Recaps and reviews of MY favorite tv shows

Karine Bakhoum (from Iron Chef America among other things)

kristinamarina — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:32:36 +0000

I have loved watching Karine Bakhoum as a judge on ICA. I’ve always thought she was so beautiful and confident and intelligent. When I saw her judging “Worst Cooks in America”, she had lost sooooo much weight. She also didn’t look healthy, and I initially thought she had gone on some crazy diet and had gone overboard. I did some digging and there is so much speculation on the web as to gastric bypass or some other craziness. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t an easy truth, but it makes me admire her that much more. She is a cancer survivor and recently underwent throat surgery. If you’re interested, here is an interview she did, and she talks candidly about her cancer ordeal. You can follow the vid to YouTube and get the other 3 parts of the interview, as well.
I really do love this gal.

Thank goodness…

kristinamarina — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:15:55 +0000

Iron Chef Garces sounds so much better than Iron Chef Mehta. I seriously watched the finale with my viewing of ICA on the line. Stupid stupid Food Network. Maybe they did it like that on purpose.
I think Mike Symon had a lot to do with bringing the judges around, and God bless him for being so vocal. Stupid Jeffrey would have crowned Mehta with all disregard to anyone else if he could’ve. Pretentious blippity bleep. Yeah, so ICA is safe. For now. Again, I’m highly disappointed with the way things went this season. Last season was so much more enjoyable–we got to watch great chefs in action, showing respect for each other, the food, and their profession. With contestants like Appleman and Mehta this season, there was little of that. Food Network went the way of drama/crappy reality tv. Unfortunate that they don’t realize their viewers are there for the food, not the catfights.

I’m done…

kristinamarina — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:38:38 +0000

with this stupid show. And to be honest, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time fully blogging on this season of The Next Iron Chef. Seriously… Chef Mehta is in the top 2?!? I will stop watching ICA if he wins. As much as I love it, I will. Ridiculous. I stayed loyal up to the very end, defending the new format, etc, but simply put, I’m very disappointed in the show. The way you pitted the contestants against each other, the lack of professionalism. In a competition where your viewers are unable to taste the food, likeability and integrity play a huge factor. A new Iron Chef needs to be someone viewers will actually root for. Poo on you Food Network. You failed miserably. Your only redemption will be if Chef Garces is the next Iron Chef. Otherwise, (and I hate to say this for many reasons, but) epic fail.

The Next Iron Chef Season 2–Interview w/Alton Brown

kristinamarina — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:32:40 +0000

Found this and I’m passing it on because of the buzz on the Food Network’s Facebook page… Lots of people are evidently not happy with the new season of TNIC, which is sad for this diehard fan. I’ll roll with the punches, new formats, jerkface personalities all for the love of Iron Chef America. BUT, for anyone who needs a little clarification, or if you just love Alton Brown, here he is giving the lowdown on what the judges are looking for:

Alton Brown Interview

Shared via AddThis

Which Iron Chef is leaving?

kristinamarina — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:20:24 +0000

Okay, so no official word, yet, and yes someday I will recap episodes, but for now…

Cat Cora just had a baby and so did her partner. The couple have 4 kids now, and the two babies are 3 months apart. They used the same donor as the first two kids, but each lady carried the other’s embryos. Sooooo….it’s quite possible that with two infants at home, she is simply taking a break. Since Mario Batali’s contract wasn’t renewed with Food Network back in late 2007, I would say it’s time for another new Iron Chef, the next generation, if you will.

As far as The Next Iron Chef is concerned, I’m still rooting for Chef Freitag, I wanna be Dominque Crenn when I grow up, but I’ve also grown a soft spot for Chef Garces and Chef Trevino. Oh, and Appleman is still an ass.

That is all.

Chef Appleman

kristinamarina — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:37:30 +0000

is an ass…

More to come.

Okayyyyyyyy…. The Next Iron Chef Season 2

kristinamarina — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:31:26 +0000

So! I’ve had this blog for a dang long time and never posted anything to it.

Tonight is the first episode of The Next Iron Chef. I posted a few blogs 2 years ago for the last round, and I’m hoping I can keep up with the whole season this time. As far as I know RIGHT NOW, none of the Iron Chefs are leaving. There’s been a lot of speculation, and it’s possible that some of the other Iron Chefs are stepping out, there’s not any official word right now. Someone may phase out, only time will tell. Morimoto hasn’t been battling as often, if you’ve noticed, maybe one of the other senior chefs will be taking a step back, too. If run across any info, I will definitely pass it along.

I’m really looking forward to this season, although I don’t know if I can stomach Jeffrey Steingarten for very long (no pun intended). His self importance is, well, nauseating.I threw up a little in my mouth when he made a comment about fajitas being only skirt steak, and any restaurant listing anything other than skirt steak as fajitas rates him throwing down his menu and walking out. Blargh. That being said, however, I don’t see him letting a mediocre chef slide in.

And hey, anyone notice how thin and gaunt Alton has become? I hope he’s alright, I straight love that guy.

Ohhhh, and how about The Chairman on Dancing With the Stars? He’s such a flippin’ nice guy! I like him even more after seeing that whole new side of him.

As of right now, I’m pulling for Amanda Freitag… Not that I’m a feminist or anything, and I do like Cat Cora, she just disappoints me more often than not. She’s not as strong or consistent as I’d like my Iron Chefs to be. I don’t know if I’d put her on the same level as Batali or Flay. *shrugs* I don’t know. She does some pretty cool things, just not consistently.

Maybe Amanda can do the wimmins proud.