Chopped 2017: That Dish Was Just Offal

[Fostersmom]

She's not even going to be a Cleveland star, let alone a TV star.

[jcbrown]

She was awful. Stupid, calculated "look," stupid voice, and horrible schtick. And she seemed to think she was just adorable. I was so glad to see her go after the first round.

Sad the African-American guy (I never learn the contestants' names) go. He seemed like a class act and I really liked him.

[mlp]

Quote

Did anyone else catch Alex's stank face when guest judge was prattling on at the beginning? Alex looked like she was ready to scream or throw a punch. 

I did.  Loved it.  I don't know who the guest judge was but I did notice that she had nothing to do with food/cooking.  I am SOOOOOOO sick of FN bringing these pseudo-stars on to pass judgment on real chefs.

I was also glad to see the blonde go out first.  She looked like she belonged on Cupcake Wars.  I liked the guy from Cleveland.  I can't even remember who the other two cooks were and I just watched this last night.  I guess they didn't make a big impression on me.

[roseslg]

Sad to see the black, older guy didn't win.  I went to bed right before dessert.  He seemed like he had the least amount of airs, which is so hard to come by on chopped.   The Cleveland weiner girl reminded me of an ambushee on What Not to Wear (yes, I know it's not a word).  

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, roseslg said:

The Cleveland weiner girl reminded me of an ambushee on What Not to Wear (yes, I know it's not a word).  

Actually, according to Wiktionary, it is:

ambushee

Noun
(pluralambushees)

One who is ambushed.

Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/ambushee#TiGIkM6m2b0PmjO0.99

[Maverick]

 I'm throwing out a potential amendment to the thread title  "Chopped 2017:  That Dish Was Just Offal....But They Liked My Weenie!"

[spiderpig]

Agree with those above who were skeptical (being nice here) about Blondie's growing up without food horsepucky.

They threw in another ingredient I had to look up:  kasundi.  Anybody here ever use it?

[roseslg]

14 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Actually, according to Wiktionary, it is:

ambushee

Noun
(pluralambushees)

One who is ambushed.

Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/ambushee#TiGIkM6m2b0PmjO0.99

Must find more ways to use it then. 

[Fostersmom]

Okay, apparently it's not a total fabrication. I had dinner with my friend last and asked her if she had potentially heard of her. She, my friend, rarely watches TV so I had to explain the show to her, but as soon as I mentioned the name of the hot dog place, she asked me was her name Jessica? OMG! Yes! Not only did she know the name, she actually had gone to elementary school with her and they were in Brownies together. She had read something about the hot dog place a while back and had kind of wondered it that was the same person, it's not like Jessica has a super rare name or anything. I couldn't tell how the hell old she was, the whole look she was trying to pull off could have had her anywhere from 20 to 40. But my friend is going to be 39 next month and she thinks Jessica might be maybe a year younger, but she wasn't sure. She did say she knows the family was pretty poor, lived in a century old house that was pretty run down. It was mom, a couple of much older brothers and Jessica, but mom was a nurse and had a job, so there's some side eye going on about the complete lack of food even from a person who knew her. She also told me a couple of other things, but they would 100% give my friend's identity away and I wouldn't do that. Nothing crazy or anything like that, but very specific things. She said she happened to run into her while she was home on summer break one year during college like 15 years ago and then she saw her mom a few years after that before the mom died. She did mention that most of her clothes did always seem to come from Goodwill as kids and her style even when they were junior high age ran pretty unique (on purpose, not particularly out of necessity).

I have a feeling this is a combo of truth and exaggeration and possibly a person seeing their past as way more extreme than it was. I know my younger sister does the same thing. We were pretty damn poor when I was growing up. My mom was a single mom, it was me and my sister, and my mom worked in the same factory she's been at for 37 years. When she started, she was making like $2.25 an hour. Money was always tight, we had a lot of handmedowns from cousins and blue light special outfits, and Hamburger Helper type meals were a staple. But my mom always found a way to get us what we needed (I'm learning now my grandparents helped more than I thought from time to time), but if you hear my sister's version, she wanted for everything, and had nothing. Yeah, not so much. Sure we had friends who might have had more, but we didn't lack for anything truly needed. Hell, they way I see it, Jessica was rich compared to me! They had a whole house, we had a 2 bedroom apartment. Her mom had a fancy job as a nurse, my mom ran a machine in a factory. See how that works? LOL!

[meowmommy]

8 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Hell, they way I see it, Jessica was rich compared to me! They had a whole house, we had a 2 bedroom apartment. Her mom had a fancy job as a nurse, my mom ran a machine in a factory. See how that works? LOL!

Not to defend Whatever Happened to Baby Barbie (I don't know how else to describe that look Jessica was trying to pull off), but nursing as a reasonably paid profession is a recent phenomenon.  And it's not a "fancy job," but very often a back- and soul-breaking job--I have the broken back and soul to prove it.

I have to take Alex's word that Jessica's scoring those hot dogs added flavor by adding surface area, because to look at them, I would have assumed they were microwaved and completely dried out.

[Westiepeach]

I live in Cleveland, have lived here my whole life and I have never even heard of Weenie-a-Go-Go. Nor has Husband. And we are not sheltered. 

[Fostersmom]

2 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

I live in Cleveland, have lived here my whole life and I have never even heard of Weenie-a-Go-Go. Nor has Husband. And we are not sheltered. 

I'm just outside of Cleveland, and never heard of it either. Even worse, before she moved it to the city, she had 2 previous locations in the county I have lived in my entire life. My friend lives in the same county and she'd never knew there were 2 closed spots in the county either. 

[cooksdelight]

Sounds like weenies are not her forte, nor in her future. ;)

[Psychobunny]

I just watched the pastry chef episode and they said that they were supposed to bake in every round but the one who won didn't bake anything I could see in the first round. She fried her dough. I hate when people don't follow the rules and still win. Did I miss something or did they just ignore the rules to let her win?

[Hockeymom]

I just watched the one with the four young chefs. I knew Fedora boy would be the first one out. He might make the hot 30 under 30 list, but not today. 

Scott was in rare form. If he wasn't "licking the ocean floor",  he was "rubbing peanut butter all over".

Hmmm, I wonder if they have pre-taping cocktails? That said, I just love Scott. It's nice to see them have some fun.

[Drogo]

How Far Would You Make It On "Chopped"? Quiz

[xaxat]

Woo hoo! Chopped Champion! (9/10)

The best part of that quiz were the reaction shots of Alex.

[Lisacall100]

blond's weener restaurants are closed. working as stripper at hustler club in cleveland. Guess she still having weeners put into buns. Ripped a friend of mine off for$$$. Gentlemen beware of this one

[cooksdelight]

Do tell!!! Uh, tell us more! :)

[Totale]

I made it to the last round but didn't win on the quiz.  I object, because they dinged me for serving raw red onions to Scott when of course that is what any sane person would do.

[Christina]

On 8/3/2017 at 9:11 AM, Drogo said:

How Far Would You Make It On "Chopped"? Quiz

Some of the comments on that article are hilarious. I got 9/10 because I missed the seaweed one. I was debating between it and fish roe since I had heard of it, but chose wrong in the end.

[roseslg]

That dude who was eliminated first last night in the Grilling Competition was so orange.  I am glad the other contestants pointed it out.  Between his tan and his teeth,  it was hard to look at him and to take him seriously.  Didn't care too much for Ms. California of the boobs.  Yikes. 

[Hockeymom]

1 minute ago, roseslg said:

 

That dude who was eliminated first last night in the Grilling Competition was so orange.  I am glad the other contestants pointed it out.  Between his tan and his teeth,  it was hard to look at him and to take him seriously.  Didn't care too much for Ms. California of the boobs.  Yikes. 

 

Yes! I was thrilled to see him go! 

When he ripped the claw off of a live lobster in the intro he lost me. Sure, go ahead and cook it, but why be inhumane?

Make it as quick and painless as possible. Show a little respect.

[nitrofishblue]

I was very happy to see snarky lady eliminated in the final round. Her attitude just rubbed me the wrong way. I hate the chefs with the "I'm better than everybody" attitude. 

[mlp]

I was happy to see Big Jim win.  He seemed sincere and nowhere near as arrogant as practically all the others in the entire competition.  The woman was rather impressed with herself.  She was very pretty but I kept getting distracted trying to figure out if she had really great hair or was wearing a wig.

Nikki looked familiar right away.  Was she on FNS?  I seemed to remember her as someone I didn't care for on some other show.

(Above comments refer to the grilling show.)

Edited August 24, 2017 by mlp
Forgot something.

[GaT]

12 hours ago, roseslg said:

Didn't care too much for Ms. California of the boobs.  Yikes. 

She's obviously a Giada De Laurentiis fan, when they first showed her, her bobs were almost falling out of her shirt. I was worried they were going to hanging out the entire episode. And even though I didn't like the orange chef, it annoyed me how she kept calling him "pretty boy"

[Jaded]

I'm watching the latest "Grilling" episode now. That first guy who got eliminated looked shocked and I thought he might run at the table for a second there. I hate when women come on these shows with long flowing hair and don't pull it back. Especially in this case since they are outside where it's obviously windy.

[Bastet]

On 8/23/2017 at 9:00 AM, roseslg said:

That dude who was eliminated first last night in the Grilling Competition was so orange.  I am glad the other contestants pointed it out.  Between his tan and his teeth,  it was hard to look at him and to take him seriously.

He was practically the same color as his coat!  And he was as delusional as he was orange; no one who has opted for that tan and those teeth should go around declaring himself so attractive other people are intimidated by it.  I was thrilled to see him go first, even though he was the only one who made something remotely resembling an appetizer.

[Rammchick]

On 8/23/2017 at 9:24 PM, mlp said:

Nikki looked familiar right away.  Was she on FNS?  I seemed to remember her as someone I didn't care for on some other show.

 

I thought so too, and I had to look her up.  She was on one of the Next Food Network Star seasons, with the tagline "Girl on Grill" action.  Made me nauseous then.  I didn't like her much better this time around.

And what was up with that orange guy?  He looked like a bigger version of an Oompa Loompa.

[roseslg]

On 8/24/2017 at 0:41 AM, GaT said:

She's obviously a Giada De Laurentiis fan, when they first showed her, her bobs were almost falling out of her shirt. I was worried they were going to hanging out the entire episode. And even though I didn't like the orange chef, it annoyed me how she kept calling him "pretty boy"

Did you know she also went to Harvard? Lord, I was not a fan based on her intro alone!

[mlp]

Quote

She was on one of the Next Food Network Star seasons, with the tagline "Girl on Grill" action. 

Thanks.  I wondered if she was that Nikki but she looked, I don't know, less harsh or something.  I still didn't like her though.  Interesting that they didn't mention she'd been on a FN show before.

[Jaded]

There was a scene near the end of this latest grilling episode where they had a closeup of the guy who won while he was finishing his last dish that kinda grossed me out. He was sweating so bad that there was a bead of sweat on the tip of his nose and all I could wonder was if he wiped it off before it had a chance to hit any food. 

[jcbrown]

15 minutes ago, Jaded said:

There was a scene near the end of this latest grilling episode where they had a closeup of the guy who won while he was finishing his last dish that kinda grossed me out. He was sweating so bad that there was a bead of sweat on the tip of his nose and all I could wonder was if he wiped it off before it had a chance to hit any food. 

I saw that and was surprised the judges did not mention it, since the editors obviously noticed.

[cooksdelight]

Did any judge mention the juiciness of his food? If so.....

[cooksdelight]

I'm watching this now, and Nikki is as annoying on this show as she was on FNS. And an airhead, still. I swear I watched her drop her whole potatoes into a pot of water, but then they didn't show her changing her mind and grilling some slices. She also looks like she's had too much Botox, she's definitely had work done since I saw her last.

Orange Boy Marco might have died from stab wounds if he wasn't eliminated. And no, you're not the good-looking guy you think you are. But it's still not nice they picked on him so badly.

And they did indeed mention Big Jim's lamb being "very moist." LOL

Edited August 27, 2017 by cooksdelight

[spiderpig]

On 8/25/2017 at 6:14 PM, jcbrown said:

I saw that and was surprised the judges did not mention it, since the editors obviously noticed.

Oh, my eyes!!!  I'd rather see blood than sweat.  Sweat has always grossed me out beyond reason.

A dear friend, whose mother is a lovely Parisienne, told me of stopping at a little Greek place in the Latin Quarter for a gyro.  The owner was slicing the meat and leaning over the pile meant for the sandwiches, sweat dripping onto the meat.  My friend and her mom did a "Hey, Taxi" thing and beat feet.

I would have thrown up on the spot.

[cooksdelight]

Jim was sweating all over everything, each course. A man that large, profusely sweating, might want to visit a doctor.

[mlp]

Grilling finale:  I liked Jim and Joe.  Couldn't stand Stephen.  Was neutral about the woman whose name I don't recall.  I was very happy that Joe won.

Chopped Junior:  I thought this show had been canceled so I was surprised when it showed up again.  I hope the girl who won uses some of her prize money for a speech therapist.  

[roseslg]

7 hours ago, mlp said:

Grilling finale:  I liked Jim and Joe.  Couldn't stand Stephen.  Was neutral about the woman whose name I don't recall.  I was very happy that Joe won.

Chopped Junior:  I thought this show had been canceled so I was surprised when it showed up again.  I hope the girl who won uses some of her prize money for a speech therapist.  

I was wondering if that was just an Arkansas accent.  I think that's where she was from.  I couldn't understand half of what she's saying.  

[cooksdelight]

Christy Brinkley was who I kept seeing every time the woman smiled.

I liked Joe and Jim also, glad Joe won. Stephen needs to go find Cara and the other pretentious snobs and hang out with them.

[questionfear]

Has anyone else caught the Grillmasters episode with the guy from Boston who stalked off angrily when he lost? I can't remember the last time I saw a contestant be that nasty in their exit interview. 

[cooksdelight]

I can. There was a guy who was eliminated on the regular Chopped, and he blasted through a door on his way down the hall, didn't wait to go through the glass door and down the stairs.

[Rammchick]

I so love it when cocky assholes get their comeuppance and don't win. I knew it was going to come down to the two restaurant chefs, it always does.  But then, if that's the case, then TPTB should not select pit masters to compete in this.

[Hockeymom]

I liked Joe. I am just so sick of people tooting their own horn. Yes, he was good. Yes, the food looked delicious. But between him and Stephen, there wasn't enough room on set for their egos. There is a big difference between confidence and conceit. 

Stop telling me how great you are. If you actually are, I'll tell you!

[cooksdelight]

36 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I so love it when cocky assholes get their comeuppance and don't win. I knew it was going to come down to the two restaurant chefs, it always does.  But then, if that's the case, then TPTB should not select pit masters to compete in this.

Totally agree. Back when Kent competed, they were all outdoor BBQ cooks. This show loses me on this type of thing.

[RealityCheck]

Special Alton Brown Chopped Tournament Premieres October 10th At 10PM
 

Quote

 

It will be a five-episode tournament where 16 chefs compete for a $50,000 grand prize.  In each episode, Alton Brown is a judge and will also demonstrate a different scientific approach to cooking before the competition begins.  The scientific approaches include: fermentation, smoking, dehydration, and molecular gastronomy.

Episode 1 : the mad science of champagne
Judges: Alton Brown, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli
Competitors: Michael Nelson, Regan Reik, Jason Rodriguez, Kashi Smith

Episode 2 : the science behind smoking foods
Judges: Hugh Acheson, Alton Brown, Maneet Chauhan
Competitors: Jamal Bland, Jessica Chaney, Leah Gourlie, Gavin Jobe

Episode 3 : removing moisture from food
Judges: Alton Brown, Amanda Freitag, Marcus Samuelsson
Competitors: Ben Bebenroth, Vinnie Cimino, Lisa Pucci Delgado, Nick Wallace

Episode 5 : molecular gastronomy
Judges: Alton Brown, Wylie Dufresne, Amanda Freitag
Competitors: Andrea Anom, Louis Goral, Chris Holland, Tiffany Schleigh

 

I'm looking forward to this series.

[CaptainCranky]

On 8/30/2017 at 0:34 AM, mlp said:

Grilling finale:  I liked Jim and Joe.  Couldn't stand Stephen.  Was neutral about the woman whose name I don't recall.  I was very happy that Joe won.

Chopped Junior:  I thought this show had been canceled so I was surprised when it showed up again.  I hope the girl who won uses some of her prize money for a speech therapist.  

I only watched the first half and not sure who was who. Big Jim got eliminated first and then the lady next. So not sure who was who in the end. The white guy was an asshat.

I agree with whoever said having restaurant chefs compete in a grill chopped is lame.

[Star Aristille]

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 9:33 AM, cooksdelight said:

Stephen needs to go find Cara and the other pretentious snobs and hang out with them.

Can we maybe add Bradley Stellings to that?  I just watched his appearance in the "Beat Bobby Flay" tournament, and he was just as pretentious there as he was in his first two appearances.

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 1:37 PM, Hockeymom said:

I liked Joe. I am just so sick of people tooting their own horn. Yes, he was good. Yes, the food looked delicious. But between him and Stephen, there wasn't enough room on set for their egos. There is a big difference between confidence and conceit. 

Stop telling me how great you are. If you actually are, I'll tell you!

I never got the feeling Joe was like that.  Stephen?  Yes.  Joe?  No.  Looking at the line between confidence and conceit, Stephen crossed it.  But Joe didn't.

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 11:34 PM, mlp said:

Was neutral about the woman whose name I don't recall.

Megan.  Megan Day.

[LazyToaster]

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 9:27 AM, roseslg said:

I was wondering if that was just an Arkansas accent.  I think that's where she was from.  I couldn't understand half of what she's saying.  

I bet she's in speech therapy already at school - had trouble with R's etc. - lots of kids do - my nephew had the same type of issue and through therapy and just growing up it is fine now.  That little girl was cute as a button and sure knows her way around the kitchen.  She cracked me up describing that she had been doing something (frying chicken maybe?) for years and years and years.  

[HunterHunted]

On 7/6/2017 at 0:37 AM, spiderpig said:

They threw in another ingredient I had to look up:  kasundi.  Anybody here ever use it?

Never used it, but ingredient wise, it's fairly similar to a tomato jam recipe.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/tomato-jam-recipe.html