July 29th, 2008
I did not write about most of this season?s Next Food Network Star because I was traveling a lot for work this summer. However, I just really have to comment on the season finale and the winner.
Let me begin by saying that I do not think Aaron should have won. I think Adam and Lisa were much better qualified. Aaron did not even perform well on camera except for the last episode when they shot the promo spot in Las Vegas. This was not at all fair because he had the easiest promo to shoot by far. He walked through a lobby at a hotel and rolled dice. All with the help of Bobby Flay as a coach! How did he do such a good job? PLEEEAASE!
Meanwhile, Lisa was suspended in the air while trying to remember her lines and Adam had to dance with show girls. I must say, although I love Guy Fieri, he was not the greatest coach in this situation.
In the end, all three went to the final and Aaron received the big title of ?The Next Food Network Star?. It is my prediction that he will fade into the night just like Amy Finley and the Hearty boys. I also suspect we will definitely be seeing more from Lisa.
I am not even going to get into the fiasco of the Food Network posting the winner’s video before the last show. What is going on over there?
What do YOU think? Am I the only one who was not won over by Aaron?s charm? Am I the only one that is becoming more and more disenchanted with the Food Network?
June 19th, 2008
This is my recipe for Cashew Shrimp and Vegetable Pad Thai.
1 tbsp. Peanut butter
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
? medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
? cup cashew nuts, chopped
? cup frozen peas, thawed
? cup broccoli
1 lb. shrimp
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1 tsp. sesame oil
Mix 1 tbsp. of peanut oil with the peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl until well blended and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok or large saute pan. Add the onions, garlic and ginger. Saute about 3 minutes until soft and fragrant.
While onions, garlic and ginger are cooking, bring the water to a boil for the pasta.
Then, add the broccoli and peas and cook for about 3-4 minutes. The add the shrimp and cook about the whole mixture for about 5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.
When water comes to a boil, add some salt and then the pasta. Cook until al dente.
At this point, when I add the shrimp, I add a little more soy sauce. When shrimp is cooked, drain noodles and add to the wok. Take the wok off the heat and pour prepared sauce over the hot noodles and toss until thoroughly mixed. Then add the sesame oil over the top, along with the cashew nuts and it is ready to eat!
My tips: I use angel hair pasta, but you can use Chinese rice noodles if you like. Whatever type of thin noodle you have on hand would work well. I love the smell and flavor of fresh ginger, but if you do not have this at home, you can use a teaspoon of jarred ginger. But, I think it is worth it to buy fresh ginger. You can buy a large gingerroot and freeze what you do not use. It will keep in the freezer forever, so you can use it whenever you need it.
This is a great dish to use any veggies that you have left over. It can also be made with chicken or meat.
This is a delicious and healthy meal that is very easy to make. It is much better than take-out so enjoying!
June 17th, 2008
This week on the Next Food Network Star the contestants were challenged to create and present a dish with the boring potato as the main ingredient.
Adam really did a great job on this one. He made bacon cheese fries that looked really good and his presentation conveyed his theme of comfort food for all occasions. It was also cooked properly! Check out his recipe on the Food Network website. It looks really good. I know it is a simple recipe, but sometimes those are the best!
The other contestants did not fare as well. Aaron made a great potato wrapped in bacon that the judges loved, but he did not connect with the audience. Jennifer and Kelsey both bombed on the food and presentation. Nipa, on the other hand made a good dish, but really did not connect with the camera.
The next challenge was for the contestant to create a food product, name it, bottle it and present it to fifty food buyers. They had thirty minutes to shop for their ingredients. Nipa bought ALL of the cayenne pepper in the store, leaving none for the other contestants, if they needed it (and Aaron did).
The secret special guest turned out to be Martha Stewart herself, the Queen of branding. Lisa clearly took the lead on this challenge. She made an orange marmalade over Brie and it really looked goof. More importantly, she knew how to connect with the buyers and Martha Stewart. With the exception of Adam, the other contestants did not do so well.
Martha said she did not know how long she could watch a show with Kelsey and Nipa?s spice rub consisted of salt and cayenne pepper.
In the end Jeffrey was sent home. Although his performance was not the greatest, I would still like to know why the judges are still keeping Nipa around? She made a terrible presentation and a salt and cayenne pepper spice rub. Who could not made that at home??? Can you tell I am not Nipa fan? Are you?????
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June 17th, 2008
This week Iron Chef Michael Symon was finally challenged to a battle. Chef April Bloomfield, executive chef at the Spotted Pig restaurant in New York, chose Chef Symon in battle olive.
It was interesting because both chefs made olive pasta and an olive martini. Iron Chef Michael Symon presented ravioli filled with ricotta and olives topped with an egg yolk, in a brown butter sage sauce with pine nuts. He then served a martini with stuffed olives, along with his “ bar snack” popcorn with dried olive salt and a drizzle of balsamic. This looked really inventive and ingenious to me, but it did not fair as well with the judges.
Chef April Bloomfield made olive pasta dough with puttanesca sauce and she served a martini with a frozen olive ice cube. Her martini definitely looked better but the judges did not find the pasta that appetizing.
Chef Bloomfield’s olive gazpacho with deep fried olives that were filled with preserved lemon realty looked delicious. She served this with the martini and I think it really made a great combination.
Iron Chef Michael Symon really disappointed me. I did not find any of his dishes exceptional. As a new Iron Chef, I would think he would really want to WOW the judges and the crowd. However, this time Chef Bloomfield took home the victory
June 9th, 2008
I skipped last week’s opening episode of the Next Food Network Star. I am sure everyone knows that Cory went home, so I will move on.
This week’s episode features the new Food Network outcast, Chef Robert Irvine. He woke the contestants at 3 a.m. and they had to work through a series of challenges in order to obtain their ingredients for the main challenge.
The contestants were split into 3 groups and they had to cook a meal aboard a moving train for 30 passengers, including the selection committee.
In the end, Lisa and Aaron won the challenge and that left everyone else up for elimination.
The surprise: Nipa broke down and left the elimination room. She went upstairs and spent several minutes questioning if she could handle the criticism and wondered if she really wanted to be there.
After several minutes of showing the shock on the faces of the contestants and the judges, the show moved on. Eventually Nipa came back and apologized. She then proceeded to recall her summers in India and she told the judges that she really wanted to teach people about Indian food.
Give me a break!!! Last week she made potatoes with curry. That is it; potaotes and curry. She followed that up this week with an overly spiced lamb for brunch. Combine that with two bad presentations in front of the ” selection” committee: Am I missing something?
In the end Kevin was eliminated. Admittedly, I do not see the romance in crostini with figs. However, all I know is this; if I would have ever walked out of a job interview, I do not think I would have been hired or even given another chance.
June 9th, 2008
In Sunday night’s episode of Iron Chef, Bobby Flay was challenged by Chef Marcus Samuelsson. The secret ingredient: corn.
Right away, I knew Chef Bobby Flay would have an advantage. Corn was one of his favorite ingredients. However, corn is typically used as a garnish or a side, so to make it a main ingredient was a challenge.
Interestingly enough, both Chefs used a combination of a corn and sea urchin. Chef Samuelsson made a sea urchin flan with corn ice cream and Iron Chef Flay made a corn and sea urchin custard with roasted corn and sea urchin relish. Who knew that sea urchin went so well with corn?????
In the end Iron Chef Bobby Flay won over the judges with his corn and curry coconut chowder topped with salmon roe (looked delicious) and his fresh corn tamale with lobster and roasted garlic. The ultimate: a corn waffle with corn butter and blueberries, topped with a bourbon caramel sauce. Does that not sound amazing?!!! Well, apparently the judges thought so too and Iron Chef Bobby Flay won this battle by far
June 2nd, 2008
This was an exciting Sunday, but I am going to start with Iron Chef America: Batali v. Bartolotta. Chef Paul Bartolotta is from the infamous Bartolotta Restuarant at Wynn Las Vegas. The secret ingredient: Rice. A simple ingredient, however, often such a simple ingredient is the most difficult. Rice is so versatile that I knew this would be an interesting battle.
Chef Bartolotta created a beautiful rice salad with lagostine (there is the lagostine again!) zucchini, tomato and very good olive oil. It really looked like a refreshing dish. It was so fresh, colorful, and beautifully plated. Chef Bartolotta created many delicious-looking dishes, like his Risotto al Nero with cuttlefish, lagostine, and scallops. He followed this creation with a squab liver risotto with brussel sprouts and chanterelle mushrooms. The finale: an apple and rice fritter with crème anglais. Fantastico!
However, Iron Chef Mario Batali just amazes me everytime I watch him cook. He really takes simplistic cooking to a new level. Chef Batail took rice on a tour around the world, beginning with Spain. He created a Spanish croquette de paella encrusted in rice flour.
Next was the most amazing creation (and I really do not remember what he served it with; the drink itself was so creative); an American wild rice Horchata. Horchata is a traditional Mexican drink that is made of rice, almonds, cinnamon, lime zest and sugar.
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Chef Batali, then went on to Italy to make an Osso Buco with saffron risotto and braised bone marrow. If that was not amazing enough; he finished with a Korean Kim chi that just looked unbelievable. Both Chef Batali and Bartolotta really showed great creatively with the use of the secret ingredient. However, Iron Chef Batail really went over the top and won over the judges.
June 1st, 2008
Last Sunday’s episode of Iron Chef America was the first new battle in what seems like forever. Iron Chef Booby Flay was challenged by Iron Chef Bob Iacovene. The secret ingredient: Lagostine. Very interesting. This battle was really challenging because the secret ingredient itself is rather rare and not often found on a typical menu. Every judge observed that this would be a battle of restraint, rather than indulgence.
Bobby Flay created the one dish that really appeals to the true flavor of the lagostine; simply grilled with olive oil and lemon. In the end, I think this is why Iron Chef Flay won in a clear victory over Chef Iacovene.
A few nights after this episode of Iron Chef, I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Coral Gables; Caffe Abbracci and to my surprise I found grill lagostine on the menu! I dine out quite frequently and have never seen this on a menu before. Well, of course I had to try it. They served about five lagostines, split and grilled with olive oil and lemon. They were delicious. I think the key is that they were perfectly cooked. The meat was very tender, juicy and had so much flavor that the simple preparation was perfect. If you are ever dine out and see lagostine on the menu, please try it.
This Sunday is another new Iron Chef and then the Next Food Network Star premieres so please stay tuned for more………..
April 22nd, 2008
This week, Chef Martin Rios challenged Iron Chef Bobby Flay in battle: tomatoes. Chef Martin Rios is the executive chef at the Inn of Anasazi in Sante Fe and he specializes in Southwestern and Asian cuisine with a French technique.
The secret ingredient of this battle was tomatoes. Both chefs utilized the many varieties of tomatoes that were available: the German Stripe, Purple Cherokee, Red and Yellow Brandywines, Brandywines, etc, etc…
Chef Rios tried to use the heirloom tomatoes in almost every dish and I do not know if that was his mistake. He appears to allow the tomato to just speak for itself and many dishes did not have a good balance of flavor. The lamb with confit of tomato on a bed of fried tomato polenta, garnished with deep-fried tomato skin should have been a hit. However, the judges said the lamb was perfectly cooked, but the rest of the dish was OK. The fried tomato polenta looked really good but, apparently it did not taste that way. In addition, throughout his dishes, Chef Rios appeared to have a problem with the balance of flavors.
Iron Chef Bobby Flay, on the other hand, really excelled in this battle. His fried green tomatoes (he used the green heirloom tomatoes instead of the unripe green tomatoes so they would be sweet and have a better texture) with blue crab and sweet tomato salsa really wowed the judges. It looks delicious and obviously tasted so as well.
Iron Chef Flay’s tomato and fried tortilla soup with avocado and aged white cheddar was also a hit. His tomato and black bean chili with tomato corn bread and tomato butter looked really good. I would like to try and make the corn bread and butter. (If anyone has a recipe for tomato corn bread, please let me know.) Chef Bobby Flay won this battle by far: 52 to 41.
