HAPPY DAY-BEFORE
VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
The Daily News
1 We are in and out today.
2 Short day.
3 Not a moment too soon.
4 Thank Gawd for Kids' Baking Championship.
5 That was on last night.
6 Arguably better than Chopped, and that ain't easy.
7 The challenge was to make Dessert Imposters. So if this were you, and you were a kid, you would need to make a pizza that looks like a pizza, but which is actually a cookie, or a mashed-up cake decorated to look like a pizza.
8 The kids talk just like adults, only they are shorter, smarter and more honest.
9 They still believe that life has a built-in Fairness Doctrine.
10 I had nothing else to do but to watch true genius in action. The ageless Valerie Bertinelli and the impish and almost irascible Duff Goldman hosted. They play the perfect hosts to this fun and tantalizing show. For instance, one girl named Natalie used a torch to brown these mock sliders. She said that the torch made it happen, prompting Goldman to comment, "Natalie? It wasn't the wand, it was the Wizard!" This flew over Natalie's head, prompting her to respond, "I don't quite know what he meant by that..." And that is the perfect response.
11 Here is coverage of the show; it can bring it better than I can!
12
‘Kids Baking Championship’ finds ‘Dessert Imposters’ on Food Network
Kids Baking Challenge with Duff Goldman & Valerie Bertinelli
Photo courtesy of Food Network used with permission
Tonight’s episode of “Kids Baking Championship” starring Master Baker Duff Goldman and actress, cookbook author Valerie Bertinelli
is titled “Dessert Imposters.” This competition bake-off starting with
eight kids is now down to six, as last week viewers saw Anthony and
Caroline eliminated. The following players are still in the competition:
Annika Coffman is 11 and is from Boise, Idaho; she loves to bake and when not doing that, she is a black belt in tai kwon do and a competitive cheerleader. She is making raspberry-swirl mini cheesecakes and milk chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.
Cody Vasquez, 12 is from Gilbert, Arizona. His family owns eight different Mexican restaurants. He won a competition representing his state in a Kids Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. He even met Michelle Obama at the kid’s dinner at the White House. He is making a lemon pound cake and a razzleberry pie.
Hollis Johnson, 12 is from Jacksonville, Florida and has been lucky enough to travel all around the world with her family. She even baked in places she visited. She is baking strawberry cupcakes with Buttercream frosting and an Italian lemon almond cake that contains polenta in the batter.
Jackson Fujimori is 11 and from Torrance, California, and he is here to prove that kids can do whatever adults can do. His contributions are strawberry mascarpone tarts and berry velvet cupcakes using purple dye with a blueberry cream cheese frosting.
Natalie Venable, 11 is from Westlake Village, California. She has been cooking since she was four, and her friends love her creations. When not baking, she does aerial acrobatics. She is making lemon raspberry tarts and chocolate espresso cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Payton Palaez is 10, and from San Francisco, California. He has his own business in the San Francisco area called Chez Pay . He is making chocolate cake, and snicker doodle cookies.
When the kids enter the studio, they see what looks like a bucket of fried chicken, a salad and two fried eggs with bacon. Duff then tells them that they are really desserts made to look like other foods. He showed them that the fried chicken was really a brownie molded into the shape of a drumstick. Duff subsequently put a dowel in the bottom to frost the brownie with yellow icing and then rolled it in cereal crumbs. To make a white chicken foot, he used hard fondant called gum paste and fashioned a foot with two toes. It looked so identical to the real thing the kids were surprised.
Valerie then told them that they were going to make “Dessert Imposters,” not those shown there, but on ones that were inside envelopes. There would have two hours to create the item on the card inside. It will determine who stays and who goes home. This week one kid will go home. Peyton was thrilled that he got pizza; Cody got a taco; Jackson got spaghetti & meatballs; Annika got sushi that did not make her happy; Hollis got a bagel, and Natalie got a burger and that did not make her happy either.
Peyton is making a giant snicker doodle cookie for the base, but Duff questioned how it would slice; would it crumble? Natalie was making her burger, but apparently she does not eat meat, or at least burgers, so this is not making her excited about the challenge. Hollis is making a pot a choux dough for the bagels to make them light and airy; Cody is thrilled to have tacos because his family owns Mexican restaurants. Annika has decided to face the sushi and use the picture as a reference. Jackson is going to make the spaghetti out of gum paste, but putting it through the pasta roller is a hard job because it is too thick, but he found the extruder and used the spaghetti attachment and found it worked perfectly.
As time was running down, Duff and Valerie added one more challenge. They had cookie dough, pie crust and brownie mix to create a side kick for their imposter. If they do not need the items on their cart, they can use anything else. Payton was making garlic bread for his pizza, but the first batch did not do well. The second try was not to his liking either.
When time was up, Cody brought his tacos to the judges, and they loved them. Natalie brought her hamburger sliders with dyed coconut lettuce and licorice wheels for tomatoes. The buns were cupcakes that she torched the tops, so they looked real. Both Duff and Valerie loved them, except for the torching on the tops. Peyton’s pizza was next, and the pizza cut just like a real pizza, but the garlic bread looked more like spring rolls. Hollis brought her bagels, which were amazing, but the tart shell she used for the orange juice cup was not a winner. Jackson and his spaghetti and meatballs and his breadsticks were a thrill. Annika’s sushi was a fun treat, but not the best of the bunch because the fondant on the outside had too much cornstarch on it. Now the judges had to decide, and the best two were Natalie and Jackson. They gave the best of the competition to Natalie. Unfortunately, the worst two were Annika and Peyton and the kid leaving the competition was Peyton, but he was the fifth-best kid baker in America, so he left with his head held high on this episode of “Kids Baking Championship.”
13 And there you have it. Peyton in particular left as the only kid cut, but announced proudly to anyone listening that he was the "fifth-best baker in America." And he meant it. The entire thing gave such hope for the future of America. I broke into a head-nodding smile.
14 I never would have thought a show that dumb would restore my faith in mankind, in womankind, in kidkind, and all the rest. Refreshing stuff for this Old Brown Shoe.
15 Somewhere in there, I missed American Idol. Fear not; it's taped. I can still have a look and get back, if anyone is worried, which...who would?
16 Moving On, Part One: So tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
17 Long wait.
18 They've been on this one since the day after Christmas.
19 Ah, the students are all excited about it.
20 Well...
21 At least an eighth of them are.
22 Always an awkward occasion to many. Hey, it doesn't have to be. Here are a few tips on how to survive the Valentine:
23 Buy your flowers today and your candy on Monday. You'll save a bundle.
24 It should be a smiling day for everyone.
25 They should call it Love day. That's nicer in many ways.
26 Celebrating the concept of love is a nice thing.
27 Maybe it's time to put the cynicism aside and count a few blessings.
28 We're all here for a finite period of time.
29 Spread a little love this weekend. Smile that you have people who love you. Smile that many are still around, and that you can enjoy laughter and good times. There's a lot of good; grab it while you still have a beating heart.
30 I gottago. Soften up and embrace the concept.
31 Live life.
32 Love life.
33 Have a fun Valentine's.
34 I'll be back a week from Monday; it's Winter Break.
35 See you again.
36 Peace.
Annika Coffman is 11 and is from Boise, Idaho; she loves to bake and when not doing that, she is a black belt in tai kwon do and a competitive cheerleader. She is making raspberry-swirl mini cheesecakes and milk chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.
Cody Vasquez, 12 is from Gilbert, Arizona. His family owns eight different Mexican restaurants. He won a competition representing his state in a Kids Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. He even met Michelle Obama at the kid’s dinner at the White House. He is making a lemon pound cake and a razzleberry pie.
Hollis Johnson, 12 is from Jacksonville, Florida and has been lucky enough to travel all around the world with her family. She even baked in places she visited. She is baking strawberry cupcakes with Buttercream frosting and an Italian lemon almond cake that contains polenta in the batter.
Jackson Fujimori is 11 and from Torrance, California, and he is here to prove that kids can do whatever adults can do. His contributions are strawberry mascarpone tarts and berry velvet cupcakes using purple dye with a blueberry cream cheese frosting.
Natalie Venable, 11 is from Westlake Village, California. She has been cooking since she was four, and her friends love her creations. When not baking, she does aerial acrobatics. She is making lemon raspberry tarts and chocolate espresso cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Payton Palaez is 10, and from San Francisco, California. He has his own business in the San Francisco area called Chez Pay . He is making chocolate cake, and snicker doodle cookies.
When the kids enter the studio, they see what looks like a bucket of fried chicken, a salad and two fried eggs with bacon. Duff then tells them that they are really desserts made to look like other foods. He showed them that the fried chicken was really a brownie molded into the shape of a drumstick. Duff subsequently put a dowel in the bottom to frost the brownie with yellow icing and then rolled it in cereal crumbs. To make a white chicken foot, he used hard fondant called gum paste and fashioned a foot with two toes. It looked so identical to the real thing the kids were surprised.
Valerie then told them that they were going to make “Dessert Imposters,” not those shown there, but on ones that were inside envelopes. There would have two hours to create the item on the card inside. It will determine who stays and who goes home. This week one kid will go home. Peyton was thrilled that he got pizza; Cody got a taco; Jackson got spaghetti & meatballs; Annika got sushi that did not make her happy; Hollis got a bagel, and Natalie got a burger and that did not make her happy either.
Peyton is making a giant snicker doodle cookie for the base, but Duff questioned how it would slice; would it crumble? Natalie was making her burger, but apparently she does not eat meat, or at least burgers, so this is not making her excited about the challenge. Hollis is making a pot a choux dough for the bagels to make them light and airy; Cody is thrilled to have tacos because his family owns Mexican restaurants. Annika has decided to face the sushi and use the picture as a reference. Jackson is going to make the spaghetti out of gum paste, but putting it through the pasta roller is a hard job because it is too thick, but he found the extruder and used the spaghetti attachment and found it worked perfectly.
As time was running down, Duff and Valerie added one more challenge. They had cookie dough, pie crust and brownie mix to create a side kick for their imposter. If they do not need the items on their cart, they can use anything else. Payton was making garlic bread for his pizza, but the first batch did not do well. The second try was not to his liking either.
When time was up, Cody brought his tacos to the judges, and they loved them. Natalie brought her hamburger sliders with dyed coconut lettuce and licorice wheels for tomatoes. The buns were cupcakes that she torched the tops, so they looked real. Both Duff and Valerie loved them, except for the torching on the tops. Peyton’s pizza was next, and the pizza cut just like a real pizza, but the garlic bread looked more like spring rolls. Hollis brought her bagels, which were amazing, but the tart shell she used for the orange juice cup was not a winner. Jackson and his spaghetti and meatballs and his breadsticks were a thrill. Annika’s sushi was a fun treat, but not the best of the bunch because the fondant on the outside had too much cornstarch on it. Now the judges had to decide, and the best two were Natalie and Jackson. They gave the best of the competition to Natalie. Unfortunately, the worst two were Annika and Peyton and the kid leaving the competition was Peyton, but he was the fifth-best kid baker in America, so he left with his head held high on this episode of “Kids Baking Championship.”
13 And there you have it. Peyton in particular left as the only kid cut, but announced proudly to anyone listening that he was the "fifth-best baker in America." And he meant it. The entire thing gave such hope for the future of America. I broke into a head-nodding smile.
14 I never would have thought a show that dumb would restore my faith in mankind, in womankind, in kidkind, and all the rest. Refreshing stuff for this Old Brown Shoe.
15 Somewhere in there, I missed American Idol. Fear not; it's taped. I can still have a look and get back, if anyone is worried, which...who would?
16 Moving On, Part One: So tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
17 Long wait.
18 They've been on this one since the day after Christmas.
19 Ah, the students are all excited about it.
20 Well...
21 At least an eighth of them are.
22 Always an awkward occasion to many. Hey, it doesn't have to be. Here are a few tips on how to survive the Valentine:
23 Buy your flowers today and your candy on Monday. You'll save a bundle.
24 It should be a smiling day for everyone.
25 They should call it Love day. That's nicer in many ways.
26 Celebrating the concept of love is a nice thing.
27 Maybe it's time to put the cynicism aside and count a few blessings.
28 We're all here for a finite period of time.
29 Spread a little love this weekend. Smile that you have people who love you. Smile that many are still around, and that you can enjoy laughter and good times. There's a lot of good; grab it while you still have a beating heart.
30 I gottago. Soften up and embrace the concept.
31 Live life.
32 Love life.
33 Have a fun Valentine's.
34 I'll be back a week from Monday; it's Winter Break.
35 See you again.
36 Peace.
~H~
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