The chefs
enter the kitchen to see Padma standing next to Marilyn Hagerty, Food Critic
from the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. I was so surprised to see Marilyn,
as I’m from North Dakota, and I grew up in the Grand Forks area. I’ve read
Marilyn’s food column growing up! Marilyn became famous for her food critiqueof the Olive Garden in Grand Forks.
Growing up in North Dakota, we didn’t really have a whole lot of food
choices in Grand Forks. I can remember we always wanted an Olive Garden in our
city. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden opened long after I moved to Seattle.
When Marilyn wrote her food column on her experience at Olive Garden, it became
viral on the internet. Most food critics write food columns on independent
restaurants, not food chains, so her column became popular because of her Olive
Garden review.
For the
QuickFire Challenge, the chefs had to create a sweet and savory Holiday dish based on the chef's family lineage.
The one twist to the challenge was that the chefs would only have one knife to
use between all of them. The dishes created by each chef were:
Josh – Johnnycake with bacon, cheddar, chili compound butter
and sous vide egg
Danyele – Bread Pudding with ham, raisins and pecans
Lizzie – Bobotie with Ground lamb, egg custard and roasted
apricots
Sheldon – Banana Lumpia with peanut butter mousse, coconut
and pineapple
Micah – Pineapple and pork tamale with charred tomato
and tomatillo salsa
Bart – Waffles with celery three ways, apple puree, chicken
and prosciutto
Brooke – Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine
nuts and apple salad
Stefan – Smoked Salmon Tartare, potato latkes with sour
cream and chives
Josie – Tamale with habanero masa, mangos and papaya
John – Bundino of parmesan-reggiano, figs and apricots in
port wine and Truvia caramel
Eliza – Hush Puppies two ways: shrimp and sweet potato,
sausage and corn
I thought it was interesting that Kristen's finished dish was not shown being tasted in the QuickFire Challenge. I wonder why the Producers decided to edit her dish out? I watched the replay of the episode and noticed that Kristen was barely even noticable in the first half of the show? She was not interviewed about her family heritage, nor did they show her preparing her dish for the Challenge. So I wonder what is up with that??
As I could have predicted, Marilyn wasn’t too familiar with
some of the food. Like I had mentioned before, growing up in North Dakota,
you’re not exposed to too many different foods. I didn't even try Thai food, Sushi or India food until I moved to Seattle. It's a far cry from the meat and potatoes I grew up on as a kid. The winning dish chosen by Marilyn was created by
Brooke, for her Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine nuts and apple salad, which Marilyn lovingly called an apple pie. I just love her!
Bart – Loin of Elk with cherry beer sauce and mushroom
couscous
Brooke – Lamb-stuffed Squid on black rice with coconut milk
Sheldon – Braised Okinawan Pork Belly with seared scallop
and rice congee
Stefan – German Gulasch with marjoram bread dumplings and
sour cream
Kristen – Delice de Bourgogne Tortelloni
Micah – Braised Pork Ribs with celery root puree, grilled
apples and celery leaf salad
Lizzie – Crusted King Salmon with radish and beet salad
Eliza – Elk Ribeye with elk sausage polenta, spiced carrots
and huckleberry port sauce
Danyele – Pan-Roasted Wild Boar, hoppin’ john and
tomato-bacon marmalade
Josh – Roasted Pork Shoulder and Grilled Corn Puree with
succotash and fennel apple salad
Josie – Malbec Braised Short Ribs, port belly, polenta with
cippolini onions and figs
John – Seafood Chowder with cockles, manila clams, crab,
mussels and sockeye salmon
The judges chose Brooke, John, Kristen and Sheldon as their
favorite dishes. The winner of the Elimination Challenge was Brooke! She also
won a brand new Prius. The least favorite dishes were made by Eliza, Josh,
Micah and Danyele. The chef who was sent packing their knives was Eliza.
Last Chance Kitchen
Eliza was sent packing her knives, so she now has to go up
against CJ and Tyler. The chefs have to work with two main ingredients, carrots
and pickles. The chefs have 30 minutes to create their dish. Tyler made a
Deconstructed Ceviche with pickles and carrots. Eliza created a Brown Butter
Carrot Mash, crusted scallops, corn and pickle succotash. CJ prepared a
Pan-Roasted Rainbow Trout, carrot puree and charred pickles. Tom overall was
impressed with all three chefs. The winning dish was prepared by CJ. So now CJ
is around for at least one more week to face the next chef.
Next week’s episode pits the chefs in head-to-head cook-offs. Check back to read my recap of the next episode! I'll be interested in seeing if anyone else noticed how Kristen was basically edited out of the first half of the episode.
