NFNS: Vegas, Baby!

 NOTE: I have added links to TFN’s page with recipes for the show.

Paula Deen joined Bobby Flay, Adam, Aaron, Kelsey, and Lisa for dinner at Bobby’s Mesa Grill Las Vegas before they got back to the competition. Lisa was star struck. Her moments when she is in the room with the likes of Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, and now Paula Deen are absolutely precious. If we could see more of this Lisa she could be hard to beat.

The challenge for Vegas had the four finalists squaring off into two one-on-one Throwdowns with the most accomplished cook in the contest, Lisa taking on easily the worst cook Adam, and Kelsey and Aaron who are both solid in the kitchen pairing for the second battle. This Throwdown had a twist – each had to prepare their signature AND their opponent’s signature dish in 75 minutes.

Lisa went with the French country classic cassoulet and Adam stuck with good old mac and cheese. Many folks may not know that macaroni and cheese is also a French comfort food first introduced to America by Thomas Jefferson. Adam had never tasted cassoulet which did not bode well for him going against Lisa. To add to the stress the contestants had to field questions from the judges and a “field reporter,” Extra’s Dayna Devon.  Susie Fogelson was rather subdued this week.

Adam was somewhat humorous in the interviews but never looked at anyone. Lisa was great – she made eye contact and spoke from the heart. It was shocking when Paula confessed to hating Lisa’s mac and cheese especially after she told Adam that she loved his lobster mac, a dish she had never enjoyed before.  For those of you scoring at home this brings the total now to two things Adam has prepared that were edible the other being chili cheese fries. Lisa brightened when the judges gushed about her cassoulet, Paula loved it, Bob Tuschman told her that it tasted like it had simmered all day, but Flay knocked her out when he proclaimed it the best he had ever eaten. Adam’s cassoulet did not go over well. As odd as it sounds, if this challenge came down to personality and camera presence then Lisa would prevail.

Kelsey and Aaron then took their 75 minutes to prepare chicken Parmesan (Kelsey’s signature) and stuffed pork loin (Aaron’s best dish). Kelsey was adorable when she referred to Aaron as “Big Daddy.” Aaron’s struggles to be warm on camera surfaced again but he did do a slightly better job though he failed to cook and talk at the same time. Kelsey was going great until she brought up culinary school again; something that Tuschman has scorned her about repeatedly and the look on his face showed his distaste. Both struggled to get their two dishes done which leads one to believe that the loser of this challenge is the one who goes home. Aaron actually forgot to do Kelsey’s dish until there was less than 20 minutes left and Kelsey over cooked her tenderloin. Kelsey clearly took the personality part of the challenge. Aaron’s “Big Daddy” chick parm was actually better than Kelsey’s designer version. Aaron edged out a win in the cooking aspect.

Going into judgment I would have to say Lisa was the overall winner and that most likely Kelsey is headed home. But what do the judges think? I mean they sent Shane home last week when Lisa clearly did the worst job on the episode. Will their prejudices continue to influence their decisions? If so Adam may be history.

Surprisingly the panel was not impressed with Lisa’s on camera performance – which I thought was great but they did agree that it was better than Adam’s. The panel also reinforced that they brought the final four to Vegas because they wanted to raise the stakes, to see people gamble big which is what Kelsey did, and then they ripped her a new one for it. Kelsey has repeatedly done whatever the panel asks of her but for some reason Tuschman is never happy with it. She says that it is beginning to make her over think things and as a result she has lost touch with her “culinary point of view.” After this week’s evaluations I really do not know what the judges are looking for and honestly, I am not sure that they do either. Going into the final decision I have now idea who is gone but considering Bob’s dislike for Kelsey I am still thinking that she is toast.

Big Daddy was the first to get to stay (huh?). Then Lisa which leaves us with two: Kelsey and Adam. Both are great on camera but only one can cook (Kelsey) while one cannot (Adam). So naturally they sent Kelsey home.

Kelsey, Shane, and Lisa were the only three people in this contest that truly had star quality and two of them got sent home . . . in successive weeks . . . when there were others who did not perform as well as they did. I have already thrown my name into the hat for NFNS 5 but now I am unsure. What I have seen this season makes one wonder.  After last week’s episode Sunny Anderson (Cooking For Real, How’d That Get On My Plate) predicted an all male final – was she prophetic, or was it informed foreshadowing?  Funny, during her exit interview, Kelsey predicted the same thing.  Watching the extended previews for next week’s challenge it looks like Lisa is being set up for failure, but we shall see.

I frankly think that they need to take a look at what they want out of this competition. Look at their track record so far – they are 1 for 3. Only one winner of the Next Food Network Star has actually become a Food Network Star, Guy Fieri (who guest hosts next week). If Lisa goes home then it will be between Big Daddy and Adam which means they will likely be 1 for 4. So are they actually trying to determine the Next Food Network Star or are they only looking for controversy and headlines and the ratings that come with them? At this point I sincerely don’t know but perhaps they should consider changing the title to the Next Food Network One Hit Wonder.

ICA Symon v. Rubino

For whatever reason this is the first time that I have seen Iron Chef Michael Symon battle since winning the Next Iron Chef Contest. I love Symon’s approach, attitude, and humor. His maniacal laugh would make me nervous if I were say a rabbit which was the theme ingredient on tonight’s replay of his battle with Food Network Canada host and restaurateur Guy Rubino. Rubino picked Symon because he felt the newest Iron Chef’s style was the furtherest from his own. Both Flay and Batali have dabbled in Asian flavors and Morimoto is the king of all things Asian. Cat I am not sure about, but Symon’s eastern European and Mediterranean flavors are easy to distinguish from Rubino’s Pan Asian cuisine.

Rubino failed to hit any homeruns, but did notch a few doubles as several of his dishes the judges enjoyed half while disliking the other half.  It was a theme of his five dishes.  Although the Iron Chef had a few misfires he did put together a good menu.  Symon tapped into his inner mixologist to make a coacktail called a carrotini paired with rabbit meatballs!  I love me some meaballs!  Symon hit three homeruns.  It was a great battle with Chef Symon taking a solid victory.  I loved seeing the rabbit being explored like it was. Rabbit is one the great proteins out there and for whatever reason Americans have moved away from eating something that played a serious part in our national diet until about 60 years ago. Most likely was was part of the dumbing down of the American palate after the Great Depression. That culinary dark ages is something from which we are only now starting to reemerge.

How to Know When Your Celery is Faking It!

Here is a quick crash coarse I found on a seldom used herb called lovage.  Read and learn:

A little lovage goes a long way
By Sue Hoye
Interactive Writer

(CNN) — If you love herbs and like to garden, a good perennial herb is lovage. The French call it céleri bâtard, or false celery. It is a great addition particularly to potato and tomato dishes.

Lovage has been used since Greek and Roman times as a seasoning in food, an additive to medicines, even an ingredient in love potions.

It looks and smells something like celery but is much larger, growing more than 6 feet tall, according to Michael Weishan, publisher of Traditional Gardening Magazine and host of National Public Radio’s “The Cultivated Gardener,” to debut in October.

Natural salt substitute
“One of its principal uses is as a salt substitute in dishes. If you are trying to cut down on salt, it can be used instead in soups or stews,” he said.

Lovage can be used in almost any dish celery or parsley would be used in. It isn’t as bland as celery, so Weishan cautioned people should be careful of the amounts they use. “A little lovage really goes a long way,” he said.

Though there are recipes with lovage, a recipe isn’t necessary to use it. Lovage can just be added to dishes. It is great in green salads, potato dishes, soups and stews to give a dish “a little oomph,” Weishan said.

He said anything with a carbohydrate base or that is bland is better with a little lovage.

“It is one of my favorite herbs,” he said. “It is part of the carrot family and is one of a number of herbs the Emperor Charlemagne mandated must be grown in every garden.”

Lovage also has the added health benefit of being high in vitamin C.

Weishan said he discovered the herb when the magazine’s food editor served him a dish including lovage, and he has loved it ever since.

An umbellifer, lovage has bright green hand-shaped leaves and ridged hollow stems. The stems come in handy as straws for Bloody Marys.

The plant’s seeds are flat, oval and ridged and are commonly called celery seed. In the mid- to late summer, the small, yellow flowers bloom.

To get it — grow it
Lovage grows well in shade and sun. According to Weishan, it is exceedingly hardy and can be grown throughout most of the continental United States.

Lovage will return for many years if well cared for. It comes up in the early spring and stays around for most of the growing season.

Weishan said he uses it fresh from the garden. Sometimes chopped or powdered stalks can be found in health food stores and gourmet markets.

But if you want fresh lovage, you are going to have a hard time finding it in any store.

“It is one of those things you either grow or you don’t have,” Weishan said.

The easiest way to grow it is from seed, available at any specialty herb nursery, but it can be divided off another plant. It sprouts up quite readily, Weishan said.

Because it is tall and flowers late, he said, it looks good in a garden’s perennial border. It is a plant that should be enjoyed “for its size and shape,” Weishan said.

What the Heck is a Quinoa?

It is said that if you are ever stranded on an island and can have only one food you should ask for quinoa because it is the most well balanced vittle on earth.  My good friend Elizabeth Brown is a radio personality, Registered Dietitian and Certified Holistic Chef and she has put together a very informative video on her Internet-based cooking show Kitchen Vixen that will teach you all about quinoa and other whole grains plus she gives you a great recipe on how to use it.  Plus she’s a babe.  Check it out!

Review: How’d That Get On My Plate

Originally Posted by Edible TV (edible.net) on July 9, 2008.

How’d That Get On My Plate is Food Network’s latest take on the “food biography” vehicle that started with Follow That Food (now on Fine Living) and continues to this day on Unwrapped.  If you are going to do the same show then you had better do it in a different way.  TFN succeeds with Plate.

Sunny Anderson (Cooking For Real) is phenomenal as the host adding charm, spunk, and that velvety voice.  I can see why she has done so well in radio.  The style is a bit of a melange of Follow That Food and Good Eats.  The graphics, however, are miles beyond the junior high art class stuff that have come to symbolize Alton Brown’s enduring opus.

The first episode was about honey.  Anderson began her culinary adventure in Hawai’i where she showed the honey being harvested.  She then traveled 2,400 miles to California where the honey is processed, then an undetermined amount of miles following to other places where the honey was used to make everything from BBQ sauce to honey roasted peanuts.

I think the producers of shows like these do all of the travel because it sounds so impressive to throw out big numbers, however in the case of honey you should always use raw local honey.  It is a vastly superior product both from a culinary and health point of view.  It tends to be cheaper as well.  Plate failed to mention this.  It also failed to mention honey’s use as a curative and the fact that it never goes bad.  Of course they only had 30 minutes. 

I like Plate after being a little skeptical at first.  I think it is the best show of its type that I have seen thus far.

Wu Gu Ji Just Like Ma Used to Make

On a recent episode of Iron Chef: America, Iron Chef Morimoto was engaging Chef Michael Cimarusti in Battle Black Fish when he whipped out a black pig (which Alton Brown described for us) and black chicken (which he did not).  So, black chicken (Wu Gu Ji in chinese) is a breed of chicken most commonly known as a Silky because of its fur-like plumage.  It is fairly common in Asia and differs from the chickens we are used to seeing in many ways, in addition to its plumage and black skin it also has black bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot (instead of the standard four).  The meat of the Silkie is widely considered unpalatable by Western standards but is regarded as a delicacy in Asia, especially China where it is believe to have first evolved.