Top Chef - S8E7 Power Rankings

Meanwhile, Ariane Duarte is on the Today Show making pasta shells with cottage cheese and reduced-calorie mozzarella.

Okay, that was a low blow (and true!). But it's meant to contrast what our final ten chefs were doing, which was being chefs... real, honest to god, restaurant chefs. What I loved about this episode was that it got beyond the cooking. The broader public has this notion that being a chef is about cooking, and it is, but only in part. There's so much more, and while this episode was obviously comprised of two cooking challenges, it went beyond the cooking, perhaps even more than your average restaurant wars.

Starting with the quickfire, yes, we had a close race between four (well, three, but we'll get into that) contestants to cook a delicious dish. But it was a challenge that highlighted other important aspects of cooking in a restaurant kitchen. For instance, speed. When it takes three sous chefs twice as long to cover his work, a man like Justo is worth his weight in gold, because when you're working on such narrow margins, less prep labor equals lower ingredient costs. Along those same lines, I adored Bourdain's twist, that the chefs would be working with the "waste." Even beyond the culinary nerdiness involved -- over the centuries, so much deliciousness has been extracted from so much "waste" as a matter of necessity -- again, it's a matter of economy. If you can make a dish or two with the leftover scraps, that's money in your pocket. The quickfire was a skills and creativity challenge, to be sure, but it was also a very practical challenge. It took the food and put into a context that's meaningful to restaurant chefs every day. And I geek out on that.

Then to Restaurant Wars, which is always a study in applied cookery, and this was no exception. The food is just the start. You have to be able to execute it. You have to be able to pace it. You have to be able to get it in the window and to the table. Your front of house staff needs to be on the ball. You can't have breakdowns in communication in the kitchen. Those who are leading must lead, and those who are following must follow. There's a reason so many professional kitchens resemble the military. It isn't enough to simply cook good food. Though it certainly helps.

Not a lot of movement, not a lot of surprises where the rankings are concerned. There are still some very close calls that I expect will waffle week in and week out, but we're definitely settling into a groove.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Dale Quickfires 2 3 1 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 2 5 0 That groove starts with Dale, who only barely holds on to the top spot this week... this despite winning the QF and narrowly missing the EC. Which is a testament to Richard, but we'll get to him in a moment. In the meantime, you can read his frustrated tweets (I keed because I love, Richard). The argument against Dale is that he's had a few challenges right in his wheelhouse lately. And it's true, Asians and fish scraps go together like tomatoes and mozzarella. But look at how often -- even this season -- chefs have whiffed on challenges they should have crushed, and give credit where credit is due. Dale extends his tear to three episodes (two and a half, technically), and getting on a roll like that is what the Power Rankings are all about. Plus, I love how he hit this episode from both angles, winning the QF as a cook and the elimination as a chef. And since we've already addressed the former, let's address the latter. If this had been fantasy football, Dale just put together the draft of a lifetime. I'll address the Marcel thing later, but strictly on a pick by pick basis, he absolutely nailed it. And kudos to him for realizing that Fabio was the steal of the draft. For Restaurant Wars, at number eight, you bet he was. Way too much has been made in some corners about his tiff with the FoH staff. If that's as hot as he gets all season, and it seems that's as hot as he's gotten so far, this is a total non-issue. I don't know that he'll hold number one in the coming weeks, but he's performed as well as anybody so far and is unquestionably the hot hand right now, so here he stays.

2 Richard Quickfires 2 4 0 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 2 4 1 Apologies to Richard, who always seems to do well during a week when it's almost impossible to unseat the chef at the top. But even though he's sitting at number two (again), let's be clear... THIS is the Richard we've been waiting for. Creative, precise, collaborative, controlled... absolutely firing on all cylinders, and the only reason he isn't at number one is because Dale came in with so much momentum. That, and scales. Again. (Joke.) The recipe for his quickfire dish, the Schnitzel of Cod Belly with Ragout of Braised Collar and Fried Skin, is woefully incomplete (even if it's one of only six dishes that got a recipe at all... *sigh*), but what I like is that it's creative, it shoots for impact, but it shows that Richard can achieve that without resorting to whiz-bang techniques. I don't think there are many at this point who doubt there's hardcore talent behind the toys, but in case there are, this is Exhibit A. Moonen does a video demonstration of the Chicken-Fried Codfish with Brussels Kraut, but sadly nothing on the tuna and fried chicken skin. But the cod looks both creative and tight, and the tuna seemed to go over equally well. One other unheralded thing Richard's doing here is building respect with the other contestants. Tom's blog lends the impression that what put Richard over the top for the win was the supportive comments made by his teammates. Though it isn't necessarily a prerequisite, that kind of respect can pay dividends down the line. Ask Harold Dieterle. Or the lack of it can kill you. But we'll get to that.

3 Angelo Quickfires 0 0 3 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 5 1 Not a strong week for Angelo, but he's had enough success over the run of the season that he isn't in imminent danger of dropping any lower than number three, I think. He skirts through the QF unnoticed, and then overdoes (another) crudo and contributes to a lamb dish that sounds like it was mostly positive if not for firing issues. Though I try not to put too much stock in these ancillary skills, at least based on the edit we saw, I dispute Bourdain's suggestion that Antonia was the only grown-up in Etch's kitchen. Angelo certainly appeared to be trying to take the high road in a difficult situation, and there's a certain humility to coming out so strongly in saying that for that challenge it's his job to be a good soldier for Marcel. It could be calculated humility, to be sure, but even that is valuable.

4 Carla Quickfires 0 1 3 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 2 4 1 Though she's caught some flack in some parts, I don't see anything wrong with being a role player for a week when the challenge doesn't play to your strengths. While she's spent plenty of time on the line, as Carla herself points out in one of the online bonus videos, she doesn't have the same volume of restaurant kitchen experience as the other remaining contestants. So while there's nowhere to hide on the QF, during the elimination challenge, she plays it smart, focusing on what she does well and doing her part to make Bodega a success. Which isn't to take anything away from her dish. Anybody who thought that was a throwaway dessert should have a gander at the recipe. Flashy? No. But that's never been Carla's style, and it hasn't held her back much to date.

5 Mike Quickfires 1 3 2 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 0 2 1 One of this week's big movers -- if two positions can be called big -- is Mike, who despite getting into it with Marcel (and that sure didn't look like a one-way street), turns in a fairly good pair of challenges. Though his octopus and pork belly elimination dish gets kind of a Jekyll and Hyde edit, I'm left with the impression that it was a near miss on a good concept. And in the quickfire, he was right there with the big boys. For reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I don't quite see him as a true contender, but he goes to work and is fairly consistent about it. This was his first time on the block, it was as part of a losing team, and one gets the impression that his food was, with the possible exception of Antonia's, the strongest among his teammates. I see no reason to move Mike into the upper tiers, but he's been looking solid, which is more than can be said for some beneath him.

6 Antonia Quickfires 1 1 2 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 2 4 I like Antonia better at five or maybe even four, but I have to ding her for a rough week. She certainly seemed embarrassed by her fish, and Bourdain's blog suggests that it may have been even worse than you think (though how much of that is Bourdain's trademark hyperbole is difficult to discern). Her elimination dish, it seems, was a blunder. Which, to be clear, will get you sent home in a heartbeat, particularly in the latter half of this season. But having received praise for the gnudi, it sounds like she over-reduced her sauce. It's a simple mistake that has a huge negative impact. It's usually a matter of inattention. And though it won't save her if it happens again, methinks she can be forgiven to some degree for being distracted by the circus act taking place behind her.

7 Tre Quickfires 2 3 0 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 3 3 Tre doesn't move up so much as he watches Marcel fall past him, but I feel good about a small bump nonetheless since we got good Tre this week. Everybody had good things to say about his braised pork, and that recipe is the kind where you're building flavors, building flavors, building flavors, and that really seems to be Tre's strength... big, complex, intense flavor. At the risk of trying to pigeonhole him, and his success with Italian seafood notwithstanding, that kind of brash cooking seems to be what he does best. If he can stick to that playbook, I wonder if he might be able to hang around for a little while longer. But I think you still have to see him as one of those in most imminent danger of dismissal.

8 Fabio Quickfires 0 0 3 Last Week: 10 Eliminations 0 4 3 I've been awfully hard on Fabio from time to time, and despite the fact that he always seems to hang around, I still haven't seen much to make me change that opinion. But boy howdy, that isn't going to stop me from singing the praises of a virtuoso performance when I see one. Seriously, I realize this is a cooking show, but what a pleasure it is to see somebody command front of house like that. It's going to read like a backhanded compliment, but you watch this episode and you understand how his restaurants do well even when critics scorn the food. I suppose it IS a backhanded compliment, but my admiration for Fabio's performance this week is completely sincere. I would have loved to see him take home the win. I'm not sure who wrote it, but the sentiment is exactly right... if anybody was ever going to win Restaurant Wars for FoH, this was it. And hey, it sounds like he turned out a great dessert as well. Bravo, Fabio. I wish I could offer more than one foot out of the basement in recognition of a great performance.

9 Tiffany Quickfires 0 0 4 Last Week: 9 Eliminations 0 2 3 Even so, Tiffany made this an easy call. Though she showed some signs of life the past couple of episodes, Tiffany's mostly been on thin ice all season. She's right. Blowing a fish prep challenge when you're EC of a fish restaurant is really embarrassing (see: chefs not crushing challenges they should, above). And though her FoH performance was less than inspiring, particularly when intercut with one from a master of the same, I don't see the sense in dinging her for that. It'll never come up again. But I'll ding her for her dish, which nearly got her sent home. You never know, but I don't think we're going to see another late charge like we did last season.

10 Marcel Quickfires 0 4 1 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 1 2 Most of the post-elimination discussion of Marcel has focused on his attitude -- was it bad, how bad was it, how much of Etch's crash was his fault, etc. etc. I'm less concerned with that. From an entertainment standpoint, sure, but not so much from a Power Rankings standpoint. For me, all of the minutiae -- though much of it is entirely valid -- is extraneous information. Fact is, Marcel was a hair's breadth away from dead the moment Dale selected him to be a team captain (another brilliant move by Dale, incidentally). But the reason wasn't that he was bound to shoot himself in the foot. The reason was that he already had. Marcel was certainly right about one thing. You can't physically force people to do what you ask (at least, not... well... nevermind). But as atrocious as his attitude was at times during the EC, and as understandable as it was at others, that ship had already sailed. Because Restaurant Wars occurred 13 challenges into the season -- long enough for him to attract a good deal of animosity -- he went into the EC without a lick of respect from his team (except for Angelo, who gives the impression he would have obediently followed Sandra Lee over a cliff). Without that, there was absolutely nothing he could say or do that would have made him an effective leader. What he had to do was to make a killer dish so that somebody else could catch the axe. But Marcel illustrated two Top Chef truisms this week. The first is that the only thing worse than cooking bad food is cooking bad food and not realizing it. And the second is that your other actions might put you in the hole, but it's your food that will ultimately determine whether you stay or go. All the talk of Marcel's attitude and lack of leadership is interesting. It's even topical in that it addresses the difference between a cook and a chef. But it isn't why he went home. If even one of those dishes is good, Tiffany catches the axe instead. In the end, Marcel went home because he made two dishes that the judges hated. Bottom line.

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE EIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD

How awesome that season 8, episode 8 falls on Chinese New Year (in China)!

Oh, I'm not looking forward to this one. I try my best to be open-minded, but Italian is one realm where I have to admit to myself that I bring some strong prejudices to the table. The annoyance potential is high.

This is also, if you watch all of the preview material available, the most the elves have ever telegraphed a loser as far as I can remember. Which almost makes me think it's too obvious and that contestant must be safe. But since the finger is pointed so firmly at one person, even though it's officially published material and thusly fair game, I'm going to avoid discussion of it so as not to be spoiler-y.

Let me just reiterate that it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Fabio bomb an Italian challenge. Particularly since it might be an Italian-American challenge (not the same). Don't assume he's a lock for the top.

Oh, and unless it's a red herring, Tom engages in some pretty ominous foreshadowing at the end of his blog:

"With half of our chefs now gone, the pressure is on to be sustainedly excellent. A minor slip can send someone home. I look forward to the weeks to come."

Sure sounds like he's trying to preempt criticism for an unpopular elimination to me.

Discuss!

Comments

[1000yregg]

Always good to read your rankings. Have you read Fabio's blog on the episode- so hilarious. He writes exactly how he speaks:
http://fabioviviani.com/blog/fabio-on-top-chef-restaurant-wars/
He compares Marcel's captaining of his team to a teenager with a Lamborghini.
Happy Year of the Rabbit, Dom!

[aaalex]

domenic: not sure you're right about dale. his seething at the servers wouldn't be significant if it had been a one-time thing and unrepresentative. BUT the editors of this show don't tend to include themes at random. (i know you know this. I'm just reiterating.)

first dale spoke of his anger management issues (and we get to see footage of him being angry)
then we get to see him suppressing his anger at marcel, saying "if i hadn't taken anger management courses ..."
finally, we saw him explode - hmmm ... whatever happened to that anger management, dude? - at the servers.

if you include the fact that dale didn't pick marcel because he couldn't stand the man, you start to get a pretty solid theme in the editing. the question is: has the theme played itself out in the RW episode? or are we being prepared for something bigger?

me? i think we're being set up for something bigger and that makes his blow-up at the servers significant NARRATIVELY, as opposed to culinarily.

[Anon Man]

Looks solid. I'm going to miss the first run of the episode thanks to a continued FiOS outage due to the power problems here in DC, so I guess I'll watch it next week unless someone knows when they run it between Sunday and Wednesday or if its on Hulu or somehwere.

[Alamos Road]

Not sure why Richard says he doesn't like team challenges, since those are the only ones he has won.

And Angelo can't win for losing, can he? If he's a team player, he's accused of sabotage (by other contestants) or failing to assert himself in a leadership role (by Tom).

It will be interesting to see how Richard and Angelo do, comparatively, in the latter half of the season when they typically move away from the team challenges.

[Bawdy George]

Anon Man, you can usually get the episode, within 24 hours of its airing, on iTunes. I had to do this for episode 2, when I was in Singapore(!) for work (lucky me- I gained ~5 lbs in a week, and it was well worth it).

[Anon Man]

@BG, thanks. I'm supposed to get service back *sometime* on Saturday, so I can maybe catch the episode before a sporting event that I believe is on Sunday. (Caps v. Pens!) Too bad too, I was really looking forward to this episode, with the Italian focus. (Although I share, to some extent, Dom's trepidation about it from a culinary standpoint. Who wants some of Angelo's Bakala crudo with Yuzu and olive oil dressing? - kidding, kidding. Kind of.)

[Caulder]

The thing that scared me about the bravo blogs was bourdain's line, which I'll try to quote from memory, "Congratulations Richard, THIS week was yours," with the emphasis his. I have a hard time not seeing Richard in the finals, but....

[Danny]

My only concern about the last episode is Fabio. I am not a Fabio fan. In fact, I am very much not a Fabio fan. But if Fabio's performance as FOH can't get you a win then it is obvious that there is no point in volunteering to take that role. Between Fabio's placement and the lack of any props for Carla and Casey for doing the thankless job of servers in the Dim Sum challenge you have to ask......why would any contestant volunteer to do anything front of house?

[Skoolie]

Danny, After reading I thought the same thing about FOH.
Fabio did an amazing job as foh and turned out an amazing dessert.

For anyone that may ever go on the show, don't ever be foh unless you think you can do it as good as Fabio.

He surely deserves some credit. Or maybe they should think about taking the FOH away from the cheftestants and just give them one so everyone can cook.

[KinderJ]

Caulder- Yeah, I caught that too. Must say it worried me. Trying to go to my happy place, but...

[Skoolie]

Oh and for the first time this season my rankings match Dom's :)

[Sweet Sue]

Isn't Ariane the chef of her own restaurant in New Jersey?
Doesnt' Richard do an infomercial for some sous vide contraption?

[Krazikarl]

My take on the possibility of Blais going out in the next few episodes is that I dont think that he would be complaining about his spot in the power rankings if he knew he wasnt going to make the finals. It would look somewhat silly in hindsight even if you could make the "well, even though I went out just afterwards, my performance to that point was #1" argument.

[Skillet Doux]

Sue... If you're trying to equate endorsing a device that makes a high-end cooking technique available on the home kitchen level and bastardizing Italian food to save 90 calories, we need to talk :-)

[Skillet Doux]

Krazikarl... FWIW, I'm fairly certain Blais was just joining in the fun. My experience is that he's a good guy with a good sense of humor who does his best not to take himself too seriously... see McDonald's comments, this past episode.

[Anon Man]

Dom, where is the bastardizing part of this thread? Are you saying Ariane's restaurant is bastardized Italian food? Or Sandra Lee reference on Marcel? I'm confused.

[Skillet Doux]

Anon Man... Ariane did a segment on the Today Show this week wherein she was making "healthy" versions of Italian food. Her stuffed shells were made with cottage cheese instead of ricotta and covered with melted reduced-calorie mozzarella. Among other cringeworthy adjustments.

[redpoint]

There is a very huge need for Americans to learn how to cook more healthfully. Some people don't have much time or skill, thus pasta shells with cottage cheese, etc. "Bastardizing Italian cooking" is a bit harsh, here. I don't imagine Ariane was trying to sell the food as restaurant quality. I'm not saying I want to eat it. I'm not saying I would cook it. I'm just saying I think the criticism here is out of context.

Other than that, great rankings! The only thing I question is the placement of Antonia below Isabella, but it looks like you do, also, Dom.

[KinderJ]

No, I'm with Dom on this one. This dish would have washed out flavors without providing much in the way of health benefits. Demonstrating a quick red sauce, or how to properly roast squash or something would have been more useful and just as easy. Sliced summer squash, zucchini and a little lemon makes a nice, light topping for pasta. Healthy, quick and simple. And cheap to boot!

[Anon Man]

Thanks, Dom. A see now where I didn't read that part in the intro. Ugh. My grandmother is/was from the town where Ariane is, and I've eaten there. Its good. It isn't blow your socks off good and so original that you'll want to take 50 pictures of each plate, but its nice enough, if a little pricey for a suburban NYC place. But really, cottage cheese in shells? There's enough Italians in that town that she may be in danger.

I've always felt that Ariane was the first of many who went on the show with the specific intent of helping their current restaurant where they are owner/chef. When she won the Today Show challenge in her season, her restaurant name and location was in the first sentence out of her mouth. This isn't a criticism, mind you, its an observation. A bunch of free advertising for your place or your "celebrity" status, is something you'll want to gobble up in a brutal restaurant environment.

@Redpoint, cooking healthy is great, if done correctly. Reduce portions, know what your eating. Ever read the ingredients on reduced fat "half and half"? Its skim milk with thickeners and corn syrup. Yummy. Sometimes the fat is the point. If you want cheese, eat whole milk cheese. If you want to avoid the fat cheese has, eat a salad.

[Skillet Doux]

"There is a very huge need for Americans to learn how to cook more healthfully."

100% agreed. But I'm strongly of the opinion that you do that by cooking things like shells and cheese less frequently, not by cooking lousy versions of them.

[redpoint]

No, I know all that (esp. about the skim half and half! bleh, my father-in-law drinks that), I don't want to be labeled as the defender of crappy cooking. That's not me. I was just talking about how it might be fine in the context it was presented. That's all. Yes, zucchini and basil, etc. would be a much better choice.

[vesuvius]

Looks like Richard is perfectly happy with you Dom - he tweeted a link to your blog!

[Bart]

I don't want to get into this too much, but that jab at Ariane is a little mean-spirited, Dom. At a time when food professionals are struggling to get Americans in general to cook - period - that little jab struck a discordant note in me. Sort of like a literary professor scorning people who read Dan Brown novels despite the fact that most people who pick up these types of books barely read in the first place.

If her appearance on the Today show encourages people to try to cook new food and experiment a little, we should encourage her.

I can already hear some say, "Yes but as long as we're doing that, why don't we encourage them to cook good stuff in the first place?" Not to sound snarky, but... how's that going?

Ariane's appearance wasn't aimed at people who read and comment in this blog. It was aimed to a more general audience. So yes, it was a low blow, as you yourself pointed out.

Anyway, I apologize. It wasn't my intent to call you out, but I felt like something had to be said. I'm sure some of you will have a few things to say about this, which is fine by me. :)

For the record: I am of the opinion that cooking good food is a lot easier and simpler than most people realize.

As far as the rankings go - spot on for the most part, as usual. I might switch Mike and Antonia, but I don't have any strong feelings about that.

[matthew]

@vesuvius Richard has tweeted about the site before, as has Carla. Both are big fans.

I think the rankings look just about how I have them this week. There could easily be some interchangeability between spots 3 through 6, but it's shades of gray.

I am just glad to have a new episode this week. Restaurant Wars already seems like a distant memory.

[Skillet Doux]

Bart... If there weren't endless possibilities she could have used that were just as healthy, just as simple and didn't involve screwing up perfectly good recipes, I'd agree. But somebody who isn't going to cook, for example, a simple marinated and grilled piece of chicken, isn't going to suddenly leap into the kitchen when they realize their shells and cheese can contain 90 fewer calories if they're made with cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

Plus, I express no issue with the simplicity of the recipe. If anything, it's fairly complex for a talk show segment. I think you miss the point. The issue isn't ease, the issue is the myth that healthy cooking and good cooking have to be at odds with one another. I'm a very strong believer that if you want to teach somebody to cook in a healthy manner, teach them good recipes that are inherently healthy, don't take "unhealthy" recipes and screw them up. (And that's not even getting into my annoyance over how everything is polarized into "healthy" and "unhealthy.")

The reason I call it a low blow is because she's got a family and has to make a living, and it looks like she was doing the presentation in conjunction with some kind of healthy eating magazine. But I'll happily take potshots all day at those who think the way to fit spaghetti carbonara into a healthy diet is to make it with turkey bacon and Greek yogurt rather than simply having it less often.

[Skillet Doux]

For the record, the carbonara thing isn't something I've seen Ariane do... I use that as an example.

[jh]

This is the recipe from the Today show:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41296164/ns/today-foodwine/

It's not intended to get people to start cooking, but rather, it is promoted as a "healthy" by allowing for alternatives. What is the "simplicity" in exchanging cottage cheese for ricotta or using a lower fat mozzarella? There are no fewer steps or ingredients involved.

However, I do have an issue with the recipe and how it is billing itself as a healthy alternative. While the 1% cottage cheese has lower saturated fat and fewer calories than 1% ricotta, it has more than double the sodium. The same serving of ricotta has nearly 5x the amount of calcium, 3x the iron, and 10x the vitamin A. Low fat cheeses like mozzarella also have tons of added salt to compensate for the lack of fat. High amounts of sodium are probably about as bad as high amounts of fat. Granted, large amounts of saturated fat, or any fat for that matter isn't the best. However, there is a growing body of research that suggests that fats found in meats, like beef, and dairy, like whole milk, are not as bad for the heart as previously believed.

Recipes with these types of substitutions not only compromise some of the original integrity of the dish, but in fact, do not promote healthy eating. I am in the camp, where if you want to promote healthy food, cook an inherently healthy dish. There are plenty of easy ones to choose from.

If one insists on healthy substitutions, then don't use ingredients that only "healthy" in one respect. For example, if you want to add some nutrition to mashed potatoes, add cauliflower in addition to the potatoes. Or add squash to lasagna sauce. However, substituting 1% cottage cheese for 1% ricotta is not one of them.

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-ricotta-part-skim-milk-cheese-i1037
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-cottage-cheese-lowfat-1-percent-i1016

[Dreamboat]

Turkey bacon should be outlawed. Just sayin'

[Skillet Doux]

I think we're posting at the same time here, jh, and I think you said it more clearly than I did. Exactly.

[Independent George]

Turkey bacon should be outlawed. Just sayin'

Turkey bacon is a sin against creation.

[KinderJ]

Carbonara with... yogurt? Is that... is that really a thing? I actually like turkey bacon, but how much flavor could you really get from that? Maybe for the crunch, I guess?

Speaking strictly for my self, I gained the most weight when I realized that I could just order pizza as often as I wanted. I started loosing weight when I realized that I just felt better after eating my own food. It's not that I make particularly healthy food, I still can't seem to make a salad I enjoy eating, but I use better ingredients and less processed foods. Cheaper too- much, much cheaper.

[matthew]

This discussion kind of made me think of the squabble about the food at Paradise and Pascal's in Big Night.

Dom - Ariane has been a consultant for Prevention Magazine for a least a year or so. Her appearance on The Today Show was as a representative of the magazine. I'm not side-stepping the issues people have the dishes, but thought I would add that context.

I've been to CulinAriane, and Carla and I have really enjoyed our meals.

[KinderJ]

Actually, I just realized why I don't like the sound of pasta shells with cottage cheese and low fat mozzarella. It smacks of 'Semi-Homemade'. And as Dom has established on this blog, evil is semi-homemade. It's cooking with no actual cooking required, and produces a mediocre or just plain bad result.

I seem to recall Ariane cooking some pretty credible food on Top Chef, and she was a sous on at least one episode of Iron Chef. It's pretty disappointing that she built such a mediocre dish for such a large audience.

[Anon Man]

JH also touches on one other key issue. "low fat" or "low carb" ot "low sodium" or "low X" usually compensate for it by being higher in something else equally bad for you, if not worse, and in my mind are worse for you because if don't read the label, you think you're doing yourself a favor.

One other thing here: "healthy cooking" and "fast cooking" are two different issues in my mind, and its best to keep them separated. I think the only thing they really have in common is that both are pumped up by the food media as being big issues. To me the time issue is largely a myth which can be discussed later, but the healthy one is dominated by marketing crap and fad of the month diet ideas rather than thinking through critically about what we eat day to day as JH has expressed quite eloquently.

Dom, I'll be making turkey bacon carbonara in your honor soon and calling it "Pasta Skillet Doux." jk

[Anon Man]

@matthew, As I noted above, I've eaten there as well and enjoyed it. That said, "Prevention Magazine" and its ilk is exactly the problem in my mind. Ariane's gotta eat, so more power to her, but that's not a magazine I'll be leafing through any time soon.

[matthew]

"that's not a magazine I'll be leafing through any time soon."

*thud* ROTF!

[bryanD]

Interesting Ariane thread. I will just add this: if the original Old World recipe called for cottage cheese, Prevention Magazine would have Ariane substitute it for buttermilk bubbles. That's what these health magazines and health columnists do. In their search for something new to differentiate this month's issue from last month's or last year's, they Go Too Far (aka PC Mag Paradox).

Just read that recipe and spotted some cognitive dissonance at 12-o'clock:
WHY would someone buy and take the trouble to stuff "24 Jumbo pasta shells" by hand with less than prime ingredients? In other words, this isn't some stir-fry or Zatarain's. In fact, I think the Today Show/Prevention Mag audience might consider this recipe a pain in the kiester. Advantage Dom.

Mojo Meter:
1) Blais. (W + rosette for RW)

As for Dale? His assignation of Marcel as opposition team leader was no gambit, but was instead a book move. On the other hand, Dale picked his FOTH *coup*, Fabio, AFTER Tre.

[ally]

I'm not going to agree or disagree with any discussion of treatment of Italian food. All I can say is, in my experience as an American Food Eater: The two dishes that most americans have a family connection to are lasagna and stuffing. Most people I know in real life (which in this case means people who don't contribute to food blogs) think that their mom's lasagna is the best. I'm one of those people. It's almost (or may actually be) emotional. My mom (who is not a great cook) made lasagna with bottled Ragu sauce, canned tomatoes, mozzarella and ... cottage cheese. Go ahead and gasp in horror. But whatever she did with spices (dried only), garlic (probably powdered) etc. combines into absolutely the most delicious lasagna I've ever eaten, hands down. I've stopped ordering it in restaurants. In my opinion the sourness of the cottage cheese improves the lasagna. So, saying ricotta cheese is better than cottage cheese just doesn't resonate with me at all. But really there are food-snob posts on here aplenty, so I'm not really offended. Let's just say that I have had plenty of ricotta cheese lasagnas that suck. :)

Just sticking up for the little people...if it tastes good, it tastes good.

[jh]

@ally-

My post about 1% ricotta versus 1% cottage cheese is not a dig as to one is better than the other for lasagna or any other food. People have their individual preferences for whatever reason. My issue is that the recipe bills itself as a HEALTHIER option for substituting one for another. However, a closer look at the nutrition labels shows that they each have pros and cons nutrition-wise, and one is not clearly healthier than the other. If the recipe substituted fresh apples for canned apples, then I'd agree that's an upgrade health-wise. But cottage cheese to ricotta is just a lateral.

Magazines such as Prevention are like the Cosmo's of the health world. They just spout the latest fad of the same topic, but don't really have the substance. They only print the buzz words that people gravitate towards. Antioxidants! Low Fat! Low Sodium! No Cholesterol! Acai! Organic! No sugar! Low Calorie! The recipes and tips in magazines such as Women's or Men's Health are generally a little bit better.

The idea of substituting ingredients can be good, but only if done correctly. If you're substituting a low-fat/calorie option, you have to make sure to read the labels carefully to know if the company is compensating the taste and texture with other options. Cheese is the biggest culprit where salt and oil are added to keep fat and calories down, which is not necessarily healthier, and may in fact be worse for you. Think of the whole butter vs margarine debate. The skim half and half is just...ugh.

The whole packaging and marketing facade of packaged foods is really like the evil that is Semi-Homemade. It gives people a false sense of security that they are making healthy choices, as Anon man mentioned.

A recent study asked people to guess the calorie count of an "unhealthy" food paired with and without a "healthy" side. They showed that if a bowl of chili was plated alone or with a salad, people guessed that the lone bowl of chili had more calories than the same serving when paired WITH a salad. It was as if the salad magically made everything not only healthier, but everything lower in calories.

Mixing cocoa powder and vanilla frosting is to cooking like trading ricotta for cottage cheese is to healthier. Anyways, my ranting has now gone off topic and turned into babbling.

Hoping this week's episode turns out to be good.

[paula]

This Kwanzaa cake is delicious!

I somehow agree with both the sentiment that Dom's dig at Ariana felt mean-spirited AND everything jh says, but I don't feel like sorting that out.

[timothy]

ally: wow, I can totally relate to your post. In my extended family the legendary, almost mythic, Mom food is something called "chicken enchilada casserole." Never mind that it doesn't really resemble anything traditionally Mexican at all. It is 70's Southern California American food and my mom makes it with canned cream of chicken soup. It's basically a Mexican-ish lasagna, a layered casserole with corn tortillas instead of noodles and salsa instead of tomato sauce. Over the holidays I made a batch and I changed the recipe. No canned soup, I made an easy mushroom sauce and I added some spinach and other vegetables. Everyone ate it and told me it was good. And then they politely told me that Mom's was better. I just heard over the email grapevine that family members visited Mom recently and begged her to make chicken enchilada casserole which she did, using canned soup. I don't know what this has to do with Arianne and her recipe. I side with Dom on the whole deception-of-health versus bad-recipe thing. But I do understand the power of family recipes, especially when they are made by mothers, and I won't spend much energy fighting them anymore. I like food a lot and I like trying to become a good cook, but I guess there is a place in my food universe for canned soup casserole and ragu lasagna with cottage cheese.

[Skillet Doux]

Ally... but the situations are in no way analogous. You use cottage cheese because you *like* cottage cheese, not because you're touting it as a healthier alternative to ricotta.

I abhor substitutions. Yours is a preference. It's not the same thing.

[Skillet Doux]

As to whether or not it was a mean-spirited dig, I don't know. Maybe it was. But this idea that certain foods are "bad" and the only way they should be eaten is if they're substituted and defatted and salt-reduced to death needs to end, and the last person you need perpetuating that is a high-profile restaurant chef. Someone like Ariane knows that you don't have to substitute to eat light. There are so many -- *SO MANY* -- amazing dishes that need no alteration whatsoever to conform to what we think of as healthy. And yet she's on national television perpetuating the myth. The only way it ends is to call it out when you see it.

[Jse91]

There is absolutely a place in the universe for dishes made with canned soup. That's why God made pot luck suppers. Methodists believe you get into Heaven as long as you show up with a covered dish. And it probably has cream of something in it.

Lord knows I love good and elegant and authentic food, but there is still a place in my heart for King Ranch Chicken and San Antonio Squash.

[redpoint]

Hate to belabor all this, but what the hell. I live in New York City, where everything is available to me. Plus, I can afford to buy ingredients of quality, but I understand that even in New York, there are people who live far away from a decent grocery store, who can only shop in ill-stocked bodegas most of the time. There are people in the country who do not have access to ricotta, and plenty of people who cannot afford it. (I know you know this). I would not make this cottage cheese shells recipe myself. I understand your point Dom, and others, I do, I really really do. Yes, they should all make nice zucchini and basil instead (Oh, but it's winter. And the basil looks terrible and it's too expensive) I consider myself a food snob myself. BUT at some point arguments like this start to sound too "let them eat cake"-ish.

[ally]

@jh and others: my post wasn't aimed at you or your discussion of low fat foods. It was meant to illustrate the fact that just because there's a low-fat substitute doesn't mean it tastes worse.

For me, I'm not a huge fan of milky creamy stuff, so I actually like Daisy Lite sour cream better than regular (but not Land o Lakes brand or any others that I know of, idk why). I also like the light version of cream cheese better than regular. I can't stand whole milk and 1/2% is just about perfect for drinking milk. So I guess I'm just weird that way.

Anyways, I didn't see Ariane's segment or any of that, so I don't know what the pitch was, but I still don't see any reason why you can't make pasta shells with cottage cheese as a substitute for ricotta, maybe it would taste better in my case.

By the way, after I posted last night I remembered my mom's name for her dish: "Poor man's lasagna." :)

[ally]

Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said "low fat" substitute. I don't know what you call substituting cottage cheese for ricotta. Cheap substitute?

[Skillet Doux]

Redpoint... two things.

First... The subject of people who don't have access to fresh foods is a fascinating and important one (there's an interesting LTH thread about it here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=17001), but surely you're not suggesting that Ariane's move to cottage cheese was so that somebody who can only shop at a corner bodega can experience the joy of shells and cheese since ricotta is tough to come by but the bodega will have pasta shells? C'mon. It wasn't because it's hard for some people to get ricotta, and it wasn't because she prefers cottage cheese. The reasons behind the recipe are perfectly clear. If this were an attempt to teach people how to cook as well as possible out of a poorly-stocked corner store because they lack the transportation or means to get a few good, fresh ingredients, then we're not having this discussion. But that's not what it was.

Second... If somebody wants to make shells and cheese with cottage cheese, fine. Go crazy, Ally. You like what you like. I find substituting cottage cheese for ricotta icky (yes, I've had it), and my compulsion is to urge people to try and learn about having it a different way, but if you've been exposed to both, in the end you like what you like. But there's a difference between making that choice because it's what you like, and making that choice because you've been taught that this is the what you have to do to eat healthy. The first is a preference. The second is a lie. I refute the notion that this is "let them eat cake"-ish. It's not intended to shame or to dismiss. It's intended to encourage. You don't *have* to eat this way. You don't *have* to start looking a recipe by searching for places to cut and substitute. Have this one only occasionally. Or make this easy recipe instead. *This* is what we should be teaching people.

[Bart]

Looking back at what Dom originally wrote, my first comment and all the subsequent comments, I'll happily concede that I missed the argument that Ariane's "healthy cooking" approach is somewhat of a misnomer.

What I took issue with had nothing to do with that - but rather, the feeling of scorn for dumbing down or needlessly tweaking a recipe for a larger audience.

I hear ya, and I generally agree with your points, but my sticking point is that we shouldn't hinder efforts at getting people to think about cooking, and how they can tweak food in general. So if it means using turkey bacon instead of real bacon, so be it.

We were talking about two different things, and I just wanted to clarify my position a bit. I see Ariane's appearance as part of an ongoing effort to encourage people to cook, in general. And if she succeeds, we should applaud her...even if her recipe isn't as healthy as she makes it out to be.

Here's a hilarious example of how some people view "real cooking": http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cook_home

All of us here know that real cooking is nothing remotely like this, but a lot of people don't realize that. For many people, "real cooking" is an unnerving and time-consuming experience. How else do you explain the popularity of Bertolli, microwave dinners and take-out?

I saw your original comment as a slight against an effort to encourage real cooking and again, I now realize that wasn't what you were saying. But I still stand by the point that we should encourage all people to cook, even if it means lowering our ingredient standards if it makes them feel more comfortable and willing to try new recipes.

[Anon Man]

One other thing I would say on Ally's mom's lasagna is that if you aren't Italian or from a part of the country with a lot of Italians, then some "specialty" ingrediants, like possibly ricotta years ago, may not have been readily available where you are from. Personal example: my mom's an Italian from NJ (yes, she grew up in the town where Ariane has her restaurant). I grew up in San Diego. The San Diego Italian community, is, um, small. When my mom made carbonara, pancetta wasn't readily available (although it would be today), so carbonara was "spaghetti and bacon". Not quite the same, but I liked it. I use pancetta when I make it now because I can, but if I couldn't get it for some reason, I wouldn't hesitate to use bacon as a substitute. The flavor is different, but it is still tasty. And its healthy! ;)

While I don't completely discount dishes that use canned soups or the like in preparation, my one knock on using canned soups would be the fairly high sodium content. But, if making a cream of chicken soup on a weeknight is a bit out of your skill level or time available, then I would endorse using canned soup as a shortcut, if you are aware of what comes with it. Although, personally, I would probably opt for making something else.

[redpoint]

I have to think, in this economic climate, that Ariane's recipe is exactly about making do with what you have. Really. You scoff, but there is another perspective.

I agree with what you are saying, Dom, almost 100%. I'm just saying that this is a more complicated issue than what might appear.

[Skillet Doux]

Redpoint... Here's the segment. It's titled "How To Make Healthier Pasta":

http://www.hulu.com/watch/210818/nbc-today-show-how-to-make-healthier-pasta

[TxGriff]

redpoint- I agree with your points on letting people eat/cook as they may, however this is not an issue of "making do with what you have." This is very clearly, without any doubt or exception, an issue of "this is healthy!". You're point has validity, but not regarding this specific segment, in which case you're flat out wrong. Here is the receipe. I'm sure you cook find footage of her segment. How is this anything other than "how to cook healthier" propaganda? If her point is, as you ascertain, an example of "making do with what you have," please show me the evidence:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41296164/ns/today-foodwine/

To be clear, people can cook however they want to in their own kitchens on their own resources, preferences and budgets. And I agree with Bart to an extent to if telling people that substituting cottage cheese makes this healthier (eventhough it doesn't really) gets them to cook, then so be it. But Dom and otheres are 100% right that this is simply propaganda, and a perpetuation of an ongoing fallacy about what is healthy vs. unhealthy. And again, we are referring to this specific segment. Lets keep this argument focused rather than make general assumptions about our preferences or biases.

[redpoint]

Thanks for posting that. I hate to be argumentative, but it was actually much better than I expected. I think the problem comes if someone wants to label this "Italian food." If you think of it as middle-brow American food, it is actually quite good and more healthy than what many people would normally eat. I would have taken it one step further, as healthy food, and suggested whole wheat pasta, but most Americans aren't ready for that. In this recipe I see lots of vegetables readily available in these dreaded winter months. Most Americans are poor and fat and don't know how to cook. This is uncomplicated and relatively healthy.

[redpoint]

I can't abide Kathie Lee, tho ;-)

[Skillet Doux]

"If you think of it as middle-brow American food, it is actually quite good and more healthy than what many people would normally eat."

True! None of which changes the fact that the lesson is "if you want to be healthy and eat pasta, this is how." Which is a BS lesson.

[redpoint]

PS--the clip actually emphasized using an abundance of vegetables instead of meat, and made the vegetables look appealing. That's where most of the health benefits came in. It was not all about the cottage cheese.

(TxGriff, I'm actually not "flat-out wrong." I am just viewing the issue a bit differently.)

The recipe was not garbage food. It didn't use fat-free half-and-half, diet coke, or fake margarine. A little reduced fat mozarella and cottage cheese is not a total abomination.

I feel a bit silly being in the camp of defending this. In most instances I'd be on the other side, but I think you all are being a bit narrow.

[Bart]

I was thinking of this whole discussion when I read the article about America's 50 most powerful people in the food world:

http://www.thedailymeal.com/50-most-powerful-food-folk-america

Guy Fieri (!!) is ranked higher than Ruth Riechl and Tom Colicchio.

Between that and the hilarious Oatmeal comic I posted earlier, it feels like that simply knowing how to cook puts you in some sort of elite sect of society.

Sigh.

[Skillet Doux]

Redpoint... what I'm trying to get across -- perhaps not very well -- is that it isn't about the recipe itself. It's about the *lesson* the recipe teaches. You are absolutely right that there's far more offensive stuff out there, and for a talk show segment, it's pretty decent.

The issue for me is that the whole point of the recipe -- no matter how not terrible it may be -- is to teach that these foods are "unhealthy," and if you want to eat healthy, making substitutions like these is the way to do it. It is indicative of what I believe to be a fundamentally flawed way in which we think about food and health. I believe it's a mindset that not only does little to make us healthier, but also steers us towards lousy food, even if this particular example isn't one of the worst offenders. And it's especially galling coming not from some kind of health guru, but from a high profile restaurant chef.

It's like when you're raising kids. I can't think of a good example right now, but there are things that bother you as parents that people scoff at. "Oh, what's the big deal... it's just a little thing." And that thing itself may not be a big deal, but the *lesson* behind it... what it *teaches* your kid... is really bothersome. I realize that by writing this, I'm casting myself in the role of food parent, which is really, really condescending and not where I want to be. But I have two kids in the room with me and it's what springs to mind. Sometimes little things that aren't a big deal on their own impart big lessons.

Note, plesae, that I didn't get all up in arms and write some big post about how terrible this is and how Ariane is awful, etc. etc. I saw it, it annoyed me, I took my one sentence shot in passing in a post, and everything since then in the comments has been trying to defend/explain why it wasn't simply taking a snarky shot at an ex Top Chef contestant for the hell of it. There's an important, I think legitimate, reason why that kind of thing bothers me, and why I think it isn't out of line to take a few words in passing to call it out.

[TxGriff]

redpoint- how were you not wrong in your assumption that the segment is about making due with what you have? Now you have changed your argument to the relative health of the recipe, in which case, I agree, the recipe is relatively healthy and easy to prepare. However, that was not your original argument, and my point about you being wrong was about this comment:

"I have to think, in this economic climate, that Ariane's recipe is exactly about making do with what you have. Really. You scoff, but there is another perspective."

Go ahead and argue your way out of that one ;-).

Now, again, the issue here isn't whether or not this recipe is relatively healthy or a bad recipe. The discussion is that the false perpetuation that substituting some ingredients (cottage cheese for ricotta, in this example) makes the recipe inherently healthier. As others have pointed out, it doesn't, you are just substituting sodium for fat. I don't want to get into a huge debate about nutrition, but again, the argument here is very specific, and you are making general arguments that everyone has mostly everyone has already agreed with. Yes, this recipe is relatively healthy. Yes, people should be able to cook what they want. Yes, ultimately if this gets more people to cook and eat more veggies and think about their food choices, then great. You are indeed viewing the issue a bit differently, but the arguments you are making have nothing to do with the original disucssion of substituting a for b makes c healthier. I just feel like we are going in circles here.

[jh]

I watched the clip, and yes, they do emphasize using a lot of vegetables, which is great. I have no problem with that. But they do make a large point about the cheese. It is the second major point in the clip. This excerpt is straight from the recipe posted, which is akin to what is said on air:

Rule 1. Be smart about cheese. Replace full-fat kinds with reduced-fat versions, and choose lighter types when possible: The switch from part-skim ricotta to 1 percent cottage cheese saves 90 calories and 8.5 g of fat per 1/2 cup — while maintaining creaminess.

Replacing full-fat versions for reduced-fat versions in cheeses is not always better from a "healthy" standpoint. The switch from ricotta to cottage cheese is not "healthier" either. The calories and fat are less in cottage than in ricotta, but at the expense of sodium, calcium, iron, and vitamin A. I'm not talking about an abomination in the integrity of the dish. Pick your preference for cottage cheese or ricotta. However, it should not be considered a hardfast rule that reduced-fat is always better than full-fat and that cottage cheese is healthier than ricotta, which is specifically what this segment was purporting.

[redpoint]

It would be more fun to argue this in person with a drink in hand. :-)

I did not "assume" that this segment is about making "due" (sic) with what you have. I posited it. I was musing about it. Which is different. This is fun but I really have to get back to work.

[Skillet Doux]

Redpoint... If we drink every time I use scare quotes or emphasis asterisks, it'll be *really* fun :-)

[redpoint]

The last thing I posted was for TxGriff.

Dom--I totally agree.

[TxGriff]

Then your musings were wrong, as I guess was my labeling of assumption vs. musing. Now we are just arguing semantics. ;-)

I should be working, but we are having a Snowpocolypse here in Dallas, meaning there is about one centimeter of melting ice on the roads. Naturally, the whole city is shut down and there have been rolling blackouts all morning. All the out of towners from Pittsburgh and Green Bay are hanging their heads in shame.

[redpoint]

Dom--I don't know what a scare quote is. Is it something I did?

The lag in time between postings is making this hard to follow, as my last post referred to something Dom posted the time before last.

I do think it is rude to call an idea that someone has "flat-out wrong."

[Skillet Doux]

Scare Quotes:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes?wasRedirected=true

[redpoint]

Ok. TxGriff literally said I "assumed" something, which sounded like a put-down to me. I said I wasn't making an assumption, I was musing on the idea that this kind of clip is about making do with what many people have in life. Which could refer to their finances, education, knowledge of other cultures, location, lots of things. Sure, this is not ideal Italian food, but for many Americans, it is about making do. Yes. Sorry, but I feel like I can put it this way. I don't think TxGriff understands my point if he/she calls me "flat-out wrong." This is an idea, not something to be wrong about. And I don't think this is worth a heated argument about. I'm pondering, but it feels like some other people actually want a fight.

[paula]

Huh. I never knew those were called "scare quotes." (And I'm a professional editor!) They just make me think of Chris Farley.

To go off topic on the off-topic discussion, I have to offer this quick epilogue to our foods-we-can't-stand commentary. Last night I made that heavenly Brussels sprouts recipe (caramelized in garlic and butter, tossed with parmesan and truffle oil) for my family. My daughter couldn't get enough of it, my son ate it neutrally, and my stepdaughter--poor dear, who normally will eat just about anything--looked like she's swallowed a cockroach and almost burst into tears.

[Polybus]

Not to drag this whole discussion back to the Power Rankings (ahem), but I'd like to chirp in that I mostly agree with Dom's rankings, with a few exceptions.

My strong Richard bias still makes me keep him first. Although I realize he could slip up as easily as anyone else and get sent home, I just admire his creativity so much that I can't see anyone else above him (this is regardless of TCAS performance). Additionally, I still have trouble putting someone (Dale) who has hero-worship of Blais above him. I think between the two, Dale is more likely to lose his cool. Just my feeling. Angelo seems to be crudoing out, but I'm not counting him out yet, especially with (hopefully) more creative individual challenges ahead.

I have Carla and Antonia dead even with Isabella right behind them. I was not as impressed by Mike's performance in RW as Dom was and I can't help thinking that he has mental lapses more frequently than the other two. It would be easy for him to space out once and boom he's gone, whereas I have more faith in the two women to keep providing solid dishes.

I've got to say that I have actually started to like Fabio and to feel that he may have pulled ahead of Tre, and that in spite of the fact that Tre made a very good dish in RW. I was truly impressed with Fabio's dessert and his flawless FOH.

And I have no argument with Tiffany at the bottom. In a few more episodes, it will start to become very difficult to figure out who's going home.

One nod to the Ariane discussion - YAY MOM!

[Brian]

Be the change you want to see, Dom.

[paula]

(p.s.: I knew as soon as I copped to being a professional editor that there'd be a typo in my post. Sigh.)

[Skillet Doux]

Brian... I know, I know. I've thought a lot about it. But I need another time commitment like I need a hole in the head.

[Polybus]

Off-topic, really - or maybe not - but my favorite columnist, Jon Carroll, has a hilarous column in today's San Francisco Chronicle about restaurants that try to be healthy, local, creative, etc. and have to end up selling burgers to survive. Enjoy!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/02/DDVB1HGPB9.DTL

[TxGriff]

repoint- you can talk to me directly. I definitely wasn't trying to put you down or insult you. Up until now, I have been under the impression that this has been a light hearted discussion, but obviously along the way a personal cord was struck that I was unaware of. You posted something, I commented on it, and I commented on exactly what I saw posted, not the possible ideas behind the post that I was unaware of. You keep picking on my use of "assumpion" without realizing that it's just a word I typed, just as your post on the meaning of the segment was a thought, not an absolute. Look, the specific idea that the segment was about making do with what you have is incorrect (not talkig greater ideals of income, preferences, abilities, ect), because the segment does have a specific purpose (make a pasta preparation healthier by subsituting these indgredients), and I was simply trying to make that point clear. Things don't always come across the way we intend over the internet, but trust me, I had/have no intention of fighting you or anyone else here, and I was not aware that this is where the conversation was heading. I'm talking specifics, you're obviously talking about large scale ideas that were not adequately represented in the two sentences I was referring to. The only thing I can think to do at this point is apologize that we obviously misunderstood where the other person was coming from, and say that I respect your opinions and will move on from this topic.

[Alamos Road]

Here's a "recipe" for corned beef and sauerkraut from the food section of our morning newspaper ("10 minutes start to finish!"):

Buy 2 pounds thinly sliced corned beef or pastrami (?) and 1 pound sauerkraut.

If you're wondering why it takes a whole 10 minutes to prepare: You have to "heat up" the meat and drain the sauerkraut.

Even faster than semi-homemade!

[nomnomnom]

Ran my "secret sauce" qualitative rankings to date for the season. This is for those that care an attempt I make to make as objective a ranking as possible based on past performance. Weights per challenge are given around the similarity to the finale.

DaleT 120
Richard 86
Angelo 74
Carla 24
Tre 23
Mike 12
Antonia 1
Fabio -23
Tiffany -45

[nomnomnom]

Man, the previews really spell out a ton again. The last episode went along those lines. I guess at this point they consider the elimination merely something that is part of, and not the focus of the show and worth concealing?

[TxGriff]

Ok, rereading through comments to see how we got to this point. I think this has all been an example of why emails/written responses are so often misinterpreted. redpoint, I truly thought we were having a good natured conversation, and I can now see where you clearly were offended and misinterpreted my comment about "being wrong". In the meantime, you were making light hearted comments to other people, which I thought was the your attitude towards me, so I continued on with the discussion in (what I thought was) a humorous manner. I wasn't trying to egg you on or make light of your feelings. Looking back with the knowledge that clearly I unknowingly offended you, I can see how it probably came across that way. I have to say I was really taken aback by your last comments about picking fights/being rude, and I had no idea why you reached that conclusion. I think I see where you were coming from now. All I can see is that I definitely didn't realize my comment offended you, and if I thought someone was mocking or insulting me, I would be similarly upset.

Changing subjects, about the previews, I have just stopped watching them. There have been an unbelievable amount of spoilers in the past, including RW last week, which I accidentally saw the previews for.

[Anon Man]

@polybus, that faux menu in that link is great.

[KinderJ]

I have stopped watching the previews as well. Since I only ever watch bravo for TC, its pretty easy to skip any ads for it too.

[redpoint]

No hard feelings, Tx. These discussions have a way of becoming some things that they aren't. Thanks for your understanding.

[Eric]

@matthew: I'm glad Top Chef is back on this week too. There was also no "V" episode on last week either and it's back as well. ... Just where do those "magical elves" come from anyway...

[Brian]

Maybe it's just me, but the previews don't seem to be setting either chef up worse than Fabio was during the dim sum challenge. I wouldn't be shocked to see the second Top Chef Miracle of the season.

[Kathy from Austin]

Hi all,

After my last disastrous attempt to cut and paste with my new Apple, I swore off another post. That said, don't know if you caught the new Richard Blais segment on CNN (wish me luck):

http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/02/eatocracy-w-richard-blais/

He's pretty smooth on camera! It says it will be a weekly show with recipes on the blog.