I just didn't find it compelling. And I have enough to watch on the TiVo without adding things that are only okay.

Keep in mind, I don't really watch the food network except Good Eats and sometimes Iron Chef America, which I think is just okay.

I really liked tonight's TC - thought that the food looked great and so did the farm.

I don't really understand why Radhika didn't speak up more - are Jeff and Fabio so forceful that she couldn't deal? Leah really gave up - I think that they should have dumped her BECAUSE she didn't try so that Arianne would get the blame. That team was a mess because nobody would take the lead.

But Ariane dishonored the protein! And apparently there is no greater sin than that. This week, at least.

That lamb situation was especially tragic because Ariane has done well in the past doing simple but good meats -- I can't imagine why she didn't go that way again when they gave her a baby lamb off the farm!

Leah really gave up - I think that they should have dumped her BECAUSE she didn't try so that Arianne would get the blame.

I totally agree. Have they ever booted somebody on TC because they slacked off, or do they just chew them out royally and then send the person who stuck their neck out home?

Ariane's situation suggests that these chefs really are removed from the source of their ingredients. She should have realized that the lamb would be very tender and not need a heavy marinade (for example.)

Yeah, she really was trying to make an argument about how she didn't know if the lamb would be tender or not. Dude! Baby animal!

Have they ever booted somebody on TC because they slacked off, or do they just chew them out royally and then send the person who stuck their neck out home?

Making just the salad has DEFINITELY been cause for elimination in the past. But I think in this case, Ariane's incompetence was worse than Leah's slackitude.

Marinade? Tenderize? IT'S A BABY LAMB! And I have to agree with Tom that taking the meat off the bone (in both the lamb and pork teams) was a bad idea. Cooking boneless meat isn't a timesaver if you have to butcher it yourself!

Right. And then "butcher" it in the worst sense of the word too.

It seemed odd to me that the meals were so heavy. It was a summer lunch! Couldn't someone have done a chicken salad? (And not doused in mayo, either, something lighter and brighter.) Or a cold soup? It astounded me that no one thought to do a vegetable broth or something similar.

I just couldn't get past pork roast for lunch on a hot day. None of the teams seemed very creative last night.

Stonehome Wine Bar (in Brooklyn) does a pork belly salad that would have been perfect for Team Pork - it's basically giant chunks of bacon with blue cheese, pecans, and frisee in a really tart balsamic vinaigrette.

Mmmm. Now I want a pork belly salad.

[edit: Link [link] And naturally, that menu item is misspelled!]