Top Chef - Box lunch

We join our chefs this week as they are coming down from the wedding. Andrew is still on a culinary high saying he is either going to stab somebody or cook some amazing food. I'm hoping for the amazing food. Sam Talbot from season two is the guest judge this week. He's still a cutie! The quickfire challenge is to make a "sexy" salad in 45 minutes. The chefs get busy and come up with creations like, Antonia's poached egg and wild mushroom salad with bacon vinegrette, Lisa's banana, squid, lobster salad with grapefruit vinegrette sounded like a mess to me. Spike wins the challenge with his sensual beef salad with pineapple, yum! He doesn't win immunity but is told that he will get an advantage in the elimination challenge. The elimination challenge is to make a healthy box lunch for Chicago cops. They are to take a typical policeman's box lunch and make it healthy. Spike's advantage for this challenge - he can chose up to four ingredients that no one else can use. They go to Whole Foods to get their supplies. They have to make something incorporating a vegetable, fruit, protien and a whole grain. Chefs have to wait until Spike picks his advantage ingredients before they can shop. Spike is too much enjoying his shopping waving his picks in front of the others. He picks chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and bread so no one else can use these ingredients. The girls grumble that they better see Spike use all of those ingredients. Richard and Andrew keep changing their recipes as Spike picks each ingredient. Richard decides on lentil and tuna burritos while Andrew makes sushi using pine nuts and parsnips as the rice with salmon and veggies as the filling. Dale makes bison rolls using cabbage in place of lettuce and Lisa comes up with edamame and shrimp stir fry with hot sauce but says that someone burned her rice. Everyone pretty much used the fruit as a side or in a dessert. As everyone is cooking, the camera keeps panning over to the microwaves showing the GE logo. I guess GE gave them a big sponsorship. It's lunch time and the cops come in for the feast. I kept looking for my husband's cousin who is a Chicago cop, but I didn't she her. Hi Tara! As they make their selections, Spike only puts out two or three of his dishes telling everyone they are going fast so they better grab one. Did anyone bother to tell Spike that it doesn't matter how many he serves but that it has to taste good? Richard keeps asking everyone, "do you like burritos?" which I thought was pretty clever, get them in the mind set that they are eating high calorie burritos instead of healthy ones. As the judges come in, Chef Tom is confident the chefs will be serving healthy tasty dishes. Chef Tom tastes Lisa's dish with the hot sauce which brings tears to his eyes. What? Don't like spicy? Andrew's sushi did not hold together at all and wasn't very tasty and the judges get confused about Spike's lack of using the lettuce and tomatoes in his dish which was chicken salad. At judges table, the judges like Stephanie's meatball and mushroom soup and Dale's bison rolls with mango and cucumbers. Dale wins with a prize of a magnum of Rutherford Hill Merlot and tickets to visit the winery in Napa Valley. Nice prize! Can I go? I love Napa and Rutherford Hill Merlot! Andrew, Spike and Lisa are the bottom three. Andrew starts questioning the rules which doesn't sit well with the judges. Andrew did not use a grain in his dish opting to use the ground pine nuts & parsnips in place of rice. Lisa still says someone burned her rice when it's possible she did it herself. Spike seemed surprised that he is one of the bottom three and the judges remind him that he used his advantage to the detriment of the other chefs. They also said that he just made chicken salad to which Spike challenged the judges saying what do they know about salty and sweet combinations. Looks like they know quite a bit Spike, that's why they are sitting at the table and you aren't! The judges had not commented on Andrew's lack of using a grain in his dish so Lisa points this out to the judges. Andrew jumps on Lisa for this then Lisa starts to say "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you didn't use....." when Andrew cuts her off saying thanks for calling me out. In the back room waiting for the judges decision, Andrew goes after Lisa for calling him out and Lisa fires back then Andrew tells her she shouldn't whine about her burnt rice. Go to your corners kids, it's over! As Andrew tries to brush off the tire tracks from the bus he was thrown under, the judges tell him to pack his knives and go. Hopefully the guys and gals of the Chicago Police Department had a good time! Double D