Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[eel21788]

1 minute ago, preeya said:

There are a gazillion egg separator gadgets for sale. I guess none fit the product placement standards of MC.

An empty plastic bottle works just fine. Crack all the eggs into a bowl then squeeze the bottle and use the suction to suck the yolks into the bottle.

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Why do professional chefs separate eggs with their hands? It's just too much fondling my food for my taste.

<small voice> I actually do this a fair amount of the time. Sometimes I use the shell, but I usually end up all up in there anyway so it is just as easy to use my hands. </small voice>

[Mellowyellow]

I crack one egg into a small rice bowl at a time and then use a soup spoon to scoop out the yolk.

[joanne3482]

On 6/28/2019 at 11:30 PM, Rammchick said:

Ok, so Subha is praised for transforming everything into Indian something or other, but Shari is harassed because she's cooked a lot of curries so far.  How does that work?  Do you have to be a particular ethnicity to be "allowed" to cook its cuisine?

That's the way it works on MC. If you ARE of an ethnicity you must only cook that cuisine.  If you are not of a particular ethnicity you can only cook the food of that ethnicity if  it's part of the challenge and at no other times. 

When I was a kid I first learned how to separate an egg by hand and I liked to do it that way because, well I was a kid and that's the fun way. Now I do the shell method.  

Edited July 1, 2019 by joanne3482

[hula-la]

9 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

That's the way it works on MC. If you ARE of an ethnicity you must only cook that cuisine.  If you are not of a particular ethnicity you can only cook the food of that ethnicity if  it's part of the challenge and at no other times.   

Not just MC, but any cooking show that I see, and it bugs the [insert bad word here] out of me. 

[HeShallBMySquishy]

On 6/28/2019 at 4:31 AM, displayname said:

You'd be better off never watching the Australian version 😂

LOL You mean when they're not making panna cottas? Gusto, a cable channel up here in Canada, often airs episodes of MasterChef Australia during the weekdays, and every time I've tuned in (when they're not airing the same goddamn season, again), at least one or two of the home cooks are making panna cottas.

[displayname]

20 minutes ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

LOL You mean when they're not making panna cottas? Gusto, a cable channel up here in Canada, often airs episodes of MasterChef Australia during the weekdays, and every time I've tuned in (when they're not airing the same goddamn season, again), at least one or two of the home cooks are making panna cottas.

They always dedicate a full episode to a single dish lol. More complex than a tarte tatin, though, and go into the cooking process with far more detail presented to the viewers. Their DPTs are REAL DPTs.

Edited July 2, 2019 by displayname

[HeShallBMySquishy]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:45 PM, LennieBriscoe said:

Subha ("Suburu") is THE most useless AND,  Evan notwithstanding, the most arrogant cook there. He showed the latter early on,  when he was miffed and expressed a vengeful attitude about not being "saved" to the balcony by a fellow competitor.

He showed his utter incompetence in the Team Chicken/Fish/Burger  challenge, where he was simply walking into others' stations, eating, and getting in the way. "Go water my plants" even seemed too much of a task.

I have to agree, although I did feel a tiny bit bad for him when Gordon was ripping into him in that other episode, before Joe (Joe!!) had to step in and defend him. But I can understand the irritation of the other home cooks, I probably would have been cursing up a storm under my breath if he was constantly getting in my way during a team challenge.

My BF and I live in 550 sq. ft. apartment, so we often take turns making dinner, as both of us in the kitchen tend to just get in each others way.

I like Fred somewhat, but watching that boy cook or bake anything when he is such a bundle of nerves leaves me feeling nervous and on edge. He seems defeated half the time, and on the last episode, he seemed ready to go.

I think the only one I'm rooting for right now is Ketura, and I agree with @galaxychaser, that wig and those lashes look far too long and heavy. But hey, at least she's not being edited to be the "sassy (rude) confrontational black woman" that CBS so frequently casts in their reality shows.

Noah continues to annoy. Everyone else: meh.

Also, Nick is pretty cute, so he can stay.

[Wandering Snark]

For some reason I find myself not hating every episode this year. As of late I've had to make multiple runs through via DVR at a (much) later date while episodes pile up...

I think the lack of f'n Tosi has helped. I also always enjoy Joe the Dick because not everyone/everything is due for high praise.

There was a really wierd talking head from Sam among his ones about how he's screwed because he was the only one to say he had made these before (PS: Not a good idea, instead take your extra knowledge and shine in your critique instead of putting the dreaded 'Target on your Back'). He had his hair completely different, without product and not spikey... it was really jarring! Anyone else notice that? It reminded me of when there is something fancy to go to and Bart Simpson has to wear his hair parted down the middle.

[Eolivet]

I agree with everything people said about Micah's tart ... but for Sarah. At least Micah restarted his caramel. Sarah burnt hers, shruggie-emoji'd that she had no time to fix it, the judges said it tasted like cough syrup and ... she's one of the first two safe?! What .........?

I didn't mind Evan. He was so over-the-top, made-for-TV transparent that I couldn't find him offensive. He was just playing a part. As others have said, straight out of central casting. Uninspired. Like most everything about season 10.

I felt bad for ... the girl I keep wanting to call Keytruda (which is a lung cancer drug, so I'm pretty sure that's not her name) with her lack of peaches. Especially when they panned over to the people that took WAY too many. I know that it's the name of the game, but I felt badly for her. Like, the woman who put 12?!?!?!?! into her tart seemed excessive, to me. And I know it's a competition. But she didn't seem like she got to the pantry late -- people were just hording them. I don't know, it didn't sit right with me. So I'm glad she was safe.

[mlp]

This forum no longer has any sub-categories so I don't know where else to put this.  

I was thumbing through the latest issue of All Recipes today and came across a feature article with pictures about Elise "Cry Pie" Mayfield!  Apparently, she's a regular contributor.  There is even a small picture of her with Gordon Ramsay.  I wanted to include a link but the magazine site has nothing but recipes.

[preeya]

Seems like months since the last episode, but it's back to business (make that drama).

S10E08 Joe Takes a Risk

Summary:

The Top 16 home cooks fight for immunity in an epic team challenge. Split into two teams, the corresponding captains are immersed in Italian cuisine, as they head to Joe Bastianich's Los Angeles restaurant, Osteria Mozza, to learn how to make a gourmet, authentic three-course Italian meal. The team captains then make their way back to the MasterChef kitchen to teach their respective teams how to execute the same meal for the judges. Only one team will be safe.

Just now, preeya said:

Seems like months since the last episode, but it's back to business (make that drama).

S10E08 Joe Takes a Risk

Summary:

The Top 16 home cooks fight for immunity in an epic team challenge. Split into two teams, the corresponding captains are immersed in Italian cuisine, as they head to Joe Bastianich's Los Angeles restaurant, Osteria Mozza, to learn how to make a gourmet, authentic three-course Italian meal. The team captains then make their way back to the MasterChef kitchen to teach their respective teams how to execute the same meal for the judges. Only one team will be safe.

JoeB. will be in rare form tonight. I'm betting Mom Lydia will be the teacher.

[OoogleEyes]

What exactly did Joe "risk"? It's not like they cooked at his restaurant. 

 I hate these non elimination shows. The episode tonight was relatively free of drama, so there's that 

[leocadia]

Usually they play two episodes back to back...was that not the case tonight?  I'm not sure if my DVR screwed up or if it really ended with no elimination round.

In other news, I've been watching reality tv forever and I should know by now that the person I like the least (headband sewage guy) will invariably do well and last forever.  Sigh.  At least his team lost, but clearly he was singled out as one of the group that did well for his round.

[Gramto6]

8 minutes ago, leocadia said:

Usually they play two episodes back to back...was that not the case tonight?  I'm not sure if my DVR screwed up or if it really ended with no elimination round.

The elimination round is Thursday night. I really hate the 2 night airing.

[preeya]

22 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

The elimination round is Thursday night. I really hate the 2 night airing.

ITA. This two-day format sucks, and guess what they face tomorrow? Another non-favorite; the dreaded TagTeam challenge, which means two will be eliminated. I guess Nick's bonus will be to select the teams.

Edited July 11, 2019 by preeya

[leocadia]

Thank you for the quick responses!  At least I know it wasn't a screw up!

[Brookside]

Gordon:  "Team challenge.  Take a look around."  They all look at their fellow team-mates, except for our Jolly Green Giant Cornpone, who looks off into the distance.

There's a difference between "homen" and "omen", Sam.  I'm not sure what it is, since I've never heard of a homen, but I'm sure there is one.

Nice of you to pipe right up and throw your captain under the bus re timing, Shari.  How about just shut up and show some integrity and professionalism.

[xtwheeler]

On 6/30/2019 at 4:00 PM, zillabreeze said:

Right?  What the hell?  I was taught to do it with the eggshells.  It works just fine.

Separating with your fingers is the best way to get  the yolk with as little white as possible, while minimizing the risk of breaking the yolk. It can be done adequately with the shells, but eggshells are by nature jagged and you run a higher risk of puncturing the yolk. Using your fingers is efficient and much lower risk than using the shell or any implement or object. When you're doing a bigger quantity, it is also much, much quicker. 

[Brookside]

Did anyone watch MasterChef UK (The Professionals) and think that Sam looks like Matt (the tragic marathon runner) from several seasons ago?  (Sorry the picture is so big, and I can't find one of Sam, but there you go.  I did my best!)

[Aerobicidal]

It’s been a stunning almost two weeks—the longest two weeks in Masterchef history—since we’ve seen these people. And I am amazed to admit I don’t recognize most of them, although Septic Grandma Burger still looks like some sort of Cletus the Slack-Bandana’ed yokel and it’s stunning.

Hi, Nick from Harvard. Or is it actually the school in Delaware called Harvord? Because I want to believe that a Harvard student would know that “versus” and “verse” are two different words. One is about opposition, and the other is about . . . poetry, or gay male preferences, or both.

Is this challenge hard? Is it thick? Can you pull it off? Can you grind it? Is it turgid? Does it bring the boys to the yard? Does it work your neck? Your back?

“I have a good feeling you can handle some freaking lentils.” If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I would be stunningly rick.

Hi, Nick from Harvord. That’s not how you pronounce “brunoise.” Maybe Harvord is your reach school and you’re studying for your GED. That’s okay, even stunning.

I believe this super suspenseful music track is called “Gordon’s Boobs Look Problematic in that Shirt.” I find it stunning.

“Use the eggs as a guide” is the motto of the most stunning fertility clinic this side of Fred’s sleeveless top shop.

“Sleeveless top” is a term I will definitely not google or look up on Urban Dictionary.

Slide them in. Keep the egg up. That nutty brown butter.  -  This is the most obscene television program since Silk Stalkings, yet I am neither amazed nor stunned.

I’m stunned that Joe says “dominated by nutmeg” is a bad thing. I’m happy for any herbs and spices to dominate me.

I’m just going to write down inappropriate terms now.

Edge of nuttiness

This is really raw

Black apron

Pop it back

We just grabbed the wrong ones

Tasting, tasting, tasting, adding sauce

Umbrian lentils

Pulled it

Stunning

Amazing

Season 10

Break the beans

Let's take a look at the skin

[zillabreeze]

1 hour ago, xtwheeler said:

Using your fingers is efficient and much lower risk than using the shell or any implement or object. When you're doing a bigger quantity, it is also much, much quicker. 

I've been meaning to make my old school standby - salmon souffle.  It takes six egg whites,  so I'll put your method to the test!

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

I would be stunningly rick.

Is this a reference I don't get, or did you just mean "rich"?

[mertensia]

Aren't egg yolk raviolis passe by now?

Team tasks are boring. 

 But apparently to them asking the contestants to cook individually is even moreso.

[ML89]

5 hours ago, mertensia said:

Aren't egg yolk raviolis passe by now?

That super expensive fish that looked like salmon on lentils looked unappetizing and I can't imagine I'd ever order it. 

[preeya]

34 minutes ago, ML89 said:

That super expensive fish that looked like salmon on lentils looked unappetizing and I can't imagine I'd ever order it. 

The entire (GOURMET QUALITY) Italian three courses didn't have any appealing effects on me.  I still can't deduce how they rate the doneness of meats. Some of those lamb chops looked RAW, they claimed most of them were perfect.

The chop on the right looks very undercooked. JoeB. said it was good.

[Dbolt]

The funniest thing last night was when Joe stayed that one of the dishes tasted just like the one in his restaurant and then Aron criticizes the flavor. So does that mean the original dish is not good?

[DoctorK]

11 hours ago, displayname said:

11 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

I would be stunningly rick.

Is this a reference I don't get, or did you just mean "rich"?

I read it as lampooning the mistaken or mispelled word usage by contestants and judges on the show. I may be overthinking this.

[eel21788]

10 hours ago, mertensia said:

Aren't egg yolk raviolis passe by now?

I know I would never order it. I like my yolks solid. I don't want to eat a raw egg.

[eel21788]

15 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

Hi, Nick from Harvord. That’s not how you pronounce “brunoise.” Maybe Harvord is your reach school and you’re studying for your GED. That’s okay, even stunning.

I've only seen a couple seasons of this show. Do they always cast an Ivy League student who dropped out just to be on Master Chef? 

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, preeya said:

The entire (GOURMET QUALITY) Italian three courses didn't have any appealing effects on me.  I still can't deduce how they rate the doneness of meats. Some of those lamb chops looked RAW, they claimed most of them were perfect.

The chop on the right looks very undercooked. JoeB. said it was good.

They always want the cook on the meats to be borderline raw. I prefer medium to medium-well which seems to be sacrilegious to professionally trained chefs.

[Samwise979]

Growing up I've always liked my steak medium-rare until I ordered one like that at a restaurant and realized my dad's idea of medium-rare and a chef's idea of medium-rare are completely different. Lol. Now I ask for medium-well and it usually come out perfect for me. (Slight pink in the middle but not bloody). 

[zibnchy]

I find that I am oddly mesmerized by Septic Gramma Burger. What is up with that?! It's not an attraction, it's more of a "can't look away from the train-wreck" kinda thing. Or maybe I'm studying him as one would study a strange newly discovered life form. I hope he sticks around for a while.

I don't know how much more of Fred's low self esteem and deer in the headlights facial expressions I can take. Just let him make some fab desserts ffs!

I don't know who anyone else is.

What season are we on now anyway?

[preeya]

40 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

What season are we on now anyway?

A quote from GR:  "We are now down to the top 16 home cooks to the extraordinary 10th
season of "masterchef."

[preeya]

This is what we are in for tonight (07-11-19)

S10E09 Tag Team Tears & Tantrums

Summary: With two eliminations on the line, the pressure is on for the losing team in one of the series' most daunting challenges: the tag-team challenge. The home cooks' taste buds go on an extraordinary world tour as they are tasked with creating dishes inspired by the MasterChef shows aired around the world. In just 75 minutes, the home cooks will go around the world, creating a platter featuring meals from the Philippine Islands, India, Italy, Mexico, Morocco and China. See whose MasterChef dreams go up in flames.

[Gramto6]

49 minutes ago, preeya said:

A quote from GR:  "We are now down to the top 16 home cooks to the extraordinary 10th
season of "masterchef."

What season???? I think they said it was season 10 5-6 times in the first 15 min of the show.I was going to take a drink every time they said that...but realized I'd probably die of alcohol poisoning at that rate!

[zibnchy]

14 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

What season????

It was a joke.

[Gramto6]

18 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

It was a joke.

I know!  So was my question. 😁

[Samwise979]

I should have known all the focus on how dysfunctional Subra's team was meant that they actually weren't the worst and wouldn't be going home. But man, that was stressful to watch. 

[preeya]

Anytime someone brags about being able to cook something (Subra cooks lentils all the time) you know that's a clue that they will really fuck it up.

SUBRA:  "I feel very comfortable cooking lentils. There are over 30 varieties of lentils in India, and I cook them all the time."

JOEB:  Who cooked the lentils?  SUBRA:  "I did, chef."  JOEB: "Yeah, you ruined them."

[CoyoteBlue]

When Subha side-hugged Dorian upstairs and said "Positive attitude"....

I seriously thought "Damn, she's gonna shank him."

And he would deserve it.

[zibnchy]

Subha is a slow moving trainwreck, no doubt. But in my career I was on a lot of teams with a Dorian-like person. Someone who is generally competent and works well but takes no blame for failures and always points the finger at their team-mates (at the same time whining dramatically about how hard they worked.) It actually seems to me that the thing that saved them was the spices and seasoning and I think that was mostly Subha but I doubt Dorian will ever admit that. Also the judges seemed to really like their shrimp 7th dish and I think that was mostly Subha. Eh. They can both go next week.

I'm so tired of all the "I put my whole life on hold to be here" whining. As though that should be a determining factor in who leaves. Did someone put a gun to  your head? Also if your life dream is to be a chef and open a restaurant, is Masterchef really your Plan A? Really? Maybe try culinary school or, barring that expense, get a job in a restaurant and learn some shit. Remember Liz said she doesn't know what a brunoise cut is? Even I know that and I cannot cook. But she's all "I'm from the midwest and we don't do all this fancy stuff." God, just go home. Oh, she did.

What's his name from last year is getting married next week. On the show. I think that might be worth skipping.

So Gordon has yet another show? He must have a crazy schedule. I wonder if his kids actually know who he is.

[Gramto6]

That was painful to watch!!

36 minutes ago, CoyoteBlue said:

When Subha side-hugged Dorian upstairs and said "Positive attitude"....

I seriously thought "Damn, she's gonna shank him."

And he would deserve it.

Me too!

[ML89]

Okay, so the team that fails to present a 7th dish stays? I just saw the famed Baked Alaska Great British Baking Show where Iain went home for not plating. Not that either team was great. 

[Aerobicidal]

5 hours ago, eel21788 said:

I've only seen a couple seasons of this show. Do they always cast an Ivy League student who dropped out just to be on Master Chef? 

I don't think so, although they totally should. It's like when Tyra would have Ivy League students on ANTM just so she could try to prove she was smarter than them before their inevitable mid-season elimination.

(I have a friend of a friend whom that happened to while she was at Princeton, although she didn't drop out. Actually, I'm kind of surprised Tyra didn't make the contestants drop out just to add on to the drama and absurdity.)

[preeya]

29 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

What's his name from last year is getting married next week. On the show. I think that might be worth skipping.

Yeah, it's Garron's wedding. Another team challenge and another two weeker.

[leocadia]

2 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

I should have known all the focus on how dysfunctional Subra's team was meant that they actually weren't the worst and wouldn't be going home. But man, that was stressful to watch. 

I actually had to fast forward because it was extremely unpleasant to watch.  I get that Dorian felt her position was in danger, but from the start she was just brutal to Subah.  Even if he was the worst, positive reinforcement would have been a better motivation than her moaning and wailing.  If someone talked to me that way, I would have walked off and let her do the challenge herself.

[DoctorK]

I wasn't really excited by this episode but after all of the hype about Noah and Sarah alphas guaranteed to butt heads, I enjoyed the way they worked together pretty well. I still don't like Noah but Sarah is growing on me.

[Brookside]

I'm sure Dorian's family are delighted to have the fact that she's a complete bitch broadcast to the entire nation.  I wonder if she publicly insults and belittles her family/colleagues the way she did Subha.

I don't know if she has kids, but can you imagine her on a school morning?  "Put your shoes on!  Put Your SHOES On!  PUT YOUR SHOES ON!"  "Get your backpacks!  Get your BACKPACKS! GET YOUR BACKPACKS!"  "Get in the car!  Get in the CAR!  GET IN THE CAR!"

[mlp]

I warmed up to Noah this episode.  He and Sarah seemed to be doing so well together that I was surprised that they got as much criticism as they did.  

Neither Subra nor Dorian came across well although for different reasons.  At the end, I wondered if there was some producer manipulation because their taco rack was empty with about 20 seconds left and the shell Subra had just cooked was on the floor but, when they brought their tray up to be judged, there were two complete tacos in the rack.  Considering all the chaos at their station, I don't see how they ended up with so many good dishes.

Wuta puzzles me.  He's supposed to be an English teacher but he says "ain't" and wears a nose ring.  I wonder if that's what he really does.