Why do I watch when I don't like any of these people? Oh yeah, avoidance.

[jlh]

The challenge was breakfast, and the winning dish on Top Chef tonight is one of the few that I can't wait to watch LeeAnn tell me how to cook. I'm also really really pleased with who went home tonight, and given that there are a few people on the show that I'm on the record as disliking, that isn't much of a spoiler. (Then slytherincess and I bonded over our hatred of American-style omelets, that wasteland of rubbery over-cooked egg, slimy low-quality cheese, watery under-cooked veg, and bland yet salty meat. Yuck.)

Even though there wasn't a new show last week, Harold stepped up and did a blog entry where he answered reader's questions, and said that the goal to open his restaurant is mid-March. I so can't wait! No one this season comes close to being as adorable as Harold. *swoon*

The next Magical Elves show on Bravo is to be Top Design, with Todd Oldham as host/mentor, and then three judges. I think it's a good choice, as Todd is approachable and smart and has hosting experience from back in the day on MTV (remember Todd Time on House of Style?) and he's also full of enthusiasm and positive energy which will make him a great mentor. Top Design starts in January and I bet it will be a good add. They've done Style+Elle, FoodNetwork+Food&Wine and now HGTV+Elle Decor. What cable channel/upscale magazine will Bravo poach next?

Comments

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

A pox upon all omelets, those rubbery, alarming breakfast frisbees! In fact, I dislike most traditional breakfast foods. I'd prefer a sandwich most any days.

[calloocallay.livejournal.com]

This afternoon while we were chatting I didn't get a chance to tell you about yesterday's lunch. It was on the menu as "grilled veggie burrito, with avocado and side of rice and beans." It arrived, and it was avocado and amereican cheese wrapped in a crepe. I was very surprised.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds like some seriously vile. Where was that?

There's a time and a place for american cheese and a "burrito" isn't that place.

[calloocallay.livejournal.com]

Also there is a time and place for crepes, and it is my belief that next to rice and beans and advertised as a burrito is not one of those times nor one of those places.

[tropes.livejournal.com]

Ugh my comment totally didn't post!

I just hope that Betty goes next time. Her crazytown shrieking fit at Marcel over her non-custard creme brulees (WHAT WAS SHE THINKING. OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T SET UP. OH MY GOD.) was just plain outrageous. The only thing worse than a hyper cheerful suckup is a hyper cheerful suckup who's faking everything.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

She really pisses me off because them as don't like cheerful people will find their "proof" that all cheerful people are big fakers in her. As a positivity-seeking person, it hurts my cause!

Her next, definitely. Then I think the people who piss me right off will be gone. But OMG in this ep I was hating Frank so hard. I love that in his blog Harold wasn't too pleased with him either.

[tartpants.livejournal.com]

What's a non-American omelette all about?

[jlh.livejournal.com]

In the French style, you don't mix anything into the eggs except a little milk. You don't turn the omelet to cook on both sides. You make an individual-sized omelet, and you cook it gently until the eggs are set but not dry—the top of the omelet should still be a little shiny. (Eggs carryover cook like woah, so the eggs will be totally cooked when you eat them.) If you want a filling, you cook that separately, and then you put some of that filling on one side of the omelet and fold the other side over the top. (Classic fillings are cheese, or sauteed mushrooms.) You can also make a sweet omelet by adding a bit of sugar to the eggs and then folding it over a jam filling, which is what happens in Strong Poison.

No brown, overcooked eggs. No watery, undercooked veg because they cook seperately. No excessive cheese, but a nice ooze of cheesy filling.

Come to think of it, I think part of the reason so many people overcook their omelets is that they fill them up with cheese in the eggs, and mistake melted cheese for uncooked eggs, so they blast the whole thing into rubbery hardness "just to be sure." I think if you want your eggs cooked completely firm, fry them, or boil them hard. Overcooked scrambled eggs are horrible things; perfect scrambled eggs are creamy-soft and wonderful.