nanmar33

I knew from day one that Adjo would make the finals. Also thought John would and then it was toss up between Marcella and Mei because the judges love ethnicity. The more ethnic your cooking, the better. Season 1 finalists cooked Vietnamese food, Mexican (winner), and Syrian. Season two finalists were Libyan (winner), Guyanese, and Caribbean. This season, African, Mexican, and Sicilian/Italian. Tim had 3 goods and one overall best and no worst dishes, but didn't make the finals. Adjo had 3 worst dishes. And, she got a pass on the overcooked shrimp (and got one of the best dishes with it) which no one else did. Tim and Doug just didn't have an ethnic slant to their cooking to be in the finals.

I laughed about the strawberry pretzel dish and Doug saying it was Pittsburgh. That is such a southern dish. My aunts in the south made it for every get together. I'm curious who will be in the finals. Doug and Adjo both have a lot of goods, but also a lot of bad dishes. I wonder if Tim will be in the finals as he has no bad dishes and 3 goods with one overall best. Although there is usually an agenda with the finals. I don't think Doug fits the profile for the finals. Here are the standings so far: GoodTotal GoodsOverall Best Did anyone else find the blue lipstick very distracting and odd? Never saw anyone wear blue lipstick.

The last episode is what I don't like most about this show. Tim won best overall for his raspberry tarts and he used store bought jam for the filling whereas Marcella made pastry and filling all from scratch. Such a difference in difficulty. Also, Adjo needs to stop relying on plantains all the time. Seems like that is all she uses now. Looks like the frontrunners are Mae, Adjo, and Doug.

Salt has a very distinctive flavor. Put some salt crystals on your tongue and you can definitely taste it. My food is not bland. It is full of flavor using other spices.

The judges all seemed very favorable for the first week. I am so tired of Tiffany always saying the cooks need to add salt. The US uses way too much salt and it usually overwhelms the dish. I use virtually no added salt in my cooking as I would rather have the other flavors front and center. There are so many health problems related to salt intake that its use should not be encouraged.

Why shouldn't she have been cast? There are a lot of people in America who cook like her and who have a similar background to her. If we are having the Great American Recipe, then everyone should be included, not just those who are first/second generation Americans.

So I went through the videos on PBS online to see who had the most top twos. Salma 7 Brad 5 (with one overall best) Khela 4 Abby 2 (with one overall best) Relle 2 (with two overall best) Leanna 2 (with one overall best) Ted 2 Maria 1 Mike 1 Least Successful Abby 3 Leanna 2 Ted 2 Relle 1 Salma 1 Maria 1 So really Khela should have been in the final.

I knew Leanna was going to make it to the final because all during the show when they showed the contestants interviews away from cooking she kept mentioning how she really wanted to make the final and how she had to up her game to make the final, etc. It was obvious she was going to make it, but other were more deserved.

Leah actually said about one contestant how she listened to their critiques and has improved so much! I think Abby or Relle, they both had a few wins and were consistent.

Yep, cannot mention brand names on tv - it's considered either an endorsement and/or free advertising. It's why on game shows the contestants never say the company they work for. Although, saying I work for a large software company in Washington State kind of gives it away. 😃 Although I have seen exceptions when the contestant works for a university or sometimes a non-profit.

Now, every recipe made is getting rave reviews. Although what Salma made looked good, the judges didn't know what it was. How could they know if it was made well or not? Maybe it's supposed to be dense and hers was airy or vice versa. You can't tell her she did a great job if you don't know how it is supposed to turn out. And what was up with Kehla talking about herself in the third person?

There is no way those cinnamon rolls could have been made in 90 minutes. My husband makes cinnamon rolls a lot and it takes 90 minutes just for the two rises. Then you have to mix the ingredients, roll them out, bake them. The way she rolled them up was atrocious - looked like a giant crescent roll and she just poured the brown sugar on and then sprinkled cinnamon. Judges are always talking about getting the same taste in every bite, yet with the way the cinnamon/sugar was done, there would be some bites with no cinnamon in them. The cinnamon and brown sugar should have been mixed together and then sprinkled evenly over the dough. And there was no butter in the icing. These judges are really annoying me with their stupid comments. Telling Leanna that using dental floss was genius - that tip has been around for years. My husband uses a bakers bench knife which works just as well.

I hate that they always say that part of the judging will be how well it fits the theme. If the theme is something you always have at a holiday how do the judges know the contestants are telling the truth? I could make anything and say, "my grandmother always made this and now I make it" and start crying and they would say I matched the theme beautifully. I found the bake sale recipes a bit of a stretch. Every bake sale I've gone to had choc chip cookies, brownies, fudge, etc, I have never seen bread pudding at a bake sale and I think the triple choc cheesecake cups were a bit over the top for a bake sale plus I am so tired of people putting salt on every dessert now. Pina Colada macaroons are not new. I also hated the judge saying why has no one ever thought of that before, uh, they have. Not sure of the Knafeh Muffins at a bake sale. Depends on the buyers I think. I think Leanna, Kehla, and Maria would have been eliminated by now if there had been eliminations.

I thought it strange that one judge had never had a kugel before. Also, another judge said she elevated it by adding corn cereal on top. Corn flakes is not elevating a dish to me. Also, from last week, Khela from Overland Pak made cheesy corn - that is a recipe from a restaurant which has a location in Overland Park. I know because I have the recipe from that restaurant. Credit should have been given to the restaurant.

The mahalos don't bother me - that is her culture and it is probably very natural for her to say that. It is no different than the other contestants saying thank you to the chefs. She is Hawaiian so makes sense she would use Hawaiian words. I found Graham saying Aloha a bit insulting to her.