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But cornmeal porridge is found in France. And I'm not sure how that would differ from grits. Honestly, I'm not arguing with you about Shrimp & Grits being a French dish. It's clearly a Southern one, albeit one with Creole roots. My beef is with the way the judging was set up in the case. I think they had to stretch to find a reason to send Toya home when side by side her dish, its fit to the challenge, and her presentation were better than several others. But, to play Devil's advocate against myself, bottom line Toya was on the losing team which gave her a 50-50 shot at going home. She agreed with the others when they said they didn't need to practice. And if I had to choose one of the 3 teams to lose, it probably would have been theirs -- but I think only because of Jason's presentation and David's ability to "bring it home" with very little time left to him. I still wish they'd sent players home from both non-winning teams, but it's not the first time the rules of a particular challenge will get the wrong (imo) person sent home and it certainly won't be the last. :)

Here's one that makes me unaccountably ragey. I get that they're trying to make her a stereotypical Southern busybody, but WTF with the eyebrows and Pentecostal hair??

I think Star Salvation usually starts after they have at least 3 kicked off, maybe 4. I'm trying to remember from last year, but I'm pretty sure it's mroe than 2.

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am about Toya going home last night. I doubt she was going to win but she seemed to have a lot of potential and she did far better than some people last night *cough*Suzanne*cough* Sure, Shrimp & Grits isn't particularly French, but then neither were a LOT of the dishes that made it through, even on the winning team. (And as a Creole dish, I can make a much better argument for it being French than a lot of other dishes.) As for it not fitting the brunch theme, I live in the South and if you go to a nice restaurant that serves brunch, you can bet Shrimp & Grits will be on the menu somewhere. Grits is a breakfast food, for Pete's sake. And lookee here what I found from a Brunch at Bobby's episode: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/brunch-bobbys/episodes/southern-brunch I'm mostly annoyed that they didn't kick people off from BOTH losing teams rather than taking half of a single team, especially when Matthew and Cao aren't going anywhere soon. That meant Toya was leaving no matter what she made.

I'm not so sure about that. Half rice-flour, half-corn starch sounded off to me, so I Googled "Vietnamese pancake" recipes. The top 6 search returns didn't list cornstarch on the ingredients list at all. The 7th did but listed only 2T and "optional." I wonder too about pantry items vs. high-end French grocery items. Certain things I'd expect to be in the pantry: AP flour, corn starch, white & apple cider vinegar, butter. Others I would expect to need to buy at the specialty store: rice flour, champagne vinegar, grass-fed cultured butter. I could be totally off-base, of course.

I wonder if there was a bit of discussion about this that we missed. At one point (re Rusty's chop) Bobby said something like "It's kind of like a lollypop. You can pick it up one one hand and eat it." and Giada said "I dare you" (or words to that effect). Makes me think one of the judges brought up the fact that Rusty's dish wasn't really an hors d'oeuvre.

I like her a lot too, but she could stand to drop a few of the "I'm just a home cook" references. The line was something like "Did you get the doors painted? No, but the kids are still alive."

So happy to find this thread! There are SO many commercials that get on my last nerve (don't get me started on Kit Kat or Hardee's/Carl's Jr.) and I never have anyone to share my hatred with.

The store is when Nancy lost me (though it could have been at "No. You can't make warm soup, it has to be cold soup. And I'm making it so pick something else.") Matthew is full of himself but he's not a child, much less her child, and was under no obligation to "stay close to Mommy" in the grocery store.

Compound, yes. I think 'coercion' may have been a Freudian slip. Matthew's team was predisposed to disagree with anything he said. I actually find find myself a bit torn on that. Having watched him on his season and last year's Comeback Kitchen, I can't blame them too much. He was an entitled, immature douchebag. But this year he seems to be trying to be less of a prick, and his maturity level is starting to improve, so I'd be inclined to at least give him a chance. Especially as he knows this show, including what does and doesn't work, far better than any of them.

The Cahill Center for Atronomy and Astrophysics at CalTech.

I got bored and FF'd Lilli, Mark and Hunter tonight. I thought Jesse and Chris were energetic and fun and Lauren was good. The rest were ok. Aliyah sounded beautiful except for the low notes. I wanted to hug her. I wish they weren't letting children compete. She and Brennley would be amazing in a couple of years. Or even more pageanty. Hard to say, really. But they're too young right now. I thought it was interesting that Gwen let slip what I'd already suspected - that she and Blake help each other with song choices. Actually I guess she only said they discuss Brennley's. But I'd be surprised if that was the only one. It doesn't bother me. I actually think it's kind of sweet.

This past year they didn't (Lenny's wedding) so maybe they'll do the same thing this year and pretend the hiatus didn't happen. I agree the summer trip for Amy leaves them the option to skip ahead.

Ramona shows up at the University to work on some project or other and immediately attaches herself at the hip with Sheldon. Sheldon, who's at loose ends with Amy away, is perfectly happy to spend time with Ramona and doesn't see anything wrong with it. The gang can tell that Ramona is after him and do everything they can to get between them - literally (some funny physical comedy with them walking in between them, sitting in between them on the couch, etc.). Amy knows about Ramona because Sheldon, of course, tells her via Skype about all the time he and Ramona are spending together. Amy immediately gets on the phone with the girls: "You had ONE job!" Penny sits Sheldon down for a heart-to-heart and lays it out for him: Ramona wants him. He doesn't believe her. Ramona knows he's with Amy. Still, when Ramona shows up at his office with lunch for the two of them to share, he confronts her and asks if she's interested in him romantically. In answer, she kisses him. The end of the ep is a bigger spoiler, so I'm hiding it just for those who want a little mystery left...

Well, back when she was around the first time, he was still completely oblivious to women and had zero desire for any sexual contact at all. Now, he understands sexual desire (even if his libido doesn't run his life) and Amy is away for several months. I've seen a report from someone who attended the finale taping, and the gang isn't so much worried about Sheldon as they are about Ramona. It's pretty clear from her actions throughout the episode that she's after him, and Sheldon is so oblivious, he's playing right into her hands. I'm not sure how spoiled you guys like to get in this thread. I can share more if anyone's interested. :)

I see Eddie Jackson's Kids BBQ Championship starts back tomorrow. I generally loathe the kids show movement on FN, but Eddie is so charming and seems to have such a genuinely good rapport with the kids, that I enjoyed season 1. I noticed they've replaced the stiff/uptight chick from last season (forget her name) with Damaris Phillips. I have a feeling she and Eddie will fit well together. Think we should start a forum for the show since it's made it to season 2?

I think that in the upcoming weeks contestants may take a different strategy than Stephanie did last night. When she first chose Nyesha, I agreed with her and thought I'd have made the same choice (since they were the bottom 2). Once they both started cooking, however, I realized that bottom 2 or no they were both really talented chefs and either one of them could win. With that reminder in mind going forward, I'll be surprised if the chefs don't start putting their biggest competition up for elimination each time instead.

Sorry to keep referencing AB's FB chat but there were some good nuggets of info in there. Someone asked why ICA was canceled in the first place and he said something like he didn't think it was actually canceled but that it had just been put away for a bit and implied it was more a question of scheduling among the iron chefs (if I'm remembering correctly). It's a little fuzzy now, but I'm pretty sure he indicated it hadn't been an issue of ratings. If anyone wants to watch, it's about 3 posts down at https://www.facebook.com/altonbrown under "Who wants to talk about Iron Chef Gauntlet?"

One thing I was reminded of yesterday in watching some of the Iron Chef America reruns over the afternoon was how much they ran ICA like a sporting event. You had the play by play announcer (Alton) "in the booth" the guy down on the sidelines (Kevin) and even the commentary itself reminded me of the kind of play by play you get for a golfing or tennis event. "Here the challenger is using an extruder for his pasta / choosing a 9-iron for this leg..." It gave everything a sense of urgency as the commentary was happening live even if the event itself wasn't. I'd love to get that back.

I used to go back and forth on Zakarian (and I agree on CvC, he's playing what he thinks a host should be like (hyper and happy) as opposed to who he really is) but over the years two things have firmly shifted my opinion on him toward "I like this guy." One is his relationship with Jeff Mauro on The Kitchen. His interactions with the other co-hosts can sometimes seem a bit stilted, but it's clear he and Jeff actually enjoy each other (and enjoy ribbing each other). Jeff humanizes Geoffrey, and Geoffrey seems to get a genuine kick out of him. He'll make fun of himself on the show (a little) and seems to laugh it off Jeff or the others yank his chain about his suits or time in the makeup chair or his general snobbery. I don't think he takes himself too seriously. The final blow to my ambivalence toward him, however, was Trump. When Zakarian immediately pulled his planned restaurant after Trump's remarks on Mexican immigrants and held firm after Trump sued him, it told me what I needed to know about him. He may be (and probably is) a snob, but he's decent people. And Scott Conant? Scott is just sex on a stick. (He clearly realizes it, but I don't care. Sex. On. A. Stick.)

I wish Alton Brown would come back. As a "dish," the judging team of Bobby and Giada are incomplete. As Alex Guarnaschelli would say, it needs more acid. AB brought the acid. Still watching every ep, of course.

One other interesting thing that came out of the FB chat is when someone asked if this was like Iron Chef America where the chefs have a heads up that the secret ingredient will be one of three things. He said that on Gauntlet they don't know "diddly-squat" about what the secret ingredient may be and that if they bring back Iron Chef America this time they won't know diddly squat about the secret ingredient either. And that if he gets wind that they do, he will swap it out at the last minute. Not sure if it was bluster, but he seemed pretty passionate on that point. I tend to believe him, but my love for Alton Brown may be biasing me on that point.

Alton Brown did a live FB chat tonight after the episode aired and he strongly implied* that Iron Chef: Gauntlet is a test to see if there's enough interest/ratings to justify bringing back Iron Chef America. He also said that it's entirely possible if not probable that there won't be an actual "winner" of Gauntlet beyond a last contestant standing, as the winner would have to beat Flay, Morimoto AND Symon to be named an Iron Chef. *He pretty much said flat out that if the ratings for Gauntlet are good enough, the "suits" will bring back Iron Chef America and if not, they won't. He didn't give the impression that Gauntlet itself is under consideration for pickup as a regular series. Can someone remind me what Sarah did on Top Chef that was awful? I knew I knew her from somewhere but it wasn't obvious as with Stephanie. Maybe I've repressed her. And speaking of familiar faces, should I know Jonathan from somewhere?

It's funny that you say that, because I had that exact thought last night (primarily because I couldn't imagine how Brennley had lost her battle round). So it popped in my head, "There's no way Blake made her available to Gwen on purpose, is there??" But... I've since backed off of the idea because (1) "Blakey" may love Gwen but he's competitive, (2) he'd have had no way to be sure another coach might not try for Brennley and get her and (3) I rewatched Brennley and Lauren's battle round this morning and while Brennley was very good, Lauren did beat her imo. She is just more seasoned and polished and did a great job with "Better Man."

I'm honestly surprised by how much I miss Bobby Deen. I didn't think I cared about him one way or the other. I actually lost interest in this season after a couple of episodes primarily because he was gone (or maybe because Jesse was there in his place). Either way, haven't watched since and haven't missed it. I guess we'll see what happens with the Fall Baking Championship hosting duties...