Ricotta Gnudi

With all the amazing suggestions our commentators made of what to do with my homemade ricotta, I see quite a bit of cheese making in my future. However I decided to try my hand at making gnudi. Gnudi is Italian for nude and basically what you're making is ravoli filling without the ravoli pasta envelope. Again I used a recipe from the cookbook Stir which calls for the pasta to be edged either with a fork or a gnocci board.

Making these were kinda fun but my research is divided on whether to go with the little ridges or just gnudi balls. Then there's a whole nother version of gnudi a la the Spotted Pig in NY of gnudi balls that are a bit larger and creamy in the middle. You know what that means....more homemade CHEESE.

Safety Dance

How cracktackular was that last Elimination Challenge? Quick, everyone raise your hand who, when they heard it was a Team Elimination, spared not one thought how they were going to pick the winner, all you thought about was two smucks for the price of one going home? Yeah, me neither.

Teams of two, cooking a breakfast course, a lunch course and a dinner course. Everyone cooks breakfast BUT if your food is good enough, two teams will be safe from cooking the lunch course. WHAT?? For season after season, time and again the judges reprimanded chefs who played it safe. Now they decide to reward those who play it safe? Still we're finally presented with a challenge that ramps up the pressure each time a team is not called safe and it's a real world challenge. Chefs will be asked to come up with menu ideas if hired by hotel restaurants. Chefs will be working nicely with others to make the customers happy. If you don't make the customers happy, you could be fired.

Yes, Sherry, it could be you.

On a side note, was it just me that wondered if Padma has taken to skinning gators for their meat and the skin?

So the chefs go shopping here...

...where Tiffany says this about her partner Tim...

...which may mean one thing in Dallas however in Dupont Circle...

...it means something else altogether.

Really, that's the Dupont Circle subway station. What??

The judges for this challenge include a rep from the Hilton Hotel, Nora Pouillon, chef and owner of Restaurant Nora and some former contestants.

Always love seeing Bryan Voltaggio. Let's just say he's guest judge enough for me so no need to even introduce (asshat) the rest since their 15 minutes of fame has long since evaporated. Time for breakfast.

Team Creepy ran out of time and missed saucing all their plates and one plate didn't even get a potato cake. Don't think the Hilton will be keeping their resumes close at hand.

The First Round Safe Teams

Sherry and Stephen with their messy plate poached egg plate,

and Tiffany and Tim who made the smart move with Crabcakes Benedict.

There was a whole lotta hollandaise going on with those breakfast dishes.

The rest of the teams now have to absorb the fact that they weren't good enough and will have to hustle lunch.

This looks interesting, a fresh pasta gnudi.

It's during this round where it gets interesting. It's Andrea and Kelly's dish with the white beans. The canned white beans. When asked if they cooked the beans they readily admit they did not because of time and budget.

Tom, of course, doesn't understand not having the time to cook "...a bag of beans?" Normally I'd agree with Tom except...

...I don't know of many dried bean varieties that cook in less than an hour, no matter what sort of soaking method you use. Was he talking about using a pressure cooker? Were the chefs supposed to start their beans during the breakfast service? Is that even allowed under the rules? I hate when he does this shit. Not that using dried beans would have helped keep Andrea and Kelly safe.

Second Round Safe Teams

Team Creepy with the really nice looking scallops and gnudi.

and Angelo and Tamesha with their simple beef carpaccio.

Three teams are left to battle to stay in the game and they are not happy campers.

Teams start to fracture when doubts start to arise about flavors and textures. In the end it comes down to two short rib dishes and one pasta dish. It turns out that Andrea and Kelly's Short Ribs win out over Kenny and Kevin's Short Ribs.

Was it the best dish of the entire challenge, breakfast, lunch, and dinner or just the best against the other two dishes? No one knows but for their efforts Kelly and Andrea win trips to Spain and Italy.

Kenny avoids pulling a Trey when Lynne and Arnold's pasta dish falls flat and they are sent packing.

So good bye to the Lynne and Arnold, who in the end were betrayed by a simple undercooked pasta.