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What Did We Cook Up This Year?

YumSugar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 03:01:18 -0800

Each week we test to see if you've been paying attention. A lot of you do really well, and so I thought it would be fun to see how well you've been paying attention all year. I've created questions from our most popular, or most interesting stories. Even if you haven't been with us all year long, be sure to click through to discover the stories. Some of these might surprise you!

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Off To Market Recap: Chinese New Year Table

partysugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:08:19 -0700

My dear friend Jon Ching rang in his heritage for Chinese New Year by hosting an informal dinner. Jon's a wonderful cook, he once helped me prepare for a large birthday dinner with a broken hand, but he doesn't really know anything about creating a festive dining table that reflects the theme of the event. Naturally he asked me for help and I thought you could come up with some awesome black, red, and Asian inspired decorations. You saved your tablescape settings to the Yum Market with the keyword tag of Chinese New Year Table. Jon and I went through them and figured which items would work with his menu and dining room, here are our favs:

For a truly authentic feel, Jon loved this Chinese dinner set that DesignRchic bookmarked. The set includes placemats, chopsticks, and napkins that are decorated in a traditional Chinese pattern that represents good fortune and longevity.

Two more so please read more

Instead of having a runner down the center of the table, Jon opted to alternate one of these beautiful black glass candle holders with small vases of flowers. Since no white is allowed (it's a funeral color), red pillar candles were placed in the candle holders that chlyn found.

Finally, we hung these bold red lanterns around the room to fabricate an ambiance of unique sophistication. These great lights were discovered by rubialala who also found a whole bunch of other amazing pieces.

Thanks for helping me and Jon with his party! Keep on bookmarking your fab foodie finds in the Yum Market. Read this how to save on TeamSugar guide created by geeksugar to learn more.

Top Chef: May the Best Chef Win (Season 2 Finale Recap)

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 03:29:52 -0800

Well, we reached the end of Top Chef Season 2! We can now stop speculating which chef is better than the other. Was the finale what you expected? Did you have money on the right candidate? Or did you just stop caring after last week?

The episode starts off with Marcel and Ilan frolicking on a beach in Hawaii. They eat fresh sea urchin for breakfast (which, although my opinion of sea urchin is not always high, I was crazy jealous of) and Marcel even gets stung by one and is forced to pee on his hand. At this point I need to stop the recap for a second and say that I have been tastefully avoiding this topic all season long, but really what was the whole Ilan wanting to pee on Marcel, how homo-erotic was that? And have you noticed it all season long?? - Okay back to recap.

The chefs are told they need to make a 5-course dinner for eight. They get to pick up their produce at a local farmer's market. They will then have four hours of prep time before heading to their respective restaurants where they will have one hour to cook. Ilan is cooking at Donatoni's Restaurant and Marcel will cook at Imari.

Full recap with big time spoilers ahead, including the WINNER, so read more

Before heading to the farmer's market, the finalists are greeted with ghosts from their past. Mike, Mia, Betty, Frank, Elia and Sam are there to be sous chefs. Surprisingly, half of them want to work with Ilan and the other half, Marcel. Marcel ends up choosing Sam, who convinces him to pick Mikey (which, no offense to Mikey, but really, you've a lot on the line and you pick the perpetually stoney-sounding Mikey??). Ilan chooses his BFF Elia and then Betty. Frank and Mia once again get sent packing.

Each chef needed to prepare a five course meal, for eight guests.
The guests were:

The three regulars (Padma, Gail and Tom)
Hubert Keller
Michelle Bernstein
Scott Conant
Roy Yamaguchi
Wylie Dufrense

The chefs both end up picking great produce (did you see those rambutans!?!) and built their recipes around what they saw. Ilan was up first and he served:

Overall the judges loved the meal, they thought the appetizer was okay, they LOVED the soup, thought the lobster sauce on the squab was great, wished they could get more from the short ribs, but were crazy for the dessert. From my vantage point, I thought the soup sounded great (I love gazpacho, so a macadamia nut gazpacho sounded even more delicious) and I definitely wanted to try the bay leaf fritter. Talk about a great infusion of sweet and savory!

Next up was Marcel. Now right from the beginning you knew this was going to be a disaster. They had talking head clips of Mikey and Sam talking about a hectic kitchen, and then the Bravo TV cameraman zoomed in on several trays left in the hotel fridge. Like I said, not a good sign. However Marcel still managed to pull out a great looking meal. He served:

Like I mentioned earlier, there were a few snafus. Marcel's ingenious encapsulated vinaigrette teardrops didn't work due to the humidity and the fish for the third dish got left behind (lucky for Marcel, Sam was able to whip up an alternate dish). The judges, however, enjoyed the meal. They liked the texture of the urchin, they thought the salad was a bit weak, loved the balanced flavor of the sea beans, thought his beef was better than Ilan's and thought the blinis were whimsical and clever. From my point of view, I also thought the blinis looked fun, I couldn't figure out why on earth he would tell the judges that he forgot the fish, and I was saddened by the fact that his tear drops didn't work out.

Now for the judge's table. They liked everything and were split on whom to declare the winner, so they got some input from the sous chefs. Elia said Ilan should win because his food was superior (even if she didn't taste or see Marcel's), Mikey and Sam confessed that Marcel's kitchen wasn't run very well. Sam also took credit for the sea beans.

After much deliberation, the judges finally have a winner.
This year's Top Chef is Ilan Hall.
Were you surprised? I wasn't really, although I wouldn't have been surprised if Marcel won either.

Now for a few things to discuss:

Marcel telling the judges he forgot the fish. Why would you do that?
Even though Sam fixed the fish dish, he takes credit for the sea beans, but weren't the sea beans actually Marcel's idea? He said he was going to do fish with palm and sea beans

Elia dissing Marcel - Really did she need to get so petty? I've lost a lot of respect for her.
Were you as weirded out as I was about the whole urchins and peeing scene?
Would you have chosen Mikey as a sous chef?
Was the fish forgotten on purpose?
At the end Marcel says, "I thought it was going to take more than saffron and paprika to beat me." My guy swears he said "f**king saffron." Did you hear it?
Before declaring the winner Tom says, "One of you may go on to be the superior chef, but in the end our decision was based on who we believe to be the best chef right now." Do you think he believes Marcel will be a better chef than Ilan?
Did you think the right person won?

Discuss!

View 10 Photos ›

Source: Bravo TV

Top Chef - What In The World?! (Finale Part 1 Recap)

YumSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:46:26 -0800

Holy... what the... oh my good golly... seriously what happened last night!? I can NOT believe the outcome. Warning there are big time spoilers and shockers here, so if you've got it waiting at home, then go watch it and come back tomorrow with your comments, because believe me, you're going to have some!

For the rest of you, let me just start by saying were you as surprised as I was? I totally thought I knew who was going to be eliminated, I even thought I knew who was going to win, looks like I was WRONG.

To read the full recap for the Hawaiian themed Finale Part 1, read more

Alright, so the show starts off by visiting each of the four finalists as they're packing up and getting ready for their trip. This year they can bring their own special ingredients, utensils and whatever else they might want to make their dishes sparkle. I'm not 100% sure what I think about this. Part of me thinks they should all be given the same even playing field, same ingredients, same gadgets, etc. However, I guess they all had the opportunity to bring whatever they wanted, so it's not like it was unfair.

Once they arrive in Hawaii, the chefs are whisked off via helicopter to Waipio Valley where they are greeted by Chef Alan Wong and our beloved (or hated, depending on which camp you fall in) judges. This time, instead of battling a clock, the contestants are treated to a fantastic Hawaiian feast featuring Poi, Lau Lau, Lomi Lomi Salmon and Poke. While there Chef Alan Wong tells them inspiring tales about how "every dish tells a story." When the feast is over they're told to get back for a good night's rest because tomorrow is an elimination round and (get this!) TWO of them would be going home!

Now is where I'd like to interrupt the recap to point out the commercial. Did you notice that since there was no sponsored elimination challenge, there was now a sponsored have a drink of Korbel champagne break instead?? Just a personal rant, I'm tired of the blatant ads...

Alright, so where was I? Oh yes, elimination round. The next morning the chefs each had to prepare two dishes for Chef Alan Wong's birthday feast. The twist is that they had to rework the traditional Hawaiian dishes (like the ones they ate the night before) in three hours, giving each dish the chef's own personal twist.

First up was Sam with:

The judges seemed to enjoy his dish and liked the way the salty paired with the sweet - I'm pretty sure they even joked about wanting seconds.

Next up was Elia with:

Ahi Poke with Olives, Capers & Lemon Confit
Snapper Steamed in Ti Leaves with Carrots & Bell Peppers

The judges felt it wasn't traditional enough and that the olives were over powering.

Then it was Ilan with:

Lau Lau with Squid & Morcilla (Blood Sausage)
Saffron Haupia Frita (a coconut and saffron dessert)

Padma didn't seem to enjoy the dish, complaining about an itch in the back of her throat, but the other judges didn't seem to mind. Tom even declared that it was a "perfect marriage of the two cultures."

Finally it was Marcel with:

Hamachi Poke with Pineapple Poi
Lomi Lomi Salmon with Tomato Water and Chili Pepper Foam

Even though he spent an eternity explaining his dish, the judges were in love and Gail even felt that Marcel "really hit a home run."

In the end, it seemed like the judges were really torn about who to bring to the finals and who to send packing. Guest Judge Alan commented that "it's not about picking the worst dish, it's about picking the best." They decided on Marcel pretty quickly (stating that they loved his beautiful and adventurous food) and they knew they wanted to send Elia packing (again, they felt her food was too far removed from Hawaii). However they were torn between Sam and Ilan. I, in my own naive way, assumed it was built in Bravo TV editors creating drama for us. I mean, how could Sam NOT MOVE ON? Seriously, how could he not move on? He'd been my shoe-in from the beginning. WHAT?? When they told him to pack his knives and go, my mouth FELL ON TO THE FLOOR.

Well, that's that. One episode left and we now have the battle between Marcel and Ilan. I'm not as thrilled as I was, but I am anxious to see what happens in the finale.

Okay, now that you've got the recap, let's get the talking points. Let's discuss the following:

Padma says Ilan's dessert reminds her of the funnel cake and that it was a good thing, but I thought they HATED the funnel cake?
Tom stated that Sam's dish wasn't cooked. Do you agree?
I've been wondering why everyone thinks Sam is so hot, but after yesterday's episode, I totally understood.
Do you think the humidity played any role in their food? All the chefs looked rather glossy during the challenge.
How cute were they all on the helicopter?
Elia complaining that Marcel cheated. Do you think she was out of line? Do you think Ilan didn't back her up once he saw the judges were unhappy?
And finally, what do you think of this outcome, were you as shocked as I?

View 8 Photos ›

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:13:10 -0800

We asked you to submit your gingerbread houses and you guys really impressed us. We had 30 entries including this one from Jessica in Australia. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Still looking for some last minute gifts? This week we've uncovered gifts for your neighbors, a white elephant exchange, newlyweds, your boss your co-workers, and their holiday stockings.
Need a little inspiration for your holiday meal? Check our ideas for a traditional Christmas dinner.
Ever wonder who won Glad's Steamiest Chefs contest?

We want to know, can you tell the difference between real food songs and fake ones?
Go behind the scenes at the Sugar Holiday party and learn how to throw your own bowling alley party.
Get a great recipe for golden beet soup, as well as one for orange ricotta poundcake and Santa's Martini.
Would you eat reindeer paté?
Is a new Rachael and the return of Jamie enough to save the Food Network?
We've started recapping our Best of 2007 polls and posts. Come find out more about:
- Our favorite sides
- This year's favorite foodie film
- The best cakes of the year
- My favorite of the 52 weeks of baking
- This year's most interesting polls
- Our favorite restaurant chef
- The year's best invites
- The best new magazine
- Your favorite cooking show, food reality show, and foodie tv show
- The year's favorite male and favorite female celebrity chefs

The Next Food Network Star - 3.3 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:03:18 -0700

Last night's episode of The Next Food Network Star saw the Food Network hopefuls prepping signature chocolate dishes for NBA royalty, as well as serving up courtside food for the fans. It also took us from eight chefs down to six. That's right, in one fell swoop we lost two contestants. So who went home and who got to stick around in hopes of becoming a star? To get my full recap, read more

Everything kicks off with the chefs being greeted by last year's FNS winner, and current Food Network darling, Guy Fieri, who is quickly joined by NBA star Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins. They immediately inform the chefs that they have 45 minutes to create a chocolate dish that reflects their point of view. Once the dishes are finished, they then have 30 seconds to present it, along with a tip on chocolate, to the camera. Some of the contestants nail it, while others completely miss the mark (Michael didn't even look at the camera). Once everyone is done, it's JAG - who even snuck in an "It'll be a knock out baby!" catch phrase - who wins with his Mexican styled tempura with chocolate mole sauce.

After the chocolate challenge, they are given $300 to create a dish to serve, in hot-dog vendor style carts, at the next New Jersey Nets basketball game.

Once the food is prepped, they go about "selling" it to the customers. I'm not sure how Tommy thought anyone could eat a sandwich with a softball-sized meatball in it, but he did. Amy also thought Nets fans would be into quesadillas made with goat cheese. Paul almost poisons everyone with undercooked burgers, and I just loved how Rory specifically wore a low-cut shirt to help her sell!

In the end Adrien is declared victor with bacon wrapped mushrooms (see?! everything tastes better with bacon!) and the sadly lackluster Tommy and the spacey Colombe (who actually said, "Where might I find cinnamon? They're all alphabetized.") are asked to leave.

Right now nothing's certain, but I think I'm rooting for Adrien - he seems pretty likable and the camera loves him. Also, I feel pretty confident in saying that even if JAG turns out to be the most talented of the bunch, he's too much like Guy Fieri to win and unless Paul tones it down soon, he'll be "spinning out" sooner rather than later. What do you guys think? Who's your favorite?

Oh and my favorite part of the episode? When Colombe tells Guy the chips and sauce are store-bought and Guy asks her what she's actually cooking. Hrmmm... I'm guessing Guy and Food Network's Sandra Lee don't see eye to eye?

What's Yummy This Week: YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 07:57:31 -0700

Don't miss this interesting gallery of families surrounded by a week's worth of food. The difference between countries is astonishing.
This week we started things off with National Cheese Day. We showed you some great cheese tools, how to store cheese and we wanted to know your fave cheese. If you've got any leftover, you can always make cheese chips.

June is national candy month, so I'm challenging you to come up with great candy recipes and stories.
The summer of cooking reality shows has begun. Be sure to check out our recaps for Top Chef, The Next Food Network Star, and Hell's Kitchen. While you're at it, let us know which one you plan on watching.
Could you eat 59 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes?
If you're looking for some delectable sweet treats, try chocolate mint bars or chocolate-malt brownies. Not into chocolate? How about strawberry cheesecake (easy and expert recipes!) instead?
These drop dead gorgeous photos really blow my mind. Death by gummi bears, nutella, cotton candy and more.
Know someone graduating this year? Plan them a great graduation party.
Are you buddies with your barista?
If you're getting married soon, don't forget to eat on your wedding day! Also, here are some ideas for a great rehearsal dinner.
And finally, we find out if Mexican (real sugar) Coke tastes better than regular Coke.

Let's Talk Top Chef

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:32:16 -0800

Last night I came home from a nice little gift swap and got all excited about curling up and watching the latest installment of Top Chef. I turned on the TV and WHAT?? Another repeat! So, since I can't give you a recap of a new Top Chef episode, I figured I'd take a few minutes to give you my thoughts on the season so far. To read my opinions on this season's personalities and yummy looking recipes, read more

First of all, let me start by saying, the biggest frustration in watching Top Chef is not knowing what all these gorgeous looking meals taste like. When the judges say my favorite chef's dishes are too salty/inedible, I get a little upset and wish I could make my own opinion. Also, TC could really use their own Tim Gunn, don'tcha think? And what do you think of Padma, better host than last year?

Next let's chat about the contestants. I was sad to see Josie go so soon, I thought she'd make it much further and am ridiculously surprised to see that Michael is still there. Marcel is definitely made out to be the weird "villain" and Betty his antagonist (I must admit, I liked her at first, but now wish she would pack her knives and go). And what was with Mia calling it quits? How can someone get that far and just give up? It makes me really wonder about the editing...

Right now my vote for the top three are Ilia (who I am starting to really like), Sam and Cliff (although I think Marcel will end up there instead). And speaking of Sam, I gotta know, do all the ladies out there think he's hot? Or is he just hot because he's the "hot one" this season?

And finally, here are some of my favorite (looking) recipes this year:

Elia's Breakfast with Waffle, Ham, Cheese & Fried Egg
Team Korea's Braised Korean Pork
Ilan & Michael's Mushroom Paella & Fried Soft Shell Crab
Betty's Tuscan Portobello Melt

and my favorite so far:

Elia's Strawberry Surprise

So how about you, what do you think of this season's Top Chef? Let us all know in the comments below!

Top Chef: It's Cool To Stay Cool (Episode 10 Recap)

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:30:04 -0800

So last night's episode of Top Chef was a bit of a shocker in the sense that no one won, but really, was anyone surprised about Mike getting the boot? Okay, so I actually thought Cliff was going to pack his knives this time, but really, even though I loved the fact that Mikey won everything last week, hasn't he overstayed his welcome? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's plenty talented, but he didn't really seem like he ever wanted it.

I was glad that this week was more about the cooking and less about the bickering, but I must ask, what was with Marcel's rooftop rap? (If anyone has the words, please post, I forgot to write them down.) Oh and another what's with Marcel moment: what was with the "Cut Out 4 Us" hand gestures? Did it remind anyone else of Uncle Joey from Full House?

Anyway, enough chatter, let's talk food. To check out my full recap, read more

The episode started off with a Kraft sponsored Quickfire challenge. Now, I completely understand product placement, but these sponsored challenges are starting to irk me. This time our favorite fledgling chefs had to turn BBQ sauce, Zesty Italian dressing and mayonnaise into a gourmet snack. I was really excited to see what they'd come up with, and although there were some impressive dishes, not very many of them seemed like "snacks." The two that stood out to me were definitely Sam's sandwich and Marcel's lamb kebabs with curried mayonnaise. I thought his use of the mayonnaise was quite effective and like Marcel said, "meat on a stick, who doesn't like that?"

Apparently it's not guest judge Mike Yakura of Le Colonial in San Francisco (you may remember him from last year's street vendor episode, although probably not, because this time he's sporting a wicked new mohawk), because Marcel, along with Sam, won this particular challenge.

The two winners were then granted the prize of choosing their teammates for the Elimination challenge. Once the teams were chosen (Sam, Ilan, Mike vs. Cliff, Ilia, Marcel), they were told they had 24 hours and a limited budget to open a restaurant.

Sam's team ended up going with a rustic Italian inspired place called LaLaLina (named after their girlfriends, and I must add, a very cute name). Their menu featured:

Fried Meatball on Crostini with Parsley Pesto
Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Walnut-Parsley Pesto
Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pork Tenderloin and a side of polenta
Watermelon gnocchi with bruleed cheese

Strangely missing from their menu: wine.
And bowls to put olive pits in. Good ol' Mikey went to the supply store and only stuck to his list. Sam took over as the kitchen leader and Ilan boringly worked the front of the house.

With the exception of the meatball, which they loved, the judges found the food to be boring, salty and disgusting. Judge Gail obviously did not like Sam's watermelon gnocchi, but that still isn't hindering my desire to eat it (honestly, I really would like to try it). The judges were also disappointed to have no wine offering.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Marcel's team has whipped up an impromptu "high end" classic diner named M.E.C. Their menu included:

Barbeque Coffee Chicken Wing
Tempura Vegetables and Mozzarella with Cornichon Aioli
The M.E.C. Burger with Prosciutto
Oreo Lemon Pie
Root beer floats or beer

Ilia and Marcel did most of the kitchen duties while Cliff ran the front of the house. Again, the guy in the front of the house was not the most exciting guy; he paid no attention to the judges (they waited over 10 minutes!) and he didn't mingle with the guests either. The chicken ended up being undercooked (scary!) and the hamburgers (because they had sat so long), were overcooked and "meatloaf" like. They did however, like Marcel's perfectly executed tempura veggies.

When everything was said and done, neither teams were deemed good enough to win and in the end Mikey had to pack his knives and go.

Now for a few things I'd like to discuss:

Marcel's rap, please people tell me what this is all about!
Ilan's attempted jab at Marcel with a sadly non-foaming Zesty Italian foam.
If Ilia wanted to be front of the house, then why did she say she could do either? Why didn't she speak up when given the chance?
I wonder why they had to break the budget up to $500 for food and $500 for supplies instead of letting the chefs choose what to spend the $1000 on.
Oreo lemon pie? That thing looked like a Little Debbie snack cake.
Who doesn't serve wine with Italian?
I really want to eat watermelon gnocchi. I don't care how gross Gail says it is.
Sam lurking from behind the plant while the judges ate. Also, his face when the judges told Ilan he did most of the work.

So tell me what you thought and then join me next week when we find out who's going to Hawaii!

Source: BravoTv.com