Blonde Gator

Thanks for that link....I also found this updated link. Fatima underwent surgery today to remove the cancerous tumor from her left shoulder. Hopefully this is the end of the end of her cancer...article said she's already had four rounds of chemo. http://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/top-chef-season-15-contestant-fatima-ali-undergoes-surgery-to-remove-cancer-photos Prayers and Godspeed, Chef Fati!

Speaking of toast.....this is a great TC-related vid of Eric Ripert's kitchen with Gail making him Welsh Rarebit. Fun! (Wish he'd do more judging, love Chef Ripert).

Yeah, Spidey, I mentioned that before. I think Ep 1, at the festival thing, he gave (?)Mustache Joe his big pot, and put his stuff in a tray on the induction burner, overcooking it. And also helped Bruce w/ mis en place in another challenge, IIRC.

Asking someone "where is x" in a brand new kitchen (LCK) shouldn't be a trick question. Brother's behavior was that of a real dick. His "by the rabbit" remark was okay (even though he apparently KNEW exactly where the wrap was), but then to go get the wrap, and use it.....and stick it on HIS station, (which is NOT where it belonged).....and then NOT mention it.....was a total DICK move. No skin off my nose, but judging by the reaction(s) here, Brother lost huge credibility with fans, many of whom actually seek out the restaurants of the chefs they see on this program. The only one to lose here was Brother. Tu merely beat himself in the challenge, which of course had nothing to do with the plastic wrap. Let me ask you, if Brother showed up in your kitchen, looking for a job, would you hire him after seeing that behavior? I wouldn't hire him as a hostess. He's a dick. Edited per CooksDelight note directly below my post. I DID mean Brother, thanks, CD.

Agreed. Brother's little "act" (if that's what he's claiming now) was totally skeevy.

Seriously? Padma doesn't? Rocky mountain oyster promos...."I hope you like nuts". SMH.

That "home cook heat thing" really chapped!!!! I got into cooking with real chile peppers a while back (just had 5 lbs. of fantastic peppers delivered last week)....and my 10 year old grandson pesters me that "it's not hot enough!". Both Padma's & Blaise's comments were totally condescending. Who do they think their audience is? We need MORE Gail & Hugh, and less Blaise & Padma!!! WE WANT HUGH (AND EMERIL).

I'm very happy for you and your situation. But you need to understand that THAT is not everyone else's situation. Happy for you, but please, don't ascribe your own situation to everyone else. Others do it differently. Aren't we all supposed to celebrate diversity?

Apparently not. Mr. BG went to the doc's yesterday, and was told to restrict his salt intake. Personally, I stay away from packaged food as much as possible to eliminate extra salt, and then I cook with salt the way I think it tastes good. I like salt (lots on something like steak), but try to use restraint on most everything else.

I meant as Front of House.

Tu was trying to find the plastic wrap....Brother told him "it's by the rabbit". Tu was running around the kitchen trying to find it. He wanted to use it to make a roulade out of his chicken curry. He never did find the plastic wrap, and tried to punt using an immersion bag, no dice....so he cooked his chicken on the grill, and the skin was fatty. Meanwhile, Brother was cooking....and got the plastic wrap to mold his avocado. He never told Tu where the wrap was, even after he used it, and just put it on the table right in front of the rest of his own station. Then he smirked at the seated chefs, and made snotty faces as Tu struggled with Tom and the flabby chicken skin. REALLY BAD SPORTSMANSHIP, particularly after Tu lent Joe Mustache (first challenge) his pan in the first challenge. Just blew all of his credibility and good will right out the window. I'd never go out of my way to eat at his restaurant. Hope the spoiler tag worked....well crap, I tried.

"Exotic Dancers". Double Snort! I forgot that until you mentioned his dad's stage name. As annoyed as I am with Brother, I have to give him credit for embracing it.

I think it was the very first challenge when Tu lent his PAN to a competitor (Mustache Joe?)....and (over) cooked his stew in the steamer tray as a result of his generosity.? My mom would have called what happened tonight "dirty pool". Particularly when one chef KNEW exactly where the wanted item was....all the while the other chef kept asking about it. Not nice! If I was that chef's mom, I'd be horrified at such skanky behavior.

Oh yeah, Fatima! Frankly, I was rather shocked not to see her in the Top 3 with her cake. Her hero worship of Padma is so sweet and genuine. I hope she's doing well....I don't follow Social Media like instagram, etc., so would appreciate any updates and will continue to check the TC/Media thread.

She left for the episode, and while at the hospital, pretty much decided she was leaving the competition for good. It was sad, but the right thing to do.

I have to respectfully disagree. Top Chef has done wine pairings, cocktail pairings, etc. many times before, and Chris should have been prepared for a challenge that included alcohol as a mandatory ingredient. He's been hanging out with all of these chefs who routinely drink in the chef house. It's a common story in this profession, and also a common chef story on Top Chef. I was also extremely disappointed that Chris just seemed to phone it in because he had immunity. He worked at the beer thing (Rambler?) with the help of the others, but threw up his hands with his dish. That made me lose a lot of respect for him, maybe it was the edit, but seriously.....buying pre-made sausage for sliders on pre-made pretzel buns?? (funny....we were just discussing pretzel buns on the recipe thread earlier today....even I can make them without too much thought). I don't recall ever seeing a chef with immunity just phone it in like that....usually they try to win the challenge anyway, or knowingly take the fall for a team challenge....like Jaime in SC who REALLY took the fall (gave up immunity) because Tesar foisted off all of the absurd ingredients on him during that tropical storm scavenger hunt challenge. The chefs mooning over their "cozy" bunk beds was hilarious, but I can certainly understand! We live in SoFla, but last January took the grandson camping w/the cubbies, and a cold front came through, it was 41 degrees the morning we had to get up and leave, a cold front that moved far faster than forecast, and NO ONE had either warm clothes or long pants! We spent a miserable two hours breaking down the campsite in the cold rain in shorts & flip flops.......so no wonder those poor people were in love with their tiny beds! Another lesson learned on Top Chef, I guess, appreciate what you have....for tomorrow you may not have it! I'm not at all surprised to see the top dishes were mostly pork. German cuisine, after all. It seemed to me that the crowd was fairly conversant with German food, too. Adrienne needs to salt her dishes twice for Tom. Maybe 3 times. I'm a salt lover, but even I can only imagine what a salt lick Tom craves. Sorry to see Lee Anne go....I hope she comes back in the future.

It will be interesting to see how Restaurant Wars turns out this year. It seems they always stick a woman at Front of the House on at least one team, by default (perceived weakest chef?). It's always a make-or-break position. Does anyone have any idea how many chefs have been eliminated for losing Restaurant Wars at this point, after 14 Seasons? I'd bet at least 8. IDK, but that would be my guess. The only chef who really stands out to me as the BEST FOH was Fabio. There were others who were good at it, but I can't recall any right off the top of my head. Truly, though, at this point, I'd be happy to eat at a restaurant where ANY of the remainder of the chefs currently in the competition are working. They all seem to have some interesting skills.

OMG....I need to shoot myself, now. DEEP APOLOGIES FOR ANY CONFUSION. Sheeit.....I'll blame it on Partsheimers! Seriously, I know better. *rolls eyes at myself*

I've not tried the baking soda trick myself (on chicken).....I think I'd use the regular brine, and then dry your chicken and give it a quick dip in plain water with baking SODA. Alton Brown's bagel recipe calls for 10 cups of water with 2/3 cup baking soda. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe-1948242 You want to change the pH of the skin....I'd not want to brine the chicken in a baking soda brine....I'd worry it would change the texture of the chicken itself. I think a 30 second dunk in boiling water/baking soda mix would do. I buy Baking Soda in 5 lb. containers from GFS (Gordon Food Service, a restaurant supply). My house (and plumbing) are OLD....so I use the old 1 cup baking soda, followed by 1 cup white vinegar...wait 1/2 hour and pour in a giant pot of boiling water....about every other week on both of my kitchen drains, and maybe 1x a month in the bathrooms. It saves me from paying the plumber to come snake out the pipes! It is non-corrosive, cheap, and better yet....works like a charm! Also, you can use baking soda, aluminum foil, boiling water & salt to clean your silver (look it up on the internet). Easy peasy. The oxidation on the silver transfers to the aluminum foil in reaction to the pH of the baking soda, ionized by the salt. Please let us know how you make out with the chicken. Best.

Lura....you can remember the "chicken trick".....if you've ever made pretzels, you have to boil them before baking for about 30 seconds in a bath of water & baking soda. Same thing with the chicken. Baking soda changes the PH. Baking powder has both acid and alkali elements, hence it causes bubbles by itself when added to a dough. But you always have to add an acid when using baking soda (either buttermilk, vinegar, etc. OR baking powder as well). Easy peasy! BTW.....the pretzel thing is pretty damned impressive (and easy)! I made them, and "pretzel buns" for the kidlets. They went WILD over them.

Agreed, Spidey. I am beyond sick of these heartfelt SPEWS of being offended. For cryin' out loud, if you're offended, DON'T WATCH! It's time for people to grow the Hell up.

You'd have trouble keeping coals on the lid of pot #1 or 2 to use to bake biscuits or whatever. It's a cooking pot. Pot #3 is designed for baking/roasting while camping. Coals on top and bottom. Note the ridge on the top to keep the coals from falling off.

Not "in". On top, and under. For baking. Check out YouTube.

I'd like to see an All Star AND Masters season. That would be some great TV. I know I sound like a broken record, but I am so enjoying the "Masters-like" collegiality among this seasons' competitors. It adds, rather than subtracts, for me. Top Chef is at its best when the cheftestants are "cooking against themselves"....upping their OWN games against what they've done in the past. Which is why I prefer the later season challenges, not so many team challenges, although some of the classics, like the Mis En Place race, are always great fun to watch. I much prefer Top Chef to be all about the cooking (silly challenges included, kudos again to Carrie this week for swinging for the fences with her snow oven)....rather than the drama of a reality TV show. If I were into reality shows, I'd watch more than the one episode of Survivor I've ever seen (a captive, I might add), or any of the other silly reality shows. I want to see the cooking, I want to learn things.....like Mustache Joe's great hint to add baking powder to the chicken brine to crisp the skin, or Chris's brine of lemonade for his fried chicken!

Those are enameled dutch ovens. For campfire baking, you need one that is just plain cast iron. There's a formula for getting the desired internal baking temperatures by putting x number of hot charcoals on the bottom, under the pan (hopefully one with little legs), and then the cast iron top is made to also hold x number of hot coals. I learned this with the grandson in Cubbies....they had a Dutch Oven campfire cook off. Chili won.