Top Chef, Season 10, Episode 12

So after last week’s, uh, interesting outcome, I was dying to see who would go next … and also a little nervous. All spoilers about winners and eliminated contestants are in the comments.

1. Sushi. Drool.

Sushi sounds like a fairly specialized skill, so I was surprised to see it get a turn as a Quickfire challenge. But this challenge definitely got me hungry for a meal at our favorite sushi restaurant.

Quick note: Josh, just because Sheldon cooks Asian food, that doesn’t mean he’s a “sushi master.” Good god.

2. Fried chicken challenge

I know this makes me a huge weirdo, but fried chicken isn’t something I really crave. I think too much of the fried chicken I’ve had is crummy KFC-style stuff that makes me nauseous with its grease. (I haven’t had KFC since I was 13. It gave me a horrible stomachache and pretty much put me off KFC for life.) I’ve only loved fried chicken when I’ve had it at high-end restaurants (I know, I know, there’s something wrong with me).

I’m not sure if it was my fried chicken indifference, but I didn’t love this challenge. It just seemed … monotonous. Everyone was making chicken fried in a deep fryer. Yawn.

3. Very well, Stefan. You may stay.

Stefan’s crack about 365 bottles of Terlato wine lasting him three months made me laugh out loud. I am also very proud that I translated “Ich gehe nach hause” before Stefan did it for us. (This is the extent of my German.)

Top Chef Season 10, Episode 11

This episode right here?  This is why I continue to write about Top Chef.  Because sometimes there’s just no other way for this fan to process what she’s just seen.

Everything’s spoilery, so everything’s in the comments.

Woozy Wednesday: The Ophelia

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. – Ophelia, act IV scene V of ”Hamlet”

Guys, I think the Sparkling Meyer Lemon Cocktail gave me a rosemary addiction.  I liked it so much that I had to seek out other ways to use the rest of my fresh rosemary in delicious drinks.  Google searching brought me to the amazing blog Creative Culinary and to the Ophelia cocktail.  Lemon, gin, rosemary syrup, and club soda combine to make a refreshing and delightful drink!

The Ophelia

Recipe here

Two quick notes.  First, you’ll want to use a juniper-y gin for this recipe (i.e. this isn’t the time to pull out the Hendrick’s).  The official Ophelia recipe calls for Tanqueray gin; I used Plymouth because that’s what I had on hand.

Second, Creative Culinary recommends using a small food processor or an herb mill to grind the rosemary before making the rosemary simple syrup.  I don’t have an herb mill and my food processor is too big for grinding herbs, so I decided to just throw in all of the rosemary stalks I had left and hope for the best.  My cocktail had a lovely rosemary flavor but I wouldn’t have minded even a bit more herbal intensity.  So if you do have an herb mill and want to give this recipe a go, let me know how it turns out!

Top Chef Season 10 Episode 10

Final eight chefs, people, and it’s a strong group.  I could see Brooke, Sheldon, Stefan and Kristen taking on any finalists from previous seasons.

It’s also time for … Restaurant Wars!!!  

Sort of.

On to my thoughts on this week’s episode!  Non-spoilers in the main body of the post; spoilers in the comments.

1.  Brooke is adorable.

Her fangirl-level crush on Wolfgang Puck was awesome.  I love seeing that kind of enthusiasm from contestants.

2.  Stefan is … also kind of adorable, honestly.

I was annoyed with him early in the season, but he’s slowly won me over with his competitive-yet-chill attitude towards the whole Top Chef experience.  I’ve also noticed that the other chefs, by and large, really seem to like the guy.

3.  Mmmm, ginger.

If this Quickfire had you craving the spicy, fresh taste of ginger, may I recommend the Ginger Tom Collins?

Also, Bravo guys, any chance we can give the product placement a rest?  Toyotas as prizes, fine.  Healthy Choice funding every damn cash prize, sure, whatever.  But do we really need the Truvia and Canada Dry Quickfires?  Like any of these chefs would use Canada Dry in dishes in their actual restaurants.  (My preferred brand of ginger ale is Seagram’s, personally.)

4.  I like this spin on Restaurant Wars

This time around, the chefs are actually competing for the right to be an Executive Chef at Restaurant Wars.  Our two Elimination Challenge winners will get to turn their concept into a restaurant!

I like this because it feels closer to how a real restaurant kitchen works.  In Restaurant Wars, we often see chefs with strong points of view butting heads.  This time around, the Executive Chefs have competed for and won the right to have their concept executed — there’s no question about what kind of restaurant they’re going to open, or who’s in charge.  I’ll be interested to see if this strategy yields strong RW showings.

Top Chef Season 10, Episode 9

Yikes, am I ever late with this post!  My apologies — a weekend trip ate up my Top Chef-writing time.  Alas I fear the post won’t be worth the wait — I decided to get up something short and quick rather than longer and even later.  Everything’s in the comments this time around.

Top Chef Season 10, Episode 8

This season got off to a bit of a slow start, but now we’re really on a roll! (Pun very much intended.)  I thought this was another  strong episode — great Quickfire, fun elimination challenge, good food, and … DRAMA.

1.  OYSTERS

I love oysters.  I love them raw with mignonette sauces and I extra-love them fried.  Our favorite neighborhood seafood restaurant does a fabulous fried oyster dish with spicy aioli.  I was dying of envy when I watched the contestants slurp those delicious fresh oysters at Taylor Shellfish Farms.

I’m not sure if I liked the twist of making half of the chefs do a hot prep and the other half do a cold prep.  I like both hot and cold oyster dishes, but why not just let everyone do what they want?  Also, was that a plastic bag in the fryer next to Micah’s fried oysters?

2.  Roller derby?  Interesting Elimination.

For the elimination challenge, Padma and Emeril introduced the All-Stars from the Rat City Rollergirls.  They all have vaguely food-themed nicknames, like Tempura Tantrum and Jalapeno Business.  Our chefs paired up and each team picked a nickname to base their dish around.  Bart took one for the team and agreed to work with Josie.

Speaking of Josie, last week I said I hoped she went next.  Her screechy antics at the roller derby match didn’t change that wish.  I was annoyed and I could mute the volume on my TV — I can’t imagine how irritating it was to sit with her for the entire game.

Oh, but according to Josie, her fellow contestants were being “boring” and ruining her experience by not being loud obnoxious drunks.  My bad.  Everyone else was clearly in the wrong.

Everything else is spoiler-y, so scroll through to the comments for the rest!

Woozy Wednesday: A celebration cocktail!

Looking for a slightly exotic but still sparkly-fun cocktail for a New Year’s party?  Look no further!  How does the combination of rosemary, Meyer lemon, and prosecco sound?  Sound good?  Then let me introduce you to the Sparkling Meyer Lemon Cocktail.

I know, it’s a terrible name.  But for once it’s not my fault — I found the recipe in Cooking Light and it already came with the boring name, so there.  Here’s what the name won’t tell you: the secret to this cocktail is the killer combination of Meyer lemon and rosemary.  Yes, rosemary.  If you’ve never had or mixed cocktails with herbs before, this is the place to start.

If you’re going to make a full pitcher, follow this link to the party-sized recipe.  If you just want to make a couple to try it out, here are the single-cocktail proportions.

Sparkling Meyer Lemon Cocktail

1 ounce rosemary syrup (recipe in Step 1 here)
1 ounce fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon juice
2 tsp vodka
2 oz (1/4 C) prosecco

Combine first 3 ingredients in a martini glass or a champagne flute.  Top with the prosecco, stir gently, and serve!

The question you’re probably asking at this point is, “can I make this with regular lemons?”  Yes.  However, you’ll need to change the proportions slightly: Use 3/4 of an ounce of lemon juice in the single-serving cocktail and 3/4 cup in the pitcher.  I think this is one of those occasions where the milder taste of the Meyer lemon works better, but if you can’t find Meyer lemons in your grocery store (or balk at their price tag), the rosemary is really the star here.

One final thought: I think this would work extremely well with another sparkling wine, like Cava, but I haven’t tried it yet.  I will report back when and if I do.

Happy New Year!