Masterchef is rolling right along, and my Gordon Ramsay continues to be on the down low, and even (gulp) kind and helpful. That’s certainly not helping me channel my inner rage, so I wait with breath that is bated for the Fall Season of Hell’s Kitchen, which by the looks of the previews, is going to be a wild ride.
As we join the remaining nine amateur cooks as they continue to vie for the title, a crab challenge is on deck. Under the Mystery Box this week is a real live blinking antennae-waving crab. I wasn’t the only one who got a chill. Sheetal just burst out crying.
Seems in her religion, they don’t believe in taking the life of an animal. She grew up in a vegetarian household, and repeatedly says there is no way she can chuck that crustacean in that pot. She walks away from the crowd to regroup, and Gordon joins her. My. He’s such a doll. He gives her hugs and reassurance that it only takes a second and even offers to murder for her. Now there’s a man! I think most guys would have been like “Suck it up! It’s a stupid large bug! People do it all the time! I’m hungry. Pretend it’s your Mother!” Um. I’m just guessing on that last part.
And hey. I get it. The other day at a cookout I actually ate my first hamburger in a year. I’m not a vegetarian. But I don’t eat beef or pork. It was kind of a test of my will to see if I could do it. There’s a lot of annoying questions from people when you don’t eat meat. I think a lot of the misunderstanding comes from those who think non-carnivores are trying to be “better than everyone else.” Or to be “different to get attention.” I admit. I am better than most people. Oh, just kidding! I find it gross, OK? Except for organic chicken. For some reason, if I don’t see it raw or handle it, I’m still OK with that. It could change. Who knows? I do know that the cook-out burger was rather delicious. But the feelings of guilt and anxiety that came along with it were not.
Long way of saying, I understand Sheetal. I couldn’t kill the crab either. But! I thought it was rather bizarre that I have watched her cook and handle raw beef, pork, and halibut no problem. If killing animals means taking their souls and murdering them to her … how in the world did she get through all that? ‘Tis a mystery. Gordon didn’t ask her.
I’d much rather see the humane side of treating the crab, then the exact opposite. Which is what Slim gives us. Gordon has to stop her as she is tearing up the live crab limb from limb in her bare hands. He points out that not only is it cruel, but it will dry the crab out in her dish later. Slim barely even stopped killing the thing in cold shell. She didn’t know to cook it in the pot first? Yeeeek. I’m so glad she got the ultimate spatula slap at the end of this first hour. I only wish the judges would have pulled all of her limbs off before they sent her out the door.
Anyway, I’m getting ahead. Lee wins the crab challenge, and gets to pick the main ingredient in the next. Chocolate, passion fruit or some weird Italian cheese that only Italian judge Joe Bastianich understands. Lee goes with the passion fruit. And that’s where Cluelessmoron, I mean Slim messes up yet again. She made a fondue that even I could have managed. It was ugly, boring and made Joe B. so mad that she would even present it, he slammed it in the garbage. Bye now!
Not only is Lee suddenly emerging as a front runner, but Sharone is still holding his own. In the passion fruit challenge, he chose passion fruit as a glaze on his filet. And he took some big chance, according to Gordon, by using a sous vide machine. Never heard of it. But it looked like something that sealed the meat into a pouch. It seems that you can slow cook the meat, boil it in water, and the seal keeps the moisture out. But the flavors in. I don’t know. Dammit, Jim! I’m a writer, not a chef!
Point being, the machine broke for awhile, and again in this episode my Gordon was there to help. He took the time to fix the machine and urged Sharone to follow his idea. Oh Gordon. See? Everyone always said you were an ass, but I never thought so! I always knew! Sigh. Now stop being all gooey and get back to screaming. I miss that.
Eight are left for part two of my review, coming up later today. Will you be there, or do I have to drop you in a pot of boiling water?
Clacked by Tara Shrodes
on Sep 02, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
I wonder if Slim pulled the wings off of flies as a kid. Just sayin’… I’ve never watched the show, so I have no clue who these people are.
*POST AUTHOR*
You’d like the show, Lisana. And yes, Slim probably burned ants with a magnifying glass as a child too!
sous vide is a technique of vacuum sealing something and then cooking it in water… it’s useful as you can keep a constant temperature which helps you get medium rare steak for instance 100% of the time or break down rhubarb to the right consistency for a dish or a million other uses. It’s far more economical and controlled than confiting meat or fish.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous_vide
Another great recap Tara though I was surprised you didn’t mention Jake’s hilarious “maybe Gordon likes it rough?” quote.
*POST AUTHOR*
Thanks newmi — I’m so glad you continue to read and give great comments and links. You sound like you should be trying out for this show yourself next year. How fun would that be? I could follow your progress in my articles, and get the inside scoop!
I did make a note of Jake’s comment. Some things do get lost in the shuffle, as I try to synopsize. Believe me, I could go on and on. Thank goodness there’s a word limit here …
Word limit! There’s a word limit? Darnit, that’s why they keep cutting me off mid-
This show is starting to come apart. It is obvious how everything is prearranged, but this episode was a big WTF. SOUS VIDE IN AN HOUR??? Are you f*ing crazy? Do they take us for idiots? Next episode, they’ll come up with ossobuco in an hour too…
Sheetal’s issue with the crab was that SHE had to kill the crab. The other proteins were already “murdered.”