Next Iron Chef Finale Tonight!

Tonight is the last episode of the Next Iron Chef, so let's cheer on the better chef!

Geoffrey Zakarian for the win!

Double Eliminations, a Birth, and more (Many spoilers)

There were four standing - Chefs Zakarian, Falkner, Guarnaschelli and Chiarello. And the night would hold a double elimination in the battle to become the next Iron Chef.  *****spoilers********The four chefs were taken to the exclusive area of the Hamptons - playpen of the rich and famous - set down on the docks with a budget and instructions to make three dishes. Chef Falkner had the advantage and a headstart. One chef would win the challenge and go straight to the finale. The chef on bottom would go home. And the other two would have a secret ingredient challenge to determine which would go to the finale.

Chef Zakarian secured the first spot, knocking it out of the ballpark with his winning recipes. Unfortunately, we had to say good-bye to Chef Guarnaschelli. I'd hoped to see Alex and Geoffrey in the last showdown; it wasn't mean to be. So Chefs Falkner and Chiarello met in a head to head. The secret ingredients were crackers and wine. What Chiarello came up with looked nasty, to be honest. I wasn't sorry to see him eliminated. Now it's Geoffrey and Elizabeth in the head to head final showdown next Sunday. Of course I'm rooting for Geoffrey. As I said before, he'll bring a definite touch of class to Iron Chef. If he wins, I'll definitely watch it on a more regular basis.

Last night was Top Chef Texas, which also contained a double elimination. First the quickfire challenge in which the chefs chose a type of Don Julio tequila to cook with and made a dish, pairing liquor and food. The winner received $5000. Then came the elimination challenge, in which chefs were paired up according to who they were standing by, and each pair received a game meat to cook. Unfortunately, Heather and Bev ended up together. Bev is a control freak who doesn't seem to get much done, focusing on small tasks, although she was stoutly defended by some of the chefs as a hard worker but I haven't seen much evidence of that yet. Heather, while just in some of her criticisms, was also a bit of a bitch about things. It's amazing they didn't shoot each other down, but somehow they managed to survive. The winners of this challenge were Edward and Ty. So far, Edward is one of my favorites. I also like Chris Jones. The losing pair were Nyesa and Dakota, basically because Dakota's meat wasn't cooked nearly enough and Nyesha hadn't checked on her until it was too late. I only recently became aware of Nyesa, and the fact that I should have recognized her sooner - she was the winner of the executive chef position at the Wilshire in LA, as shown on Chef Hunter. I've seen that episode at least three times, and never made the connection. Alas, too little too late.

So, Hell on Wheels. This is an unexpected gem in the AMC line up. I like it even better than I do The Walking Dead, which is on hiatus til February. It's a rich panoply of life in post Civil War America, involving the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. In last week's episode, Cullan and Elam were pitted against one another in a show of fisticuffs, one aimed to divert attention from the lack of a payroll. Elam won, but only because someone *coughIrishbrothercough* doctored Elam's gloves with pepper juice which got into Cullen's eyes. When Cullen mentioned it in this week's episode - not angry, but rather with admiration for his tactic - Elam denied it. Durant is having financial difficulties, and if he doesn't fulfill his part of the contract, he stands to lose quite a bit of money. He is thwarted by his lack of maps pertaining to the Rocky Mountains - he needs them badly, and Mrs. Bell is holding out for what she feels is a fair price - what he owed her late husband. In the newest episode, we see a father and a son and their respective beliefs clash, as the Indians are invited to Hell on Wheels to discuss being relocated to a reservation. I love Colm Meaney, he's awesome as Durant, and Anson Mount is easy on the eyes as Cullen Bohannon. This is a must see series.

American Horror Story - just wow. This is a great show. Haven't seen anything like this in years. Last week,  as you'll recall, Ben realized that his wife wasn't lying about being raped, and he arranged for her to be released from the insane asylum he had her committed to. Funny thing - she's only six months pregnant, but she seems much farther along. That's because one of the twins is growing at a phenomenal rate - and starving its sibling in the process. Last week we learned the shocking truth about Violet - she actually overdosed and she's dead. Now she can never leave, any more than the others can. When Dad tries to drag her to the asylum to see Mom, she refuses, and of course his dragging her to the car doesn't do any good - she can't leave the grounds. Chad and his bf are preparing for the big event, to Constance's chagrin, who tells them they can have Dr. Harmon's baby, but to leave her grandchild alone. Hayden wants the children too, and so does Nora Montgomery. Vivian refuses to set foot in the house, but she goes into labor in the car, with dire results. One child is stillborn, and Constance whisks the other away right after he's born - and Vivien bleeds out (Dr. Montgomery is the attending physician). Now she and Violet can be ghosts together. This series just keeps on getting better!

All for now. Person of Interest tonight, and Chef Hunter. More about Once Upon a Time next time, Restaurant Impossible and Mystery Diners. This weekend is Bishie Con so I won't be around much. But tomorrow is another day.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

And then there were five...

Last week we saw the depature of Chef Marcus Samuelsson on Next Iron Chef. The battle has gotten really serious when chefs of his caliber are being sent out the door.  **Spoilers ahead***. It's no longer a matter of being removed for making mistakes, it's become a matter of the smallest difference in quality among these chefs, and it's only going to get harder, the closer each one gets to the prize - becoming the next Iron Chef.

Last night's challenge, devised in the devious mind of the Chairman, was all about Risk. For this challenge, the five chefs were taken to an auction house, and there they were to bid on ingredients. But the coin with which they were to bid was not currency, but time. They big how long they would take to cook the ingredient. Four ingredients were up for auction. The fifth was to go to the last chef, who would get five minutes less than the least time bid for the others. Bidding began at one hour.

Chef Falkner won tuna jerky, Chef Burrell sardines, Chef Chiarello lobster, Chef Zakarian wagu beef and Chef Guarnaschelli ended up with the last item, to be done in 20 minutes - a leg of lamb!  As winner of the previous contest, Chef Burrell had an unnamed advantage, which was not revealed until they finished cooking - she became the fourth judge on the panel. As such, she tasted all the dishes, and wrote down the name of the chef she felt should go to the secret ingredient showdown on a card, which wasn't revealed right away.

Then the regular judges did their thing, tasting all the dishes. At this time it was revealed that the name on the card was.... Chef Zakarian! If not for that, the other three judges would have sent him through easily, as only Chef Falkner and her tuna jerky ranked higher. They then chose the second chef, who would cook against Geoffrey - and it was Anne! Karma bit her squarely in the ass there! I'm sure she didn't plan on having to cook against him, but rather saw it as a way of ridding herself of a very fierce competitor. They were given panko and another Japanese ingredient, whose name escapes me, but one with a citrusy savory flavor - and told to make dessert!  A tall order indeed.   Geoffrey made souffles and Anne ice cream.

And Anne was eliminated.  Wow. I hadn't seen that coming. I was very upset to see them competing  together. I like them both, and I'd thought Anne had a good shot at being next Iron Chef. I didn't want to see Geoffrey eliminated, though. It was a very  nerve wracking challenge, and a good how. Next week, it looks like the four remaining chefs will be cooking on the docks - literally. I think two will be eliminated at that time. Wow. That would leave only one show after that.

Things are certainly heating up here, can't wait to see what happens. Personally, I'd like to see Chefs Falkner and Chiarello eliminated next week and Chefs Zakarian and Guarnaschelli cook head to head for the title. Only time will tell!

AMC's Got it Going on (Beware of spoiler)

AMC has two new hits on its hands, and you can find both series on Sunday nights - The Walking Dead, now in its second season, and the new offering, Hell on Wheels. Both original, and both well done shows in completely different genres. Kudos to AMC for going outside of the box and doing more than simply showing movies. I hope that they find more such worthy candidates in the future, although not to the exclusion of the movies, of course.

Hell on Wheels is a very visually appealing series. I enjoy the look of it, as well as the feel of it. The character development is great. There's a great deal of social commentary here, threaded in with the history. It doesn't sugarcoat the attitudes of the times toward the various groups; they're all represented here. From the former slaves to the Indians, to women and Christians and even the former Confederate soldiers who are simply trying to get by. ****Spoilers ahead*****  Last episode, we saw Cullen kill the foreman of the railroad gang, because of what he did to his wife, for which he was incarcerated by the Big Swede (who's actually Norwegian, but that's another story), made his escape and boldly asked Colm Meaney for the dead man's job - and got it. This week we watch as he finds the clue to the other man he needs to kill to avenge his wife's death. And we see more of the widow with the plans. And the two Irish brothers who run the show, and are looking to make their fortune. I love history, and this series just brings it to life very well. I hope it continues for some time to come.

As for The Walking Dead - next week is the mid-season finale (it seems as though most of the shows are shutting down until January - bummer!) This week, we watched as Lori tried to abort the baby she carries, and fails, and confesses to Rick about her and Shane. His reaction wasn't what I expected. Also we learn about the walkers in the barn and why they're there. Sophia has been missing for several episodes now - I have to wonder if she'll ever be found. Everyone is learning to defend themselves, and Carl wants to learn too. He has a tendency to turn to Shane for parental permission, and I have to wonder if this will create friction between Shane and Rick at some point. It's a harsh post-apocalyptic world, one I'm not sure I'd want to survive in. It's also about the survival of the human spirit.

I'm really enjoying Grimm, Friday nights on NBC. Last week's episode was Lonelyhearts and dealt with a Bluebeard who attracted women to himself and killed them. In this episode we saw more of Captain Renard, in his dealings with a grim reaper - my speculation is that the Captain is the devil. We'll see. I'm really liking Wolfy more and more, he makes a great, albeit unwilling sidekick, to Nick. I hope this show continues for a while. I believe more scripts have been ordered.

Last night the theme of Next Iron Chef was Improvisation, as the chefs were taken to a comedy club in LA, where Kevin Nealon was the host. With the participation of the audience, he made a list of ingredients, and pared it down to four which the chefs had to use in their challenge - octopus, kumquats, tortillas, and marshmallows. Quite the challenge! The winner of that challenge was Chef Chiarello. At the bottom were Chefs Samuellson, Zakarian and MacMillan, but Marcus lived to cook another day, and the other two had to face off. The secret ingredient was coconut. Chef Geoffrey did two dishes, despite the repeated warnings from the judges that it's not a good thing to do. Luckily, he made something really really good, and he squeaked through. Good-bye Chef MacMillan. Sorry, not sobbing over this one. I like seeing more of chefs I never got the chance to actually see in action - such as Alex and Geoffrey. I think both are strong contenders, but I think Anne Burrell is even more so. From now on, the competition will only get fiercer.

Alas for no Sweet Genius, but I hear they are recruiting cast members for a second season, so that's wonderful news. As I mentioned before, Justified will be back in January. A lot of shows are going on hiatus til then, I've noticed. I hope Californication comes back soon, and The Borgias. Cesare Borgia - well, he's to die for, he's so hot.

My dream job would be to someday have a series of my own on cable. I dream of seeing To The Max as a series. I'd also love to do a historical, something that makes history more real and interesting to people. Most history teachers seem determined to make their students dislike it because of the way they teach it. If I'd ever have become a teacher, it would have been history, I love it that much. And I'd have tried to make it alive and real, like it was when it happened. I hope I do that with the historicals that I write, anyway.

That's all for now. Back to editing and writing! Working on something secret (not writing, a craft type thing), but I can't say too much, it's a secret. When I'm done, I'll take a picture and post it. Home made gifts rule, I think.

Until next time, take care!
♥ Julie

Horrible Houses and Horrible Restaurants and then some

*****Spoilers ahead beware****

I think that writers can't help but be influenced by what they see, read, and experience. It's often reflected in their work. Perhaps that explains my new Silver Flash - Dallas in Wonderland. Something a little different, probably the influence of American Horror Story. ****Spoiler alert***** I've completely caught up with the series now, and am definitely loving it. It's like peeling an onion, pulling away the layers to get to the inner core. Assuming there is one. Ben and Vivien are splitting up after she discovered his infidelity with Hayden continued and resulted in a child. Of course Vivien has no idea that Hayden is lying dead beneath the new gazebo which Ben had to put up. In this episode, "Open House", Vivien discovers that she is carrying twins. Shades of Rosemary's Baby! I can't help but remember the man in black who had sex with her, never saying a word. She assumed it was Ben - I'm not so sure. In this episode, we learn more about Larry and his history, which he's been lying about, as well as his obsession with Constance.An Armenian gentleman wants to buy Murder House and tear it down - but Constance and Larry and Moira conspire against him. This series just keeps on getting better and better, and in next week's previews, I caught a glimpse of Zachary Quinto. Can't wait.

Guess what else I saw while watching this episode?  A preview for Justified!  Hooray! It's coming back in January.  I also saw an ad for a new Anthony Bourdain show on the Travel Channel, coming soon. Might have to check that out.

Lately, I've been watching back episodes of Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible. At times it's somewhat formulaic - restaurant owners needs help, writes Robert and he shows up to turn things around, with certain inevitable pitfalls - I find each episode interesting and worth watching. In fact, I've seen some of them now often enough to recognize them when they start. I do like the series, and I like the way he shows them how to change a losing proposition into a winning one. Sometimes that's all you need, somebody to kick your butt and show you the way. Some of the restaurants I've seen make me wonder why the health department hasn't shut them down. Robert's designers take a limited budget and bring freshness to these places, while Robert shows the owners how to run the business, to understand pricing and food costs, while he shows the chefs how they should be cooking.  I've gained a whole new respect for Chef Robert after watching these shows. I hope the series continues for some time to come.

On the Next Iron Chef, the wily Chairman presented the potential Iron Chefs with a sweet challenge - make a  sweet and a savory dish from candy. Chef Alex had the advantage and assigned everyone their ingredient. I've found that often times what appears to be a disadvantage for one of the chefs turns out to be a good thing and brings out hidden depths. It can also be a downfall. Chef Falkner won this week with her malted milk ball creations. At the bottom of the pack were Chefs Hughes, McMillan and Guarnaschelli, but Alex was given a reprieve, and the other two were sent into the sudden death secret ingredient challenge. The ingredient was tofu. Although the judges repeatedly tell the chefs that less is better than more, Chef McMillan did three tofu dishes to Hughes' one - and won.  Next week's episode has to do with comedy, and I saw Kevin Nealon in the previews. Bye bye Chef Hughes.

The more of Once Upon a Time I see, the more I like, as Emma gets more and more involved with the people of Storybrooke, and with her son Henry, and fighting the curse laid upon the town and its inhabitants by the Evil Queen, aka the Mayor. This week's episode was The Price of Gold and featured the story of Cinderella, both in the present and in the past. In this version, Ella is an unwed mother who is being forced to give up her unborn child to Mr. Gold, the pawnbroker, who is actually Rumpelstiltskin - mirroring the past. In the process, Emma learns that you can't run away from your life, and she accepts an offer to be a deputy to the Sheriff - unaware that he is sleeping with the Mayor. An unexpected twist which we learned at the end of the episode. I have to admit, I didn't expect much from this show, but it's been a delight to find how good it really is. If only ABC could keep this quality going. But then again, they also brought back Charlie's Angels. The first time was bad enough, seriously? But all's well that ends well. I just found out it was scratched after four episodes. Good news indeed.

All for now. I'll talk about Hell on Wheels and Walking Dead and Grimm another time. Back to editing and writing and house cleaning!

Have a wonderful day! Feel free to comment or question - I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Once Upon a Time, Grimm, and more

Once upon a time. Sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale. And so it should, because it is. But it's also a new  program on Sunday nighs on ABC which I decided to give a try, despite the fact that I probably haven't watched anything on ABC since NYPD Blue aired, which has been a while. But I gave this show a chance, and I'm glad I did. It's more than just a show about fairy tales, it takes what we know and reinvents it in a very interesting way. It has to do with Snow White and Prince Charming - and the Evil Queen, of course. What fairy tale is complete without one? She lays a dark curse on the kingdom for the slights done to her - imagined or otherwise - and the only hope for the inhabitants lies with the child of Snow White and the Prince, an infant girl named Emma, who's wisked to safety. It is prophesied that she will save them when she's 28. Okay, fastforward a bit. We meet a tough hard-hitting bailbondsman named Emma, who is approached by a ten year old boy who claims she is his birth mother. Not a stretch, as she did give up a child ten years before. But she never expected to see him again. The boy's name is Henry, and he has a book of fairy tales. He says the town where he comes from needs her, she is their only hope. Thrown for a loop, she doesn't know what else to do, so Emma takes Henry back to Storybrooke. Of course she doesn't believe his claim that the inhabitants are under an enchantment, and don't realize they're all fairy tale characters. Who would?  But when Emma arrives, things begin to happen. Such as the town clock, which hasn't run within everyone's memory - starts up again.

This is a well-told, well-acted show. I am already engrossed in it and enjoying it, waiting to see what will happen next. *****possible spoilers******** From the first show, you realize that Emma is the child of Snow White, who turns out to be Henry's teacher. The Evil Queen is the Mayor of Storybrook - and Henry's adopted mother. So far we've also seen Rumpelstiltskin, Gepetto and Jiminy Cricket, while Prince Charming lies in a coma in the hospital.  I highly recommend giving this show a try.

Also on Sunday was the start of a new season of Next Iron Chef. This is my first time watching it. I presume the winner will become an Iron Chef on Iron Chef America, but I honestly don't know how it works. All I do know is that some of the chefs I know and some I don't are competing in this challenge. ****spoilers**** It was interesting to see these chefs compete, as some I've only seen as judges, never chefs, such as Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelssonand Geoffrey Zakarian. Anne Burrell I've seen cook, and Spike from Top Chef. I wondered why he was even in such company, he isn't even of their calibre. Well, I won't have to worry about him any more, he was the first casualty. In the first show, Spike lucked out and got an advantage. He was able to choose his own partner, and put the other chefs into teams. He tried to set them up so that conflicting styles or personalities would trip them up, while he chose to work with Marcus. The competition is set up in such a way that the two lowest chefs of each episode face off in a sudden death surprise ingredient challenge. Spike and Marcus ended up on bottom, and Spike's grand strategy ended up by him shooting himself in the foot. The secret ingredient was scallops, and Marcus beat him. End of story. Next week takes place in the San Diego ball park, should be interesting.

My daughter Katie talked me into trying two other shows - Grimm and American Horror Story. Grimm is about a man who suddenly starts seeing strange things, and finds out that there are aspects of his family he knew nothing about. The pilot episode involves the disappearance of a little girl. Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) is a homicide detective who is apparently descended from a line of Grimms, who fight and destroy supernatural creatures. The first episode is a take off on Little Red Riding Hood. I enjoyed it greatly, and look forward to seeing more. I believe it airs on Fridays on NBC>

You'll find American Horror Story on FX. It stars Dylan McDermott as a therapist who has an affair and is caught by his wife, so he uproots his family and moves them across country to a gothic Victorian house with a history.  In the pilot episode, you learn that twin boys died here under very mysterious circumstances. They were warned not to go in by a Mongoloid girl named Adelaide. When the Harmons move in, she and her mother are their next door neighbors (the mother is played by veteran actress Jessica Lange). Adelaide has a disconcerting habit of walking in the house whenever she chooses, obsessed with it, and also with telling people they're going to die. Ben works at home, and one of his patients is a young boy with homicidal fantasies who takes a liking to Ben and Vivien's daughter Violet. Violet is having a hard time at the new school, and at first she welcomes his attentions. But things rapidly turn creepy. Ben and Vivien have been estranged, even before the affair, since Vivien miscarried a child at seven months. They're trying to put things back together. Vivien hires Frances Conroy, who was the previous housekeeper (the mother from Six Feet Under). The weird thing is that when Ben looks at her, he doesn't see an older Moira but a young hot one - who keeps coming on to him. He's doing his damnedest to resist this temptation, but when he spies her pleasuring herself, he runs off and jerks off alone. I have to say we get some very nice footage of Mr. McDermott's derriere (no frontal, alas!). The show is creepy, the characters damaged, and the premise very interesting. I'd love to own this house! (sans spirits lol).  I'll keep watching, for sure.

This week's Hawaii 5-0, which aired on Halloween night, was sufficiently spooky, with a guest appearance by horror master Robert Englund. Tonight is Person of Interest and Sweet Genius and Vampire Diaries. More on  those later.

Back to writing and editing and cleaning house!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie