Holiday Baking Championship - General Discussion

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

 

I think “nothing” is better than those silly magnets or pins or whatever they gave out one season.  

Oh God, yes. I am glad those are gone. 

[RoxiP]

Random thoughts...

Rafi kind of rubs me the wrong way but he sure made a beautiful main heat dessert.  I'm sure I will get over it - there's something about him (this is just my opinion) that comes across that he's a total Rico Suave - just too cool.  He did seem to tone it down towards the end of the show so maybe it was just nerves.

Matcha grosses me out and I wish it would go away.

I feel like I have seen Andre on another show but can't quite place him.

Jesse is aging like fine wine.

I seriously envy that one lady's ponytail - Karen perhaps?  

Karla looked fantastic.

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Matcha grosses me out and I wish it would go away.

why do people keep trying to make it happen. Lots of people (I'm one of them) think it tastes like grass clippings and that's not going to change. It's all about the color-- but it has to taste good too!

[libgirl2]

7 minutes ago, dleighg said:

why do people keep trying to make it happen. Lots of people (I'm one of them) think it tastes like grass clippings and that's not going to change. It's all about the color-- but it has to taste good too!

I don't care for it either though I did try matcha ice cream and it was kind of interesting. A favorite? No. But I didn't toss it out. 

[kathyk2]

I would have sent that nasty trifle home it looked disgusting. I felt bad for the bakers who had to use mozzarella that's not meant for baking and they didn't choose it.

[libgirl2]

14 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I would have sent that nasty trifle home it looked disgusting. I felt bad for the bakers who had to use mozzarella that's not meant for baking and they didn't choose it.

I agree, that mozzarella was too far out there. They made it work but they shouldn't have had to unless everyone had a far out there cheese. No, but cream cheese? Mascarpone? I could probably figure those out. 

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

I feel like I have seen Andre on another show but can't quite place him.

From his website:

"He has competed on The Food Network’s Bakers vs Fakers and is the winner of The Food Network’s Girl Scout Cookie Championship, and Netflix’s Sugar Rush Season 3 Extra Sweet."

 

[libgirl2]

4 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

From his website:

"He has competed on The Food Network’s Bakers vs Fakers and is the winner of The Food Network’s Girl Scout Cookie Championship, and Netflix’s Sugar Rush Season 3 Extra Sweet."

 

I used to watch Bakers vs. Fakers so maybe I saw him from there. 

[Grizzly]

I thought Andre's croquettes looked like a hot mess and not very holidayish. Was very surprised when he won the 1k.

[libgirl2]

7 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I thought Andre's croquettes looked like a hot mess and not very holidayish. Was very surprised when he won the 1k.

I see I'm not alone. I am sure they tasted really good, but they were just brown blobs. 

[tv echo]

I always enjoy this holiday competition. I don't remember the bakers' names, but I was taken aback by how much two of the bakers look like TV actresses: Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory) and Jewel Staite (Firefly).

ETA:
Full Cast of Holiday Baking Championship 2024: Contestants, Judges & Host In Season 11 (Photos)
By Aeron Mer Eclarinal    November 06, 2024
https://thedirect.com/article/holiday-baking-championship-2024-contestants-cast-season-11-judges-host-photos

OK, Natasha is the Mayim Bialik look-a-like and Megan is the Jewel Staite look-a-like:

Edited November 7 by tv echo

[libgirl2]

7 minutes ago, tv echo said:

I always enjoy this holiday competition. I don't remember the bakers' names, but I was taken aback by how much two of the bakers look like TV actresses: Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory) and Jewel Staite (Firefly).

ETA:
Full Cast of Holiday Baking Championship 2024: Contestants, Judges & Host In Season 11 (Photos)
By Aeron Mer Eclarinal    November 06, 2024
https://thedirect.com/article/holiday-baking-championship-2024-contestants-cast-season-11-judges-host-photos

OK, Natasha is the Mayim Bialik look-a-like and Megan is the Jewel Staite look-a-like:

Maybe that is why I think they look familiar?

[RoxiP]

Natasha was the one whose lipstick clashed so dreadfully with the color of her blouse - hopefully that was caused by stage lighting and not a personal choice.

[Dirtybubble]

YAY Jess and his dad jokes are back!  He certainly has lightened up since his season of The Bachelor.  I guess just hosting a show is a lot less pressure than actually being on the show 🤪

I'm glad all the same judges are back as well.  

 

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, Dirtybubble said:

YAY Jess and his dad jokes are back!  He certainly has lightened up since his season of The Bachelor.  I guess just hosting a show is a lot less pressure than actually being on the show 🤪

I'm glad all the same judges are back as well.  

 

He is very easy going on the show. I so enjoy him. And everyone seems to be having fun even with some of the nerves I'm sure. 

[carrps]

19 hours ago, RoxiP said:

Jesse is aging like fine wine.

Well, he had a lot of work done since last show. He also lost weight. But that's what you have to do when you're in show biz. I laughed at his manscaping.

[Rammchick]

8 hours ago, tv echo said:

Megan is the Jewel Staite look-a-like:
 

I think she looks like Amber Heard.

Edited November 7 by Rammchick

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I think she looks like Amber Heard.

Her too

[Splashy]

On 11/5/2024 at 9:08 PM, Pi237 said:

I’ve noticed pink has begun to invade Christmas decorations.

Yes, and I even noticed it a Halloween. Uh, hello, pink is NOT a Halloween color, nor is it a Christmas color! Stop.

On 11/6/2024 at 3:09 PM, RoxiP said:

Matcha grosses me out and I wish it would go away.

It just does not taste good, no matter what you do with it. I tried it a few years ago because it's supposed to have some kind of health benefits (antioxidants?). But, as someone else said, it tastes like dirt, and I think has a little bitterness to it? Can't remember. But they need to stop giving it as an ingredient. 

Nancy said she didn't get any raw dough in Delna's babka, so some parts of it did get baked all the way thru. That probably saved her (and I guess it tasted good).

9 hours ago, tv echo said:

Megan is the Jewel Staite look-a-like

I was thinking Jennifer Aniston.

 

 

Edited November 7 by Splashy
formatting issues

[cowgirlwen]

16 hours ago, Splashy said:

On 11/6/2024 at 3:09 PM, RoxiP said:

Matcha grosses me out and I wish it would go away.

It just does not taste good, no matter what you do with it.

Yes, I don't know why contestants continue to try to make desserts with matcha (unless they have not choice because they were forced to it is their assigned flavor).  It never seems to go over well with the judges.  

Another similar flavor is rose.  They always remind us that if they get too much rose extract, their dessert will taste like potpourri.  I can't say I've ever tried it, but it doesn't sound appetizing to me in even small doses.  So why, oh why, do they insist on trying to make it work?  

Enough already!!  Stick to flavors we all know and love (chocolate, caramel, fruit, etc.)  Steer clear of the dirt and floral flavorings!!!  

[Cheese]

On 11/6/2024 at 4:57 PM, AZChristian said:

From his website:

"He has competed on The Food Network’s Bakers vs Fakers and is the winner of The Food Network’s Girl Scout Cookie Championship, and Netflix’s Sugar Rush Season 3 Extra Sweet."

 

Sugar Rush! I knew he looked familiar. 

I thought the cheeseball was fun. The only mozzarella dessert I have seen was a kunafa, but I thought they did better with the mozzarella than expected. Blue cheese should have been the option though. Unless it was, there are too many people for me to keep track. 

I know we can't taste anything, but that was a shock elimination for me. I thought raw babka or "trifle" would have went home over the hard shell and matcha. When it's a mandatory ingredient/flavor profile they shouldn't be too dinged on the usage. I guess he didn't balance the flavors. They all agreed that matcha was a hard ingredient to work with. 

I hated Nancy's necklace.

[libgirl2]

11 minutes ago, Cheese said:

Sugar Rush! I knew he looked familiar. 

I thought the cheeseball was fun. The only mozzarella dessert I have seen was a kunafa, but I thought they did better with the mozzarella than expected. Blue cheese should have been the option though. Unless it was, there are too many people for me to keep track. 

I know we can't taste anything, but that was a shock elimination for me. I thought raw babka or "trifle" would have went home over the hard shell and matcha. When it's a mandatory ingredient/flavor profile they shouldn't be too dinged on the usage. I guess he didn't balance the flavors. They all agreed that matcha was a hard ingredient to work with. 

I hated Nancy's necklace.

That matcha must have really tasted awful. And that shell must have been like cement. 

[Dirtybubble]

A brief bio of the judges and contestants along with a link to their I.G.

https://thedirect.com/article/holiday-baking-championship-2024-contestants-cast-season-11-judges-host-photos

[dleighg]

I know I'm being petty, but Courtney's little girl voice bugs me, and Megan seems to have an awful lot of "stage presence." Has she competed before? She seemed a bit too "familiar" with Jesse and particularly the judges for my taste.

[AZChristian]

28 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Megan seems to have an awful lot of "stage presence." Has she competed before? She seemed a bit too "familiar" with Jesse and particularly the judges for my taste.

Haven't seen anything on Google about her competing before, but she teaches online baking classes.  Probably very comfortable in front of a camera.

[carrps]

6 hours ago, cowgirlwen said:

Another similar flavor is rose.  They always remind us that if they get too much rose extract, their dessert will taste like potpourri.  I can't say I've ever tried it, but it doesn't sound appetizing to me in even small doses. 

One of my favorite cookies in the world (sadly no longer available) was Rose Almond. They were perfect. You do have to be careful, but used judiciously it adds a certain note that's almost citrus without the acid and it pairs wonderfully with various nuts. Another cookie I love is a shortbread with rose, cardamom, and macadamias. Yum!

[CrazyInAlabama]

S11.E02 "Thanksgiving Family Feast" New, 11/11/2024

"Celebrating the Thanksgiving feast and sitting at the kid's table never felt so special as host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to make over-the-top Thanksgiving cupcakes for the preheat that are designed to make the adult table jealous. Kids Baking Championship alums and guest judges Matt Azuma and Summer Haque join judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller. Then, the bakers create Thanksgiving pies with 3-D decor elements to bring drama and deliciousness to the feast."

Bakers-

1. Megan-Home-Wash

2. Courtney-Pro-NJ

3. Andre-Pro-FL

4. Jer-Pro-NV

5. Jonathan-Pro-PA

6. Karen-Pro-CA

7. Natasha-Pro-Mass

8. Steven-Home-Ontario (was on Great Canadian Baking Show)

9. Delna-Pro-Toronto

10. Rafi-Pro-CA

11. Wolf-Calgary-Pro

Preheat: Thanksgiving Cupcakes for the kid's table. Two judges are fan favorites from Kids Baking Championship. Matt and Summer are so grown up!

Winner: Courtney (wins $1,000 cash)

Elimination Round: Thanksgiving Pies with 3-D features.   Megan did a graham cracker crust, was that in the challenge?   Andre's decorating is spectacular. Steven's chocolate work is fantastic. Rafi's decorating is wonderful. Jer's decorating is interesting, but crust is underbaked. Rolf's is spectacular chocolate work with the sunflowers.  Delna's is wild chocolate work.  How could Karen get away with the cornucopia still having foil crumpled inside? And underbaked crust again.  Natasha's looks like a Mayflower, but at last a fully baked crust.  Jonathan's is odd looking, judges find another unbaked crust.    

Top Two:  Megan and Natasha

Winner:   Megan

Bottom Bakers: Jonathan and Karen

Eliminated: Jonathan

 

(But FN finally posted the bakers bios:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/holiday-baking-championship/holiday-baking-championship-teams-season-eleven   

(This is so irritating, my cable company on demand doesn't show this episode, or the next one, but posted that the one on the 25th will be available.  I just have to wait for a rerun). 

Edited November 15 by CrazyInAlabama

[libgirl2]

Those winning cupcakes were the bomb! I wanted one!

[KLovestoShop]

I can’t stand this season.  Don’t care for these stupid challenges and the judging is way off base.  I also don’t like this $1000 prize for the pre-heat. Nancy has become a giant pain in the ass as she over judges everything and not a lot seems to meet her personal standards.  I also hated when Carla stacked up one baker’s cupcakes because she didn’t think it was tall enough. That was just damn rude. And I don’t like the 2 hour format. The shows just drag along. 

[libgirl2]

Megan looks like Laura Linney!!

[ILuvShibaInus]

Thankfully they sent home Jonathan. Talk about a mercy killing as he appeared to be in way over his head with the challenges.

[Salacious Kitty]

When my attention wandered, I could have sworn Courtney's voice was that of the kid baker, Summer. 

[kathyk2]

I wanted Courtney's cupcakes they looked great. They should have had a younger child as part of the panel a seventh grader and a senior wouldn't be sitting at the kid's table. Ralf's cupcakes would have been a hit with them. I thought that the bakers spent too much time on the 3-D element and not enough time making sure the pie was baked properly. I don't miss the twists at all.

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I wanted Courtney's cupcakes they looked great. They should have had a younger child as part of the panel a seventh grader and a senior wouldn't be sitting at the kid's table. Ralf's cupcakes would have been a hit with them. I thought that the bakers spent too much time on the 3-D element and not enough time making sure the pie was baked properly. I don't miss the twists at all.

That's right! No twists! I didn't miss them either. 

I agree, a younger child would have been good as well. 

[Maya]

The challenge: make over the top cupcakes for kids!!

Jonathan: makes cardamom infused white macarons 😑

[AZChristian]

54 minutes ago, Maya said:

The challenge: make over the top cupcakes for kids!!

Jonathan: makes cardamom infused white macarons 😑

He should have been gone last week, after that "trifle" disaster.  Karma caught up with him this week.

[libgirl2]

26 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

He should have been gone last week, after that "trifle" disaster.  Karma caught up with him this week.

I thought his pears would have looked nice but they were melting. 

[dleighg]

I'm always surprised when someone just dumps their "failure" into the garbage can. What if their second try is even worse? Shouldn't you have a backup?

And the guy who dumped his cupcakes (I haven't figured out names yet) then just riffed on his second try-- AP flour instead of cake, baking powder instead of baking soda. Sheesh-- don't you have an actual recipe? Or are you just winging it?

And one of the other guys presented "Linzer cookies" where he was filling the holes with red gel from a piping bag. Sir, that is not how you fill a Linzer cookie!

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I'm always surprised when someone just dumps their "failure" into the garbage can. What if their second try is even worse? Shouldn't you have a backup?

And the guy who dumped his cupcakes (I haven't figured out names yet) then just riffed on his second try-- AP flour instead of cake, baking powder instead of baking soda. Sheesh-- don't you have an actual recipe? Or are you just winging it?

And one of the other guys presented "Linzer cookies" where he was filling the holes with red gel from a piping bag. Sir, that is not how you fill a Linzer cookie!

That was Rolf and I understand wanting to remake them but I guess you have a good point, hang onto them if the next batch is worse. But bakers almost always do this. 

Linzer cookies was Razvi (spelling?)? They looked wonderful but they were lacking. 

[dleighg]

18 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Linzer cookies was Razvi (spelling?)? They looked wonderful but they were lacking.

did you see Nancy twist it open? It had no filling inside because he did it in a dumb a$$ way. You have to put the filling between the cookies! Not just fill it in the eyes and mouth holes.

[libgirl2]

Just now, dleighg said:

did you see Nancy twist it open? It had no filling inside because he did it in a dumb a$$ way. You have to put the filling between the cookies! Not just fill it in the eyes and mouth holes.

Yes I did. From the top, I thought they looked good  and then she did that. What a lost opportunity. Why did he do that? 

[KittyMom4]

On 11/6/2024 at 5:55 PM, Grizzly said:

I thought Andre's croquettes looked like a hot mess and not very holidayish. Was very surprised when he won the 1k.

Mr. KittyMom rewound it and said they looked like something in our cats' litterbox. He wasn't wrong, very boring and kinda unappetizing to me. They ooo'd and ahhh'd so much it made me think that maybe they looked better in person. 

On 11/8/2024 at 10:19 AM, Cheese said:

I know we can't taste anything, but that was a shock elimination for me. I thought raw babka or "trifle" would have went home over the hard shell and matcha. When it's a mandatory ingredient/flavor profile they shouldn't be too dinged on the usage. I guess he didn't balance the flavors. They all agreed that matcha was a hard ingredient to work with.

I think even though the trifle looked like something a 3 year old created while playing with play-do, it probably tasted better than an overbaked, dirt flavored cake. 

9 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I wanted Courtney's cupcakes they looked great. They should have had a younger child as part of the panel a seventh grader and a senior wouldn't be sitting at the kid's table. Ralf's cupcakes would have been a hit with them. I thought that the bakers spent too much time on the 3-D element and not enough time making sure the pie was baked properly. I don't miss the twists at all.

Her cupcakes were awesome, and even though her voice is a bit irritating on my ears I'm rooting for her to win! 

43 minutes ago, dleighg said:

And one of the other guys presented "Linzer cookies" where he was filling the holes with red gel from a piping bag. Sir, that is not how you fill a Linzer cookie!

Hahahahaha!! I couldn't believe it when I saw what he'd done, wth???

[rlc]

Not that it actually matters who wins the main challenge, it didn't seem fair to give the win in a pie challenge to the person who did a graham cracker crust/uncooked pie over the person who baked a pie with a flaky crust and custard.

[laredhead]

Drives me nuts when someone says "I've never tried this before, but I have to go for it".  Guess I don't have their sense of adventure or security in my cooking.  Stick with what you know is my philosophy, and which is probably why I would never be on a cooking contest show.

[tennisgurl]

3 hours ago, rlc said:

Not that it actually matters who wins the main challenge, it didn't seem fair to give the win in a pie challenge to the person who did a graham cracker crust/uncooked pie over the person who baked a pie with a flaky crust and custard.

I agree, and it can can be so inconsistent with the judges. Sometimes they don't care if the baker makes something outside the perimeters of the usual challenge, and sometimes they give a big ding to anyone who doesn't hit every part of the challenge. 

Courtney's cupcakes were amazing, I would love to have them on my table! I also really liked the cornucopia, it looked very festive and cute. 

It was cute having some contestants from the kids baking show, but it seems like they should have gone with some younger kids if they wanted a kids perspective on kids table treats. 

Not surprising at all that Jonathan went home, he just barely squeaked by last week and was clearly in over his head. 

[kathyk2]

4 hours ago, rlc said:

Not that it actually matters who wins the main challenge, it didn't seem fair to give the win in a pie challenge to the person who did a graham cracker crust/uncooked pie over the person who baked a pie with a flaky crust and custard.

I think the judges were more interested in the 3-D decorations than the taste of the pie.

[Salacious Kitty]

21 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

I think the judges were more interested in the 3-D decorations than the taste of the pie.

Didn't both Nancy and Carla wax rhapsodic about Megan's pie? Nancy even gave her the stupid conductor's gesture. 

[Frost]

I like that so far, the bakers are pretty free to use whatever flavors they want.  Just, make a cupcake.  Or make a pie.  The rules are about the decorating, not making someone combine coffee with green apple syrup.  I like the baker's skills being judged on skill, not whether they can make something edible out of ingredients no one ever would use in real life.

[mlp]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Not surprising at all that Jonathan went home, he just barely squeaked by last week and was clearly in over his head. 

Very true.  Everyone else though seems to be pretty good.  I felt especially sorry for Rolf.  I don't know what happened to his first batch of cupcakes but I'll bet it was embarrassing for someone with his credentials and experience.  Also, I thought the judges' were too hard on him for using marshmallows and candies.  Others used candies and he certainly didn't have time to make homemade marshmallows.  He made some cute decorations for kids and they criticized him for it.

Once again, I wonder about what happens in filming in real time.  The woman who used foil in her cornucopia took it out of the oven, walked to her work station and started trying to get the foil out immediately - with her bare hands.  Or so it seemed.  I think they all go to lunch at some point and things are cooled by the time they come back.

[RoxiP]

I love a good peanut butter pie so I'm not mad at Megan (?) winning.