S12.E09: Big Sausage

[Tara Ariano]

The chefs prepare sausage. Later, they create dishes inspired by the literary work of notable New England authors, including Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. Appearing: NFL player Rob Gronkowski; chef Tony Maws; and editor Francis Lam.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I am more annoyed by the inclusion of Poe, who famously hated Boston (though we did just give him a statue) than I am by King.  I am not a King fan at all, but at least he seems to like New England.

[Lamb18]

If they do Louisa May Alcott, they can use pickled limes and blanc mange.

[Julia]

"I think Thoreau's minimalism really shines through my quiet desperation scallops..."

[biakbiak]

Because over time shows like to change up ho www.they do things.

[SFoster21]

On early tonight.

[Madding crowd]

It annoyed me that Padma was complaining because Gregory didn't have a literal raven in his dish. While is certainly didn't compare visually to Mai's dish, he thought about the meaning behind the poem and tried to replicate it on the plate. And as a lover of both fine literature and Stephen King, I got a kick out of Katsuji's splatter. Too bad George had immunity.

[AliceGoodDay]

Was everyone on this thread an English major? Enjoying your posts more than I did the episode.

Edited December 18, 2014 by AliceGoodDay

[rustyspigot]

All I remember from Emily Dickinson was hearing a fly buzz when she died, so good on Doug for finding something nice to showcase out of that life of the party, Emily.

 

Padma was all for the Gronk sausage. I won't hate.

[cooksdelight]

Having met Katsuji, he is a very sweet, funny man. And everyone loved him there. He and Doug are one of the funniest bromances I've ever seen, they are truly very good friends.

[avecsans]

I don't like the Patriots either, but anyone who supports the Washington Racists has no room to talk, George.

I feel like George is on a clear path to the finals because that will justify letting him back into the competition at such a late date.

I was an English major and I was still a little bored by this episode. Gregory seems to be losing his mojo and I hope he gets it back soon.

[Bastet]

I will have to catch a repeat of this episode, as I paid only marginal attention.

 

I loathe the Patriots, so George flat-out telling "Gronk" he wasn't a fan gave me a good laugh.

 

I really appreciated Katsuji's response to "your dish should visually evoke a work of this author," and like that the judges largely did as well.  But the food itself didn't look as good as the rest, so - even if his exit hadn't been telegraphed by the "I miss my family" footage at the beginning of the episode - I figured he'd be the one to go.  Like Katie last week, it seems to have happened at the right time.

 

I was put off by everyone's reaction to Doug being "stuck" with Emily Dickinson.  I'm not a fan of cooked carrots, so I wasn't excited by his soup, but I like the effort he put in to developing layer upon layer of carrot flavor.

 

Those summaries of the authors the chefs were given must have been pretty simplistic.  Were none of them familiar with any of those authors' works on their own?  It seemed Katsuji knew the films based on King's works, but was anyone familiar with the available literature without the Cliff Notes?  Some of Melissa's comments made me think she was, but I'm not sure. 

[Crucial]

I'm a Pats fan so anything Gronk and sausage works for me, lol.  I like the New England authors aspect but the Pats fan in me wanted a serving for the Pats team.  Maybe have the authors for another time.  Why waste Gronk on screen for this when your later task is authors.  But I'm a fan so maybe that's why I am biased.

[ShadowSixx]

I really didn't like the sausage quickfire because Gronk or whatever his name didn't really add anything of value when saying why he disliked or liked a certain dish, so I was like whatever to him and the challenge.

 

You know I really don't see books whenever someone puts food down in front of me, so I wouldn't know. I for sure thought that Gregory was going to be eliminated because of his two proteins and one wasn't cooked to one of the judge's liking. If they want their meat cooked to the temperature they want, they should have at least informed the chefs so they know whether to cook it done, rare, medium rare, etc.

 

I'm surprised we're already having a final 5. I would love for George to go home, still think not fair that an eliminated chef gets to get back in the game. At least with LCK eliminated chefs compete with each other to get back in the game. Sudden Death the eliminated chefs get to compete and possibly replace a chef still in the game isn't fair IMO.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Padma, down girl!  She looked like she'd love to tackle Gronk in the Top Chef kitchen and commit a personal foul on him.  I'm a huge Pats fan, live in the Boston area, and between this and the recent ESPN photos of Gronk with a tiny kitten, the sports talk guys have been having a field day.  

 

I was faked out by the Gregory back story, figuring that he was the one going home tonight, but I won't miss Katsuji; I guess I never found him charming, like others did. To me, he was just annoying.  

 

Where did they find those authors?  There are a ton of well-known writers/authors here in Massachusetts but they were nowhere to be seen.

 

Mei's dish was beautiful.  She deserved that win.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I loathe the Patriots, so George flat-out telling "Gronk" he wasn't a fan gave me a good laugh.

 

As a die-hard Patriots fan, I was cheering Gronk's trash-talking of George.  And yeah, "with all due respect," George, no one has to respect your team, particularly because the team's owner doesn't seem to understand what a slur is. 

 

In general, though, I like Gronk because he is who he is, which came through tonight.  Still, I would have loved it had Vince Wilfork been a judge.

 

With regard to the authors challenge, I thought it was a good challenge, both in concept and execution.  I do wish that there was more gender balance - why not Alcott or Wharton?  And I would have dropped Poe for Melville. But I liked the inclusion of Dr. Seuss and Stephen King as modern authors (even though I am not an actual fan of King's work).

 

In terms of the actual dishes, it was cool that they all seemed to produce really high quality dishes, but IMO it was time for Katsuji to go.

 

 

I'm a huge Pats fan, live in the Boston area, and between this and the recent ESPN photos of Gronk with a tiny kitten, the sports talk guys have been having a field day.

 

 

This is why I like Gronk, Auntie Anxiety.  He knows the Boston sports media is going to give him a hard time, and he just doesn't care.  He's going to go out there and have a good time (while also destroying opposing teams on Sunday).

Edited December 18, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[stanleyk]

I was put off by everyone's reaction to Doug being "stuck" with Emily Dickinson.

 

I was, too - I immediately saw what a chef could do with Dickinson, far more than with Hawthorne. And the funny thing is that Doug - by simply taking a line and trying to replicate the visual - actually accidentally stumbled on a pretty good representation of Dickinson on a plate: austere but sophisticated, simple but with hidden profundity.

 

This George thing is driving me nuts. I am not a crackpot, and I recognize how idiotic it is to get exercised over the fact that a televised game show doesn't play by recognizable rules, but it's such bullshit that he got to just jump into the final six (...seven? I'm not paying much attention) based on a single dish. And then he wins immunity given out by a football player with no discernible knowledge of food (apologies to all the Patriots fans: I don't follow football and have no clue who that guy is). Note that his bottom two were because one was too small and one was too spicy. His top two were the most conventional, boring-looking dishes. Which is par for the course for George, who based on everything he's made so far, seems to make only dull, deeply conventional food that is competently made. Seems clear George would have gone home without that immunity, so...blech.

 

On the other hand, I was no great fan of Katsuji, so whatever. And on a more universal point, I will have forgotten all of these people ever existed in a matter of weeks, so I should probably stop ranting about George.

Edited December 18, 2014 by stanleyk

[mlp]

 

Were none of them familiar with any of those authors' works on their own?  I

 

I got the impression that a couple of them weren't even familiar with the concept of reading a book. 

 

I felt for Doug because he obviously knew that Emily Dickinson was not going to lead to anything exciting.  His soup was lovely and apparently also tasted good.  I like him a lot and hope he continues to excel and wins the whole thing although I suspect that Gregory might.  There's something about his personality that I find a little off-putting but I don't know what it is.  I want Doug to beat him.

 

I liked Katsuji a lot and hated to see him go.  He cracked me up. 

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I am thinking Gregory isn't as much of a lock as it seemed earlier in the season. He's stumbled now on 2 or 3 challenges, while both Doug and Melissa are having a good run. And, like it or not, George seems like a legitimate threat. So I am not sure this is Gregory's to lose anymore.

[buttersister]

At what point does George's boring plating do him in? Not seeing the finesse of the other chefs. Didn't previous season players got slammed for that?

[LotusFlower]

I love Gronk, but I bet they asked Tom Brady first. Just this week, an article on Brady came out detailing his very disciplined and rigid workout and eating habits. Supposedly he eats only "hot property" foods in the winter, and "cold property" foods in the summer. Something like red meat (hot) and salads (cold)?? I don't know....maybe they could've explained it in a cool challenge.

[vb68]

 

Padma, down girl!  She looked like she'd love to tackle Gronk in the Top Chef kitchen and commit a personal foul on him.

 

 

I just found her " you can call me honey" shtick so embarrassing.  I mean, really?

 

I was sorta amazed that George won the quickfire.   It looked like a plate at Denny's or something.   Well, I'll stipulate a good Denny's if one exists. 

Edited December 18, 2014 by vb68

[LotusFlower]

I just found her " you can call me honey" shtick so embarrassing. I mean, really?

I was sorta amazed that George won the quickfire. It looked like a plate at Denny's or something. Well, I'll stipulate a good Denny's if one exists.

If Gronk is a "gourmand" than I'm Emily Dickinson. (And clearly there's no poetry to my posts). That's why George won the quickfire.

And yea, the "big sausage" and "honey" schtick was so scripted and lame.

Edited December 18, 2014 by LotusFlower

[LoganTheHuge]

Padma wanted her some Gronk sausage. She even had him blushing! If you're making The Gronk blush, you've gone too far. Gronk appeared to have a very...um...simple palate so was not surprised by what he liked and disliked. George's plate definitely looked like a truck stop Denny's platter, vb68. I wouldn't even throw that plate at my worst enemy.

Everything Gail said about Katsuji was spot on. He really does cook with his heart. He was never afraid to go big or go home. I appreciated that about him. He believes in what he does and that's beautiful (even if his food wasn't always).

Tom gave amazingly high praise to Doug, whose dish did look inspired for such a simple concept. I loved what Mei did, and I'm like Gronk (meat! Sausage!) but I would have inhaled that yummy dish. Well deserved win.

I'm less annoyed that George is back but hate that he got immunity with that boring Denny's platter and his Seuss dish looked the least inspiring/interesting. He seems nice enough, but telling a man as big as Gronk (and who's judging you) that you're not a fan of his is moronic. He's lucky Gronk is affable enough to not hold it against him, though I would have.

Go Dougie, win this thing!

[GaT]

Please somebody, throw George in the shower with a big bottle of shampoo & soap. Looking at his greasy hair & sweaty face is making me nauseous. 

[Julia]

The first thing Poe calls the raven is "ebony bird." Doesn't that sort of scream black chicken soup? But in any case, one of his most famous stories was about a barrel of sherry. Not sure what's so intimidating by Dickinson - she mentions food and drink kind of a lot (and also, you can sing "Because I could not stop for death" to the tune of the theme from Gilligan's Island, which pretty much exhausts my Dickinson knowledge). And I think the perfect Hawthorne choice would have been Rappaccini's Daughter, just to watch the look on the judges' faces when they had to try it.

 

I find Katsuji kind of grating, but I also think some smart money person needs to talk to him about franchising, because there are plenty of cities with inadequate kosher options, and I think he'd probably do pretty well.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Julia

[theatremouse]

Where did they find those authors?  There are a ton of well-known writers/authors here in Massachusetts but they were nowhere to be seen.

Other than King, they didn't seem to have any interest in dealing with contemporary authors. I think also part of the point was to pick authors strongly associated with New England. I can think of plenty of modern/contemporary authors in Massachusetts now but is one of the first things I think of about said authors Boston or New England? Probably not. On the other hand, I know Poe was born in Boston, but I much more associate him with Baltimore, so he was sort of a stretch for me there.

[Qoass]

theatremouse, it would have been nice to see more Boston area authors at the tasting tables:  Dennis Lehane, Tom Perrotta, Alice Hoffman, Barbara Delinsky...

[Fukui San]

As much as I like Gronk, I think big old Vince Wilfork would have been the better choice. Big guy looks like a walking appetite.

If I'm getting Poe, I'm doing a Telltale Heart dish and hiding a ticking clock under the plate.

[SFoster21]

Didn't they end immunity after RW in other seasons?

[Primetimer]

And after she gets one, we finally kick off the Top Chef book club no one was clamoring for.

Read the story

[Totale]

theatremouse, it would have been nice to see more Boston area authors at the tasting tables:  Dennis Lehane, Tom Perrotta, Alice Hoffman, Barbara Delinsky...

 

Were the ones that were there even identified?  I don't remember seeing title cards for any.

[cooksdelight]

Didn't they end immunity after RW in other seasons?

Not always. I've seen them give immunity with as few as 5 people remaining. It seems to be whichever way the wind blows as to whether it's still in play.

[twilightzone]

Katsuji can be annoying, but at least he brought personality to the kitchen.  I'm sure he will be brought back for the next Top Chef alum challenge.

 

Yeah, it will be unfair if George somehow manages to slide into the finals.  If not for his immunity, he would have been sent packing this week.

Edited December 19, 2014 by twilightzone

[LennieBriscoe]

I taught English, AliceGoodDay! And I was quite surprised to hear Poe for New England! Baltimore, anyone?!

 

As for "The Raven" plate, nobody forced that poem on Gregory; he could have cooked a beef "Tell-Tale Heart"! :-P

 

I thought the "Carrie" plate was awesome!

 

Q-F: I didn't think the sausage patty should have won.

 

ETA: "Where did they find those authors?" "Why not Alcott or Wharton"? Because everyone who went to a U.S. high school has read some Dickinson, Thoreau, and Poe; has heard of Hawthorne's works ("The Scarlet Letter"!) and Dr. Seuss; and has probably read some King (or seen the movies).

Alcott and Wharton, not so much!

 

Hee! Here's an ED poem for Doug:

 

Fame is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate
Whose table once a
Guest but not
The second time is set.

Whose crumbs the crows inspect
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the Farmer’s Corn –
Men eat of it and die

Edited December 18, 2014 by LennieBriscoe

[cooksdelight]

If George can't come up with something more inventive next week....meatballs on a stick, a sausage patty. Heck, I can make those.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I taught English, AliceGoodDay! And I was quite surprised to hear Poe for New England! Baltimore, anyone?! As for "The Raven" plate, nobody forced that poem on Gregory; he could have cooked a beef "Tell-Tale Heart"! :-P

Poe was born in Boston but raised in Virginia.  He did spend some time here as an adult, and the Cask of Amontillado is supposedly based on a story he heard when he was stationed while in the Army at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor.  He famously really disliked Boston, though (in part because he thought that the literary world here was pretty incestuous and unwilling to give a new writer a break, IIRC), and that's why he isn't closely associated with the city.  Though a statue dedicated to him was erected in Boston this summer.

Edited December 18, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[elzin]

I taught English, AliceGoodDay! And I was quite surprised to hear Poe for New England! Baltimore, anyone?! As for "The Raven" plate, nobody forced that poem on Gregory; he could have cooked a beef "Tell-Tale Heart"! :-P

 

The whole time I kept thinking "TELL TALE HEART!"  Maybe it's too obvious, but ... come on! How do you quoth the raven in a dish of food, barring using an actual raven? The Cask of Amontillado, Gold Bug, Masque of the Red Death.... Even if you aren't familiar with the stories, the names themselves are evocative and inspiring.  But he went for probably the only one he'd heard of (because of The Simpsons, maybe?). If he had done it well, I probably wouldn't be so fired up.

 

And yeah, I think of Poe with regards to Boston a tiny bit, but that's because I used to be a big Poe nerd. He's not high on the list of people I'd chose from New England, though. Hello, Mother GOOSE. Gah.  I mean, don't go out and make a goose, but some of the rhymes would have been good inspiration.  If Katsuji did that mess with Stephen King, what would he have done with Lovecraft?

 

I guess one of the things that bug me with these challenges is that there are exactly the same amount of chefs and items.  With so many authors, it would have been nice if they had all gotten to choose properly, even if it did work out well for Doug.  Plus the challenged appealed to me, having read all the authors, but I could see it being extra hard for someone who doesn't read anything but cook books.

[HappyDancex2]

George sliding in this late in the game really is a disservice to everyone else who competed through all of the challenges. I thought I was ok with it but he clearly feels like his being booted and missing out is some type of emotional equivalence.

For as hard as Padma and others were commenting on Gregory's lack of obvious plating, Melissa's was equally as nondescript. Difference was hers tasted better and she crafted a better story.

Padma. Such Awkward Guacamole. I love that she's always up for putting it up there and playing the role.

[theatremouse]

Were the ones that were there even identified?  I don't remember seeing title cards for any.

I do remember seeing a couple of title cards...I can't remember who they were, but I do remember noticing. They might not have identified everyone though.

[cooksdelight]

Poe was born in Boston but raised in Virginia

The Poe Museum is a must-see if you are ever in Richmond.

I wish Gregory had cooked an actual heart, do they not supply them with organ meats? Then again, curried heart might not taste good. The boy does love his curry, doesn't he?

[Crucial]

I would assume because both the time of year they were filming (mid-summer) and having to get Darth Belichick's approval for an all-team event (which goes against the very core of his black soul), the show had very little chance of doing better than one player from the Patriots. I agree with @eleanorofaquitane in preferring it would have been Wilfork over Gronk, who is just a little too much like a real-life version of Chad Feldheimer from Burn After Reading.

Wilfork would have been great too.  I'm a fan of his as well and he cooks too.  So awesome. they showed Gronk so I liked it

 

I think this show should have had it separated.  A show on authors for one episode and then the Pats for a second.  If they couldn't get the Pats - as a team then forget it.  I know Tom Brady has an extreme work out and the coach is well yeah.  Still, if Top Chef wanted they could have a team tasting (or whatever challenge).  But honestly how hard would it be to do a lunch for them during the season.  Play by their rules and the challenge sets it up.

[biakbiak]

But honestly how hard would it be to do a lunch for them during the season.  Play by their rules and the challenge sets it up.

Given the filming schedule of the show was in the off-season it would have been quite hard. Don't see what the big deal with only having one player represent the team they have done that before in other cities.

[Bastet]

They might not have identified everyone though.

 

They didn't, and it seemed like those who were identified were the authors shown first, and those who didn't get a chyron were those shown as the episode progressed, which was odd - as if they ran out of time (or interest) in post and thought, "Ah, screw it; no one cares who they are."

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Given the filming schedule of the show was in the off-season it would have been quite hard. Don't see what the big deal with only having one player represent the team they have done that before in other cities.

 

In addition to that, they already did a luncheon at Fenway, and as much as I love my Boston sports team, I think two sports-oriented team challenges would have been one too many.  I was actually completely thrilled that they acknowledged the region's important literary history - it is one of the reasons why I am so proud of being from Massachusetts (and as someone who spent a lot of time as a kid going to house museums of famous literary figures, it is a big part of what I consider important about the area).

 

Also, much as I am neither a huge Mei nor Thoreau fan (I've always preferred Emerson), I thought her dish really was a brilliant interpretation of Walden.  I love the image of watching the ice and snow crack on Walden Pond as winter turns into spring, and Mei's dish really did capture that image wonderfully.

Edited December 18, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[backgroundnoise]

What was the white stuff that Mei put on her vegetables to resemble snow?  It looked like powdered sugar, but I don't think that would have tasted good.  Her dish was very pretty.

[Crucial]

Given the filming schedule of the show was in the off-season it would have been quite hard. Don't see what the big deal with only having one player represent the team they have done that before in other cities.

If mid summer wouldn't have been that hard, they have July off and June is OTA's. If filming was in July then fine.  What's the big deal, I didn't like having a player in a round that didn't follow with an elimination round.  Both challenges didn't seem to fit each other and I question that.  They did Fenway then don't do the Patriots in a small challenge.

[cooksdelight]

They began filming in mid May and wrapped it up in June.

[Bastet]

What was the white stuff that Mei put on her vegetables to resemble snow?  It looked like powdered sugar, but I don't think that would have tasted good.  Her dish was very pretty.

 

I believe she called it tom kha snow, so it must have been made with those ingredients (lemongrass, fish sauce, etc.) but I'm not sure how she did it. 

[The Solution]

You know, it would have been nice if at least one of the judges would have told George he would have gone home without his immunity. Bleh. Watch him win the whole thing. Kevin Sbraga, Jr.