Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[Grizzly]

4 hours ago, Popples said:

I just Googled Bakers Square and now I'm upset there aren't any close to me because that's sounds incredible!

I have a recipe that just puts peppermint ice cream in a pie crust (I get the store bought Oreo crust since I don't bake) and drizzle chocolate over it.

[bilgistic]

23 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I guess Megan complaining about the alcohol twist last week was added for drama? Because she cooked her pie fruit in white wine in this episode.

Imagine that. I laughed at the judges calling her "Perfect Megan".

Team Lashonda all the way. She was robbed of the win. Her pie was more complex and just prettier than Juliana's. Juliana got lucky.

[MerBearHou]

1 minute ago, bilgistic said:

Imagine that. I laughed at the judges calling her "Perfect Megan".

Team Lashonda all the way. She was robbed of the win. Her pie was more complex and just prettier than Juliana's. Juliana got lucky.

Agreed.  The episode had a couple of shocks for me — Lashonda should have won and Jamaal should not have been close to the bottom of the list.  

[LittleIggy]

1 minute ago, bilgistic said:

Imagine that. I laughed at the judges calling her "Perfect Megan".

Team Lashonda all the way. She was robbed of the win. Her pie was more complex and just prettier than Juliana's. Juliana got lucky.

I was stunned when Juliana was picked over Lashonda. I didn’t hear the judges say anything negative about Lashonda’s pie whereas I’m sure they had criticism re: Juliana’s. Or did I mishear?

[CheshireCat]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Sure, there can be some manipulation but even in your DWTS type scenario, the winner had to execute even if there was allegedly some manipulation about the styles he got.

It's much, much easier to choreograph and execute a choreography that's in your comfort zone. I don't think you can get a better advantage than that in a dance competition. 🙂

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

People have gotten sent home for overbaking their cakes but overbaking a cake and overbaking a pie yield different results.  Overbaking a cake leads to a dry cake.  That's something bakers can mitigate by adding a syrup but sometimes there's just no saving it.  What overbaking the crust did was create a bitter note that apparently played well with the sweetness of the dessert.

It would help if we'd known how overbaked the crust was. I'd argue that a crust that is burnt is dry and crumbly and has a burnt taste. One that is overbaked is simply a bit crispier.

[Maya]

Loved the “immunity from the twist” advantage. They should do that every week!

I also love Lorenzo and hope he goes far!

 

[Irlandesa]

27 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

It would help if we'd known how overbaked the crust was. I'd argue that a crust that is burnt is dry and crumbly and has a burnt taste. One that is overbaked is simply a bit crispier.

I don't think her crust looked black because yeah, if it were ash, then there's no saving that.  It looked very very dark but still structured.

[BigBingerBro]

I gotta say it was kind of sad to see the Santa from Atlanta go....  he seemed really genuine, but I think his nerves got the better of him.  

I don't recall the rules of the challenge, but it almost seemed like Jess thought that she HAD to combine Peppermint with Lemon.... she seems a bit confused at times, poor thing.

Juliana's burnt crust was indeed a happy accident.  She could have either served a non-burnt crust but with soup filling, or a burnt crust with a good filling.  

Jamaal was robbed.  

Lashonda was robbed.

I thought Carla's natural hair looked good, but what was with those glasses??

Looks like next week should be interesting.

[RoxiP]

8 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

I gotta say it was kind of sad to see the Santa from Atlanta go....  he seemed really genuine, but I think his nerves got the better of him.  

I don't recall the rules of the challenge, but it almost seemed like Jess thought that she HAD to combine Peppermint with Lemon.... she seems a bit confused at times, poor thing.

Juliana's burnt crust was indeed a happy accident.  She could have either served a non-burnt crust but with soup filling, or a burnt crust with a good filling.  

Jamaal was robbed.  

Lashonda was robbed.

I thought Carla's natural hair looked good, but what was with those glasses??

Looks like next week should be interesting.

I think Kess thought she was being cool by trying something new...I don't think she thought she had to combine the two.

I don't like Lorenzo - I think he plays to the camera too much.

Lashonda was robbed.  Having said that, sometimes the pie crust kind of carmelizes and that makes a delicious piece of crust in my opinion.

[Rammchick]

2 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I think Kess thought she was being cool by trying something new...I don't think she thought she had to combine the two.

 

There are candies that are lemon mint, but I suspect that they give a similar sensation to cough drops.  Not something you want to taste in baking!

[Popples]

51 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

There are candies that are lemon mint, but I suspect that they give a similar sensation to cough drops.  Not something you want to taste in baking!

That's usually spearmint, not peppermint, and it makes a huge difference. A few years ago I looked up a "Thin Mints" knockoff recipe, and the author stressed to use peppermint extract and not (spear)mint or else the results will end up tasting like toothpaste.

[mojoween]

Duff can shuttie.  A coconut pie with a coconut crust with a coconut cookie sounds divine, not boring.  Pffffft.

I really want Eva to bake me a butterscotch hand pie because that looked so good.

Lashonda kind of annoys me watching her, but I feel like if I were competing with her we would be best buds.  That makes no sense, I know.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Lashonda kind of annoys me watching her, but I feel like if I were competing with her we would be best buds.  That makes no sense, I know.

I feel like she might be standing out in a not-entirely-positive way just because she's by far the most "on" of the contestants, who generally seem like a relatively mellow bunch this time. There's no one to counter that, so I can see how she might be a bit annoying to watch - but she's not unpleasant! So I guess I understand?

[BigBingerBro]

13 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I feel like she might be standing out in a not-entirely-positive way just because she's by far the most "on" of the contestants, who generally seem like a relatively mellow bunch this time. There's no one to counter that, so I can see how she might be a bit annoying to watch - but she's not unpleasant! So I guess I understand?

Have you missed Lorenzo???

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Have you missed Lorenzo???

Ah, I guess I blocked him out. Ok, she's the SECOND most "on" contestant.

(In fairness to myself, I still think she's the loudest. Lorenzo is putting on a show for sure, but his volume isn't turned up as high for me.)

Edited November 18, 2020 by tracyscott76

[TVbitch]

Lorenzo's got the goods to back it up, but he is auditioning for a job with Food Network hard. 

[MerBearHou]

I enjoy Lorenzo and I don’t mind his antics.  I am amazed at how well he bakes for someone so young.  He’s efficient and knows flavors.  I like the kid!  

I get such an edgy vibe from Duff, like he’s not really as nice as he tries to come across.  Maybe I’m wrong but to me, he often seems just on the verge of showing his very cranky side.

[BigBingerBro]

9 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I get such an edgy vibe from Duff, like he’s not really as nice as he tries to come across.  Maybe I’m wrong but to me, he often seems just on the verge of showing his very cranky side.

I've always gotten that vibe from Duff.  It's less apparent on the kid shows, but I think he's getting used to all these competition shows and his true snarky side is showing more and more.

[Flip Flops]

On 11/11/2020 at 7:07 AM, tracyscott76 said:

 

She did say she is seven months pregnant, and I was surprised too. I didn't realize it until they showed at-home footage of her where it was much more obvious. The apron must be magic!

And I think she's mentioned being pregnant maybe three times? Once during her intro with the afore-mentioned at-home footage, and a couple times this episode in the context of not being able to taste her food. She's not going on and on about it or, in my opinion, being overly-dramatic. She just jokingly said "of course, give the pregnant lady the booze!", said she was a little worried because she couldn't taste her stuff, and asked Jamaal to taste it for her. The end.

And I am not getting "fake nice to your face and stab you in the back" from her at all. Not sure where that's coming from.

I like Megan, too. And if I were pregnant I wouldn’t take even a sip of alcohol. 🤷‍♀️

[libgirl2]

On 11/19/2020 at 4:10 PM, TVbitch said:

Lorenzo's got the goods to back it up, but he is auditioning for a job with Food Network hard. 

Aren't they all? Or at least most of them? 

[RoxiP]

On 11/19/2020 at 4:10 PM, TVbitch said:

Lorenzo's got the goods to back it up, but he is auditioning for a job with Food Network hard. 

I just don't care for his type of personality.  He thinks he is so cute and I just find him off-putting...but the guy seems to be a great baker so audition away duuuuude!

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Aren't they all? Or at least most of them? 

Not really.  I would think that at least a few of them are just there for this particular show only.  I'm sure that once they start the filming, one decidess if becoming a star is for them or not.  In Lorenzo's case, it's ovbious he loves it.

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Aren't they all? Or at least most of them? 

Not really.  I would think that at least a few of them are just there for this particular show only.  I'm sure that once they start the filming, one decidess if becoming a star is for them or not.  In Lorenzo's case, it's ovbious he loves it.

Yeah, Eva and Kess, in particular, just seem to be there to bake.

[littlebennysmom]

On 11/16/2020 at 11:43 AM, springbarb said:

I don't really get upset about the latter, but macarons and macaroons are different items. If someone says they're making macaroons, that's what I expect--not macarons.

They're bakers, it behooves them to learn to the correct pronunciation of ingredients or they sound like ridiculous.  It would be like a cop saying they're going to catch the perPretator of a crime.

[Grizzly]

Kess seemed to do a lot of cheesecakes.  Would not want a sage dessert. Loved the battle of the carrotcakes. And Eva showing up Jamal, that cream puff looked delicious. This is the best of the holiday shows.

[Adeejay]

I thought it interesting that the four bakers of color were in the bottom.  I am not getting the Julianna love.  I was sorry to see Kess go.  I thought her the better baker.  

[CheshireCat]

I loved those tear-drop plates. And apparently, they're a good-luck charm since both of the bakers who used them tonight won.

I found it strange that Lashonda's carrot cake was better than Duff's and yet Jon won even though the judges didn't or barely tasted the champagne. This is the second time that they found little that was wrong with Lashonda's baking (and sure, the carrot wasn't that pretty but it was clearly recognizeable) and the other baker who received more criticism won.

I'd have refused to accept the advantage. I'd be far too afraid that I'd jinx myself. Same when the advantage is assigning flavors or the likes to the other bakers.

Of course, Eva is the only baker I missed when she was presenting her dish to the judges. But it looked delicious and I'm happy for her that she won. Dare I say, serves Jamaal right?

[MerBearHou]

I was so happy for Jamaal when he won the preheat.  He miscalculated when he chose to go against Eva - has he not noticed how steady and solid of a baker she is week in and week out? 
 

Also happy for Jon - his carrot cake was delicious and inventive and it was gorgeous.  A shame that Lashonda and he were up against each other. Hers wasn’t attractive but was clearly delicious. 
 

I, too, am not getting the Juliana love.  She is middle of the pack for me. 

Two weeks in a row that Kess has chosen flavors that don’t serve her well in the bakes. 
 

I adore Lashonda’s personality. She has a fun spirit and I love her little asides to her fellow bakers and Jesse.  
 

Megan had a baby named Holland (not sure if a baby boy or girl). 

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Dare I say, serves Jamaal right?

I thought his reasoning was sound about her not winning before which I think is the only information he has. I don't think they're usually hearing what the judges think until a winner and loser are announced.  

What is with Duff's Lorenzo hate?  The only thing wrong with my cheesecake is  there's too much Lorenzo in my cheesecake?  Sorry but WTH?

[CrazyDog]

I don't understand his Lorenzo comments either. He and Lashonda are becoming my favs. Eva too, she deserved the win tonight. I can't quite imagine what all that corn tasted like, but it was so beautiful. 

Last week they tell Megan she's perfect but that Lorenzo is getting a big head. What? Where? 

Loved Jamaal's dessert in the pre-heat. I don't blame him for picking Eva, though I might have gone with Jon since he'd been in the bottom twice.

I don't think Jon or Juilanna are long for this competition. And Kess was the right choice to go. 

I also thought it was weird that the decoration cost Lashonda the win. Obviously both of their cakes were excellent but when Duff said hers was better than his own cake, I wasn't expecting the carrot to be that big of a deal.

I'm enjoying the season but I feel like we're missing stuff in the editing, or something. Some of the judging decisions just seem odd.

Edited November 24, 2020 by CrazyDog

[trudysmom]

I wonder if, even though they don't say it, their judgements in the main bake are colored by their impressions from preheat.  LaShonda's poptart topped cupcakes were a miss, so maybe that was still in Duff's mind when he critisized her fondant carrot?  He's pretty particular about fondant in general.  Surely there are things that are edited out that we don't hear, maybe Lorenzo was too snarky for their taste at some point, who knows.  I was glad to see Eva win over Jamal.  She doesn't need to talk about her work, her baking speaks for itself.  

Lol, trudysdad said Jesse requested the big table so he could sit across from Nancy, that way she can't try to feed him unless she tries to climb across the table. Which, give her enough booze and she might.

[CheshireCat]

5 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

 I can't quite imagine what all that corn tasted like, but it was so beautiful. 

I imagine it was a bit like sweet popcorn?

 

Quote

I also thought it was weird that the decoration cost Lashonda the win. Obviously both of their cakes were excellent but when Duff said hers was better than his own cake, I wasn't expecting the carrot to be that big of a deal.

I'm enjoying the season but I feel like we're missing stuff in the editing, or something. Some of the judging decisions just seem odd.

 

After I posted last night, I wondered if the preheat plays a role. Lashonda did not have a good preheat, so maybe that's why Jon won? But if that's the case then they should say so because right now, it looks like they praised her cake to high heaven and then decided the other guy whose cake looked good but didn't have a champagne taste (which has been a big deal in the past because it was the twist) was better.

 

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I thought his reasoning was sound about her not winning before which I think is the only information he has.

He also knows that she hasn't been in the bottom two. (At least, I don't remember her to have been).

But that's exactly why I wouldn't accept the advantage. Or if I did, I'd pick someone like Lorenzo.

[mojoween]

Lashonda was in fifth place so I am thinking the decoration was what did it.  Also I love coconut and am allergic to pineapple so Jon would win in my book anyways, heh.

Corn is the grossest vegetable. When we go to Cracker Barrel and get vegetable soup I diligently pick out every single kernel of corn before I will even TASTE my soup.  Those two desserts looked and sounded horrifying.

Most of the flavors in the preheat sounded really good, though.

[Popples]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Corn is the grossest vegetable. When we go to Cracker Barrel and get vegetable soup I diligently pick out every single kernel of corn before I will even TASTE my soup.  Those two desserts looked and sounded horrifying.

I will absolutely co-sign this. The stench of corn makes me (and my mother) nauseous.

[bilgistic]

When they opened up the dish of Brussels sprouts, I asked my boyfriend how they were going to make desserts taste like farts. Brussels sprouts are vile.

I like corn well enough but that corn soup syrup that Eva made looked like actual vomit. No thank you.

[Frost]

I love Juliana and was not a Kess fan, so I was happy.  And Meghan needs to take a weed whacker to her fake eyelashes!  Have they always been that long?

Duff said Jon's carrot cake was just as good as LaShonda's so I guess the decorating was the deciding factor for their pair.

I'm not blown away by any of the bakers this season.  There's no-one like Joshua (from several seasons ago) who was an obvious stand out from the beginning.

[kirklandia]

(What's with all the 🌽hate?)

One of the best ice creams I ever had was at a farmers market, and was made with sweet corn.  I was hoping one of the contestants  would try it.

Edited November 25, 2020 by kirklandia

[BigBingerBro]

I have a feeling Jon will be in the finale.  He's getting the "bad baker has hidden depths" arc.  I totally missed what was so bad about Kess's bake that it sent her home.

I agree that Lashonda is getting robbed over and over.   I'm not sure WTH Jamal was thinking picking Eva to go up against.  

[dewelar]

21 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

On 11/24/2020 at 3:55 AM, Irlandesa said:

I thought his reasoning was sound about her not winning before which I think is the only information he has.

He also knows that she hasn't been in the bottom two. (At least, I don't remember her to have been).

Don't they all see the standings on the naughty/nice board?

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, dewelar said:

Don't they all see the standings on the naughty/nice board?

Possibly. I wasn't sure how accurate that was other than the bottom two.

[CheshireCat]

11 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I have a feeling Jon will be in the finale.  He's getting the "bad baker has hidden depths" arc.  I totally missed what was so bad about Kess's bake that it sent her home.

I think it was the flavor combination and that there was barely any sage flavor to begin with. (Didn't realize it before but lack of flavor was one of the aspects that sent her home while it didn't seem to hurt Jon in the slightest. We really need to see (more of) the judges' deliberations!)

[dleighg]

Why on earth didn't Jon use a parchment circle on the bottom of his pans? It works like a charm.

[Popples]

20 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Why on earth didn't Jon use a parchment circle on the bottom of his pans? It works like a charm.

I yelled that at my screen. That's how I ruined my first carrot cake; it tasted good, but a third of it was stuck in the pan. Cream cheese frosting fixed everything.

[LittleIggy]

I would love to have tasted both carrot cakes. BTW, I love corn. I made savory corn pudding for Thanksgiving. Very easy and delicious.

[Iseut]

On 11/24/2020 at 8:11 PM, Frost said:

I love Juliana and was not a Kess fan, so I was happy.  And Meghan needs to take a weed whacker to her fake eyelashes!  Have they always been that lon

Hubby said, "How long until one of those things falls into her cake?" Yeah, dial 'em back Megan.

I was also surprised that Lashonda lost to Jon after how much they raved over her cake. I think it comes down to effort.  His cake still tasted good,  and he also put a lot into the decoration,  whereas she sort of half-assed that part, even if her flavors were a little better. 

[dleighg]

On 11/24/2020 at 11:11 PM, Frost said:

And Meghan needs to take a weed whacker to her fake eyelashes!  Have they always been that long?

I only noticed them this past episode, so I'm going to say "no."

[Irlandesa]

The Food Network had a marathon of an earlier season (I think season 4) on over the holiday. Lorraine was in it and I really miss her.  I like Carla but the chemistry is different.  Even when she enjoyed something, it was so understated. 

And there was more variety in judging.  They didn't all like the same things and they didn't all dislike the same things.  In fact, if they all agreed on something, you just knew it had to be really good. 

[mlp]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Lorraine was in it and I really miss her.  I like Carla but the chemistry is different.

I hope the only reason Lorraine isn't on this season is pandemic-related.  She has more credibility with me than Carla and her theatrics do.  I like Carla but she seems to be everywhere right now and she's wearing thin.

[Darian]

I miss Lorraine, too. I love her, and she and Duff are fun together. I'd swap out Nancy for Lorraine and keep Carla if it meant botting Nancy. I am a ridiculously forgiving viewer during pandemics, apparently, but I still can't stand her. 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

How does a baker in a national contest forget butter, or something else so critical in their bake?   So another one gone, Jamaal.    That only leaves Julianna of the home bakers,