The Great American Recipe - General Discussion

[2soon2tell]

6 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

They seem to be going down the same rabbit hole as last time.  There's got to be a way to do this so it's more fair across the board.  I'll be curious to see what happens on the second epi since they've kept all the cooks.  I really want them to have everyone do challenges where they are using the same type of ingredients (tweaked to respect any dietary or religious needs).  That would be a better gauge.  Doing it the way they did last season is too random.

Exactly. It needs to be every culture has a soup or stew, make yours. Or make your culture’s noodle/pasta dish. Bakery items vs salmon doesn’t cut it.

[nanmar33]

Judging is ridiculous.  One judge praised the contestant for making red velvet waffles as you can really taste the flavor - red velvet is made with food dye - has nothing to do with flavor.  And, she made a comment that the ribs weren't quite right as they weren't falling off the bone.  You actually don't want ribs falling off the bone as that means they are overcooked.  Also, how is it a competition show if no one is eliminated?  Sounds like the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality.

[nanmar33]

Judging is because you can really taste the flavor of the red velvet  - red velvet is made with food dye - has nothing to do with flavor.  And, she made a comment that the ribs weren't quite right as they weren't falling off the bone.  You actually don't want ribs falling off the bone as that means they are overcooked.  Also, how is it a competition show if no one is eliminated?  Sounds like the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality.

[Salacious Kitty]

People will be cut. In the season preview, it appears that there will be a double elimination at some point.

They definitely have front-runners already. 

[milkyaqua]

On 6/21/2023 at 5:37 AM, nanmar33 said:

You actually don't want ribs falling off the bone as that means they are overcooked.

Pretty much what Steven Raichlen has said about ribs that fall off the bone.  He says they should have some chew and that's why we have teeth.

21 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

They definitely have front-runners already. 

Agree with this.  Let's see if they can get through the season without making the finalists that obvious.

[chicagofan]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:31 AM, milkyaqua said:

They seem to be going down the same rabbit hole as last time.  There's got to be a way to do this so it's more fair across the board.  I'll be curious to see what happens on the second epi since they've kept all the cooks.  I really want them to have everyone do challenges where they are using the same type of ingredients (tweaked to respect any dietary or religious needs).  That would be a better gauge.  Doing it the way they did last season is too random.

 

On 6/20/2023 at 6:15 PM, 2soon2tell said:

Exactly. It needs to be every culture has a soup or stew, make yours. Or make your culture’s noodle/pasta dish. Bakery items vs salmon doesn’t cut it.

Well, in one of the rounds next week they have to "make a noodle dish representing their heritage".

[VanillaBear85]

Seems like Michael left the show. I was rooting for him since he's from Cleveland.

[Leeds]

Don't get me wrong, I hate the manufactured drama, backbiting, tears, bullying, etc., on most competitive cooking shows, but this is getting a bit too saccharine sweet for me.

[chicagofan]

Another non elimination? I wonder what happened to Mike.

I'm really liking Salmah. She comes across as very genuine and is my favorite so far. I'm not hating on anyone, but Khela is getting a bit annoying with the nervous giggling. Chill.

[Salacious Kitty]

Is Khela the one who likes to cook with wine (with varying degrees of success)?

[chicagofan]

Yes. The judges called her out on not cooking the wine off in the 1st round and she cooked with wine again in round two. Must have done better since I don't remember them saying anything about it in the second round.

[Salacious Kitty]

Yeah, I figured she was more successful with the red wine in round 2. 

I also wonder what happened to Mike. They just made a quick announcement and went on with the day. 

[milkyaqua]

The lady from Hawaii is annoying me with her constant mahalos.

I'm wondering when they'll start eliminating folks.  It's easy to armchair quarterback but some of these folks really need to get their time management in order.

[ExMathMajor]

18 hours ago, VanillaBear85 said:

Seems like Michael left the show. I was rooting for him since he's from Cleveland.

Same. As soon as they announced the “rep your region” challenge I immediately thought of pierogies and Polish boys. I was like: will he do it? He did it!

[chicagofan]

5 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

The lady from Hawaii is annoying me with her constant mahalos.

I like Relle, but l agree enough with the mahalos. And what's with Graham and the alohas?

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, chicagofan said:

 And what's with Graham and the alohas?

Somehow he's less awful than he was on MasterChef, despite still sporting those ridiculous glasses.  But, yes, the alohas are just stupid.  I looked it up and he's from Seattle . . . .

[chicagofan]

59 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Somehow he's less awful than he was on MasterChef, despite still sporting those ridiculous glasses.  But, yes, the alohas are just stupid.  I looked it up and he's from Seattle . . . .

Graham Elliot was living in Chicago and had a couple of restaurants here. But it appears that he closed them and it's reported that he has moved to Hawaii, which may explain the alohas, but doesn't make them any less annoying.

[nanmar33]

23 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

I'm wondering when they'll start eliminating folks.  It's easy to armchair quarterback but some of these folks really need to get their time management in order.

They are not eliminating anyone.  They are ranking them each week and then the top 3 will compete in the final, although they aren't showing the rankings or how they are ranking them so we don't know who is really in the lead.  Is it just the number of best dishes or top twos that you get, i.e., one point every time you get a top two or three?  Maybe more points if you are the overall favorite for the round?

[nanmar33]

18 hours ago, chicagofan said:

I like Rgree enough with the mahalos. And what's with Graham and the alohas?

 

23 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

The lady from Hawaii is annoying me with her constant mahalos.

I'm wondering when they'll start eliminating folks.  It's easy to armchair quarterback but some of these folks really need to get their time management in order.

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.

Edited June 28, 2023 by nanmar33

[surfgirl]

1 hour ago, nanmar33 said:

 

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.

He probably heard her say Mahalo and thought, 'oh shit, I was gonna use that word, now what word can I use? I know, Aloha!' I have no idea if Aloha is used in Hawaii as 'thank you' but I don't think it is. I think he sounds like a typical haole douchebag saying it all the time. And as much as Malaho girl is starting to work my last nerve, it IS her native custom and it does mean 'thank you', so I'm willing to give her a pass. But that dude, he needs to stop.

[Rammchick]

23 hours ago, nanmar33 said:

They are not eliminating anyone.  They are ranking them each week and then the top 3 will compete in the final, although they aren't showing the rankings or how they are ranking them so we don't know who is really in the lead.  Is it just the number of best dishes or top twos that you get, i.e., one point every time you get a top two or three?  Maybe more points if you are the overall favorite for the round?

This is going to be an interesting experiment.  On so many cooking shows, we have lamented the loss of contestants who were really great but eliminated because of one bad dish/bake.  We've even talked about instituting some sort of ranking or point system instead. So we're really going to see whether this format is better.

[Salacious Kitty]

I could have sworn that in the "this season" clips, they announced a double elimination at some point. I guess we'll see what they do next week.

[chicagofan]

I'm not sure that they aren't going to do traditional eliminations like they did last season. In season 1 they started with 10 cooks - in season 2 there were 9. I'm wondering if something came up last minute and they lost someone (number 10), and decided to let everyone stay. Then in episode 2 Mike is gone for some unknown reason, so since they've already lost another cook, everyone else catches a break. We'll have to see what happens in the 3rd episode - maybe that will clear things up.

[Rammchick]

17 hours ago, chicagofan said:

I'm not sure that they aren't going to do traditional eliminations like they did last season. In season 1 they started with 10 cooks - in season 2 there were 9. I'm wondering if something came up last minute and they lost someone (number 10), and decided to let everyone stay. Then in episode 2 Mike is gone for some unknown reason, so since they've already lost another cook, everyone else catches a break. We'll have to see what happens in the 3rd episode - maybe that will clear things up.

It actually said on the screen that there were not going to be any eliminations this season.

[Mondrianyone]

This is my first season watching. Not sure I'll last till the end if the tone stays as saccharine as in these initial episodes. I'm just wondering about Khela (sp?). Is it her goal for some reason to be perceived as an alcoholic? She seems to be trying very hard to give that impression.

[nanmar33]

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.

[kirklandia]

I gutted my way through the blandness that was season one. Season two looks like an even bigger snoozefest.
Without an elimination at the end of an episode, there would be nothing left to hold my interest. 🥱

[dleighg]

am watching the second episode-- I guess "what's in your pantry" (for the quick meal challenge) can include pita bread and corn chips? Because no one made those in 45 minutes.

And I suppose this is the schtick of this show, but each one has to embody their heritage EVERY SINGLE DISH (Greek, Jewish, Jordanian, Hawaiian, etc etc etc). Most home cooks pull from all sorts of inspirations, some they "own," some they've absorbed.

[surfgirl]

On 7/2/2023 at 2:10 AM, dleighg said:

am watching the second episode-- I guess "what's in your pantry" (for the quick meal challenge) can include pita bread and corn chips? Because no one made those in 45 minutes.

For a quick moment I thought your post said, "what's in your panty", which would have been infinitely more interesting than the drivel that is this show.

On 6/30/2023 at 11:24 AM, nanmar33 said:

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.

I don't think elevate means what she thinks it means!

Edited July 3, 2023 by surfgirl

[Salacious Kitty]

Well, I'm disappointed. This is the first episode when they could have jettisoned someone, and there were some pretty egregious failures. 

But when they dispatched the bad news before declaring a winner, it was obvious that no one was leaving. Geez, even the Julia Child Challenge sent someone home each week, and that show was another saccharine, feel good fest. 

Go Brad, I guess. Sigh.

[surfgirl]

Well folks, I'm out. I watched this entire episode and it qas so cloying and saccrine that I need to see my dentist now. It's embarrassing that the show runners took a tried and true British Baking format that works, and then dumped it down so low that it became cringey. The judges ate just stupid hacks - the bitch on the far left can never be happy with anything, and the rest co atantly co tradition themselves in one sentence (It was great, amazing, but also the meat was tough). And the contestants ate like campers on the edge of tears every round. I just can't with this drivel.

[milkyaqua]

And we're back...  I thought after last week when they all had to do something with pasta we'd get similar challenges but nope.  Ugh!  Why is this so hard for this show to get right?  Pretty much every food competition show has folks cook if not the same dish, then at least the same type of dish.  That's all this show needs to do but no, we get everyone making dishes for the people they love or that's comfort food or whatever.  How are you supposed to be able to fairly judge how these folks do if they aren't even cooking a semblance of the same thing?

The top two dishes were criticized during judging for flaws yet based on what the viewers were shown, we didn't hear that critique when they announced the final results.  As said upthread, someone should have gone home this week as nearly every dish got dinged in one way or the other.  I've just accepted that for some reason this has to be a cryfest for the contestants and the judges but if someone messed up a dish, then send them home.

[dleighg]

33 minutes ago, milkyaqua said:

for some reason this has to be a cryfest for the contestants and the judges

yeah, now we have the contestants making the judges cry when they mention their grandparents. Give me a break. Are all these people REALLY that close to their grandparents? Maybe I'm just a misanthrope, but I don't recall being prostrate when mine died. Parents, yes. Grandparents, not so much. 

[kirklandia]

How are they ever supposed to pick a winner? Three episodes in, they still haven't eliminated anyone.  So, they are not narrowing the field.
They don't appear to be assigning scores of any kind.  So, there are no measurable criteria (or, in teacher-talk, no rubric).

Will it just come down to whoever makes the least bad dish in the final round?  

 

[Salacious Kitty]

7 minutes ago, kirklandia said:

Will it just come down to whoever makes the least bad dish in the final round?  

 

I'm afraid so. And glaring errors like shells not picked ignored to promote favorites. 

Edited July 5, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[dleighg]

6 hours ago, kirklandia said:

How are they ever supposed to pick a winner?

I believe they said that while they aren't eliminating anyone, they are scoring *everyone* so that at the end there will be a top three (or whatever). They just aren't telling *us* who the leaders are.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

I believe they said that while they aren't eliminating anyone, they are scoring *everyone* so that at the end there will be a top three (or whatever). They just aren't telling *us* who the leaders are.

I still have two episodes to watch but I'm putting it off after hearing all of this.  It's one thing not to eliminate anyone but another not to even let us know who's leading and who's falling behind.

[potatoradio]

Damn. This is terrible. Really terrible. 

I actually would be OK with the non-elimination aspect IF I had any clue who was actually closer to winning AND if the actual cooking "challenges" had ANY kind of specific focus instead of "cook with love/show us who you are and then sob about grandma." I'm not watching a crying competition or group therapy; I'm watching a cooking competition. Or so I thought. 

At least I'm learning a bit more about MENA cuisine and want to try making new dishes thanks to Brad, who, so far, is the only redeeming aspect of this snoozefest. I have already looked up chraime to adapt it to chicken because one member of our household won't go near fish, but was drooling over the chraime. 

That, and Tiffany Derry looks absolutely fabulous in that dark raspberry/almost burgundy color she was wearing in the last ep.

 

[chicagofan]

In one respect I like that no one is being eliminated - I do hate it on other shows when a fave goes home because they had one bad round. And this season there's no one I absolutely hate (although I do have a couple of favorites), so there's no one I would want to be eliminated ASAP. And I like that we'll get to know everyone better and see more of their dishes.

That said, it's supposed to be a competition. And with no real basis of judging the competitors head to head since other than the noodle round each round's criteria are so vague as to be nonexistent, there's no real way to compare dishes. I think that unless some folks majorly screw up that the finals will be the judges' pets as rhey can do whatever they like with their "scoring".

[MBayGal]

I definitely thought the judges' two favorites were the gay guy and the Guyanan woman, but now that Native American woman had everyone sobbing, she has an edge up.  As for who is actually the best cook--how would we know?

[Guest]

On 7/4/2023 at 4:20 PM, dleighg said:

yeah, now we have the contestants making the judges cry when they mention their grandparents. Give me a break. Are all these people REALLY that close to their grandparents? Maybe I'm just a misanthrope, but I don't recall being prostrate when mine died. Parents, yes. Grandparents, not so much. 

Lots of people are VERY close to their grandparents and are devastated when they pass away. I had a solid cry at each of my grandparents’ memorial services. And sometimes it’s not just the loss, but the circumstances of how they passed. It’s worth noting that what made Tiffany cry when the contestant mentioned her grandmother is that Tiffany’s grandmother “wasn’t doing so good right now.” That could be physical deterioration from disease, dementia, who knows, but it can be very upsetting. I don’t blame her for crying, nor do I blame Maria for crying over her brother, who she just lost last year.

Now, whether or not such crying (and the intentional soliciting of same) should be a major component of what is ostensibly a cooking competition show is another matter. But I personally draw the line at mocking people for what seemed to be very genuine grief.

[blueray]

My husband and I watched this as a relaxing show. I of course compared it right away to the British Bake Off. Even to how they have the contestants walk into the tent Cabin. But I did enjoy the first season anyway.

I will say I called from the first episode that Silvia was going to win, without being spoiled at all. I however, do think she was the most talented of the chefs maybe I bought into their hype or just like Mexican food (which I do). Foo being a close second. So I do think the right people were eliminated when they were. However, one thing that bothered me in the finale was they showed each time Silvia get "star baker" but not Foo (who I feel like won just as often).

And I agree that they need more directions on what they can make as it was to whatever you feel like. Which makes it hard to compare them fairly. My favorite was when they switched recipe though they were still allowed to do what they wanted.

And the judges were annoying. Especially Leah. I don't care about your opinion on how they should improve their grandparents recipe. Like seriously some of these were passed down and a lot to them were personal and she just says oh that's "cute" this how I will make it better.

Anyhow, I enjoyed it overall. Off to season 2.

Edited July 8, 2023 by blueray

[dleighg]

Why is Leah Cohen wearing a 1970s bridesmaid dress?

"Canned Ham." I guess she was not allowed to say SPAM.

 

[potatoradio]

Yeah, don't know what Leah did to make wardrobe so vengeful, but yikes...holy mustard yellow frump, Batman. 

This ep was a little better - at least there was a theme, if not exactly a challenge. And I do seem to find recipes that I want to try each week. This week, there were two: the cheese/fruit rolls and the triple chocolate cheesecake. Dang those looked good. I'm not much of  a baker, but I'll give those a shot! 

Laughed at Tiffany wanting to really, really taste the rum in the bread pudding. 

Graham never ever needs to say "sweet little balls of deliciousness" or whatever he said that made me gag from how hard I cringed. 

They're never going to stop the sob stories and I'm never going to stop rolling my eyes at them. I'm not  mocking grief; I'm mocking this ridiculous insistence on getting a cook to cry every week because of mom or grandma or kids or cousin like a sister or....it's not necessary and I find it incredibly gratuitous and grating. 

This show belongs more on Saturday mornings. It ain't quite ready for primetime. 

That said, I tried to make the chraime as a chicken crockpot. It was pretty good, even after I burned the paprika and added too much cayenne, so it's also pretty foolproof!

[milkyaqua]

This one was a little better than last week but not by much.  I did like they all had to do a dessert but otherwise, meh.  It would be so easy to fix the issues with this show but I guess TPTB don't care to do so.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

They're never going to stop the sob stories and I'm never going to stop rolling my eyes at them. I'm not  mocking grief; I'm mocking this ridiculous insistence on getting a cook to cry every week because of mom or grandma or kids or cousin like a sister or....it's not necessary and I find it incredibly gratuitous and grating.

You might not be mocking grief, but the post I quoted was absolutely mocking people's grief over losing their grandparents. I agree (and noted in my post) that having challenges designed to elicit crying week after week is out of place in a cooking show.

I thought Leah looked fine 🤷‍♂️

[buttersister]

Fresh grief or pre-grieving (waves to Roman) is very emotional, so those people get a pass. But that's it. And stop with the challenges that elicit it +1.

I do wish they'd organize this thing better. If there's going to be a Great American Recipe Cookbook, will it be organized like the show? No, no publisher would do that. So they're big on the melting pot culture and I applaud that--everyone does have a stew and a noodle dish. And a dumpling. And a soup that grandma made. And what you make on the 4th of July. And what you want for your birthday dinner. This can be freshened up a ton and be made more relatable. And interesting. Common foods across cultures is my interest, and I know I'm not alone.

Judges? Meh. I like Terry, but her comments sometimes reach. I didn't like Leah on her TC season. Graham is a hard pass. He's on TV a bunch, but hasn't quite managed to come across as all that sincere. Or comfortable.  Whatever. Elton John's off the road now, so Graham can own the big colorful eyeglass frames. There's another judge. 

Don't mind the non-eliminations all that much (Michael, where are you?). I'm trying to keep a scorecard in my head about how many first places, second places and last places there are. As long as they show their work at the end, I don't hate it. But I'm concerned that it enables finalists to be chosen on some other basis.

Go, Brad. I want to eat all your food. Also, like learning about the Native American and Guyanese dishes and Abbe's recipe book (that Pina colada macaroon--why haven't I made that before?)

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by buttersister
Don't use words that have a double meaning.

[2soon2tell]

I’m finding it hard to believe that any culinary judge would be ok with a dish made with either spam or canned salmon. Also, is grilling a steak actually a “recipe?”

[blueray]

I'm a few episodes back just watched episode three. But I'm confused why aren't they sending anyone home?

[chicagofan]

On 6/28/2023 at 1:40 PM, nanmar33 said:

They are not eliminating anyone.  They are ranking them each week and then the top 3 will compete in the final, although they aren't showing the rankings or how they are ranking them so we don't know who is really in the lead.  Is it just the number of best dishes or top twos that you get, i.e., one point every time you get a top two or three?  Maybe more points if you are the overall favorite for the round?

Hope this answers your question.