Girl Power

The call came a little after midday. Yes, there were still reservations left for the event tonight, now if you just give me your credit card information...

Which is how I found myself here, a golf community north of Kansas City. Not really my stomping grounds but when you get an opportunity to get to eat a six course meal prepared by two of your most favorite chefs in all the Top Chef shows? Get the camera ready baby, because Carla Hall and Antonia Lofaso are in Kansas City.

Girl Power indeed. Night two of a two night event of food and Top Chef chatter. Cocktails started off the night in the spacious National Clubhouse. Not a huge event, ten tables of eight and no table was filled out. Since I had made my reservation so late and couldn't get anyone to go with me, I was beginning to worry that I was going to be at a table alone. Happily Emily and Dino made reservations just as late as me.

How cute are they? Not to mention they're Top Chef freaks, run a restaurant and Emily has a girl-crush on Antonia. Good food, good company, gorgeous setting and Top Chef gossip, does it get any better? Let's check out the first course.

Antonia started off the meal with a Hamachi crudo, crispy rice, mizuna, with miso vinaigrette. A bold dish to serve to folks in Kansas City, a place steeped in stockyard and meat on the hoof history. Not that anyone at my table minded since we all enjoy sushi so the hamachi was a welcome starter. Still trying to figure out how Antonia did the crispy rice because it was a nice little crunchy treat on top of that flavorful hamachi. And BONUS, both Carla and Antonia help bring plates to the table.

Our second course was a salad course.

Another bold choice by Carla since so many people reject eating beets right off the bat. An Asparagus, Golden Beet & Shitake salad with a Tarragon Dill Vinaigrette and a quenelle of goat cheese boursin. The chefs come out after each course is served and talk a little bit about the dish. Carla gave us a little taste of spring, especially with the asparagus. The general consensus at our table is that it was a great salad especially since the beets didn't have that distinctive beet flavor. It didn't last long on the plate.

This photo is part of Antonia's next course. This is some sweet shrimp and matchstick apples. Now....I don't have a photo of the whole dish but I have a really good excuse. See, they plated the shrimp and apples and then came around with hot pitchers of Curried Cauliflower Soup and poured it over the shrimp and frankly when the smell of the soup hit my nostrils all thought of grabbing a photo left my brain. I know it's spring but this is a soup that would be great on a fall afternoon and we did everything but lick our bowls clean. Check out the recipe at the end of the post. Bravo Antonia!

Next up is Carla's Grilled Halibut with Ramps, Pickled Fennel and roasted Sunchoke Pesto. When Carla talked about this dish, it sounded like it was still a dish in progress. The fish was cooked well and the sunchoke pesto was interesting but I still think the dish needs a little oomph.

Antonia's Lamb Loin, Fennel Butter, Brussel Sprouts and Blue Bacon Salad. This dish, more than any other dish on the menu, gives us a chance to eat a dish the chefs prepared on the show. Or at least intended to serve on the show. This is the dish that Antonia planned to serve to royalty had a fire not happened in the restaurant. It's a pretty good dish and certainly sounds better than the shrimp and grits she did eventually make. Even my table-mate Emily who doesn't like lamb, enjoyed this dish.

Carla finishes up the night with a Strawberry Rhubarb Meringue Tart with Lime Basil Coulis. I love lime so this is right up my ally. The only problem is that the tart base could have been a tad more tender but it didn't stop me from eating it all.

Now that the chefs are done with kitchen duty, it was time for a little Q & A. We got to hear about future plans which for Antonia include writing a cookbook for busy working moms trying to make good food on a tight schedule and budget. Carla shared her exciting news of being part of The Chew, who along with Mario Batali and Michael Symon will be taking on daytime TV (and killing ABC's soaps along the way). Both Carla and Antonia's favorite episode, hands down, was the fishing episode because they had so much fun. Carla's least favorite episode (aside from the one she was eliminated on) was the Target challenge mainly because the cameramen COULD NOT KEEP UP WITH CARLA. After a demonstration on just how fast Carla is, she's right, I'm sure she left them in Target dust. They also shared a funny story about one of the dishes for that challenge and how one chef thought he was coming up with an incredibly unique dish but when he shared his idea with Carla and Antonia they were flabbergasted. The dish? Baked potato soup which any number of chain restaurants have been doing for years but really a bit of good luck for Carla because Angelo went home instead of her. The chefs shared another amusing moment that revealed a little bit of the behind the scene production issues. Carla and Antonia were asked to sing the Beef Tongue Song.

The only reason the Beef Tongue song even happened was that when Antonia gets nervous, she sings to herself. In real life, this is not a problem but on a syndicated show like Top Chef, the moment a recognizable song is uttered, for it to make it on air, the right's holders to that song must be paid. So all the songs Antonia came up with to sing away her nervousness had to be original in nature. Enter Carla and Angelo, co-writers of the Beef Tongue Song and Hello I-Tunes downloads and one of the most fun moments in Top Chef history.

We discovered, while as horrific as it was for us seeing Mike in swim trunks, was nothing in comparison to seeing it live, proving once again that while you can choose your friends, you cannot choose your family. I'm pretty sure finding out Mike was her cousin was not the Elimination Prize Antonia was hoping for. We also discovered that Padma is a warmer, more approachable person since the birth of her baby (while I did enjoy Antonia's description of Padma's eating habits as more in line with that of a long haul trucker). However after hearing the three restaurants Carla and Antonia hit up in a two hour period here in Kansas City, they apparently were doing their best Padma imitation. Two bbq joints (Arthur Bryants and Oklahoma Joe's) and one burger joint (Blanc Burgers) is a whole lot of meat to consume before a big night of cooking.
Finally the questions were done and the chefs graciously allowed any and all who wanted their photos taken to be accommodated. Which means Emily's girl-crush fantasy is fulfilled.

I have to say at the end of the night, Carla and Antonia were exactly what I thought they'd be like. Carla is funny and entertaining and apparently seems to be the only chef who seems to find the good in everyone. Antonia is honest, warm and engaging and I certainly hope she finds success as a result of her time on Top Chef. I'm sad that neither one of them won Top Chef All Stars but I believe their triumphant spirits will take them further than winning the title ever could.

Antonia Lofaso -- Curried Cauliflower Soup with Sweet Shrimp, Apples, Cilantro
Serves 4 people

Thinly slice half onion and sweat, no color.
Rough chop 1 head cauliflower and add to onions allow to sweat.
Add 4 t curry powder and allow to bloom.
Peel 2 apples, remove seeds, rough chop and add to sweat mixture, approx 10 minutes.
Cover with 3/4 cream and 1/4 chicken stock simmer, season with salt and pepper, blend.

Dry 16 pieces of sweet shrimp, season, salt and pepper, dust with all purpose flour.
In a hot sauté pan with about 2 T peanut oil, sauté shrimp.
Garnish soup with sautéed sweet shrimp and julienne Fuji apple garnish with micro cilantro and cilantro oil.

For cilantro oil....
2 bunches cilantro blanched, refreshed and blended with 2 cups peanut oil, strained thru cheesecloth and sieve.

Carla Hall -- Asparagus, Golden Beet and Shiitake Salad
goat cheese boursin, tarragon dill vinaigrette
serves 4

1 bunch asparagus
1 pound golden beets
8 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, julienned
¼ cup goat cheese boursin (see recipe below)
1 cup baby arugula
1 recipe tarragon dill vinaigrette (see recipe below)

1. Prepare beets – preheat oven to 400°. Wrap each beet individually in foil and place on sheet pan. Roast beets until they can be easily pierced with a fork, about 45 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and peel beets with dry paper towels, then cut them into ½” dice. Toss in vinaigrette.
2. Prepare asparagus – trim the woody asparagus stems by bending them until they break; the asparagus will naturally break where the stem becomes woody. Discard the woody ends. Heat a cast iron skillet then add minimal oil. Sauté asparagus in small batches until browned and just tender, about 2- 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. Cut the asparagus on the bias (at a diagonal) into 1” pieces and toss with lemon zest.
3. Sauté shiitake – sauté mushrooms in hot skillet until browned; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Putting it all together – arrange beets, asparagus and shiitake on each plate. Dot with small balls of goat boursin. Lightly toss arugula in vinaigrette and top composed salad with greens.

Tarragon-Dill Vinaigrette

Lemon oil
2 cups canola oil
Strips of zest from 1 lemon
1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer layers removed and bottom 4 inches roughly chopped

Vinaigrette
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1 lemon
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tarragon, torn
½ teaspoon dill, snipped
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tarragon, roughly chopped
¼ cup lemon oil
½ cup olive oil

1. Prepare lemon oil – In a medium heavy saucepan over very low heat, combine oil, lemon peel and lemongrass. Cook, uncovered, until aromatic, about 1 hour. Do not let oil boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain through a mesh strainer into a heatproof container. Cool completely before using. May be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.)
2. Prepare Vinaigrette – In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, tarragon, dill, salt, sugar and pepper. Slowly whisk in lemon oil, then olive oil. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Goat Cheese Boursin

1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 tablespoon chives, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Quickfire de Merde

Here we are again. I didn't think we'd be here again so soon. Where you ask? Quickfire de Merde (and really, to enjoy that phrase to it's fullest, go to Google Language Translate and use the Listen button, it's so much more elegant than it deserves to be). I thought we had suffered the worst Quickfire ever with the plating but not eating Quickfire in which Richard's ashtray dish won him immunity.



That I even have to rethink the title of Worst Ever is a sad development indeed. Yet here we are. It begins innocently enough, the chefs hanging around their loft, trying to figure out what madness is in store for them. Or perhaps they were discussing the finer points of Chef Law. I think the hostess of Top Chef dropping in for a visit must be a violation because the chefs freak out.


Of course anywhere Padma shows up, a ten minute Quickfire is sure to follow. She takes them to the roof to point out their next location, Ellis Island. To get to the island they must take a ferry. This is where the nastiness begins. They must produce their QF dish from the product they find in the snack grill of the ferry. Whole Foods it ain't.



Even worse? They don't know what their time limit is. When the ferry horn blows, they start, when it blows again, they stop. Obviously it's at least 10 to 15 minutes. We're not talking Miami Vice cigarette boat here, it's a New York City ferry.


Still the chefs must scramble to make something....anything. Blaise decides that the ferry boat snack bar food can only be enhanced by a secret weapon in his knife kit. A product so powerful it will make any guest judge bow down to his superior knowledge. He has waited until the ultimate moment to unleash this weapon.....


...an MRE. Except I don't know if Richard pulled this out to use for the food contents or as a method to cook the hot dogs he yanked from the fridge. I suspect the latter. The MREs use a Flameless Ration Heater (FRH), a water-activated exothermic reaction product that emits heat and thus allowed Richard to cook his hot dogs. I guess because using the hot dog griller wouldn't have been as sexy.
Definitely not sexy was whatever Mike came up with.


Hot dog bun, cheese vomit soup. Yes there were some other pedestrian offerings, grilled cheese, nachos, orange salad, but this? Even more horrifying?


They make Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm eat it. Just exactly who did Dan piss off??? That's not to say the segment wasn't without some entertainment value. You see there was trash talking. A LOT of trash talking.


Knocking the simplicity of someone else's dish when you yourself have produced Cheese Vomit soup is not particularly good form. Perhaps Mikey was just following his natural inclination of adhering to Douchebag Law? Not to be outdone in the douchery department, Richard finds fault with not one but two chef's dishes.


Apparently Antonia should be thrown from the ferry for daring to toast!!! Oh the inhumanity. He also tosses Carla in the Lifeboat of Shame with Antonia for good measure for slicing some oranges and making a salad.


Because don't you know that boiling a hot dog and throwing the ferry boat sink on top of it is the height of culinary genius!! Except that's not the way the guest judge saw it. Dan does put Richard in the top three but he praises Antonia's grilling technique and had the audacity to give Carla the win for her sliced oranges.


Not that it really matters. There's no money or car at stake. I mean, do you really want to win this challenge? Do you think anybody leaves Top Chef bragging about winning the Ferry Boat Snack Bar challenge?

Apparently someone really wanted to win this challenge.

So tell me Crack Monkeys, was it the worst Quickfire ever? I mean, just in this season of All Stars alone, we've had some doozys. The Make a Dish with No Utensils or Equipment QF, the Presentation Only QF or this one, Ferry Boat Snack Bar QF? Make your case in the comments section and just be glad you didn't have to taste Hot Dog Bun Cheese Vomit Soup.

Dim Sum Sunday Anniversary

Carla Hall's recent chicken pot pie win on Top Chef started a lot of back channel chatter from those of us who participate in the Dim Sum Sundays meme. Some of the participants wanted to do a Pot Pie but my Culinary Godmother had to point out that we already had as our very first Dim Sum! I went back and looked and sure enough back in March of 2009 there was the Java Junkie's lovely puff pastry chicken pot pie. I thought we should mark the occasion of our two year Dim Sum Sunday Anniversary with a revisit to the wonderful world of Pot Pies. On Sunday, March 13th, bring your best pot pie to the table. You can go back and try the Junkie's delicious recipe or you can try Carla's recipe that I snatched off Bravo's website. I have no idea how many servings it makes but if you want to watch how it's made step by step here's chef Rick Moonen's video at Bravo.


Chicken Pot Pie by Carla Hall

Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pound unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup water

Method:
1. Chill bowl and paddle of KitchenAid standing mixer.
2. Dissolve salt and sugar into water. Place in fridge.
3. Toss butter pieces in flour and coat each side. With the mixer on low, cut butter into flour. Pour water into mixer all at once. Increase speed to medium and mix until a dough is formed.
4. Divide dough into 8 parts, form into discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll dough 1/8'' thick. Trim dough into 4'' rounds. Place dough rounds on top of greased balls of aluminum foil covered with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water.) using some of the dough scraps,make a small ball and place on top of the round to create the top of a cloche. Place balls on parchment lined sheet pans and place the dough scraps on a second sheet pan. Bake at 400 until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool, and carefully remove the dome from the ball.

Chicken Filling
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch moons
6 ribs celery, halved lengthwise and cut on the bias into 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 quarts chicken stock
4 onions, diced
Pepper, to taste
2 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Salt, to taste
4 sprigs thyme
2 whole chicken, 2 pounds each, broken down into 6 pieces

Method:
1. In an 8-quart pressure cooker, heat 3 tablespoons canola oil. Sauté half the onions, carrots, and celery with half the thyme, rosemary and sage for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in 2 quarts chicken stock, add chicken breasts. Bring the stock to a simmer and place lid on pressure cooker. Cook for 30 minutes and remove from heat. Allow pot to cool before opening lid. Run cold water on the top if need be.
2. Remove breasts and set aside. Strain the broth into the large rondeau with the other vegetables and place the vegetables onto a sheet pan to cool. Remove the herbs.
3. When the chicken meat is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite size pieces. Set aside.

Chicken Veloute
4 ounces butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
8 ounces flour
10 ounces frozen baby peas
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Method:
1. In the meantime, heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in another large rondeau.
2. Sauté the other half of the onions, carrots, and celery with the other half of the thyme, rosemary and sage for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in 2 quarts chicken stock, add chicken bones from carcasses, wings and dark meat (legs and thighs). Bring to a boil, then simmer for 90 minutes. Strain. Note: Remove dark meat when meat starts to pull away from the bones, about 45 minutes. Set aside. When the meat is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite-size pieces. Combine with the breast meat.
3. In same pot, melt butter then whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in the hot stock. Bring to a boil then simmer. Mixture should be the consistency of heavy cream. Stir in heavy cream. Bring to a boil again, then simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Garnish
10 baby carrots each, with 1-inch tops, halved lengthwise and roasted
Dehydrated peas, powdered with salt
10 leaves sage, fried
10 sprigs thyme, fried
Method:
1. In a medium-sized pot, combine the pulled chicken pieces, vegetables and enough sauce to generously coat the veggies. Reheat until hot, then stir in peas.
2. Place dough scraps in the bottom of individual bowls. Spoon chicken mixture on top, then ladle more sauce, if necessary. Top with the dough cloche. Place the fried herbs and roasted carrots on the side of each dish. Sprinkle the rim with the pea salt. Enjoy!

So come join us on the 13th with your favorite pot pie, be it chicken, turkey or beef. Or maybe you've got something a little more outside the pie pan up your sleeve for our anniversary? Can't wait to see the results.

Utter and Complete Joy

You know, I could do a whole poke and prod about the last episode's Elimination Challenge, a thorough deconstruction of each contestant's dish, who won, who should have won, who lost and why they lost. But here's the thing. This particular segment of this episode was about joy. The Joy of Cooking With Carla. If you haven't figured it out yet, Carla loves to cook.


Actually Carla looks like she just - loves - LIFE! Frankly it's a welcome relief from the anger of Marcel, of the puffery of Mike, or the constant navel gazing of Blaise. Besides the Westminster Dog Show is on and I've got dogs to watch.

So the chefs go on the Jimmy Fallon show and pick from among many of Jimmy's favorite dishes by cell phone shoot out. Carla was hoping to get Chicken Pot Pie. Do you think her trigger finger is quick enough?

Oh yeah, let the Joy Explosion begin....

...just be careful when she starts whipping that hair around. So Carla draws Chicken Pot Pie and she is over the moon. Does the joy stop there?

Hella NO!

No disasters in the kitchen, Dale pisses and moans about not wanting to be anywhere near her, gets all her food out on time


(with a little help from Dale). Which always helps to get to the top three dishes.


Can I say for the record, I thought I was into chicken pot pie.....


...but this woman is into chicken pot pie on a cellular level. I bow down to the Master.

And the Beef Tongue Song?


BRILLIANT!! It's an amazing thing to make all the judges smile and clap at the same time.


The best thing about it was what came after.


Winning the challenge....

...getting to go on Jimmy Fallon's show...and...and.....


...winning a six day trip to Tokyo.

That, my friends, is the joyful face of someone who's had three Elimination wins and three travel prizes. Carla is the last of my original four favorites to take the whole thing. Can she last that long? She's only been in the bottom three once, there's four more episodes and the finale (probably with three finalists) to go. Can she hold on? Or is she peaking at just the right time? I have no idea I just know she's entertaining as hell to watch. GO CARLA GO!!

A Tale of Two Fish

Our chefs have battled the mighty seas and have returned victorious with their catch of stripers, blues and some porgy. Now they must formulate their thoughts on how to incorporate what they've caught with what's available at the Farmer's Market to produce the dishes they will serve 200 guests at a beach party. We've spent enough time with the chefs to realize that some people are starting to get on the nerves of other people. Jamie, Marcel, Dale. So whenever these team challenges come up, the chefs try and find a way to deal with them. To me that would seem to be cook the best food you know how to cook. Not so with everyone else. Richard seems to think that he needs to "manage" Marcel.


He does this by agreeing that his team should only do one dish thereby putting all their fish in one net. This is a tricky strategy because you've picked the least manageable chef left to attempt to manage and it's a double elimination. Richard may regret this decision.

The produce at the farmer's market looks spectacular. Plenty of fruit, vegetables and herbs to select from. Angelo is right when he says the market dictates what your dish is going to be. Let's say you've already decided you want to do a watermelon salsa to go with your fish dish but the watermelon at the market is pithy, the onions old and dried out and there's no bright green cilantro, would you still make a watermelon salsa? I would hope not, you might have to go in a completely different direction depending on what's available. So it's here where our chefs will make or break themselves.

Carla tells us she has caught two bluefish. Bluefish is not a fish I've had in a great long while but according to what was said on the show and a little research, it's a fish with a flavor than most folks are not used to or enjoy. When you eat a nice mild salmon or some tender flatfish, bluefish definitely falls into the strong, fishy category. Carla has a dish in mind but she's got to have the right produce to balance out what she wants to do. Jamie, she of the Teflon Outer Shell, caught striped bass and thinks a freshly picked cucumber is the way to go.


What? With all the rod and pole jokes you didn't think the editors would leave a genuine lesbian with cucumber shot lying on the cutting room floor did you? Forgetaboutit!!

The next day is beach party day and the chefs start breaking down their fish in their outdoor kitchens. Carla explains how tricky bluefish can be to clean. Have to get rid of that bloodline or your dish is going to be too bitter. Over at Team Manage Marcel, Richard apparently is now backtracking, saying that it was only Marcel who wanted to do one dish. Wha...? Why Mr. Blaise, I do believe there were three members of the team who agreed to that, you being one of them. Now he's stuck and seems to be taking it out on Fabio who is doing a lion's share of the prep work. It's so sad when Bromances go bad.

Time for Tom to do his Peak and Prod. He picks the low hanging fruit first with Richard, Fabio and Marcel's single dish. Now Blaise sees the error of his ways.

Ya think? Tom checks in on Mike, Tiffany and Angelo and has no issues to pick at them about. He next checks in on Dale, Carla and Tre. Tom, being a passionate fisherman, has to ask about Dale's big fish. Turns out that sucker weighed in at 37 pounds!!! That's a lot of good eating. Dale is roasting it whole and serving it with flour tortillas. Tom can't resist stepping on his big fish high by asking if he made his own tortillas and now Dale is left to stew in his own store bought tortilla sweat. Tom moves on to Tiffani, Jamie and Antonia where he tries to hint to Tiffani that her preparation of the bluefish might be a problem. Sadly she doesn't seem to pick up on it. It turns out she will be cooking her bluefish, skin on. Unlike Carla, the bloodline will remain in Tiff's dish.
The chefs finish with all their work and service begins. What an incredibly beautiful setting with the mild weather and the city sparkling in the background.

Service is calm and low key which, after the dim sum challenge, is a welcome change. No huge mistakes but what is interesting is that they split the judges up. Padma ate with the guest judge and Tom and Gail ate together. They did this before, during the Night at the Museum episode. I kinda like this because they each can find their own strengths and weaknesses with each dish instead of being influenced by some of Tom's yoyoing back and forth between his issues with seasoning.

In the stew room the chefs start to sweat out the second double elimination of the season. Padma calls in Carla's team and Angelo's team. Because of the change up by the producers of not always calling in the winning team first, the chefs left in the stew room hope against hope that this is one of those instances. It is not. Even worse, there's a trip to Amsterdam as a prize for the winner. That winner being Carla with her amazing Smoked Blue Fish Lettuce Wrap.


This is all the things the judges like to see in a dish. A fish cleaned and prepared correctly. Seasonality with the freshness of a lettuce wrap and last but not least, surprising the judges with an out of the box presentation, namely smoked fish and a bagel. She reinterpreted that simple idea, that ode to New York into a winning delicious dish. It deserved to win. It was the Ying to Tiffani's Yang of bluefish dish.

Smoked bluefish with tomato, roasted corn and zucchini ribbon salad. Even if she had cooked this fish without the skin and the bloodline, the dish is still not exactly blowing anyone else away in terms of style or conception. After seeing Carla's dish and then seeing Tiff's, you know Tiff was heading for the door. Had it not been a double elim she might have squeaked it out to cook another day because Jamie finally cooked her way out of the competition. Richard, Fabio and Marcel have the ladies to thank for saving their one fish dish wonder.