Did you catch the explosive new episode of The Taste last night?  Good thing Jenn Tidwell summarized the latest show for all of us here at CCC.  Bon Appetit!

“This week on The Taste the contestants were pushed out of their culinary comfort zones when asked to not waste any parts of the animal, using everything from nose to tail. Ten remained and for the first time three would be sent home.

Guest judges were Greg Morin and David McMillan, chef and owners of Joe Beef in Montreal, who walked out carrying a whole pig, then spoke to the contestants about utilizing every last bit of animals when cooking.

For the team challenge the contestant were given two hours, instead of the usual one hour, to prepare a tasting spoon using at least one of the four secret ingredients chosen by their mentors. As in the previous episodes the contestants chose one spoon from their teams to be presented to the judges, the winner earning immunity as well as the assistance from the guest judges in the solo challenge. The secret ingredients each mentor picked were:

Anthony- tripe, cow tongue, sweet breads and pig tail

Nigella- ham hock, sweet breads, pig ears and bull testicles

Ludo- oxtail, pig head, beef cheeks and pig blood

Brian- yellowtail collar, sweet breads, pig tongue and lamb belly

Once the contestants got over their fears of cooking with some of these ingredients they dove in head first in hopes they would be chosen as the winner standing on their feet. Here were the chosen spoons for judging:

Team Anthony- Uno’s Tripe with Cow Tongue and Pig Tail, the judges said tasted sharp, delicious and was brilliant

Team Nigella- Lauren’s Ham and Lentil Stew with Tasty Testicle Fritter,the judges thought it was really good, had a spiced tobacco flavor but in a good way and a delicious crispy fritter

Team Ludo- Gregg’s North Carolina Head Cheese, the judges felt was quite delicious and left them wanting more

Oops he did it again, despite the pressure cooker blowing up in his face during preparing his dish, Gregg from team Ludo was the winner, for the third week in a row. The judges said it was crispy, fatty, light and the perfect amount of acid. To say the other contestants and mentors were bitter was an understatement.

For the solo challenge the contestants were again given two hours to prepare a tasting spoon for the mentors using a cut of offal, or entrails and internal organs of an animal. Here’s was they came up with and what the mentors had to say about them:

Paul- Sweet Breads with Oxtail Jus and Celery Root Puree, the mentors commented on the sweet bread being tough

Gregg- Pho with Oxtail and Calf Tongue, had too much lime flavor and was too acidic

Sarah- Liver and Onions, was well liked

Adam- Thai Style Sweet Breads with Pork Rinds and Kabocha Squash Puree, unsure of what the ingredients were and was too sweet

Khristianne- Crispy Sweet Breads and Pig Ear with Caper Beurre Blanc, perfectly balanced, no faults, had an oomph and was a delicacy

Ninamarie- Sweet Bread Milanese with Pork Skin and Veal Liver, soggy, bitter and sour

Uno- Pork Dumpling with Fried Shrimp Head, nice crispy shrimp head but didn’t embrace the challenge enough

Diane- Braised Beef Cheek with Turnip Puree, peasant food in a good way

Lauren- Thai Pork Cheeks and Fried Sweet Breads with Rice, protein hidden because of too much rice

Jeff- Rabbit Galantine with Pork and Chicken Livers, really sweet, very technical, great, loved it

And here were the mentors best and worst chosen spoons:

Anthony’s Best- Uno and Worst- Ninamarie

Nigella’s Best- Khristianne and Worst- Adam

Ludo’s Best- Jeff and Worst- Uno

Brian’s Best- Khristianne and Worst- Lauren

Even though Gregg had won immunity the mentors still wanted to know which spoon he had prepared. Earlier in the show his mentor, Ludo, had told his team he wanted to see no Asian flavors and only classic French food. But Gregg went against that and put together a Pho dish. Once Ludo realized this Gregg was punished for not listening and was lucky to return to his chamber and on with the show. Maybe it’s also why he cut his finger pretty badly during the solo challenge, so bad he had to bite down on a wooden utensil while getting doctored up. Also safe for tonight was Khristianne with two gold stars and Jeff. For the first time on the show Uno had received both a gold and red star still putting her in the bottom four and up for elimination. Although Lauren’s spoon was overpowered by rice her flavors were still on point. And because Uno didn’t embrace the challenge quite enough she was sent home along with Adam and Ninamarie.

Tonight’s Blue Ribbon moment was when Lauren added star anise to take her stew dish from good to great in the team challenge.

Another contest winner was announced, Grayson Turner of Valdese, NC with his spinach and feta stuffed chicken dish. When asked why his dish was a winning dish he said, “Juicy, baked chicken wrapped in prosciutto, what else do you need? It’s the best foods mayo that keeps the chicken so juicy”. For the complete recipe, visit www.abc.com/thetaste. Tune in next week on Tuesday at 9pm where the semi-finals will begin.”

Happy Cooking,

Jenn