[Ron Burgundy]

Sapo,

I like the concept of the amuse, I don't think I'd like the pumpkin/sweet potato combination though.

I'm not really a fan of fried risotto in general. I think if you make a good creamy risotto it's best eaten as is. Doing anything else to it is unnesessary at best.

The dessert sounds really good but you didn't describe how it was made. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Sam,

Major props for trying the drink.

The gratin sounds very good (except for the nuts that I'm allergic to), although I would've liked to see it plated as part of a complete dish. The gnochi/salad dish looks great... and healthy!

The cheesecake sounds great, even if El D the nit doesn't think it's original. I dunno about cayenne in the brittle though. Seems like the heat would clash with the creamy cheesiness.

milliondollaz,

Pumpkin soup is pretty lame, but it's an improvement from a mangled bacon sandwich. I'll give you credit for effort considering your skill level.

There's quite a lot of chicken on the entree plate, did you eat all that? Maybe it's just the pic, but the seeds don't look fully toasty.

The roasted butter bowl is hilarious, but probly not something I'd like to eat lol.

Looking forward to seeing you improve!

Bretweir,

Solid apps there. I could definitely see myself snacking on those until I'm too full to eat dinner.

I really like the entree as well, even though I'm not a big fan of lamb. A great rustic fall/winter dish.

Mermade,

I like the spaghetti squash idea, as I said before.

Mrs. Utah,

The flan looks great, professionally garnished. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

The only complaint about your entree is that pumpkin doesn't really seem to be the feature.

BK,

Love the app, except for the spicy seeds, but you knew that.

I don't think the pumpkin chips should ever have gone on the plate. They're covering up the garnish!

Love the croquettes.

Mermade's son,

A respectable first effort. When plating, what you want to go for is symmetry and height. Notice how in the plate on the right the ingredients are towards the lower left of the plate. Try to keep it in the center. For height, what you can do is put some large leaves in a pile, then put some diagonally sliced carrot on top. Diagonal slicing is crucial for prettiness.

You might also want to think about a sauce or vinagrette drizzled around the plate. I suggest having your mom do the tedious work of making the vinagrette, then you can practice the more important job of artfully dotting it around the plate. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]


This was so hard to decide, there's so much awesome food this week. I've spent over an hour reviewing all the recipes.

BK gets my pick for best chef. All 3 of his dishes were creative, very well executed and featured pumpkin. I didn't exercise my 2 vote option because I think 2nd place was a tie between Mrs. U and Bret Weir.

For best dishes, I rank them as follows:

1) scallops
2) flan
3) croquettes
4) sam's gnocchi
5) popover/bruschetta
6) "spaghetti"