Call 'em taters, spuds, whatever. Who doesnImage may be NSFW.
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't love potatoes?
Actually, my favorite 7-year-old didn't like mashed potatoes for a long time and she almost lost her family membership. Mom Mom hasn't been that shocked since one of my crazy uncles turned down a highball and asked for a soft drink. (The concern was overwhelming: Are you OK?? What's WRONG with you??)
But one day, out of the blue, the kid suddenly started eating mashers and the crazy uncle switched from ginger ale to light beer and all was right again in our dysfunctional world.
So, this Irish/Italian gal was digging that last night's Quickfire Challenge was making a dish using the humble spud. Guest judge was California chef Mark Peel who, as a contestant on "Top Chef Masters," didn't gauge his time well and wound up not plating a dish. Peel was sympathetic with our hard working chefs and, perhaps, kinder than he should have been. When he tasted Pierced Face Woman's sweet potato soup overdosed with cayenne pepper, Peel didn't cough and spit it out. He's a classy guy that way.
Jennifer C., our tough cookie from Philly, wins another round - and immunity - with steamed mussels and lemongrass potato sauce . I'm psyched for her and I'm keeping my fingers crossed she makes it through to the finals. I plan to dine at her restaurant 10 Arts by Eric Ripert very soon and I'll report back. Keep reading Second Helpings.
Now, I know that this is just some dumb TV show, but the setting for the Elimination Challenge - Nellis Air Force Base - moved me. I have family members in the military and a friend who was recently deployed. (We had a dinner with her at Buddakan in Philly before she left and it was very fun but also a little bittersweet.) You know that the service men and women would be appreciative of good food and it looked like the chefs were determined to whip up something tasty no matter what the constraints.
That's why I really didn't understand the pasta salad from Preeti and the other woman - Laurine? (Still too many contestants for me to get all the names straight.) As soon as they talked about cooking a pasta salad, I made one of those classic Colicchio frowny faces. Have these women NEVER watched this series? The judges NEVER like pasta salads. And, when you have the Cain and Abel brothers making crazy good pork belly out of a slab of bacon and perfectly cooking roast beef and the Big Burly Guy from Atlanta going to town with a braised pork shoulder, well you had better come up with something better than pasta salad.
Time for a side bar: Clam chowder. In extreme heat. Yay or nay? I'm all for a good clam chowder, but the last thing I want to eat when the weather is boiling is a bowl of something hot and creamy. I know heat - make that spice - causes you to sweat, hence cooling you down, but the thought of that chowder curdling in the stomach makes me want to reach for a barf bag. (Sorry. I know the word barf should never have a place in a post about food. But I'm sure the air base had a few b-bags on hand.)
Michael, the Washington, D.C. chef who offended with a shrimp/Greek salad (SEE? The judges SELDOM like salads!) gets called on the carpet for underseasoning and undercooking. He looks like he wants to clock Peel, Colicchio, and even Padma, who gets in a good jab when she tells him he shouldn't have served the dish. (Go Padma!)
But the judges decide that the Preeti's pasta salad was pretty stupid. And that always means a pretty fast exit.
