S12.E08: Guilty Pleasures Dinner

[ElDosEquis]

Ana has a mango salsa recipe that she promised Booby Flake, if she won.

Flake has ALWAYS been a creeper...go back and watch ANY of his cooking shows and if there is an attractive woman on? He's all over it.

It USED to be a good show to watch - then Flake and Gee-ah-DUH's heads got too big to fit into an oven. GD's huge teeth and dinosaur arms give me the creeps and flake's imitation of a pervy/molestor (Bob's/Frisch's) Big Boy makes me laugh. .

This isn't a cooking show/competition - it's an ass kissing contest with no criteria. Your best bet is to act like you are in the presence of a god when the judges come and talk to you. DO NOT question their credentials - they have a show on TV, you don't.

After a while, the bipolar nature of the judges just got too stupid - when a contestant is told to 'bring it' for the camera one week, the next week they are told to tone it down. If you have a decent personality and some cooking talent, you are not going to win. If you do win, your program is scheduled for the weekend mornings - when no one is watching.

[spiderpig]

Last week I thought this bunch got on my last nerve.  This week I discovered I have a final last nerve.

Tregaye and Erin trying to outshout and outmug each other.  Jernard coming across as a sleazy low-rent nightclub act.  Damiano doing pasta again.  Although most here dislike Ana, she came across to me as the least offensive of the remaining contestants.  Somebody from Star Salvation has to come back and save this trainwreck of a season.

I'm tired of having to look at LBH's girls all the time.  If we have to ogle bodies, why don't they put Bobby in a Speedo?

[Snarklepuss]

3 hours ago, TDT said:

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone probably should revive the 'Chef' character on South Park and get Jernard to do the voice-over..

Hey, I posted a "Chef" video last week, "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls".

[Snarklepuss]

5 hours ago, candall said:

Well, my long Ana post disappeared, but here are my three points:

2.  I feel the need to shove her in the shower with a deep leave-in conditioner and a jar of apricot scrub--I sense she might be pretty, underneath there.

ITA.  Her heavy makeup ages her, IMO.  I feel like it's put on with a spackling knife.  And the year 2006 just called and wants its look back.

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

I'm tired of having to look at LBH's girls all the time.  If we have to ogle bodies, why don't they put Bobby in a Speedo?

Me too, and I'm all for equal time, but ewwwww......

[Snarklepuss]

2 hours ago, ElDosEquis said:

After a while, the bipolar nature of the judges just got too stupid - when a contestant is told to 'bring it' for the camera one week, the next week they are told to tone it down. If you have a decent personality and some cooking talent, you are not going to win. If you do win, your program is scheduled for the weekend mornings - when no one is watching.

Is it me?  All of a sudden after Joy was eliminated they're suddenly primarily concerned with on-camera performance, and she usually nailed that.  Before she went it was all about the food, which she didn't always nail.  The back-editing to justify decisions is becoming more obvious.

[parrotfeathers]

4 hours ago, Lillybee said:

I am slowly turning into an Ana fan. I think that she is the only contestant who realizes what bullshit these challenges are and is doing the minimum to stay on the show.

I tend to agree with you.  Bobby likes her because she seems to be able to cook and she is frustrated because she doesn't have the presentation needed.   Frankly I think she's about as cuban as I am.

Tricia Yearwood isn't a saint by any means but gentlemen in the south don't act like this idiot Jerrard in the presence of a lady.  

I did not care for Erin--what is it with all the bows and hair doo dads?

Tregaye--she is trying to be a stand up comic instead of a chef--no way would I watch her especially with the nasty purple lipstick and flicky fingers.

I know Domiano isn't going to win either but hopefully he will be on Food Network somewhere.  At least he tries to cook something without the stereotyping of Jerrard and Tregaye.   Frankly I don't think any of them have a snowball's chance to carry a "real" show.  

30 minutes is a really long time to pretend you are something you aren't (like a love chef or a hi ya'll girl).  I hope this comment is not offensive, but people of color I know and see in Mississippi do not act like this, and I think it is disrespectful for them to continue.

[smiley13]

After Gee-Ah-Da's displays that she puts on every week, I am not sure how she was offended by Jernard..  He did not have body parts hanging out that should be covered.

And her constant flirting with Bobby is even worse.

[smiley13]

3 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I know Domiano isn't going to win either but hopefully he will be on Food Network somewhere.  At least he tries to cook something without the stereotyping of Jerrard and Tregaye.   Frankly I don't think any of them have a snowball's chance to carry a "real" show.  

Damiano is the biggest stereotype this season IMO.  I keep expecting to see him rowing a gondola while making yet another pasta dish while Gee-Ah-Da claps and cheers him on.

[PRgal]

32 minutes ago, smiley13 said:

Damiano is the biggest stereotype this season IMO.  I keep expecting to see him rowing a gondola while making yet another pasta dish while Gee-Ah-Da claps and cheers him on.

They're ALL stereotypes.  And I'm slowing thinking Jerrard is more of a stereotype of being on the down low/closeted (I don't know him personally, so I can't be accused of outing anyone).  The over emphasizing of the number of kids he has and his presentation last night...I don't know (and please don't kill me for this).  Also, *I* could probably have made a more "decadent" dessert than Erin.  And I hate making desserts (besides one ingredient banana "ice cream" (which I turn into two or three ingredients anyway)).

Edited July 11, 2016 by PRgal

[cooksdelight]

5 hours ago, TDT said:

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone probably should revive the 'Chef' character on South Park and get Jernard to do the voice-over..

"I'm going to take you down and love you......"  LOL, I have been thinking for weeks that he reminded me of someone and now I know, it's a cartoon character!

[candall]

1 hour ago, smiley13 said:

After Gee-Ah-Da's displays that she puts on every week, I am not sure how she was offended by Jernard..  He did not have body parts hanging out that should be covered.

And her constant flirting with Bobby is even worse.

But. . .but. . .she doesn't shove them up in his face and sultry-murmur how the dish they're tasting is like a motorboat.

: [

 

.

Edited July 11, 2016 by candall

[Wings]

I have come to like Ana and her dry wit.  "I make chocolate chip cookies for my girls when they come home on a Tuesday." "I should go back on my meds."  New hairstyle please, get it off your face and a side part is always more flattering.  

I have no clue why Tregue hates Ana.   

Deep fried sub roll, Gerard?  

Giada grabbing Bobby's arm constantly is foreplay.  Stop denying the affair rumors. 

So glad to see Erin go. She really thought she was going to win this. 

[smiley13]

I can totally see why they all dislike Ana.  She has been shown being condescending and rude to all of them.

[AntManBee]

Ok.  I've come to the unpopular conclusion that I want Ana to win.  Not that I think she will have the best show, but I do find her attitude to be the most refreshing of all the contestants left.  Plus, she appears to at least know how to prepare interesting, tasty, and new-to-me recipes.  I also enjoy her very dry sense of humor -- which I too have been accused of having.  I also give her mad props for taking the dessert course and wanting to push herself.  A sharp contrast to Erin pushing herself by making a cookie that she makes daily and help pay her bills.  Plus, I made the same facial reaction as Ana when Erin claimed her guilty pleasure decadent desert was going to be an after school snack.

Tregaye will probably win though. 

Erin's meltdown was oddly rewarding.  She frustrated me so much at the judges table, but its refreshing to know that there is some other emotions buried underneath the facade of constant peppiness.  But as a baker, how does she get off calling whatever she made a cookie?  I have never seen a cookie that had to be baked in muffin tin.  Maybe that was Erin using another hack.

Jernard is beginning to strike me as someone who tries to hard to prove how heterosexual he is.  Ironically Valerie B. told Penny to not mention sexiness when she should just exude it naturally, but this doesn't seem to apply to Jernard as the love chef.  His speaking, even in jest, about having more children with the judges after his aphrodisiac entree was a bit disgusting.

Domiano is cute and all, but I really want to see him de-Vanilla Ice his hair.

ETA:  Fantastic shade cast by the Food Network Star editors at the very end with Erin proclaiming that we will see her smiling face again -- followed by her coldly slamming the door on the way out while the other contestants stand awkwardly.  Perfection. 

Edited July 11, 2016 by AntManBee
To add note on Erin's final moment of zen.

[Totale]

8 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

The Guy Fiettttti fans

Oh, those can't possibly exist, can they?

5 hours ago, GaT said:

I can't believe Bobby told Tregaye it was hers to lose. I hope that's a big misdirection because I really can't stand her.

It was an empty statement that could apply to any of them, but when subtleties or clever plot twists are what you're looking for you'll always find the FNS writing staff is on fleek.

[schnauzergirl]

I've come to the conclusion that years ago somebody told Giada she needed to smile more. She took that advice to heart and now it's on steroids.  When I'm in situations where the last thing I want to do is smile, I think about Giada and tone it down by about a thousand.  

Not at all sad to say good-bye to Erin.  You may believe a judge is way off base, but you don't argue with them, kiddo.  At least not if you want to become a colleague of sorts.  Ana has become somebody I might just watch because she's certainly got the cooking skills and a sense of humor that I find refreshing on FN. She isn't great on camera, but if you want to see a disaster, try to find Giada's audition tape -- it was horrible, except that she didn't smile.  We have to remember, though, there's a wild card waiting in the wings in the person who wins Star Salvation.

Edited July 11, 2016 by schnauzergirl

[stormy]

There really isn't any point for me to watch this anymore now that Bobby pretty much declared Tregaye the winner last night.

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, AntManBee said:

Tregaye will probably win though. 

The advantage for a lot of us is that we won't have to see her again by avoiding her show.

If she actually gets one.

(Uh-oh...I forgot about the Guest Judge Syndrome.  Justin Warner.)

Never mind.

[Aethera]

Hi all, a reminder that Star Salvation talk does not belong in the episode threads - some people who watch the episodes don't watch Star Salvation, so mentions of who is still in the running, or not, are spoilers. We have a thread for discussion of Star Salvation here.

[HappyDancex2]

3 hours ago, smiley13 said:

Damiano is the biggest stereotype this season IMO.  I keep expecting to see him rowing a gondola while making yet another pasta dish while Gee-Ah-Da claps and cheers him on.

Cue background music of O solo mio?

This episode had Giada nodding along with him with that knowing look of italian bonding that she does...she's really american to everyone else and lives in california...she's about as connected to Puglia and Bologna as I am.  She was so wistful when he was telling his urchin cliffside story...I've eaten cliffside in the italian riviera too...doesn't make me italian.  Whatever.

Which is different than the knowing looks she gave Bobby this episode along with the incessant number of arm grabs.  I think the editors are trolling us now.

[LizBug]

Hoping that Bobby doomed Tregaye with his pronouncing her the "winner" already.  Saw her and her family on one of Guy's Grocery Games re-runs.  They're from Philly and there was no mega-South accent.  Honey chile (click, flick, flick),  she gets more and more deep South stereotype every week.

Appreciate Damiano but half the time I can't understand his accent.  At this point, I think Ana has the best chance to pull the upset of the season.  If she does win and get a show, she'll have a make-over and coaching for a better on-camera presence.

[Gregg247]

I like Jenard, and I think his POV of the chef of love works; he just got WAY too carried away with it during that presentation.  It makes sense, though.  Each time he presents, he's been lauded for his POV and encouraged to give them more of the same.  He just got caught up in the moment and lost himself.  Now, should that really have happened to a grown man (with 9 kids at home)?  Maybe not.  Anyway, I'm glad he's still around.

I'm glad Erin, the "professional smiler" is gone.  I liked her less and less every week.  On the other hand, telling her to use her baking POV when given jambalya and hotdogs seems a little unfair.  Not EVERYTHING can/should be tied to a specific POV (at least not with the challenges this show serves up).  I was shocked when she started arguing with Bobby during his kind-of mild criticisms of her chocolate.  She really blew up!  I absolutely loved the "I'm the Holiday Baking champion!" excuse.  Hilarious!  Erin, Bobby doesn't care!

Edited July 13, 2016 by GenL
Removed Star Salvation comment

[Snarklepuss]

4 hours ago, PRgal said:

They're ALL stereotypes.  And I'm slowing thinking Jerrard is more of a stereotype of being on the down low/closeted (I don't know him personally, so I can't be accused of outing anyone).  The over emphasizing of the number of kids he has and his presentation last night...I don't know (and please don't kill me for this). 

Jernaud is like 3 stereotypes put together - "Chef" from South Park, any Barry White song, plus Tim Meadows as the "Ladies Man" on Saturday Night.

[Trixie Belden]

13 hours ago, Thalia said:

As for Ana, it seems like every cooking show has one really unlikeable loudmouth that brings on the drama.  And s/he gets to stay until penultimate episode because the producers believe Drama = Ratings.  

Not in this house.  We just took it off the DVR solely due to Ana and her bullshit snotty attitude.  I have a teenager I can talk to if I want smug shitty commentary.

[backformore]

5 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

ITA.  Her heavy makeup ages her, IMO.  I feel like it's put on with a spackling knife.  And the year 2006 just called and wants its look back.

Yes.  I am no makeup expert, but here's what I see -  some women in their teens and 20's can pull off a "California beach"  look.   Dye your hair some shade of yellow, then tan your skin so it's markedly darker than your hair. On young women, it's a stereotype of what is supposed to be attractive, has been since the 70's at least (Malibu Barbie!)  At a certain age - and age that Ana has long passed - the blond hair and tan skin no longer looks like you've been playing volleyball on the beach.  It looks like you're trying too hard to re-capture something.   She needs a less harsh hair color, with soft highlights, some layers cut into her hair so it is off her face more. Less tanning, a more natural look with illuminating makeup (not the whole contouring thing),  not a full-coverage makeup, and not such a dark color.  SOFTER EYE MAKEUP!  (no black, use brown)  and throw away those fake lashes.  I tired false eyelashes once, a long time ago.  they felt heavy, like my eyelids wanted to close all the time.  I felt like when I blinked, my eyes stayed closed a little longer than normal.  When I see Ana, it reminds me of that feeling.  Like it's so much effort just to keep her eyes open. It adds to my impression of her as depressed, or sleepy.   

[smiley13]

41 minutes ago, DallasGypsy said:

Hoping that Bobby doomed Tregaye with his pronouncing her the "winner" already.  Saw her and her family on one of Guy's Grocery Games re-runs.  They're from Philly and there was no mega-South accent.  Honey chile (click, flick, flick),  she gets more and more deep South stereotype every week.

Appreciate Damiano but half the time I can't understand his accent.  At this point, I think Ana has the best chance to pull the upset of the season.  If she does win and get a show, she'll have a make-over and coaching for a better on-camera presence.

Deep South stereotype?  

[Aging Goth]

My take on this episode....

Tregaye is very good at what she does and yes, it IS hers to lose.  She will have to bring it hard every time she does a challenge.  So far, she has done just that.

Damiano is also pretty good at what he does as well, just have to keep up with what he is cooking because if it isn't Italian, he just forgets what the heck it is

Jenard did indeed go WAAAYY over the top with his presentation.  That creeped ME out!!  And yes, his food was also way over the top with too much going on in his plate

Ana stumbled as usual once again but her food appeared to be on point.  As much as it pains me to say this, she did deserve to stay this episode.  Still, she should have gone home last week, tho.

Erin shot herself in the foot with that blonde cookie.  How the rachet hell did she not know that was NOT DECADENT CHOCOLATE!!!  And then mouthing off at the judges is just an express ticket out of there.  I feel she let her cake win go to her head.  How in the world does a BAKER mess up decadent chocolate.  There are SO many possibilities.

The right one went home

[ElDosEquis]

2 hours ago, schnauzergirl said:

I've come to the conclusion that years ago somebody told Giada she needed to smile more. She took that advice to heart and now it's on steroids.  When I'm in situations where the last thing I want to do is smile, I think about Giada and tone it down by about a thousand.  

She probably smiles so much someone suggested she wear low cut dresses to distract people from staring at her trap?

[Aging Goth]

Quote

Hoping that Bobby doomed Tregaye with his pronouncing her the "winner" already.  Saw her and her family on one of Guy's Grocery Games re-runs.  They're from Philly and there was no mega-South accent.  Honey chile (click, flick, flick),  she gets more and more deep South stereotype every week.

Thing is, most southerners who have come north tend to try to be more northern in their dialect.  However, as they keep going, the southern just comes out and their accent get stronger.  On Grocery games, she was only on for one episode but here, she is going to bee seen reverting to her southern roots as she goes though the series of episodes.  It has nothing to do with stereotypes but orientation.

By the way, Giada has to most creepy scary "Batman's Joker" smile I have ever seen

Edited July 11, 2016 by Aging Goth

[jcbrown]

Glad to see Erin the whiner go. Something about the way she hunches her shoulders made her always remind me of Gayle on Bob's Burgers.

http://bobs-burgers.wikia.com/wiki/Gayle

[Pallida]

While I agree with Erin leaving, I think making a truly decadent dessert in the time they had would be difficult. 

[Snarklepuss]

5 minutes ago, Pallida said:

While I agree with Erin leaving, I think making a truly decadent dessert in the time they had would be difficult. 

Rhee Drummond manages to make a chocolate lava cake in 25 minutes.  I've seen it done on other cooking competitions before, too.  She could have combined that with a simple cherry or berry compote and whipped cream and it would have been all kinds of decadent.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-lava-cakes.html

[jumper sage]

6 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

Tricia Yearwood isn't a saint by any means but gentlemen in the south don't act like this idiot Jerrard in the presence of a lady

A gentleman in any part of the world would not have done this.  I was embarrassed for him.

5 hours ago, wings707 said:

I have no clue why Tregue hates Ana.  

Maybe she saw something behind the scenes?  Wink wink

[Wings]

Granted Gerard embarrassed himself.  So he is inexperienced and blew it.  Trisha, for fuck sake, you are a grown woman, you should have taken that in stride.  You are just image polishing.  You do not radiate innocent little country girl at all so stop trying.  

[backformore]

49 minutes ago, Pallida said:

While I agree with Erin leaving, I think making a truly decadent dessert in the time they had would be difficult. 

Not if you're a baker by profession who has already one a TV baking competition. 

Erin was out as soon as she decided to make a cookie.   While there are few things better than a cookie fresh out of the oven with melted dark chocolate chips, cookies are seen more as a kid's snack than an indulgent adult decadent dessert.  I made some suggestions before, but I think if she had made a chocolate cake with Kahlua or something similar, it could have blown the judges away.  And cakes, when made in small molds, take a lot less time to bake than in a cake pan. 

If I were sitting down to a dinner that was supposed to be a "guilty pleasures"  feast, the course I would be looking most forward to would be dessert.  And a cookie would have to be the best cookie in the world to live up to the decadent label. 

[rab01]

I am so not interested in a show from any of the remaining people. I don't particularly disagree with any of the eliminations so far (other than Joy - not because I liked her but because she seemed like an inoffensive professional) but it's left them with nobody. Damiano is unintelligible half the time and I already skip the italian cooking show with what's-her-name and her husband even though their recipes look fine; Genard reminds me too much of Lenny's creamed-corn video; Ana is unpleasant to watch; and Tregaye is everything I hate about accidentally watching 5 minutes of audience participation in afternoon talk shows. 

I didn't hate this crew during the first episode but all of them seem to have become worse with each passing week ... sigh

[backformore]

9 minutes ago, rab01 said:

Genard reminds me too much of Lenny's creamed-corn video;

Interesting, I was thinking that Gernard may have watched Lenny's season, and though the creamed corn thing was not on the show, there were some pretty weird over-the-top things (I am trying to forget the time when he wore a bunch of candy bars) that may have led him to conclude that crass, sexy innuendos were what the Food Network wanted. 

[Snarklepuss]

Let's all spell it together now - J-E-R-N-A-R-D.  It's not Gernard or Gernaud or Jenard or Jernaud.  I'm doing this for my benefit too as I have been all wrong myself!

[HappyDancex2]

Just now, Snarklepuss said:

Let's all spell it together now - J-E-R-N-A-R-D.  It's not Gernard or Gernaud or Jenard or Jernaud.  I'm doing this for my benefit too as I have been all wrong myself!

If you read back just for THIS episode thread, his name is spelled different in almost every post.   It's actually quite hilarious.  We're a mockery of ourselves!  I hope he never goes on Survivor or it'll be one of those eliminations where they have to phonetically spell it and Probst will have to decipher it on the parchment.  LOL

The tribe has spoken.

[Pallida]

I personally don't find a lava cake to be decadent or guilty.  I find them to be as mundane and widely available as the aforementioned cookie or brownie sundae.  Tasty?  Sure!  And would it fit Erin's presentation better? Absolutely.  Giada probably would have liked it, if it turned out well too: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/warm-chocolate-cakes-with-berries.html

For me, decadence is going to involve multiple flavors and textures.  Give me cake with mousse layers.  Give me complexity.  Maybe I just factor in time and effort into how I perceive decadence?  

I think I've just been spoiled by the Great British Bake Off where they are given adequate time to make something good.

[dahling]

Well, it's been years and poor Damaris's name still gets butchered almost every time it comes up.

I don't know with this show any more.  It's not just a cooking show, or at least it's not supposed to be. It's about people who can talk about food, who have a point of view, and put people at ease and cook good things.  Erin didn't make a bad dessert. A huge point was made that Jenard's dish was *too* indulgent, which to me means the criteria for the challenge was weird at best. Decadent shouldn't mean indulgent? What? Erin had a nice presentation. The judges and guest judges liked it.   Her dessert may have been disappointing from a standpoint of "decadence" but on this particular show, presentation has usually counted for at least 50%.  Ana is still stiff and unlikeable. Jenard is just plain nasty. So no I don't get why Erin went home. I will even go so far as to say that I think a big chunk of the judging must have gotten edited out, because her fury didn't match the mild words Bobby was saying.

But whatever.  Tregunda is going to fleeking win and then host a kids competition and I'll never watch it, because I do not watch kids do anything on TV. I love my kids, but they provide me 100% of the kids I need in my life.

[Gardencrown]

This show has been pretty bad for a long time, but this season has gone over the top (or maybe under the bottom). No one, NO ONE, not one of these people is appealing at all, imo. And even when the judges say that the food tastes good, I think it all looks pretty meh. I suspect that good is on a sliding scale with a low bar.

This show is starting to make Worst Cooks look like classic television.

[spiderpig]

My fantasy judging would have had Padma seated at The Table of Doom saying solemnly, "Erin...please pack your bows and go."

[Wings]

Giada can smile normally, I have seen her do it.  I bet she gets tons of compliments on her "beautiful" smile all through her life and pushes it to the hilt.  It is not attractive. 

[J-Man]

Quote

Let's all spell it together now - J-E-R-N-A-R-D.  It's not Gernard or Gernaud or Jenard or Jernaud.  I'm doing this for my benefit too as I have been all wrong myself!

Thank you for this. There seem to have been at least ten different (mis)spellings of the poor man's name on this thread. It's not that hard to remember: it's just BERNARD with a J substituting for the B.

And while we're at it, it's TREGAYE and DAMIANO.

[Amarsir]

14 hours ago, GaT said:

I can't believe Bobby told Tregaye it was hers to lose. I hope that's a big misdirection because I really can't stand her.

IIRC the last time he said that was the crude cowboy. So I think he means it legit.

20 hours ago, Court said:

Why would Erin mention she's a baker when she made a jambalaya hot dog? It has nothing to do with it!

You know. The same way she should have mentioned it when making a burger for tailgating! These are "perfect opportunities".

17 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Alex called Erin's chocolate chip cookie a "molded blondie."   This to me means as a chocolate chip cookie it wasn't even very chocolaty even though as she was describing it the camera showed she was going to put in 2 kinds of chocolate chips/chunks (camera also picked up toffee bits but don't know if those made them in.)  It was a big pan bar.  That's even worse...I make pan bars for my tennis team.  Eye roll.

Yeah, that's what I don't get about Erin's dish. I wanted to see if FN had put up a recipe for it (of course not) but did find her post-mortem interview:

Quote

As a baker, yeah, the sky is the limit, and it is a silver platter when you get dessert as a baker, but with time constraints you’re limited, and so I went with chocolate, ‘cause I know chocolate sets up well, I know I can execute a lot of different components in chocolate quickly. And so I made a double chocolate chip cookie with a dark chocolate ganache and a chocolate cheesecake whip, and it was quite delicious.

That "cookie" (pan bar) was way too light visually to be "chocolate chocolate chip", even before Alex called it a "molded blondie with cream cheese". Now I would probably find that it tastes better with a variety of flavors, but she's clearly not describing it in a way that resonates with any of us.

That said, "decadent" is very much in the eye of the beholder. Last night I was dining out and I'd been very good on diet all week, so I gave myself permission to have something indulgent for dinner. And then ended up having vegetable lasagna. Not decadent for most people but above the line on vinaigrette salads I'd been having. So if "just a chocolate chip cookie" is the tastiest thing she makes yet not something you can healthfully pig out on, I can understand thinking of it as a "guilty pleasure".

It's the "chocolate chocolate chocolate" description I don't get.

[smiley13]

I am not a fan of Erin at all, but I saw nothing wrong with her dessert.  It looked like something I would eat once you got rid of Damiao's fruit crap he put on there.

I knew she was a goner once she spoke up for herself though.  Heaven forbid anyone stand up to ole Bobby.

[ownedbysetters]

I used to really enjoy this show.  The contestants were varied and most had actual potential, the challenges were at least somewhat connected to the eventual prize and did serve to separate the contenders from the rest of the herd.  But ever since it became the Bobby and Giada show, it has been reduced to a popularity contest (ie who B and G find attractive), with off the wall challenges that show nothing, and confusing directions to the contestants that change from week to week.  What happened to the mentoring they once did?  Now it is merely unhelpful criticism that leaves the contestants scratching their heads.   

It is more than time to make it go away. Bring back Iron Chef.

Tregaye seems to be the anointed one, unless its tricky editing to confuse viewers.  If that is the case, that is unfair to all the contestants.  Never show favorites openly......even if it is nothing but a fake out.

[LennieBriscoe]

Erin doomed herself twice over with her big yap:

First, when she over-sold the "chocolate" elements of her dessert.

And after, mouthing off to Bobby, as if  "I've sold thousands, THOUSANDS!" was relevant to the task at hand.

I'll bet the judges were hoping for some decadent chocolate cake.