Reprinted with permission from www.healthywaytocook.com

It’s Episode Infinity of MasterChef, and the contestants are multiplying. There are seven count them seven cooks left, and they are faced with a Mystery Box containing a t-bone steak. The cooks have forty-five minutes to cook a steak dish. Blah blah blah, brussel sprouts, onions, fingerling potatoes, freshly ground pepper, sizzling grills, and time’s up.

The judges ask to taste Jordan’s dish, which is a strip steak with celery root and parsley puree. It’s more rare than medium rare, but the steak is well-seasoned and the caramelized onions are a nice touch. Next up is Luca and his filet mignon and sirloin with potatoes and haricot verts. Joe calls it top notch bistro steak, and Gordon is equally impressed. Finally the judges taste Krissi’s pan seared steak with pommes du Krissi. She seared the steak on a cast iron skillet, and Graham thinks it’s delicious. The winner is Krissi, who will have a huge advantage in the Elimination Test. She does not have to cook in the challenge. And, the theme is “fresh food.” There’s a quail, a pigeon, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, and a turkey. All live, and I’m really hoping Gordon doesn’t bring out an axe. Krissi gets to choose who cooks what.

The contestants have five minutes to collect their birds that are loose in the pantry, each wearing a tag with a drawing of the corresponding cook. Thankfully the birds are going back in their cages, and pre-killed and prepped birds are waiting for the cooks on their workstations. Natasha has the pheasant (which we are told dries out quickly), Luca must work with a turkey, Jordan has a quail, Bri is cooking a pigeon, Jessie has the chicken, and James gets to cook delicious duck.

Jessie slacked off in this challenge, making chicken breast with mashed potatoes and succotash. Joe thinks it’s dry and boring, and Graham says it looks like frozen dinner. Natasha prepared pheasant breast with mushroom risotto and white asparagus. The risotto is excellent and the pheasant is cooked perfectly, as if by magic. James made togarashi rubbed duck with mushrooms and kimchi. Graham gives it a “good job.” Luca cooked pancetta wrapped turkey with sweet potato puree and mushrooms, which is not a classic Italian dish. Joe finds the preparation creative and enjoys the flavor. Bri made a stuffed pigeon with vegetable couscous. According to Gordon, it is perfectly cooked, moist, and delicious. Next is Jordan and his pan seared quail with root vegetable stew. It’s raw, and not in a trendy food kind of way.

Bri and Natasha have the top dishes and will be team captains in the next challenge. The worst dishes are from Jesse and Jordan. Jessie’s dish was bland and uninspiring, and Jordan’s quail was just a pile of salmonella. Jessie is safe, and Jordan is going home.

Next week, the cooks get to experience a real restaurant.

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