Thursday, December 23, 2010

Top Chef All Stars thoughts

Was Jaime always this lame? I remember her being pretty tough and cooking pretty good food? How can this be the same wallflower that is on this all star season? Is she just wilting under the pressures of failing twice? I gave her the benefit of the doubt when she cut her finger and left to go get stitches. But now this? Hiding? I totally regret stating that she is one of my favorites. Now on the other hand, last night I remembered what was so awesome about Carla. She just totally came out, did her style food, against the disapproval of her teammates and WON! I must say that judges table is so nerve racking now that some of the weak links are gone. It really was crazy to see Spike go last night! Was his dish really worse than the others??

thoughts:

Are they really going there with Angelo again? I mean they went as far as Gail coming out and asking if they felt he was sabotaging?? REALLY? Lame drama

That being said, I wouldn't let anyone cook my salmon! What a dumb ass!

Most overused ingredient - yuzu

Taylor Dent? He had the personality of a head of lettuce, iceberg.





Thursday, December 16, 2010

Top Chef All Stars thoughts

Now that was an episode! It was truly an All-Stars week with amazing food, interesting elimination challenge and power house guests. The level of food was what I would expect from chefs of this calibre that have the experience of competitive cooking. So much better than the first two episodes! The judging was fair and I was happy to see Dale win. His dish looked so delicious! All I can remember of Dale from his previous season are his temper tantrums. I like this kinder gentler Dale. Maybe he went to anger management or discovered kava root. Maybe there just hasn't been anything that pissed him off enough yet....
Farewell Stephen and the other Dale. Oh well, have to find someone new to pick on now that Stephen is gone.


thoughts:

I felt embarrassed for Tom when he made the Led Zeppelin analogy.

Where does Stephen buy his clothes? Really! I want to know!

Someone tell Angelo that he is not Asian. I understand embracing a culture but come on! Now maybe if he grows his hair long and wears it in a braid...





Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Turkey Zucchini Pasta

One night after work feeling tired but still in the mood to cook. The first thing that came to mind was pasta as I had most of the ingredients at home already. All I needed to pick up was some ground turkey and fresh basil. 
Turkey Zucchini Pasta
  • pasta
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 med. onion - diced
  • 2 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 can of crush tomatoes
  • 1 zucchini - diced
  • dried oregano 
  • balsamic vinegar
  • brown sugar
  • chili flakes
  • grated cheese 
  • fresh basil

  1. Bring pot of water to boil for pasta 
  2. Heat a pan with oil, add the diced onion, ground turkey, brown then add minced garlic-sautee for a minute. Add crushed tomatoes with juice. Bring to a gentle simmer
  3. Add the oregano, chili flakes, sugar, a quick drizzle of balsamic vinegar and zucchini, stir.
  4. Done when zucchini are cooked
Another delicious simple pasta dish!
Isn't it always nice
 to come home to 
 a well stocked kitchen *


                                                                                                                                               




pass the cheese please.....


Friday, December 10, 2010

Top Chef All Stars thoughts

All I can say is wow! That Jen is a loose canon! She just lost it! Overall, a very sad ending since she was one of my favorites. She's totally bad-ass! But alas, she was (again) her own worse enemy, obviously overcompensating for her self doubt with a ridiculous and embarrassing display of bravado. She seemed like she snorted a couple of lines before judges table no? You don't want to see someone go out like that, not even for the sake of good TV. The location was cool but the episode seemed like one big quickfire. The elimination challenge was kind of lame. Making a buffet breakfast for 150 kids is not such an interesting challenge. The judges totally never mentioned anything about how kid friendly the breakfast was during judging. I don't think there are many kids out there that eat gazpacho and gnocci for breakfast. Then again, the Ngs eat dinner food for breakfast all the time. But then we are talking about Top Chef aren't we? Anyway, I'm still kinda uncomfortable from this episode.

thoughts:

Funniest comment - Dale re: Joe Jonas "I thought he was a pastry chef"

Most annoying chef du episode - Stephen. I liked how he thought he was doing the Italian thing with Fabio. He seems as Italian as Olive Garden. If they show that stupid clip of him opening champagne bottle with the machete again, I'll stop watching the show.

Most boring judge, ever - who thought it was a good idea to bring Katie Lee back?

Most tragic ending - Jennifer Carroll. Just say no, girl



Thursday, December 2, 2010

Top Chef All Stars thoughts

The premier episode did not disappoint and in fact I am super excited about this all star season! Excellent choice to have Anthony Bourdain as a rotating judge. He's just awesome.
The bar is set pretty high in the kitchen and all the food looked pretty amazing. With a few exceptions of course. It's always sad to see Fabio on the bottom for a pasta dish. I mean, how embarrassing! I was never impressed and still don't know why Marcel is always in the mix. In fact, I had the opportunity to taste his food at Test Kitchen recently. To my surprise, he was the guest chef of the night and I was disappointed. His food is too contrived and is just not very good. The stuff he put out tonight was much of the same. Stephen is just so annoying, annoying personality, annoying wardrobe, annoying food. His body is so weird too. On that note, life must get better for all chefs that appear on Top Chef because they all gain so much weight! Well, all the women look the same but all the guys, not so good. For some reason, I do not remember Richard at all. I totally watched his season but he is a stranger to me. Who is he? Well, they sent home the right person. Ciao Elia. She was kind of annoying too, clearly not ready for the level of competition. For the most part it was fun seeing all the contestants and remembering particulars about each. I'm sure I'm wasn't the only one waiting for Dale to wig out and slam a sheet pan over someones head. Well, its going to be a fun season and you'll hear from me again! Did I mention that Bourdain is a judge????






Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Pan Fried Strip Steak Dinner

NY Strip Steak pan fried medium rare please!
I will never forget my first juicy steak that was made by my lovely grandmother. Perfectly charred and tasty every time, seasoned with only salt and pepper, filling up the air with the most delicious aroma. She only ever used her favorite well seasoned cast iron skillet ( god knows how long she had it ). 
I wonder which of us sister owns it now hmmmm? they should be so lucky,

Here sharing a quick and easy steak dinner.

2 Strip Steak
Remove from fridge and let it sit in room temperature for about 10-15 mins.
After that, season well with salt and pepper 

Roast Onion and Tomatoes
While the steak is coming to room temperature. Heat oven to 375.
Slice tomatoes and onion, season with salt, pepper, oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.
Pop in the oven and let it roast for 30 mins- I like to check on them at 20 mins

Add the steak to a heated pan with oil.
They were a little less then a inch thick so i fried them for 3 mins on each side.

Pan fried strip steak medium rare 
 with rice,  roasted tomatoes & onions
and sugar snaps.
I love having steak with rice, 
as you cut into the steak with the rice soaking up the tasty juice, soo good.
Very juicy and tender with sweetness of the veggies.
Who is having steak tonight?