserts. If there is one thing we have learned form past shows. If you don't know how to do desserts then DON'T DO THEM! Many chefs have gotten themselves in trouble by trying to make desserts when they were not comfortable with them!
Tom lets them in on a couple of key points to the challenge. They are cooking in Tom's restaurant. The 50 people are all New York chefs that did not make it onto the show!
The corn soup gets good buzz. The crab gets bad review. Looks like the canned crab was a BAD choice. The odd olives are unique and liked.
Corn soup is probably the app winner.
The quiche starts off badly for entrees. The meatloaf loses points for presentation. The chicken is decent but doesn't sound spectacular. The tenderloin also gets bad reviews.
The halibut sounds like it is the best of the entrees.
For deserts it sems that the pound cake is liked. The lemon meringue was way too sweet. The reaction by Padma was great! They did not like it. The avocado mousse (by Radhika with immunity) was not liked by the judges.
Jamie, Hosea, Ariane, Fabio, Carla and Jill all get called to judges table.
Carla's pastry was loved. Fabio provided humor as he got defensive of his dish. Turns out they like it a lot. Especially the spherical olives. Jamie's corn soup was the third liked dish. The winner was Fabio. Damn chemicals strike again!
Looks like Stefan and Fabio truly are forces to be reckoned with in this competition.
Of the remaining three I think Hosea should be safe as he has shown some promise. The canned crab meat was what killed him. That was a huge problem. You need to change it up when faced with that. Ariane is totally lacking something special to be Top Chef. Jill was almost on the right track with the Ostrich egg but couldn't make it into something special.
The person being sent home is Jill. I am a little surprised by this. I think Ariane might have been a better choice. I guess two things were at work here. Jill was unable to defend her dish and her choice of ostrich egg was not executed enough to be noticed. She needed to use that egg in a way that would stand out. A quiche was not enough to bring out the uniqueness of the egg.
All in all her stumbling defense is probably what killed her.
Labels: Television, Top Chef
Do Not Bail Out The Auto Industry
I know it is easy to ask the government for free cash right now since they are seemingly so willing to hand it out but is it really a good idea?
The auto industry has made bad business decisions year after year. They keep designing cars/trucks that people don't like. They have been refusing to up mileage and keep paying money to congress to prevent such limits. They need to buckle down and produce vehicles people want. Cut back on the number of models so you can perfect the ones you sell. Invest in alternative fueled vehicles and high mileage vehicles. You should be able to make money. People would love to buy American but with so many alternatives that are better than your product and cheaper than your product it is just impossible to do so.
The problem starts at the top. The executives need to show some initiative and make some serious changes in their plan. These companies do not need to be saved if they can't save themselves!
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/economist/122606
Labels: Politics
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Great iPhone Support Posting
One user is wondering if Pictures automatically attach to e-mail?
I'll answer this lady. No they don't but I don't blame the cheating scumbag for giving it a shot on his obviously technologically oblivious wife.
Way to make your private life completely public!
Labels: Humor
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Top Chef - Season 5 - "Melting Pot"
The season premier opens in New York. To get in the mood I will dining on a cinnamon raisin bagel with lite veggie cream cheese courtesy of Dunkin Donuts. Nothing but a classy meal to watch this show.
Of course I will contain spoilers in my blogs!
Padma is back hosting. A good move as she is likable.
As the opening credits roll I see a couple of good looking girls nothing spectacular except maybe Lauren. We'll have to see in the episode who really looks good.
All right, intro time. It is always dangerous to get too big a blurb here. It means you weren't involved in other episodes too much so they want people to get to know you here before you leave!
Jamie is covered in tattoos. She might be interesting.
Eugene is covered with tattoos including some neck tattoos, always a bad choice.
Jeff is a bland surfer boy. Thinks he's better looking than he is.
Radhika is a cute little indian girl but is she going to stick to her cultural food or can she go beyond?
Turns out Lauren Hope is not that good looking.
Ariane is older. She is 40. We'll see how that works for her.
Daniel has the homecourt advantage of being from Long Island (complete with accent). He intrigues me a bit. Weird beard.
Patrick and Lauren know each other from chef school. He is still in culinary school. This inexperience will probably limit his skills. That is the one thing about being chef. You need to go out and experience flavors and technique and that does take time and can't always be taught in schools.
Stefan is another European. Not much to say.
Richard is apparently gay. I was a bit surprised by that. He also seems interesting.
Quickfire challenge! Time to eliminate the first contestant!
It is a three part challenge
First part: Peel 15 apples with a knife
First 9 will be safe, other 8 move on.
Carla is a big tall, skinny scary black woman.
Second Part: Brunoise two cups of apples.
Brunoise seems to be little cubes of the apple. It is a hard knife skill as one says.
Third Part: Create a dish with the apples.
Only Lauren, Pat, Radhika and Leah remain. 20 minutes to create the dish.
Radhika goes with a pork chutney. Leah is going with scallops. Lauren and Pat are doing salads. That is very boring. They better be good salads. But then again it is all about the flavors.
Leah was made safe off the bat, then Radhika. That leaves the salads.
That leads to first commercial break. Man I hope it is Pat. I can see him getting very annoying as it goes on.
Patrick is the winner. Lauren is heading home. It is never easy to be the first one home. It seems like it would be embarrassing but how could it really be any worse than being the 2nd one gone? I bet she can't eat another apple for a long, long time.
Now for the remaining there is a knife block! What could this mean? Are they in two apartments? Nope, seems like there are several locations.
Turns out they are going to be paired up and go head to head in dishes that are inspired by their neighborhoods. That will be the elimination challenge.
Ahh, the gays group together: Pat Jamie and Richard. Just to note, Jamie is the lady.
Fabio and Stefan, the two thick accented Europeans. The thick accented Daniel is not a big fan of them.
There is a lot going on in this first challenge. A lot of people.
I think Ariane is actually good but lacks a little confidence. She may do well in this competition if she can believe in herself.
Melissa might be a little much of a "country mouse" (as she called her self) for this competition. She might be all right if she doesn't get overwhelmed.
I don't think Jeff has a great grip on his timing. That will be a problem as these competitions go on.
Pat experimented with black noodles that he had never used. Probably not a smart move.
Time for the first judges table!
Ariane immediately admits that she doesn't know much about. Big mistake. Don't show the judges doubt off the bat. Then she undercooked her risotto.
Stefan is cocky. Stefan wins.
Richard makes a burger.
Jamie goes with a decontructed salad.
Richard overcooked his lame, so Jamie wins.
Jill made plantain fritters and jerk spiced scallops. It looks very nice.
Radhika jerk rubbed halibut. Also presents nicely.
Both were not executed great and Jill wins.
Fabio makes a pork chop with mushroom and avocado. Jeff makes tenderloin with rice beans and rice. Jeff's was a sloppy presentation.
Jeff actually wins, much to my surprise.
Hosea makes a caviar adn apple chutney. Carla makes trout and salmon cakes. I like Hosea's presentation. Carla's side salad seems a bit separate to the dish for me.
Hosea wins easily.
Leah's dish is well received. Melissa's dish looks nice but she lacked a bit of salt and pepper.
Leah wins.
Daniel made ginger chicken poached salad. Pat made seared salmon with bok choy and noodles. He admits his lack of knowledge of the noodles. Tom says it was one noted. Tom also says Daniel's dish was unimaginative but he manages to win.
Alex mad grilled lamb chops. Eugene (still looking thuggish) made masala rubbed lamb. Tom likes Alex's spice use. Padma calls Eugene's a classic indian dish. He wins.
Judge's Table
The top three: Eugene, Stefan and Leah. Padma notes that in all but 1 season the winner of the first challenge went on to win the whole competition. With that said, Stefan wins.
The bottom two: Ariane and Pat. I hope it is Pat, I think Ariane has more upside than Patrick.
We have to say good bye to Patrick. I think that is a good decision. He is young and has more of the world to see.
I do love this show but I like once they get a little more narrowed down. Maybe 12 chefs or so.
Labels: Television, Top Chef
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
More help for automakers?
Obama suggested more help for auto industry
Hey, how about we take their financial troubles as a chance to help them fix the problem they have been ignoring. That is right, time to for them to make better cars! Specifically more high-mpg cars and more hybrid advances to help ease our dependency on oil. We could offer money/bailout only if they made such changes. You would think an auto company would be interested in making money yet they keep pumping out cars that people don't want. Take this opportunity as a time to make change.
Labels: Politics
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Top Chef
Season 5 kicks off Wednesday at 10. I am hoping to give blog updates after each episode. This is one of my favorite shows. I will be watching it on delay so should be starting it about 30-45 minutes behind its start time.
Labels: Television, Top Chef
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Obama Wins ...
But does America?
I am terrified that we elected this man mainly for his race. This might not be true. Many people could think that he would make an excellent president, but I was not sold on him. He seemed a bit to swarmy for me. I know that is a trait of a politician but I still wasn't sold. Oh well, he won and I hope he can bring this country back from the depths that Bush and Cheney tried to bury it.
Labels: Politics
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
How did I vote?
President
Nader/Gonzalez because I will be damned if I am voting for the lesser of two evils. We need radical party restructuring in this country. The two party system is failing us. When is a candidate ever going to win this country again with a wide margin or even a majority? We are doomed to presidents winning with 48% of the popular vote. We need a leader the country can rally behind.
The truly sad part? I thought McCain would be that man. The way he has had to change and bend further right to win his party's nomination has ruined this candidate.
I even would have voted for him still if he had selected a better VP candidate than Palin. I think that was a horrible mistake that cost him this election. She seems like an obvious pander to the woman vote or even worse a grab for disgruntled Clinton supporters.
Massachusetts only questions
Question 1: Repeal state income tax
Question 1 would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65 percent for the tax year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2010.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/ballot_questions/question1/
I voted NO on this question. I think in these times of economic crisis it is a bad time to repeal taxes. This won't make people's lives easier in the long term. Taxes will always come back. I know I will just save/pay debt with the measly 5% I would be saving. I just don't see the benefit the state gains by allowing this massive budget cut.
Question 2: Decriminalize marijuana possession
Ballot Question 2 would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana with a system of civil penalties, and would exclude information from the state's criminal record system. Offenders under 18 would have their parents notified.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/ballot_questions/question2/
I voted NO. This is just ridiculous. It is a measure to make marijuana legal. That might be happening in the future but for now it is still a crime and is run by criminals. I do not support any measures to lessen possession as crime until we eliminate the criminal element from this and allow corporation to import and/or grow this as a cash crop. Then we can allow the government to properly tax the heck out of it like we do cigarettes. I eventually see marijuana supplanting tobacco and that is a movement I can support. Not making criminals lives easier.
This is a dangerous step if it passes.
Question 3: Ban dog racing
Question 3 Would prohibit any dog racing or racing meeting in Massachusetts where any form of betting or wagering on the speed or ability of dogs occurs.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/ballot_questions/question3/
I voted NO. I have since learned that Massachusetts allegedly has some of the strictest rules about the treatment of these dogs and of racing. Forcing them out of Massachusetts would actually put more dogs in danger than they are now.
I find it odd that this state is trying very hard to bring in casinos but wants to eliminate dog racing. Which is worse I ask? Gambling can be VERY cruel to humans.
I also do no support the job losses that would happen if this passes. It is not the time to force anyone out of work if we can prevent it. Not to mention the costs on the state that unemployment would cause. Combine that with question 1 and we migth be really screwing ourselves.
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