Coming to an End

As you can tell, most of my blogging energies these days are spent on Storming the Crease -- my site devoted to the Washington Capitals and hockey in general. Therefore, RRT is pretty much dormant.

As such, this site will remain live (for the time being) -- mostly to serve as an archives to my three-plus years of blogging history. But, if you want to follow me more closely, check out STC or my Twitter feed.

Thanks for understanding.

Another Top Season on 'Chef'

The recently-concluded season of "Top Chef Las Vegas" proved that it might be the best cooking reality show on TV. Granted, the final winner (Michael) wasn't the most popular, but the talent pool was unquestionably-deep and the range of challenges vast.

For the home cook, it was another season of ideas and techniques -- and, hopefully, the start of more vegetarian and alternate-diet focused challenges.

Announcing 'The Kitchen Dance'

I'd like to announce the release of my new cookbook, "The Kitchen Dance." It's a project my wife and I collaborated on that includes detailed shopping lists, tips to help you stock the pantry and ideas about entertaining in tight quarters -- along with plenty of healthy, quick (kosher) recipes such as stir-fries, pasta entrees, vegetarian main dishes, original quick-cooking chicken recipes and delicious desserts.

Buy it now!

Vegetarians Get Snubbed Again

How is it that the best anybody can make for Natalie Portman on last night's "Top Chef" was some roasted kale and mushrooms (made by Kevin)? Is that really all people can make for vegetarians?

Brian V. has a vegetarian version of his 21-course tasting menu at his restaurant, Volt, and even on the normal menu has something described as "Nancy's young eggplant caponata, parmesan, zhatar, roasted pepper hall." That would have been better than what he offered last night.


But more importantly, why did nobody make pasta? And I was surprised there weren't more roasted veggies, rice or potatoes, too. While we don't know the entire list of supplies, it's hard to imagine why everybody made only vegetables without much protein or starch.

There are so much other options they could have made with a little more imagination. How about roasted vegetable lasagna, eggplant schnitzel cacciatore, vegetarian paella or a sophisticated take on falafel and tahina. Robin even mentioned falafel but instead went with a vegetable platter-type thing. It was awful.

It still amazes me that there continues to be a lack of imagination when it comes to vegetarian fare on this show. There have been only a few people, Kevin included, that can really relate to eating a vegetarian diet. If you haven't eaten a lot of vegetarian food then it's impossible to put yourself in those shoes -- and, therefore, make something creative.

Just because there's no meat or fish, that doesn't mean food can't be elegant. But "Top Chef" is still trying to figure that out.

Cookbook Premiere Draws Near

Courtesy of John Kelly's column today, here's an early look at the cookbook being published by me and my wife:

Fairfax's Rob Yunich wrote that he and his wife split the cooking duties -- he doing more of the cooking, she more of the baking -- but they're happiest when cooking together. "The uniqueness of our cooking is what we call the 'kitchen dance,' " Rob wrote. "It's the way we cook together and the way we move around each other to create dishes that we (and others) love to eat." They have a cookbook coming out on the subject.

'Top Chef' Lessons You Can Bring Home

Last night's "Top Chef" brought about the annual restaurant wars -- and it was one of the better versions of recent memory. In fact, Chef Tom said it was the best  ever. Either way, the Voltaggio Brothers are still dominating while Mike I. and Kevin are not too far behind.

Jennifer is an interesting case study. She's clearly talented and willing -- but sometimes takes on too much. That can be the doom for any chef or cook. When planning a menu, it's important to not only decide what to make -- but also account for how long it'll take to cook. And always add extra time just in case.

Don't forget to take this into account when planning your menu. For example, if you're going to do a stir-fry, wait until the end of your meal preparations to make it. But, you can still make the desserts, rice and appetizers in advance. (And stir-fries can stay warm in a low oven for 30-45 minutes.)

Planning is extremely important when cooking for a crowd -- especially at home.

Family Style Not Equal to Home Cooking

Last night's "Top Chef" episode included an elimination challenge "for the home cook." But what they did last night was not geared to you and me. What they did was take a bunch of professional chefs making restaurant-quality food in a "cramped" space. (And it was only cramped because they put 10 or so chefs in a space for two or three. The kitchen was still huge.)

Once per season (at least), "Top Chef" always does a show for the home cook. But what ends up happening is the cheftestants make something they're used to creating -- and not something that people at home would make (or even eat). So instead of disguising it, just say it: the challenge last night was to promote Macy's and use their products in the kitchen of the house where they're staying. Done.

Cooking in cramped quarters is something that many people deal with every day. It's not easy to create a nice meal in a short time with limited space (and, usually, limited pots and pans). But it's a challenge for everybody and something I've been doing for a while. In fact, it's also the premise behind my new cookbook, which goes on sale next month. (My wife, the co-author, is a very talented cook and baker and deserves a ton of credit. So I didn't do it all myself.)

Stay tuned for more information on the book.

It's always enjoyable to watch the "Top Chef" crew cook in unusual situations -- but it's nothing compared to what everyday people deal with all the time.

Changes Coming Soon

If you've been following this blog since its inception in May 2006, firstly thank you. It's been a great experience and now it's time to tweak a few things into a more food-focused format.

Coming soon:

* Recaps of "Top Chef" and other cooking shows (but not for every episode)
* Stories about entertaining, cooking and other food-related matters
* Profiles of successful food professionals
* News about cookbooks (mine and others)

Leaving town:

* Sports stories (with a few exceptions, most notably NFL picks)
* Recaps/news of any non-food reality show
* Movie and music reviews and similar matters

The archives will be fully operational and, of course, I invite you to read Storming the Crease (my hockey blog). Thanks and I hope you'll continue to stay tuned during RRT's next phase.

Home on the 'Top Chef' Range

The setting might have changed on "Top Chef Las Vegas," but the results only varied slightly. Mattin was sent home after making another subpar dish -- while Ron and Robin remained in the bottom. Ashley and Laurine took a detour to the top-four, while the Voltaggio brothers continued to rule. (The show might have to be renamed "Top Voltaggio" if this continues.)

The best home-cook tip I got was Laurine's grilled potatoes, a tip I frequently employ (they're great in the oven too).

Pack Your Knives and Escargot

Last night's edition of "Top Chef" was all about the French: ingredients (escargot, unpronounceable sauces), hosts (one of whom barely spoke English) and even a contestant (Mattin). All in all, it was another drama-filled episode with two (or deux) eliminations (I'm not even going to try to translate that one).

In my mind, French cooking in America (Julia Child notwithstanding) is all about the ultra-fancy and not about the home cook. This was an episode dedicated to restaurateurs and not those who want to make food at home.

That being said, there clearly are four chefs rising about the rest: Kevin (winner of the quickfire), the brothers Voltaggio and Jen.

The two eliminated contestants (Baltimore's own Jesse and the first eliminated male, Hector) probably deserved to go, although I'm still trying to figure out how Ashley's still there. Of course, there's always one contestant who manages to stick around longer than expected -- and it seems Ashley wins that game of Russian roulette this season.

By the way, how bad must Mattin feel being in the bottom group on his birthday cooking food he grew up eating? That certainly does not bode well for his future on the show.

Next week, the gang goes outside, Tom spits something out and another "Top Chef Masters" contestant (I think it's three and counting), Tim Love, is the guest judge. The following week, Penn and Teller make their appearance.