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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.

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?)

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.

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.