Top Chef with Teanna - Season 6, Episode 5 - Roasted Pork Loin with Creamy Polenta and Dandelion Greens

Here it is. The winning dish from the episode.

And I can't seem to figure out why. 

Let's just say this... the rest of the dishes seemed weak. At least from the show's editor's perspectives.  The judges didn't seem to be crazy about any of the dishes.  So I guess that's why this dish won?

Or maybe it's me. Maybe I've lost my mojo.  Last week's dish was an epic fail for me, and although this isn't an epic fail, this is a "meh" fail, because I wasn't doing backflips for the dish like I usually am with the winning dishes. 

Maybe it was in the preparation.  Maybe it was the brilliant way in which Bryan Voltaggio prepared the dish. And maybe that is why he has a Michelin Star and I do not. 

But this dish seems so... simple.  Jack and I make this sort of dish all of the time when we can't figure out what else to cook.  Pork loin with polenta.  I make my polenta a bit healthier than this dish (and most polenta calls for), cooking it in chicken stock and using parmesan cheese and no butter rather than the usual whole milk/butter/mascarpone cheese combination. 

I marinated the pork in the most wonderful smoked paprika, cumin seed, rosemary, thyme, garlic and olive oil mixture.  I sauteed the dandelion greens. I made the polenta.  I glazed the turnips (meant to be rutabaga, but I couldn't find it) in a sauce of honey, chicken stock, vinegar, and sherry. I cooked the pork. I took a bite.

Nothing. 

No wow. No pizzaz. No huzzah. No HOLLAAAAAAA.  Was every other dish that bad or did I miss something in the directions?

OK.  I took a little hiatus to read the judges blogs about the dishes and gail said this of the winning dish:

Bryan’s Roasted Pork Loin, Corn Polenta, Dandelion Green & Glazed Rutabaga was definitely the highlight of our meal. It exemplified what I wish many others had done: used ingredients appropriate to the environment and cooked in a manner natural to the equipment at hand. Bryan composed the plate to showcase the pork, which was well roasted, but still juicy. The vegetables and polenta each added their own taste and texture – sweet, creamy, and just a little bitter. It was exactly what I wanted to be eating at that moment, or at any cowboy barbecue, for that matter.

Doesn't she even sound so sweet in her blog? Is Gail Simmons the nicest person on the face of the earth?  Can she be my boss?

Seriously, I'm looking for a job.  Hire me. 

So I guess I was a little unfair.  The chefs were asked to cook on a ranch, outside, in 100+ degree heat. So maybe Bryan did do the best job. And maybe I'm just bitter that Mattin and his red neckerchief will no longer be part of the show, as he was cruelly sent home for a bad dish.  But he wears a neckerchief!  Surely we could have kept him around a little longer! Did anyone see the dance he did when he won the quickfire? Why wouldn't you want to keep him around?

Click here for the recipe. And please... a moment of silence for the neckerchief. 

Comments

[steph (whisk/spoon)]

the neckerchief will be sorely missed...bummer that the recipe was a dud, esp since you must have put a lot of time into it. looks really good, though, i must say!

[Irina@PastryPal]

Surely, it's because you subbed turnips for the rutabaga.

Kidding.

Maybe his dish was slathered in fats? Still, it looks like a good, simple meal, when fireworks aren't expected.

[dawn]

LOL neckerchef!
girl you're the bomb

[Jennifer]

This looks delicious! I'm sorry it was "meh" for you!!!

[Katrina]

You can cook for me anytime! I love coming by here to see all this yummy food!

[Phyllis (me HUNGRY!)]

Your roasted pork loin looks gorgeous and the spices you used to marinate sound great, couldn't figure out why it just tasted mediocre. Maybe the judges were delirious from the desert heat? Then I read Tom Colicchio's blog on the episode - he said the dishes were the worst of the season to date. So I guess Bryan won by default because his protein didn't spoil (like Robin's shrimp) or because he didn't make a ceviche like everyone else. And I'll miss Mattin and his adorable neckerchief (does he ever look 'fierce' in that promo photo!)

[grace]

meh, i've already forgotten mattin. he lost me when he abused bacon. :)

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

I'm sorry you were disappointed with the dish, it sure looks great on your picture. I'm definitely looking forward to your re-creation of this week's deconstructed dish, so neat! I'm now inspired to deconstruct everything :)

[jenn]

Too bad the dish didn't turn out the way you'd hoped. But it does look lovely.

[Tracey]

I am so going to miss Mattin! He cracked me up and I heart the neckerchief :) Sorry this dish was "meh" for you. It's always a bit of a bummer when that happens, especially when you have had such great results in the past from the winning dishes.

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