I'm not clicking on the Delay links either. I appreciate your descriptive explanation of the links so my eyeballs don't burn from the sight. I don't want to take that nasty prescription that will change the color of my irises.

NICA is on my Tivo but as yet unwatched.

Next Iron Chef was rough, ingredient-wise. And one of the chefs (Appelman) was so cocky. I liked him at first, but he grated by the end.

And Jeffrey Steingarten needs to be smacked, early and often.

And one of the chefs (Appelman) was so cocky. I liked him at first, but he grated by the end.

I really can't stand that guy. His attitude is terrible. Hoping Amanda Frietag steps up soon. She was a lot of fun on her one "Iron Chef" turn. A little too serious on "Chopped," but then, everything's a little too serious on "Chopped."

And Jeffrey Steingarten needs to be smacked, early and often.

I disagree. Steingarten will both call out chefs on crap and call out other judges for being full of it. Love him.

Steingarten will both call out chefs on crap and call out other judges for being full of it. Love him.

I don't know, I'm all for honesty, but I hate his attitude. And I hate the way he talks to women especially.

Juicy behind-the-scenes gossip from TC:5!

Padma is apparently exactly the diva she appears to be, and the icy looks between her an Tom are not editing magic.

I used to think Steingarten was refreshingly honest, but the more I see of him the more I think he's just an asshole.

And I hate the way he talks to women especially.

This too.

I started out thinking ooh Steingarten will have interesting things to say and it quickly went to for the love of god man shut up.

I missed Appleman's attitude because I fast forward through a lot of the prep because... some of the ingredients were just trying to look at for me.

I loved Amanda Frietag when she was on Iron Chef so I'm cheering for her. And I really hope the ingredients they use aren't so challenging because I really couldn't even look at the eggs.

Although I wasn't sure what they excepted the guy to do with the grasshoppers. The only thing I could think of was maybe candying them somehow, like grasshopper brittle.

There is a god, or an otherwise benevolent power running the universe. Tom DeLay is quitting DWTS.

[link]

Jessica,

can you sum up the behind the scenes stuff, looks like posts have been deleted.

Aw, that's a shame. Guess the poster got cold feet (or a stern note from Magical Elves).

Padma is a diva and nobody likes her. She's nitpicky about weird things and doesn't get along with Tom.

The chefs do ZERO cleanup - it's all the crew. As the chefs realize this, they get more and more sloppy throughout the season.

Stefan was popular with everyone on set and they were all surprised that he was the "villain" of the season in the final edit.

ALL the interviews are done after the elimination, so the continuity people on set have to make sure the chefs change back into whatever they were wearing during the segment they're being asked about. The eliminated chef gets two interviews - one right after so they can be mad, and one after they've cooled off to insert into the running play by play for the ep.

The producers are consulted on eliminations, but generally agree with the judges. (They were pretty wishy-washy about this, which makes me wonder which eliminations were contested!)

Toby Young was only a douchebag on camera.

Nobody but the judges gets to eat any of the food, and most of it is thrown away. Tasting is much faster than it appears on camera so that the food served last doesn't get cold. All the timed challenges are really to time. The big red clock in the kitchen is real.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head. It wasn't anything terribly shocking, just fun insider stuff to read.