Guess who's a judge on Chopped Junior? Chef Jernard! Yay!

The Chef of Love!

Food Network Star finalist Jernard Wells joined the panel of judges on Chopped Junior tonight! I missed the sound of his voice and really enjoyed seeing him again. 

I look forward to seeing him judging contests on Food Network again soon!

Go Team Wells! 

My review of the Halloween Baking Championship Finale.

My husband and I like the show. We like Carla, Sandra and Damiano. We enjoy watching Jeff and Walter's antics. One thing I can't tolerate is one competitor taunting the others. During the gingerdeath house competition, one of the competitors kept saying things like, "My gingerbread is in the oven!"  She kept jabbing at them. The others took it in stride, but some viewers didn't appreciate it.

I know that the final decision was practically a tie between the three bakers. I know it was a hard decision to make, but the judges in Halloween Wars called one group of bakers out for being unprofessional.

I am not a professional chef; I don't even own a bakery. I am just a medical secretary who blogs. I just hope the producers of Food Network actually pay attention to this message. Taunting, no matter how lighthearted is not to be tolerated. Contestants, not matter how brilliant they are, should be told that they lose points for it.

I want to commend the two runners up at this time and wish them well.

I also want to take this time to commend Carla Brown for the pep talk she gave to the one tall, brown contestant on Chopped Junior. I'm sure your encouragement is much more profound than you would imagine. Words are very important.

So, who will it be? Grilled Cheese All Stars or Carretto Siciliano? #TheGreatFoodTruckRace

The final two teams are off to Catalina Island. Let's see who does the most funny stuff. Whether they win or not,Vinny and his Mom have a new show on Food Network called Vinny and Ma Eat America. Here is the link for the show: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/vinny-and-ma-eat-america/episodes.season-1.html

Food Truck Road Trip!

Now in Los Angeles, Tyler Florence calls to make trouble. The teams are selling hot dogs! The barges are leaving in an hour, so the race to the port begins! And Uncle Angelo says, "Nice goes out the window." Look out, he means business. The Cheese Twins are hustling sales only to have Carretto Siciliano horn in on them. Dueling hot dog vendors. Back and forth like two prize fighters in a boxing ring. The winner gets to go to Catalina Island by helicopter and win an hour head start. And the Cheese Twins take the chopper! The biggest tragedy for Vinny's Mom, Paola  is her wind blown hairdo.

And the Cheese Twins win! I must confess; I'm partial to twins. My husband has two sets of younger twin siblings; two sets of boy-girl twins. I'm so happy! Vinny and Paola - enjoy your new show!

Following The Great Food Truck Race - An experiment in blogging.

I tend to experiment in my blogs. I have held writing contests with celebrity chefs as judges (see my other blog link on this page). I have also done interviews (on both blogs) and even started a campaign for Chef Jernard Wells, finalist in Food Network Star, to have his own show. Why am I following The Great Food Truck Race when you can see it for yourself on TV? I do it to promote the teams.

So, what do we have in store for us tonight?  Food truck road trip! According to the Episode Guide on the Food Network website, it's this: Dessert in the Desert.  The final three teams brave the sweltering desert heat of Palm Springs, Calif. as they take on a challenge that tasks them with making something sweet to eat. The next day, they must become "human roadside attractions" and create a costume to draw customers to their truck. For one family, tempers flare as temperatures rise, and in the end, another team goes home while the last two family food trucks set course for the finale. 

Tyler had to put up a road block: He held an auction for chocolate, fresh fruit, etc. Carretto Siciliano tried to drive the price of fresh fruit up and get the Lei-away Leidies to spend more money. It worked; it cost them $45 for their raw materials for a fruit cooler. They didn't mind, but they did when they found out their were illegally parked. They did get off with a warning - sweet! The Cheese Twins won the chocolate and made cookie milk shakes.And nuts to Carretto Siciliano who made a cheesecake filling. Vinny got a lot of mileage out of his reality star status. They did an Italian swing your partner type dance. Grilled Cheese All Stars turned on the twin charm and they won - $200 extra! 

So, what team dressed up as what?

Lei-Away Leidies picked a hula girl costume. Hula for mula! Carretto Siciliano had Vinny as a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. He was in a red tee shirt (for sauce)  wrapped up in yellow yarn with a bowl of balloon meatballs for pants! And the twins were the Hunks of Cheese! Selfie time! Who will have the most selfies with customers? Carretto Siciliano won with 111 selfies - Spaghetti and meatballs, baby!

But, who made the most money?

With a showdown in Pioneer Town the verdict is. Grilled Cheese All Stars took first place. Twin charm! Carretto Siciliano took second and aloha to the Lei-Away Leidies! I'll miss you!
The two remaining rivals will start selling once they hit San Pedro harbor.

Hey food truck teams: Find those eggs!

Look out, ostrich eggs! Here they come!

A little birdie told me about the 'Easter egg hunt'. Well, I'll admit; it was the Food Network website. It sounds like we're in for a lot of fun.  The trucks are in Santa Barbara tonight in Wine Country. Also home of ostrich land USA. Those big birds give me the heebee jeebies. You couldn't bribe me with enough money to go into an ostrich pen. 

The team who found the most eggs was Sweet Southern Soul. Poor Grill Cheese All Stars. They're as bad as I used to be with I Spy in 2nd grade. The mom in Carretto Sicialiano left her shoe behind - her good son went back and got it for her. 

Look out Grilled Cheese All Stars, Carretto Siciliano is making an Italian grilled cheese! Uh-oh, Tyler has another challenge - all teams must use the ostrich eggs they found on the hunt! Grilled Cheese All Stars are making green eggs and ham. Sweet Southern Soul felt like cave women trying to crack the ostrich eggs. Phone database wisdom: one ostrich egg = 24 eggs. 

The Cheese Twins' truck was swamped - lots of customers, but hectic. They got out with the line of customers and did the wave. Lei-Away Leidies had a huge line, 'got their butts kicked' and enjoyed every minute of it! Carretto Siciliano raised their prices and offered a selfie with reality show star Vinny to make up for it. 

Day two, Tyler called with the last minute challenge: to make what Vinny called an 'Abelschitzenhauser thing'. They had to make a Danish doughnut in a pan that looked cross between a muffin pan and a frying pan. Sweet Southern Soul used it for cornbread. And Ooooooo, they had a line, baby! Vinny used the pan to make meatballs, naturally. The ebelskiver pan was the curse of the Lei-Away Leidies's food truck. Lei-Away entertained the crowd until they ran out of jokes, but powered through. Tyler asked how things were panning out. Hardy har har!

Who has immunity? Carretto Siciliano with their meatballs. This made Mama Paola cry. And in number one place, is: Carretto Siciliano; Lei-Away Leidies took second place; and Grilled Cheese All Stars took third and a sweet good bye to Sweet Southern Soul! 

Next stop, Palm Springs, California! Come along! 

And, as always, if you want to know more about the show - click here; http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-great-food-truck-race.html

The Great Food Truck Race - This episode is the berries!

Smell the strawberry fields - The food trucks are in Oxnard, California at the Strawberry Festival. Carreto Siciliano struggled with the meaning of  the term savory. The Lei-Away Leidies took advice from a stranger for a good place to park. Stranger danger? No!  The stranger turned out to be married to their aunt! Being Polynesian, the "Coconut Wireless Network" really works to connect them with their California relatives. 

The Cheese Twins with Grilled Cheese All Stars did well with their strawberry BBQ sauce. Sweet Southern Soul earned praise with their strawberry quesadilla. The first challenge is worth $300 in the contestant's till. There were two finalists: Grilled Cheese All Stars and Sweet Southern Soul with "S.S.S." taking the win. 

Aunty Tina came through for the Lei-Away Leidies and business picked up. Long live the Coconut phone! Grilled Cheese All Stars dropped their price, gained a line, but were not ready for their customers right away. Big Mista's Fatty Wagon got response to their vigorous marketing tactics with Mrs. Mista as their cheerleader. Sweet Southern Soul did well and did a strawberry high five! And then there was a showdown between the Cheese Twins and the Fatty Wagon. Good thing they weren't in a Western. 

Carreto Siciliano makes me want to put strawberries in my pasta sauce. Big Mista's Fatty Wagon gave them a run for their money with the Sicilian Fatty (hot dog), but over filled their propane tank which delayed cooking time. Uh-oh. Big Mista's Fatty Wagon tried to poach Carreto Siciliano's customers. Will Vinny's Mom give in to temptation and buy a grilled cheese from the Twins? The Lei-Away Leidies stole the show with a hula dance! Then, the Cheese Twins tried to poach customers from Carreto Siciliano. I guess Vinny's team is a hot target.

Lei-Away Leidies' luau worked - They took first place! Carreto Siciliano took 2nd place. Sweet Southern Soul took 3rd place. In 4th place was Grilled Cheese All Stars. It broke Tyler's heart to see Big Mista's Fatty Wagon go. Tyler wants to go down South and get a plate of 'que from them next time he gets a chance. 

The Big Mistah Team!

Next stop is Wine Country! 

Look out! Here comes the Great Food Truck Race!

My husband and I watch Food Network regularly and didn't see any ads for it, but we're glad the Great Food Truck Race is back. I was sad to see Fortune Cooking go, especially since we were cheering when Chef Tom Lin won on Guy's Grocery Games.

Chef Tom from Fortune Cooking at the wheel!

The Carretto Siciliano food truck's risk paid off. Still in the race are: Big Mista's Fatty Wagon, The Cheese Twins from Grilled Cheese All Stars, Lei-Away Leidies and Sweet Southern Soul. Many teams struggled, but they're still in the race. May the best team win!

For more on the show, click here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-great-food-truck-race.html