The “mini-challenge” was to take “grown-up” food and make it child friendly. They would be judged by Rachael as well as a panel of three kids. Note to the show’s producers…whoever cast these kids did an excellent job, because they were hilarious, smart and very entertaining.
Anyway, Jeffrey and Jamika had tofu to work with; Michael and Melissa had brussels sprouts; and Katie and Debbie had squid.

Katie made a quinoa salad with fruit and marinated squid, and as I watched it I thought there was no way in hell a kid would eat that, let alone like it. But I was very wrong…they did like it and enjoyed Katie’s presentation. Debbie made something more kid-friendly, baked and breaded calamari and sweet potato chips with soy dipping sauce. Her presentation was a bit dry and slow, but the kids loved her food. Oh, and Debbie mentioned she was Korean, again.

Melissa made mashed potatoes with pureed brussels sprouts inside, and she served a couple of raw sprout halves with it without having time to explain why she did that. But the kids dug the food. Michael made a brussels sprout/tomato soup and had lots of fun, though he tripped over himself again during the presentation. It was awkward, but as always, his food was his saving grace.

Jeffrey made tofu nuggets over spaghetti and did an excellent job. The kids loved his food too.
Jamika made corn/tofu snack wrap and she ran out of time before finishing. Also, hers was the one that the kids really didn’t care for. Yikes.

Then they had to do this in front of a live audience on Rachael Ray’s daytime network show, and this time they had to turn kid-friendly food items into adult ones, and they had to work in teams. Katie and Debbie were assigned chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. Michael and Melissa had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and Jamika and Jeffrey had to work with hot dogs and baked beans.

Katie and Debbie worked excellently together, really playing off each other, and you could tell Katie has really improved each week in front of the camera. They made baked chicken nuggets and mac & cheese with shrimp. Debbie mentioned she was Korean, again. The judges liked the macaroni but said Katie’s chicken was too dry. The girl doesn’t seem to know how to cook poultry correctly, does she?

Michael, who I think makes tomato soup for every challenge, was in his wheelhouse here. He made a tomato and basil soup, and Melissa made grilled cheese skewers. But Michael froze in front of the camera…odd, because he’s very outgoing most of the time. Melissa did okay but was going 90 miles an hour. The judges liked both items but were really struggling with Michael’s struggles on camera.

Jamika and Jeffrey were not a good team at all, disagreeing on what to make and then just not working well together on camera. They made chorizo and shrimp dogs with rice & beans, and while their food looked good, the judges weren’t crazy about it, and they were less crazy about their presentation. Jamika just froze, but she couldn’t jump in because Jeffrey, like Melissa, was just flying through it and not shutting up. Definitely awkward.

At judgment time, Bobby Flay stuck up for Katie but Tuschman and Susie Fogelson were not big fans at all. They liked how Debbie was at ease on camera but that she mentioned she was Korean too often (ya think?) and that she needed to give a bit more on camera. Melissa was rushed and overthinking things but otherwise decent, and Michael, in his own words, kept “crashing” on camera and the judges knew it. When Flay asked him what he thinks about when the cameras roll, Michael said, “the depths of hell.” Yikes! They said Jeffrey talked too much and that Jamika just shut down, something that was a product of Jeffrey’s motormouth, and also a product of Jamika not trying to jump in.

Whew. So this was a tough call, but they sent back to safety, in this order….Debbie (because she’s Korean, and because Susie Fogelson loves her), Melissa (because she has great raw talent) and Jeffrey (because he also has great raw talent). So it came down to Michael, Katie and Jamika. Michael was sent back to safety, but he needs to get comfortable in front of the camera, and fast, if he wants to hang around any longer — good cooking skills are only half of the equation.

Jamika and Katie could have both gone home last night, but based solely on last night I thought for sure it would be Jamika. The judges cited Katie’s overall improvement, but sent her home because they just don’t feel she has the cooking skills or enough of a personality to host her own show on the network…and that’s the bottom line. Jamika, however, is in danger along with Michael.

So there you have it, we are officially halfway home this season, and next week the final five go to Miami, where they will take part in a larger network grill-fest. Who do you like to win this thing? I’m going with Melissa or Jeffrey, but Susie Fogelson will fight hard for Debbie, because, you know, she’s Korean.

See you all next week….

The show began with Bobby Flay playing network executive, and telling the remaining seven contestants that they would start off this week’s episode by creating a burger from a specific region of the country (not necessarily where they were from). The winner would have a burger on the menu at Bobby Flay’s new burger joint in Connecticut (book my flight, I want to go there right now). They would then have 30 minutes of camera time to describe their creation.

Melissa made a Burlington, Vermont inspired (where she went to college) burger with cheddar cheese and turkey chili on top. She gave a nice presention that was informative, descriptive and entertaining. And the judges loved her burger. Michael was next and he made a Mulberry Street burger, or Italian inspired one built on garlic bread. The judges liked his energy but he was still a little nervous. Oh, but they loved the food, even more so than they loved Melissa’s.

Jamika was next and did a New Orleans inspired burger, complete with smoked sausage. For whatever reason, she froze a bit, making her presentation seem like an infomercial, and her burger didn’t go over all that well. Debbie went next, and did a California/Asian style burger with Korean barbecue sauce and she did pretty good but not amazing. Jeffrey made a California burger with avocado and green chiles, and the judges were feeling it was a bit vanilla presentation-wise and that his food has the same “sweet heat” theme every week.

Teddy made a Pennsylvania burger, making reference to Amish people and the fresh produce and cheese they are known for. Um, okay….so basically he made a cheeseburger with tomato on top….BO-RING. And Teddy was not real comfortable doing his presentation….better than previous efforts, but still like a used car salesman. That’s really just who Teddy is, I guess. Katie wrapped up the initial challenge with a San Francisco style turkey burger, but it was a huge gamble considering the 20 minute time frame they had….and she didn’t cook it all the way through. Oops. Katie knew she was in trouble and the judges confirmed that. Should she have not plated anything? Maybe so.

The judges announced that Jamika and Katie were the losers of the challenge, and that the big winner was Michael. Bobby has been praising the dude’s cooking for a while (just like he did with Aaron McCargo Jr. last season) and I’m sure he’s thrilled to have Michael’s burger on the menu at his burger place. I’m also pretty sure Bob Tuschman licked the plate.

Then came the main challenge, which was to cook a meal on the ship Intrepid for a bunch of soliders just arriving home from the Middle East. They’d also be cooking for the usual cast of characters Flay, Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, and also Food Network personality Guy Fieri, who won Season 2 of this very competition to help launch his wildly successful career.
Susie was basically wearing an American flag, making it difficult to take her comments seriously last night.

Anyway, the challenge was to create a signature dish that was unique to an area of the country, but it wasn’t their own choice this time…..instead, they had to remove the top of a tray to reveal their key ingredients underneath…sort of like on the show “Chopped.” They had 1.5 hours to make their meals and would have to serve it and talk about the dish. Oh, and they brought along the editor for USA Weekend, who announced that the winner would have their recipe appear on the cover of the magazine.

Teddy had New York and his main ingredient was duck breast, so he made a “D.L.T.” sandwich. EWWWWWWWWW. Look, I grew up on Long Island feeding ducks, but I could never bring myself to eat one. And once again, Teddy was nervous and didn’t do a very good job presenting. But the judges, in particular Flay, loved his sandwich.

Jeffrey, who lives in California and has a relaxed and cool demeanor, was baffled by his theme of Maine….and his ingredients were lobster and blueberries. So what does he do? What anyone would do, make a pot pie! Really Jeffrey? Anyway, he made a sauce out of the blueberries and some chipotle peppers and basically threw the dish together. I thought for a second that the Jeffrey the judges have come to adore would come through, but it didn’t. Dude gave a weak presentation and Fogelson echoed everyone’s feeling about the dish, saying it was “disgusting.”

Melissa had New Mexico but claimed to not know much about chiles, and of course she had to use them. But Melissa was smart, tasting each one to become familiar. And she made a skirt steak tostada that actually looked good on TV. It also tasted great, because the judges were floored by the dish and and also by Melissa’s presentation.

Katie had the state of Georgia, including catfish, and made a Southern style dish with breaded catfish, greens and squash. This time she cooked the fish through, and the judges were more impressed with her food. Her presenation was okay, but just okay.

Jamika had Wisconsin and made a potato casserole using the theme ingredients of cheese, beer and smoked sausage. Good idea, but she didn’t execute it properly, whirling the undercooked potatoes in a food processor until they became paste-like. Blech! Her presentation was okay but not the food.

Debbie and Michael were cooking together in the kitchen, and the best moment came when Michael rammed a serving tray into Debbie’s right cheek….and I don’t mean butt cheek. Ow! In reality TV terms, it was hilarious, but probably not so much for Debbie. Anyway, she had the California theme, having to use wine and almonds, and she made a chicken dish out of them. The judges felt she did a nice job considering her cheek was the size of a basketball, but they thought her food was bland.

Meanwhile, Michael had Hawaii and he did a decent job considering he felt awful about ramming that tray into Debbie’s face. Michael had some sort of fish I’d never heard of, along with macadamia nuts and pineapple. He gave a decent presentation, though he mentioned macadamia nuts about a dozen times…and once again the judges were wowed by his cooking ability.

So on the chopping block, the judges announced that the winner of the USA Weekend cover was Melissa, and that she was also safe from elimination this week. But not before Flay warned the seven of them that someone needed to step up and really try and grab this competition. Well, don’t look now, but Melissa is emerging as that person and a real contender. Also declared safe were Michael and Debbie, though they told Michael he needs to become friends with the camera.

That left Jamika, Katie, Jeffrey and Teddy. They said Jamika gave a decent presentation but her food was awful. They thought Jeffrey’s food was also terrible this week, and he’s starting to look like a one-trick pony. Katie made better food, and the soldiers thought she had a nice “girl next door” image, but the judges thought she wasn’t very exciting and also reminded Katie about her salmonella burger. Teddy made good food but as Flay pointed out, he makes everyone else nervous when he’s presenting…not exactly what you want in a network star.

I thought for sure Katie was going home, but then the judges chose Teddy. And when you look back at the last two weeks, the dude had this coming to him. I mean, he threw Melissa under the bus one week and Debbie last week, after which he cried and apologized, looking like a man with emotional issues. So while the judges surely looked at that fact, they also knew that having a “used car salesman” with a Food Network show would be a bad idea.

So that’s it….we’re down to the final six! I think Katie’s days are numbered, as are Jamika’s. Melissa and Michael are looking really good, and Jeffrey and Debbie are somewhere in the middle. After last night, I’m already envisioning Melissa with her own show, and I have a feeling that the judges are, too.

What do you all think?

Jeffrey won the challenge with a brief but very effective tip on how to use Nutella to make crepes for both dessert and breakfast with his family. Melissa and Debbie also did a nice job with their tips. Teddy (who Florence referred to as a cartoon character of himself), Jamika (who advised to re-use marinade) and Michael (just a complete mess) all bombed in the budget tip portion of the challenge.

Then the finalists, who still had no idea who they were cooking for or where, were whisked off to the Hamptons on Long Island, and found out that they would be cooking for Ina Garten, a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa, along with some of her friends and the judging trio of Bob Tuschman, Susie Fogelson and Bobby Flay. Now me personally, I can’t stand the Barefoot Contessa’s show, which is dripping with frou-frou and well, let’s just say she’s the polar opposite of Guy Fieri. But almost every contestant was a big fan of Contessa, and wanted desperately to impress her.

But then came a twist….they were allowed to use the ingredients they purchased, but would be broken up into four teams of two. Each team had to create an appetizer, entree and dessert, with each chef making one of the three, and the third being a collaborative effort. Jeffrey’s prize for winning the first part of the challenge was to choose his teammate, and he picked Michael. The other teams were drawn randomly by Garten and Flay–Teddy and Debbie, Melissa and Eddie, and Jamika and Katie. Right off the bat, both Debbie and Melissa were not happy about their choice of teammate, and they would later be proven correct.

Each team had to present their dishes to the dinner party, and the judges then talked about how they did with the presentations and what they thought of the food.

Jamika and Katie went first, with Jamika making a glazed salmon, Katie a pasta dish and the collaboration being a fruit-based dessert. The judges felt there wasn’t enough of a collaboration overall and the theme was a bit disjointed, but that both presented their dishes well and Jamika’s salmon was awesome.

Jeffrey and Michael were next, and their collaboration was a spicy roasted tomato soup while Michael made a pesto chicken and broccoli rabe main dish, and the dessert was Jeffrey’s crepe that he spoke about in his budget tip that won him the first part of the challenge. Jeffrey, as usual, did a much better job of presenting than Michael, who just keeps looking “lost” (a judge term) on camera. But all agreed that the food from these two was really great.

Eddie and Melissa were next, and Melissa was her frantic self in the kitchen while Eddie was caught on camera at one point rolling his eyes at her. There was lots of tension and the judges could feel it. For their dishes, Eddie made a watermelon salad with red onion and feta cheese, Melissa made a chicken dish and their collaboration was a bananas foster quesadilla. The Barefoot Contessa loved Melissa’s energy but most of them did not like her chicken so much. Meanwhile, they hated Eddie’s salad, saying the onion overpowered the dish. One judged used the word “inedible.”

Finally Debbie and Teddy went, with Debbie making an Asian “marinara” sauce over linguine, the collaboration being a Pan Asian meatloaf, and the dessert being a thrown-together creation by Teddy of strawberry shortcake with boxed pudding. The judges loved the sauce for Debbie’s pasta though they were skeptical at first. They liked the meatloaf too but called the dessert an “abomination.”

Then, as the eight contestants stood in front of the judges, and listened to critiques and feedback, an amazing thing happened. Eddie admitted that his watermelon salad was something he lifted from a Paula Deen cookbook. Are you kidding me? He poached a recipe, and then tried to inadvertently blame Paula Deen for the fact that the judges hated the dish? Yikes. Then, even worse, Teddy threw Debbie under the bus, just like he did with Melissa the week before. He spouted off that the meatloaf dish was his own, and that the dessert was a collaboration. Meanwhile, the judges remembered Teddy claiming responsibility for the dessert in his presentation. Dude was backpedaling and making everyone uncomfortable and annoyed in the process. And he really pissed Debbie off, who told the judges that in fact the meatloaf was a team creation, and it was.

So the winning team was Jeffrey and Michael, and both were declared safe for another week. They then sent four more back to safety–Jamika, Debbie, Melissa and Katie. That left the two degenerates, Eddie and Teddy. Eddie had now been on the chopping block three straight weeks, and poaching a recipe and rolling his eyes at Melissa could not have helped. Meanwhile, Teddy just showed a horrific lack of integrity, and well, dude is just emotionally unstable….he started crying and apologized to the judges and to Debbie more than once, but the damage was done. Who would the judges send home? A tough call, and Fogelson correctly pointed out that they should send both Eddie and Teddy home. They didn’t, however, ultimately choosing Eddie because of his overall performance the first three weeks.

Meanwhile, Teddy is still hanging around, and that can’t make anyone else on the show comfortable, especially if they have to work on a team with him again. I really thought they should have made an exception and send them both home, but I also realize they have contracted a fixed number of episodes. Teddy can’t be on the show much longer, though.

So what do you all think? Let me know, and we’ll also have an exit interview with Eddie posted in a few days!

The show began last night with an initial challenge, and the theme for this week was magazines. Bobby Flay was ready to greet the nine finalists along with Ryan, an editor from men’s mag Esquire, and they had a rapid fire challenge in which they had to uncover a serving tray and create a meal from what was on said tray. Since this would be geared toward Esquire’s male audience, the ingredients were some kind of meat, and another weird ingredient.

Here is what it broke down as, and how they did on camera presenting their creation:

Katie had lamb chops and bran flakes, and made some sort of roasted lamb chops with dijon mustard and cous cous. Not really guy food, but she really flubbed the presentation too.

Debbie made some sort of Asian barbecue steak and it looked amazing. She did a great job on camera as well.

Brett had ground beef and blue cheese and made a burger, and his presentation was wild and funny….slightly over the top but I’d watch this guy in a second.

Michael, who is openly gay, admitted that Esquire was not geared toward his target audience. He had pork chops and coffee, and impressed the judges with his food….his presentation was good too but he had 20 seconds remaining and got flustered trying to fill the time.

Melissa made a chicken tagine with cherries, also with cous cous…again, not really guy food, and she was quite uncomfortable on camera.

Jeffrey had steak and pistachios and did a nice job cooking, as well as giving a mouth-watering description of his dish.

Jamika had whiskey and porterhouse steak, and she would have been fine if she hadn’t rehearsed so much…but when she began to verbally stumble, the wheels came off.

Eddie had strip steak and beer, and he knocked it out of the park with his food and presentation.

Teddy had ribeye and maple syrup and he cooked well but his presentation was way over the top–coming across like a loud high school jock.

So Eddie won the initial challenge, earning him a recipe in Esquire, and also the right to assign the second challenge to each finalist. Along with Giada DeLaurentiis, the second challenge was also being judged by Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping. And the theme was holidays. Each contestant had a holiday to build their creations around, and Eddie earned the right to assign each one. Here is how it went down…..

Debbie had Mardi Gras and true to her Cajun/Oriental roots, made spicy Asian potstickers. The Judges said she used too many ingredients but they loved her presentation.

Michael had Halloween and made a seared tuna with butternut squash. The judges love the way Michael operates on camera, and for the most part like his cooking as well. I mean, when Bobby Flay likes your food you’re in pretty good shape.

Katie had Earth Day and since she is the nutritionist (sorry, Ellie Krieger has the market corned on that) she made a very boring shrimp with white beans and radicchio. Katie not only kept stumbling over words like “antioxidant,” but she was incredibly nervous, and worse, her food loooked bland and uninspiring, and that fact was confirmed by the judges.

Brett had April Fool’s Day, the perfect avenue for this jokester, and he made a filet mignon with lobster tempura. He joked that he was leaving the show, which was his own April Fool’s prank, but then said the dish he made was in honor of his mom and the start of spring, which was really incongruous and the judges called him out on it.

Eddie had Valentine’s Day and went on an on, in way too much detail, about how he made this same dish for his girlfriend, who he loves very much how they did it in every room when his roommates went out of town (he didn’t say this but almost did) and blah blah blah. Flay told him to stop midway through, not a good sign. It was a sesame ahi with couscous and a plate of roses, which Flay said over-took the dish. Plus, Flay also found a lobster shell. (ed. note….what’s with all the couscous? Blech!).

Teddy had Labor Day and in honor of one of our nation’s great grilling holidays made a surf and turf. The judges enjoyed his dish but said he was a bit over the top with his acting, that he will be fine when he learns to tone down that jock image.

Melissa, the mom of four, had Mother’s Day, and made a baked egg dish as well as orange scented french toast. But just like last week, she was scrambling to finish in time, and she got some help from Brett and Teddy in plating. Those guys were nice to help her, but then tried to throw her under the bus at judgement time….a really classless move. It didn’t matter…though Melissa was maybe too energetic on camera, they loved her food.

Jamika had New Year’s Eve and took a strange route of making two side dishes that her family made on the holiday traditionally–collard greens and cornbread. The risk paid off as the judges not only dug her food but loved the way she told her story and made them comfortable eating it.

Finally, Jeffrey had Groundhog’s Day, which had to be the most difficult holiday…..I mean, come on! To Jeffrey’s credit, he made up some sort of reference to the groundhog seeing its shadow, but I still don’t know what the connection was, and neither did the judges. He made some sort of stuffed avocado with lobster and chorizo. They loved his food and Jeffrey always seems natural in front of the camera.

So the best three according to the judges were Melissa, Jamika and Debbie, with Jamika winning the top prize of having a dish in an upcoming issue of Good Housekeeping. The next three to be named safe were Jeffrey, Teddy, and Michael. That left a bottom three of Katie, Brett and Eddie. I kept thinking it was Katie, especially after judge Bob Tuschman said “I don’t look at her and see a star.” Yikes. But Katie was safe, leaving Brett and Eddie.

Eddie won the first challenge so this was a suprise, but everyone was disturbed by his Valentine’s Day meal and the way he presented it. Brett’s drive to want to win was questioned by Tuschman, and ultimately that’s why they chose Brett to go home. Dude has a bubbly personality but he was just too rough around the edges to be a Food Network star.

So that’s it…last week Jen, and this week Brett….I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Eddie and Katie are going to be next…..Melissa has flaws too. And the ones I think are making a strong bid to win early on are Michael, Jeffrey, Jamika and Debbie. It should be heating up, literally, over the next few weeks…..let me know who you think is looking good and who will be going home next!