Top Chef 4.3

Look at Padma. Look at her! Do we have cloning yet? I was watching a show, or maybe just asleep and dreaming, where some science type people were growing pig hearts in petrie dishes. I went to school with a girl named Petrie.
Ahem, I'm even more disjointed than usual today.
Well, I have to say that last night's episode of TC threw me for a loop. How many crazies do they have in this batch of cheftestants? We've got Andrew, who seems to have some talent as a cookie, but this guy appears to cling to his sanity by the barest of unraveling threads. It's like he's the sword of Damacles dangling over his own fate. I just don't see how this guy is going to be able to hold it together, especially as the competition heats up.
Then there's Spike, and his hat, and his grandiosity. I can't quite decide yet if he's suffering from youthful ego and exuberance or if he's completely delusional about his world view and his place in it. I do know that so far he's been very mediocre in his dishes and possibly lacks the skill to bring more to the table (yes, bad puns will abound).
But last night brought us a new crazy: Erik. A word to Erik...don't say 'screw you' to the guest chef judging the quickfire challenge. Dude! Criticism should be taken graciously, and if not graciously then with a sigh and a quick nod of the head. To do otherwise indicates that you're too insecure of your abilities as a chef and can't take advice or instruction. Not good, not good. Which, of course, panned out when Erik got the boot during the elimination challenge for his corndogs.
I'm not a fan of corndogs, they give me heartburn. I love hotdogs, though. Especially Brighton Hotdog Shoppe 'dogs with chili and cheese and a side of chili cheese fries. Miss Kitty and I ate there with the kids last week and (nameless party) accidentally stabbed me with a fork while I was reaching for some fries that weren't mine. I'm fine. Just a minor cut. All unintentional and a misunderstanding, at least that's what their lawyer told my lawyer.
As for the good of the episode - Richard is for real. He understands exactly what is demanded of him in this competition and he's exploited that knowledge gloriously. His reconstructed taco with a jicama shell was brilliant in the quickfire and won him deserved immunity. I'm going to make an early prediction that he's going to make it to the final four. He's made so few missteps so far (although in fairness, his awful paella was more than a misstep), and the judges have shown in the past that they're much more willing to be forgiving of a mistake if you've shown previously that you can perform (and why, I believe Valerie was sent packing last week instead of Stephanie).
Speaking, parenthetically at least, of Stephanie, she won the elimination challenge - AGAIN! That's twice in three weeks, with a fruit dish, no less! But it's not really a simple mixed fruit crumble. I just watched the vlog 'The Wong Way To Cook' with former TCer LeeAnn Wong and I got a whole new appreciation from exactly what Stephanie created. I hate basil, but that's because it gets over used in marinara sauce...less is more, people. But in a cold fruit dish I could see where it would refreshing and heighten the fruitiness of the fruit.
Anyway, I should wrap this up because I have to get a shower and return something to the library (lest the blue hairs hunt me down and extract a quarter from me). So, my final thought on last night's show involves Nikki. Nikki, girl, how do you ruin mac & cheese with velveeta? How? Even if you make it before hand and reheat it, there's the simplest trick in the world that you use: You make TWICE as much cheese sauce as usual because the elbows are going to suck up the sauce. I know this because I make baked mac & cheese all the time. It's a favorite of both Miss Kitty and Riechter Von Sanchez. How you managed to fuck up mac & cheese is really beyond the pale.