The Next Food Network Star: 6/8/08

The second episode of the season starts with a very unpleasant 3 AM wake up call for the chefs with a spoon banging on a metal bowl. Chef Robert Irvine (Dinner Impossible) is a guest judge this week. Lisa looks really really weird without makeup and half woken up.

The teams for the challenge are:

Blue - Lisa, Shane, Nipa
Green - Jeffrey, Kelsey, Kevin
Gray - Aaron, Adam, Jennifer. (they call themselves the underdog team, because Adam didn't go to culinary school, Jennifer didn't finish culinary school, and Aaron "knows what he knows." Whatever that means.)

They have to gather items in specialty food shops for things they need to cook. At each shop, they'll be asked a food question and if they get it right, they can get their ingredient and be on their way. If they get it wrong, a member of their team can win them the item by doing some sort of food prep.

The winners of the challenge will be featured in USA Weekend.

The green team is the first one out of the house, followed by the green team. The blue team is slow - Nipa took a long time to get ready.

The first Location is Amy's Bread.

The Question for the green team is: To make white flour, what two parts of whole wheat grain are removed?

(I could probably come up with an answer, but I don't know it off the top of my head)

The Green team answers hull and husk, which is close to what I would have guessed, and we were both spectacularly wrong, since the answer is bran and germ. You know, the good stuff for you. That stuff.

To win the ingredient, Kevin has to make some baguettes.

The Grey team's question is: What does it mean when Baking Powder is double acting?
(I actually know this one, because I am a science geek in my non-tv watching life)

The grey team gets it correct, and they are on their way. They get to pick an ingredient and they pick brioche.

While Kevin is still making bread, Team Blue arrives. Their question is: What ingredient helps give pumpernickel bread its dark color?

(I also know this one, since I love pumpernickel) Team Blue got it right (it's molasses) and they are off to the races, picking a baguette.

The next location is a Dairy Shop. Team Grey's first question is: How many lbs of whole milk does it take to make 1 lb of whole milk cheese?

(I have no idea at all) Jennifer did a great job - she got 10 lbs right. They pick ricotta cheese.

Kevin finally finishes his bread, and they get Semolina Raisin bread.

Team Blue's Dairy Question is: What is the name of the cheese making method where curds are piled on top of each other, cut up, pressed together, and then cut up again?

(I have no idea) - Team Blue earns their cheese, and Shane proudly says he learned the answer was "Cheddar" on Food Network. Classic. They pick Danish Blue.

Team Grey is onto the meat market, and their question is: What is the main dietary requirement for pigs to be qualified as Spanish hams quali virigo? - or something of that nature, I know I have butchered the name entirely.

(I am clueless) Adam happened to work in a Spanish restaurant, and they know the answer is acorns. Cool. They pick the NY Strip

Team Green finally gets into the Dairy shop and are asked: What seeds produces the vegetable dye used to create orange cheddar cheese?

(Color me clueless yet again) They get annato correct and grab mozzerella.

Team Blue gets their meat market question, and they have to name four different cuts of meat on a tray.

They get it wrong. Well, Lisa got the answer wrong. Shane has to butcher chickens, and was super quick, and they choose lamb. Nipa is excited about lamb to make some good Indian food, but Lisa brings up the important fact that they also have blue cheese and a baguette to work with so far. Hmmm.

Team Green has to name the four prime cuts of beef. Kelsey got it wrong, and Jeffrey had to do the chicken cut up. They get duck.

Next, they are heading to NJ, and end up at a train station. They are cooking on a train. Grey team is first, then blue team, then green team.

They have to prepare a brunch for over 30 people on a train using three items they collected, along with some other pantry items. They then have to present themselves and their dishes for everyone.

Grey team goes first. They decide that Jennifer will make some sort of savory french toast , Aaron is going to make the steak, and Adam is going to make eggs with herbed ricotta and creme fraiche. Adam wants to make poached eggs with runny yolks. Aaron thinks that's foolish because of the crowd, and Adam doesn't seem to care, and starts poaching, then after some more discussions with Aaron, does sunny side up eggs. Aaron also doesn't like the way that Jennifer is making the French Toast, in big giant rounds. We'll see how it all turns out. Adam has two giant pans of sunny side up eggs that he then has to do surgery on the get the eggs apart. Aaron says that their plates do not look appealing. "I'm getting sea sick, and we are on a train." Adam wants to do a skit with a train robbery thing. Aaron does NOT want to do it. When they come out to present their brunch, Aaron does hang back, but it didn't seem so train-robbery to me. He did have some great personality, though.

As far as taste goes, Susie Fogelson (one of the judges) ended up with some raw egg and had to spit it out into her napkin. Ewwww. Guess Adam got his wish for runny yolk. And white. Double ewwwww. They like the steak a lot. The french toast is called bland. Hmm. Aaron would be the winner in that one.

The Green Team is up next. Nipa is making a lamb kebab with a spice mix. Sounds good. Shane is doing a fig and blue cheese salad. Lisa is doing a crostini french toast with honey creme fraiche. When plating, she missed two plates of creme fraiche and whips up more in two minutes. By hand. I have a little more respect for her now.

Time for presentation! Shane had a lot of trouble speaking. They each just state their culinary points of view. Blessedly, Lisa leaves out her baffling community outreach thing. Shane's salad is called overdressed, and Nipa had some trouble presenting herself as funny. Her lamb is a little too spicy. Lisa surprisingly did the best in this one, and the judges said it was amazing how simple she seemed to come across.

Team Blue is up! Kelsey is making a duck salad with champagne vinegarette and apricots and raspberries. Jeffrey is making a bread pudding with raspberry coulis. Kevin is making honey glazed figs with mozarella crostini. Kevin wants to get some action. We get it. He thinks crostini is sexy. Not so sure about that. Kevin only brought enough olive oil for himself, and Kelsey doesn't have enough for a really great vinegarette. There are issues with plating, again Kevin's problem. He missed two plates and they have to take some apart and rebuild on the newly found plates.

Their presentation is stilted at first, but they pick it up. They call their plate Love (Kevin), Soul (Jeffrey), and Happiness (Kelsey). Kevin had the weakest presentation. The bread pudding is called tough. They like the salad, though the duck is overcooked. Bobby Flay said that he wants to talk to Kevin about his point of view, because "it doesn't mean anything." Other than Kevin needs some nookie and wants his food to get it for him. I agree. Some of the other diners are missing things like sauce for their french toast, and Kevin's fig is way too sweet for some others.

It's judgement time.

Grey team gets a talking to first. Adam's raw eggs are an issue. Aaron's steak wins big time. Jennifer is told that she needs to "find her authority."

Green team claims that they got the last pickings of everything. The committee doesn't understand why figs, honey, and crostini are romantic. Jeffrey is told to bring passion to his game.

Blue team was told that their plate didn't work well together. Nipa didn't want to do fusion food, and Lisa said that they decided to have three separate dishes. Lisa's french toast is given praise, Nipa was told to give more story, and more even spices. Bobby asks Nipa if she is enthusiastic about being The Next Food Network Star, and she says she is not sure. She says that she feels really different. The judges say that they want to see what she brings to the kitchen, so she should step it up and bring it. She then says that she "can't do this anymore" walks out. Didn't see that coming!

Nipa has a moment when she decides if she can handle the criticism. She decided finally to go back and apologize for her temper, and says that she really wants to bring Indian Food to The Food Network, and that she wants to bring her story to the network. The judges wonder if she can handle the pressure.

The winner of the challenge are Lisa and Aaron. I think it is the right choice for winners, and I find myself liking Lisa a whole lot more after this week. Still not sure I would want to see her in a show, but ...

Kelsey, Jennifer, and Adam are safe next, followed by Jeffrey and Shane. Nipa and Kevin are the bottom two, and Nipa gets a chance to redeem herself. I hope that she does. She is told she is "on warning."

I hope that Kevin manages to find himself some love.

I really want Nipa to step it up, because I do want to see Indian food on the Food Network!

Next week, they have to make a packaged food item, and Martha Stewart is going to make an appearance.

Who are you all rooting for? Will Nipa get off her high horse? Will Lisa return to her vulcan ways?

So You Think You Can Dance - Vegas! 6/5/08

The hopefuls take the stage, and judges are Napoleon & Tabitha, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, and of course Mary and Nigel.

The first routine is a hip hop routine by Napoleon & Tabitha. They have only one hour to learn their routine, and Robert Murane, street popper extraordinaire is having huge troubles with the choreography. Robert is thinking of quitting before they even get to the dancing, because he isn't comfortable with it. Nigel tries to talk him into staying, and asks him to do his solo to see if the judges will all fight for him to stay. He obliges and is amazing as ever. He did a flying leap into a lotus position, and some weird and wonderful double jointed moves. Debbie Allen (who is cool enough to wear her sunglasses inside) asks him what he is scared of, and Mia tells him not to poop on his gift, basically. All in vain, because he doesn't want to stay. He's back to the street. And for him, that's a good thing. I am sad to see him go.

The first group includes Courtney Galliano and Rebecca Hart. I also saw Susie Garcia last night, and she is through, along with Courtney. Rebecca is gone. Ricky Sun and Strip Club DJ Ryann Race are also gone.

At this point, they do the whole thing so quickly it's hard to catch people. I think I saw he Gene Kelly guy and the Salsa dancer from last night through.

Claire Calloway gets her chance in Vegas. She messed up right off the bat, and the judges call her a hot mess. She is not through this year. I hope that she tries again because I really like her. Practice more, Claire dear.

By the end of Day one, they are down to 129 from over 200.

Day 2, and it's time to dress sexy and sassy, for choreography by Tyce D'Orio. I'm sure I've spelled that dreadfully, but it's Broadway time! Some people have a hard time seeing when learning. Hope that they do well.

Erika Gee is in the first group, and she is partnered with Brittney Parks because there are not enough boys to go around! I thought they were both fantastic, but the judges didn't like Erika. Brittney is through. Erika is shocked and stunned. The second group included a lot of my faves, like Gene Kelly guy, Susie Garcia, etc. Everyone in the second round is through.

The Hart twins are up next (Anthony and Antwaine). Anthony is through, but no one else is. Anthony is sad about being separated from his brother, but he is still going through.

The cuts continue, and I think that Phil from last night is one of them. One girl got really bitter and blamed it on not being blonde. I knew a girl in high school like that, in theatre. (I am blonde, she is a brunette - We got the equivalent part and she went on a diatribe about how she should just dye her hair and maybe then she would get a good part. Um, how about you do better in the audition? Same applies here. I am glad that whiney didn't get through.)

At the end of the round, it's down to 94.

Round 3 - Jean-Marc's Fox Trot is up next. The Joshua Allen is one who had troubles getting through. His partner's name is Comfort, and in her original audition, Nigel called her the best female hip hop dancer he's seen. Joshua and Comfort get props for being so good out of their genres and they are through. Joshua broke down in tears, and Comfort followed suit.

Pageant Girl Paige Jones is up and is it wrong that I hope she crashes and burns? She annoys the crap out of me. She is paired with Will Adams, a hip hop dancer. Will is coming back to "Dance for his life," and Paige is going to dance with someone else later.

Aliona and Chelsea are at home in the fox trot and are through. Best friends Michelle and Courtney Pierson are through. William Wingfield is also through, as is Twitch, which is awesome.

With a different partner, Paige and her stupid baby doll dress are cut. I can't help it, I squealed a little. Paige is sure Jesus Christ has a plan for her. She throws a little snit about the ugly ugly ballroom hair, and tosses out the bobby pins. She's like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Jerimiah Hughes danced for his life, and he is through. Will Adams gives it a try, and his weird half torn shirt is really distracting to me, and he is not good enough and is cut.

There's a surprise before the end of the day! They are going to be split into groups, and each group gets a random cd, and by the next day, they have to have a piece choreographed for the group to perform. Wow. By the morning, very few people have had much sleep, and it's time to perform.

The first group includes Twitch, Jason Glover, and Bianca Revels. They have to dance to Every Step I Take. They didn't get to bed until 4:30 AM, and were not feeling great, but right before taking the stage they got much happier about it. Right in the beginning, Bianca disappeared from the stage, only to return later with the music cut out, with the others dancing in slow motion and then joining her with a bit of tap in the end. The judges hated it, with the only good bit being the "selfish" tap by Bianca and everyone joining in for a final tap at the end. Yipes.

Each judge tells the dancers they don't like to take a step back. Two steps back means Dancing for their Life, and 3 steps means elimination.

In this first group, only one person (Jason) needs to Dance for his life, and though they had some terrible choreography, the others were all good enough dancers to make it through this round.

Two other groups are shown with terrible comments, but no results shown.

The fourth group is called "Angels & Demons." There were some major battles during the night between Derrick and Jessica King. They are also dancing to Every Step You Take. There were a couple cool tricks, and I thought that Comfort did really well. They are all safe.

Some other unnamed people did pretty well, and it is time for Jason Glover to Dance for his Life. It's a close vote, and he skates by by the skin of his teeth.

Only 4 people were cut in the group rounds, including Courtney Pierson.

The next round is Mia Michaels (also known as Super Challenge). They are all running on almost no sleep. One of the most amusing things to listen to was Mia's vocalizations about the movements she wants them to make. "And zchwaa, boom boom bah, and greadgljgahhh."

Liz Plott (tap dancer from Baltimore) is having a really hard time with it. She says her legs aren't working right, but "If I'm going out, I'm going out laying on stage." During her group audition, Mia says "The Ballroom Guy is a Hot Disaster," but Liz gets good marks, but she is told that it is visible how stressed she is. She then began to talk back to the judges, about how her legs wanted to give out on her, but her mind fought back. Mary tells her that it is not going to get any easier, and Debbie told her she needed to stop talking. Liz earns a step back from Mia for talking too much, and is cut because her attitude earned her no friends. Hope to see her back next year.

Jerimiah Hughes is in the next group, and he lost it completely. He left the freaking stage. He's a contemporary dancer, and he couldn't do contemporary. He threw a temper tantrum and he is cut. Everyone else in the group was good. At least he was humble when he left, saying that he knows he is not ready.

22 dancers, including Jason who was saved earlier, were cut in this round.

47 dancers are left, with 9 dancing for their lives, including Sheila Kaiser, Dominic Pierson, and Twitch.

Dominic Pierson is up first, and Nigel called it "a bit desperate," and then he hurt himself and it was all over. It looked like his knee was locked. Debbie Allen took a moment to console him. He pulled a muscle, and went to the hospital.

Sheila and Twitch were very cool. Mark was awesome and did a routine to Bohemian Rhapsody, and is safe. Twitch is safe, but Sheila was cut. I really liked her, so I'm sad about that.

The last round is everyone doing solos, and Nigel is careful to say that their solos will "have a lot of bearing" on their fate. Because I'm sure the producers also have a role in that.

They show snippets of the solos, but not enough for me to get any idea who did really well and who didn't shine.

It's the final decision about who will be in the Top 20. Cat shows off the dramatic corridor each contestant will walk down on their way to find out their place in the show - monitors showing their first audition through their last auditions are shown.

Kelly Baker is up first, and I really loved her. She is the High School Musical girl. Nigel called her a fabulous dancer, but she needs more personality when she is not dancing. She is not going to be in the top 20 this year, but they pretty much beg her to come back next year.

Courtney Galliano is up next, and they love her as a dancer and think that she is beautiful. She is through.

Chelsea Hightower, latin dancer, and Susie Garcia are through also. So is Chelsea Trail, and Kortni Lind.

Anthony Hart is next to find out his fate, and it is a no for this season. The Gene Kelly guy got cut (*sob* I really liked him), and so did Bianca and the salsa dancer from last night.

Joshua Allen is in the Top 20, and he is thrilled. He started crying again.

Twitch was cut at this point last year, and he is not cut this year. I am glad, because I really like him.

Kherrington Payne is up next, and she is in the Top 20 (considering how many people have googled her to get onto my blog, I think she is going to do well.)

Raven Armio is through, along with Matt Dorme, Thayne Jasperson, Marquis Cunningham, and Marc Conamora, Comfort, and Jamie Bayard. (Some of those people I don't think I've seen yet, and I am sure I've murdered many names.) Chris contemporary dancer is through also, and he shouted it to the rooftops. And the fire extinguisher.

(The guy who danced for his mom - forget his name - he made it through). Derrick who argued with Jessica King earlier got cut. Jessica King is through to the Top 20, so THERE, Derrick. William Wingfield, contemporary dancer, is also in the Top 20. Because he was a protoge of Debbie Allen's before, she can't be a judge so long as he is on the show. That's stand-up of the show.

The last two guys are Brandon Bryant and Gev (let's skip his last name). I guess I'll have to learn Gev's last name, because he is through to the Top 20. Brandon vows to return.

The final two girls are Katee and Natalie, best friends and roommates. Now, that's just cruel. Based soley on last night, I want it to be Natalie. Katee says that she wouldn't come back if she gets cut, but Natalie says that she is sure she would. Katee got cut last year, and feels burned by that and doesn't feel like she would have it in her to do it again. The judges ask them to leave the stage so they can re-vote with that knowledge. They worry that Katee is not going to work hard enough. Looks like it is a split decision. The original vote was in favor of Katee. Mia said that she felt against Katee now, but since it was a split decision, the original vote stands, and Katee is through. Natalie vows to come back next year, and I hope she does, because I really enjoyed her. She missed her college graduation to be in Vegas, which is kind of amazing. I hope to see her again, and I hope that Katee steps up her game.

You could win tickets to the finale for your own Snuggle Happy Dance. I don't intend on trying. Do any of you?

The Top 20 are:
Gev
Kourtni
Joshua
Rayven
Matt
Courtney
William
Katee
Twitch
Kherrington
Jamie
Chelsie Hightower
Chris
Jessica
Mark
Susie
Marquis
Chelsea Trail
Thayne
Comfort

And I cannot wait until next week!! Wonder who the partners will be?

Top Chef - 6/4/08

It's time for Puerto Rico. My parents have been there a few times, and it's one of their favorite places.

Stephanie was traveling through Asia during her time off, and Antonia opened a restaurant. Richard didn't say what he's been up to, but says it's game on. Lisa cut off all her hair.

It's Quickfire Time!

Beachside fritters served with cold beer are traditional snacks. They have to do two different fritters using plantains. Stephanie says that she doesn't really love plantains, but she's been experimenting with them.

Stephanie made Tostones with seared tuna. She also made pork and shrimp fritters with brown butter lime and basil sauce.

Antonia made crispy oysters with cilantro plantain jam, and the other one is fried yellow plantain with slaw.

Lisa made tostones with pan roasted duck with spicy mango papaya salsa, and sweet plantain with red onion and chorizo fritter with chutney slaw.

Richard made Pork meatballs with cilantro and herbs, and green fried plantain chips with raw plantain salsa.

The chefs all got good reviews, but Antonia didn't use plantains well. Richard's also was underwhelming. Stephanie got good marks for everything, and so did Lisa. Lisa's meat was sliced a little big, but overall good. Stephanie wins the quickfire, and I am happy.

The contestants are all going to a party to get to know Puerto Rico a little. Fun.

There will be a garden party with 100 vips and chefs. They are getting a pig, and they have to make at least 2 dishes using different parts of the pig.

Enter help! Dale, Nikki, Spike and Andrew are up! Stephanie gets to assign sous chefs, and she chooses Dale for herself, Nikki for Antonia, Spike for Richard, and Andrew for Lisa. The sous chefs will be shopping at the farmer's market, and the contestants get to butcher their pigs - or Wilbers as Stephanie calls them.

Richard earns a lot of respect from me when he tells Spike "You are not my sous chef; you're my partner."

Chaos ensues in the market with Andrew trying to pick produce using his Dora level Spanish.

Richard very cleverly brought labeling tape as one of his "secret ingredients." Lisa bitches out and makes everyone uncomfortable. And ooooopsie, after picking up for the night, Dale left out Stephanie's pork belly. Wisely, she decides not to use it.

Richard's menu consists:
BBQ Pork shoulder with coffee bbq sauce (my husband is skeptical, but I can see it being yummy)
pork belly with pickled watermelon
fresh ham & beans
Ribs with Malta (malt beverage) glaze.

Antonia's menu consists of:
Pork belly with sweet peppers
fresh pork sausage with pigeon peas and rice (which the consistency gets messed up on)
Curried pork

Lisa's Menu consists of:
Yuca & Pork Rellena
Citrus braised pork belly
Adobo roasted pork tostone

Stephanie's menu consists of:
Chicharrones (crispy pig skin), fruit, and prosciutto salad (that was her rescue dish, Dale's inspiration)
Coconut pork with plantain pancake
Pork satay on sugar cane

Judge's Table:

It all seemed to go over really well, but Lisa and Antonia had more criticisms than others. Antonia's peas were a bit dry.

Richard and Stephanie were brought back as the top 2. The winner is Richard, and I think he deserved it. He wins a 2009 Toyota Corolla! Sweet!!

Lisa and Antonia are in the bottom 2, and Lisa is looking angry as always at being their. Tom questions why Lisa went in the Latin American direction instead of going more Asian. Her dishes are criticized for being more focused on the garnishes than on the meat, and her puree was too sweet. Antonia admits that her pigeon peas were undercooked, but claims that she tends to like her beans more "al dente". She is criticized for putting all three dishes on one plate, and they became indistinguishable from each other. Ouch.

After the judge's deliberation, the chefs return and Lisa crosses her arms and looks peaved. As usual. And we will see her looking peaved again next week for the finale, because Antonia and her al dente pigeon peas are heading back home. I liked Antonia a lot, too.

Lisa is not congratulated when she returns to the holding room, and she gets pissy about that, too. Richard says "You just won the f-ing bronze medal. Congratulations. There you go." Of course, he said that in his confessional. I wish he had said it to her face. I would have loved to have seen her reaction.

Anyone know if there is a reunion show before the finale?

So You Think You Can Dance - 6/4/08

This week, Cat is well chilled again in Milwaukee. She does have cute scarves, though.

They start with a recap of some of the moments we didn't see. Nigel attempted to get gangsta during some of the hip hop auditions, and he just ended up looking like he was having seizures most of the time.

Back in DC, we see Popper Michael Kim. He auditioned in Season 2 and made it to Vegas, but was then cut because he couldn't do partner dancing. He's a great popper. He looks like he's just made of gears and hinges. It's really cool. I actually kind of enjoy the technique of popping. It is so neat. The judges all love him, and hope that he can get through the partner dance (he was "creamed" by Mary's Salsa last time), and hand him a Vegas ticket.

Now we see people going into the Milwaukee auditions. But, it's a all a tease, because they are padding again and showing some more clips from other auditions. People come with support, and they show it.

In LA, roommates Natalie and Katee work out in matching one-piece union suits in their apartment. O... k...

Katee Shean did a lot of throwing her hair around during her contemporary audition. She did a few pretty cool moves. Her hands were cool. Mary wants to send her to Vegas, and and Mia does to. I liked her, but didn't love her. Some of her leaps and such didn't look as strong as other dancers. We'll see.

Natalie Reid was up next, and she had almost some African dance inspired contemporary. Her face is very expressive, and I really like her.. She did some neat almost praying mantis type moves. Cool. It was cool. Nigel said that she was outstanding and he was engrossed by every little thing. I agree. Mary says that she is different and unique. I agree. Mia also called her great and unique, and honest, not self-indulgent. Natalie is also going right to Vegas, and I think she deserved that more than Katee. Let's see how they both fare there.

Waiting for the judges to arrive in Milwaukee... so it's time for a salsa in DC. Janette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde did a very impressive routine, including several very cool lifts and there was a bit where he almost hackey-sacked her around. It was super. It got Mary screaming. Nigel said it was better than David Beckham does with a football (or soccer ball for us Americans). The tricks get high marks, but the footwork for Romulo was not great. They went back for choreography, and we got to see the results of that immediately. Janette went through immediately to Vegas. Romulo did not make it, though. Hope that Janette is as good with other partners!

Finally, it's time for some Milwaukee auditions! (After the commercials) Hip hop choreographers (and married couple) Napoleon and Tabitha are the guest judges in Milwaukee.

Bianca Revels is the long awaited first contestant. She does tap dancing, with a little moonwalking in there. She's tapping to Boogie Wonderland, and I wonder if she learned some of her routine from Happy Feet. Nigel loves her. Mary loves her. Napoleon and Tabitha also like her, and she gets a ticket to Vegas. I can't wait to see what she can do with other styles, because she is an excellent tap dancer.

James Davis has been preparing for this audition since season 3, he says. He's worked with several choreographers with his audition piece. He includes some air guitar in his routine, and lots of running jumps. It all seems really corny to me, and he's a bit over the top. Mary said just no. Just silly. Mary cackles. Napoleon say it's like the character that can't dance in Footloose. Tabitha says it was like a musical movie medley, with all sorts of signature moves from a whole bunch of them. He asks to be put through to choreography, but Nigel and the others deny him. He vows to be back next year. We'll see.

Evan Kasprzak is up next, and he is wearing a jaunty little hat. He is a great mover with a lot of personality. I could really love him. His ending was a really impressive series of pirouettes that sunk down into a low spin and then he popped right back up. It was neat. Nigel says he's like Gene Kelly. Mary says it looked effortless, and appreciated the inclusion of a really high leap, to show that he could do hard tricks, too. The guest judges love him, and he's straight through to Vegas.

Victor Campos is up next to embarrass the heck out of himself on television, in a Zorro mask no less.. He is completely out of sync with the music. He claims that it was all about the conflict between individuality and society's pressures. He then refused to take the mask and hat off when Nigel asks him to. "You didn't ask nice enough." Nigel scolds him for being rude. Mary said that his self-proclaimed style of "silly pop" is just "crap-style." Tabitha and Napoleon said it was really boring, and went off on a diatribe about the importance of doing your own thing, and blah blah blah. Bored now.

Travis France also did a great job embarrassing himself. He's dancing like a bad dancer in a gay club. He had some impressive flexibility, but that is about it. Leaping and leaping and leaping with no substance. Napoleon said he was on fire. Not in a good way. No one wanted him to go through, and he's gone.

Kourtni Lind looks like she cuts her own hair using dull kitchen shears. She brought her mom along for support. Right off the bat, I want to whack her mom upside the head for the atrocious spelling of Kourtni's name. She does a contemporary dance, and it's very strong. She looks a little like Darryl Hannah in Bladerunner. Nigel calls her very interesting, and says she looks a bit like Uma Thurman. I can see that, too. Mary said it was very dramatic and was wowed by it. Napoleon and Tabitha loved her, too. Nigel said that Kourtni is going to make Quentin Tarrintino want to do "Kill Bill: The Musical." On to Vegas she goes.

Tom Kozal did a very impressive starting see-saw-like move. It got a little weird from there, but he might have potential. He knows how to work the audience, that's for sure. Tom raises earless goats. Um. That's weird. He practices dancing while he is filling up water tanks for the goats. The judges are speechless and tell him to keep having fun. No more competition for him.

Ashley Henry is wearing Day glo colors to make sure the judges know how excited she is and how much she wants to get through. She stripped off her jacket, and does some crazy booty popping which made Nigel cover his eyes. Tabitha said that she is amazingly charismatic and lights up the room. Napoleon says that she had the outfit for that. Tabitha urges her to take dance classes, because she could be really good with some lessons. Ashley begs to go through. Mary cackles and Nigel says that he wants to see her in choreography. He doesn't think that she will be good at it, but wants her to see how much she has to learn, pretty much.

Susie Garcia is a high school teacher, but looks more like Hannah Montana. She looks like she is trying too hard to be young. She's only 24, but still. Pink streaks in her hair? Is she Avril Lavigne? She brought some latin moves, which was weird to see in knee high converse sneakers, but she has some great hip action. While she is dancing, Nigel mentions that he would love to see her in heels, and I agree. Nigel says that part of her routine reminded him of Shakira, but her routine didn't flow. He really wanted her to wear heels. Everyone is on the fence, but they are sending her to choreography.

She auditioned in LA, but she's back, with no rhinestones this time - Rebecca Hart. She moves nicely, and through her leaps didn't seem so great, she had some good moments. Nigel says that she manged to tone it down well, and it was the best he's seen today. Tabitha says that she can see the competition dancer in her, but not too bad. Mary says that she is impressed by the change in her style. She's on to Vegas, so it was worth it for her to try again.

Brice Casimir is from Camaroon, and he's been in the states for 2 years. He has a part time job at a retirement home, and he dances for them. I don't know hip hop well, but I liked him. Nigel said that he was not performing for the judges, and didn't connect with his audience. He enjoyed some of his moves, but wanted more performance. Mary said that even when he looked at the judges, it was kind of hollow. Napoleon wants to see more of him in choreography, and he gets the chance.

Brice smiled more, but didn't get the moves down, and it's a no for this year.

Ashley bombed the choreography, and she knows it. Nigel said that he thinks it would be great to be her friend, but she is not going on. Ashley says that she has already signed up for two ballet classes, so she'll be back.

Susie is going to Vegas, and deservedly.

The Snuggle Happy Dance Segment is superfluous as ever.

On Day 2, the first dancer is Cooper Zamarano. He's very expressive, and a beautiful contemporary dancer. His extensions are incredible. He raised himself off the floor with just his toes at one point, and that was beautiful. Nigel says that he reminds him of Travis, which is a good thing, but he warned him to keep his tongue in his mouth. That's funny. Mary, Napoleon and Tabitha loved him, and he's through to Vegas.

Yesenia Gomez has lost 50 lbs since she made it to the 4th round in Vegas last year. She looks great. Heartbreakingly, halfway through her audition (which was going great), her knee went out. Nigel is really concerned and says that she needs to have it looked at. Poor Yesenia, I am sad about her injuring herself. Nigel says that he hopes to see her next year, and hopes that she gets her knee right before then.

Philip Courter did some really cool moves including a pantomime almost with his hands as if they were different creatures. He is intriguing. He is a friend of Yesenia's, and was heartbroken to see him go. Nigel said that Philip has improved from his previous one-dimensional performance, and is totally 3-D now. Mary, and both Napoleon and Tabitha adored him. On to Vegas for him.

Raymond Love and his nameless partner (who is not auditioning) begin pretty weak. Nigel actually stops them and tells Raymond to show them that he is dancing with a beautiful girl and not a piece of meat. Raymond did a slightly better job the second time through. Nigel was impressed with the choreography, but wanted him to dance it better. Raymond is a minister, and that's one reason that he was not showing sexual feelings. The judges all said that he needs to work on connections. Napoleon and Tabitha love his choreography and want to give him a chance. Mary says no, but Nigel says he doesn't want to just see Raymond's talent disappear, so he is through to choreography.

Hau Hou does a tribal style dance, but I swear, there was some Charleston in there. He looks like he's wearing a miniskirt. Nigel questions his music and his costume. Tabitha said that she was uncomfortable with the jumps and floor work with Hau's "package" threatening to make an appearance. He's gone.

Lizz Plott dances tap a capella. She's a very pretty girl and did some wonderful tap. Nigel thought it was terrific. Mary says that she is the best female tap dancer on the show so far, and Napoleon loved it, saying that he could have free-styled to her tap beats. She is through to Vegas. That's two tappers from Vegas.

Raymond couldn't get the connection in the choreography, and he is not going to Vegas. 11 others are.

The last dancer is a mystery dancer, to It's Raining Men. It's dragalicious! Mary cackles that he has good legs. He did some really impressive moves, and it makes me wonder if he would have gone through if he hadn't been in drag. At the end of the audition, he whips out a red fan. While the dancer's name is down as Danielle Chorizo, Nigel asks if it is Ryan Seacrest. Turns out, it was Travis in drag! Ha ha ha. That's funny. I wouldn't have recognized him. He's hilarious.

Vegas is tomorrow, baby! Wooooot.

Hell's Kitchen: 6/3/08

Will Jen and Matt be as disastrous on their original teams as they were before? Let's find out!

Everyone seems to want to get rid of Matt and Jen like you want to get rid of the flu. They are awoken at 6 AM for their next challenge. They are blindfolded and brought to a sunny rooftop. It's the roof of the future new restaurant they are competing to work at. They uncover their covered plates and find black chef coats! No more teams. Which means, the poor things have to deal with BOTH Matt and Jen in the same kitchen.

Ramsey then unveils $250,000 in cash in briefcases. Matt wants to lick it. Or something.

Time for their individual challenge - put their own spin on a basic ingredient.

Matt gets Veal, Christina gets sea bass, Bobby gets duck, Jen gets beef, Petrozza gets chicken, and Corey gets lobster (and complains about it). They have 45 minutes to make something original and delicious with their ingredient. Jen blabbers on about being a culinary artist and I don't believe her.

Matt makes a veal loin roasted on a morelle demi (sauce). Ramsey said it was a great start.

Christina did a pan-seared sea bass with a tarragon chervil beur blanc. Ramsey calls it fascinating.

Petrozza did stuffed chicken with duck confit, prosciutto, and vegetables. That's a lot. Ramsey says "I've never seen one individual do so much with a breast," and I immediately want to find that sound bite and download it. Classic.

Corey made an asparagus, pea, and lobster soup. Chef Ramsey is disappointed that she didn't use the whole lobster.

Jen "cooked the ribeye and sliced it." Ramsey said that he didn't know why she sliced it so thin, but it worked and it was still moist.

Bobby made a duck noodle soup. The soup gets good marks, but the duck itself is tough. Ramsey says it is "on the verge of being perfect."

It is between Christina and Jen. Jen talks about how great she is, and I am saddened when Ramsey agrees. She breaks down in tears when he says that it is going on the menu, and she is going to Vegas and is going to meet Rock. One person gets to go with her, and she picks Corey, which ought to make for a fun night. Christina says "I was disappointed that Jen won, but I wouldn't want to go to Vegas with her, because she's a bitch." Couldn't have said it better myself. The non-winners get to put the deliveries to the kitchen away. This has been a punishment in past seasons. Christina takes charge as a leader, and Matt gets angry with her. Well, someone has to take charge, don't they? Otherwise it would be chaos.

When they were getting ready to go to Vegas, Corey said that by choosing her, Jen proved how fake she is, because she chose the person that she talks the most crap about. However, their room is incredible.

Back during the punishment, Matt pulls something in his shoulder carrying bags of ice. Christina tells him that his attitude sucks, and he loses it. Bobby went on a little tear about how crazy Matt is. Yipes.

Jen and Corey are having dinner with Rock, and Jen said "The only time that Chef yells at me is about personality, not about my food." I bet I could find a quote of him yelling at her about food. Like when she couldn't cook a chocolate souffle, but of course, that wasn't her fault.

The next day, in the kitchen, Matt is going on and on and on about he is on today, and he is not going to lose it, and Christina tells him to shut up because he's driving her crazy. Can't blame her for that one. I do notice that Matt is wearing a stylish black anti-sweat band around his brow.

Corey and Jen return, and Matt goes on a slightly insane rampage, pretending to cry and go crazy. Right. Pretending. He and Christina are acting like squabbling siblings.

Corey comes in and tries to calm the situation. Then the producers (I mean Ramsey) decide to put Matt and Christina together on the meat station. Yeah. That was totally Ramsey's idea. To get the food out right. Don't you think?

I really wish sarcasm came across well in written form.

In confessional, Christina said "If Matt starts to go down, I'm kicking him off the station. I can't have a useless piece of meat standing next to me." Matt is no nicer. "Christina is a nasty little bitch with a lot of cellulite on her ass." Because that has so much influence on her cooking ability. Gahh. It's going to be a long service.

The kitchen opens. Matt starts off by catching something on fire and blowing on it, which Ramsey warns him not to do, because he'll get oil on his face.

Jen is on hot appetizers, and Petrozza is on cold. Jen does well with the first risotto, but Petrozza (because his station is a mess), can't get a clean plate. Ramsey says "You cook like a pig, but you cook amazing food." Then Jen, right after stating that she knows she is the best chef in the kitchen, tries to send out salty risotto. See, there. He just criticized her cooking.

There is a comic bit (I think straight out of the Monty Python Spam bit) where Matt couldn't get the orders called back right. He can't keep three orders in his head at the same time. Neither he nor Christina are communicating with the rest of the kitchen right. And then Corey, who is usually so strong, has a hard time when people aren't talking to her, and almost starts crying. Yipes. They all pull it together, until Christina and Bobby start mixing their meat in their pans. That's a no no. Then one of the ribeyes get returned for being raw. Then Corey's pan caught on fire and she burned her hand. Then she swore at Ramsey about burning her hand, and refused to go to the medic when he told her to. You don't talk back to Ramsey, chickie. Not smart. She finally left to go see the medic, and Jen took over the garnish.

Matt was caught popping some food in his mouth, which was not ok. Corey returned to the kitchen, and now Christina is having Matt-like problems at not being able to remember orders. She manages not to cry. Then Matt is unable to repeat an order. Bobby says that he hears everything Ramsey says, then misplaces one of his orders. Some of the food gets out, then Matt overcooks and undercooks some Wellington, and claims to have a migraine. I bet Ramsey has one, too. A big, Matt induced migraine. Matt claims to be a team player without a team. Nice. Then he loses it completely, claims migraine even more. Ramsey says he's had a migraine ever since Matt walked in, and takes Matt by the hand and brings him out of the kitchen, telling him to go sleep it off. Matt says he wants to work through it. That might be a good idea if he was actually working instead of bumbling around the kitchen.

By this time, the rib eye has been renamed "F*ing Ribeye". Jen left rice on one of Christina's burners and it burned. Jen got kicked out of the kitchen, followed by Christina, and then Ramsey shut down the kitchen.

Matt has a private chat with Ramsey, and still claims he has a bad migraine but he doesn't want to leave. Ramsey says "I am not just pissed off at you, so fight." (Not a direct quote, but still). The rest of the chefs tell Matt that he is going up for elimination, and Matt goes off saying that he is going to win so f them all. Nice. Christina wants to put Jen up. Bobby wants to put Christina up. Corey wants to put herself up. Petrozza agonizes (over a break), and then it cuts to the elimination "ceremony."

Matt and Christina are nominated, and Corey says that she should also go up, and Ramsey agrees. Corey says that she let her emotions get to her, and Ramsey says "I don't care about your emotions. I'm not Dr. Phil." Matt says that he is being picked on and Ramsey obviously was sympathetic with him when he sent him to bed. Sure. That's why he was yelling and kicking things when he booted him from the kitchen. Christina gets called out for having so little professional experience, and she breaks down crying and says that she really wants to stay.

I am a happy happy happy woman when Matt is sent packing. It was way past his time. During the recap of his time in the kitchen, I am reminded of his disgusting white chocolate fish concoction in the beginning. He should have gone home right there.

"There once was a boy named Matt, who's kitchen performance fell flat. he was far from neat, and miserable on meat, so I kicked him out, and that's that." Nice limerick, courtesy Ramsey. I agree completely with his decision. I am still disappointed with each and every one of this Final 5. If this show is not picked up next season, this casting job is why.

The Mole: 6/2/08

I didn't watch this show the first time around, and I know it had a huge cult following. I wish I had watched it. To make up for that indiscretion, I'm going to watch it this time around and see if it's as good as everyone who watched it says it is.

Mr. Dramatic Narrator claims that this adventure is going to change 12 American's lives forever, and push them to the edge.

The Contestants (and possible moles) are:

Victoria: 26 year old Retail Manager from Texas.
Mark: 42 year old history teacher and soccer coach from Wisconsin
Bobby: 25 year old restaurant manager from Philiadelphia
Marcie: 31 year old Stay-at-home mom from California
Nicole: 33 year old OBGYN from Chicago
Paul: 29 year old utility worker from Yonkers, NY
Alex: 31 year old musician from Pennsylvania
Liz: 60 year old retiree from Montana
Ali: 24 year old model from St. Louis, Missouri
Clay: 32 year old attorney from Pennsylvania
Craig: 30 year old graphic artist from California
Kristin: 35 year old neuroscientist from California

Everyone was introduced looking super sneaky and spy-like in the intro video. They don't look as glamorous in the real game.

They start at a waterfall, at night, and they get right to business. First, everyone is given a card to circle who is the mole from first impressions. Marcie gets the most votes. Because they think she is the mole, she gets to make all the decisions for the next 24 hours, including their first challenge. So I guess the deal is, if she is the Mole, she could sabotage the challenge. But she'd have to be sneaky about it.

Their first challenge is to go over a waterfall on a raft, and jump at the waterfall's edge for a bag filled with potential money. 6 get to jump for $$, 5 for nothing but paper.

Alex is up first, and he is scared of falling from heights and drowning. Aren't we all? He missed the money. Ali goes next, and prays to get the money. She jumped for the money, and Jesus apparently wasn't listening, because she missed it. (I apologize if I offend anyone). Clay goes next, and he gets the bag o'potential cash! He said "as an attorney, I don't jump over waterfalls." Well, who does?

Neuroscientist Kristin goes next and grabs a bag. Bobby is terrified of hanging himself, but also gets a bag. Liz tries next, and grabs the bag with no visible effort. Good lady. Paul misses his bag by a hair and is feeling shown up by the "60 year old lady". Deal with it, Mr. Victoria think that she has an advantage because she was a cheerleader. Um, nope.

Craig gets the willies about the rope because he's a heavier guy. He reached for the bag and knocked it down, but didn't get it because the line almost hanged him. Yipes. Nicole has a fear of heights and decided to sit backwards in the raft, and that strategy worked for her. Mark also got it, with lots of flair.

Nicole's bag was fake money. Kristin's is also fake. Bobby's is fake. Mark's is real - $10,000. Liz was not so lucky. Clay's was also real. So: They got $20,000 total for the challenge instead of a potential $60,000.

After the challenge, they got their Handy Dandy Notebooks. Nicole, Liz, Craig, and Bobby are assigned to sleep outside by Marcie. Nicole is angered about it, and tries to "circumvent" the rules ("You Have to Sleep Where You Are Assigned"), and decides not to sleep, and just go inside. Way to play the game, girl.

Everyone goes back through their day and takes down notes in their Handy Dandy Notebooks. This is the only place where they can write down their thoughts and observations about the game, so it's important. This game looks like it's like one of those complicated logic problems.

Sleeping outside was not fun. Nicole wouldn't know. She didn't sleep. She whines about not having a blow dryer and a curling iron. Paul decides to have a coalition with Marcie - "For sharing information and misleading people." Marcie says that she is good at telling when people are telling the truth because she's a mom.

It's time for their next challenge, and they go to the beach. Paul grabs Alex as another coalition member and they go to the beach. They are asked who is the group's biggest whiner, and Nicole is the winner by a unanimous decision. She says "What's wrong with being smart and gorgeous at the same time." Yup, instant villain.

The host tells the story of Robinson Crusoe, and Dr. Whiner Nicole (I can't even take credit for that, she coined the phrase herself!) gets to pick 6 scavengers, 3 appraisers, and 2 timekeepers for the next challenge.

Scavengers:, Craig, Marcie, Alex, Bobby, Victoria, Clay
Appraisers: Kristin, Liz, and Mark.
Time keepers: Ali and Paul.

The Scavengers have to get all of the items they can find on the island, including 5 items that Selkirk (the real life inspiration for Robinson Crusoe) had with him when he was shipwrecked in 1704. The Appraisers have to decide which are the right items. They have three chances to get them right. (there are 45 items total). The time keepers have to rush to fill the hour glasses with sand. When time runs out, the challenge is over. For each correct item, the team will get $5000.

Alex and Craig are "sauntering" according to Liz. Some items that they brought back seem to be good ideas (like a goat). Others are idiotic - like a hairdryer and a vacuum cleaner and the Mole sign.

The Appraisers finally agree on Victrola, Antique battery, bowler hat, bunsen burner, and the goat. Only one of these items is correct.

Craig and Bobby were unable to run through the sand. Paul was having troubles filling up the hour glass.

Camera, bible, mason jar, musket, and goat is the second guess.

Paul gave up with the sand just as the Appraisers rang the bell the last time.

Revolver - no go. Not invented until 1835. The musket and the bible were correct. They put jeans on the table, which were not invented until the late 1800s. The goat was right. So, they got 3/5. That's $15,000. The missing items were tobacco and a copper tea kettle.

As an added bonus, Nicole gets stranded on the beach to sleep there by herself, and the others started laughing. Nicole said she was hurt by that, but she really brought it on herself. If she hadn't been so annoying right off the bat, maybe she wouldn't have gotten voted whiner. Oh, excuse me. Dr. Whiner.

On the beach, she spent some time making a fire, and back in their warm area, the other women all discuss their notes from the day. Bobby is much less athletic than they thought, and wonder if he is the mole. Paul and Alex are chatting together, and Paul claims to be leaning away from Marcie as the Mole, but he is making Alex think that he thinks that Marcie is the Mole.

It's dinner time, and the host asks them if they miss Dr. Nicole. Silence. Game play is brought up, though. Paul thinks that Craig (lovable big guy Craig) is the leading suspect for the mole. A couple people think that they might know who the mole is. Mark really wants to win so that his wife doesn't need to work 2 jobs anymore. There is a quiz coming up, after they all enjoy a lovely looking meal complete with pisco sours (sure I spelled that wrong), the National Drink of Chile.

The Quiz is 10 Questions about the Mole, and the lowest scorer will be executed. Duhn-duhn-daaaaaah. No, not like that. It's their fancy way of saying eliminated from the game.

Question 1: Is the Mole Male or Female?
Question 2: When did the Mole jump in the over the falls mission?
Question 3: During the Crusoe mission, which group was the mole assigned to?
Question 4: On the first night, where was the Mole assigned to sleep?
Question 5: As it's written on the Mole's Bag, does the mole have an even or odd number of letters in their name?
Question 6: What is the mole's age.
Question 7: In Over the Falls, what was the outcome of the Mole's jump?
Question 8: Did the Mole drive one of the vans to the beach?
Question 9: At the start of the Crusoe mission, was the mole wearing a hat?
Question 10: Who is the Mole?

I honestly have no idea who the mole could be at this point. I think it could be Craig, and it could be anyone else, too. lol. Nicole is still stranded on the beach, but she joins in via teleconference, and she's got a good fire going. She has earned exception from elimination... umm, execution.

Ali is safe, after an agonizingly long pause with overly dramatic music. I think the composers of the music for this show know that the latest Bond theme is yet to be decided, so they are making their bid. "Look, we can write cool sounding, mysterious, brooding music. Choose us! Who needs Beyonce or Amy Winehouse? You could have an instrumental on your hands."

Victoria is safe, as are Paul and Bobby, and Mark. Marcie, the first suspect of being the Mole, is gone first. And we hardly knew her. It's sad. I thought she had some good potential. Paul lost a coalition member. Marcie gets to go home to her family, after hardly getting to play the game at all.

In coming weeks, Paul looks really annoying. Yay, another villain!

Overall, I liked it. It is keeping me thinking, that's for sure. Anyone have any thoughts on who the Mole might be?

The Next Food Network Star - Premier 6/1/08

I really like this show, because I am a Food Network Junkie. I love Guy Fieri, and was so happy when he won, and I loved Amy Finley, even though I read that she isn't going to be doing any more of her show. (I think there was another season, but I didn't watch that one)

As a bonus, it's on Sunday night when I don't have anything else to watch.

So let's get to it!

Introductions:

Kelsey Nixon (23) She could be cute. I like her whole plan of showing people that cooking is not intimidating. We'll see if she can cook.

Kevin Roberts (39) He wants to bring romance and fun back to the kitchen. He seems friendly enough.

Shane Lyons (19) Wow, he lost a lot of weight, and he graduated from CIA at 18. WOW.
Jennifer Cochraine (32) She's a single mom, to a 4-year old girl named Lyric. I always wonder how single moms can pull off being part of a show like this, logistically. I am not knocking her, quite the contrary, but that has got to be all sorts of tough.
Cory Kaheny (44) Hey, I've seen her on Last Comic Standing! Didn't know she could cook. Already know that she is good on tv. Wonder how it will translate to this show.

Jeffrey Vaden (43) He seems really arrogant, not sure why. But, I liked his comment about loving French food and Soul food, so bring on the Fois Gras cooked in bacon grease. Mmmm. Bacon grease.

Adam Gertler (30) He reminds me of someone, and I can't think who.

Lisa Garza (31) Holy crap, she's like Cleopatra or something. Her style looks like she's trying too hard. I prefer more natural. She looks a little like the woman in GalaxyQuest. The weird, awkward alien.


Aaron McCargo, Jr. (36) He seems friendly enough. Looking forward to seeing him cook.

Nipa Bhatt (35) I adore Indian food, so I hope that she wins so I can get great Indian food recipes and tips.

The judges/selection panel enter. Susie Fogelson is the VP of Marketing and Brand Strategy for Food Network, and Bob Tushman is Senior VP of Programming and Production, and of course Bobby Flay. I don't know what kind of influence Bobby has except for being a host, but he's cool.

For the first Challenge, Alton Brown arrives. It's time to show how they can convey their culinary point of view on camera. One sentence. Props are allowed, from a table containing all sorts of things.
Jennifer with a rubber chicken: "Keep it Simple, I don't have all day!" Then, she continued on to explain it, which Alton Brown told her was unnecessary, and I agree. I think she was trying to explain why she picked the rubber chicken, because she has to keep it funny to keep her daughter interested. Hmmm.

Jeffrey grabs a giant slab of bacon: I am just too distracted by his black and pink argyle sweater to pay much attention to his hook.. He claims "there's going to be a lot of pig," holding up the bacon. He seems weird on camera, and a little forced.

Aaron no props: He claims to be the spice guy. He is better on camera than Jeffrey, but still kind of awkard.

Nipa with a giant piece of fresh ginger: The camera loves her, and she is gorgeous. She's wonderful. "Ethnic Food is approachable."

Shane, no props: Very wordy, not good on camera. He's immediately on the bottom of the pack for me. He must be pretty skilled, though.

Adam takes milk: "Fun, full flavored comfort foods, that you can make at home." Then he took a swing of the milk. Nope, not milk - heavy whipping cream. Ewww. But funny.

Cory grabs a handful of cherry tomatoes: She bombed. Bombed. Bombed. I can't even think what her hook was because she fumbled it so badly.

Kelsey was cute with a graduation cap: "Comfortable in the kitchen with classics tips and techniques with an innovative twist." She's great on camera.

Kevin wants to bring romance back into the kitchen by eating, drinking, loving well.

Lisa with a handful of props: Designer dining? Deconstruction? Community Outreach? WHAT? And I thought Jeffrey was pretentious!

After their challenge, they go back to the carriage house. Lisa does a lot of yoga, which I like, but she still seems annoying to me.

Challenge time, and Alton is back in the Food Network Kitchen.

The contestants draw for teams of two people. Each team has to do three dishes - one individual for each chef, and then one collaboration. In 30 minutes. For Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, the selection committee, Mori Moto, Sandra Lee, the Neeleys, Giada de Laurentis!! Insane.

Kelsey is making an orzo salad, Aaron is making a Cajun Salmon sandwich, and they are making a tomato soup with lots of herbs together.

Adam is making a potato gratin, and Jennifer is making glazed carrots, and they are doing meatloaf together

Lisa wants to make Degustation (wha? right? The subtitles tell me it's small tasting portions). She gets pissy because Kevin doesn't know what it is. They are making an arugula salad, Kevin is making an onion soup, and Lisa is doing poached salmon

Cory is making honey salmon, Jeffrey is making deviled egg provencal, and they are making a parsnip, potato, and leek pancake with basil creme fraiche.

Shane is making pork tenderloin, Nepa is making curried potatoes (Suki Bhadji, which I probably spelled wrong), and together they are making a butternut soup.

In the grocery store, Lisa is a mad woman. She was running in heels better than I could in sneakers. Wonder if she wears those bad boys on the treadmill.

Shane and Nepa are up first, and they seem to be cooking well, except Shane had trouble with the blender, and the pork tenderloin on the "beauty plate" is undercooked, though the tasting plates are good. Nepa apologized for not having turmeric, and using curry powder. The pork gets good marks, except for the beauty plate. Nepa's potatoes are underwhelming. Did she not use mustard seeds? Cumin? Coriander? Did she just throw curry powder onto potatoes and call it a day?

Lisa and Kevin are up next, and I can't imagine enjoying watching Lisa cook. She has a weird squint, and she is proud of her heels. Kevin seems cool, and he is good on questions. Lisa harps on about her community outreach thing again, and it's just preachy. The soup goes over well, and the salad was overdressed and overdone. The committee was confused by Lisa.

Jennifer and Adam seem to have a hard time getting things cooked. The meatloaf is bad. They had to finish it on stovetop. They should have put it in muffin pans! That would have gotten it done on time. Adam talked a lot, and Jennifer is personable. The potatoes were "raw," and the meatloaf was "too much." Bobby said that he would either want to watch or hang out with Adam, and Jennifer also did a good job talking.

Kelsey and Aaron were doing well, but then they had a hard time plating. Orzo in lemon cups? That's interesting. Some plates didn't get bread, and the plating was just a mess. Kelsey is really upbeat and chatty, but went on about how proud they were of their presentation, which I would have not mentioned. Kelsey did a good job talking about how they ran out of time. Everyone liked the salmon, and everyone (except Giada) liked her, but Aaron was overpowered by her, so they didn't get a chance to really see him much.

Cory again loses it on the presentation! What is wrong with her! Jeffrey annoys the crap out of me. If he says "classic french training" one more time, I'm going to puke. Cory's salmon is too sweet, and Jeffrey's eggs are called "unpalatable" and too salty, and Cory was criticized for being "tortured" by the presentation.

It's judgement time!

I kind of like Lisa's dress, but I still don't like her.

Aaron and Kelsey are judged first. The judges really loved the flavor, and even though they messed up with plating, it went ok. Bob calls Kelsey an over-caffeinated cheerleader. And the Food Network already has Rachael Ray, so she doesn't need to fill that niche.

Jennifer and Adam's comfort meal is "ok." Not bad though. They are both good. Jennifer is told to keep her personality.

Kevin and Lisa's food went over well, but their collaboration salad, not so much. Lisa is called out for "baffling" everyone in the room when she was talking.

Cory and Jeffrey get called out for bad seasoning. Cory, too sweet, and Jeffrey, too salty. Their presentation got terrible marks, too.

Shane and Nepa are up, and Nepa's underspiced potatoes are sad. (I love Indian curried potatoes, too). She is called out also for being too confident. Bobby Flay says that even he gets nervous, so there. Shane is the David Archuleta of this show - precocious and very talented, but sometimes not bringing his A-game. He is the first to cry this season. And he's not an attractive crier.

Safe are Aaron, Kelsey, Jeffrey, Kevin, Jennifer, Adam.

Cory, Nepa, Lisa, and Shane are in danger. Lisa's looking very Sandra Bullock. From Demolition Man. Couldn't find a picture.

Nepa is safe, and she is still overconfident. I want to like her, so she'd better back up that confidence. Shane is also safe, so crying worked for him. This time. Cory is going home, and Lisa is safe this week. Cory deserved to go home, because she just totally froze. And her food wasn't that great.

It looks like a good season! I can see a few of these people who I wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from. Any other fans out there?