Top Chef with Teanna - Season Six, Episode 9, Part 1 - Pear Pithivier

Finally the time has come for the beloved Top Chef restaurant wars.  This is the point in the season where the top 8 chefs form two teams and build a restaurant empire for an evening to impress the judges. Or, in this case, the Top 5 or (arguably) 6 chefs pair up with two chefs that make you wonder why they weren't eliminated weeks ago leaving room for much more talented chefs to create dishes in the kitchen. 

Luckily, one of said chefs did prepare the most popular dish of the evening: this pear pithivier.  Yes, the controversial, inferiority-complex suffering Robin prepared this fantastical (yes, fantastical) dessert.  Now, I don't mean to be mean about Robin. But we all know that Robin doesn't belong there anymore. Robin knows she doesn't belong there which is why I say she suffers from an inferiority complex: because her knowledge of the fact that she shouldn't be there constantly has her being over defensive and snappy. Although I'd snap Michael Voltaggio's finger off if he ever stuck it in my face the way he did hers after she cursed at him. But his arrogance is another story that can be seen in the hilarious montage of an interview where Michael talks about his level-headedness and leadership skills in the kitchen interspersed with clips of Michael being an annoying, obnoxious, cocky pain-in-the-ass. But he is a damn talented annoying, cocky, pain-in-the-ass, and for that, I cannot be mad at him. 

I did make the dish that Michael made that won him the challenge - Pressed Chicken with Calamari Noodles - which was amazing and I will post Wednesday, but I have to say, this dish was the star of the dinner.  

I had actually made homemade puff pastry for the first time from scratch and have yet to blog about it. I will shortly, but I'll just say that making puff pastry from scratch reminds me why I should never eat puff pastry: because it will turn my body into a butter factory. As in, I'll be a giant stick of Land O'Lakes walking the streets of Manhattan.  But this dessert made me forget all of that.  A delicious, intensely almond frangiapane is given a little kick by adding crystallized ginger and is layered with thinly sliced, butter- poached pears and enrobed in a light and flaky puff pastry crust. It is served with "intense vanilla ice cream" (I just thought it was funny that Eli described the ice cream as "intense") and a crisp almond brittle. Robin served this dish with an Elderflower syrup, but since I don't have any access to elderflower syrup, I made some homemade caramel and infused it with some rose water. The rich caramel worked perfectly with the light, rose-flavored water and was a perfect finish to the dish. 

Maybe Robin does deserve to be there after all.

No. No. I don't think so.  But this gives her a gold star in my book. 

Click here for the recipe.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Oh WOW, Teanna! What a beautiful presentation...and this looks like a wonderful indulgence!

[Sarah]

I've been wanting to make this since I saw it on the show, and your version looks fantastic! The caramel sauce is a wonderful idea in place of the elderflower syrup. Delicious!

[AmyRuth]

Teanna, REALLY beautiful. I am impressed with you PP skills. I dare say, I really don't want to know how much butter is in each delicious bite. hehe Lovely dessert and I'm sure delicious beyond words. Worth the calories you have to burn off at the gym. What have you been doing lately besides cooking? How is the catering gig going?
AmyRuth

[Jen]

*WOW* homemade puff pastry - I am so impressed! This looks fabulous!

[Andrea@WellnessNotes]

The dessert sounds unbelievable... And awesome pictures! And as always, I love your take on Top Chef; it's always so much fun to read... :)

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Looks beautiful! I am always so impressed by your Top Chef dishes... they are usually a bit intimidating for me, but I enjoy reading all about your adventures with them!

[jenn]

Wow, I'm really loving this!! Awesome job! I love seeing the layers of the fruit. Yum!!

[grace]

robin is definitely out of her league, and i wonder if the pear treat would’ve been as good had michael not weighed in on her process and recipe. we shall never know. nicely done, and go kevin!

[Maria]

What a fantastic dessert!

[ingrid]

Yum?!
~ingrid

[Jill]

That looks delicious! I'm not surprised that it was the star of the dinner.

[Wendy]

YUM! I was craving this when I watched the show. I'm so glad they eliminated the decorating part of the restaurant wars challenge

[The Duo Dishes]

The fact that you made the puff pastry is awesome enough...but then you had to gussy it up even more. Irresistible!

[Jessie]

that is such a pretty dessert! I really enjoy reading your top chef adventures since I'm not able to watch Top Chef as much.

[Tracey]

I still haven't tried making puff pastry but it looks like you've got it figured out! What a gorgeous dessert! I thought restaurant wars was a bit painful to watch this season since Jennifer's team struggled so much. This dessert definitely caught my eye though - it sounds amazing!

[Joan Nova]

I may not have commented on each post but I love this series that you're doing. It's brave to take on the top chefs and it's probably tougher than what they're doing.

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

This looks gorgeous, would love to try it, it souns really really good! Definitely a gold star for Robin :)

[Ann]

I missed the episode. This came from Robin??!! (look at me being all snarky like that). It looks amazing. Poor Robin, I do feel for her with all the flak shes getting from the others.

[lisaiscooking]

This looks delicious! The caramel sauce is lovely. But, yes, Robin needs to go.

[Eliana]

OK - shott me but I don't regularly watch Top Chef. But I did happen to catch this episode and was super intrigued by this recipe. Your rendition of it looks outstanding.

[Michele]

Yum! I love pithiver and your pear version looks fantastic!