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New Cracker album announced, two track previews released

CRACKER is set to release their new double album, “Berkeley to Bakersfield”, December 9 via 429 Record.

Listen to the first track “Almond Grove” from the country “Berkeley” disc.

Listen to the second track “Waited My Whole Life” from the electric “Berkeley” disc on Pop Matters.

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#almond grove #cracker #waited my whole life

She and Him new record details announced

.@SheAndHim announce new covers album Classics; hear their version of Dusty Springfield's "Stay Awhile" http://t.co/ewBlq6o0Dy

— Stereogum (@stereogum) October 24, 2014

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#m ward #she and him #zooey deschanel

Recap

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Northlink Ferry

Shetlands

Shetlands Beach

In Scotland’s Shetland Islands, Phil Koeghan announces that “8 teams are set to start the next leg”. Teams emerge from their tents, pitched at the foot a majestic, grass covered mountain populated by sheep, on a pristine Scottish beach. As usual, Misti and Jim, aka “#thedentists” begin with their customary swagger.

Route Info: Teams must take a 13 hour North Link Ferry ride back to Aberdeen where they must catch a flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. At the airport they will find their next clue, affixed to the windshield of a Ford hybrid vehicle.

First to leave, the Dentists visit the Shetland Islands visitor’s bureau where they purchase ferry tickets and head to the local library to research flights from Aberdeen to Copenhagen. Adam and Bethany, “#soulsurfers” depart next at 11:45 am, Keith and Whitney, “#teamnashville” at 11:53.

The Dentists find a flight arriving at 16:00 hours or 4:00 pm local time. The rest of the teams purchase tickets for the ferry and wait to arrive in Aberdeen before they book their flights – Amy and Maya “#sweetscientists” and Shelley and Nici,“#momandaughter”, Kym and Alli “#thecyclists”, Brooke and Robbie, “#thewrestlers” and Tim and Te Jay “#collegesweethearts” aka “The Gaysians”. All of the teams are on the same ferry to Aberdeen.

The Ferry docks at 7:00 am but the travel agency doesn’t open until 9:00. Some teams go straight to the airport and others search for the travel agency. Four teams wait outside Ramsay World Travel, while Kym Alli, Brook and Robbie and Tim and Te Jay head straight to the airport and book their flights. Strangely, each of them books separate flights. The remaining four teams (Misti and Jim already bought tickets) book flights at Ramsay World Travel.

Kym and Alli get on the first flight at 2:00 pm. Misti and jim are next at 4:00 pm. Most of the remaining teams are split between 5:10 and 5:20 pm departing flights. Tim and Te Jay depart at 5:35, with the Mom and Daughter leaving last at 6:35.

Route Info: Teams must now find their Ford Cmax plugin Hybrid and drive it to Malmo, Sweden, where they will find their next clue. They must only use .1 gallon of gas or less to immediately receive their next clue. They must use “efficient driving techniques” or must find a local geography student and answer a question before getting their clue. To reach Sweden, teams must cross the majestic Oresdund bridge that Separates Denmark from Sweden.

Kym and Alli are the first to arrive and pick up the car. As cyclists they are environmentally aware, so they are excited by the challenge of driving efficiently. They use only .01 gallons of gas and receive their next clue.

Detour: Teams must drive back to Copenhagen from Malmo. In “Parking Space” in which they must recreate a hangout shown in a picture in a Copenhagen parking spot. They can choose either a garden or living room setting and must finish in 30 minutes or less, otherwise they must start over in a new spot. “Wedding Cake” requires teams to make a traditional Danish wedding cake and transport it via a precarious bullet two seater bicycle along a bike path to a restaurant. There, if the hostess approves their delivery, they will be given a receipt to bring back to Henrik at the bakery in exchange for their next clue.

Kym and Alli, as cyclists select the wedding cake task. They still have a huge lead. Misti and Jim arrive at the airport and head to Sweden. Misti and Jim haven’t driven efficiently enough and must answer a question, “What are the capitols of the Scandanavian countries?” It seems obvious that the answers are Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden. Misti and Jim don’t know the answers and ask strangers n the street for help. They quickly get the answers. Since this proves to be such an easy question, no teams seem to have much trouble completing this task.

The second group of racers arrives at the airport. Brooke and Robbie, Bethany and Adam, Whitney and Keith and Amy and Maya jostle to break out of the pack as they deplane and find their cars. Kym and Allie begin their task but even these experienced cyclists initially have trouble balancing their cake. The challenge with the bullet bike is that only one person pedals, while the other person must sit on a long, low rectangular seat and balance the cake.

Brooke and Robbie, Kim and Maya and Bethany and Adam, don’t drive efficiently enough and must answer the question. Whitney and Keith cruise in under .10 and choose the wedding cake task (they’re engaged). The wedding cake challenge seems to be the fastest overall, although more physically challenging. Shelley and Nici are the last to arrive in Copenhagen and finally find their car at the airport, after much anguish fueled screeching by daughter Nici.

Kym and Alli deliver their cake but dropped their receipt en route. They quickly retrace their steps and find it and return to the restaurant. The hostess signs off on their delivery and they return it to Henrik, who gives them a Danish and their next clue.

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Route Info: Teams must now drive themselves to the Ida Davidsen restaurant where they will find their next clue.

Meanwhile Misti and Jim, despite Jim’s cockiness, get bogged down in the Parking Space task while attempting the garden room. Brooke and Robbie choose Wedding Cake, as do Bethany and Adam. Bethany and Adam have to switch, however, because Bethany is having trouble pedaling and steering the bike with only one arm. Amy and Maya choose parking space and think their attention to detail will help them (Misti and Jim said the same thing).

Tim and Te Jay fail to drive efficiently but quickly answer the question. They choose the Parking Space task. Shelley and Nici arrive under .10 and choose Parking Space.

Roadblock: One team member must become a waiter at the famous Ida Davidsen restaurant. They must remember the menu number and ingredients of four sandwiches, which must be perfectly repeated to the chef. When their order is perfect, they will receive their next clue. Kym volunteers to be the waitress for The Cyclists, even though she was fired when she worked as a waitress in New York.

Whitney and Keith begin their delivery of the wedding cake by almost getting run over. They are followed by Brooke and Robbie. Team Nashville decides to switch tasks and heads to Parking Space. Misti and Jim continue to struggle, missing the fact their flower pot is showing the wrong number of flower petals and needs to be turned around. Kym completes the waitress task, in spite of her prior failures and heads to the pit stop.

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Pit Stop: VM Houses, which are sustainable, eco-friendly modern residential buildings.

Brook and Robbie continue to whine their way through the bicycle task. Other teams arrive at Parking Space and are shocked to see Misti and Jim still there. Brook and Robbie deliver the cake and head back to the bakery. Misti and Jim give up and head over to the Wedding Cake task after The Food Scientists complete their parking space, choosing the easier living room setup. Whitney and Keith also do the living room (without the flower pot) and quickly complete it. Kym and Alli arrive at the pit stop first and each win a new Ford Cmax as a reward.

Brooke and Robbie arrive at the restaurant and Robbie decides to perform the waiting task. The final two teams arrive to perform the Parking Space task. Misti and Jim think that the Wedding Cake task is much easier. The Food Scientists and Team Nashville arrive at the restaurant and begin memorizing their menu items. The Food Scientists Amy and Maya nail it and head to the pit stop. Misti and Jim drop Danish flags off of their cake and have to retrace their steps and find it before getting their receipt authorized. Robbie finishes the restaurant task but not before calling himself a “phenomenal waitress”. Bethany and Adam switch the flower pot around and complete the task. The Gaysians copy them and finish as well.

Both teams head to Ida Davidsen, followed by Misti and Jim and Shelley and Nici. Misti does the waitressing but makes the fatal mistake of not including the menu numbers in her recitation to the chef. Adam quickly does the task, although admits it was “gnarly”. Shelley and Nici do it in one shot, further deflating Misti and Jim who realize that they will need to use their Save, which they won on the first leg. Finally Misti rereads the clue, includes the menu item numbers and completes the task. Shelley and Nici continue to argue, as Nici’s temper flares angrily. Upon arriving Misti and Jim hand Phil their Save. Phil gives it back to them and says it’s a non-elimination leg. Jim admits they screwed up big time and their confidence has been shattered.

Results: Kym and Alli 1st, Brooke and Robbie 2nd , Whitney and Keith 3rd, Maya and Amy 4th, Tim and Te Jay 5th, Shelly and Nici 6th, Bethany and Adam 7th and Jim and Misti 8th.

Next week, a double u-turn will be in play as teams travel to Marrakesh, Morocco.

Analysis

This episode started off as the Misti and Jim show but ended up with them being completely humbled by the race. As the episode progressed, discussion of mastering the Race like no other team, gave way to the realization that they would need to offer the Save in order to survive. Let’s hope Jimbo has learned his lesson and will take a more measured approach. If he tempers his arrogance, he’s got a chance of winning TAR 25.

Are Misti and Jim the most annoying team in the history of the race? No, I don’t think so but his cockiness was becoming increasingly grating with each episode. He might be in the top 10, though. Let’s hope he’s learned his lesson and can turn his hyper competitive attitude into crushing a few competitions before he has to use the Save. They should be able to scramble ahead of Shelley and Nici during the next leg, if they can regain their focus.

Shelley and Nici are the other team that bears watching, due to Nici’s perpetual angst. She is a tinderbox ready to explode over the most inane things. Her mom is level headed and cool, having much more life experience. Will Nici learn to chill out or is an early exit in the offing? I believe the latter and expect their demise is imminent. It’s a shame though, because they do seem to have some talent.

The most pleasant surprise is the Food Scientists. They are just a couple of pleasant, geeky girls from Wisconsin who are really hanging in there. I hope they continue making good decisions and moving forward. They are flying under the radar now and cruising along. Hopefully the will be featured more in upcoming episodes.

For more background on this season’s teams, click here.

This leads to this week’s rankings:

Power Rankings

1. Kym & Alli – The killed it in Copenhagen and are a tough, athletic team. They’re also from NYC which is a plus. They won the 3rd leg and are in good position.

2. Whitney & Keith – Although they finished third in this episode, they are a very tight team, well balanced with the tall, athletic Keith and the smart, supportive Whitney. Don’t expect a lot of infighting and squabbling from this team, which is critical as the race progresses.

3. Brooke & Robbie – They are always one moment away from a total meltdown but as professional wrestlers they have a lot of experience with physical tasks, travel and in great shape. I don’t like their long term chances but they are on a roll now.

4. Misti & Jim – Although they melted down horribly in this episode, the key is that it was a non-elimination leg. They finished last and might have a speedbump in the next leg, but they do still have the Save and are generally a competent team. Hopefully they will be more realistic in their approach going forward.

5. May & Amy – I think perhaps the should be higher but this is actuall a pretty tight group. They seem like a compatible, intelligent team with a chance to stick around a while.

6. Bethany & Adam – They are a tough team but had to switch tasks slid towards the bottom this week. Bethany’s missing arm became an issue for the first time and I wonder it this will present further challenges down the road. If they balance out their Roadblocks it should be okay but there may be some harrowing moments.

7. Tim & Te Jay – They seem to be doing well so far but I don’t think they will hold up as the races grinds on through the later legs. They seem quite together and smart, though, and may stick around longer than expected. That’s why they run the race.

8. Shelley & Nici – They are just one meltdown away from Nici quitting the race or causing them to completely blow a challenge. It’s a shame though, because they might have a chance to win if she would just grow up.

Amazing Race Episode Season 25, Episode 4, “Thinly Sliced Anchovies” Recap and Analysis #amazingrace #tar25 Recap In Scotland’s Shetland Islands, Phil Koeghan announces that “8 teams are set to start the next leg”.

#amazing race 25 #phil. keoghan #thinly sliced anchovies

Full version of "Welcome to New York" released

Full version of “Welcome to New York” released

Taylor Swift’s latest, via Stereogum. It sounds almost a like a dance club remix of a Taylor Swift song. It’s catchy and I kind of like it; I giver her credit for changing her sound up a little bit. Seems that she’s moving straight into Katy Perry territory, though without all of the fluffy kittens and over the top antics. I haven’t heard the entire album yet but it also appears that it’s…

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#taylor swift. welcome to new york

Vote for "She Don't Love You She's Just Lonely"

Vote for “She Don’t Love You She’s Just Lonely”

Vote for Eric Paslay "She Don't' Love You" The Showdown http://t.co/1pZYjjaU8v @tasteofcountry

— Jennifer Wayne (@jenwayne) October 20, 2014

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#eric paslay #Jen wayne #jennifer wayne #she don&039;t love you she&039;s just lonely

Preview of Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York"

Courtney Laprisi wins Master Chef Congratulations Courtney - you earned it! Elizabeth is also an amazing chef and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

#Courtney Lapresi #Elizabeth Cauvel #master chef 5

James Marsden Joins HBO’s ‘Westworld’ This looks really good!

Anthony Bourdain Breaks Down Cinema History for ‘Parts’ Excellent article about Bourdain's CNN series "Parts Unknown".

‘Big Brother’ Matches Season High on Night of Preemptions It might be boring to the NY Post but the rating seem solid.

The Quest Season 1 Episode 2, “Tournament for the Queen” – Recap and Analysis

Recap

After a bit of exposition and explanation, this week’s episode jumps into the competition. The paladins are crudely awakened by a banging on their barrack doors. Downstairs, Crio informs them that Queen Ralia XXIII demands their presence. When before the queen, they are to politely bow and not speak unless spoken to by the queen. She welcomes them and says that all of Everealm’s hopes…

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#adria kyne #andrew frazer #ashley guerrero #bertam van munster #bonnie gordon #Christian Sochor #Jasmine Kyle #jim curry #Leticia Reyes #Lina Carollo #Patrick Higgins #rob eric #Shondo Blades #the quest

BB16 - Is Zach really getting eliminated?

BB16 – Is Zach really getting eliminated?

Although there has been a lot of discussion in the Big Brother house about Zach possibly going home, it seems unlikely to occur at this time. In order for this to happen Victoria and least one of the Detonators would have to vote for Zach, causing a tie. Then Nicole would cast the tie breaking vote.

Why would the Detonators get rid of one of their one? If they vote a block, Zach is safe, which…

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#BB16 #big brother 16 #caleb reynolds #cody calafiore #derrick levasseur #donny thompson #frankie grande #hayden voss #jocasta odom #nicole franzel #victoria rafaeli #zach rance

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The Mystery Box Challenge is about to begin

Jaimee contemplates her dish

Daniel works on the cheap box

Leslie with the Mystery Box Challenge and gets to choose the pasta

Christian Prepares his pasta

Elizabeth and Cutter work on their pasta

Courtney fills her caramelle

Cutter finalizes his pasta

Recap

This week begins with a Mystery Box Challenge. They have two boxes before them, one containing household ingredients, the other more sophisticated upscale items. The home cooks will have to choose which box of ingredients they would like to use to prepare their dish for the judges. The lesser box contains things like ground beef, ham steak, ice berg lettuce, processed cheese dip, tilapia and other common items. The elevated box includes Kobe beef, Berkshire pork chop, Ahi tuna, black truffles, stilton cheese and caviar. There isn’t a right or wrong box and they will only be judged on their cooking.

Mystery Box Challenge: Teams will have one hour to prepare a savory dish with either the deluxe or pedestrian box. Each chef has their own idea of what to cook and they are split between using the lesser and elevated ingredients. This is the first time ever that home cooks have been given a choice in a Mystery Box. The problem with the elevated box is that you will need to know to cook the more difficult to cook items such as Kobe which cooks quickly. The lesser box will have to be transformed into something worthy of the judges.

With 20 minutes remaining the chefs are well into their preparation. Courtney, Elizabeth, Francis and Leslie are using the elevated box. Victoria and Daniel are using the common ingredients. Joe grills Leslie over the lack of seasoning in his dish. Joe tells him there is no salt. Francis is making a filet and tuna chessboard with blocks of Kobe beef and Ahi tuna. The judges are excited about Victoria’s common box tilapia dish. The judges make one final pass through the kitchen to select the top three dishes.

Elizabeth is the first to be called up to the front of the room. She’s made pan roasted Berkshire pork chop with herbed biscuits and pea salad. It’s a delicious blend of a mustard cream sauce and properly cooked pork. It’s cooked through but not dry and crumbly. The seasoning is perfect and Chef Elliot calls it the best dish she has prepared so far. Joe agrees that it’s a great dish and that she is “one to watch”.

Victoria used the everyday items to make a Tilapia and Ham Steak (with Nacho Cheese Sauce) with Iceberg Lettuce Salad with bacon and pickle vinagrette and side of potato crisps.

Leslie has used the elevated basket to perfection. He has prepared a trio of Kobe Beef, Ahi Tuna and Berkshire Pork with Truffle Puree, Stilton and Pea Puree. He was the only who “had the balls” to cook all three premium proteins, which has given him and edge. Chef Ramsay tells him he’s cooked his best dish “at the perfect moment”. Even Joe must admit it is seasoned perfectly.

Results: Leslie gets the “game changing” win. He will have two distinct advantages in the next round. He is happy to finally win. The other chefs, like Elizabeth are “terrified” as they have shown him so much disdain throughout the competition.

Leslie is taken into the pantry. He will get to choose which stuffed pasta the rest of the cooks will have to prepare for their next challenge. He can choose between Joe’s tortellini, Graham’s caramelle, which resembles a piece of wrapped candy, with the two twisted ends pointing out and Gordon’s Ravilacci. Each has their challenges but Leslie chooses the caramelle.

Pressure Test: Joe’s sample is classic mozzarella stuffed caramelle with grated cheese and a light tomato sauce. This is their target and standard upon which they will be judged. Chefs will have 60 minutes in total and five minutes in the pantry to collect their items. Each will be given a pasta maker to use to prepare the caramelle from scratch.

But wait, Leslie gets one more advantage besides immunity from this challenge….he gets to pick one chef who will use an old fashioned rolling pin in lieu of the pasta maker. After toying with a few contestants, he chooses Daniel, who is visibly upset. It seems to rattle him and negatively affects his performance. Leslie is ecstatic.

In the pantry, Cutter analyzes the ingredients and searches for the Gorgonzola cheese. Scottish Francis makes the decision to “go bold” and color his pasta beet red to look like candy. Daniel and Big Willie also try to go “outside the box” but they fall flat. Joe wanted a traditional mozzarella filled pasta dish, not experimental gastronomy.

Judge Elliot stops by Big Willie who is making a dessert caramelle. He tells Willie that it is “crazy town” what he is doing. Joe stops by Daniel’s station and he says he “seems to be in pretty good shape” aside from his wine reduction.

Jaimee is making a traditional mozzarella stuffed dish, copying her father’s traditional Italian recipe. The judges don’t know why Frances (Ramsay says his dish tasted awful) and others were taking unnecessary risks when the competition called for a straightforward Italian dish. The standard is that is should be something the Joe could serve in one of his restaurants.

Daniel’s dish is a disaster. Joe says it looks more like a steamed dumpling in a Chinese restaurant. The pasta is too thick (never put red wine into pasta). His biggest challenge was not the curveball thrown by Leslie but his own poor decisions. He made this task more difficult than it needed to be. Chef Ramsay calls it, “disgusting”.

Jaimee’s caramelle, made according to her father’s recipe, is delicious. Joe loves it and would be happy to serve it in one of his restaurants. He thanks her and says she brought him a “taste of Queens”. She nailed it, following Joe’s directions precisely.

Scottish Francis presents his too out of the box dish. It’s beet juice colored, short rib filled with a cauliflower puree. Chef Elliot hates it.

Cutter is up next and he has made another great dish. He is the only to have made his caramelle with a cream sauce. Chef Ramsay says he “cooks like an angel” although he looks like a ruffian.

Courtney has made (according to Joe), caramelle filled with mozzarella with fresh tomato sauce. “A super sexy, simple dish”.

Big Willie is also goes too far out of the box with his dessert pasta. Chef Ramsay is angry and unimpressed. He says “it looks like regurgitated dog vomit”. He calls him “Lazy Willie not Big Willie”.

Results: The top two dishes were made by Courtney and Jaimee (winning dish). The two Italian ladies will be the captains in the next episode’s team challenge. Bottom three are Daniel, Francis and Willie. Daniel and Big Willie are safe and Francis is eliminated. Joe tells him “our business is a craft not an art”. Francis is sad to leave on the cusp of the Top 10. He wants to harness his experience and continue on his culinary path.

Analysis

It was a bit shocking to see Scottish Francis turn in his apron. He seemed to be one of the more interesting and talented performers. But he hasn’t done much in recent weeks and his dish failed on every level – appearance, taste and staying true to Joe’s challenge. So it makes sense that he would be sent packing. That aside, I’m sorry to see him go because he always provided a spark and willingness to look at this differently and take risks. Good Luck Scottish Francis!

The good news is that fan favorite Big Willie survived. But for how long? He seems to seem to suffer the same affliction as Francis, the desire to go too far beyond the guidelines of the given task. When Joe Bastianich tells you to make a mozzarella filled caramelle with a red sauce, you have to work within certain parameters. You cannot entirely ignore the call of the question. It’s clear the winners, the two Italian women, knew exactly how to prepare the dish Joe craved. Cutter, continuing his resurgence, mixed it up a little bit by making a vodka cream white sauce, for which he was commended. There’s a difference between creativity and foolhardy over exuberance.

The competition is now down to its final 10 home cooks. It’s starting to heat up as the remaining chefs are all pretty strong with many of the weaker competitors sent home. Scottish Francis was unquestionably the best cook so far to be eliminated. For a time, he looked like he could win this competition. If he played it safe this week and just knocked out a solid pasta dish, he’s be moving on and could threaten to take the Master Chef crown. However, in trying to shoot the moon, he shot himself in the foot.

First Tier – Likely Final 4

1. Courtney – She roared back to life this week and crushed the pasta dish. To be sure, she probably made this hundreds times in her Italian household but she delivered. She will choose and lead one team in next week’s team challenge.

2. Elizabeth – She did well in the mystery box challenge, almost winning it again.

3. Ahran – She was not the focus of this week’s episode, so nothing positive or negative.

4. Leslie – He rebounded after a tough week to win the Mystery Box Challenge and avoided his first Elimination Challenge in a while.

The Second Tier – Middle of the Pack

5. Jaimee – She crushed the pasta dish and won the Elimination Challenge. She will choose and lead one team in next week’s group challenge. Her culinary range is still in question, but she is hanging tough.

6. Cutter – He had another strong week and even garnered praise from Chef Ramsay. Is he really the comeback kid or are we going to witness a return of clumsy, clueless Cutter?

7. Victoria – She was in the top three of the Mystery Box challenge and continues to compete.

8. Christian – Not much from him this week, but a past challenge winner who can cook.

Third Tier – Most in Danger of Elimination

9. Daniel – He hit the skids this week after Leslie threw down the hand roller in exchange for his pasta maker. He seemed rattled and made poor decisions almost leading to his dismissal from the competition. Caramelle should not taste like a spicy Chinese dumpling.

10. Big Willie – Another clueless performance and he seemed unaware of what the judges wanted for this task. Perhaps his cooking schools are too related to dessert and he’s not able to translate into more standard dinner fare. But it shouldn’t be so difficult to make a cheese filled pasta with red sauce. Let’s hope Willie figures it out before it’s too late.

Master Chef Season 5, Episode 10, Top 11 Compete aka “A Craft not an Art” – Recap and Analysis Recap This week begins with a Mystery Box Challenge. They have two boxes before them, one containing household ingredients, the other more sophisticated upscale items.

#Ahran Cho #big willie #Christian Green #Courtney Lapresi #Cutter Brewer #Daniel McGuffey #Elizabeth Cauvel #Francis Legge #Jaimee Vitolo #Leslie Gilliams #master chef #master chef 5 #scottish francis #Victoria Scroggins #Willie Mike

The Final Four

Sarah makes her final pitch

Lenny contemplates his promo video

Nicole gets coastal

Luca nails his promo

Sarah says good bye

Robert Irvine is the guest mentor

Luca chats with Kristin Sollene

Nicole prepares beer barbecued clams

Irvine imparts knowledge

Time to Cowboy Up Lenny!

Lenny mugs it up with Steve Olsen

The Final Three

The judges’s work is done – time to vote!

Last night’s episode marked the end of the road for Sara Penrod, with the judges selection of Lenny McNab, Nicole Gaffney and Luca Della Casa as the finalists. The judges, which included Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentis, Alton Brown, Susie Fogelman and Bob Tucschman made their final decision based on the 30 second videos made by each contestant promoting their putative pilot, to be based on their POV. They also considered each chef’s performance throughout the competition.

Still in New York City, the remaining three got to make their promotional videos with surprise coach culinary badass Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible fame. Lenny’s “Cowboy Up” involved going to New York restaurant the West Bank Cafe and speaking with its owner Steve Olsen about adding Western Cowboy themed “Cowboy Soiree” experience for a group of special diners. As could be expected, Lenny struggles somewhat when staring solo into the camera. It was intimidating at first to stare into the blank, soulless crystal while trying to express himself for the unseen veiwers. With Irvine’s coaching, though, Lenny adapted and his video fell into place. He found his true place preparing his coffee crusted bone in filet in the kitchen of the restaurant. The rest of his video went off well.

After seeing his pilot, though, I question whether Lenny’s “country comes to town” schtick will translate well into a series that I would find interesting. After six episodes of adding coffee to some meat (he’s already added it to lamb burgers and steak) will there be anything left to explore? Food Network already has the Pioneer Woman show, what can Lenny add to this? Lenny is an experienced chef and has proven to be an entertaining character but is this right vehicle? Will he make it as a true star of a series or will he make his career doing stand ins and judging for other FN shows?

Next up Luca showed his ability to connect with viewers again in his pilot for “Luca’s Feast”. As he told the judges, after getting eliminated the first time he knew he really needed the competitive fire to win the competition. At this point, he has gone as far he go before the fan vote. In his pilot he went to NYC Italian restaurant Bocca Di Bacco to speak with executive chef Kristin Sollene. He shared a dish with her and then went into the kitchen to prepare Bagna Cauda. He wowed Irvine with tips for preparing garlic. After insightfully leading viewers through the preparation of his dish, he shared it with a group assembled at the restaurant. Now, this is a show that I think people will watch. Not only do the ladies love Luca, but he has a charming down home Italian connection to many of the dishes and techniques he learned from his grandmother His passion for cooking is obvious. He is sure to get many votes.

Last, Nicole did a nice job with her “My Coastal Kitchen” pilot. With Irvine’s help, she worked in a standard Food Network kitchen and prepared Louisiana beer barbecued clams. After she finished, she shared the dish with some friends at a nearby table. Her format seemed more of the traditional Food Network variety, on set rather than in a restaurant. Once again, she did an excellent job, although Irvine implored her to smile to remove her “camera bitchy face”. She tends not to smile when she gets focused on delivering her performance. With Irvine’s prodding, she smiled more and made an interesting series pilot. Would I watch it? Most definitely. The coastal US theme offers many interesting possibilities and opportunities to show viewers compelling and delicious recipes they can prepare at home.

So who is going to win? It’s no longer up to the judges but rather the fans. If the past is any indicator, Lenny should win. He garnered the most votes of this group on the Food Network fan pool on their web site. However, I think both Luca and Nicole have been on a roll lately and have the momentum. Lenny peaked a few weeks ago and his pilot to me was average at best. I think the other two have far more compelling POVs which translate into shows that I would want to watch week after week and look up the recipes to prepare at home. Lenny’s to me is more of a mini-series rather than an ongoing show. But hey, it’s not up to me so we will all have to wait until next Sunday. Lenny would make a great sidekick for Guy Fieri on Diners Drive-ins Dives.

I am going to split my vote between Nicole and Luca. I’m from Northern New Jersey and my grandmother had a house on the Jersey Shore, so I am rooting for the local girl to win it. I think Luca has the right make up to deliver a great show, so I am also on Team Luca. Nothing against Lenny, but it’s competition and there will be only 1 winner. Good luck to all of the Final Three – it must have been incredibly grueling to go through this process.

Food Network Star Final Three selected – Here’s why I’m voting for Luca and Nicole Last night's episode marked the end of the road for Sara Penrod, with the judges selection of Lenny McNab, Nicole Gaffney and Luca Della Casa as the finalists.

#alton brown #Bob Tuschman #bobby flay #food network star #food network star season 10 #giada de laurentis #lenny mcnab #luca della casa #nicole gaffney #sarah penrod #susie fogelman

Kate Mara Wraps ‘Fantastic Four’ With Cast Photo I hope this is better than the last movie!

The Quest Season 1 Episode 1, “The Quest Begins” – Recap and Analysis

Recap

This is the first episode of this epic fantasy reality show. So understandably it takes a bit of exposition before we get rolling. The 12 contestants are summoned to the show by a message written on parchment, in a wooden cylinder. The Paladins, as they will be called, are being notified of their first mission in the game. They must assemble as a group in Ever Realm (the name of this…

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#abc #bertam van munster #paladins #rob eric #the quest

Elizabeth and Ahran choose teams

The Red Team chooses its dish

The Red Team prepares lobster risotto

The Blue Team its winning meal

The Blue Team kiils it

Blue Team wins!

The losing Red Team faces the Pressure Test

Cooks head to pantry for truffle flavors

Recap

Elizabeth and Ahran, the top two from last week, get to select the two teams that will prepare meals for the guests soon to arrive in the Master Chef restaurant. Elizabeth chooses first and seems to have chosen the better team. Elizabeth, with years in the workforce and Ahran just a high school senior, would seem to have a big advantage in managing teams of people.

Team Challenge: The theme of this challenge is love. The tables are filled with couples including Gordon Ramsay and his wife, Tana. The two teams will have 60 minutes to prep their meals. An hour after the entrée goes out, their desserts must be ready to be served.

Blue Team (Elizabeth): Francis, Jamie, Victoria, Courtney, Daniel

Red Team (Ahran): Big Willie, Christine, Christian, Leslie, Cutter

The Blue team selects a filet mignon and the Red Team lobster risotto. Elizabeth appears to have the better team and she has yet to be on a losing team. She has an organized kitchen with her hand-picked chefs at each station. The filet is a safe bet.

The Red Team’s Lobster Risotto is a bit risky. The risotto can be overdone and the lobster improperly cooked. Time winds down as the romantic couples enter the dining room. Many are celebrating anniversaries. The tables are all full and the service is set to begin. It’s game on and only ten minutes remain to get the entrees prepared. Gordon Ramsay and his wife take the last table. Victoria is a bit worried that the steak is too rare. They go with the whole filet for each plate. The lobster dish is also finished. The servers then enter the room to take the plates into to the dining room. Victoria is worried that her steak is too rare for Tana Ramsay.

Tana Ramsay doesn’t like the risotto but the lobster is perfect. The beef is delicious but a little on the rare side. The beet puree and the mushrooms are spot on. Joe samples the room, asking diners about the quality of their meals. Teams like the steak, although it is undercooked for some.

Teams now move onto dessert. Arhan goes with her tiramisu but they are having trouble constructing the layers. Ahran decides to change course. Elizabeth’s Blue Team offers a strawberry cream delight. Time winds down and it’s now time to serve the desserts. Ahran is happy with her product. Elizabeth is also pleased with her effort. Tana Ramsay says the chocolate is delicious but she cannot taste the raspberry. The Blue Team has much more flavor with the caramel on the bottom but the cream on top is the worst part. As the dessert services ends, diners will leave either a red or blue card in their empty check folders to submit as their vote.

Results: The Blue Team dominates with 75% of the votes. The Red Team will face the dreaded Pressure Test. The entire Blue Team is safe and all of the Red Team must compete in the Pressure Test. Some of the chefs like Christine will be competing in their first pressure test while others like Leslie in their fourth.

Pressure Test: Chefs have one hour to make a perfect box of nine high end truffles, with at least three different varieties of truffle. Smooth, not grainy and the filling has to be spot on. They will need to be not only visually pleasing but taste great as well. The entire Red Team of Ahran, Leslie, Cutter, Christian, Christine and Big Willie must compete in the pressure test. They are each provided the staples for making troubles at their station but can use the pantry to create the different flavors.

Chef Elliot says this may the toughest challenge they have ever held. The ratio of butter, chocolate and cream is critically important. Christine is having trouble preparing the truffles in one hour. Christian hasn’t made truffles before. Big Willie seems confident in making another dessert. Leslie has never made truffles before. He buys them for his wife in Beverly Hills. Cutter has also never made truffles before and admits that he knows he’s going home if he’s on the bottom again. Ahran is making peanut butter, dark chocolate and mocha truffles. Her confidence is somewhat shaken by the loss of her team. The judges think Ahran and Cutter are in trouble (except for Ramsay who thinks Cutter will rebound). With 8 minutes remaining, Christine is a mess and has fallen behind. With one minute left the cooks must finalize their truffles. Ahran and Cutter are a bit scared and hope they’ve done enough.

The judges look at Cutter first. They ask him to assess his work and he says a “7 or 8” out of 10. Judge Elliot says visually they are a 10. In a surprise to all Cutter has nailed the challenge. Joe asks him if this is a new Cutter or a one week effort. Judge Ramsay ribs Cutter saying they look terrible but he admits that he loves them. He calls his work “at a professional level”.

Next up is Christian. The judges like his work and he seems okay.

Big Willie is up next and he has done a decent job but Chef Ramsay doesn’t like his overuse of sprinkles. Besides that one mistake he did well.

Joe then inspects Ahran’s work. She used different bases, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. He says they are not bad.

Leslie’s truffles look horrible and Chef Ramsay is concerned. Generally a challenge beast, Leslie’s truffles fail. The taste is good, however, but the horrendous misshapen piles in the box have left Leslie at risk of going home. Chef Ramsay says they look like he pressed them in his armpits.

Last up is Christine. She is in trouble from the start with her awful presentation – they are not round. The taste is off too, they are super bitter.

The judges next mull which chef to send home.

Results: Cutter is the clear winner to the surprise of all. He gets the announcement that he is safe first. Joe congratulates him and tells him to offer his truffles to the Blue Team on the balcony. Next, Big Willie, Ahran and Christian are told they are safe. They head upstairs to the balcony. Ahran is relieved that her nightmare has ended.

That leaves Leslie and Christine on the bottom. Christine is declared the loser and is sent home. The judges are shocked but the truffles were out of balance and “bitter beyond belief”. There are now only 11 home cooks left.

Analysis

Is this the week that Cutter turned the corner? It seems his attitude has improved and he was the clear winner of the elimination challenge. That leads to this week’s rankings.

First Tier – Likely Final 4

1. Elizabeth – She nailed it again this week with keen team selection and excellent leadership on the winning team.

2. Courtney – Didn’t show much individually but was on the winning team.

3. Francis – On the winning team again, remains a creative cook.

4. Ahran – She took a big hit this week with her failed leadership of the Red Team. She picked a weak team that got squashed by Elizabeth. Hopefully she can pull herself together.

The Second Tier – Potential Threat

5. Victoria – She is also a solid performer with some strong work to date; was on the winning team.

6. Christian – Strong competitor who survived the Pressure Test, albeit without distinction.

7. Daniel – Daniel is a solid performer but hasn’t really put it all together yet. Was on the winning team and avoided the pressure test for the first time. Still have to see more.

Third Tier – Most in Danger of Elimination

8. Leslie – He continued his freefall and barely avoided elimination.

9. Cutter – He had an amazing turnaround this week with his outstanding truffles. Is he a one week wonder or is he finally taking the judges’ comments to heart?

10. Jaimee – She can bake but she’s young and lacks ability in other areas. She won’t win Master Chef and her demise is likely to be sooner rather than later

11. Big Willie- He made another silly mistake this week with his overpowering use of sprinkles on his truffles. He is a great dessert chef but lacks a bit of polish and does things that inspire him, not necessarily the judges. He’s a great cook but has been in the middle/bottom of the pack for most of the competition.

Master Chef Season 5, Episode 10, Top 12 Compete aka “Romance is in the Air” Recap Elizabeth and Ahran, the top two from last week, get to select the two teams that will prepare meals for the guests soon to arrive in the Master Chef restaurant.

#Ahran Cho #Christian Green #christine silverstein #Courtney Lapresi #Cutter Brewer #Daniel McGuffey #Elizabeth Cauvel #Francis Legge #gordon ramsay #graham elliot #joe bastianich #Leslie Gilliams #master chef #master chef 5 #tana ramsay #Victoria Scroggins #Willie Mike

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