Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge Here!

[GaT]

I think it's going to be Darnell for the win.

[CrazyDog]

I hope so, I love his creativity.

[GaT]

Congrats to Darnell! He looked like the winner from the beginning.

[answerphone]

Great competition series! 😀

[Maya]

This was a fun series. Giada seemed unusually giddy. The tall guy said something about coming back next year - hope this is a recurring series! 

[jcbrown]

Happy for Darnell. I hope Jackie comes back on something else, though. I like to see the Chew crew make good.

[suebee12]

Moved from GGG's thread.

Since we didn't have a thread for the Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge, I want to congratulate Darnell Ferguson for his win tonight!!!! Boy, can that man cook! I was really glad to see him win but have to congratulate the runner up, Deborah, for cooking up a great meal also! Both of their food looked mouth-watering! And as a side note, except for  his really ugly clothes Christian Petroni is a good judge and didn't bother me as much as I thought he would. Great job, Darnell.

[Iseut]

Giada makes me crazy but this was a fun series, and Darnell was awesome all the way through. I loved how, when he was given chocolate for a savory dish, he was like "Everyone would do mole for a savory chocolate dish, so I'm not gonna do that!" The chocolate-y carrots were so inventive; I really wanted to try them.

[OoogleEyes]

He was adorable. Good for him!

[dleighg]

Carla's hair in the first episode made me think she was still getting made up in costume like on the Halloween challenge show. :)

[MerBearHou]

New season started tonight.  Enjoyable, light Sunday night viewing fare.  Giada was tolerable and it’s fun to see the Thanksgiving theme again.  Hard to believe it’s been a year!  

[Maya]

Christian with the blue hair looks familiar. Was he on Next Food Network Star or something else? 

I can’t stand Alex. She has become my least favorite person on Food Network, and that includes Katie Lee. 
 

[hilaryvm]

14 hours ago, Maya said:

Christian with the blue hair looks familiar. Was he on Next Food Network Star or something else? 

I can’t stand Alex. She has become my least favorite person on Food Network, and that includes Katie Lee. 
 

Christian was on Guy's show that was basically Food Network Star but they were all mentored by Guy - Guy's Big Project (?)

I think he's also appeared on GGG more than once.

[dleighg]

I know they do it in all these shows but I HATE when the contestants are made to yell to each other "HEY GIRL WHAT ARE YOU MAKING?" Like they would actually spend time doing that in real life.

[dleighg]

In the appetizer round, why did the one woman season an entire turkey breast and then just slice off 8 thin pieces to cook? 

And it was supposed to be a "budget challenge" and one chef used crab meat to go with her "cheap stuffing"?

And never ever ever put something inedible on your plate!  (fresh bay leaf)

[suebee12]

Bang for Your Buck-Episode 1

Six of America's best chefs begin their journey to being crowned the Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge Champion. Host Giada De Laurentiis sets up their first challenge: transforming a low-cost item into an extraordinary Thanksgiving appetizer. The winner gets an advantage in the dinner round, when the chefs must feature an inexpensive turkey item in their turkey dinner. Expert judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Carla Hall and Christian Petroni decide which chef is sent home, and the remaining competitors continue toward the $25,000 grand prize.

Even though the host is the woman who has more teeth than Donny and Marie together, I actually enjoyed this show last year so am ready for another go around! Some interesting cooking last night but it seemed a bit unfair to stick two of the chefs with such sweet ingredients as sweet potatoes and mini marshmellows! The top three in the dinner section do seem to be the best three of the show! Can't wait to see what else they will come up with! I must say the judges were good last night. They did point out what was wrong and how they could have do something a little different and things would have been better. So far, so good in my opinion.

Edited November 4, 2019 by suebee12

[MerBearHou]

19 hours ago, Maya said:

I can’t stand Alex. She has become my least favorite person on Food Network, and that includes Katie Lee. 

I agree about Alex.  Her big smile seems to be saved only for people who matter to her -- I've met Alex in a very small group and she was not friendly whatsoever in person which disappointed me because I'd been a fan of her talent.  On the other hand, I've also met Katie and she was very warm, genuine and approachable.  

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I agree about Alex.  Her big smile seems to be saved only for people who matter to her

She seems to think she's "extra special." That her opinion is the most cogent, valid, important, compared to her co-judges. She just seems to have gotten a big head from her FN "credentials." I'm too lazy to google, but is she a renowned chef? (I know most FN judges aren't-- but I think Carla has more cred than Alex)

[MerBearHou]

8 minutes ago, dleighg said:

She seems to think she's "extra special." That her opinion is the most cogent, valid, important, compared to her co-judges. She just seems to have gotten a big head from her FN "credentials." I'm too lazy to google, but is she a renowned chef? (I know most FN judges aren't-- but I think Carla has more cred than Alex)

Yeah, she's pretty darn accredited with her own restaurants and well-respected chefs she's worked for over the years.  But the Alex-idolization at FN and her "extra special" attitude come through time and time again and I sure don't like it.  So many others are just as, if not more, accomplished and remain down-to-earth and warm, but she does not come across that way IMO.  

[SoCal Mema]

On 11/4/2019 at 3:25 PM, MerBearHou said:

Yeah, she's pretty darn accredited with her own restaurants and well-respected chefs she's worked for over the years.  But the Alex-idolization at FN and her "extra special" attitude come through time and time again and I sure don't like it.  So many others are just as, if not more, accomplished and remain down-to-earth and warm, but she does not come across that way IMO.  

I think we also are suffering from all thesechefs being recycled so much on the FN shows, either in a judging or new show capacity.  I get tired of them and they all start to get on my last nerve.

On 11/3/2019 at 7:08 PM, MerBearHou said:

New season started tonight.  Enjoyable, light Sunday night viewing fare.  Giada was tolerable and it’s fun to see the Thanksgiving theme again.  Hard to believe it’s been a year!  

She'll be tolerable as long as they continue to keep the focus on the cooking competition.  And steer clear of her and the extremely low cut dresses.

[suebee12]

Just watched this weeks episode and I did enjoy it BUT it seems like some of the choices for cooking are quite "uneven". Lasagna compared to the other choices was really not fair. Then the poor girl got Italian again! I really like the men, but none of the women seem quite up to the challenges. They don't seem to be able to think fast enough to get something good made. Maybe that is just me?

[dleighg]

guy with blue hair-- needs to cook "indian"

-- and uses curry powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Indians all over the world are having heart attacks at his "homage."

Edited November 12, 2019 by dleighg

[luvapickle]

I've been Sicilian my whole life 🙂 and I take offense that somehow lasagna is considered non-traditional. We always had lasagna & Caesar salad on Thanksgiving-even before I was born my brothers said grandma would make it for as long as they remember. We also had all the other stuff: turkey, different vegetables, 50 different kinds of starches...did I say Sicilian? Now we do it for Christmas, since we go out for Thanksgiving. 

As for some not being up to par, I think the timing factor has been ingrained in them with watching these challenges. They have it in their head, they need to be quick, so let's take shortcuts-but not the good kind. Don't use something pre made if it makes up a great part of the dish.  I also think the idea of working in another culture, but it still Thanksgiving is a bit odd, IMO. Mainly because if you have another culture-you don't try to make them confine to your traditions. I have a sister in law from Jamaica-so it's food from there that she brings in. It BECOMES part of the tradition as it is.

[jlc]

On 11/4/2019 at 6:08 PM, MerBearHou said:

I agree about Alex.  Her big smile seems to be saved only for people who matter to her -- I've met Alex in a very small group and she was not friendly whatsoever in person which disappointed me because I'd been a fan of her talent.  On the other hand, I've also met Katie and she was very warm, genuine and approachable.  

When you met, did you have to address her as Iron Chef Alwx? She acts like she is the only chef in America who was an Iron Chef! In my opinion, she is the worst judge! She comes off as arrogant and condescending, and way to full of herself. I really like this show, but it is hard to watch with her!!

[Christina]

Yesterday, they showed last seasons show and I really liked the man who won, so I was flipping back and forth with football. Then, there was a Thanksgiving pie show that I only saw a few minutes of and now cannot find. Was it part of this show? 

"Thanksgiving pie show" must be too broad of a search term.

EDIT: Turned on the Food App and up front is the show, Thanksgiving Pie Fight.  One of the bakers is from the other baking shows, but I'm not sure which one. Sunny is the host and surprisingly, not over-the-top obnoxious. 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Christina
Added paragraph

[Gam2]

I just watched all of these shows in a row. Most of the competitors are so creative with food that it amazes me. I’m considered a really good cook and have done it for years but I could never match these chefs. I loved Darnell, his cooking and his story. I thought Giada looked tired, her hair was stringy and unattractive and dear God, woman, this is a cooking show. Cover up those boobs! What is your point showing them on a cooking show?!

[Maya]

Why did the woman even take the pickles if they were such a difficult ingredient? She was the second one to pick 🙄

[CharlizeCat]

I watched that episode and I thought Giada was also in a bad mood. She talked smack about Kelli deep frying "everything" and rolled her eyes. She turned up her nose at canned pumpkin and also grimaced when Christian (the judge) said he liked fried pork rinds. 

[RoxiP]

The time given for these contestants to accomplish these tasks is ridiculous.  They should be given a sufficient amount of time to create their meals - it amazes me that the food even gets warm!

[CrazyInAlabama]

The judge on Thanksgiving Pie Fight is Nacho, who was a winner on the Spring Baking Championship, and is married to Suzanna, who was on a previous season of the Spring Baking Championship.       I wish Nacho would have been a guest judge on Giada's show too, he's fun, and has a great background for the judges panel.  

[suebee12]

I enjoyed the final episode and I still don't understand how they could do that much cooking in such a short time. I liked all three of the finalists and at first was rooting for Robin....his first cook was amazing and he really made the squash the center of his dish. Still don't know why Alex did like the pomegranate and arugula in the salad....those touches made the final dish so pretty!

But once we got to the final challenge I was all for Christian. That was an amazing feast he produced. Robin's was great but I think he bit off more than he could chew by doing the extra dish. All of their turkey dishes were great but I loved that Christian sliced his turkey thinly not serving it in huge chunks like the others did! I am definitely going to find a vinegar pie recipe...sounds amazing. AND speaking of pie, why did they throw that in as another stupid TWIST? When you only have 3 hours, planning is of the utmost importance!

I really liked Christian and Carla as judges....could do without Alex tho'. She seemed like a Debbie Downer throughout the whole series. Maybe they can find someone to replace her next season!!!

[dleighg]

Did the one guy put a warm squash "stuffing" on top of RAW oysters? Isn't oysters Rockefeller COOKED? That just seemed off the wall wrong.

I thought Robin's squash salad looked amazing.

[dleighg]

For the closed captions they really ought to have someone do it who knows both cooking and english. When Alex said that the pomegranate seeds and arugula were "cooking for color" she used the word "gratuitous." That makes sense (grammatically anyway). The word in CC was "fortuitous" which makes no sense. And when Robin said he was doing his turkey legs "sous vide" it showed up as "two way." Sheesh. He already said he was making it two ways. 

What he actually said was "I'm making turkey two ways: roast turkey breast and sous vide turkey leg"