Master Chef week of 6/17

[Worldwide Diner]

I wonder what David Martinez (the guy who describes himself as from the ghetto of Chicago) did to piss so many people off. In any case, they're right to think he's a lame captain. An interesting side note - these contestants are the cream of the crop and yet they can't tell if pork is raw. Maybe those HK contestants deserve a little more credit?! Anyway, I'm shocked at who went home for the apple pie.

[mrln242]

Hey guys this is David Martinez from Masterchef Season 3. If you guys ever want to chat, or run questions by me hit me up at @mc3david or my FaceBook account MC3David. Or Check out my website www.fromfiretotable.com, I love interacting with others. I also dont know what I did, I have my own thoughts on this. In any case, thank you guys for watching and please stay in touch.

[GreenDragon]

Welcome, David! We always like getting 'the inside scoop', so to speak :)

[mrln242]

Yeah for sure. I can definitely answer questions. Thanks for watching seriously none of us can do this without you guys. We should advocate for CH to have me blog about the episodes.

[LindaWhit]

David, AJ Rossi is also on these threads. (Someone starts a new one for the week's two new shows). And since perhaps not everyone is on Twitter or Facebook, we'd probably ask the questions here, if you don't mind. :-)

[saeyedoc]

Anyone from the eastern shore of Maryland who screws up a crab challenge should go home completely humiliated.

[Cheese Boy]

Yep ... I think Graham chimed in and called that area 'Crabville' (?) IIRC.

[GreenDragon]

I was rather upset with the amount of yummy fresh crab was rendered into 'crab bits' for soups and the like in this challenge. Yes, those that got the canned meat had little choice, and usually did well in the challenge. (I LOVED Monti's chutzpah with the Scotch Egg idea) But you have a lovely Dunegeness crab - use it's strengths! Don't chop it into tiny bits!

[LindaWhit]

OK, for Tuesday night's show? I did NOT like seeing Ryan win the first challenge. I just *dislike* this guy. I really thought the other two had better looking dishes. But we didn't get to taste them. But he was a complete Richardhead last night at the military challenge in suggesting that the women show their nipples to the soldiers to gain votes for their team, and no matter how well he cooks, he's still a Richardhead.

He has a HUGE advantage with his win to give fresh or canned choices of the same item to the rest of those who will be cooking in the elimination challenge. (BTW, how was that decided as to who would be cooking in the elim challenge? I can't recall.)

He tries to come up with a Master Plan to screw up those people he *knows* are better cooks than he is by giving them the version of the ingredient he feels will send them home.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! Many of those he thought was going to screw up with their ingredients are in the top group! Very glad to see who wins. And was hoping for his bromance to be broken up with his buddy in the Bottom 4, but alas, it was not to be.

[maisonbistro]

He needs to get rid of the "douchebags" left. Takes on to know one. Could he be more smug and thoroughly un-charismatic? UGH- I didn't like him before and yes Linda, that nipple comment cemented my opinion. Ahhh, the bromance, and I quote: "before brilliance comes madness". Right.

I am upset by who went home, not necessarily because she is a great cook, but Joe didn't even try Tali's dish, and neither did Graham if I recall correctly- and Gordon picked up the rice with his fork- WHOLE!!! How is that better than a soup????

I so loved that they loved Monti's dish - a scotch egg and now Ryan has egg on his face. Smug jerk.

[Worldwide Diner]

How ironic that he needs to get rid of the "douchebags."

[LindaWhit]

Gotta wonder what his friends and family feel about his portrayal so far. Last night showed a *lot* of sliminess. I thought for sure he was going to pull a Christian (from Season 2 MC) and tell Christine and GR that her dish wasn't good. He at least had the cojones to admit he was wrong.

[Cheese Boy]

Christian and Ryan would have had quite the bromance if they were paired together -- two complete 'douchebags' IMO. Now, moving onto Helene.
She thinks Frank can win MC? Come on ... really?

[LindaWhit]

Yeah, I was surprised at Helene's choice of winner. So far, he's not showing anything but pasta.

[dondcook]

I thought they said his apple pie was one of the top.

[LindaWhit]

That was a specific Pressure Test, where everyone had to make the same thing, the apple pie. It's been noted even by the judges that Frank is leaning on pasta as his go-to dish for several previous rounds (including his audition, I believe). We'll see what happens tonight.

[Kajikit]

I'm sure they tried it and just didn't show it on camera... I think he's a supreme moron, and I can't WAIT to see them send Tali home - the guy thinks he's god's gift to cooking and he's been on the bottom in every challenge? No wonder Ryan is cultivating him - he's no competition whatsoever.

VERY impressed by Christine.

[Sandwich_Sister]

Ryan is coming off as a douche and he's not doing himself any favors. I think likability does come in to play when you are trying to sell a cookbook.

Also no wonder he is unemployed, the nipples comment would not fly at any job.

I'm a little confused on his story. He's out of work for 18 months living in NYC. His family either has money or he some how manages to live in NYC on unemployment.

I think one reason he's so up and down on the challenges is that he doesn't have the knowledge that a culinary student might have but he does have the experience of being at some of NYC best restaurants. Is he merely just copying what he's seen and eaten?

How did Ryan and Tali figure out that David is the douche and is out to get them? Did I miss something?

[dbrodbeck]

That comment was indeed wholly inappropriate. It is one of those things you MIGHT say around friends, or even co workers who you have known for years and you would know they would find funny. However, not around people you met two weeks ago.

[Sandwich_Sister]

Exactly. If he had known these women and there were on a comfort level for joking that way it would be different.

[LindaWhit]

How did Ryan and Tali figure out that David is the douche and is out to get them?
~~~~~~~~~~

Paranoia? ;-)

[Sandwich_Sister]

Hahaha, Yes!

[chicgail]

Or threat of a talented rival?

[LindaWhit]

Agree on David Martinez not taking control of his team. Thank god for Becky (I think it was she who took over?) And how could they not have figured out raw pork?

And I'm not shocked at the apple pie elimination challenger loser. That pie was absolutely gross.

[LindaWhit]

Replying to bookmark but NOT reading the thread yet, as I haven't watched Monday's night show. I'll do that tonight before the Tuesday night ep.... :-)

[maisonbistro]

Anyone who has ever made a decent pie crust knows that the dough has to be chilled for at least an hour- especially if the butter was already on the counter,m under the TV lights and therefore not chilled. There is no way, NO WAY, that she baked that whole apple pie, perfect bottom crust and all in 18 minutes. I'm sorry. I think she is remarkable but there is something fishy there.

And so far, I am very disappointed with MC- it is really is turning into another series of gimmicks. Why is cooking for 201 (why the 1??) a skill any home cook be expected to have and pull off without a hitch??? And what does it prove? Not much if you ask me.

I want MORE JOE. He's the Simon Cowell of cooking shows- he tells it like it is- he's there to critique- not pat on the back.

[Sandwich_Sister]

They showed them using really cold butter. Christine who was not used to using cold butter cut her self slightly. I think I tend to agree with Dave C above.

I find it frightening that you relate Joe to Simon, as Simon is also a gimmick and part of the recipe that makes his shows. Pun intended.

[maisonbistro]

Despite Simon's "gimmicks"- he was also honest and told it like it was. He didn't sugarcoat anything. I didn't watch the X factor, but did see him on American Idol. I find Joe's "judging" style similar.

[JuniorBalloon]

201 so there wouldn't be a tie, but I agree it's filled with gimmicks when it doesn't need to be. Still I watch. Sigh.

[dave_c]

One thing about the apple pie challenge is that many of the contestants precooked their apple filling. I'm used to baking an apple pie from uncooked apples.

I, too, wonder if David Martinez is the Marcel Vigneron of the show. Also, I can't believe how caddy Tali and the other dude is. They come off as weasels.

Thinking of the timing...
Basic pie crust in a food processor 5 to 10 minutes (includes gathering ingredients).
Filling prep is about 15 minutes.
Roll and fill pie crust 5 minutes
Which gives about 40 to 50 minutes baking time... which is not enough time to cook a pie using uncooked apples.

[Sandwich_Sister]

So those that had success had to have been the ones that pre baked the filling. Tanya's apples were still raw she must not have done it that way.

Thanks, that all makes sense.

[LindaWhit]

I usually do the same as you - my apples go in uncooked. But it looks like everyone was pan-sautéing their apples so they were par-cooked when they went into the pie shell.

[Kajikit]

I don't see how you could make it work in an hour without pre-cooking the filling... When I bake a pie (which isn't often) I start with raw apples and bake it until the skewer says it's done - usually about an hour, depending on how firm those particular apples are. And they only HAD an hour!

[LindaWhit]

Agreed, Kaj. No way to make it work without par-cooking the filling. I also use an old-fashioned pastry blender vs. a food processor for blending the crust ingredients, so that takes me longer to make.

[chowser]

It's been brought up before that they are probably taught technique before they do the challenge which is what I'd think, after seeing how similarly they all did their pies, from the crust to the precooking the apples. I do precook my apples so there isn't the space between apples and crust after the apples cook down that you get when starting w/ uncooked apples. I want my mile high apple pie w/ lots of apples up to the crust and not a huge space between.

I did think it was interesting when Joe commented that one contestant's pie had a space between apples and crust. It's not unusual/wrong to have that space.

[Sandwich_Sister]

I was saying to my husband about Michael when he was on the grill that he makes some great food when it is something he can apply to his comfort zone. He's 19 and lacks experience and was asked to cook and bake things that are foriegn to him. With some training and experience he could make a great chef.

Scott mentioned he cooked several apple pies in 3 months, did he just sike himself out? He lived another day because his filling was good.

Take the darn pass, what is wrong with people! I can see Felix wanting to cook because she stayed out the last competition. Stacy should not have felt bad for taking it.

Christine - I'm glad Gordon gave her the pep talk, This whole episode was not suited to her but she managed to do well.

We haven't seen much of Anna or Joshua recently. Not a bad thing, I think it means they are cooking consistently well.

[libgirl2]

The "ghetto" he comes from is Glencoe, one of the most affluent towns in the area!

[C. Hamster]

The Mean Streets of Glencoe, indeed

[shell22]

While I love the idea of this show, it just has the gimmicky HK feel to it. The over the top drama is too much and the stories are not believable. GR's statement that "you are going to kill someone" with an undercooked pork chop is ridiculous since Trinchinosis is virtually non existent in domestic meat animals. Also, I don't believe that Christine cooked a 'perfect' apple pie in 18 minutes. Sorry.

[Sandwich_Sister]

Good point about 18 minutes for the Apple Pie. Something is up, did they exaggerate the time she put it in? Did she pre bake the bottom crust and apples and then assemble it and put it in for 18 minutes.

[Kajikit]

The filling was pre-cooked, for one, and it looked like the pastry was extremely thin, so I'm sure it takes a lot less time in the oven than it would otherwise. But I expected her bottom crust to be raw.

[rockycat]

How many home cooks, no matter how great they are at cooking for 8, have the slightest idea how to cook for 200? How do you time it? What quantities do you need? What is the correct portion size? This knowlege comes from experience and the ability to turn out 1 killer pan of risotto or 1 perfect apple pie has no connection at all to these type of skills.

I've always thought this challenge was especially ridiculous and irrelevant.

[C. Hamster]

She pressed down on the pork chop with her finger and it yielded mushily and she proclaimed it perfectly cooked.

Sadly, IT'S RAW YOU STUPID DONKEY!

I was very sad to see that kid go....

[madeliner]

you know what pisses me off-every cooking show thinks the military wants more food rather than good food

[LindaWhit]

There WAS a boatload of food on those plates - a 2" thick pork chop AND a full-sized chicken breast? Yikes.