Five new bright and shiny faces to greet us this week for Top Chef Masters. Quick intros from left to right starting with David Burke, Thierry Raytureau, Carmen Gonzalez, Monica Pope and Marcus Samuelson. What sort of torturous, twisty Quickfire does She That Does Not Eat have in store for them?
Make Kelly and only Kelly a grilled cheese sammie? How hard is that? Do they have to make their own cheese? Milk a goat...what? No twist? Have the Quickfire Challenge writers lost their Mojos? Oh well, 5 off the charts grilled cheese coming up.
The twenty minutes is immediately consumed by chefs breaking out ingredients not normally seen on a grilled cheese.
Carmen went for the blood first on her Blood Sweat and Tears Grilled Cheese proving yet again that even Top Chef Masters will dice a digit if not paying close enough attention.
Before we get to our Parade of Cheese, a little business to dispense with.
With this Quickfire I now feel it's time to retire Kelly's moniker, She Who Does Not Eat. Why? Look at the girl, chowing down on that sandwich. True, she's no Padma Lakshmi but it's fair to call her by her given name...at least until something better presents itself. Moving on.
Let the Parade of Cheese Begin!
Carmen, despite her booboo, produces a yummy looking Manchego, Garlic, Cilantro & Lime on a baguette. Kelly likes the simplicity of this offering.
Geez, I think David wins for most crap on a simple grilled cheese. Triple Cream Cheese with Proscuitto, Almonds, Tomato & Rosemary along with pickles, olives and pine nuts. Kelly also finds the plate and the flavors a bit too crowded.
Thierry's Grilled Taleggio & Goat Cheese With Olives, Harissa had the nice simplicity of a regular grilled cheese but Kelly, the little cheese vixen that she is, wanted more Taleggio.
Monica whose daughter is currently in the Grilled Cheese eating phase of her life (may she never grow out of that one) inspired this Feta & Farmers Cheese with dates on Raisin Walnut Bread with Basil, Cilantro & Mint Salad which Kelly enjoyed a lot.
Marcus has delivered up one of my pet peeves, The Brown Smear (followed closely by the Brown Drips as seen in the photo above). I never know it's purpose, is it an artistic device to convey some sort of culinary elegance? Another layer of flavoring to whatever you're serving? A way to make a plate look fuller and your smallish portions look more substantial without spending a lot of money? Feh. Looks messy to me. Oh right, his dish. A Grilled Gruyere & Cheddar with Gazpacho & Salad which was nicely balanced to Kelly's taste.
And the winner of $5000 for their charity and an advantage in the Elimination Round?
Houston's own, Monica Pope. Let's hear it for Kid Inspiration.
Next up: Show Us Your Soul.
5 comments:
Trying again for a comment!
Loved this post and loved so much that a mama in her pajamas won. Great stuff. My fave sandwich was the first one, though.
I think Kelly's name could be Sail On Silver Girl. I know it's long, but she is very sparkly. Haha
I loves me some grilled cheese!!!
Here's the big question...classic grilled cheese or fancified grilled cheese?
When I read the title of your post, I thought that "Bringing the High Stinky Cheese" was going to be a Ludo preview :)
But you know how much the Eggplant likes her fromage. Intriguing sandwiches this week. Clearly there is more grilled cheese territory to explore than I have yet contemplated.
In answer to your question, I think classic grilled cheese is the way to go. But I stand by my interest in that first offering...
The thing with a classic grilled cheese is that it's so simple. Bread, butter, and cheese.
Dang. Now I want one.
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