Oh. Hi. Today and tomorrow are going to be pretty exciting for many many reasons. The biggest reasons being:
1) It is my aunty MHP's birthday today! Some people feel pretty blase about birthdays....but I'm pretty sure the majority of the members of our family really know how to celebrate birthdays. They are definitely joyous days indeed. (*ummm, my b-day is 08/04 yo.)
(oh, yes, and it was my brother's b-day on Monday and I didn't give a little bloggy to him for which I apologize. I did call him and all that jazz. He had a great day and I'm proud that he, too, knows how to celebrate! He's part of the group mentioned on MHP's blog as "May Birthdays")
2) My cousin DJ is an ultimate Chicago Cubs fan. Despite many other family trips to Wrigley, he has never managed to be along. Today we get to fulfill a hugely important dream of his to get to a game at Wrigley. It is going to be so awesome.
3) Along with cousin DJ, there's everyone else that will be at the Cubs game! My cousin Mel (just as excited as DJ), birthday girl MHP, the venerable Iwanski, AND (AND!) I have Bethy and Kevin flying all the way from DC! It's exciting!
4) Worthy enough to make this list: I'm going to have a "real" ID to drink a beer at Wrigley. Last time I was there I was clearly over 21, but because my WI license still had the red box around my picture, they refused to serve me a damn beer. Jerkfaces.
5) Tomorrow we (Beth, Kevin, Jean, and I) have a trip to Door County WI planned. Who knows what is going to end up on "The Clipboard of Fun" (best itinerary phrase EVAR) once we get up there. I really like Door County....ummm.....just ignore all the people up there and it's all good.
6) Because of aforementioned Door County trip tomorrow, I get to play Jukebox Friday TODAY! I really really wanted to find the song "Middle Management" by Bishop Allen for todays' post, but they don't have any videos made of this song. If you get a chance to listen to this song, please do so. For some reason, it screams "BASEBALL" to me and seemed fitting for today. Instead I'll kick it old-skool today with some INXS. The reason for INXS is that I once knew a guy up in Door County who looked like a shorter version of Michael Hutchence. He even wore his hair exactly the same way. I even drove Michael Hutchence look-alike to Green Bay to buy a beautiful white guitar once. WEIRD. RANDOM. MEMORIES. I love INXS songs and this one especially puts me in a great mood. How fitting for this grand early Jukebox Friday!
Catch y'all in a few days. *muah*
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Top Chefs need Miller Chill
So Top Chef has been on for a few episodes and I thought it was time to weigh in a bit on this show so far. Plus I can talk about Miller Chill per Iwanski request.
Top Chef opened last night replaying all the ridiculous fights from last week
Spike vs Antonia: Spike was mad that they didn't go with soup (and the judges say they would have loved that) and lashed out a bit at ms. immunity. This fight doesn't really bother me nearly as much as Spike's ridiculous hats. Spike was just venting a bit. I'm over it.
Jen vs Spike: Ridiculous fight. As ridiculous as Spike's hats. Jen really thought Spike should have been sent home rather than her girlfriend Zoi. However, I'm really taking Spike's side on this. Did Jen taste the infamous mushrooms? Plus the pasta salad and some other of Zoi's blah creations are really what sent her home. Spike even mentioned to Zoi to season the mushrooms and Zoi thought they were "delicious." If an entire room of people and judges think that the concept of the dish was bad (Antonia's fault) and then have a really bad component to it (Zoi's fault) then Spike should be safe. Jen did not need to chime in and kick a chair etc. Carrying on and foolishness!
Dale vs Lisa: Where did this fight come from? Like, out of nowhere all of a sudden the winning team members start yelling at each other. I think Dale was pretty bitter that he didnt' win. Lisa can apparently cook some mean bacon with syrup? I'm going to hold judgement on this to a bit further on....
/end replaying of last week's fights
The scene opens on a glorious Chicago day with Ryan (my least fave) doing.. yoga? in pj pants? Probably trying to stay out of the fights and the crying and the bitching and the foolishness. Probably Ryan (my least fave) is still trying to meditate on what chicken Piccata is. That really still bothers me. I even know what piccata is!
Jen is still crying over how talented and lovely Zoi is. Sistah please. Now she's all "I'm going to win this for US." Fine. It was bound to happen that one of them would be sent home before the other. Didn't they prepare for this? Oh, and I'm not saying there are other people there that should have been eliminated before Zoi, but Zoi apparently can't SEASON UNDER PRESSURE. I'm still taking Spike's side despite ridiculous hats.
Then we have an interesting interlude between Dale and Lisa again. Dale apologizes for his manner of blowing up at Lisa, but still lets her know that she is a big debbie downer and is bringing everyone down with her constant bitching. Well, now I can have my take on this because Dale apologized. If Dale hadn't apologized, I probably would have taken Lisa's side. Dale let the jealousy get the best of him and that is just not cool. Now I'm on Dale's side because Lisa IS a force of somethin awful. I'm not quite sure if it is negativity per se. But she SWEARS and BITCHES. a. lot. While cooking, while walking, while talking, while getting apologized to. A big fierce pit of swearage is always under the surface with her. Just a tad disturbing. I knew this season would be interesting because of all the potty mouths running around. They all seem so uptight and all up on their fences defending EVERYTHING. "Dale can go F' himself." Nice, Lisa, nice.
Over to the quickfire challenge.
BEER!
I like seeing all the reactions of the chefs.
* Surprised by Dale's gusto over beer.
* Spike doesn't drink but wears ridiculous hats. I swear at the block party he was downing beers and he totally seems like a beer guy.
* Richard is a good little chef who listens to what Padma is asking them to do: something simple that matches with the beer. I like this about Richard.
I'm not sure how to take simplicity on this show. Most of the time when chefs go "simple" they just dumb down the food...or make really complicated things and try to pass them off as simple. I take "simple" as a few ingredients that most of the average population could relate to and want to eat.
I think out of the quick fire I would want to try the clams (can't remember which chicky made them) because they go well with beer. I would also try Richard's dish (which I can't remember what it was other than simple ingredients on bread...tuna I think?). Most ridiculous was Ryan's creation.... wtf is an Espelette??!? He rhymed it with his lamb crepinette so maybe rhyming was his idea of keeping it simple?
Also, the quickfire was awkward when the guest judge picked Jen's creation. It seemed almost that the judge was hitting on Jen in Zoi's absence. Maybe that's just my eerie feeling about it all. Beignets with some purees don't sound like something I'd want to wash down with a beer. Jen feels vindicated in Zoi's absence. whatevs.
Now I'm just going to do some quick notes
Prep Day
* Hi Whole Foods!
* Richard admits he's a wiseass! Richard is growing on me...
* Mark throws in "Shrimp on the bahrbie" and it made me giggle. I'm lame like that.
* Ryan is weird. He's all "Californian" and would rather have clothes over sports. Fine. But it seems he would rather have nice clothes and chicks over being a chef. I'm just really getting that impression. Why would you want to metrosexualize a tailgating event? All the warning signs are flaring up in my brain. Why doesn't Ryan use his metrosexual skillz and tell Spike to stop wearing ridiculous hats?
* OOOOOH Spike can prep like a maniac! ooooh. He can even multitask: wear a ridiculous hat, stick his tongue out, AND prep food! ooooh.
* Richard makes another wiseass comment and I'm lauging. Richard is charming me over...
* Didn't people learn from the block party event? I can't remember which girl was going on and on about making food for "fat men with beer." That's a warning light going off in my head again...
Back at the house
* Richard reminds us that wiseasses need to unwind and relax.
* Mark and Spike in the bathtub (NOT a hot tub) was a weird scene. Antonia's joke about it being a "cheap porno" wound up in all this week's promos, but, seriously, it WAS like a cheap porno. Two men in a bathtub talking about how they are comfortable with their sexuality. NO one would join them because ** no reminders needed ** it's JUST A BATH TUB. That New Zealand Mark is just a bit off this week in my mind.
Day of tailgating (yummmm)
* Colicchio looks like he's metrosexualizing things up with his fancy scarf and cap. Why couldn't he just wear the jersey and a normal cap?
* Ryan turns into full of shit schmoozer guy. He's totally channeling Brian from Season 3. Everybody hated Brian. Don't be a Brian. Warning lights going off in my head again
* Andrew, please. Andrew is like a toddler on 20 red bulls. Take off the helmet and take 3 big breaths. You are a big boy and you need to slow down and get your words out. Just because you are wearing a dumb helmet doesn't mean you are "IN THE GAME" All the judges took 3 steps back and were scared.
* Apparently wiseasses can make delicious food... the pate melt looks delicious! Richard, you charmer!
* Mark is all flustered from the previous night's bathtub interlude with Spike. Seriously. He should totally be in more control over his bahrbie.
* I would like to try Dale's ribs that won him this round. I'm glad he won so he wouldn't have to go into jealous tirades against the winner. He was surprisingly calm today and I really don't mind him too much.
Elimination
* Ryan blah blah blah blah blah. All warnings fall into place. Ryan eliminated. Ryan can go home and dress nice and learn what a piccata is.
* Nikki was so funny...she gets back into the room and was telling someone how much Ryan talks and wouldn't shut up. That was funny.
OK, so, from all of this I hope we can discern my faves and not fave chefs. However, if someone really pulls off a dish I would want to eat, they can earn favor points for the week. Just don't be a Brian from season 3 and try to schmooze me into liking your dish.
Faves: Richard, Dale, Antonia
So-So characters: Jen, Lisa, Mark
Least faves: Spike (both hat and non-hat versions), Nikki, Andrew
Since BEER was the quickfire challenge, I can now segue into Miller Chill beer. I love lime drinks. They have become my thang and it's fun to have a nice set of delicious drinks I can always rely on ordering. It was nice to know that Miller (go Milwaukee!) brewed up a nice beer I like WITH LIME.
So, in conclusion, everyone on Top Chef should Chill. Ha. Ha. The End.
Top Chef opened last night replaying all the ridiculous fights from last week
Spike vs Antonia: Spike was mad that they didn't go with soup (and the judges say they would have loved that) and lashed out a bit at ms. immunity. This fight doesn't really bother me nearly as much as Spike's ridiculous hats. Spike was just venting a bit. I'm over it.
Jen vs Spike: Ridiculous fight. As ridiculous as Spike's hats. Jen really thought Spike should have been sent home rather than her girlfriend Zoi. However, I'm really taking Spike's side on this. Did Jen taste the infamous mushrooms? Plus the pasta salad and some other of Zoi's blah creations are really what sent her home. Spike even mentioned to Zoi to season the mushrooms and Zoi thought they were "delicious." If an entire room of people and judges think that the concept of the dish was bad (Antonia's fault) and then have a really bad component to it (Zoi's fault) then Spike should be safe. Jen did not need to chime in and kick a chair etc. Carrying on and foolishness!
Dale vs Lisa: Where did this fight come from? Like, out of nowhere all of a sudden the winning team members start yelling at each other. I think Dale was pretty bitter that he didnt' win. Lisa can apparently cook some mean bacon with syrup? I'm going to hold judgement on this to a bit further on....
/end replaying of last week's fights
The scene opens on a glorious Chicago day with Ryan (my least fave) doing.. yoga? in pj pants? Probably trying to stay out of the fights and the crying and the bitching and the foolishness. Probably Ryan (my least fave) is still trying to meditate on what chicken Piccata is. That really still bothers me. I even know what piccata is!
Jen is still crying over how talented and lovely Zoi is. Sistah please. Now she's all "I'm going to win this for US." Fine. It was bound to happen that one of them would be sent home before the other. Didn't they prepare for this? Oh, and I'm not saying there are other people there that should have been eliminated before Zoi, but Zoi apparently can't SEASON UNDER PRESSURE. I'm still taking Spike's side despite ridiculous hats.
Then we have an interesting interlude between Dale and Lisa again. Dale apologizes for his manner of blowing up at Lisa, but still lets her know that she is a big debbie downer and is bringing everyone down with her constant bitching. Well, now I can have my take on this because Dale apologized. If Dale hadn't apologized, I probably would have taken Lisa's side. Dale let the jealousy get the best of him and that is just not cool. Now I'm on Dale's side because Lisa IS a force of somethin awful. I'm not quite sure if it is negativity per se. But she SWEARS and BITCHES. a. lot. While cooking, while walking, while talking, while getting apologized to. A big fierce pit of swearage is always under the surface with her. Just a tad disturbing. I knew this season would be interesting because of all the potty mouths running around. They all seem so uptight and all up on their fences defending EVERYTHING. "Dale can go F' himself." Nice, Lisa, nice.
Over to the quickfire challenge.
BEER!
I like seeing all the reactions of the chefs.
* Surprised by Dale's gusto over beer.
* Spike doesn't drink but wears ridiculous hats. I swear at the block party he was downing beers and he totally seems like a beer guy.
* Richard is a good little chef who listens to what Padma is asking them to do: something simple that matches with the beer. I like this about Richard.
I'm not sure how to take simplicity on this show. Most of the time when chefs go "simple" they just dumb down the food...or make really complicated things and try to pass them off as simple. I take "simple" as a few ingredients that most of the average population could relate to and want to eat.
I think out of the quick fire I would want to try the clams (can't remember which chicky made them) because they go well with beer. I would also try Richard's dish (which I can't remember what it was other than simple ingredients on bread...tuna I think?). Most ridiculous was Ryan's creation.... wtf is an Espelette??!? He rhymed it with his lamb crepinette so maybe rhyming was his idea of keeping it simple?
Also, the quickfire was awkward when the guest judge picked Jen's creation. It seemed almost that the judge was hitting on Jen in Zoi's absence. Maybe that's just my eerie feeling about it all. Beignets with some purees don't sound like something I'd want to wash down with a beer. Jen feels vindicated in Zoi's absence. whatevs.
Now I'm just going to do some quick notes
Prep Day
* Hi Whole Foods!
* Richard admits he's a wiseass! Richard is growing on me...
* Mark throws in "Shrimp on the bahrbie" and it made me giggle. I'm lame like that.
* Ryan is weird. He's all "Californian" and would rather have clothes over sports. Fine. But it seems he would rather have nice clothes and chicks over being a chef. I'm just really getting that impression. Why would you want to metrosexualize a tailgating event? All the warning signs are flaring up in my brain. Why doesn't Ryan use his metrosexual skillz and tell Spike to stop wearing ridiculous hats?
* OOOOOH Spike can prep like a maniac! ooooh. He can even multitask: wear a ridiculous hat, stick his tongue out, AND prep food! ooooh.
* Richard makes another wiseass comment and I'm lauging. Richard is charming me over...
* Didn't people learn from the block party event? I can't remember which girl was going on and on about making food for "fat men with beer." That's a warning light going off in my head again...
Back at the house
* Richard reminds us that wiseasses need to unwind and relax.
* Mark and Spike in the bathtub (NOT a hot tub) was a weird scene. Antonia's joke about it being a "cheap porno" wound up in all this week's promos, but, seriously, it WAS like a cheap porno. Two men in a bathtub talking about how they are comfortable with their sexuality. NO one would join them because ** no reminders needed ** it's JUST A BATH TUB. That New Zealand Mark is just a bit off this week in my mind.
Day of tailgating (yummmm)
* Colicchio looks like he's metrosexualizing things up with his fancy scarf and cap. Why couldn't he just wear the jersey and a normal cap?
* Ryan turns into full of shit schmoozer guy. He's totally channeling Brian from Season 3. Everybody hated Brian. Don't be a Brian. Warning lights going off in my head again
* Andrew, please. Andrew is like a toddler on 20 red bulls. Take off the helmet and take 3 big breaths. You are a big boy and you need to slow down and get your words out. Just because you are wearing a dumb helmet doesn't mean you are "IN THE GAME" All the judges took 3 steps back and were scared.
* Apparently wiseasses can make delicious food... the pate melt looks delicious! Richard, you charmer!
* Mark is all flustered from the previous night's bathtub interlude with Spike. Seriously. He should totally be in more control over his bahrbie.
* I would like to try Dale's ribs that won him this round. I'm glad he won so he wouldn't have to go into jealous tirades against the winner. He was surprisingly calm today and I really don't mind him too much.
Elimination
* Ryan blah blah blah blah blah. All warnings fall into place. Ryan eliminated. Ryan can go home and dress nice and learn what a piccata is.
* Nikki was so funny...she gets back into the room and was telling someone how much Ryan talks and wouldn't shut up. That was funny.
OK, so, from all of this I hope we can discern my faves and not fave chefs. However, if someone really pulls off a dish I would want to eat, they can earn favor points for the week. Just don't be a Brian from season 3 and try to schmooze me into liking your dish.
Faves: Richard, Dale, Antonia
So-So characters: Jen, Lisa, Mark
Least faves: Spike (both hat and non-hat versions), Nikki, Andrew
Since BEER was the quickfire challenge, I can now segue into Miller Chill beer. I love lime drinks. They have become my thang and it's fun to have a nice set of delicious drinks I can always rely on ordering. It was nice to know that Miller (go Milwaukee!) brewed up a nice beer I like WITH LIME.
Miller Chill is a chelada-style light beer. A refreshing take on an authentic Mexican beer recipe with a hint of lime & salt.I like it. However, it has created fans and critics. I don't think the bar world likes this beer and my friends have formed strong opinions about it. Plus, it is kinda awkward going "I'll take a Chill."
So, in conclusion, everyone on Top Chef should Chill. Ha. Ha. The End.
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