When my DVR begins this program under extreme duress from everything else I asked it to tape tonight, the remaining chefs walk in to discover they have arrived in the last chance kitchen. That is because the winner of tonight’s challenge will be immediately allowed back in the competition.
Kuame is cut. Tom can’t decide between Claudette and Lee Anne, so they are both back in!
There will be no quickfire this week. They are going camping and will be serving their dishes in the woods. There is a mad dash to the limited pantry that is full of items native to Colorado. Eggs are breaking and things are flying across the floor. Whatever you pack in your ice chest is all you will have to use. Fatima and Tanya are both less than thrilled with the camping idea. Colorado is so beautiful. But the campground is covered in a couple feet of snow. Surely, they will get a cabin, right?
This is insane. It is freezing outside. They are breaking down proteins with no gloves on. They have headlamps to see. This is really, really primitive. There is some singing by the campfire that just made me love Christopher even more. I’m worried that he is making chili though.
Carrie is trying to make individual cakes, also know as cupcakes in the real world, by burning wood directly in the snow and setting her pans on that. It seems like a bad idea, but she was the sole person responsible for getting the tents up, so she knows her camping tricks.
It’s starting to occur to Christopher that making chili with buffalo meat, probably doesn’t make it a five start dish.
Joseph made a rustic squab dish with farro and ramps. Fatima made a duck breast with a cacao rub, a blackberry-chili jam, and sunchoke and pine nut mash. Bruce made handmade pasta with wild boar and pan roasted ramps. Carrie’s upside down cakes look delicious. The only thing I know how to make while camping is a pineapple upside down cake. My mama would make them in a cast iron skillet on the Coleman grill, no hole digging necessary.
The judges were overall pleased with the dishes. Joe’s squab was tough, Fatima’s duck was great, they loved Carrie’s cake. A lot. Bruce’s pasta dish was great.
Next up Adrienne has made quail stuffed with mustard greens, grilled peaches and purple grits. Sounds more southern than Colorado to me. Leanne made a goose dish with fiddlehead ferns. Mustache Joe did a trout with almost nothing else on the plate. He says there are veggies but it looks like three strings of wilted onions. There is also some sort of fish fume beverage that Gail really liked. Mostly because it was hot. Claudette did a fancy elk dish with sunchokes and a rhubarb Guajillo sauce.
Leanne’s goose was completely eaten by everyone and they were scrapping the serving block for more. One of the judges said Adrienne’s quail was a bit over cooked. Gail continued to sing the praises of Mustache Joe’s fish drink. They enjoyed Claudette’s elk dish as well. So far, nothing has really disappointed the judges.
Next, Tanya did a grill lamb chop with farro and roasted beets with a wild mushroom sauce and blackberry jam. Christopher’s buffalo chili was topped with an agrodolce, and roasted mushrooms and carrots. Tu did rabbit three ways. I think he needed something else on his plate besides rabbit. Brother Luck did a lemon herbed pheasant with rutabaga and ramps.
Tom didn’t like the concept of Tu’s dish from the beginning and only one of the ways he cooked it got his approval, the others not so much. Apparently he topped his dish with raw colored carrots. Gail did not like that. They do not like Tanya’s lamb dish. It had way too many components. They were not fans of Brother Luck’s pheasant. They didn’t like Christopher’s meat dish and Padma wanted it to have more heat. The last four dishes were the bottom for of the challenge.
Please do not send home my Christopher!
The judges top picks were Bruce, Carrie and Lee Anne were in the top three. Shockingly, Bruce’s pasta is the winner.
The bottom three are Tonya, Christopher and Tu. Please just don’t send home Christopher!
Thankfully, Christopher is spared and Tu is sent off to Last Chance Kitchen.
This episode was way better than my recap suggests. I’m swamped tonight and have to get back to my 60 Days Recap. At least I don’t have to look up things like agrodolce (Italian sweet and sour sauce) while recapping about inmates.
Also next week, looks super exciting. And Christopher has an issue to resolve with someone…
I was so scared that Tanya or Christopher were leaving. I like Tu, but I want to see more dishes from them both. Plus they represent the middle-aged bracket!
It was a great episode I thought, really made them think on their feet in those new surroundings, and it was so gorgeous. I loved how pissed off some of them were (Fatima) about camping! When I was a cub scout den mother (yes I was) we baked brownies in a box with aluminum foil inside. I think we put hot coals in the box and closed it and it cooked the brownies, it was very cool. I thought that is what Carrie was going to do but she impressed me even more.
My DVR did not tape 60 days in, so pissed, I need to rearrange my Thursday schedule as well!
For the entire month of January, you should all check your DVRs each day before prime time. I have a lot of juggling most days. And there are new shows I want to add!
I really enjoyed this episode. I think they made the right decision in sending Tu home, so glad Christopher and Tanya stayed. I’m happy Bruce won, I really like him, his food looked delicious.
Looking forward to the next episode.
Enjoyed this episode as well. I would have liked to seen “Kwamay” return instead of Claudette but very happy to see Leeann.
Naomi Pomeroy (guest judge) did not look dressed for the outdoors during the tasting.
It doesn’t look like Lee Anne is going to be able to hang due to pregnancy problems. Was I the only one worried about her slipping and falling when they all ran for the pantry and started throwing shit everywhere like six year olds?
Always like LeeAnn glad she made it. Hope her and the baby are ok. Carrie was the hero tonite throwing up tents and making an oven in the snow??!! Fatima and people like her kill me when they act like camping is the worse thing that ever happened to them ( granted never went snow camping) but in the summer it is great.
We use to catch trout in the river , take a couple of sticks and roast over the open flame delish. Coleman stoves are the bomb. I will say I’m not a fan of toast on a stick taste too smokey. But a big pot of coffee and scrambled eggs ? yum. Put your eggs in a sandwich bags, no shells just crack them in perfect way to transport. Squish the bag in the morning add pepper and salt pour into cast iron skillet.
I agree, Carrie held it together for everyone, glad her “cup” cakes were good as well. I’d have been sad if after all that cakes had her losing. She seemed very polite and helpful without being condescending. That was a lot of snow, really beautiful.
I love camping but not that primitively in that kind of weather… At that altitude with the sun out you can get quite warm even with all that snow, I usually ski in a vest and shirt, sometimes no gloves when the sun is out…
Sadly Tu way over thought and it cost him…every meal that was cooked I want to try!!
Hope Lee Anne and baby are ok!