‘Top Chef’: Is salad any way to salute the troops? The judges say nay

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Did Jennifer cheat her way to immunity? Did you hear what she put in the lemongrass potato sauce she used to douse her steamed mussels?

Duck fat. And butter. And creme fraiche. As Padma might put it, you could serve my big toe with that and make it taste good. Jennifer is clearly very smart.

But then again, nearly all the contestants did well with the potato challenge. Not one french fry! Consider the rather amazing variety of dishes: vichyssoise, cold sweet potato custard, saffron-poached Russian banana fingerlings, confit tuna and potato sandwich, potato served three (Latin) ways, bacon-braised yam, a potato burger, potato cooked risotto-style, gnocchi, a play on yams and marshmallows, potato-crusted fish, sweet potato soup...

Of course, it didn’t all work out. Ron’s bland dish and Jesse’s overly spiced one are at the bottom, along with Eli’s too-sweet yams. Still, I think Eli has enough big ideas that he could outlast at least half of the contestants. Also, and of course not having tasted them, I thought Robin’s dish -- a sort of potato hash with egg -- was uninspired. Ditto Mattin’s cod with three spoonfuls of what looked like different kinds of pureed potatoes.

On top? Two-time winner Jennifer, Ash and Ashley. Ashley had a momentary meltdown when Preeti used her gnocchi water to blanch asparagus, which instantly turned it green, but she recovered. I suspected she might since Preeti’s mistake occurred with about 15 minutes to go, and while it takes some time to boil water, it takes only seconds to get gnocchi cooked and floating.

The elimination challenge seemed pretty straightforward. Cook a meal for 300 airmen, some of whom were returning from duty and some of whom were about to be deployed. Jennifer, armed with immunity, is elected executive chef while the rest of the contestants paired off into teams. All’s well until Ron and Jesse are left with each other, which makes Ron nervous since Jesse’s been on the bottom twice already. Hmm... Pot. Kettle. Black. Both of y’all were in the bottom for the quick fire! Otherwise, everyone’s excited to honor the troops by showing them a great meal.

Ah, but there’s a twist! And it ends with the judges getting really riled up.

The kitchen at the base isn’t equipped for doing anything fancy. No burners, no pots, no blenders. Only oversized mixers, convection ovens and mondo sink-like places to fry, boil and anything else requiring direct heat.

Even better? Lots and lots of preserved food product -- lots of canned veggies, Spam and dried goods. But these guys managed. (And with Jennifer cracking the whip! No useless talking in her kitchen. No hogging kitchen equipment either.)

Preeti realizes as they’re setting up that maybe the pasta salad that she and Laurine made might not be up to par. Not when their competitors are using slab bacon to make braised ‘pork belly’ tacos, perfectly seared strip steak and even bread pudding -- under the same constraints. The ladies might have noticed that they didn’t feel compelled to use the canned products at their disposal. If cooking is all about the integrity of the ingredients, then use the ones that haven’t been preserved in unsavory ways. (Obviously, bacon in all its salty goodness doesn’t count.)

Canned beans were used in Robin and Hector’s chili, which I can imagine would work even while reconstituting dry beans would hold up better. Jesse and Ron’s clam chowder was just as risky as chili on a hot day. But to hear the troops feasting, both were among the favorites. Soldiers on duty abroad eat when and wherever they can, so that’s more than understandable.

In fact, the judges were furious by the laziness of the two salads served. Mike I.’s ‘throw-away’ shrimp salad was a misstep I’m willing to bet doesn’t happen with him again. That’s the risk with those bonus dishes that aren’t required -- they’re rarely winning dishes. I still think he’s a dark horse. Preeti and Laurine? If I was judging I would have made the executive decision to cut them both. Preeti, as it happens, gave the worst explanation for the pasta salad: She thought it was pretty good. Laurine demonstrated more awareness, it’s true, but also seemed totally defeated and admitted she forgot she was competing for a title. Both are equally dismissible explanations.

What say you? Were you impressed by the many uses of the humble potato? Did Laurine deserve to stay more than Preeti? Who do you think will be eliminated next? (My own guesses? Laurine, Ron, Robin...)

-- Denise Martin