Top Chef Recap: Episode 7 – Nobody Puts Baby in the Kitchen

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First up, some bonus reading. New York Magazine has a piece on why Bravo reality contestants don’t end up making it big. Actually, I think Top Chef has followed typical post-reality show rules – only the first winner gets to become a superstar – and Harold, who recently opened a much-buzzed-about place in NYC, is our Kelly Clarkson. What NY Mag doesn’t seem to get is that we expect the people who don’t win reality shows to lose in real life, because that’s half the point of reality shows, they’re losers. The only mystery they clear up is why Project Runway’s first winner, Jay, can’t make it work, which seems pretty obvious when they reveal that he turned down the feakin’ prize money! Mystery solved.

This episode was crazy, ya’ll! An extra-long recap after the jump.

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Top Chef Recap: Episode 6 – Fusilli Boy

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This was the episode in any reality show when the producers wake up and say, wait a minute, we’re halfway through the season and for some reason we still have the most annoying and least talented person on the air. I wonder if our viewers resent that at all. Oh, poor Joey from Long Island.

Joey started the episode by declaring that things were really heating up and he was definitely going to throw someone “over the bus” or perhaps even “over the balcony.” Okaaaay.

For the quickfire, TC decided to forget about cooking altogether and just hold a food bee where the cheftestants had to identify crazy foods like Yucca and Chayote. The chefs didn’t do so well; I guess they have never been to Mt. Pleasant. The fix is clearly in for Casey, who not only gets hotter every episode, but also stumbles upon victories less convincingly. Her mystery food item to identify: bowtie pasta.

The elimination challenge was a theme only Liza could love: create a frozen pasta dinner. Cheating alert! Hilariously, both Joey and Sara M. got bitched out by their partners for choosing to use tri-color fusilli, the staple of such elegant settings as the Sbarro buffet line.

Long story short: Nothing too amazing is cooked, and they finally get rid of Joey for making another inedible concoction. Only one obnoxious fat guy left. The obligatory video of Joey bawling like a baby (and calling Rocco Dispirito a douchebag!) is actually pretty great.

Photo: flickr user richcianci

Top Chef Recap: Lame Reunion Special

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So Bravo really pushed the boundaries of dragging out a reality TV show this week by airing a reunion special – a third of the way through the freaking season. Clearly I have better things to do OK, not so much, but I’m not happy about it.

There are only two must-see moments, when Padma explains how she got the hottest arm scar this side of the Ganges, and Tom awkwardly reaches out to the bear community. Fortunately, they are both contained within this clip.

Photo courtesy Flickr user richcianci.

Top Chef Recap: Episode 5 – Dame Mas Chocolate

This week’s Top Chef started out with a shocking order from Ms. Lakshmi that would have gotten her kicked off this blog for cheating. The CHEFtestants had to work with frozen pie crusts. Oh the horrors. After they got over being placed in such a demeaning situation, the quickfire provided the perfect opportunity for Joey to cement his dominance over Howie as the fattest, most obnoxious guy, by pretending to have no pastry training and then whipping out some pretty amazing looking alcohol-infused fruit tarts.

For the elimination challenge, Bravo embarked on their most tenuous attempt at corporate synergy yet, having the chefs cook Latin food for the cast of a Telemundo telenovela called Dame Chocolate, which, judging from these fantastic opening credits, makes Sabado Gigante look like it is written by Cervantes.

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Oh, PS: I’m pretty proud of the fact that I figured out how to put video on this blog, so that’s the only reason I made you watch that clip.

Back to the food after the jump.

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Top Chef Recap: Episode 4 – I Know It Was You Semifreddo. You Broke My Heart.

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Man, it has been a long two weeks without Padma and company, since someone had to throw a birthday party last Wednesday. Thanks a lot, America. My b-day was Thursday but did you see me trying to cancel The Office? Nooooooo. We passed the time by updating you with news of the official PadRush split and watching just a bit of the unbearable The Next Food Network Star (Come on now, like they don’t just air anyone who shows up on their doorstep.)

The quickfire challenge was basically a not-so-thinly-veiled ad for Bombay Sapphire, so we won’t spend much time there. Casey, until now only noticed for being the hottest contestant, oh excuse me – CHEFtestant – went crazy and made Foie Gras French Toast, which was just weird enough for the judges.

She won her immunity, and then in what turned out to be a team challenge, got paired with the two fat guys who like to argue a lot. This of course pissed Casey off so she just threw some tuna on top of plain noodles in the hopes that it would get one of these idiots kicked off.

It almost worked, but the judges reserved their real fury for the dessert team, who decided to try some fancy shit even though none of them know the first thing about baking. This provided the opening for snotty judge Tom Colicchio to spout perhaps his most pretentious food line yet: “Taking a panacotta and putting it in the freezer does not make it a semifreddo.” Well, Duh! Didn’t everybody learn that in kindergarten? So they give the boot to Camille, for her role in this disaster, and for committing the reality show sin of not talking enough.

Photo courtesy of Bravo.

This Post is an Excuse for a Pic of Marisa Tomei

During our nascent experiment with Internet entrepreneurship, we have discovered that writing about attractive celebrities seems to boost traffic to our page. So a warm welcome to all our new readers who got here by googling “Marisa Tomei + Hot Pics AND Lasagna.” My apologies if you have no interest in food blogs.

Just want to share one more hott link with ya’ll…Washington Examiner has a great blog about where b-list celebs eat out while in the nation’s capital (and of course, where Barb and Jenna booze it up).

Apparently there was some sort of Italian food conference at GW this week (way to not be up on the scene, D.C. correspondents!) Food Network’s Lidia teamed up with possible Padma porker Mario Batali and fake Oscar winner Marisa Tomei for an afternoon of perpetuating Italian stereotypes. The trio ate at Cafe Atlantico and Tomei called John Travolta fat.

That is all.

Photo by Flickr user alhamish.

OUT: The Sopranos Finale — FIVE MINUTES AGO: The iPhone — NOW: Endless Simmer

If you’ve been navigating the blogosphere lately, you have surely noticed that ES is blowin’ up bigger than a July 4th fireworks spectacular. That’s right, we’ve been attracting some major e-buzz from coast-to-coast.

Earlier this week, Fishbowl LA picked up on our nonstop Padma Lakshmi coverage, and now DCist, the arbiters of cool in the nation’s capital, are hyping the simmer. On Sunday, our editor Gansie will appear on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” to discuss Barack Obama’s culinary preferences.

Only one of these items is false.

Welcome new readers to endless simmer. We hope we leave you fully sated.

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