I made Parmesan Tillapia with a yumy side of grains with veggies in it. I promise that it tastes better than my picture looks. I will post the recipes soon!
All posts by NerdMom
Metal Velcro
Awesome isn’t it? There really is metal velcro or, without the trademark term, hook and loop fastener. It is so cool! From the press release:
Hook and loop fasteners made of spring steel have now been developed at the Institute of Metal Forming and Casting of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen. These fasteners are resistant to chemicals and can withstand a tensile load of up to 35 tonnes per square meter at temperatures as high as 800°C.
This is so cool! I love watching materials innovation. In the article it says that they were looking for automotive innovations and uses in construction. How neat!
(HT: Next Big Future)
Magic Marker Monday: Pig Art
This is the master piece was made by the Nerdling while I was at MOPs this week. I said how I liked the paint and he said, “Mom, that is dirt”. Then I asked if he got any on him (knowing full well it was paint and my kids are messy;) and he said no. So I asked if they gave him a wipe and he said, “No Mom, I washed up with water”. Like it was a new thing or something. He’s a kick!
(Part of Magic Marker Monday)
Meal Plan Monday
I hope that everyone is having a great Labor Day Weekend! So now is always the big quandary of the week… what to make for dinner? So here is the plan for the week!
Monday: Chicken, Broccoli and Rice
Tuesday: Cube Steak, Cheese Beer Bread, Broccoli
Wednesday: Beef Pasta Bake
Thursday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Friday: Chili Mac and Cheese
The Arts and Your Heart
I am on a big performing arts kick right now. I am percolating on a blog piece (if I get time to think again;) but until then this piece should touch your heart. Tice Diorio choreographed this piece for a friend of his with breast cancer. Melissa’s ballerina body paired with Ade’s strength really helped to bring this piece into focus for me and always brings a tear to my. But that is why I love dance. It moves you be it to joy or pain. So watch this (full screen if you can) and let me know if it affects you at all!
Top Chef Vegas!
I have no witty banter so let’s just jump into this week’s Top Chef!
Quickfire Challenge:
Mark Peel and Padma are waiting with a table full of potatoes. They have to create an “out of this world” dish with potatoes. Now I don’t feel to bad because there are all kinds of potatoes on the table. Chaos ensues in the kitchen. Preeti blanched her asparagus in Ashley’s water for her gnocchi. With 13 minutes left she had to start water over. I am interested to see if the odd dishes win (sweet potato custard, risotto) or the traditional (vichyssoise or gnocchi). The bottom were Eli, Ron and Jesse. The top are Jennifer, Ash, and Ashley. The winner was Jennifer and now she has immunity. She seems to be riding pretty high. Mike I. thinks it is favoritism but how with a new judge?
Elimination Challenge:
A Commander from Nellis comes in to give the challenge. They had to go to Nellis where the Thunderbirds train. They have to create a meal for 300. It is 1 team with 4 hours to cook. They don’t know their ingredients or to see the kitchen until they show up day of the challenge. They decide to set it up with Jennifer being the chef of the kitchen since she has immunity. Then everyone else pairs up and each pair takes a dish. When they get into the kitchen they find it as a traditional military kitchen with lots of canned good, no individual pots and stoves. So they all evaluate what they have to cook but they are having issues allocating resources. But Jennifer was doing a great job helping allocate all the kitchen resources. She also was keeping the chatter down.
Once they were done with the cooking they went to the site to set up. It was kind of crazy. They set up to 2 sets of serving stations. Michael V was very specific on how he wanted his dish served and he wanted it all cut as they served it. Then we begin!
Service:
I really don’t know about being in the middle of the Nevada desert with chili and chowder. Bryan and Mattin’s beef was good and pink in spite of being held. Preeti and Lorreen’s pasta salad was boring and salty. The chili was good and spicy. The chili was a bit thick but good. Gail says she doesn’t mind the hot dishes but the hot and heavy cream was a bit much. The pork shoulder and potato salad seemed to be a hit. The pork belly was a huge hit but their salad wasn’t good. Tom thought the shrimp was under cooked. Mark Peel thought the bread pudding was a little dry but Tom and Gail liked it.
Judging:
So first up for the judges was Mike, Michael, Eli and Kevin. Kevin did the pulled pork with his family recipe. Tom thinks the slab bacon braised was cool. Mike and Michael have worked together before and that helped. Michael did the bacon, where Mike did the salad. The winner was Michael. When I heard that he did the bacon basically by himself I was sure he was going to win. Then the judges wanted to see Preeti, Lorreen and Mike (again). Mike was hot. I think once the judges knew that Mike did the shrimp salad on his own, he was on the chopping block. The shrimp wasn’t cooked all the way and that was a big deal. Tom said that Mike seemed pissed and Mike said he was. Mike said he was trying to help the team and didn’t have to do it. They told him that is did the dish and they had to judge him on it. Gail also pointed out that it was bland and without seasoning. Tom wanted to know whose idea the pasta salad was. Neither Lorreen nor Preeti took credit. Gail said that it didn’t seem creative. Preeti asked if the chowder was more creative. They said no but that the chowder was a better version. Tom called the girls on just trying to get by and that was all they wanted. Lorreen seemed to know that it wasn’t a good dish but she said that she forgot it was a competition. Preeti on the other hand thought it was a good dish. In the deliberation Gail pointed out that the judges didn’t ask them to team up.
In the end Preeti was sent home. In her exit she said that this year’s competition was tougher than the other years. I think she might be right. So let’s see who will get cut next week! Next week we are have the 2 elimination week! Things are going to be exciting!
Hell Fires Keep Burning!
So we are doing the taste test today! I love this one! Andy was talking about his special taste buds that taste things no one else can. We will see if he can measure up to his talk. Kevin guessed that clams were spinach. Sabrina said tuna but at least it was fish. Andy thought that avocado was boiled coconut. The girls won!
The girls’ reward was to go to Opaque to dine in the dark. The guys’ punishment was to hand make fruit sorbets (including taking fruit delivery) and then to shine the glassware. Dave had to sort frozen berries and Van had to see tons of pomegranate. Their lunches were blended plates of food, like risotto with scallops and duck.
The girls want Suzanne out. I don’t know if they want her out enough to sabotage themselves but they want her out bad.
Then we launch into service. Tenille is doing apps and running the reds. While Andy is doing garnish and running the blues. Tenille tells Suzanne that her scallops are to dark and Suzanne ignores her and is right. Kevin is doing the apps for the blue team. Both teams start well. The chefs have to serve the sorbet palate cleansers tableside. Kevin left Van on his apps while he did the sorbet and Van put up bland risotto. Amanda was on garnish and is messing it up while she is telling Tenille that she doesn’t need help. Andy was coordinating for the team and wasn’t clear as to what was next.
Then we get to entrees in the red kitchen. Sabrina is on meat and Suzanne is on fish. Sabrina tells Ramsay that it will be 4 minutes and Suzanne is ready to go. But then lamb comes back. Sabrina said that she pushed it out to soon because of Suzanne. So Ramsay handed Sabrina the plate and kicked her out to eat it. When someone asked Suzanne what happened she said nothing. Nothing?!?!? You are now down a person and that person is on meat. This is ridiculous. Then Tenille got put on the meat and she said 3 minutes. Then Suzanne said 2 minutes and Tenille called her on it and stuck to her guns. Andy said that he was 3 orders short on mashed potatoes. But they made them stretch. Then Suzanne holds everyone up with her fish and then she messed up the fish and everyone had to start over. Then she starts cleaning up her station while she was cooking. Then Andy ran out of potatoes. Dave ran in got the potatoes ends to make some more. How did Andy not start some more when he knew he was almost short on the other order. The red team’s fish station was sinking quick. Amanda tried to help Suzanne and thought she was finishing a piece of fish and put it up half done. Then Suzanne hung Amanda out to dry on it.
The winner was the blue kitchen because Dave bailed them out. Tenille was the best of the worst. So she had to come up with 2 to put up for elimination. I think Tenille should say the only person who should be tossed is Suzanne. Suzanne doesn’t understand why everyone is mad at her. Tenille ended up nominating Suzanne and Sabrina. But Tenille made it clear that she thinks that Suzanne is the weakest link. Then Ramsay called Amanda out. Ramsay doesn’t like Amanda and I think it is just because she so soft spoken. Suzanne said she was just pushing and everyone said that wasn’t true. Then Ramsay asked is Amanda could win it and she said she could. He tossed Amanda out. I can’t believe he did that! Suzanne should have been tossed!!!!!!
Well, maybe next week. A girl can hope.
Meal Plan Monday
My life is nuts this week so if I don’t have a plan we will eat Taco Bell all week;).
Monday: Baked Chicken, Zucchini Corn Cakes, Broccoli
Tuesday: Boboli Pizza
Wednesday: Pasta Bake
Thursday: Pork Loin Chops, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Friday: Cube Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Top Chef Vegas 8/26
I have to say that I was pretty impressed by the level of competitor last week. Let us see if it was a fluke or if the performance level will stay high.
Quickfire Challenge:
Todd English is waiting for the cheftestants with Padma. The chefs have to roll the dice to see how many ingredients they will get to use. Salt, pepper and oil don’t count. There was a real variety from 3 ingredients to 10. The bottom chefs were Jesse, Eve, and Bryan. The top were Michael V. (Bryan’s brother), Jennifer, and Kevin. The winner was Michael V. He got $15 grand and immunity.
Elimination Challenge:
It is guys versus girls as they do the bachelor and bachelorette party. Women are catering for the guys party and the guys for the girl party. The couple walks in with trays of shots. They want the food to be paired with the shots. Then the teams meet with their person. The woman is all fish but no meat but her friends are both meat eaters and vegans. The guys likes shell fish. This will be interesting. Each team has to have at least 2 dishes with each type of drink (there are 3 types). Ashley resents this whole challenge because of the gay marriage issue. Please, I wasn’t real fond of the sex store challenge in the first season. You are there to cook.
Ashley decides she has time to take on an extra dish and she decides to do a Bay Panna Cotta. Really? A panna cotta for a party? This is your extra? These traditionally do bad. Then we find out everything is going to be served pool side, read sunny and hot. Eve was having issues getting flavor into her dish. I think there is a good chance that Eve may go if the girls lose, unless it is Ashley due to the panna cotta.
Service:
Tom is sporting a little soul patch. Eve’s ceviche didn’t go well but Jennifer’s was a success. Robin’s mole went well. The lamb also was good. Jesse got a popular dish with her lettuce cup but the judges thought there was to much going on. Ashley’s first dish went well but her panna cotta wasn’t set. Tom says it is to bad that she served 2 dishes. They all liked the first dish but now they had to weigh it out with the bad dish. Kevin’s soup with crab went well. Michael made a goat cheese cookie with a sorbet that everyone liked. The guys seemed to have a lot more sweet dishes. Hector did do a tofu ceviche that the judges liked. Mike I’s dish didn’t go over well at all but Bryan’s meringues were a big hit. Eli’s tartar went well with his drink. But Mattin’s didn’t set well with the alcohol but the chicken wings went well.
Judging:
First up were Bryan, Eli, Hector and Michael. This was the top 4 on the winning team. The winner was Bryan. Then Eve, Jesse, Preeti and Ashley got called back. Gail thought Jesse dish was muddled with to many ingredients. Tom thought there wasn’t enough ginger in it. Tom said that Eve’s shrimp was bland and the sauce was over powering. Tom said that Preeti’s tuna was almost cured because she marinated it over night and Padma said the shiso leafs were wilted. Padma said there was to much bay in the panna cotta and Tom said the bay was over cooked so it would be bitter. Todd said Ashley’s watermelon was one of the best dishes of the day.
In the end eve was sent home. I was right! So who will be next? Be back next week to see!
Hell’s Kitchen Recap!
I don’t get these chefs. 1 week they are decent but then the next they totally stink. So are they going to completely unravel? Will Robert be back? Let’s jump in and see!
The chefs come down to some big thing covered with an orange cloth. It is a dice game with letters on the dice. They will toss the dice and pick an ingredient starting with that letter. Then they have to make 1 dish with them all. The girls have rabbit, hariot covert, potatoes, garlic, and ham hock. That is a decent set to make 1 good dish. The guys pick haddock, figs, angel hair pasta, apples, tomatoes. This could be disastrous. Dave picked the figs because he went blank (ick). If the girls cook decently I think they have this in the bag. The girls break up the jobs but Suzanne has to tell everyone what to do. Then it seems the guys are pulling out a sauce with the figs in it. Ariel and Tenille couldn’t agree on Ariel’s garlic sauce. The guys actually ended up winning. The girls lost because the garlic sauce was to overpowering.
As a reward, the guys are going to Vegas. The other side…it’s delivery day. The girls are taking deliveries, scrubbing down everything, taking inventory, prep both kitchens and then the wine delivery. Right off the girls drop a box of lemons outside. The girls get woke up in the middle of the night to take delivery. BTW at this point there is still no Robert and the blue team likes it that way.
An hour before service Robert walks in. He is back and his team isn’t really happy to see him. While they were all working on prep Robert went to the dorms to eat. Robert has been told by the doctors to know his limits.
The new thing this week is that there are going to be chef’s tables. Ramsay is filling them with his exec chefs out of New York and West Hollywood. And then we open! The chefs arrived in the blue kitchen and Dave decided their apps without asking but at least he went over to wait on the table. Ariel didn’t go over to the chef’s table. But when she did, Ariel gave them a choice. The blue chef’s table liked the risotto. The red chef’s table thought the sear on the scallop was to much and it needed salt.
Van forgot to take the plastic wrap off the fish. Suzanne was running around the red kitchen but I am not sure what station she was at. Van had another plastic on the fish. Sabrina was cooking in a dirty pan. The blue team forgot to serve the chef’s table. Van told them(sort of) what the choices were and really did a horrible job describing or selling anything. Robert was really messing up the lamb both in cooking and cutting. Robert also put out raw rabbit. Poor Amanda got jumped on because she was waiting on Ariel to do pasta for the last couple of tables. But the guys aren’t putting out anything. Ramsay ended up shutting down the blue kitchen but the red kitchen finished service.
The guys lost. When the night started Dave had the blue kitchen ahead of the red kitchen in apps. So Dave was the best of the worst. Dave was trying to decide between Robert, Van and Andy. Then Robert layed into Andy and shockingly Andy handled it pretty well. Dave chose to put Robert and Van up. Then Ramsay called up Andy. Then Ramsay sent Van back into the group. Robert says that he can’t believe that he has to up there with Andy. The guys got into a little back and forth. How Robert does nothing all day and Andy does nothing in service. Ramsay chooses to send Robert home. Ramsay says that Robert had more experience in service and shouldn’t have had a service like he did.
While I am not shocked at all that Robert is out, I am shocked that Andy is still around. I think there is a decent chance he is the next to go.
See you next week!