S11.E08: Lifestyle Brand

[cooksdelight]

 

With a focus on their lifestyle brands, the Finalists first create and present a dish that a home cook can prepare in 30 to 45 minutes. Then, they cook and film a video for a dish that reflects a holiday through their culinary point of view. Damaris Phillips serves as guest director for their video presentations, and then joins Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay, Susie Fogelson and Bob Tuschman at the judging table.

 

[cooksdelight]

Since when is Food Network promoting dinner in a box? I would think that would be the last thing they'd want to sell. All of their chefs and show hosts are supposed to be food authorities.... not sending you a recipe with the ingredients in a box. Their job is to teach you how to cook. How to get your own stuff, stock your cupboard and 'fridge. That really threw me.

Dom... I'm never going to watch you on TV. I don't care how much Bobby and Giada love you. One of the first things I ever learned when I took the Toastmasters course is you NEVER end a presentation with "thank you." Ever. He yells and I just don't associate fish with Christmas. He is still fumbling the words. They have saved him way beyond his expiration date. Finally!

Eddie.... dammit.... you dropped the ball. But Susie clearly loves him. "He's electrifying on camera!"

Damaris, what happened to you, girl? I barely recognized you.

[Skyfall]

Italians eat fish for Christmas so it fits his POV. Doesn't matter as we will be back in a week or two most likely.

[buttersister]

WTF Giada? I'm SO SORRY, Dom, I TRIED to save you but the mean bosses wouldn't let me. The last 5 minutes of this show are a laugh fest.

[smiley13]

While I am glad to see Dom gone, I fully expect for him to make a triumphant return via Star Salvation.   Since this was not a unanimous decision, I wonder whose vote trumped whose?  Gee-Ahda said she agreed with Bobby on who should leave and you know she did not vote for Dom, so do Bob and Susie's votes take precedence?

 

Poor Eddie was saddled with a bad holiday to plan food around.  I am glad that he made it through.  

 

I do not get why they were all so taken with Alex and his story about his friends and going to the beach,   He was awful in the food presentation.

 

Jay knocked it out of the park IMO.  He had the best presentation and food demo.

[HyeChaps]

What would have been an appropriate food for Halloween?

[cooksdelight]

One thing to remember is that they get more than one take on their final video presentation. What we saw at the end was vastly different from what they did in the session with Damaris. Although, Dom didn't do any better enough to save himself this time.

What would have been an appropriate food for Halloween?

Fried brains with grape eyeballs poking out? LOL!

I would have gone with a dessert. Something gooey with lots of red.

[Skyfall]

Poor Eddie was saddled with a bad holiday to plan food around. I am glad that he made it through.

Not really. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, homemade candy corn, candied Apple, caramel apple, s'mores, caramel popcorn, popcorn balls, etc.

Hell tell a story about telling ghost stories around a campfire while eating s'mores and boom you finish on top!

Edited July 27, 2015 by Skyfall

[lgprimes]

What is odd is how comfortable Don seems in front of the camera in every talking head segment. I don't get it.

[cooksdelight]

With a flashlight under his chin. That always did it for me at Halloween. :)

[Tyrone Biggums]

How difficult would it have been for Eddie to make a spaghetti squash pasta with pumpkin puree?

 

Also, he could have trotted out Damaris for part of his Halloween presentation, as her hair color and face looked as though she'd dressed like a witch.

[cooksdelight]

What is odd is how comfortable Don seems in front of the camera in every talking head segment. I don't get it.

Producer is asking him questions, feeding him what to say. No brainer for someone who is clueless when it comes to thinking on his feet.

[Lillybee]

What would have been an appropriate food for Halloween?

 

 

Smething using pumpkin from Jack O Lanterns.

[Snarklepuss]

It looks to me like Tusch and Susie's opinion trumped Bobby and Giada's.  I wonder who would have gone home if they didn't push for Dom to leave.  I just wonder how Alex has lasted this long.  He is about as vanilla milquetoast as you can get.  This many weeks in and I still have to think a few minutes to remember his name.  I realize not everyone loves Dom but I think he has the most natural "star quality" of all of them left.  I think Bobby and Giada could see past his nerves and when he did well he killed it.  Jay is still too scripted and does not give me the excitement to try his food that they seem to think he gives people.  And I personally think Eddie is overrated.  Arnold is just a little too cringeworthy at times and his POV is not my favorite.  I fully expect Dom to make a comeback via "Star Salvation".  I wonder if that isn't somehow being set up to happen.  Whatever, I think he would deserve to come back.  And that's my serious opinion.  I think his nerves can be calmed.  He was already on his way to becoming more comfortable around Bobby and Giada - It was the added pressure of Tush and Susie that set him back.

[Skyfall]

With a flashlight under his chin. That always did it for me at Halloween. :)

Yes! Start out with that and be like "Have you even sat around a campfire with friends and family on Halloween telling ghost stories?" Gives the chance to introduce your dish while also telling the rest of the story.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Skyfall

[smiley13]

It was great to see Damaris included in this episode.  I think she looked lovely and her bubbly personality still shines.

[saltycheese]

I know that Dom struggled, but he and Eddie are the only two that I would actually watch on TV. Eddie has a great camera presence and there is no one else on the network like him. Dom - when he is comfortable - is charming and funny. Dom also clearly has the best food. It's the Network's job to figure out the best kind of show to help them succeed. It wouldn't have to be the traditional standing-at-the-counter-chopping-and-stirring kind of show. I hope that they both end up with something. So many of the past winners were boring and I knew I would never watch them. These two I would watch. 

 

I also think that they could fit Arnold in somewhere by thinking outside the box a bit and giving him a late-night show. 

 

I miss Alton. 

[Skyfall]

Give Arnold a show where he can make party food while snarking on food related shows! I would watch the shit out of that!

[Snarklepuss]

Producer is asking him questions, feeding him what to say. No brainer for someone who is clueless when it comes to thinking on his feet.

 

I don't see Dom as someone who is clueless when it comes to thinking on his feet, because when he's not being tested he does fine, and was even on his way to becoming more comfortable in front of Bobby and Giada - I think it was the added scrutiny of Tusch and Susie that set him back this week.  I see him as someone who has performance anxiety when the performance is in his mind a do or die situation.  Which IMO, being a food star is not normally on a regular basis.   I think Bobby and Giada are aware of this and that's why they were pulling for him.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Also, not for nothing, but tonight's episode demonstrated that Damaris is the most genuine, easily-liked personality (Guy aside) that this "brand"-filled, "POV"-driven dreck has produced.

[Commando Cody]

Halloween? They may as well have given Eddie Arbor Day.  On Halloween, my father would get us take out from his favorite Chinese restaurant. 

 

It would have been spectacular if Melissa d'Arabian had been the one to tell Jay that it's morbid to bring up dead relatives instead of Damaris.

 

I never saw anything in Dom from the beginning, but I imagine seeing him in a TV show would be a lot like watching Larry Kroger from Animal House do a cooking show.

[smiley13]

It would have been spectacular if Melissa d'Arabian had been the one to tell Jay that it's morbid to bring up dead relatives instead of Damaris.

In the past, the judges absolutely loved dead relative stories.

[Snarklepuss]

Dom - when he is comfortable - is charming and funny. Dom also clearly has the best food. It's the Network's job to figure out the best kind of show to help them succeed. It wouldn't have to be the traditional standing-at-the-counter-chopping-and-stirring kind of show. I hope that they both end up with something. So many of the past winners were boring and I knew I would never watch them. These two I would watch. 

 

I also think that they could fit Arnold in somewhere by thinking outside the box a bit and giving him a late-night show. 

 

I miss Alton. 

 

I agree with you.  Dom is young enough to be my son but he seems like a fun guy and despite the fact that I am Italian American and know how to cook Italian food, I still can see him as someone I might learn a thing or two from.  That says a lot right there.  I agree about giving Arnold a show late at night or on the Cooking Channel where things are a little more off beat.  Eddie is not my favorite but I understand his appeal too.  I'm actually hoping all three end up somewhere on FN.

In the past, the judges absolutely loved dead relative stories.

 

Yeah, what a 180 degree turn around for them!!  Maybe they FINALLY realized the audience didn't love it.  I think they would still love it if you mentioned your dead relative but just didn't mention that they were dead.  Like say, "When I was a kid my Dad used to take me hunting" or whatever but just don't mention that he's no longer with us.

[cooksdelight]

Halloween? They may as well have given Eddie Arbor Day.  On Halloween, my father would get us take out from his favorite Chinese restaurant. 

 

It would have been spectacular if Melissa d'Arabian had been the one to tell Jay that it's morbid to bring up dead relatives instead of Damaris.

 

I never saw anything in Dom from the beginning, but I imagine seeing him in a TV show would be a lot like watching Larry Kroger from Animal House do a cooking show.

LMAO, that's the funniest stuff I've read in weeks. Thank you!

[xaxat]

You could see it on the faces of The Network, we have to pick a winner out of this bunch? The inconsistency of these guys is confounding considering they are the finalists. I suppose Jay and Arnold are the most consistent, but what's their ceiling? Eddie might be the most charismatic of the group, but you don't know what you are going to get from him.

 

 

I don't see Dom as someone who is clueless when it comes to thinking on his feet, because when he's not being tested he does fine, and was even on his way to becoming more comfortable in front of Bobby and Giada - I think it was the added scrutiny of Tusch and Susie that set him back this week.  I see him as someone who has performance anxiety when the performance is in his mind a do or die situation.  Which IMO, being a food star is not normally on a regular basis.   I think Bobby and Giada are aware of this and that's why they were pulling for him.

 

With enough work, Dom might be able to carry a show, but I think he would be a disaster in all of the non studio stuff they have to do. Food festivals, local morning shows, The Kitchen. . 

[cooksdelight]

Bob kept shaking his head. And looking down when he shook his head. I think Bobby and Giada probably got a "come to Jesus" meeting with Bob and Susie by this point. "What in the hell have you two been doing??"

[WickedTuna]

Finally. If he hadn't been cut I was going to have to stop watching. Giada orgasming over him during the first challenge was the last straw for me. It seemed like Bobby cut Dom off at the very end. I wonder if he had been making a long speech. IMO Dom just isn't cut out for tv. It's painful to watch.

I never thought I'd say this but I liked Arnold and his brand tonight. His party kit sounded like something I'd buy. I don't think it could be worked into a show but maybe he could sell it off the FN website.

I really hate when they refer to Susie and Tuschman as The Network. It just seems weird.

Poor Eddie is floundering badly. It's a shame because he was doing so well. I thought he'd be the winner but I'm not so sure now. For Halloween he could maybe have done the pumpkin dish Tiffany did on Top Chef.

[CMH1981]

Wow, total shock over Dom being sent to Star Salvation to end up winning this season....oh wait, i'm getting a little ahead of myself like FN has in the past when it comes to this show.

 

Geez, i'm surprised that Giada didn't play the "if you send home the guy I want boning me right now i'm going to throw a hissy fit" card.  

 

I can't believe that Giada and Bobby were pushing so hard for Dom to stay, what does have on them, time-stamped sex pics from when they were both married?!

 

I have a feeling that if Suzie and Kermit hadn't pulled rank, that it would have been Arnold being sent home.  

 

Was I the only one who thought the blood decoration on Eddie's Halloween plate was unappetizing?

 

Dom is such an ass in his talking head interviews...well at least I described my food as I tasted it...true, but the others didn't seem to stumble on common words or freak out looking for a damn spoon.  The sad part about this was then Eddie joined in thinking that describing the food while tasting was enough to save you, bar your cooking abilities.  I'm going to make you candied ginger and when it's done...bam!....porkchop on a plate.

 

They are so going to send Dom to Star Salvation and have someone work one on one w/ his on camera issues.

 

 

I think Bobby and Giada probably got a "come to Jesus" meeting with Bob and Susie by this point. "What in the hell have you two been doing??"

 

Maybe this means next year there will be a change up of the hosts of this show...or at least get Alton back, he wouldn't have allowed Dom to get this far.

Edited July 27, 2015 by CMH1981

[ivygirl]

What would have been an appropriate food for Halloween?

I really puzzled over that one, too -- until I remembered a (great!) pumpkin soup recipe I found in one of Mollie Katzen's cookbooks. You cook the soup in the oven, in the hollowed-out pumpkin. Obviously, you can't rip off Mollie Katzen for your own show ;) But, some variation on that theme could work. Maybe make it spooooooky or whatnot.

 

That, or (as someone suggested) you could make a pepita salad, and tell some story about how you'd always carve pumpkins and bake the seeds with your old Auntie Dee. 

[cooksdelight]

Please save Star Salvation speculation for that thread.

[Snarklepuss]

With enough work, Dom might be able to carry a show, but I think he would be a disaster in all of the non studio stuff they have to do. Food festivals, local morning shows, The Kitchen. . 

 

I respectfully disagree - I think what Dom has is very curable.  All it would take is a little exposure.  The more exposure he has to the situations that make him anxious the more he will overcome the anxiety.  I don't see his anxiety as a function of deep issues because he's generally a very confident, natural type of guy - It's kind of like a phobia, like a person who has a fear of flying - The more exposure to flying they have the more they can usually get over their fear (I was one of those).  It's completely irrational.  I'm quite a fearless driver but flying was another thing altogether.  I think Dom is one of those types.  Anyway, what makes him anxious enough to blow his TV spots is thinking that the judges might send him home.  Unfortunately it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Under normal circumstances even on a TV show he would not be in a situation of intense scrutiny like he is in a competition.  He would know the producers and station execs already liked him enough to give him a show and were on his side, and I think that would be enough to put him at ease enough to be very natural and not mess up.

[catrice2]

I"m sorry, but I don' t think I want to watch any of them. Why Alex or Dom are still here I don't know. I don't know what it is, but Arnold has great personality. I feel like they are not trying to develop him appropriately. I would totally watch a show where he shows me how to entertain..I can see him showing simple cocktails and starters, and more complex dishes that are quick. I was not fond of Jay's story, and unlike Susie, nothing Alex said about jumping in the car or whatever was interesting to me, but somehow I am sure they will figure out a way to keep him over Arnold or Eddie next week.

Don't know what is going on with Eddie, I have forgotten his point of view. They have, however, been really playing up his "fall from grace" so it will be easier to send him home next week.

I just have to say....I don't know what Dom has on the show runners, but if anyone other than him had left on this show tonight, I would have stopped watching.

Edited July 27, 2015 by cooksdelight

[buttersister]

Obviously, you can't rip off Mollie Katzen for your own show

Hee, on the Food Rip-off Network, I can't imagine they'd mind. There's also a great Dorie Greenspan stuffed pumpkin recipe that's excellent, but maybe these two aren't so well-known among this bunch.

 

Dom's a little too bro for my taste anyway and I was fearing a Bro Food show/Italian style.

 

(Spelling counts!)

Edited July 27, 2015 by buttersister

[saltycheese]

Part of me gets the whole POV thing, but part of me doesn't. Having your whole game plan mapped out before the contest even starts seems like putting the cart way before the horse. What's the point of a Network if the Network doesn't develop the talent? I can tell you right now that I would watch Ree Drummond or Ina Garten no matter what their show POV is. Their show could be "Me Cooking Food (or Not)" or  "Ree Walking Around" or "Ina at NASCAR" and I would still watch it because I love the way they teach me and present themselves on camera. 

 

To me, Eddie (think: earlier episodes) and Dom interact with people really well. They need to play up Eddie's athleticism  and tie it into the fitness market. With Dom just let him cook really good food and tell funny stories in his Staten Island accent. Boom. 

[LittleIggy]

Well, Giada, you can stop with the cleavage baring since your boy Dom is gone.

[CMH1981]

LittleIggy, after reading your post all I can picture is Giada going full Stanley from Streetcar and yelling "Doooommmmmm."  Torn shirt showing more cleavage of course.  Well that, and some scene where Giada is shoving her bosom into the glass as Dom is being pulled away from talking to her on those two way phones in prison.

[xaxat]

I forgot the phrase, but Dom stated that his POV was The Italian something or other.

 

I'm just imagining the look on Giada's face had a woman said the exact same thing.

[HappyDancex2]

Apparently we are all stupid...it's a raspberry and chocolate fried wonton y'all.

[Pallida]

Since when is Food Network promoting dinner in a box? I would think that would be the last thing they'd want to sell. All of their chefs and show hosts are supposed to be food authorities.... not sending you a recipe with the ingredients in a box. Their job is to teach you how to cook. How to get your own stuff, stock your cupboard and 'fridge. That really threw me.

 

I actually see merit in branching into the dinner-in-a-box trend.  I've skipped some of the recipes I've seen from Food Network (or others) people because I knew I wouldn't utilize the spices in any kind of timely fashion.  (Random tip: I LOVE the "Hispanic spices" section because they have small packages of things I don't go through quickly.)  Or, I don't have access to things like loose arugula where I currently live, and wouldn't want to buy more than needed for a certain dinner because I know I would waste the remainder.  (I'm not promoting my terrible multi-day menu planning!  Just accepting that it exists.)    I also wonder if people are more willing to be "adventurous" if they have a meal presented to them rather than having to go out and buy it.  And since they send you the recipe cards, if you like it, you can go buy the ingredients in the future.

 

This might be a good venue for Matthew even!  Brief video with a dinner-in-a-box.  I have to admit that when I see dinner-in-a-box, I am now thinking of a certain SNL skit.

[orangekit]

Glad Dom is gone. I don't find his sexist, tough guy personality endearing. When he has to cook in the kitchen with a woman he was a controlling jerk, relegating her to being ordered a round. He's also gotten snippy with others too. And his stupid comment about wanting to say that brunch reminded him of girls, but he has a girlfriend, was obnoxious. I think if he were hired they'd have some problems with Dom. I know Giada was nearly orgasminf every time Dom appeared, but as an Italian American, I cringed at both him and the woman who was on , they both came off as exaggerated stereotypes.

Also, my mother was born in Italy but we never eat fish in Xmas eve, we all hate the traditional meal.

[Rick Kitchen]

Ooh, chicken cutlets sounds good. Dom's video was good, but he didn't really brand himself.

I don't want Arnold in a box.  I do want his starry shirt, though, which he has worn before, unless all of his talking heads were all shot at the same time.

Alex makes a burger.  smh. If he's making a Middle Eastern dish, shouldn't it have been a lamb burger? I would have liked to have seen a discussion from him about dodging a bullet last week.

Man, Eddie failed in his food and his presentation

 

What does a po boy have to do with the 4th of July? And he's back to describing the ingredients again instead of presenting himself. His second go was much much better.

Man, Eddie is just imploding. But Dom did, too, but I think he recovered.

I loved the music with Arnold's Valentine's Day show.

.

Interesting discussion between the mentors on one side and the Network on the other side re Eddie and Dom. I knew it was going to be Dom, since the Network is really the final arbiter.

What would have been an appropriate food for Halloween?

 

Pasta with squid ink, and blood orange sauce?

[HappyDancex2]

No. More. Harissa!!!!!!!!

Just stop already. Harissa is the new wasabi/chipotle/ad nauseous flavoring of the year. BAH.

[GaT]

I thought Giada was going to start begging to save Dom for a minute, I don't think she could be any more obvious. If he wasn't the one sent home, I would have pitched a fit. Now if he'll just stay gone.

[HappyDancex2]

I thought Giada was going to start begging to save Dom for a minute, I don't think she could be any more obvious. If he wasn't the one sent home, I would have pitched a fit. Now if he'll just stay gone.

He won't.

[CMH1981]

Can some one explain to me how Arnold wasn't called out for saying u could feed over 20 people with one chicken breast? When he said that The camera cut to Bobby who kinda rolled his eyes, so I figured he was going to question that. I really wanted to see how Arnold made his dinner in a box concoction, cb it seemed to be a hodgepodge mess.

I think tonight proved definitively why Arnold could never win this season, he is a loose cannon that is going for shock and awe. Yes, on a pre-taped program he might be okay, but I think live he would try and push the envelope which FN wouldn't stand for.

[J-Man]

I think Eddie's problem with Halloween is that he was dead-set on doing an entree (as were all of the others, except Arnold.) Had he thought outside the box a bit, he could've easily come up with some ideas that would have better fit the theme--as many of you above have already done.

 

Can some one explain to me how Arnold wasn't called out for saying u could feed over 20 people with one chicken breast?

I think he was talking about making appetizers-- maybe he meant you could make 20 appetizers out of one chicken breast?

Edited July 27, 2015 by J-Man

[Lillybee]

Dom thinks that he is the newest authority on Italian cuisine. I am not sure that Gaida would like that. She wants to be the be all and end all on all things Italian.

 

Sorry Alex, but the FN does not need another sandwich guy. Jeff already owns that spot and is still using that  on the kitchen.

[mlp]

I thought sure Alex had done himself in when I saw the amount of harissa he was slathering on his dish.  That stuff is hot but no one said a word about it.  

 

I like Arnold, Jay and Eddie but the only one I'd ever watch is Arnold.  He's funny and quirky and I get a kick out of him plus he does know how to cook.  He should have explained the less familiar terms he used but I thought the criticism that the audience didn't know what his dessert tasted like was unfair.  He said the flavor was chocolate and raspberry which seems explicit enough to me.

 

Damaris is really cute and I'm glad she's doing well but I could never watch her for a half hour show.  Her voice is almost as bad as Ree Drummond's and about two minutes is all I can take of her.

[Lura]

I'm disappointed about Dom.  He was my favorite, by far.

 

Kermit and Medusa made every face imaginable.  They're both used to being the big wigs for whom the scenery doors parted,  just as they did for Johnny Carson, for their grand entrance and every other entrance.  Now that they've been bumped down to "barely there" status, they're making the most of their meager camera time with eye rolls, grimaces and nodding no.  I would be happy if they were sent back to Siberia, never to be seen or heard from again.

[vibeology]

In defence of Giada (something I thought I would never say) if I had to eat the food, I'd try to keep the stronger cooks around over the weaker ones.