1) Rick wins! I was a bit scared that Michael would steal it, but Rick gets the grand prize! A great result since he's performed the most consistently throughout the competition. In this final round, the dish that made me sit up in my chair was his. That cochinita pibil sounded AMAZING.
2) Michael must have grossed everyone out with his behavior the last ep - he won only 15% of the votes in the audience poll. Rick and Hubert split the rest fairly evenly.
3) That was some crazy hair Michael used to have. Ditto Hubert's beard.
4) I loved the idea of the challenge and I thought the twist was great too. My own answers to the challenge (tweaked slightly):
First food memory: Head-on shrimp stir-fried with oil, soy sauce, scallions, ginger and garlic. The best part about eating this dish is mixing the sauce into your rice. The following story remains one of my favorite childhood memories. One day, the shrimp got cooked a little too long and the sauce reduced down to almost nothing. Six-year-old me made a grumpy face. My grandfather jumped into action and proceeded to behead and squeeze out every single shrimp so I could have enough sauce for my bowl of rice. He basically defiled that entire plate of food while the rest of my family looked on in horror and amusement. Yes, I was his little pet.
Dish that made me want to learn to cook: Spaghetti and meatballs. Reading about this "exotic" dish in junky YA novels, I asked my mom to make it. She didn't know how and said, "Make it yourself. I'll help." The rest is history.
Dish that represents my culinary school stint: Salmon tian. It involves layering thin slices of salmon, potato, eggplant, zucchini and tomato (each cooked separately) into a ring mold with some goat cheese before baking. It's absolutely delectable and looks like a work of art when you unmold it, but it's so fussy that you'd only consider making it for special occasions.
Dish that represents my future: Osso buco or venison stew. I love one-pot cooking. Besides minimizing the dishes you'll have to do later (and I do loathe doing the dishes), I like that homey, full-cupboard feeling you get when there's a big pot of something hearty simmering away on the stovetop. I do a lot of soups and stews now, but I'd love to experiment with a greater variety of proteins.
(I admit that the above, if served together, would make a pretty weird meal. There'd have to be some serious re-imagining and editing, no doubt.)
Dish that made me want to learn to cook: Spaghetti and meatballs. Reading about this "exotic" dish in junky YA novels, I asked my mom to make it. She didn't know how and said, "Make it yourself. I'll help." The rest is history.
Dish that represents my culinary school stint: Salmon tian. It involves layering thin slices of salmon, potato, eggplant, zucchini and tomato (each cooked separately) into a ring mold with some goat cheese before baking. It's absolutely delectable and looks like a work of art when you unmold it, but it's so fussy that you'd only consider making it for special occasions.
Dish that represents my future: Osso buco or venison stew. I love one-pot cooking. Besides minimizing the dishes you'll have to do later (and I do loathe doing the dishes), I like that homey, full-cupboard feeling you get when there's a big pot of something hearty simmering away on the stovetop. I do a lot of soups and stews now, but I'd love to experiment with a greater variety of proteins.
(I admit that the above, if served together, would make a pretty weird meal. There'd have to be some serious re-imagining and editing, no doubt.)
My sous-chef: Mom! She's been with me since the very beginning. Blazes through prep work, cleans up behind me and does everything my way when we cook Western food.
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