Donut Lasagna

A specialty of Top Chef Casey Thompson.

Along with the usual lasagna ingredients, she adds brie, spinach, nutmeg, and cream. Then assembles it by laying the noodles on a flat surface, and spooning some of the filling on each, then rolls'm up and places them on edge in a casserole dish. Cheese on top, voila!

Casey says:
" ...I always like a little something different during the holidays; I don't always stick to the rules."

No kidding. Whats even funnier?...

In Nov. she was asked what item she least likes to cook,
and she picked lasagna ! (video from 11/2010 below)



The full recipe & article is here (Star-Telegram) but before you rush out to get the ingredients let me warn you that her special version clocks in w/ an impressive 753 calories, 29 gr fat per serving.

* Tonight is ep #3 of Top Chef All-Stars
================

Fabio Sticks It

O Fabio! I will read more to you now, yes?
... Fabio? ... FABIO!?

Lol'd reading about Fabio's 'Cafe Firenze'/'Taste!' tour.


The article writer swoons for Fabio & his co-author:

"Like a whirlwind storm, their presence changed the atmosphere and their cologne scented it..."

"Fabio Viviani was hot before he starting cooking on Season 5 of Top Chef. Women loved the handsome Italian with the spiked, short tendrils of black hair..."

"...the people confuse me with Fabio," said Falleni, who smelled of Opium cologne and wore a charcoal Armani suit."

Meanwhile the only recipe of theirs that she mentions?... the balsamic martini. Probably because of this quote:

"It is made with strawberries, vanilla rum, lime, simple syrup and balsamic vinegar," Falleni said. "It's a little acidic, and it's sweet. So, the women go for it of course, and I go for the women..."

(Those were the best bits, to read all, click the pic)

She must write romance novels on the side.

Wanna bet she Tivo'd all his moments on TC too?


p.s.

AARP member?
You could always check out some 'Top Chef Seniors'... Nah.

Top Bid = Top Chef

Get your bids in!

The NY Drama League's annual Benefit Gala Auction has begun, and one item is a Tour of Top Chef:

#-139 This 'priceless' VIP package includes:

4 VIP tickets to a Top Chef Tour show
(* pick any 2010 Tour stop)
Meet and greet with TC chefs
Tour of the Top Chef Tour Kitchen
Top Chef gift bag, including items such as
an autographed Quickfire cookbook,
Top Chef t-shirt
Top Chef apron
etc...

Highest bid so far is $ 650

Woo, its getting expensive. But not as expensive as going to the auction in person. Tickets to the event start at $750, going up to $1,995, or $7,500 to reserve a table. And add to that whatever ca$h you plan to spend on drinks or the auction itself...

Online auction is here: Bidding For Good .

* Just 2 weeks left to bid - I'm wondering how high it will go, because the online bids are just the beginning. They will continue to allow additional bids at the gala event itself.

Are drama geeks also foodies? - Guess we'll find out.

The Flavor of WD-50

Does it sound appetizing?... Well,
remember the potty-mouth from Top Chef Masters?
_{image courtesy minxeats - click to go there!}
TWoP's Aemilia ate at his (Wylie Dufresne) place 'WD-50'.

See what you think of the items she tried:

Fried Frog's Legs w/ pomegranate reduction & fruit balls that were 'sort of like caviar w/kelp pieces on top'

Hanger Steak Tartare, on top of almond paste w/ hyacinth reduction with banana powder and crispy strings of fried sweet potato. 'combo of bloody tartare w/ sweet really sort of blew my mind'

Pork Loin with Coconut Mustard Sauce w/ fried sweet potato balls and pickled leeks with bitter greens, and 'these clear threadlike things on top that I can't remember, but they seemed vegetable in nature'

(dessert tasting menu)

Tart Ice Cream with powdery raspberry crumbles... 'when I broke it open with my spoon, it had a center of balsamic vinegar'

Cheesecake - very tart and citrusy w/ lime ice cream & a pineapple gel and gelatinous slivers of pineapple pieces with pickled raisins.

Caramelized brioche that inside had this caramel filling, along with a ribbon of buttercream, and with vanilla ice cream and a cardamom (?) foam.

Chocolate Ganache and Cardamom Cake and Peppermint Ice Cream - sitting on a bed of chocolate cookie crumble that had a hidden molten chocolate mint sauce underneath

My opinion?
Some of it sounds as tasty as real WD-40.

But she said she liked it - maybe b/c she got a kitchen tour?

---

link- Aemilia's post re: her dinner, 4th one down.

Judge Carla

Carla tries out the other side of the table...

NPR asked viewers to send in 'your best garlic recipe', and then asked local DC foodies to pick the best from the final three winning recipes. And 'Chef Carla Hall': competitor on Bravo's Top Chef and the owner of Alchemy Caterers, was one of the judges! (The NPR garlic recipe article.)

Me & Top Chef, NYC

My New York Top Chef Tour photos!

Friday (3/27) we made a looong drive to NYC to pick up some bulky items near Madison Square Park. Not fun, until I spotted the TC Tour truck! Alas it was too late for any demos, so I just took a few pics.
*click to enlarge any individual pic.
The Truck
Today's Chefs
TC crew cleanup
Life-size cutouts!
wheel of TC prizes
Last TC store items
Set side of truck
thru left window
thru right window
Set, thru door
Bravo disclaimer

This (above) was on a 3 ft board by the door.

All the fans that got inside had to first agree to risk being photographed, or used in promo materials or possibly -dying- to be allowed in.

Makes you wonder just what Nikki was serving...

True Flavor

Top Chef's Stefan and Carla do a Cook-Off!

In Chicago on Saturday April 4th? - you're in luck.
Their duel is at the Merchandise Mart, from 6-9 p.m.

Its sponsored, ironically enough, by a place called 'The Chopping Block', and here are the True Flavor Cook-off details. Anyone up for a quick flight to the Windy City?

p.s. will upload my TC truck pics -this- weekend, honest!

*Pic credit to Arsenic and Old Face; he likes Carla too!

Tour Chef NYC

I saw (and touched) the Top Chef Tour set! We were going through NYC Friday afternoon, and saw the Top Chef tour truck - they were closing up for the day. In fact I waved at Hosea as he was leaving the set, and he smiled and waved back. (Sorry it wasn't Fabio but beggars can't be choosers...)

But anyway, my scoop is that the brunette selling Top Chef gear (books, T's, oven mitts), to the last stragglers said that even though all the tickets for Saturday were reserved, that you can show up in the morning and get put on the waiting list, and there's a good chance you could get into the first seating! So go to south corner of 23rd and Broadway (via N, W, or R lines) right below Madison Sq Park for Saturday's shows:

Sat, Mar 28 @ 10:30 am
Sat, Mar 28 @ 12:00 pm
Sat, Mar 28 @ 01:30 pm

Heck, even if you can't get in, you can still purchase TC stuff including the 'Culinary Boner' or 'I love Fabio' T-shirts. Enjoy!

*will post my pics of the TC Tour truck later this weekend.

Top Comic

'Top Chef' Tom's Nightmare... (click to embiggin'*)

'Wendy','Ronald','B.King' & Padma say: 'Tom, PYK&G' - Ha!.

So Tom C has really hit the bigtime - today's Sunday comic page.
Opened up the funnies and there he was, but with a banana-nose.
Then again it must be catching since Padma has one too. ;-)

*_{credit to comic page of: Argyle Sweater}

Juicy Chefs

More TC reunion from this week's TVguide.

TVguide (paper version) had unseen bits from the reunion. Good little article - wish it was longer. And, just because I'm the sharing type, here's my scan of the (2/3 page) article for y'all - just click it. ;-)

Loved Stefan's reply when asked if he cared that he lost: "Don't give a rosy rat's ass!" - And he also quotes a website that compared his face to a cross between that guy on 'The Shield' and Brad Pitt(?)

Meanwhile the others joked with Ariane about being on Bravo's future version of Desperate Housewives: New Jersey. And the chefs also kidded Padma for details about her love life, but she clammed up. Speaking of Padma, a favorite moment of Stefan's? - smoking outside with Padma after the finale.
Enjoy.

Chop Shop

aka The Top Chef Reunion Show
Tonight on Bravo, The chefs return! chop-chop!...

j/k - But am looking forward to hearing what S5's crew says about NY & New Orleans. Fan favorite?... I'm placing my bet on Fabio, since he had better menus than Carla right at the time Bravo was pushing for votes.

eta: Congrats to Fabio, but that was slooowww

Tidbits from the TC Reunion:

The Stefan & women montage, followed by his stare at Padma when she walked in, priceless!

Toby asking if Fabio & Stefan 'hold hands' walking in Santa Monica and Fabio replies 'No', that he uses a leash.

The chefs made Glad-toys in the stew room! -LOL- I wish we'd seen that -during- the show. (Did Glad wonder why they had to re-stock so often?)

Don't care for host Andy C. But at least I'm not alone - 'Pepper M' (of TWoP) has something to say about him:
'Shut up, you charmless, unintelligent twatwaffle'- I LOL'd.

Sequestered for 6 weeks? H. must've included the finale time, because no way were they in Brooklyn for 6 weeks!

The 'birthday curse'...
Amazed that didn't leak earlier: 'Happy B-day, pack'm'up!'
Loved Leah dismissing the curse just before it bit her.

Fabio > Toby > TomC

TomC makes me like Toby...

... As for the decision to name Rosenberg the winner, Colicchio says he’s "not positive" if it was completely unanimous.

“It may have been three out of four [judges],” he says. “I don’t remember one hundred percent. I think Toby may have wanted to give it to Stefan if I remember correctly.”

And I hope this comes to pass:

Adds Colicchio, “At the end of the day, I would say Fabio will end up doing more than the winner only because of his personality. That’s where the personality comes in. This season, most people are going to remember Fabio.”

*Hopefully Hootie Hoo too. ;-)

MSNBC link: TC finale interview

Not So Easy

Tonight's the TC finale in the Big Easy! I'll be crossing my fingers for Carla, since I'm tired of Stefan & Hosea, the bald, quirky tools. And the preview showed this (see below) as the proteins for what must be the quickfire... (turns out they were for a surprise 4th course) Will any of these three have an advantage with this? (gator, anyone?)

Then its off to this place, er 'palace':
Not very royal looking; hadn't realized it was a such a dining icon. Was in New Orleans ages ago and never noticed it. But I will be paying attention tonight, honest! (their usual, non-TC menu)


eta: ... I'm sad

Oh Carla, why a sous-vide for the first time in the finale!?!

Q.) Think she might've won with Rich or Marcel as sous chef?

eta2: Answer: ,..'Nope' (thanks minx!)

Dining Dish

Dishing out a scoop...
the name of the surprise judge in TC's finale! Too bad its not my scoop really, because the author of DD got this note in her email box and was kind enough to post it on her blog:

"Greetings!!!

We strongly recommend that you tune in to Bravo on Ash Wednesday, Feb 25, for the Top Chef 5 Finale. Rumor has it that you might see a very familiar face on the judging panel.

Happy Mardi Gras...

And it came from Bayona, so it sounds like the head chef there, Susan Spicer, will be the judge.


original link: Dining Dish

Now Hair This!

Tidbits about Carla from a recent interview:

Q&A Top Chef's Carla Hall... Finding Her Sea Legs
(legs? she must use crabs vs. scallops...)

Viewers will see her tonight with a sleek new hairdo
as the cooking competition moves to New Orleans.
(Previews show Carla's hair is straight now.)

Q. Will we be seeing any photos of you from your modeling days?

Carla: Yeah, you might. (can't wait!)

Q. How hard has it been to read stuff... that wasn't so complimentary?

Carla: My husband would get upset when he read blogs, (uh oh) but I still don't read them. (whew!)

I wouldn't necessarily disagree with some of them. I knew I could cook better. I just needed to find my sea legs. It's like being on "Jeopardy!" and suddenly all the categories are the ones you know.

The Washington Post link - can be slow loading.

Hanky-Skanky

Skank, its what's for dinner...
Leah reveals all, incl her bf's reaction to Hosea:

Q: how do you feel about being eliminated for your dish?

Leah Cohen: I don't think I deserved to go home.
They said my poached egg was undercooked, which I disagree with. It's a very specific time and temp — 62' for 45 minutes — and it comes out perfect all the time... (except not)

Q: You seemed to give up during the fillet challenge. Why?

Leah: I actually just didn't want to do it any more.
I was just over it, the competition and the show...
(what a coincidence! We were over you, too!)

Q: Did you know the cameras caught you & Hosea kissing?

I didn't. They usually leave when everyone is going to sleep.
(Hint: don't give up your day job to become a spy, Leah.)

Q: How did your boyfriend take the news?

Leah: I went home and told him right away. He was fine, and then he saw the actual footage and wasn't fine with it. I guess the way I said it was like, "Oh, I kind of kissed a guy on TV."

Then he saw it and was like, "No, you were flirting with this guy, and then on top of that, you made out with him." Needless to say, he was not cool about it, and we are not together anymore. (quelle surprise...)

Q: Any chance you and Hosea will hang out?

Leah: It's totally a friend thing, but we're going to
film the reunion soon, and we'll get to hang out.

By that you mean 'Friends with benefits'?

Chef(s) To Go

_{'Chef to Go' by Jennifer Garant, available at posterspoint}

GO CHEF GO!... Top Chef is casting Season 6! :

'Bravo’s Emmy-winning series... “Top Chef”, will be returning for a 6th season. Open calls for chefs interested in competing in the high-stakes culinary competition series will be held in cities across the country...':

SAN FRANCISCO - Sun, Feb 8, Ducca Restaurant

SEATTLE - Wed, Feb 11, Canlis Restaurant

ATLANTA - Sun, Feb 22, CRAFT Restaurant

NEW YORK - Sun, March 1, 10AM - 2PM CraftSteak

PHILADELPHIA - Wed, March 4, XIX NINETEEN, Park Hyatt

LOS ANGELES - Sun, March 15, CRAFT Restaurant

CHICAGO casting - email TCCastingChicago@gmail.com

(note: All are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., local time)

Full article at NBC, Bay Area

The casting call comes out of NBC San Francisco. Hm.
Does that mean that Season 6 will be Season SanFran?

eta: Hosea's apology for the kiss (!)

SubparBowl

The 'What Were You Thinking' Awards
for Top Chef Episode 5.10 are in:

(drumroll...)

3rd place: Nikki - chicken livers?...
For a SuperBowl snack? Really?

2nd place: Fabio - eggplant & dry oatmeal? Ew.
And made into a cylinder no less... 'nuf said.

1st place: Fabio(encore) - overdone deer. Ew.
But this award is mainly for the missed opportunity:

Dude! - You're from Italy, you had meat, you had cheese, this was a SuperBowl Party... If you'd only made them some little pizzas on toast you would've been the one going to the SuperBowl! Sheesh!

Couldn't've said it better myself, congrats Carla!


*Thanks and credit to Minx for the pic!

Perilla

_{not my pic - their winter wind-guard vestibule was in the way}s1 'Top Chef' Harold's NY place.
When we were in NYC we did Perilla's again. Arrived late for an early seating and they were very forgiving. (we'd called) And got better seats this time, on the left banquette. We sat next to the black curtain last time - too much service traffic in that area. This time we had:

==== appetizer

Apple & Romaine Salad (good solid flavors)
mt blue cheese & spiced walnut vinaigrette 11

Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly (its bacon!)
apple kimchi & pickled watermelon radish 12

==== main

Braised Elk 'Osso Buco' (richly done)
celery root puree, baby carrots & ginger sauce 26

Roasted Duck Breast (not stellar, but nice)
basmati rice, mustard greens & garam masala 25

==== dessert

Warm Apple Doughnuts
with creme fraiche chantilly 9
(had the vanilla ones last trip, loved both!)

Plus drinks, it all came to around $150 - quelle nuit!

His signature appetizer - had it last time:


Link: Perilla's website

Ted Allen Regrets

TC judge Ted Allen gets 'Chopped'?...


That's the name of his new show, an Iron Chef/TC clone.
From the sound of it, his 'TC' is 'tepid chefs':

Allen has spoken out (on his blog) against allegations that his show is a TC rip-off, saying "There is no sleep deprivation, no "Big Brother" house full of bunk beds & cameras, no booze-fueled personal drama... Best of all, there is no product placement, so you never see passionate lovers of good food being forced to use packaged convenience junk..."

That may all be true, but the absence of Diet-Dr-Pepper QFs doesn't make up for the fact that Chopped's format is boring, the talent of its chef-testants subpar, and the general look of the show cheap. We'll take the occasional Bertolli challenge in exchange for some decent production value and an occasional change of scenery.

If there's any format Chopped has ripped-off, it's Iron Chef's. Each week, the four chef-testants have to cook an appetizer, main course, and dessert. They have 30 minutes to cook each course and must use the "mystery ingredients"

I like Ted Allen but I'm not so sure about his new baby...

review link: Village Voice