Yet, here we are, weeping.
Ill never be over it.
Since doctors say its always best to eat your feelings, lets dive right into the food.
Credit: Greg Gayne/Fox
Weve got lamb belly, garlic buds, baby octopus, vintage red wine, and so much more.
Seriously, the guy looks hes doing a permanent Charlie Brown sad walk.
When any of the judges attempt to talk to him, he hangs his head in disappointment.
Gordon tells the guy to get a grip.
It must work at least a little bit because David puts forth a delicious upscale fish dish.
The judges love the presentation and find the fish to be cooked perfectly.
Davids so overwhelmed by the reception, he starts to cry.
Upscale food can do that to a person.
Shaun is clearly in his element here, and his double-protein dish looks beautiful.
We all know what youre thinking though, sir.
Shes a country cook and proud of it.
All the judges rave over her hummus-stuffed squash blossoms and the nice cook on her fish.
Wouldnt it be great to see the Kentucky girl take this one?
Unfortunately, the challenge goes as expected, andShaunsrefined dish wins over the judges.
Such is life, I guess.
Its upscale versus very, very low scale.
Shaun gets to pick which chef gets what.
Hes not messing around, either.
Shaun wants to take out some of his big competition, mainly: Terry, Tanorria, and Brandi.
This leaves some nice little cans of salmon for Dan, David, Tanorria, and Terry.
The strategy is a little devious, but smart.
And it pays off in the end.
Gordons warns the cooks of one simple truth: Do not underestimate Brandi Mudd.
Shaun does, believing shes inexperienced with fresh fish, and Brandi knows it.
It only pushes her harder, and in the end, she puts forth a delicious salmon dish.
Shauns plans to trip up Brandi are unsuccessful, and our country girl easily slides into the Top 8.
If the funk wasnt washed off before, it must certainly be now.
One of them will be going home.
Everyone will be really sad about it.
Terry Mueller, Long Island, NY
Salmon Cakes With Dill Aioli and Baked SalmonCrostini
Oh, Terry.
Terry, Terry, Terry.
His dish is, surprisingly, a bit of a disaster.
You know what, Terry?
Youre too good for canned salmon, anyway!
Gordon looks just as dismayed as I feel when he gets Tanorrias dish in front of him.
To him, it looks terrible and tastes just as bad.
Its undercooked and gooey inside; she made some big technical mistakes.
How did we get here, people?
Terry and Tanorria as our bottom two?
Terry is the Scarecrow to my Dorothy, and I shall miss him most of all.
Hour two of thisMasterChefextravaganza is all skills test, all the time.
They mean business, you guys.
After the first test, four chefs will be sent to safety.
Those four will compete against one another and well be left with a bottom two.
The two remaining chefs will battle head-to-head and the loser will be eliminated.
Potatoes and drama, people.
Thats whatMasterChefis all about.
Its all about execution.
In the end, some cooks do much, much better than others.
All of them leave lumps in their small servings.
The judges have to make a cut, though, and they vote based on flavors.
Tanorria and Dan make it through and join their friends upstairs.
They do, however, both make major technical mistakes before handing over their plates to the judges.
Katie, for seemingly no reason at all, sprinkles raw sage on her dish after plating her gnocchi.
This is a no-no.
Raw sage is bitter and will mess with the overall taste.
The dumplings are obviously too big, and the inside isnt cooked all the way through.
They needed just a few more seconds to get that perfect consistency.
Is it just me or is everyone crying as the lovely fireman leaves the kitchen?
Gordon and Christina look as though they immediately regret this decision.
Losing Terry and Eric in one night is tough to stomach.
But seriously, TERRY?
Heres hoping the country girl can bring this one home.
