Tales from La La Land

I am now t-minus 8 hours from touching down in the state of Oregon. I haven’t been back to Eugene in forever, so I’m heading up this weekend to see Oregon play Cal.

And, in the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder: What Will The Boys Do?

As in Laef and The Sanch.

I have this really strange game I play with myself when I have lots of chores to do. I will put on one of my shows and during the commercials I will get up and put away five things, or wash five dishes, or put away five pieces of laundry.

Or refill my wine glass.

Last night I had a mountain of laundry to put away and still had to pack for my trip. I also wanted to make a batch of spaghetti for Laef so that he doesn’t eat frozen pizza and six boxes of CheezIts for dinner while I am gone.

I swear to you, if Laef could eat CheezIts for dinner every night he would. My favorite is when he comes home from work and I am in the middle of cooking dinner. Clearly starving, he will ask, “How long will it be?”

If it more than 10 minutes, he immediately grabs a box of CheezIts. Anything under 10 minutes and he’s secretly pissed.

Anyway, last night was the 2-hour season premier of Grey’s Anatomy. (BTW, I am NEVER going to be able to watch ANYONE make ceviche on Top Chef again).

This sets up perfectly for lots of commercial breaks.

I explain to Laef the game, and he frowns immediately.

“I hate chores. Commercials are for relaxing! When are you leaving?”

So while I was putting away laundry and packing, The Sanch was climbing in my suitcase making sure that everything will be covered in fur by the time I wear it and Laef was going on and on about how excited he is about Bud Lite’s new wheat beer.

They wanted no part of mommy’s commercial chore game. Laef has been trying to contain his excitement about having an entire weekend to himself to lay on the couch as much as he wants.

The Sanch is happy because he’ll have someone to do this with ALL WEEKEND LONG:

So, we start off talking about how much Robin doesn’t deserve to be there. Which is definitely true.

I get that she is playing out of her league. But, when Isabella gave everyone BUT Robin a red bandanna and then gave her his best bitchface when she asked for one, it was like high school all over again. Who cares? She’s not as a good as you? So what? Mattin is better than her? So what? He wasn’t going to be in the top 3. It’s not like she kept Mattin from anything. By the way, the red scarf tribute was awesome.

On top of that, I thought Eli’s comment about her playing the cancer card was wrong on about a million levels. I don’t think anyone who has gone through something like that is happy that they won a quick fire challenge because of SURVIVING CANCER. WTF? That’s her story. Plain and simple. And she used it for inspiration in her food. I was blown away by Eli’s comment, and thought it was petty.

I was a bit surprised by Robin’s quick fire win and the dish she prepared for the elimination challenge would have certainly placed her in the bottom 3. I don’t mind her saying that her dish was inspired by her survival of cancer, but what I do mind is how she barely even tried in the elimination challenge. One would think that even with immunity you would still want to impress the judges. She seemed to take the night off, and that’s what I have a problem with.

Anyway, it seemed like every other person did scallops two ways for the quick fire. (Ashely, Eli, Jen). OK, only 3, but it seemed like a lot. The only thing missing was Jamie Lauren from season 5.

I wasn’t there to taste the dishes, but looking at MIke V.’s dish and Eli’s dish, it was hard to believe that Robin’s was the best. A salad compared to Mike V.’s Rillete of Salmon and Sopa along with Confit Salmon and Ice Cream. Damn that looked delicious.

By the way, I will never get tired of the Brothers V banter.

Mike: “Want me to show you how to do it?”
Bryan: “I know how to do it.”

Bryan: “Michael’s baking his own bread and his own brioche. So, you know, show-off.”

Hilarious. I feel like they have a mutual respect for each other despite their competitive nature. They are both extremely talented, so it’s a fair fight in my opinion.

Moving on to the elimination challenge. I love that Ron is so excited about Paella. It does seem like it’s right up his alley. However, deconstruction is not right up his alley. Was it just me or did his sea bass look overcooked in the quick fire? And Padma got a bone. Ron has NEVER been successful cooking fish, so I can’t figure out why he keeps going back to it. It’s hard to watch, honestly.

Eli and Kevin are nice enough to notice that maybe Ron isn’t exactly understanding the challenge and offer him some really good advice. But the blank stare on his face, and his disastrously overcooked rice, show that it’s time for him to pack his knives. (I hope I look EXACTLY like Padma when I type that).

Obviously, this challenge is easy for some, but not for others. The V brothers have done this kind of thing before, and both put out solid plates. But, they can’t win every week or it’d be boring. However, I was completely intrigued by the components of Mike V’s dish and they barely showed how he did it. That’s some of the stuff I’d like to see. When he showcased his dish, the only thing I really knew was that he was baking bread. I would have liked to have seen how he put all that other stuff together. The plate looked amazing and he seemed to nail the challenge.

Isabella was one of the chef’s that I really felt wasn’t comfortable with the challenge. I think he is a good chef. He’s got the confidence, he produces some good things, but I see glimpses of lapses and confusion with him, and my instincts are telling me that he might be one of the first of the “top” to go. I wasn’t impressed at all with his interpretation of the Eggs Florentine. It’s also a little shocking that someone as cocky as he is was baffled by eggs.

On the other hand, Jen was also uncomfortable in the challenge, but somehow her skills always come through. She is the opposite of a cluster in the kitchen. She gives off this vibe that she can conquer anything. I really like the way she handles herself and how she is consistent every week.

Kevin once again produces a very well thought out dish full of flavors and wins the elimination challenge. Mike V’s dish looked more impressive on the plate, but from the sounds of it, the flavors in Kevin’s Deconstructed Baked Chicken and Chicken Croquetta, Mexican Coffee, Chili Flake, Pumpkin and Fig Jam were nothing short of amazing. My mouth is watering as I type that.

Ashley has totally stepped up her game over the last two weeks. The meat in her Deconstructed Pot Roast was cooked perfectly and the judges seemed to love it. It will be interesting to see if she maintains this hot streak.

The bottom 3 were the usual suspects – Ash, Laurine, Ron. Robin should have been there with them. Ron went home for his Deconstructed Seafood Paella with Chayote and Fennel. It was a mess. It was time for him to go.

There’s no point in doing a top and bottom 5 anymore. If I had to guess, over the next three weeks, Robin, Laurine and Ash will go home. After that, things will get interesting as we see how the rest fair. I have a feeling that Eli and Isabella will be exposed first. They’re doing their best to keep up with the V brothers and Kevin, but I really don’t think they’re quite at that level. Ashley and Jen are wild cards who could make a surprising run.

1. Introduce Yourself: I’m Erik Nicolaisen. I grew up in Portland, went to High School at Jesuit in Beaverton, and then on to the University of Oregon in 1998 where I had a rather forgettable collegiate football career. Unless of course you’re a fan of the legendary Oregon kickoff return team of 2000.

2. What have you been up to since graduating from Oregon? After football, I dove headlong into the theater program at the U of O. I always knew I wanted to make a career in acting, so I took an advertising job that relocated me to Los Angeles in 2003. After a few years, I quit the day job to pursue acting full time. I’ve had my share of mini successes (commercials, a weekly set at the Comedy Store, video games, TV & films roles, etc.) I like to think that my best is yet to come. I also write, direct, and produce original content. You can view some of my projects here: www.eriknicolaisen.com

3. Isn’t Chris Tetterton also in the entertainment business? Who is more famous? Yes, Chris is also in the entertainment business, and unfortunately for the two of us, we’re equally unrecognizable. Some nights I’ll invite him over to share in my canned beans, and other nights I’ll bus over to his tent for some Ramen. Misery enjoys company.

4. Describe one of the most funny moments while you were at Oregon? I have a million hilarious memories of my time with the Ducks, but most of the best stories aren’t acceptable in mixed company. I always loved how Faiva Talai, the Samoan JC transfer, would magically forget the English language when it came time to do extra conditioning after practice. Coach Ross would yell and yell as Faiva walked away, seemingly forgetting even his own name. My first year, embedded with the D-line was by far the most hilarious. The best comedy always comes from the insecure fat guys!

5. What is harder…Marriage or Fall Camp? Well, it’s only been 5 months, but I think I can safely say Fall Camp.

6. If you could go back to college and do anything differently, what would it be? I regret that I didn’t insist on playing offense – TE, Fullback, whatever. Believe it or not, I was recruited as a center. Yup, an offensive center. Bellotti thought that if I gained 30 lbs, I could be a successful Pac-10 center. Needless to say, I never did gain that weight, and I got stuck in a holding pattern on defense. I just wasn’t the same football player on that side of the ball. It’s easy to look back at 30 and clearly see what a 19-year-old should have done. Stupid kids.

7. Have you been to any games at Autzen since graduating? I went to a game in 2001, versus Stanford. It was pretty miserable on multiple levels. For starters, it was the Ducks only defeat that year. It was also a torrential downpour. Most importantly, it was the first time I’d attended a game since making the tough decision to quit playing football. The athlete turned spectator for the first time in life. A strange and somber day (I presume Mike Bellotti is experiencing a similar feeling). The only highlight of the afternoon, was decoding Coach Pellum’s defensive hand signals and then miraculously predicting the upcoming blitz. The folks sitting near me must have thought I was a witch.

8. What’s it like to see a new coach at Oregon after seeing Bellotti for so many years? It’s definitely strange. Almost as strange as our uniforms.

9. What do you miss most about Eugene: My teammates. Taylor’s or Rennie’s on a Saturday Night. The Rookie show. The first live practice of the season. That soup cart on campus. Chief & Dean. The UI freshman year. A $900 scholarship check and $150 rent (seriously, where are those days?). Wearing sweat pants for a month straight. The dorms. Being in shape. Bowl practices. The chill of fall and the smell of fireplaces. Being 18-21 years old.

10. Did you see either of Oregon’s first two games this season? What are your thoughts? I saw both games. My wife (also an alum) has come down with a SERIOUS case of Duck flu over the last few years, and her mood for the remainder of the weekend depends solely on the outcome of the Duck game on Saturday. The Boise St. game was perhaps the worst start in recent memory, but I highly doubt that’s the team we’ll see against Oregon State.(I was happy to see Wilcox’s Defense play well though.) The Ducks will get back on track. If not, I’m sending Coach Kelly an invoice for my wife’s anti-depressants.

11. What is your guilty pleasure television show? Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. The Simon Cowell of the cooking world visits failing restaurants and turns them around with a combination of brutal honesty & wonderful ideas. I love that show.

12. if you could say one thing to one of your Oregon coaches, who would it be and what would you say? Jimmy Radcliffe. I didn’t really understand it then, but the focus of his life and his commitment to the program are at the heart of U of O athletics. Its inspiring to see a man thanklessly devoted to what he loves to do. I’d say “Thanks for leading by example.”

Nothing gets after my heart more than a camping trip. How can you not have fun sleeping in a tent, sitting around a campfire drinking and playing horseshoes?

The elimination challenge started at 10 a.m., so the chefs retired early from their night of camping, which was kind of a bummer. Nothing brings out the crazy in people like camping.

(This is what happens when you pass out in your chair while camping. I dance on your face.)

Anyway, early on in the show, Michael V. makes a comment about not changing your cooking style for the judges or for the people that you are cooking for, but rather adjusting to the challenge. His point of view is that you always want to cook your food in your style, and, essentially you need to live and die by that.

I think this point of view is crucial for this competition. There has got to be an insane amount of pressure on the chefs when they arrive at Top Chef, and more often than not, you hear exit interviews from eliminated chefs in which they state that they got away from themselves. Or, the competition got the best of them. They tried to adapt too much to what they thought the judges would like, or, even worse, got wandering eyes and started noticing what the other chefs were doing and got completely off their game.

If you’re going to compete, you have to know your style, know your strengths, and above all, OWN IT. If you have been cooking a certain way for your entire career, you won’t win by trying to change in a 2-month (or however long they film) competition. There’s something to be said for those that get eliminated who went down cooking their way. Props.

Having said that, I can’t hate on Isabella this week. I also can’t imagine having to cook with cactus. Isabella stuck with what he knew (and he was one of few that had a clue what to do with cactus). From what I could tell through my TV screen, his plate looked really good. He knew what would work in terms of blanching or grilling to take out the goo, and opted to cure it like salmon. For this, I have to give him his props.

It seemed as though a handful of the chefs tried to hide the cactus in the form of a doughnut (Ashley), a sauce (Ron), a salsa (Laurine), grilled cheese (Ash). All of which were perfectly acceptable to me. I heart cheese. I heart doughnuts. I heart salsa. Not sure I need to taste the cactus.

When guest judge Tim Love asked Ron, “Did you have fun?”, I am pretty sure that was code for “this taste like balls.”

Love later called Ron’s crab rancid. So, maybe it was code for, “Your fish is nast.”

Anyway, the top 3 showcased some new talent in Mattin “I wasn’t even sure you could actually eat cactus” Noblia and Laurine “I wasn’t sure how to make cactus the star ingredient” Wickett along with Isabella. Of course, Isabella won. At this point, no one in the lower echelon has won a quick fire or an elimination challenge.

Speaking of Mattin, did I notice a red piercing in his chest/neck area? Perhaps he got tattoo envy and needed a quick fix.

On to the elimination challenge.

Let me start by saying, I am HUGE fan of camping. However, I’ve got to think it’s not super fun in the desert of Nevada – high winds, hot heat, dead bodies, etc. But, one of the BEST parts of camping is cooking and eating. I’ve never really tried a ceviche while camping, and now I know why.

The concept of the chef’s not knowing what they’ll be faced with is somewhat interesting, but I am not sure how it showcases the best from the worst. The chefs are told that their meals should be high end, so of course there will be expensive fish and savory meats. Very difficult to cook in these kinds of conditions, but thankfully, this is not a buffet-style challenge so they don’t need to keep an abundance of fish cool for an extended period of time.

I get that part of being a great chef is knowing how to adapt and put out a great meal no matter what. The desert challenge will show whether Michael V. can stay true to his word and not change his style, but rather adapt to the parameters of the challenge. And, can the other chefs put out THEIR food with nothing but a grill in a pit and a few cast iron utensils?

It was good to see Mike V. a little out of his element and sort of razzled. He never reached Jesse status, but at least he admitted that this wasn’t something he felt comfortable with.

Bryan is the one chef that has showed an ability to adapt to almost anything without becoming overwhelmed. It’s as if he steps back, assesses the situation, and adjusts accordingly. His poker face (ha, get it? Vegas, baby) is always on, but he FINALLY cracked a smile when talking about how he keeps beating his brother.

Awesome sibling rivalry, yet they clearly respect each other. At this point, I’m thinking there’s no way this season won’t come down to the two of them.

Even if they aren’t they best (Kevin has a case, as does Jen), it’s TV gold for Bravo. And fuck, they are both hot. I almost couldn’t handle it when BOTH of them rolled into judges table wearing their hats backwards. Am I the only one who is sold on this look?

I digress.

There is a point before the challenge even begins where Mike V. says that he doesn’t think the conditions are good for cooking or good for the food. We later see that Tom is literally scared to try a seafood ceviche because it looks raw, and gives Tim Love the “honor” of trying it first leading Tim to later proclaim he is sick from trying said dish.

I realize the chefs should be able to cook food properly under any circumstances, but what exactly was the point of throwing them in the desert? It seemed as if the judges were sketch on trying half of the dishes. Why not help each showcase their best? The cream will still rise to the top, it just won’t curdle.

So, as usual, Bryan seemed to conceptualize his dish just as though he was in a 5-star kitchen. He said something about staring at the grill in the desert and figuring out what he was going to do. It seemed to work out well, as he won the elimination challenge…again.

On the other hand, there was Mattin’s catastrophe on a plate (different-sized chunks of fish, some cooked, some not) and Robin’s grilled Romaine salad. If I see one more salad at this stage in the game….I mean, seriously. COME ON.

Props to Ashley for pulling it together. Her performance was reminiscent of her gnocchi. Aside from her spastic and negative vibe in the kitchen during past challenges, she seemed at ease in this challenge and was able to put that comfort onto a plate.

Laurine was also in the top along with Ashley, Bryan and Michael. I am OK with this, but it seems as though she was in the top because she was the one person who really utilized the grill. However, she made a baked potato. That was me camping circa 2004.

But, fine. I guess it’s better than a tuna sandwich and radish salad. Or a Gyro.

I don’t think this episode showed much of a shift in power despite the fact that Laurine had a little bit more exposure. The top are still at the top and the bottom are still, well, still producing uncooked fish and making salad.

Top 5
Mike V., Bryan V., Mike Isabella, Jen, Kevin

Bottom 5
Laurine, Ron, Robin, Ash, Eli

It almost feels like I’m going through detox. Hopefully, within a few days, the urges will go away and I’ll just be left with the faint tinges of desire from time to time.

I recently decided to delete my Facebook page. The reasons were many, none of which are all that important. Between Facebook, Twitter, my blackberry, my blog, Fantasy Football, and various mind-sucking internet pages, I was beginning to live my live in symbols and incomplete words. OMFG. <3.

This is not meant to be a post where I condemn those with Facebook pages and status updates and family photos.

Facebook serves a purpose.

Which is what I am now struggling with.

Here is where my dilemma lies. I was spending WAY too much time jumping around from profile to profile in an effort to keep tabs on various people. Sometimes certain comments on pages would annoy the fuck out of me and I would then spend 10 minutes talking myself down from writing a snarky comment. Truth is, I had 444 “friends” on Facebook. OF COURSE I don’t have the same political, moral or entertainment views as 444 other people. But, when I read things that I disagreed with, I’d be bothered. When I read things I agreed with or “liked”, I’d spend a few minutes trying to come up with a witty response or just give a little thumbs up.

Over time, I really only visited my close friends’ pages. The people that I actually like. The people that I actually speak to on the phone regularly. The people that are in my family, were in my wedding, that I visit anytime I have a free weekend, that I met in Oregon and love and miss dearly.

How the fuck does that make any sense? If I see these people and talk to them regularly, why do I need a Facebook page to be in touch with them?

Because this has become one of the easiest ways to share information with the people you care about. Which I am completely fine with. I just don’t know I how ended up with all these people as “friends” and when I realized that I was sharing the most intimate details of my life with them, and them with me, I became confused by it all. And was spending far too much brain power on it.

Consider this. We went to Michigan this weekend and so many things were happening around me that I wanted to share with the Facebook world. I wanted to post photos of the Big House, the BUS tail gate, my Michigan cheek sticker and the scene as the game ended. I guarantee I would have missed half of what I saw if my head was down waiting for Facebook to load so that I could post a picture.

It was our moment. We were IN the moment. I didn’t need anyone to “like” the photo or “like” the status to have it be more validated. (This does not mean that I didn’t text a few people photos throughout the day because I was so excited about being there. For that I apologize. I am pretty sure texting them 100 times each was a way to get my “Facebook” fix. I HAD to tell SOMEONE!).

Anyway, my hand was shaking as I contemplated the big delete. But, but, but…how is so-and-so going to find me? How am I going to share all my photos? How will I communicate with friends and family that live far away?

And then I realized something. There was a pre-Facebook era. It’s called email, talking on the phone, texting. The people that I need to communicate with – I know how to find them.

While I really do enjoy this show, this season will probably really start when it’s narrowed down to about 5 or 6 chefs.

The top five are really good. And once they start competing against each other, things will get competitive and exciting. It seems like there have been a lot of teamwork challenges, and usually the best align themselves with the best.

Was there any question who the two winning teams were going to be this week?

None.

However, this is the week that I felt like Michael Isabella showed some major flaws. Bryan conceptualized that meal top to bottom, including the Deconstructed Bearnaise that was supposed to be Mike Isabella’s contribution. Mike seemed very confused and out of his league in trying to keep up with Bryan’s vision. In no way did he seem like his confident self. He seemed overwhelmed by Bearnaise, which was a little surprising considering how badass he views himself.

What can you say about Mike V. and Jen? They worked well together, looked organized, and were able to come together to make a great looking plate. However, I sensed some flirting at the judges table, which bumps Jen down on my favs list. Kidding.

It was probably a good thing that Jesse went home before cooking for that table. I think the pressure may have been a bit too much for her. Hector going home because of the meat was a good call, but it could have just as easily been Ashley or Mattin. That dish was a mess, top to bottom. They probably felt they needed to send home a male at this point.

The high stakes quick fires are intriguing. On the one hand, having immunity is a great thing. On the other hand, I think if I am Kevin I would have liked to have had the opportunity to cook for the best. Look how it turned out for Bryan – he’ll get to cook in one of the finest kitchens and learn from the best for one week. I think I would have rather had $15,000 than immunity this week. Ballsy, sure, but I don’t think Kevin would have embarrassed himself if he had cooked.

By the way, why do I feel like Ashley is ALWAYS looking for a blender and flipping her shit in the kitchen?

Top 5
Michael V., Bryan V., Jen, Kevin, Ash

Bottom 5
Ashley, Robin, Ron, Mattin, Laurine

Because I couldn’t find a former player with a Purdue connection, I went a different route with this week’s Q&A.

An old friend gave me a heads up that one of Oregon’s assistant video coordinators worked at Purdue before joining the Ducks’ staff in 2008.

I thought he might be able to give some good insight into what his job entails and how the two programs differ. At this point, football is basically a year-round sport and the people that work with the program – marketing, public relations, video, etc. – work very long hours with almost no days off.

So, I really appreciate Eric taking the time to answer the following questions.

1. Introduce Yourself: My name is Eric Day. I am the assistant video coordinator for the University of Oregon Athletics. I mainly work with the football team, but do work with almost all teams. I grew up in Indiana as a Purdue fan my whole life. I graduated from Purdue with a degree in Statistics and minors in English and Economics in May 2007. So my education has nothing to do with what I do for a living. I worked for Purdue football as a student for the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons. I worked full time for the 2007 season. I moved to Oregon in June 2008. This is my second season in Oregon.

2. Explain your duties as video coordinator: I’m responsible for making sure the coaches have all the video they need to be prepared for every game. All of our video is digital, so I basically maintain a network of digital video. The coaches watch every practice as soon as they walk off the practice field. They also want every game we play plus every game our opponents play. They also watch a lot of NFL or other college teams in the off season. The video is also linked to a database, so each play has a ton of information attached to it that includes down, distance, play name, or anything else they want. They can then use that information to game plan and make reports. The coaches spend a lot of time watching video, I just make sure it’s there for them.

3. You’ve worked for Purdue football and Oregon football. What’s the biggest difference between the two programs? I would have to say the biggest difference is national exposure. If Purdue went 10-3 last year and won the capitol one bowl, they wouldn’t be on SI or anything like that. At Oregon, we started using helmet cams on the QBs’ helmets this year. We weren’t the first school to do it, but it got more publicity than when other schools did it. I don’t know if it’s because of the jerseys, but the national media seems to like Oregon better than Purdue, even when Purdue was having success.

4. Be honest, will you be sporting a Purdue t-shirt under your Oregon gear on gameday? I will not be wearing any Purdue gear whatsoever. I usually wear a Purdue sweatshirt Saturday morning when I watch the Purdue game on tv, but I won’t be doing that this weekend. I love Purdue, and I will always love Purdue. I hope they win every game, except for when they play the Ducks.

5. Best memory of Coach Tiller? Coach Tiller is one of the greatest people I’ve ever been lucky enough to interact with. My favorite memories of him are just day-to-day interactions that aren’t entertaining enough to write in this blog. However, my most interesting memory would be when he called me in his office the day after my car caught on fire during practice. It’s a long story…don’t ask. However, I will say this about Coach Tiller. There seemed to be a large group of Purdue fans that loved to give him a hard time as if he wasn’t good enough. They quickly forgot where Purdue football was before he took the reigns. Coach Tiller brought in a level of success that Purdue football had never seen before and may never see again. 10 bowls in 12 years with one rose bowl after Purdue had only 5 bowl games before he came. I know there are more bowl games now, but it was almost embarrassing to be a Purdue football fan in the early to mid 90′s. I hope all fans give him the credit he deserves now.

6. You moved to Eugene from Indiana. What was your first impression of Eugene? I first noticed how green everything was. When you look north from the top of the press box, there are tress everywhere, but I know there’s houses everywhere there, too. I love Eugene. It’s a great place to live. And after a year of the weather, I’m kind of mad at my parents for making me endure Indiana summers and winters. Although when you live there, you don’t know any better. It makes me laugh when the students that work for me tried to warn me about the “horrible” winter here. 40 and rainy is way better than 15 and snowy any day. I went back to Indiana in January for a week, and the car at the airport said it was -10. People that have lived here their whole life don’t even know that temperature exists. I wear shorts year round here. Plus if I miss sledding, I just hop over to the pass and sled/snowboard for a day.

7. How do the coaches fare with the video technology? How many times are you called in for computer assistance? I am called into their offices all day for computer assistance. Half the time it’s because they messed up, the other half is because the program/network is messed up. I will give them credit though. The software we are using is very powerful and very sophisticated and none of them grew up using computers. Some coaches are better than others, but all of them know enough to get done what they want to get done.

8. Fill in the blank: Autzen Stadium _______________ Autzen stadium is great place to watch college football. It is also the loudest place I’ve ever been for a football game, and I’ve been to Michigan, Penn St, and Ohio St. I hope our fans show Purdue just how loud it can be. I watch from the top of the press box, so I can see it all. I have the best seat in the house because there is nothing I can’t see and I don’t have to crane my neck to see a certain part of the field.

9. You haven’t sent any video to Purdue have you? I have sent lots of video to Purdue. I sent all of our games from 2008 and our Boise St game from 2009. But they sent me their games in exchange and that’s normal. Besides that, I haven’t sent them anything.

10. What is the one thing about Purdue football that will surprise Oregon fans? I hope I’m right since I haven’t checked this fact in awhile, but I’m pretty sure Purdue has had more starts by alumni in the NFL than any other college during the super bowl era. I found that to be surprising. There is definitely a history there of good players. I just hope Purdue can keep the momentum of the Joe Tiller era going.

Honestly. Pasta Salad?

I was seething through the whole show. Laef was at his city league basketball game so I had the pleasure of yelling at the TV and not getting the eye roll, but I almost wanted an eye roll. It’s not that I don’t love pasta salad, but what they put on that plate is what anyone on a budget or anyone who has gone to a summer barbecue has whipped up in 12 minutes.

Last week I mentioned that Preeti showed her lack of passion by being so overly nonchalant about the marriage challenge. I think her acceptance of a pasta salad and her “performance” at judges table reverberated that. Start to finish she was oblivious to how craptastique that dish was.

At this point, the leaders of the pack are starting to separate themselves. It’s almost painful how obvious it is that there is a huge gap between those at the top and those at the bottom.

After watching last night, Jen has emerged as my favorite right now. Although, Michael V. is a very close second. I am not saying Jen is the favorite to win, but her command of the kitchen during the main challenge was pretty impressive. I wish I had an ounce of her assertiveness. She has definitely positioned herself among the leaders and doesn’t seem to be intimidated by anyone.

It was a smart idea for them to break off into teams, and I liked the fact that Michael Isabella ended up in the top and bottom. It was clear that he threw the shrimp salad together thinking he could hide behind that Braised Pork Belly with Soy Mustard and Peanuts.

Michael needed to sweat it out a little, but I knew there was NO way he’d go home before one of the two that made that pasta salad. I don’t think he’s as rock solid as I thought in the first couple of weeks, but he’s not one of the worst.

Once again, Jesse made fundamental mistakes and didn’t know how to fix them. I don’t understand how you can taste a soup, realize that it’s way too spicy and not balance it out with something. She knew it was potent and served it anyway. Yet, she beats herself up (literally…did anyone else notice the interview clip where she was hitting herself in the head and belittling her performance? GAH) about being in the bottom.

Who knows if she’ll be the next to go home or not because there are a handful of weak chefs that will clearly be plucked off one by one. The clam chowder debacle solidified my thoughts that Ron is also weak. When he said that he and Jesse “would take one for the team” and let everyone else cook while they waited, I wanted to stab myself. That’s not how you win. That’s how you get run over.

All in all, I thought they did a nice job with the challenge and most of the dishes looked really yummy. Jen really did a good job of keeping things organized and the chefs seemed to work well in the teams. That was good to see even though they weren’t asked to be in teams. It also helped that they got to pick who they wanted to partner up with. It’d be a lot more dramatic if Mike Isabella was teamed up with Jesse or if Michael V. had to pair up with Laurine. That would make for an interesting twist.

Until next week.

Top 5

Michael V., Bryan V. Kevin, Eli and Jen.

Bottom 5

Ron, Robin, Laurine, Jesse, Ashley (It should actually be a bottom 4 because I think Ashley stepped it up a bit with her gnocchi and homemade ricotta in the quickfire).

What they say is true.

Right after you get married, the “are you pregnant yet?” questions start pouring in.

I wrote about how we’re not quite trying just yet over at Aiming Low today.

But, we are at least talking about it. We talk about names, where we want to go on family vacations and how many we’ll have.

We visualize the little peep in a Cardinal onesie (OK, Laef visualizes that).

We wonder, will the peep be athletic? No. Will the peep be tall? Probably. Will the peep be a twig? Probably. Will the peep like to sleep during the night? HOPEFULLY.

It’s all a big ball of uncertainty.

And, I can’t believe we’re even talking about this.