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Would You Eat Guinea Pig?

partysugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:47:19 -0700

I consider myself an adventuresome eater. This means I'll try anything once and don't get squeamish by the sight of pig legs, fish heads, octopus tentacles, or stomach linings. Still, it's happened to the best of us: sometimes the things people eat are just plain gross. The smell is overpowering and inevitably you lose your appetite.

My sister recently traveled to the mountains of Ecuador where guinea pig is a delicacy. A girl after my own heart, she ordered and sampled the rodent stating that there was not a lot of meat and it was mostly crispy skin with a taste similar to chicken skin. How about you? Would you eat guinea pig, or is reading this making you sick?

Hell's Kitchen - 3.4 Recap

partysugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:01:39 -0700

Last night's episode saw our favorite culinary guinea pigs blind tasting food, getting yelled at (no surprises here), and poorly cooking a dinner service (again, no surprises). The show starts with Jen, last week's almost eliminated female, in tears. She connects with Bonnie who complains about how difficult it is being in Hell's Kitchen. To see what happened when the chefs were challenged to push their palettes to the extreme, and just how angry Ramsay got when too many Wellingtons were under/over cooked, read more

Blindfolded and outfitted with headphones, the chefs must identify different types of food by smell and taste. With varied ingredients like American cheese, plain boiled carrots, venison, and bok choy, the girls come out victorious leading 5-3 after Josh fails to identify any of the ingredients. With one ingredient left - seared tuna - Vinnie and Jen battle as the final pair. Vinnie guesses it's pancetta so the boys lose (how could he mistake tuna for pancetta?!?). As punishment, the boy's are told they must educate their palates and have to eat beef liver, tongue, pig's feet, kidney, etc. They also have to prep both kitchens for the dinner service while the gals are rewarded with a lunch in the dark. During lunch Bonnie actually hits on Ramsay by proclaiming that he has, “the nicest voice in the dark.”

That night, the contestants find out that the customers will decide who goes home. Ramsay explains that in order to be a success, the teams must get the appetizers out quickly. Tension mounts on the girl's side as Julia needs more time to make her scallops when Melissa's risotto is ready for them. Ramsay blames Melissa for not timing it correctly, when in fact it was Julia who burnt the scallops. They finally get the appetizers out and start to crank out the entrees. Both sides struggle with perfecting the Wellingtons - which require a flaky cooked pastry and perfectly well done meat. Ramsay is shocked to find 6 Wellingtons and 1 chicken in Vinnie's trash bin.

Things start to fall apart for the cooks of Hell's Kitchen when a customer (or a really bad actress?) storms into the kitchen to complain about the long wait for her food (if you missed it check out the clip below!). Plates are sent back to the kitchen leaving Ramsay no choice but to throw a tantrum (and several plates) and shut down Hell's Kitchen. Of the customers' reviews, 65% said that they would not come back because the food took too long to get to the table.

Ramsay chooses Rock and Jen to each nominate one team member for elimination. Rock and Jen converse and instead of selecting the obvious weakest links, Rock picks his enemy Josh and Jen, unable to pick her new bff Bonnie, picks Melissa. Ramsay overrules their nominations and calls out the poorest performers: Bonnie and Vinnie. In the end Vinnie is sent home for having already peaked in his performance as a chef.

And now the part you'll all been waiting for: my top 5 Ramsayisms (donkey is totally my new mean vocabulary word!):

Right now I need some team f**king spirit.
You f**king idiot, you stupid cat.
Blue donkeys come here!
What do you think you are the WWF?
I have to really slow it down for you - put it in nannified words for you. Barbie, do your hair before you come over.

Does anybody else feel like things are planted? Who would actually walk into a restaurant's kitchen and demand food? Something smells fishy to me and it wasn't last week's rancid crab....

What's Yummy This Week: YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 09:18:30 -0700

This week we're getting ready for the 4th of July - we're hosting a party, whipping up popsicles and slushies and building a beautiful tablescape.

Classic chocolate cookies with vanilla ice cream is our second entry in the summer of ice cream sandwiches.
This week's cooking reality tv shows left me wanting more. Top Chef was a snorefest, Hell's Kitchen was its usually screaming self, and I don't think I'd actually watch anyone who wins The Next Food Network Star.
Would you eat a guinea pig???
Learn how to easily peel peaches. It'll make the simple peach puzzle an even simpler recipe.

National Candy Month ends today, and the reader favorite is the PB Buckeyes from TeamSugar member sweetheart_450. Speaking of candy, if you're ever in San Francisco, be sure to check out my new favorite candy store.
If you're going on a honeymoon (or even just a trip!) here are a few tips to help you eat well and choose the right restaurant.
Summer means light wines and cool drinks. Here's a few summer sipping tips.

Ratatouille opens this weekend. If you're a food fanatic, you have got to see this film.
Finally this week we want to know:
- Which appliance would you splurge on?
- Do you pay attention to expiration dates?
- How often do you barbeque?
- Do you use coupons when grocery shopping?