ICYMI: Masterchef Back to Win Recap for 8/24/2022

• A gas station cooking challenge…..I never would have thought of this! Not going to lie, Sheetz and Wawa has some pretty good gas station food.
• Oh, they are taking the snacks and using them as ingredients. Chef Gordon Ramsay demonstrates how to make a fish crust with pretzels and potato chips. I actually already do this by using chips and pretzels in my meatballs and meatloaf. It gives it an extra kick.
• The spicy chip cod sound like something my brother-in-law would love.
• Seeing Shanika honor her mom today really warmed my heart.
• The chocolate lava cake Michael is making sounds delightful.
• Thanks to Christian, I now want gummy bears.
• Seeing Michael struggle is really breaking my heart.
• Brandi’s flavors with the sodas, cheese puffs and fruity cereal sounds completely random, but I have a feeling she will get it to work.
• How did Michael turn off the oven? How is he going to fix this?
• I was so afraid Shanika wouldn’t finish plating.
• The judges going around and tasting each dish makes me nervous.

Top 3:

• Bowen–Onion puffs, soda and chips were used to make a pork cordon bleu dish. It was good, but a bit too sweet.
• Christian–Corn chips, gummy bears and beer were used to make a snapper. It is delicious in a weird kind of way.
• Shanika–Corn chips, ranch chips and lemon lime soda were used to make her mom’s snapper dish. It is one of her best dishes to date.
• Christian wins immunity….and so does Shanika!
• As an aside, this challenge reminds me of the food truck episode of Psych when Lassiter became a daddy. (Is that Mauricio in there?)

Bottom 3:

• Willie–He used beer, sunflower seeds and cheese puffs to make chicken pot pie. The snacks were not highlighted and the dish itself was too rich.
• Brandi–She used lemon lime soda, cola, cheese puffs and fruity cereal to make fruity crema and a cheese puff arepa. It tastes like a hockey puff and none of the ingredients can be tasted.
• Michael–He used chocolate, pretzels and potato chips to make a fondant cake. The flavors are all there, but the dish was poorly executed.
• Michael is safe.
• Brandi is eliminated.

Hour Two!

• There will no longer be an immunity pin. However, there will be a different advantage for the winner.
• Gerron, who won season nine, is back! He is teaching cooking classes, working on a cookbook and even opened a restaurant.
• The remaining contestants have chile peppers in their mystery boxes. They will have to use them to make a spicy dish that will appeal to Gerron.
• Dara honoring her father makes my heart happy, but it breaks my heart that she lost him at such a young age.
• I’m with Emily here–I am not a fan of spicy foods (I can take it or leave it, but too much spice makes me sick) so this would not be a fun challenge for me.
• Hot Tamale Train gives me SYTYCD Mary Murphy flashbacks.
• It never ceases to amaze me that these people wait until the last minute to plate.

Tasting:

• Amanda–Her eggplant dish is a huge hit.
• Derrick–His churro dish is delicious, but is missing some elements to make it next level. The churros are also not cooked properly.
• Willie–His crawfish and shrimp dish is well received by the judges.
• Bowen–His seafood stuffed pepper is a mess.
• Michael–His spice rubbed hanger steak is a top notch dish.
• Dara–Her potato and pea samosa is delicious, but the dough/filling ratio is a bit off.
• Emily–her shrimp dish is well-seasoned.
• Amanda and Emily are the top two cooks of the night, with Emily winning the night.
• Emily will now get a huge advantage in the next episode.
• Derrick and Bowen are in the bottom two, with Bowen going home.
• More next week, stay tuned.