Top Chef: Muppets!

The muppets were on Top Chef! They were on just for the Quickfire, but I really hoped they would have been part of the elimination challenge too. I love Cookie Monster and it was just over way too quickly. Even though I did not grow up on Elmo, I actually found him not annoying during this part so that just goes to show that muppets are always awesome. It would have only been better if Super Grover had been a part of it.

Quickfire Challenge

Their challenge was to make the best cookie and they did have the expert there to judge. Padma asked the muppets what they were looking for in the best cookie. While Cookie Monster said he wanted one that was yummy and possibly had chocolate chips (what I would want myself), Elmo said he liked cookies that were made with zucchini or carrots. The chefs were told that the winner of the best cookie would win $5,000.

Mike said he had never made a cookie, which surprised Dale since he saw Mike eat so many cookies in the Top Chef house. While Mike’s cookie did not come out on top, it wasn’t one of the worst either. When Cookie Monster tried it, he said it was like a party in his mouth.


Mike
Almond & Dried Cherry Cookie with Rose Petal Powdered Sugar

Richard decided to make a cookie that had zucchini in it, since Elmo had mentioned it. He was also using liquid nitrogen, which caused Mike to question, “Is there ever a challenge where he doesn’t use liquid nitrogen?” I would say he didn’t use any during the last challenge with Jimmy Fallon where he had one of the worst dishes. This time around though, Richard cookie wasn’t really a cookie, but more of clumps of ice cream. Cookie Monster called him on that and that put in in the bottom of the pack for the challenge.


Richard
Ice Cream Cookie with Chocolate Chips, Zucchini & Mint

Angelo had said it had been about 25 years since he had made a cookie and that apparently came through when they tasted his cookie. Cookie Monster told him his cookie looked delicious, but it ended up tasting dry. He had one of the worst cookies too.


Angelo
Chocolate Chip, Belgian Hazelnut Cookie & Chocolate Banana Milkshake

The muppets did enjoy Antonia’s cookie. Cookie Monster liked how gooey it was and Telly had commented that he got some of the caramel stuck on the roof of his mouth. They said it was not the prettiest, but delicious. Elmo said her cookies looked like cow chips.


Antonia
Dark Chocolate Cookie, White Chocolate Chips, Fresh Caramel Glaze & Sprinkles

Antonia did not have their favorite cookie though. It ended up being Dale’s cookie, which Telly mocked Dale while he was putting potato chips in a blender. He said that didn’t go in a cookie. Antonia didn’t think Dale was really making a cookie, but the muppets disagreed. Elmo loved how it was sweet and salty. He found that fun. Dale won $5,000 with a shortbread cookie made with chocolate and potato chips. Wow!


Dale
Pretzel & Potato Chip Shortbread Cookie with Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganache

Elimination Challenge

For the elimination challenge, the chefs were trapped in a Super Target. They went into one that was so huge, it had its own grocery section. They weren’t allowed to bring any cooking equipment or their knives. They had to use whatever they could find in the store, including food, and then create their own stations to feed 100 Target employees in the middle of the night. Unless the employees were doing inventory somewhere, why would they want to show up at 3 am to get free food? I love free food, but I think I would still decide to sleep over food. Maybe I’m showing my old age. I guess if I was younger, I’d be up anyway. Okay, I’ll move on. One more thing, the winner of the challenge would win $25,000. Wow!

Some people decided that since they were setting up their own stations, they had to decorate them so they spent a bunch of time trying to find nice place mats and other nonsense. I had no idea why they were wasting so much time when they only had three hours. I agreed with Dale who just found a table, got some cooking equipment and started making his food. He had no decorations. Most of the chefs started making their food when there was about 2-2.5 hours left to cook. Carla wasted so much time picking up stuff to make her station pretty, then find cooking equipment and then picked out her food that it she only had 1.5 hours left when she started cooking.

Before we move onto the food, we must ponder two things. First, why did so many people decide to make soup? As you’ll see, almost all the dishes were soup and the judges even commented they were souped out by the end of the challenge. If you notice, none of the winners were soup dishes. Hmmmm…. Second, what was up with Angelo’s old man socks pulled up to his knees? I kept expecting him to tell the other chefs to get off his lawn.

The judges for the episode were Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Ming Tsai and a designer guy Thomas O’Brien. Mike had the one dish in the middle of pack, which is why he hangs around so long. I really want him to go. When he explained his dish to the judges, he said it had fresh coconut milk. Padma asked him if there coconuts in Target. He said no, it was from a can. She then informed him that was not fresh coconut milk. Indeed. Most likely influenced by that, Padma said one taste of the dish was enough for her. Ming actually liked the spiciness to it for a late night dish. Target employees found it to be too spicy.


Mike
Spicy Coconut Soup with Mushrooms, Scallions & Lime

Winners

Richard actually made some food without anything fancy since that wasn’t available in Target and he actually made one of the best dishes! Anthony Bourdain said that it was butt ugly, but delicious. He did appreciate that he made the protein two different ways.


Richard
Pork Tenderloin with Green Chilies, Apples, Braised Pork Ribs & Corn Pancakes

Antonia, who has actually impressed me more this season than the one she was on previously, decided to do an egg dish so that means she made 100 eggs.  Ming said he loved the sweetness to the dish. Anthony Bourdain was impressed that she made a perfectly runny egg, which is exactly what he wanted to eat at 3am. He said it could have easily gone wrong, but it didn’t.


Antonia
Parmesan Eggs on Garlic Crostini with Almond, Tomato & Apple Salad

The overall winner though was Dale, who made another stoner dish that Anthony Bourdain loved. He questioned if they ever gave Dale a urine test since he had made other good “stoner” food according to Bourdain. Dale made grilled cheese and tomato soup. Okay, there was a soup in this dish, so I lied a bit about them not liking the soup dishes, but it wasn’t all soup like you’ll see from the losers. Dale used an iron to sear the grilled cheese. They seemed to have found this genius even though I learned it from watching Mr. Mom.  I mean, I love grilled cheese and tomato soup, and Dale did make his soup from scratch since I saw the huge tomatoes at his station, but he won $25,000 for grilled cheese and tomato soup? I’m just floored that he won.


Dale
Rib Eye Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Spicy Tomato Soup

Losers

Carla didn’t only have issues with taking too long to set up her station and not enough time preparing her food. She also had it in her head that she was going to make a curry with salmon as the protein, but there wasn’t any salmon in the store and she couldn’t think of another protein to use. At Judges’ Table, Ming said that even chicken would have worked. She agreed. Why did she not think of chicken or anything else that could have been there? So she ended up with two problems with her dish. It lacked a protein, which the dish really called out for one and the flavors it didn’t have time to fully develop since she needed more than an hour to make a good curry soup.


Carla
Curry Apple Soup with Tomato Ginger Jam and Cucumber Apple Slaw

Tiffany also had one of the worst dishes. Anthony Bourdain had an issue with her chicken being soggy and rubbery. Tom had a bigger issue with her using a prepared spice mix instead of adding just a bit of herbs and spices to make her own mix. She said it was what she grew up with, but Tom thought that sometimes people had an affinity for something they loved as a kid, but it doesn’t necessarily make it good. He really wished her dish tasted freshly prepared. It had an artificial flavor due to the prepared spice mix that was used. It was edible though, unlike Angelo’s dish!


Tiffany
Jambalaya with Chicken, Sausage & Shrimp with a Summer Salad

Angelo made a deconstructed baked potato in a soup form. Oh, you mean baked potato soup? While he was making it, he had the bad idea to ask Mike to taste it for him. Mike said it was missing something and suggested he added salt. Angelo did. Uh-oh! By the time everyone tasted the dish, it was oversalted. Anthony Bourdain said the soup was way too salty. It was also too rich and he was heavy handed on the scallions. The judges and other Target employees had a hard time eating more than one bite. All the judges agreed that Angelo lost focus. Remember when he used to win everything and was the one to beat? I think he lost some of his mojo from his season to this all-star edition. He hasn’t been the same this season. This dish caused him to lose and he was sent home. I’m sad to see him go. I’d much rather see Mike leaving at this point.


Angelo
Baked Potato Soup with Bacon, Sour Cream, Potato Skins, Scallions & Cheddar Cheese

Questions

  1. What cookies and dishes looked good to you?
  2. What type of cookie would you make for the muppets?
  3. Do you think you could come up with a better Target dish? What would it be?
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