S08.E07: Italian Week

[Athena]

Quote

The bakers face a Sicilian signature, a deceptively tricky technical, and a fiddly showstopper in the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the tent

[ElectricBoogaloo]

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

I wonder just how hot it's going to get in the tent. I remember one year on the Great Australian Bake Off, it was over 100 and everyone's stuff was just melting and collapsing all over the place.

[Corgi-ears]

Stacey lives again. But I guess we should at least be grateful that she didn't leave her syringe in the sfogliatelle.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This week's recipes:

Stacey's lemon cheesecake cannoli
Liam's cannoli with baklava filling
Steven's milk chocoalte, almond praline, and honey cannoli
Kate's espresso martini cannoli
Sophie's gianduja cannoli

Prue's pizza Margherita

Steven's chocolate ginger sfogliatelle
 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Yan's exit interview

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mmmmm, Italian food! I wanted someone to tell Paul that cannoli is already plural so there is no need to say cannolis.

Of Liam's three cannoli, I was most excited about his marshmallow and dark chocolate - s'mores cannoli! I am not a citrus and chocolate fan, so the white chocolate lemon sounded just so so to me. The honey with pistachios and walnuts wouldn't have been my favorite. All of his shells looked crispy, bubbly, and lovely.

Steven's cannoli were much more Italian in the flavor combinations: coffee hazelnut, chocolate almond praline, and chocolate with lemon curd. His shells looked great too.

My mouth was watering at the thought of Stacey's custard and raspberry jam cannoli! It's too bad that she accidentally put the raspberries on the wrong cannoli. The tiramisu ones sounded delicious too. Once again the chocolate/citrus combination appeared: lemon cheesecake and white chocolate. I think I would have been okay with those though.

Kate's boozy cocktail cannoli would have pleased Mary Berry! The coffee liqueur and chocolate martini cannoli was my first choice. To be honest, I would have passed on the gin and orange negroni. The limoncello cream and lemon cannoli sounded very light and summery.

Yan's rose, mint, amaretto, and lime sounded like a lot of flavors going on at once but I liked the pink filling because it definitely looked different. The honey and amaretto sounded more my speed. The passionfruit and vanilla cannoli looked like they weren't filled all the way to the top of each shell.

Sophie's amaretto and almond sounded like a very Italian flavor profile. The ginger, lemon, and lime cannoli seemed like it would have a very strong almost overpowering flavor. The chocolate hazelnut one sounded good. I love mascarpone so I felt for Sophie when Paul was clutching his pearls about her not using ricotta. Sometimes the judges say they don't want the bakers to make something boring and they aren't taking enough risks, but other times they say they shouldn't stray too far from the original.

Would adding cocoa powder to the cannoli shell mixture make them taste very noticeably chocolatey? I just don't understand why Yan and Stacey would add an unnecessary ingredient that would make it difficult for them to know when they were done frying without it having a noticeable impact on the flavor.

The technical challenge had me craving pizza. I'm with Steven - I always add a tiny bit of sugar to my tomato sauce. Poor Yan and Kate. Whenever you get behind, it's hard to catch up enough to have a fully baked finished product. Liam is on an upward trajectory so we'll see if he can keep this up and make it to the final!

Edited October 11, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo
Typos

[Rinaldo]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I wanted someone to tell Paul that cannoli is already plural so there is no need to say cannolis.

I'm sure Paul knows (though Liam may not, and he said the same thing). But my realistic side sometimes tells my fussy side to calm down and let it go in cases like this. There are certain foreign words that get adopted into english only in the plural form, to the degree that the singular is almost unknown: what is the word for just one of a group of biscotti, or cannoli? (Yes, I know they have one, but does anyone use it in English?) I think we may be in the middle of the evolution of a word from plural to singular, as happened with media or (long ago) opera, and we're early enough in the process that I too am jarred at first.

There are some new usages that I never stop protesting, specifically the ones that lead to confusion and misinformation. But that doesn't seem to be true here.

On another note, it seemed unusually true this week that six bakers organized themselves into an upper trio and a bottom trio. I felt bad for Yan, but she really did have a bad week.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Rinaldo

[Charlesman]

Smores cannoli.

Then, lemoncello cannoli, campari cannoli, coffee liqueur cannoli, and amaretto cannoli by the basketful.

God I just want to live inside this episode. 

 

 

(My aunt used to have a side business making Italian desserts, mostly for weddings. For her son's wedding, she did all the baking. We drove down to stay with her, and the morning after the wedding, the groom's brother and I raided her fridge. We found a bucket... a five-gallon white plastic bucket... filled with leftover, unused cannoli filling. We dipped everything we could into it. Biscotti, dozens of different types of cookies, ladyfingers, pizzelles... it was the greatest breakfast of my life.)

[Occasional Hope]

Never heard of cannoli before, but they look nice.

(I hate it when cafes call panini, paninis.  I make a point, probably missed by the recipient, of asking for a panino.)

[halopub]

This is blasphemous to my neighbors, but I don't care for an American-style cannolo. I find it to be chalky and sickly sweet - probably because of all the sugar needed when cow's milk ricotta is used. I've heard that the traditional Sicilian recipe with sheep's milk ricotta is far superior, but I'd probably only care for a mascarpone one, which can occasionally be found in the Northeast US.

Again, Paul is showing a bit of ignorance - mascarpone cannoli are not unheard of outside Sicily. Including Northern Italy and the US.

Liam seems to make everyone around him very playful. Paul was genuinely funny when he sneaked up behind him and off course the hosts kissed him on the cheek. Loved that fishmonger presentation.

Bummed to see Yan go but I get the decision.

[Athena]

Liam is my favourite and I think the favourite of everyon else in the tent. Sandi and Noel adore him. They kissed him this week and Sandi mentioned him again in the judging tent. He probably won't win overall since Stephen and Sophie are so consistently (and sometimes boringly) good.

I feel like Kate has been struggling just as much as Stacey. I do think Stacey is the better baker overall but as she admitted in this episode, she struggles with concentration.

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

Stephen and Sophie are so consistently (and sometimes boringly) good.

Goodness is not boring. That's the lesson this show teaches to other reality competitions.

That said, I adore Liam too. I want him for a boyfriend. And I love seeing how everyone in the tent wants to hang out with him. Even Paul is susceptible, and the two of them enjoy yanking each other's chains.

[Primetimer]

The bakers are baking away -- in more than one sense -- in Margheritaville.

View the full article

[justmehere]

Can't remember if this has happened in earlier episodes, but they barely seem to cover Sophie during the bakes. Little commentary from her, little coverage of what she's doing. I could barely remember what she was making. 

[3 is enough]

Yan had a really bad week so I understand that she had to go.  I will miss her.  I have to say,though, that Kate has once again been saved by a more consistent baker having a really bad week.  First Julia, now Yan. 

[Amarsir]

On 10/11/2017 at 2:07 PM, Occasional Hope said:

Never heard of cannoli before, but they look nice.

I didn't know it was possible to not have heard of them. You made me think, and then I realized I lived my whole life in NJ with a sizable Italian population. So to me they're a staple at bakeries and frequently found at any mid-to-upscale dessert spread. But now I realize that's probably a regional bias.

Someone was just telling me earlier this week that I should try making my own pizza dough because it's "really easy". So I was surprised to have it as a technical challenge - that implies it's not. I guess the challenge was in how much experience you have handling the dough after it's made, since the ingredients themselves aren't that complex.

Edited October 13, 2017 by Amarsir

[ae2]

55 minutes ago, Amarsir said:

Someone was just telling me earlier this week that I should try making my own pizza dough because it's "really easy". So I was surprised to have it as a technical challenge - that implies it's not. I guess the challenge was in how much experience you have handling the dough after it's made, since the ingredients themselves aren't that complex.

Pizza dough (and pizza in general) is one of those things that is relatively easy to make, but relatively difficult to perfect.

They also had to generally know what constitutes a classic Italian pizza dough, as opposed to the 'typical British' variety. One of the judges mentioned that most pizzas you find in Britain tend to have a thicker crust.

I wouldn't say it was one of the tougher technical challenges, but there is some hidden difficulty.

Also surprising... did I read right that none of the contestants had made pizza before? That would have been one of the first things I practiced when I saw there was an Italian week!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Amarsir said:

I didn't know it was possible to not have heard of them. You made me think, and then I realized I lived my whole life in NJ with a sizable Italian population. So to me they're a staple at bakeries and frequently found at any mid-to-upscale desert spread. But now I realize that's probably a regional bias.

Plus The Godfather! I didn't grow up in NJ so my first exposure to them (that I specifically recall) was watching The Godfather in high school. After that, I realized I'd eaten cannoli at dessert spreads before but I hadn't known that's what they were called at the time (heh or I didn't care because I was too busy stuffing dessert into my face!):

[Amarsir]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Plus The Godfather! I didn't grow up in NJ so my first exposure to them (that I specifically recall) was watching The Godfather in high school. After that, I realized I'd eaten cannoli at dessert spreads before but I hadn't known that's what they were called at the time (heh or I didn't care because I was too busy stuffing dessert into my face!):

I can relate. Even well past my teen years I don't think I knew the proper name of sfogliatella when I was eating it.

[bybrandy]

I don't really like cannoli because they tend to be too sweet here So I was all over the marscapone option.  So all over it I'm totally contemplating making cannoli this weekend to see.   

I make pizza crust when I make pizza.  It is totally easy.  I'm not saying mine would win awards but I prefer it to most.  For me the real learning curve of pizza was not over topping it and weighting it down too much.

I've not heard o sfogliatella.  Never seen them.  Have seen lobster tails but can't get my head around if I'd like them or not and they seemed super complicated to make as opposed to the marscapone filled cannoli.  So if I try something from this episode it will be that.

[iggysaurus]

On 10/11/2017 at 11:07 AM, Occasional Hope said:

Never heard of cannoli before, but they look nice.

You mean you've never heard the phrase "Holy cannoli!"?  :) 

[Occasional Hope]

It's not used here.  I may have seen it somewhere but not necessarily realised it meant anything ;)

[halopub]

19 hours ago, bybrandy said:

I don't really like cannoli because they tend to be too sweet here So I was all over the marscapone option.  So all over it I'm totally contemplating making cannoli this weekend to see.  

It might be worth making the filling first to see what you think. Sophie's hazelnut/chocolate filling, is half ricotta, half mascarpone. I'm not sure what kind of ricotta she used, though.

I think the cannolo that I actually liked blended the mascarpone with whipped cream. 

[OoogleEyes]

On 10/12/2017 at 5:19 PM, Amarsir said:

I didn't know it was possible to not have heard of them.

Frankly,  I've never heard of sfsco....how ever the heck it's spelled 

That's why I, as an American, adore this show, considering our current nasty state of affairs.

I KNEED this show 

Edited October 21, 2017 by OoogleEyes

[Occasional Hope]

I saw some real cannoli at the weekend!  And the sign on the stall even said the price per cannolo (correct spelling).  It was a Sicilian market stall in Winchester.

[7-Zark-7]

On 10/21/2017 at 2:13 PM, OoogleEyes said:

I KNEED this show 

If you're going for a pun, then I think you mean you "knead" this show, unless you hate it to the point of shoving your knee into your tv set.

[aradia22]

I wasn't thrilled with Italian Week. Maybe it's because I haven't watched all of the previous 7 seasons so nothing feels repetitive to me so far but it seemed unnecessary with the great quantity of even just English and French pastries for them to be making pizza. I was unimpressed with the whole cannoli thing because the heat seemed to be causing a lot of their struggles and also I live near Little Italy so... cannolis? Pfft. The sfogliatelle were a more interesting challenge but still not fantastic. They sort of came up with an excuse but come on. That felt like it should have been the technical (aside from the fact that you needed a good recipe) and the showstopper should have been something that allowed them to display their creativity. I did enjoy watching the process. It reminded me of croissants though personally if I ever attempt needlessly attempt something that time consuming, I'll just go with croissants because they taste better. 

I felt bad for Yan but yeah, it was hard to argue that her performance didn't merit an elimination. Still, she did such great work. Her illusion cake was one of the best. And I liked the way she joked with Noel. 

Quote

Pizza dough (and pizza in general) is one of those things that is relatively easy to make, but relatively difficult to perfect.

Random tangent... my dad keeps trying. I don't know what he's doing to it (he buys dough at the supermarket) but it still ends up thick and chewy and sometimes underdone. Lately, since we live in NY and there hundreds of pizza joints he'll just go in and get the crust with sauce and no cheese and then add on the toppings. I think it's hard to get that perfect NYC thin crust if you don't know what you're doing. It looked like the style they were going for was a similar thickness. 

[ombelico]

Could Kate possibly get through a single episode without exclaiming, "This is a disaster! It's a disaster." If she doesn't say it, Stacey does. It's so tiresome. I get that the producers are probably asking the bakers to comment on how it's going, but hearing the same lament over and over is too much.

Not a fan also of the show setting challenges that are inappropriate for the temperature and weather conditions. If they are not willing to do better climate control in the tent, then they should be willing to adapt the challenges to the conditions - asking the bakers to work over hot oil on such a hot day seems highly unnecessary.

[mjc570]

I thought the challenges were super disappointing for Italian week.  Pizza? Not even with creative toppings?   Come on, I know you have to get the dough the right thickness, but aside from under baking it, that's pretty much it.  And none of them had ever added a bit of lemon juice (for acidity) to their sauce or knew to do it at the end?  I know they're bakers, and this is a baking show, but that was just too basic to be interesting. 

I was sorry to see Yan go, but she did deserve it.  I loved her scientific approach, and her humor but she had a bad week.

Speaking of which - I thought the selection of sfogliatelle as a show stopper was a very poor one, since success really depended almost completely on technique.  There also was no way to make them into any kind of showstopper, which to me is one really big or interesting creation, not 12 pieces of pretty much identical items.  I want to see creativity int he baked goods, not the containers.  

And, since I'm cranky - I might as well complain about the opening scenes, which show clips from the episode.  I don't want to see them out of context, I don't to be even remotely spoiled (by for example, knowing that Paul says something, even if it is not clear to whom he said it.  You don't need to tease me, show - I'm already watching.  It's just filler, time could be better spent by spending more time showing us the judging (for example).

[Mabinogia]

I've been doing a Labor Day marathon of GBBO. I think I can safely say that this is the episode where Noel and Sandi completely won me over. Maybe it is because of the heat and stress/pressure that the bakers were under, that Noel and Sandi seemed to be getting more involved, joking and interacting. That is what makes this show for me. Not their banter, but the interaction with the bakers. I am now completely sold on them as the hosts. 

I feel a bit bad for Prue because, while I think some people loved Mel and Sue, others were over them, or never quite warmed to them, but I get the impression that the entire universe loves Mary Berry, so poor Prue has very large shoes to fill. Still prefer Mary as a judge but Prue is okay. I am liking this more relaxed Paul though. 

I like that, in the face of the heat, and the difficult challenges, the bakers have such a great sense of humor about it all. I loved watching them trying to throw the pizzas. 

And I just added Liam to my favorite bakers of all time. He is the cutest thing ever. (I quite like Steven as well, and Sophie, and Yan and Kate too, but Liam is hands down my favorite.)

Edited September 3, 2018 by Mabinogia

[GaT]

I'm completely unspoiled, but at this point, I don't see how Stephen doesn't win. He seems like the most consistently good to me.

I was wondering if the "never before" Italian week was a result of channel 4 wanting something different, or a result of just making a change to keep a show fresh. Italian week felt a bit different to me (maybe it was the pizza), & I worry about channel 4 wanting things that will change the show.

9 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I feel a bit bad for Prue because, while I think some people loved Mel and Sue, others were over them, or never quite warmed to them, but I get the impression that the entire universe loves Mary Berry, so poor Prue has very large shoes to fill. Still prefer Mary as a judge but Prue is okay. I am liking this more relaxed Paul though. 

I don't think the things she picks for the technical are in the same league as the things Mary picked. 

[Rinaldo]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

I was wondering if the "never before" Italian week was a result of channel 4 wanting something different, or a result of just making a change to keep a show fresh. Italian week felt a bit different to me (maybe it was the pizza), & I worry about channel 4 wanting things that will change the show.

I have no inside information, but several past seasons have had a "never before" week, like Tudor and Victorian weeks, both of which I found rather contrived and less than totally successful. By comparison, Italian Week is positively everyday, and not a stretch at all. It seems that each season, they try to think up a theme for one week that hasn't been done before, both to avoid stagnation and to keep bakers on their toes if they're studying previous years. I myself can't see any cause for worry.

[PaulaO]

40 Celsius is about 100 Fahrenheit.  I can’t imagine cooking in that heat, even with air conditioning.  I didn’t know the sauce, basil, and cheese represented the Italian flag.  Learn something new every day!

[ABay]

I thought margarhita pizza had white sauce, fresh tomato, and basil? Maybe it's a regional name thing. In New Haven, home of the best pizza in the U.S., you can order it as "fresh tomato and Basil pizza" and either white or red.

[Mabinogia]

40 minutes ago, ABay said:

In New Haven, home of the best pizza in the U.S.,

Amen! New Haven girl here, and I honestly can't eat pizza anywhere else. I lived in San Francisco for 7 years and whenever I came home I had to have my pizza! That said, none of these pizza's impressed me at all. But I'm a very harsh pizza critic sooo...yeah. 

I was also very disappointed in the supposed show stopper. None of them were very impressive. Overall, not a fan of Italian Week. 

[ombelico]

7 hours ago, ABay said:

I thought margarhita pizza had white sauce, fresh tomato, and basil? Maybe it's a regional name thing. In New Haven, home of the best pizza in the U.S., you can order it as "fresh tomato and Basil pizza" and either white or red.

A traditional pizza margherita that you would find in Italy is what was presented on the show - tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

[limecoke]

Well, I have to say this here because it was driving me crazy...I know it was hot, but Yan kept running her hands through her hair then went back to work with her dough.  I know it would all go in a hot oven and kill off the ickies, but it was still gross.  Reminded me of a Seinfeld episode.

Stacy is annoying.  She seems like a decent sort but there's something about her that's a bit arrogant.  So far she's lucky there's always been someone doing a little worse than her.

Liam is my favorite this season and is right up there with Martha on my list of all time favorites.  He's an absolute delight.

I'm loving this and barely missing Mary, Mel and Sue at all.  Prue's growing on me and new, improved Paul is enjoyable too.  Pleasant surprise all around.

[Kohola3]

On 9/2/2018 at 6:04 PM, ombelico said:

Not a fan also of the show setting challenges that are inappropriate for the temperature and weather conditions.

It's ridiculous to set them up for failure because of the weather.  Both Paul and Prue were blathering on about working in hot conditions but were they making things that were so drastically effected by the heat?  And some of them are clearly in distress, beet-red faces and all.  I kept thinking someone was going to keel over.

I used to get great cannoli when I lived near a big city but not only do we not have an Italian bakery nearby, the nearest "generic" bakery is an hour away.  Sigh.  Now I am craving cannoli and no way to get any!

[AZChristian]

On 9/4/2018 at 7:39 PM, limecoke said:

Well, I have to say this here because it was driving me crazy...I know it was hot, but Yan kept running her hands through her hair then went back to work with her dough.  I know it would all go in a hot oven and kill off the ickies, but it was still gross.  

We just watched the episode last night, and this was horrendous.  We often comment on cooking shows about the lack of hair nets, and how contestants (and hosts, Noel) have their uncovered hair hanging all around the food as it's being prepared.  Yan had her hair pulled back, but kept running her hands along the sides and then going right back to handle food.

No, no, no.

[Kohola3]

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Yan had her hair pulled back, but kept running her hands along the sides and then going right back to handle food.

That skeeved me out as well.  Plus all of that butter would be in her hair. 

But, in her defense, high heat addles my brain so I probably would have been unaware of doing something so gross in that circumstance.

[theatremouse]

On 9/4/2018 at 9:21 AM, ABay said:

I thought margarhita pizza had white sauce, fresh tomato, and basil? Maybe it's a regional name thing. In New Haven, home of the best pizza in the U.S., you can order it as "fresh tomato and Basil pizza" and either white or red.

Often in a America I see margherita pizza marketed as fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and basil. No sauce at all. Maybe that's what you're thinking of? I've never seen one with white sauce. 

On 9/5/2018 at 8:03 PM, Kohola3 said:

It's ridiculous to set them up for failure because of the weather.  Both Paul and Prue were blathering on about working in hot conditions but were they making things that were so drastically effected by the heat?  And some of them are clearly in distress, beet-red faces and all.  I kept thinking someone was going to keel over.

The challenges were planned weeks (if not months) in advance. They can't change the filming schedule because it was unseasonably warm one weekend. By the time you know it's going to be absurdly hot and affect the challenge, it's way too late to change anything.

[Rinaldo]

Plus, whatever the heat, it affected everyone's work equally.

[Mabinogia]

4 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Plus, whatever the heat, it affected everyone's work equally.

Yeah, I never think of it as unfair when everyone is faced with the same challenge. Since they are judged best to worst, rather than "is this restaurant quality" type thing, I am okay with it. I just feel bad that things don't go as planned for the bakers. But they all seem to take it in stride. 

[ABay]

58 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

Often in a America I see margherita pizza marketed as fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and basil. No sauce at all. Maybe that's what you're thinking of? I've never seen one with white sauce. 

I just had one from Brick Oven Pizza! Yum. It's not sauce like tomato sauce, but usually some olive oil and garlic brushed over the dough, I think. There's definitely something between the dough and the cheese.

My issues with the extreme heat are that I'd be dead if I had to stand in that tent, let alone bake, and I was watching while enduring a heat wave myself and it just made it worse.

Edited September 7, 2018 by ABay

[Kohola3]

17 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Yeah, I never think of it as unfair when everyone is faced with the same challenge.

True for the technical bakes.  But I imagine they had planned the show stoppers well in advance and could hardly change up things on the turn of a dime.  Case in point, Stevens chocolate basket turning into a  puddle.  I can't imagine him coming up with something totally different that day and there wasn't anything he could do to keep it from melting in the extreme heat.

[mjc570]

3 hours ago, theatremouse said:

The challenges were planned weeks (if not months) in advance. They can't change the filming schedule because it was unseasonably warm one weekend. By the time you know it's going to be absurdly hot and affect the challenge, it's way too late to change anything.

So bring in fans, or a portable air conditioner. 

[magdalene]

For crying out loud - why can't they put AC into that fancy tent??

Stacey in particular looked so beet red at one point that I feared for her well-being.

Edited September 9, 2018 by magdalene

[Captain Carrot]

On 12/31/2017 at 4:33 PM, aradia22 said:

Random tangent... my dad keeps trying. I don't know what he's doing to it (he buys dough at the supermarket) but it still ends up thick and chewy and sometimes underdone. Lately, since we live in NY and there hundreds of pizza joints he'll just go in and get the crust with sauce and no cheese and then add on the toppings. I think it's hard to get that perfect NYC thin crust if you don't know what you're doing. It looked like the style they were going for was a similar thickness. 

It's a little late, but I got better results by parbaking the crust, then adding the sauce and toppings and putting it back in the oven. (Went from soggy underdone dough to edible pizza).

[dleighg]

On 12/31/2017 at 4:33 PM, aradia22 said:

Random tangent... my dad keeps trying. I don't know what he's doing to it (he buys dough at the supermarket) but it still ends up thick and chewy and sometimes underdone.

yeah, I make pizza at home fairly often, and it's "OK" but getting the crust thin is something I guess I don't have the patience for.  I have a stone, and use the convection oven at the highest setting, but still.....

[dleighg]

For the pizza, why on earth were they trying to put the pizza on the peel after they sauced it? And it looks like many of them skipped a sprinkle of flour or corn meal or semolina on the peel so that it slides off. Personally I bake my pizza on parchment on the stone. Slides right off my cookie sheet :)