S14.E05: Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

[bluepiano]

19 hours ago, rho said:

Red potatoes with a little dill and mustard would have been a million times better.

Sounds good to me, but I could just hear Tom saying, "This is Top Chef, and you make a red potato salad I could  buy at any supermarket deli counter." Chefs often get criticized for not being innovative enough, but if you do something non-traditional it better taste good, or you'll really get slammed. That's what happened with Silvia.

18 hours ago, wings707 said:

Keeping kosher is not a skill in itself.  It is about keeping dairy and meat separate including dishes, pot and pans, flatware, everything.  You cannot use the same vessel to cook, serve or eat meat if dairy has been prepared in it, and vice versa.  Some go as far as having 2 dishwashers. 

Years ago I sold my apartment to an Orthodox Jewish couple who kept Kosher. I'm Jewish but totally non-observant, and so they told me they would need to bring in a rabbi to "Kosher the oven," a process that involves using a blow torch. (I imagined the rabbi showing up dressed like one of the Ghostbusters. Except it would be "Kosherbusters.")

Edited December 31, 2016 by bluepiano

[Calamity Jane]

6 hours ago, Canada said:

Completely OT, but Sheldon's back problem story this episode really irked me due to a long-standing pet peeve I have with people being conned into getting back surgery!!  Most people with back problems are not helped by surgery; it may help in the short-term, but long-term, they just end up with even more problems.  I've met so many people who've had their lives ruined by back surgeons!!  Go see a good physiotherapist or registered massage therapist instead and work on any issues you have that are contributing to the back problems.  *rant over*

I'm not surprised Sylvia went home.  That salad, by any name, looked revolting.  The guest judge was right when he said that, if he saw something on the table that looked like that, he wouldn't touch it.  As an aside, it was kind of cringe-worthy how xenophobic the judges sounded when discussing potato salad.  There's no mayonnaise??!??!!  How shocking!!!  But we have expectations!!!!

Poor Katsuji... shitty food this week and then John gives him no credit for the xanthan gum save.  *sniggers*

Joining you on your OT - a woman in our neighborhood told me in 1982 never to let an orthopedic surgeon touch my back (I was having trouble just then), and allow no-one but a neurosurgeon to mess with the spine.  Don't know if that really does make the difference, but I know she went downhill skiing three weeks after her surgery.  !!  But I don't know how she did long-term.  

[lh25]

6 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Chefs often get criticized for not being innovative enough, but if you do something non-traditional it better taste good, or you'll really get slammed. That's what happened with Silvia.

They also get slammed for calling things they are not.  So, if she'd called it something like "chilled veggies with dressing", and done it well, she would have been better off.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, lh25 said:

They also get slammed for calling things they are not.  So, if she'd called it something like "chilled veggies with dressing", and done it well, she would have been better off.

It was a potato salad, it just wasn't a southern style potato salad and it sucked.

[PepperMonkey]

I'm sorry Sylvia left, too, especially when I think Katsuji should have done because of his hog gland beans - ewwww.

But that "potato salad" was revolting looking: I'm not trying to make anyone queasy but when it was served it looked for all the world as if someone had pooped on it.

And it sounded horrible, too.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, PepperMonkey said:

I'm sorry Sylvia left, too, especially when I think Katsuji should have done because of his hog gland beans - ewwww.

But that "potato salad" was revolting looking: I'm not trying to make anyone queasy but when it was served it looked for all the world as if someone had pooped on it.

And it sounded horrible, too.

Katsuji annoys me, but I probably would have tossed Sylva. Katsuji messed up his beans because he didn't know about the gland. It was too late to start over so he tried to rectify it. Sylva knew the challenge parameters and intentionally ignored them. What he made was Kansas City style sauce. He tasted both of those sauces, but put ketchup in his even though it's found in neither of the sauces he tasted. Sometimes it's in the mustard sauce, but minimally.

I guess it breaks down like this:

• Sylvia had a bad dish that she didn't realize was bad.
• Katsuji had a bad dish that he realized was bad and tried fix.
• Sylva had an OK sauce that didn't meet the challenge parameters.
• Amanda had an unremarkable dish that met the challenge parameters.

I think there is an argument for any of them going home.

Edited January 1, 2017 by HunterHunted

[Court]

I was shocked again that so many chefs had never made a biscuit before. Again, if I find out I'm going on Top Chef, I'm learning a couple dessert recipes and recipes I haven't made before.

I thought Katsuji should have gone home or Emily. I would have been fine with Amanda as well. 

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, Court said:

I was shocked again that so many chefs had never made a biscuit before. Again, if I find out I'm going on Top Chef, I'm learning a couple dessert recipes and recipes I haven't made before.

I thought Katsuji should have gone home or Emily. I would have been fine with Amanda as well. 

They don't have a lot of time from when they find out they are cast to when they leave for the show.

[HunterHunted]

42 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They don't have a lot of time from when they find out they are cast to when they leave for the show.

I guess that excuses chefs that don't know how to use a pressure cooker. 

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

They don't have a lot of time from when they find out they are cast to when they leave for the show.

I went over to the media thread for dates.  We (the general public) found out in mid-March that Top Chef Season 14 would be filming in Charleston.  Filming began on May 12th.  If I had applied for Top Chef, I would certainly be watching for indications on where they'd be filming.  If we are doing that, just as fans of the show, I'm sure that potential contestants are doing the same.  Once I knew what city was selected for the upcoming season, I'd be reading up on the types of cuisine that city is known for.  In this case they'd have had a lead time of almost two months to study up on the local dishes, even if they only receive actual notification that they'd been cast a few days before they travel.

[Giselle]

Katsuji said he pulled meat off the head to put in his beans. So where is this gland what is it called? I know about removing the gland in pork shoulders but one of these days I wanna try cooking a small whole pig. 

[chiaros]

32 minutes ago, Giselle said:

Katsuji said he pulled meat off the head to put in his beans. So where is this gland what is it called? I know about removing the gland in pork shoulders but one of these days I wanna try cooking a small whole pig. 

I took a look via Google and these two webpages seemed useful...

(There are many others, some require subscriptions or membership etc, some rather biological, etc)

http://www.litro.co.uk/2012/06/food-literature-2-a-recipe-for-lord-of-the-flies-pigs-head-terrine/

http://buttonsoup.ca/pork-cutting-head/

Chris Cosentino shows how to butcher a pig head and make porchetta di testa but, curiously, says/shows nothing at all (unless I missed it) about glands in the video.

[Mocking Bird]

6 hours ago, Giselle said:

Katsuji said he pulled meat off the head to put in his beans. So where is this gland what is it called? I know about removing the gland in pork shoulders but one of these days I wanna try cooking a small whole pig. 

It's the salivary gland.  There are some good photos and instructions on how to remove it here: http://livingthefrugallife.blogspot.com/2010/12/working-guanciale-recipe-and.html

[cooksdelight]

6 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I went over to the media thread for dates.  We (the general public) found out in mid-March that Top Chef Season 14 would be filming in Charleston.  Filming began on May 12th.  If I had applied for Top Chef, I would certainly be watching for indications on where they'd be filming.  If we are doing that, just as fans of the show, I'm sure that potential contestants are doing the same.  Once I knew what city was selected for the upcoming season, I'd be reading up on the types of cuisine that city is known for.  In this case they'd have had a lead time of almost two months to study up on the local dishes, even if they only receive actual notification that they'd been cast a few days before they travel.

Totally agree they had time to prepare for Charleston. Emily, having worked in the area, has zero excuses for her constant bad dishes. She can't cook. Period.

Katsuji was saved by the judges' understanding that he wasn't familiar with pork, having not worked with it due to his kosher background. He and Amanda were saved by Sylvia's horrible dish. And her arrogance in thinking "Well, I hate mayonnaise so I don't care if the people here like it or not, I'm going to give them a slimy Italian dish that has nothing to do with southern BBQ."

[Rammchick]

I don't know anything about whether back surgery hurts or helps, but I have more problems with Sheldon not only encouraged but praised for playing hurt.  When you push yourself beyond the limit is when you can make a bad situation even worse.  Sheldon said he'd already had an episode that laid him up for a year.  What happens when his herniated disc ruptures as the result of overdoing it?

[Babalu]

The thing I loved most about this episode was the inter- and intra-team camaderie during the night/early morning - from the "selfies" taken by Sheldon to Silvia's introduction to s'mores.

I've always adored Sheldon and hope he stays healthy and goes on to win this. Yet another in the long line of things that has endeared him to me was when he told Emily, "And that's why we're not going to talk about it again," when she was upset about Katsuji. From almost anyone else, that could have sounded like, "Shut up and quit whining," but from him it was caring but practical.

My choices for the other 3 chefs going to the final cook-off in Mexico are, in order, Shirley, Jim, and John. I can't believe how much I'm loving John this season. 

Was it just me or was Padma both particularly beautiful and particularly haughty and obnoxious this week?

[Mellowyellow]

Padma and Gail were both breathtaking this week. They were cutting to the judges and I couldn't help oogling at the two female judges. 

I also think Casey and Brooke look pretty good for people who have no sleep and have been working hard. They’d be stunning fully made up. 

Sheldon is a darling and I thought he handled Emily perfectly. He was sympathetic yet tactfully steered her to move on.  

[StevieRocks]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Totally agree they had time to prepare for Charleston. Emily, having worked in the area, has zero excuses for her constant bad dishes. She can't cook. Period.

 

I'm beginning to come around to this about Emily, and it's so upsetting that SHE is taking someone else's place--someone who is probably a star in Charleston. Grrr...

[pastafarian]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Emily, having worked in the area, has zero excuses for her constant bad dishes. She can't cook. Period.

Katsuji was saved by the judges' understanding that he wasn't familiar with pork, having not worked with it due to his kosher background. 

 

"Emily can't cook. Period."?  This is Top Chef, not Hell's Kitchen.  Every contestant on the show is an accomplished chef.  She may well be one of the weakest of this group, but I'm pretty confident she can out cook anyone reading this thread unless there is some relatively high caliber professional chefs here I'm not aware of.

As for Katsuji being "saved"?  If the judge's blog's over the years are to be believed?  That would be a definite 'NO'.  Repeatedly, the judges and most prominently Tom Colicchio have said judging is based on taste and appearance only.  The dish they thought tasted and looked the worst lost.

[StevieRocks]

I would love to know more about the selection process. 

[sourpickles]

I thought Padma was funny as hell watching the chefs from the booth.  I would really have loved it if someone had dinged her and she'd heard!  HA!  And Gail.  I love Gail, very much so, and her hair looked great but.........I think she got Little House On The Prairie day confused with Southern Drama BBQ.  That dress did nothing for her, IMHO.    And if anyone is going to be saved, it's gonna be Sam.  I have anxiety over this.  I don't watch LCK in part because of said stress and in part because I forget and depend on updates here, but I have a dread feeling about this first vet to go............  I will say this for the chefs cast, and I've said it about other shows as well.  We're in season whatever, you should have some working knowledge and some tricks to have in the back pocket/up sleeve/insert trite saying here.  In this case, ALWAYS have one dessert, and things that can easily be adapted to fit a challenge.  Basic ingredients, etc.  I try very hard not to judge people on their tv appearances, but it is hard and some don't make it easy when they show up and undermine themselves.  Or act stupid. 

[ProudMary]

5 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Totally agree they had time to prepare for Charleston. Emily, having worked in the area, has zero excuses for her constant bad dishes. She can't cook. Period.

At this point, I would have to agree with you completely but I must admit that I'm a bit surprised because in the first two episodes, she prepared some very good dishes and was even in the top three for the first Quickfire.  I thought she was going to be a contender despite her horrid personality.  That has certainly not been the case.  You can somewhat get away with being a nasty b***h if you've got the goods to back it up in the kitchen.  Continual failures and a sour personality?  Not so much.

And what is it with undercooked beans anyway?  Amanda last week and now Emily this week.  Perhaps last week, there were time constraints but for this barbecue challenge they were cooking all night.  Certainly that should be more than enough time for beans to soften!

[lisalionheart]

On 12/30/2016 at 2:09 PM, Randomosity said:

Uh, hi, Emily. No one comforted you because it appears they don't like you. I can't say that I blame them.

Maybe. But she was talking about the "veteran women" comforting Brooke, right? I think that the real divide there was that the veteran women are (mostly?) friends. They probably get thrown together a fair bit at events and appearances. Emily's a newbie to the Top Chef social circle. Perhaps she's already rubbed them the wrong way, but I think it's quite likely that they just ... cared more about Brooke.

Indeed, I think that the existing bond between the veterans is a major advantage over the rookies.

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

And what is it with undercooked beans anyway?  Amanda last week and now Emily this week.  Perhaps last week, there were time constraints but for this barbecue challenge they were cooking all night.  Certainly that should be more than enough time for beans to soften!

Not that this excuses undercooked beans and they clearly had plenty of time but I wonder if they weren't allowed to work on the sides until the morning because no one is doing prep on their dishes which I would have done just to keep mused awake and it didn't look like they opened up the WF bags until the morning.

Edited January 1, 2017 by biakbiak

[cooksdelight]

15 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Not that this excuses undercooked beans and they clearly had plenty of time but I wonder if they weren't allowed to work on the sides until the morning because no one is doing prep on their dishes which I would have done just to keep mused awake and it didn't look like they opened up the WF bags until the morning.

Good point. But while they were all up working on the BBQ all night long, she could have tossed those beans into a pot of water and let them sit. Not add salt and vinegar to them. That was just dumb, in my opinion. Did someone tell her to do that? I got the feeling she's never cooked them before.

[pastafarian]

1 hour ago, StevieRocks said:

I would love to know more about the selection process. 

That could almost be a show in itself...or at the very least a couple of bonus 'webisodes'.

[Ellee]

Sourpickles, I find LCK a treat.  It's far more relaxed than the competition for all involved.  You may actually enjoy watching it.  

Something I've been wondering....Sam has/had a lot on his plate outside of TC.  I'm wondering if maybe part of the reason he got booted earlier than one would think was due to his outside real life responsibilities.  Maybe even planned. Didn't he just open a new restaurant?   

[meowmommy]

7 hours ago, Babalu said:

Was it just me or was Padma both particularly beautiful and particularly haughty and obnoxious this week?

I dunno; she sets a very high haughty and obnoxious bar week after week, year after year.  Seriously, just once I'd like to see her attempt even one of the challenges for which she is so quick to express her disdain at a less than perfect performance.  

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

Sourpickles, I find LCK a treat.  It's far more relaxed than the competition for all involved.  You may actually enjoy watching it.    

I like it too.  And it's nice to see the eliminated cheftestants as part of the cheering section, just enjoying the experience.  And Tom always seems to have something positive to say about both dishes, along the lines of they're both great but this one is just a hair better.

Edited January 1, 2017 by meowmommy

[cooksdelight]

Quote

I'm wondering if maybe part of the reason he got booted earlier than one would think was due to his outside real life responsibilities.  Maybe even planned. Didn't he just open a new restaurant?   

I'm pretty sure they all have to stay wherever they are until taping is finished. At one time, back when they were in DC, they showed the person being booted joining the other bootees in a condominium. 

[sourpickles]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

I'm pretty sure they all have to stay wherever they are until taping is finished. At one time, back when they were in DC, they showed the person being booted joining the other bootees in a condominium. 

And I thought NY too.  Not sure, would have to check my dvds.  I would think they still do that, we just don't get the privilege of seeing those reaction shots and the bsing that goes along with.  I actually enjoyed those moments.  Though I felt bad for the cheftestants, can you imagine how gd BORING it must be???????  And haha.  Booties. 

[sourpickles]

4 hours ago, Ellee said:

Sourpickles, I find LCK a treat.  It's far more relaxed than the competition for all involved.  You may actually enjoy watching it.  

Something I've been wondering....Sam has/had a lot on his plate outside of TC.  I'm wondering if maybe part of the reason he got booted earlier than one would think was due to his outside real life responsibilities.  Maybe even planned. Didn't he just open a new restaurant?   

There's been a few comments on here about LCK, so maybe I'll give it a try.  I kinda figure I don't need to be pissed if someone I don't like is coming back from there AND be mad that someone I don't like is still on TC sooooooooooo.....we shall see.  But I do appreciate hearing from people about what they think.  As for Sam, I have no idea.  I am woefully bad at keeping up with chefs lives after TC.  Every now and then I power check and find out what about 80 of them are up to, and then rest for like a year and half!  I will say one thing though, I'm going to be checking out the resident BBQ experts to see who would have KILLED this challenge.  And I never did mention in earlier posts that I was just shocked that no one else took the super easy pickled side to do.  Literally stir every few hours and you are done, focus on other things.........and that dish looked tasty.

[snarktini]

2 hours ago, sourpickles said:

And I never did mention in earlier posts that I was just shocked that no one else took the super easy pickled side to do.  Literally stir every few hours and you are done, focus on other things.........and that dish looked tasty.

Maybe they thought it was too easy? I love pickled stuff and like it as a thoughtful alternative to the classic bean/potato/mac sides, but my first reaction was it was awfully simple for TC. And since each one of them owned a dish, it had to stand alone for that chef.

[sourpickles]

3 minutes ago, snarktini said:

Maybe they thought it was too easy? I love pickled stuff and like it as a thoughtful alternative to the classic bean/potato/mac sides, but my first reaction was it was awfully simple for TC. And since each one of them owned a dish, it had to stand alone for that chef.

That could be very true, but I thought it was a smart move AND if it turned out right, damn tasty.  You could pickle almost anything and I'd eat it.  If it were sour, even better.  I get everyone had to contribute but I thought if there was agreement on  that particular side, more thought and effort could be put into the more labor intensive ones, if that makes sense......

[bravofan27]

The empty kitchen didn't make any sense and the explanation that Padma gave for why they did that-- make chef's figure it out or something did not make sense either. It seems like they couldn't think of an interesting way to introduce the biscuit quickfire and the biscuit chef was pretty quiet. I thought Katsuji should have gone home for taking over the cooking of the pig-- and cooking it too high, and of course making gross beans. Sylvia's potato salad did look disgusting and I'm not sure why no one told her it was gross, I wonder if they quietly hope the dish will send that person home. 

Sylva and Katsuji did not appear to get along, but Katsuji does leave him alone, which shows some respect, but it seemed very clear they were power playing though it. When Katsuji said that Sylva should go home even though Slyvia's food was clearly disgusting I thought that sounded petty and biased.

Brooke and Casey look great, but they also look like they have had A LOT of botox. Their faces don't move. I'd get a ton of botox though too if I was going to be on TV. Brooke looks like a teenager her face is so plushy.

[sourpickles]

6 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

Brooke and Casey look great, but they also look like they have had A LOT of botox. Their faces don't move. I'd get a ton of botox though too if I was going to be on TV. Brooke looks like a teenager her face is so plushy.

Maybe, but I'd like to think they've just both gotten older...and blonder.

[biakbiak]

10 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Good point. But while they were all up working on the BBQ all night long, she could have tossed those beans into a pot of water and let them sit. Not add salt and vinegar to them. That was just dumb, in my opinion. Did someone tell her to do that? I got the feeling she's never cooked them before.

My point/question was whether or not they were allowed to do anything other than the sauce and roast the pig including soaking the beans. It just seems odd that the WF bags didn't show up until the morning and no one did any prep at all on side dishes. Still doesn't excuse them being undercooked because Katsuji had enough time to properly cook his funky and sour tasting beans.

[cooksdelight]

Exactly! If Katsuji's beans were cooked thoroughly, Emily's should have been as well.  

[Ellee]

13 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I'm pretty sure they all have to stay wherever they are until taping is finished. At one time, back when they were in DC, they showed the person being booted joining the other bootees in a condominium. 

I'm pretty sure they are all required to stay also.  What I'm not sure of is how lenient TPTB might be with the cheftestants contact with the outside world.  In my mind, with the type of business they are in, it's hard to believe that they can be away for that length of time without contact. Computers these days would enable the contact without us normals (lol at me considering myself normal :D ) being aware of who is still in the competition and who is not. 

[Happytobehere]

22 hours ago, StevieRocks said:

I'm beginning to come around to this about Emily, and it's so upsetting that SHE is taking someone else's place--someone who is probably a star in Charleston. Grrr...

The Emily issue has bigger implications for the showm and the way cheftants are chosen.  Is there an actual skills and/or reputation test; are some contestants chosen as fodder because of their incompetency; has the show officially gone down the slippery-sloped rabbit hole that is reality tv and decided that drama beats the overall reputation of the show?

[AriAu]

I kept looking at John Tesar's smile and thinking that in the back of his mind he is saying...."I am not going to be an asshole this time, I am not going to be an an asshole this time....I am going to be nice....I'm going to keep smiling....I am going to help people....I am going to go against everything in my nature.....I am going to save my reputation.....I am going to shut up......."

And then once he got tired, he forgot all of that and could not shut up!

Katsuji,, on the other hand, has decided that he can get some rep by actually being a jerk! And, yes, he should have gone home for not knowing what he was doing and putting in something that hurt/ruined his dish. What I could not tell was whetehr Sylvia's dish tasted bad or just looked bad and was not a potato salad and did not meet the challenge.

I am disappointed that Sheldon did not get the win for his treatment of the pig, which seemed to be dead on and the best of anyone, especially when it came to the sauce-did Sheldon make it alone or was it a group effort.

And I am not going to give medical opinions since I am, you know, not a doctor! I think it was wrong  when our president elect and his attack dog medical experts did it and it is wrong here!

[Jobiska]

On 12/30/2016 at 9:20 PM, NYCFree said:

Improperly naming things really can get a diner irrationally upset. And by irrational, I mean it's kind of out of proportion to the "offense."  I once ordered "trifle" as dessert on a cruise.  What came out was jello with some fruit in it with a little bit of whipped cream.  It was fine jello, but I make trifle and that was no delicious custard dessert with bits of cake/sponge with fruit, jam and whipped cream.  It turned into a ridiculous kerfuffle when I ordered another dessert and mentioned to the waiter "that's not really trifle."  I wound up explaining myself to the head waiter, then the maitr'e d'hotel.

Ha, I complained on Facebook that two different Philadelphia restaurants touted "house made tater tots" and what I got was what I would call potato puffs.  I wanted shredded potatoes formed into a cylindrical shape and crispily fried, not small spheres of mashed potatoes somewhat more delicately fried, gosh darn it!  And all of my FB friends agreed with me that the latter is decidedly not "tater tots."

Chefs who stick with their comfort zone, whether Asian or seafood or what have you, get dinged for it.  If Katsuji were sticking to trying to keep everything kosher or "kosher-ish," he'd be criticized for being rigid.   

I think it was on this episode, in the aftermath of the elimination, that Emily cried that she just wanted to make former boss "proud"?  That was weird.  If someone fired me, I'd want to make them mad at themselves that they had gotten rid of such a good chef, not "proud"!  

Based on description, the sour glandular beans sounded worse.  Based on looks--I couldn't even identify those glimpses of Silvia's food as any kind of potatoes.  I kept circling my eyes around the plate at the other dishes because surely that dark brown blobby mass could not be potato salad, even if she left the skins on and they were purple potatoes or something.  I like Silvia, but ew.

I also didn't think it was that weird that John explained about the xanthan gum.  I agree that he wanted to be seen as "problem solver," but I also thought that he might suspect Tom had been fed tidbits of info to ask about, so he might as well admit to it.  

Speaking of the mac and cheese, I was surprised that he kept running around and asking who might have "AP flour."  I'm no chef, but All-Purpose flour to me is just "flour," with modifiers added for bread, cake, self-rising, whatever.  And I kept thinking "Advanced Placement flour."  

With so much emphasis on the garlic, I was sure that Katsuji took the pre-peeled cloves from John and tossed them in and turned out to be like some pre-peeled cloves I once got at the supermarket, gone bad before their time without looking bad, and that it was the garlic he got from John that made the dish funky.  And despite the fact that that might rebound (unfairly) upon John, I'd way rather that happened than have to hear about pig head glands.  Well, you learn something new every day, I suppose. 

[Randomosity]

19 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

Speaking of the mac and cheese, I was surprised that he kept running around and asking who might have "AP flour."  I'm no chef, but All-Purpose flour to me is just "flour," with modifiers added for bread, cake, self-rising, whatever.  And I kept thinking "Advanced Placement flour." 

Hee... you have to have over a 3.5 GPA to use the AP flour :)

But seriously, why was he being so specific anyway? I'm not a professional chef, but the point of flour in a roux is to thicken, which is does by starch grains absorbing water. Other than self-rising, which obviously has other things in it, wouldn't cake/pastry/bread flour still do the thickening job for a roux? (Unless higher gluten content in bread flour would mess with something...) Not that I think they'd have had those flours around either, but still, why was he being oddly specific?

[sourpickles]

3 hours ago, Randomosity said:

Hee... you have to have over a 3.5 GPA to use the AP flour :)

But seriously, why was he being so specific anyway? I'm not a professional chef, but the point of flour in a roux is to thicken, which is does by starch grains absorbing water. Other than self-rising, which obviously has other things in it, wouldn't cake/pastry/bread flour still do the thickening job for a roux? (Unless higher gluten content in bread flour would mess with something...) Not that I think they'd have had those flours around either, but still, why was he being oddly specific?

Chef speak.  Seriously though, when I'm shopping even in my local WalMart, I have to be very careful because they do have different type flours all together on the shelf and I do check to make sure I'm getting all purpose.  I can't say AP cause the A&P was my local market waaaaaaaaaaay  back in the day #old #localshop #tiredofhashtagsbutididit! ;)

[meep.meep]

Maybe someone had cornmeal and he didn't want that.  Maybe it's just a mysterious chef thing that we will never understand.

I loved Brooke geeking out over getting to use a Sawz-all on the pig.

Speaking of mysterious chef things, shouldn't we have been given a treatise on why these pigs, from South Carolina, are the best for low and slow barbecue treatment?  Where's the nose-to-table pedigree?

Not a fan of them being driven "deep into the country" to get to the barbeque joints.  Talk about hokey and overwrought.  Maybe they should have hired Miss Daisy to go on the drive with them.

[cooksdelight]

Living half my life in Virginia, we cooked pigs in the ground. Dig a big hole, put your coals down in there, put the pig in and cover it up. I wish they'd had them do it that way, that would have been fun to watch. It's an art, and not many people know how to do it right. I went to many a "pig pickin" at old refurbished plantations back in the day.

I have to wonder if Amanda opted for slaw to stay safe. 

[theatremouse]

4 hours ago, Randomosity said:

But seriously, why was he being so specific anyway? 

If a more-specific thing has a name, I don't really think it's odd that someone whose profession normally requires the specificity, continue to be more specific even in a scenario when it might seem obvious. If you're used to always specifying, why not continue to do so? It's better than being vague. And if for some reason he did just say "flour" and someone did only have something other than AP, it might lead to an "I have bread flour will that do?" etc, variations. So it's still more efficient to be specific and get a yes/no. He might have been able to use the others, but they're not what he was asking for. I'm cool with that.

[Randomosity]

39 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

He might have been able to use the others, but they're not what he was asking for.

Sure, obviously if you need the specific thing, you ask for the specific thing. My point was that I'm pretty sure he didn't need the specific thing, and could have asked a more generic question, as the more generic 'any flour' would have still done the exact thing he needed. (So someone answering bread flour to a generic flour question would have still solved the problem of how to make a roux for macaroni and cheese. Perhaps someone could have had cake flour, which would have been fine, but did not answer because he was being too specific.)

My original post was not about semantics, it was about logistics of roux. I'm pretty (but not 100%) sure that many types of flour would have been fine.

[sourpickles]

Regardless of roux flour, I will say that I went to college with many different types, in fact at the time I was one of only 18 "Northeners" (yes, I'm old, yes, they thought they won that war, no, I was not too offended.  I live (t) here now.) and I learned a TON of ways to make mac n cheese.  He could have maybe done something else, cause I'll tell ya, that xanthan gum thing squicked me out a bit.  It really did.  All I could think was how it would taste.  But I guess it was ok since he won.  On a BBQ challenge.  I'm still bitter about that.

[JES004]

Probably not a lot of difference, but he may always refer to it that way so as to avoid confusion in the kitchen.  In which case, if he is in the habit of calling it that, he would automatically do it when he is under pressure in the competition.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I loved Brooke geeking out over getting to use a Sawz-all on the pig.

I did, too - it gave me flashbacks to Kerry Weaver (ER) getting all excited over the chance to use her beloved sternal saw.