Ceviche is NOT Poached, Jeff
So last night on Top Chef, blonde, self-assured and debonaire Jeff once again overthought his elimination dish, this time with a ceviche that cooked in water rather than citrus then had the audacity to criticize his opponent’s cooked version of ceviche.
Hear all about it on the Top Chef Podcast.
Two gone on “Top Chef”
Here’s our podcast of the past two episodes of “Top Chef.” Be sure to check out our old friend ReRe’s recap.
A night to remember
So Tre Wilcox made the trip up from Dallas on Sunday thanks to Cat Taylor’s winning essay entry in a contest sponsored by momtourage.com, the parenting page powered by iVillage.com, only to find he could neither wine on Sunday nor scallops.
Sorry, dude, no Central Market or Whole Foods in OKC. It’s Wal-Mart or bust. Ugh.
Anyway, he used shrimp instead of scallops for the first course, which I was lucky enough to sample. Wow. I left soon thereafter, worried I might attempt to tackle Tre for the leftovers. That would’ve ended badly for me. Have you seen the muscles on that guy?
Anyway, here’s the recipe:
Bacon-Scallion Risotto
4 ounces unsalted butter
¼ cup yellow onion, small diced
¾ cup carnanoli rice
5 cups chicken stock, plus reserved
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons apple-smoked bacon, diced and cooked till crisp.
¼ cup scallion, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
→Melt butter slowly in heavy-bottom stockpot, saute onions over medium high heat for three minutes.
→Add rice. Toast for three to four minutes. Begin adding chicken stock a cup at a time, stir constantly.
→After last cup of stock has cooked away, finish risotto with cream, cheese, butter, bacon and scallion. Season with salt and pepper.
→Serve right away.
Pomegranate Brown Butter
4 ounces unsalted butter
3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons pomegranates
Salt to taste
→Brown butter over medium high heat. When butter is browned, strain through fine mesh strainer.
→Cool slightly, mix with remaining ingredients and season with salt.
→Keep warm until time to serve.
Scallops
6 each U-10 diver sea scallops, muscles removed
Grapeseed oil
Salt to taste
→Using hot pan, sear sea scallops in grapeseed oil until cooked to desired temperature.
→Serve right away.
→For the plate: In the bottom of small bowl, place a spoonful of the risotto. Spoon pomegranate brown butter around risotto. Top with one seared sea scallop and garnish with chervil sprig. Serve.
Copyright October 2008
Pack your knives and tune it
A little over 24 hours from the return of “Top Chef” on Bravo. It premieres Wednesday night at 9. Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons return as judges. Gone is Ted Allen to the greener pastures of The Food Network, replaced by Toby Young.
I’ve always thought Ted was great, but he might not be the type of TV Bravo was looking for. Ted’s always been thoughtful, intellectual but not afraid to lend fair criticism.
Toby Young has made a career of more or less pissing off those around him. Methinks Bravo is seeking the “Puck Factor.”
Until last season, most of the contentiousness and conflict was between the contestants. Last season, some of the chefs took the judges to task, showing a new exploitative avenue.
Emotion is what puts the TV in Reality TV. Whether it’s weeping would-be pop divas or machine gun bleeping from an overwrought chef, outburst affect viewers. Once compelled, they’re lost forever. It all goes back to Puck from the Real World. Oi.
But I haven’t even mentioned the new season’s biggest guest: New York City. Previous host cities have included Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco. All are respected restaurant cities and have their strengths, but none can compete with New York across the board.
It’s home city to all the judges and good portion not only of this year’s contestants but many from previous seasons, which means we can probably look forward to a lot of guest appearances.
Be sure to look for our “Top Chef” podcasts on Thursdays following the show. Links to it will be available on this blog.
