S12.E09: Big Sausage

[WickedTuna]

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.

And get rid of the wife beater. It might be my tv but he looks so pale and pasty.

This was the first episode I've really enjoyed in a long time. Which is strange since I hate when they have the chefs interpret something into the food.

I enjoyed Gronk as a judge. I know he was more of a 'me hungry, feed me' type of judge but it was still fun. I do agree though that something like immunity should probably be given out by someone with a little more expertise.

I'm glad Katsuji is gone. He annoyed the hell out of me. For me his dish looked horrible and unappetizing. Yuck. On the other hand, Doug has really grown on me. He's the one I'm rooting for at this point. I loves carrots but for some reason carrot soup doesn't sound very good. The plating was pretty though.

[Calamity Jane]

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.

I was confused by the use of "gourmand" to mean something good about someone.  When I was a child, "gourmand" meant someone who was greedy and not very choosy about their food, more like "glutton" than "discerning diner."   Obviously someone that size eats a lot, but she seemed to mean he was more like a gourmet.  Has the meaning changed?  (Dictionary says someone who enjoys food and eats too much, so pretty much the same, yeah?)  

[theatremouse]

I thought it had the implication of not just gluttony, but specifically with gourmet or otherwise high fallutin' food. So, overeater but who is quite choosy.

[Calamity Jane]

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.

I believe Poe moved to Virginia at an extremely young age (1?), then on to Baltimore.  So really not much association with Boston.  I was surprised he was included and other New England authors were left out.  

[Bees]

Edgar Allen Poe kind of confused me for a book author. I mean I knew he had some New England connections, but I mostly associated him with Baltimore. That just seemed out of place. 

 

I would've loved to have seen HP Lovecraft represented instead (another New Englander). It would've been a lot of fun to see someone do something with Lovecraft. 

 

I was so disappointed with George's dish. He had Dr. Seuss and he put one of the most pedestrian looking dishes out there. He should've gone super whimsy. 

[PaisleyPam]

As a poetry student at a New England school, I found this episode cringey at times. I love ya, Doug, but you don't make fun of Emily on my watch! (I want that carrot soup recipe, though.)

Did anyone recognize any of the literary people in the crowd?

[cooksdelight]

George's dish. He had Dr. Seuss and he put one of the most pedestrian looking dishes out there

I know, he sticks to boring stuff. I'd have put some fiddlehead ferns sticking out of things, some radish tops swooshed to look like the top of a Seuss creature's head....so many fun things he could have done in the time they had to work with.

[LotusFlower]

I was confused by the use of "gourmand" to mean something good about someone.  When I was a child, "gourmand" meant someone who was greedy and not very choosy about their food, more like "glutton" than "discerning diner."   Obviously someone that size eats a lot, but she seemed to mean he was more like a gourmet.  Has the meaning changed?  (Dictionary says someone who enjoys food and eats too much, so pretty much the same, yeah?)

Yea, I thought the word was synonymous with gourmet too, or, as theatremousse said, implied something high fallutin'. I'm thinking they had to work with what they got, and since Gronk's taste buds seem to be on par with breakfast at Denny's, they probably said "gourmand" because it probably would have been hard to say anything fancier with a straight face.

[Archery]

I like these interpret something on a plate challenges. The EVIL QUEEN one with Charlize The ron as guest judge yielded some great results. It's a chance to show some real creativity.

[Constantinople]

This late in the game, they shouldn't be handing out EC immunity for winning a QF.

That goes double for someone who got to skip almost the entire competition, then get back in by winning one lousy QF in the previous episode.
 

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.

Sylvia Plath is a from Boston, but I don't think she's thought of as a "Boston" or "New England" writer (whatever that is), and at this point, may no longer be considered contemporary.

 

Plus, she probably wouldn't be considered an appropriate inspiration for a cooking show challenge.

[jcbrown]

 

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

You can actually also sing any Dickinson poem to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas."

 

I want George and Melissa out next. George just bores me and after we saw him without his hair goop last episode (in the early morning shot at their house) I particularly can't understand why he does that to his hair on purpose. It looked so much better with natural bedhead than it does on the show. I also agree that he should not have been brought back.

[ProudMary]

George's win in the QF really bothered me.  They were told to make, not just a sausage, but a BIG sausage.  Melissa was one of the least favorites because the sausages she presented were too small, as she had some difficulty with the casing.  But George doesn't even make an official sausage and gets the win?  George didn't set out to make sausage patties; he was completely inept at actually making sausage and only made patties as he had to get something on the plate.  That is what gets rewarded with immunity?  Not right at all.  Doug, who was the other favorite in the QF, made perfect BIG sausages, which was what the challenge called for.  At some point, don't the producers step in to say that George couldn't win as he didn't comply with what was requested?  Doug should have won.

 

As for the EC, we can't taste the food but Gregory served overcooked beef to one of the judges.  Based on what we saw, I think he should have gone home over Katsuji.  Of course, without immunity, George would have been eliminated.  

[AriAu]

Watch him win the whole thing. Kevin Sbraga, Jr.

 

Actually the better example is last season's champ, Nicholas Elmi, who got immunity protection that ended up getting someone with a far superior dish sent home.

[Bastet]

Doug, who was the other favorite in the QF, made perfect BIG sausages, which was what the challenge called for.  At some point, don't the producers step in to say that George couldn't win as he didn't comply with what was requested?  Doug should have won.

 

George made BIG sausage patties, and sausage doesn't have to have casing, so I don't think he failed to meet Gronk's requirements.  I thought Doug should have won (and, based on his reaction, so did he), but I don't think George pulled a Melissa and failed to deliver what was requested.

 

But watching George have to switch to Plan B in the middle of the QF made me say aloud "Again?"  I've barely seen the guy cook, yet it already seems like every time he does he has to abandon his original plan halfway through.

[yourmomiseasy]

The Padma flirting was totally cheesy, but it made me laugh both times I watched this episode (I couldn't find my remote and I'm lazy and was busy knitting, so it was an all Bravo night last night).  I don't know why I found Padma and Gronk so funny, I'm usually put off by Padma's antics like the stupid cart nonsense of last week, but I did. 

 

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.

 

Medium-rare is, in general, considered the best doneness for a steak.  Whenever they talk about beef being cooked properly on this show it is medium-rare.  I think the one judge was complaining because his portion was closer to medium.  

 

George's win in the QF really bothered me.  They were told to make, not just a sausage, but a BIG sausage.  Melissa was one of the least favorites because the sausages she presented were too small, as she had some difficulty with the casing.  But George doesn't even make an official sausage and gets the win?  George didn't set out to make sausage patties; he was completely inept at actually making sausage and only made patties as he had to get something on the plate.  That is what gets rewarded with immunity?  Not right at all.  Doug, who was the other favorite in the QF, made perfect BIG sausages, which was what the challenge called for.  At some point, don't the producers step in to say that George couldn't win as he didn't comply with what was requested?  Doug should have won.

 

 

A successful sausage is about more than being in casing and loose or patties is a perfectly acceptable preparation for sausage.  Grind size, fat ratios, meat mix, spice, blending, and emulsification are all going to be very important for a good sausage.  On top of all of that, if you do stuff, you do need to do it right and make sure not to get air pockets like a lot of them were (from going faster than you can handle), and like Doug said, you want a proper snap on the casing too.   All that being said, I think Doug's looked better and I think Doug has more experience at sausage making than George.  Katsuji looked like a loon with the liquid nitrogen, but that was actually a really good idea and I thought it was very smart of him given the time constraints made freezing out of the question.  I dabble in sausage making and it's a lot of work and usually an all day event.  I can't imagine making sausage with an hour constraint.  I'm pretty good at stuffing, but I'd probably end up going with loose or patties if I had so little time.  Of course, my batches are usually bigger because if I'm doing all that work, I'm putting up a ton of sausage.

[Noreaster]

I don't find anything offensive about George. He certainly seems to be a good cook. Maybe not the most inventive one (though to be fair, he really hasn't cooked much so far), but everything seems to be well-received. Even the quickfire dish that got him eliminated.

 

I think it's too bad that, no matter what, George is going to be perceived as "undeserving". I blame the absurd gimmicks this season.

[cee]

I think it's too bad that, no matter what, George is going to be perceived as "undeserving". I blame the absurd gimmicks this season.

 

I agree. George will be the outsider no matter what. The producers screwed him. Both his sudden death elimination and reappearance were fast and contrived. It seems late in the game to root for him. Especially when Doug & Mei (and Melissa, too) hit their dishes out of the park.

 

There is no middle anymore. How can we root for George and his immunity when everybody is scared for their lives. Even though it was Katsuji's time to go, I really felt for him. 

[bunnywithanaxe]

 

I would've loved to have seen HP Lovecraft represented instead (another New Englander). It would've been a lot of fun to see someone do something with Lovecraft. 

 

I came here specifically to grouse about that. Calamari. No-brainer.

[Julia]

I would've loved to have seen HP Lovecraft represented instead (another New Englander). It would've been a lot of fun to see someone do something with Lovecraft.

I came here specifically to grouse about that. Calamari. No-brainer.

Just saying.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Julia

[bunnywithanaxe]

I think my heart just stopped. I think I need CPR. That is a thing of perfection.

[Madding crowd]

I would have chosen Emily's Hope is a Thing with Feathers and made a bird of some kind. I'm a teacher and a literary geek, but Padma's claim that you should be able to look at the plate and instantly tell what author it invoked is just foolishness. As beautiful as Doug's soup and Mei's garden dish was, they could have represented many different authors. All of the dishes needed an explanation (although I could have guessed Katsujis). 

 

I often find Padma's comment unnecessarily bitchy and she seems to get annoyed by the littlest things sometimes. I think it would have been interesting if the judges were not given the names of the authors ahead of time and had to guess which one each dish represented. It would have been impossible in every case, except for the guy they sent packing and even his could be interpreted as belonging to other authors.

[Hero]

I'm an English major and am in love with Poe's poems and stories. They are so simple, elegant, yet very dark. I agree with others that Gregory should have gone with "The Tell- Tale heart."  My favorite Poe poem is Annabel Lee, but I would not know how to put that on a plate. 

 

On a another note, how adorable is Katsuji's daughter?

Edited December 19, 2014 by Suzy123

[bunnywithanaxe]

 

 

I often find Padma's comment unnecessarily bitchy and she seems to get annoyed by the littlest things sometimes

Padma's kind of cracking me up this season. She's not even trying not to be bitchy anymore. 

"You can call me 'honey'!" Bwahahahaha!

[bluepiano]

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.

 

Word times ten to everything you said. I thought I'd made my peace with the ridiculous unfairness of allowing George to leap frog over a bunch of contestants who'd survived many times more eliminations...until I saw him identified in the opening as one of the final six. It would be like taking a tennis player who lost in the first round at Wimbledon and then arbitrarily sticking them into the quarterfinals. Yes, I also realize that it's a dumb reality show that can make up its own rules, but I don't think it's being a "crackpot" to want a show you've invested time in watching have at least some sense of fair play.

 

What's even worse is what's happened since George's return. The Greek chef makes...wait for it...a shish kebab. Very "Top Chef." Then he wins immunity by actually completely FAILING at the quick fire challenge. The challenge was to make a sausage. He was the only chef who was not competent enough to stuff ground fillings into a sausage casing. And yet, because the judge is a football player who doesn't give a damn about the rules of the challenge, he wins immunity. Since he did not make a sausage, Tom/Padma should have stepped in and said he could not be considered for the win. Gronkowski said he made a "great breakfast sandwich," but that was not the challenge. Who knows what the other chefs would have been able to come up with in the way of a breakfast sandwich had they been given that option.

 

I guess it didn't matter what he did in the elimination challenge, but that Denny's mixed seafood platter again showed a complete lack of imagination. When you have immunity is the time to experiment and do something innovative to show off your cooking chops. When the other contestants say that George is someone to worry about, I think it has to be based on his seemingly being teacher's pet, and not anything he's done in the kitchen.

 

On the literary front, Poe to me is associated far more with Baltimore than Boston. And I've been a lifelong Dr. Seuss fan, and never think about it in terms of Boston or New England. (But it's good for George he got to pick him, because I'm betting that was the only author he's read. Or outside of Stephen King, even heard of.)

 

And does the guy not own a shirt with sleeves? Those flabby arms are nothing you'd want to be showing off.

Edited December 19, 2014 by bluepiano

[Lura]

It was sad for me to see Katsuji have to go home even though I knew he would leave before long.  Except for once or twice, I liked Katsuji and thought he added a good bit of fun to the show.  I hope we get down to LA soon so that I can meet him.  It would have been much worse for me if Gregory had been eliminated.  He looked scared to death, and no wonder!

 

I only caught the tail end of the show because something went wrong with our DVR.  I hope I can see it all the way through tomorrow if the DVR gods will allow it!

 

[whirlingdervish]

The second I saw Stephen King as one of the authors, I thought "Whoever takes that one is going home."  

I know Katsuji wasn't going to win, but I feel he got a little screwed here by 1) reeeeeally putting the author's book visually on the plate as instructed; 2) the judges' reluctance to part with Gregory; 3) George's unfortunate immunity in this challenge . So because of that, the guy who really totally embraced the challenge goes home over two chefs who half-assed the theme on the challenge.  Boo.

[snowblossom2]

Do we know if the chefs got to choose any work by their author or did the book give a synopsis of one work in particulars?

[eurekagirl mOo]

Honestly the only one you could have looked at and seen the author was Stephen King. And I love me some King! I'll have to chime in with the George being a bad, bad idea. This business of just sticking people in "because" sucks. If someone got sick and had to leave then yes, bring back the last person eliminated to keep the numbers even BUT to just leap frog this idiot because...well I don't know why!! NOT fair to those who have been competing all along. Sigh. I am however totally stealing Padimas line next time I go out "My names Bill what's yours?" "Honey" hahahahahaha....

[Qoass]

 

I agree with others that Gregory should have gone with "The Tell- Tale heart."

I was thinking "The Purloined Lettuce".

 

Which is why I'm not on the show.

[Julia]

Casque of Amontillado. All it would have meant was sherry somewhere. He could have won with cream of mushroom soup.

[eurekagirl mOo]

At the grocery when one of the chefs said he was getting branzinno (sp?) all I could think was--Hey cook it salt encrusted like Logan did on Master Chef Jr. He won!

[eleanorofaquitaine]

On the literary front, Poe to me is associated far more with Baltimore than Boston. And I've been a lifelong Dr. Seuss fan, and never think about it in terms of Boston or New England. (But it's good for George he got to pick him, because I'm betting that was the only author he's read. Or outside of Stephen King, even heard of.)

 

 

Dr. Seuss was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, which takes great pride in their association with him.  His first book, To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street, is named after the Mulberry Street in Springfield. And the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden is also in Springfield.  I was glad that they included him in part because he wasn't Boston, and he wasn't a 19th century literary author.  That being said, I also thought that they maybe should have included H.P. Lovecraft (Rhode Island) or Mark Twain (Connecticut, though he is obviously associated with other states, too).  They might have considered choosing one author for each of the six New England states.

Edited December 19, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[Lura]

I have to say that I think this challenge was an awfully big stretch for young chefs in a timed competition, and I also feel that it was far too subjective for the judges.  Much depends maybe on how much time the chefs were actually given to read about the authors and read some of the works they wrote.  Unless one was a college grad with a major in English, choosing one of those authors, then coming up with dishes that reflected those authors (or seasons or colors) was a tall order.  As to the judging, it seemed far too subjective.  It would have been so easy for any judge who favored a certain chef to say that that chef had translated a work onto the plate the best or the worst.  I didn't care for this challenge at all.

 

It's beginning to look to me like it's becoming a do-see-do between Gregory and Doug.  First, one wins a few, then the other does.  Do I sense some manipulation by the judges?  I have to wonder whether Greg was winning too many, and TPTB thought that someone else should win a few to make a competition out of it.  I thought that Greg would pass out before Katsuji's name was called!  I loved what Katsuji had to say when he left the show with such appreciation, delight, and grace.

[theatremouse]

I'm a teacher and a literary geek, but Padma's claim that you should be able to look at the plate and instantly tell what author it invoked is just foolishness.

Maybe I'm giving Padma too much credit, but I didn't think she meant that in a vacuum. IE anyone, anywhere seeing the plate would instantly associate it with any author from all time. That's impossible. I thought she meant, they the judges, who knew what the pool of authors were in play for the challenge, should be able to look at the plate and know which one they'd been assigned out of the six possibilities. That still may have been a bit more difficult task, but less completely absurd.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I have to say that I think this challenge was an awfully big stretch for young chefs in a timed competition, and I also feel that it was far too subjective for the judges.  Much depends maybe on how much time the chefs were actually given to read about the authors and read some of the works they wrote.  Unless one was a college grad with a major in English, choosing one of those authors, then coming up with dishes that reflected those authors (or seasons or colors) was a tall order.  As to the judging, it seemed far too subjective.  It would have been so easy for any judge who favored a certain chef to say that that chef had translated a work onto the plate the best or the worst.  I didn't care for this challenge at all.

 

It's beginning to look to me like it's becoming a do-see-do between Gregory and Doug.  First, one wins a few, then the other does.  Do I sense some manipulation by the judges?  I have to wonder whether Greg was winning too many, and TPTB thought that someone else should win a few to make a competition out of it.  I thought that Greg would pass out before Katsuji's name was called!  I loved what Katsuji had to say when he left the show with such appreciation, delight, and grace.

 

But it obviously wasn't that big of a stretch for the chefs, since - according to the judges and seemingly the chefs themselves - this challenge produced the best food of the season. Now, of course, it's a competition, so someone is going to win and someone is going to lose.  But the judges went out of their way to say that a) this was the best food of the season and b). choosing both the winner and loser was going to be really hard.  It is perplexing to me to say that this challenge was so difficult since everyone seemed to excel at it, even Katsuji, who mostly lost on minor issues.  There are at a point in the competition where they are splitting hairs, and someone is going to lose not because they had a bad dish but because it was less than perfect.

 

Also, I don't really see a Douglas/Gregory do-si-do because, as mentioned, Gregory has really been struggling in the last several challenges.  Right now, it seems like Doug and Mei are leading the pack.  And as there are still three really strong competitors (with George as a wild card and maybe even Melissa coming in with a couple of strong dishes in the last week or so), I don't see producer manipulation.

Edited December 19, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[Rai]

I think this may be the first time I've seen three vegetarian dishes in the top three, when it wasn't a vegetarian challenge.  Very cool! 

 

Also, LOVECRAFT, YES!  That would've been a terrific inspiration!

[backgroundnoise]

I don't think the show can afford to let George get higher than top four.  It would piss off too many fans.  If by some miracle he wins the whole thing, he'll have a mental asterisk after his name forever.

[Jodithgrace]

Maybe they didn't do Melville because they were afraid somebody would try to serve an entire whale on a plate. But I would have liked to have seen somebody choose Bartleby the Scrivener. They could have served an empty plate because they preferred not to cook. Probably not a winning strategy, though.

 

I don't know from Gronk, or whatever his name was, but he seemed pleasant enough. To my fellow Jerseyans, the Patriots are the evil empire, but since I hate football, I didn't care!

 

I thought the book challenge was fun. Somebody asked above about the white snow on Mai's plate..that was coconut (plus other ingredients, of course)

[meep.meep]

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.

Frankly the rest of us non Pats fan found one to be sufficient.  I assume that we are now moving on to the Celtics and then the Bruins.

 

Not including Louisa May Alcott in the list of authors, while including Poe, was ridiculous.

 

I was watching the eating authors and also noticed that they stopped identifying them after the first table.  I was looking for Ha Jin but I didn't see anyone Asian.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I think this may be the first time I've seen three vegetarian dishes in the top three, when it wasn't a vegetarian challenge.  Very cool! 

 

Also, LOVECRAFT, YES!  That would've been a terrific inspiration!

Melissa's dish had a piece of halibut so not vegetarian.  It's also possible that Doug's carrot soup was made with chicken stock, but that's just speculation.

 

 

I thought the book challenge was fun. Somebody asked above about the white snow on Mai's plate..that was coconut (plus other ingredients, of course)

 

She describes as "Tom Kha snow."  Apparently Tom Kha Gai soup has coconut but other things like lemongrass, etc.

 

 

Not including Louisa May Alcott in the list of authors, while including Poe, was ridiculous.

 

 

I suspect that they didn't include Alcott because they had Thoreau, who is so closely associated with Concord, that it would be too much to also have another Concord author.  Hawthorne also lived in Concord for a time, but he is less closely associated with the town.  I would have liked Emerson but again, I get why they wanted Thoreau (even though I think Emerson is a much better writer).

Edited December 19, 2014 by eleanorofaquitaine

[bluepiano]

Were George to win he would need the biggest asterisk of all time next to his name in the list of Top Chef winners. I guess that's why I don't believe they will allow him to win. Over all these years they've done a really good job of promoting their brand, and ensuring that the "Top Chef" title has some meaning in the culinary world. A win by George would severely damage that credibility. He would always be known as the guy who lost in the first round and got back in on a pass. And won the title by only surviving about a third as many eliminations as previous winners. (That's why if for whatever reason TPTB were determined to give him a second chance, they needed to do it a couple of weeks after his initial elimination, not more than half-way through the season).

 

So, if George gets eliminated does he go into LCK, giving him yet another chance? Apparently with George there may be no such thing as a "last" chance.

 

As for the literary challenge, these theme challenges are always a stretch, because the criteria is so vague and open to interpretation. The history of these challenges, whether the theme is a book, movie, historical event etc, is that chefs survive (and sometimes even win) by cooking a really good dish, even if has little or no relationship to the theme. Katsuji was not the first chef to shoot himself in the foot by taking the assignment too literally.

Edited December 19, 2014 by bluepiano

[meep.meep]

 

I suspect that they didn't include Alcott because they had Thoreau, who is so closely associated with Concord, that it would be too much to also have another Concord author.  Hawthorne also lived in Concord for a time, but he is less closely associated with the town.  I would have liked Emerson but again, I get why they wanted Thoreau (even though I think Emerson is a much better writer).

 

Speaking as someone from a nice big state, who cares?  The authors weren't identified by their home town or by where they were born, they were just there.  And to include Poe who most Americans would say was from Baltimore, and not include Alcott doesn't make any sense.  She was a Massachusetts author and he wasn't.

 

Bye bye Katsuji!  He should have done a pour over red sauce instead of the splat.  

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Speaking as someone from a nice big state, who cares?  The authors weren't identified by their home town or by where they were born, they were just there.  And to include Poe who most Americans would say was from Baltimore, and not include Alcott doesn't make any sense.  She was a Massachusetts author and he wasn't.

 

Bye bye Katsuji!  He should have done a pour over red sauce instead of the splat.  

 

I mean, I don't disagree with you that it shouldn't matter that both Thoreau and Alcott were from the same town, but that's the only reason that makes sense to me to not include Alcott.  I am also still confused on the Poe thing, though to be fair, he was no more from Baltimore than he was Richmond, Boston, or Philly, all of the other cities he lived in.  He was an itinerant guy.

[bunnywithanaxe]

Speaking as someone from a nice big state, who cares?  The authors weren't identified by their home town or by where they were born, they were just there.  And to include Poe who most Americans would say was from Baltimore, and not include Alcott doesn't make any sense.  She was a Massachusetts author and he wasn't.

 

Bye bye Katsuji!  He should have done a pour over red sauce instead of the splat.

Apropos of nothing, Alcott and Thoreau hung out together when she was a teenager. ( She talked about going on forest hikes with him.)

If Katsuji had picked Firestarter, he would have killed it.

[Cutty]

Gronk: I'd eat a big sausage.
Padma (smiling): Me too.

I wonder if Padma knows Rob sleeps with porn stars.
 

Anyway, glad to see Katsuji go. It would have been insane for the much more talented Gregory to be eliminated for insufficient interpretation of his inspiration. Katsuji's dish actually had four proteins from three different animals plus beans. What a mess.

[susannot]

Mei's vegetarian dish was the most beautiful and creative I have ever seen on the show.  It was intelligent.  I think that she really understood Walden and represented the themes of the book perfectly.  I loved it when she talked about Thoreau watching the ice melt on Walden Pond.  She is a real contender and I am rooting for her.

[Texasmom1970]

I was worried about Padma in the quick fire. Thought for a minute there she was gonna start dry humping the poor guy and they would have to throw some cold water on her!

[Calamity Jane]

Casque of Amontillado. All it would have meant was sherry somewhere. He could have won with cream of mushroom soup.

That was the first one I thought of, too.  

Yea, I thought the word was synonymous with gourmet too, or, as theatremousse said, implied something high fallutin'. I'm thinking they had to work with what they got, and since Gronk's taste buds seem to be on par with breakfast at Denny's, they probably said "gourmand" because it probably would have been hard to say anything fancier with a straight face.

Could be the difference of which side of the pond the word is used, I'm thinking.

[meep.meep]

My dictionary says a gourmand is someone who likes to eat a lot.

[Lillybee]

This episode made me thing about my Polish grannie's home made kiebassa which is very different from the kiebassa from the stores around here.

 

What I like best about Steven Kings work is his non-spooky novels like Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption. I would have done a luxurious take on a prison meal.

 

I think that some of the chefs could have been a bit more creative although some nailed it.

 

Ex English major here, I learned a lot about Thoreau that I found a bit off putting, because he walked home to his mom's house for lunch almost every day bringing her his dirty laundry.