I really enjoyed Stefan's flirtation with Jamie, because it made him seem a little more human... what I didn't like was Jamie's reaction... the whole world knows you're gay, but that doesn't preclude men from being attracted to you? How can someone be so dour, sad, and angry all the time! I'm sure she'll be around for at least through Restaurant Wars, glaring at her fellow cheftestants and alternately crying in her bed.

There's not really much to say about this episode, other than the right chef went home.

Oh, and CARLA's the oldest chef, at 44 (Your screen cap gave it away, Flip!)

Flipit, as usual, each recap gets better than the last, especially with a sub-par ep such as this.

I'm not even past page two yet, but I have to stop and say that I laughed for a good thirty seconds at this:

"She doesn't take her loss well and does a really rude imitation of Beaker. "

...and the photo that followed! HILARIOUS!!!!

Oh, and why does Ariane keep saying she's the oldest when she's not? Color me confused...

Okay I'm going to finish the recap now...

I'd also like to add that yellow and green DO NOT equal blue! I'm surprised no one called them on that.

Yellow and blue = grean, but it doesn't mean all those colors are interchangeable. lol

I wish Top Chef wouldn't resort to the old reality show schtick of showmances. I love this show because it's all about the cooking, not the off camera love drama. Why are they going this route this season? Ugh.

Flipit! I'm crying and my mascara is running a-la-LC-having-a-fake-fight-with-Blahdrina because I'm giggling so hard. I think I just had an analurism or whatever that thing is where you laugh yourself to death...

Jamie is rapidly becoming a marginally prettier version of Lisa Fernandes (a.k.a. Fleasa) with the same ego and shitty attitude. Come ON lesbians (and Jamie)! Stop feeding the stereotype of being constantly angry and hating everything and everyone (except other tatted-up no-necked lesbians) and get it through your head that IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOOOOOOOU! She sure is determined to get a win with one of her cold mush-extrusions. Well, why not, if Ariane can win with a fruit plate?

OMG if that's the only bridal shower Gail's getting then I know for sure we're in an ever-deepening recession... and I can't believe all those foodies actually liked a scoop of frozen bloody sputum for lunch. Ew!

*sigh* Now all the cute chubby guys are gone, no more HoneyBear and although he was a very poor HB substitute, his clown face reminded me of the inflatable Bozo The Clown punching bag I used to kinda hump on when I was a kid, so that might explain why his vacant expression appealed to me. I didn't understand the football reference, either, but it sounded kinda hot...

love to you Flipit for another awesome showcap!

love, J-Mo :)

P.S. Hootie! Hoooooootieeeeeee!

P.P.S. I'm so glad you brought up the whole Yellow+Green=Blue bullshit... If I know my rainbow (and I surely do) I know that you can't add anything to a primary color to make a primary color... and Yellow+Green=Babyshit anyhow...

Errrr, I meant to say DANNY was a poor HB substitute... and I do NOT have an unnatural attraction to inflatable Bozo The Clown punching bags (anymore).

Also, my P.P.S. was directed at serjen... K?

love, J =)

I was SO hoping SOMEbody would serve Gail some RUBBERY BROWN EGGS for her lovely bridal shower! I just needed to hear that again.

Also, Stefan is still reminding me of Right Said Fred. Attitude and all.

J-Mo: ANALURISM...lolololololol...ahhaaahhaa

Right Said Fred....perfect!!

I

Hoootie hoooo Flipit!
GREAT recap - and if I ever tried the hootie call in public, my bf would abandon me right there in the produce section....awesome screencaps as always. "now picture them naked" was killer. Also loving the Beaker moniker - it's sooo perfect!
J-Mo darling - the inflatable Bozo face reference? PERFECT AND PRICELESS!

I'm glad Hobbit Lesbian didn't win. Beware of wanting something. You probably won't get it.

Great recap as always:). I am a female player on team Dorothy and her rainbow and have to say: I can't stand Jamie and her tats. Maybe I don't mind the attention from the opposite gender because i'm older and perhaps more desperate, lol. Come on lizzie, lighten up already.

Oh J-mo, we share such pain! There was a teaser for the show coming up, and Danny was doing an "I'm the next top chef" blurb, with that Tom Sizemore bullish quality, and I thought I was gonna hubbah-hubbah over him . . . then the show started, and I could not figure out who was the one that I had thought that about, right up until the baseball goodbye, when he brought back the bullish . . . sigh . . . I truly need to get out more . . . and ps. eh, he wasn't all that . . .

sushi was disaster written all over it, and there's nothing curb kicking at bus stop about Beaker saying Danny decided to dump his little mushroom nuggets at the bottom of her bowl while she wasn't looking--DT must have given the heads up on that move, and Flip it, you called it just like me, the second he did that--off with his head!!!!

For myself, what a twist to have the straight guy after the lesbian girl, I'm so much more used to the Bromance variety, so tho it's not as titillating perhaps, it's still kind of funny, and Right Said Fred or no . . . he's too scary to bump ugli's with . . . I'm afraid he'd hurt me in a kinky way . . . and pinch me till I moo.

Thanks Flip for all the LOL!!!! Go beaker!!!

Thanks for another great recap - and for calling out Danny on what a gigantic idiot/tool he's been on this show. Badabooy! Bleagh, those splooges on their dish looked just like the stains you would find on the bandaid you just removed off your oozing infected wound. Whatever splooge is (I can imagine a couple of things it could be,) does it look just like that crap on the dish?

As to "Did Danny take the peach sorbet from Whole Foods and just blend it in with A-1 sauce? Please, please someone confirm that that's not what he did.", I can't "confirm" it, but here's what he claims he used for his splooge (courtesy of the Top Chef recipe finder on the Bravo website):

WHITE PEACH MISO BBQ
10 large white peaches, pureed
1 large onion
2 nubs of ginger
1 T liquid smoke
3 T soy sauce
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 T fennel seed
1 T star anise
1 T peppercorn
1 can crushed tomatoes

Gotta go, while looking for this I ran across Alex's Bacon Macaroni & Cheese, and for some reason (hmmmm) I just have to go get that recipe now!

I don't think Jaime is like Fleasa at all. Fleasa was a total bitch to everyone AND should couldn't cook for shit. Jaime is clearly a good cook as she is consistantly in the top 3 or so. She is just frustrated at always being good but not the best. I think in the same situation, we would all feel the same. To me, she feels more like whatsshername from last season who won.

And Stefan was creepy as fuck when he was flirting with Jaime. I was totally skeeved out!

Anyway, I'm glad Danny is gone. He was a total doof. I got a bit nervous at the end when I thought my buddy Girl Prison was going. Whew! She needs to step it up next week!

As always the bravo blogs are full of interesting tidbits.

Jamie would have won if she had spoken up and said the ideas and execution came from her.

Also there were more things wrong with the something new team dishes then was shown on tv. Eugene royally screwed up and he did admit that in part but it was the rice that did him in. Apparently he had plenty of time to make a new batch of rice but chose not to.

It wasn't Gail's shower either that was a red herring the judges and producers put out.

Snooty... I disagree with you about the Jamie/Fleasa comparison. Jamie may be a better cook than Fleasa (other than cooking an egg in 2 1/2 minutes), however, she has the same level of disdain and dislike for her fellow cheftestants. While she hasn't gone to Fleasa levels of throwing someone under the bus (paging Tweaker Andrew), she hasn't had to yet, to be honest, because she has been so good.

And, the only reason I like that Stefan's little crush on Jamie is because I thought it showed a little humanity in him, whereas the rest of the ep, he was a pompous jerk. I got miffed at Jamie because it boiled down, in my opinion, to "ew, penis" vs. "ew, Stefan." It was a typical lesbian response and furthers the stereotype that all lesbians hate men, which is not the case.

Jamie's face was priceless when Ariane won! Loved it! And that cookware she won looked like an upscale 'George Forman' grill to me.

Flipit, you leave me smiling the rest of the day with these recaps!

OMG. Everytime I read your Top Chef recaps and you mention the BURNT CHARRED RUBBERY eggs I just die. I just cannot keep the giggles in when they start happening.

I don't know why I find it so funny...maybe it's because she sounded truly offended that her eggs were BURNT and CHARRED!

It's like, calm down Gail. I know you're a foodie, but they are just eggs.

Flipit dear, your recaps are pure hilarity. You should submit your writings to something. OR you sould try to get a book deal and call it Recapping: A Guide to Top Chef and All it's Insanity.

Flipit,
I have to admit it - I'm a dork.
I asked the BF what "Su-Pasta" is and was mortified to learn that it was "Supah-Stah". Ouch.

But I just LOVED the pic of Fabio and the Mrs. in the back seat of the VW Bug (as we used to call them in the olden days).

Terrific recap - keep it up!!

Chooch850,

You missed the prize description. Yes, there was an indoor grill similar to a George Forman type thing, BUT... the brand is Calphalon which is some very nice stuff. Plus it also included a collection of pans AND their entire small appliance collection. That prize is probably worth quite a bit because my dutch oven is Calphalon and that baby cost me over $100! Check out their website, the stuff is primo.

Hold on, now ... there's a new wiggle? When did that happen?

So, I really don't hate or love anyone yet (although I guess I kind of like GP, because I was worried about him leaving) -- but part of me really wanted Ariane to offer Jaime her George Foreman grillz (like sweaty Huggybear 1 did to sweaty Huggybear 2 last season); I imagine Jaime ripping the grill from Ariane's hands, throwing it to the ground & storming off..

Wow, Barry Sanders retired from the NFL like 10 years ago! At least Danny Boy could have used LaDainian Tomlinson--or how about Tiki Barber? He is retired but at least he played for the Giants.

I can see why Jamie might be a little put out at Ariane winning, since she wouldn't have even gotten the meal out if everybody hadn't helped her. Even people on other teams.

"looks like the sheet isle at Big Lots" bwhahahahah. If Padma were really her friend, she would nominate Gail for a What Not to Wear makeover.

"I can see why Jamie might be a little put out at Ariane winning"

It has more to do with the mere fact that Jamie was the organzier and designed the dishes. Since she never said any of that it appeared Ariane whose lamb was on the dish was the most important person of the team.

The comments from the Judges on the top chef blog were that if she had stated she was the leader and the dishes were her idea she would have won over Ariane. The judges see none of the footage we see until long after the verdict is passed.

As for Danny Boy I doubt a recent ref foul up is something he can dreg up.

My first reaction to Fabio's green+yellow ees blue was the same.... WTF? Yellow + Blue = Green.

However, watching it again, he actually said something about Green+yellow ees nex zu blue on SPECTRUM. Which is correct. However, even as a blonde, I wouldn't fall for that accent & "you ees all beautifuls" crap.

I think Rhadika should've won. It was her yogurt dressing that made the lamb so tasteful. And why didn't Tom call Ariane on being unable to plate the lamb w/o help. He was IN the kitchen! She obviously timed it wrong.

I was just checking out the chef's bios on Bravo's website and noticed that Fabio is William Shatner's personal chef. How crazy is that?! Did anyone else know this?

Oh and I agree with hutchlover, Rad should have won because it was the flavor of the dish that won the judges over. Ariane even said all she had to do was stand there and watch the lamb cook and she even messed that up! I think she should have done what LIme23 suggested, given the prize to someone else. Jamie or Rad were more deserving.

I think Ariane deserved the win. If Rhadika and Jamie had their way in pressuring Ariane, they would have served undercooked lamb. Ariane used experience to maintain her position and not cave. Good for her. If she had, then we'd have all this under-the-bus crap when they show up on the bottom. And then Jamie would go home as leader. See what I mean. Karma. Intentions...Ohm shanti.

I am loving Fabio. For some reason I think he is hilarious and charming. And I like GP. Fabio or GP for the win!

@ Snootchy Bootches:
Calphalon - schmalphalon...

I'm afraid that line of cookware is NOT the shit at all.

The only dutch ovens worth are damn are the *hand-made* Le Creuset or the ingenious Staub ones, with the spikes on the underside of the lid to assist braising.

Also, @ judddfan -- "...that Tom Sizemore bullish quality..."

YES!

brilliant recap, flip, as per.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I have Le Creuset also and still prefer the Calphalon dutch oven. I'll have to check out Staub though.

Forgot to add:

And I think you missed the point of my original post about Calphalon. It was to point out that it wasn't of the same quality as the George Foreman Grill.

^ oh, yeah ...

And the Staub cookware look fantastic but the two things that stopped me from actually buying one was (1) the price and (2) they weigh a TONNE, meaning BEFORE you fill it with food.

It can become such a chore to cook with (and store) something so damn heavy...

"I really enjoyed Stefan's flirtation with Jamie, because it made him seem a little more human... what I didn't like was Jamie's reaction... the whole world knows you're gay, but that doesn't preclude men from being attracted to you? How can someone be so dour, sad, and angry all the time!"

thank you slutty_whore, well put.