Girls Gone Wild

3 girls in the finals??? This is nuts, and truthfully, I think (aside from Dale) that it is totally justified.

OK, to the Quickfire. Again, bravo to Bravo for a creative yet terrifying task. My steak would have looked like roadkill. Spike rocked it, but then again he comes from a line of butchers. However, when he knew he had it made, he didn't just humbly sit by, he had to let everyone know just how much he nailed it. Being humble is definitely not a prerequisite to being one of most of today's famous chefs, but it certainly is nice to see. Craft is my favorite restaurant in New York, and Tom Colicchio has the nature of your next door neighbor -- no braggadocio. Spike could learn a thing or two from Tom.

I was surprised at all of the fondling of the meats. People were grilling and basting and pan-roasting and slathering their steaks. The best steaks I've had have been simply prepared, on the grill or under a broiler, well-seasoned and topped with butter. Granted, I'm not a steak aficionado, and I did learn a thing or two on this one.

Richard was out of his comfort zone here. I've been mentioning all season that he needs to master the art of doing something straightforward, and this simple steak stumped him. To Spike's credit, his steak was simply grilled, and I will definitely try the rosemary under the meat trick next time I grill. He deserved this win.

Antonia did very well with her grilling then roasting then slathering and basting with butter. She has done well on the old-school straightforward tasks. Her steakhouse salad with bacon and poached egg was a hit a few weeks back.

Stephanie. Stephanie. Stephanie. I really think she's the best and very well may win, but this Quickfire is her Achilles heel. She's always calm, but maybe she needs to get a little fired up during this challenge.

Richard's steak was undercooked. I could easily be guilty of this. Cooking the perfect steak is harder than doing one of his "tricked out" transformations evidently. I disagreed with him when he said that going home at this point would be no different than earlier in the competition. He has proven himself, the world knows he's a good chef, and irrespective, he was going nowhere. He did shine a lot brighter in the beginning though.

Lisa did a good job on the steak. She's a tough broad. I imagine she's eaten and fired up a few pieces of meat in her day.

Now to the main event: Spike's downfall is never using his advantage wisely. He could have made anything he wanted, and he took the safe route of the tomahawk that he had so recently prepared, and the stupid route of frozen scallops. Also, he chose to do a dish that Tom Colicchio has mastered. Maybe he should have read Tom Collichio's cookbook before he arrived. Don't try to sing Barbara Streisand and don't attempt to trump Tom's scallops with mushrooms.

Lisa: I have to give here credit for being ballsy with a breakout risk like peanut butter mashed potatoes although it really sounded like a hot sticky mess. Rick Tramonto liked it though.

Tom commented that Richard was keeping it simple which made Richard nervous. I've been asking for straightforward from Richard from weeks. In the end, Richard went out of the box with his hamachi and veal appetizer. It scared the hell out of me, but it was delicious. He hardly played it safe. Tom commented on his slightly slower pace, and he said he'd rather do it slow and perfect. In theory I get it, but tell that to a 6-foot-5, 250-pound football player waiting for his steak. How about fast and perfect?

This whole task is nervewracking because Tom knows his steak. Tom acted as the expediter which was so cool. Many don't know that many major restaurants such as the Palm or Peter Luger's don't really have master chefs per se. They have tried and true items on their menu that the chefs in the kitchen know. The guy who gets it all done is the expediter. He makes sure that the whole operation runs like clockwork. I live for Tom.

Lisa's cold shrimp salad was underwhelming but her lemon confit was a hit. She does take chances, and does deserve to be alive longer than Spike.

Stephanie always shines in the main challenge. They loved her sweetbreads. I loved that her, Richard's, and Antonia's dishes were things they'd never done. That's being innovative.

Antonia wasn't the strongest here, but she wasn't the weakest either. They thought her menu was too rich. In this environment, that isn't a fatal flaw. As I said, Lisa pulled off the mash for some judges, but her meat was tough to all.

Richard meat wasn't cooked consistently which he was also guilty of during the Quickfire. This is an area he needs to correct. I realized that I probably do the same. They discussed Stephanie's grace under pressure which truly is the mark of a chef who can take the heat.

My high and low point in the show were when Spike called out Rick for having frozen scallops in the walk-in. First of all, I did have that exact thought in the beginning. But with all due respect, most of the shellfish you eat in high-volume restaurants is frozen. Spike was more of the idiot for cooking it than a restaurateur was for having it. But while I'm on the topic, what a blithering ass for getting in the face of a judge, an accomplished successful chef, and the man who let you into his kitchen. Now that he's packed his knives, I don't think Rick Tramonto will be hiring him.

Furthermore, Tom was visibly horrified which was totally understandable. Wow. Season highlight. Tensions were high. In the end Stephanie won which seems to happen a lot. I think she'll take the crown. Are there any more Quickfires? If so, and she wins one, she's got it made like Big Brown in the derby.

Thanks for listening. Visit me at www.bethennybakes.com for some of my simpler, healthy recipes that don't include hamachi or sweetbreads. I'm learning a thing or two this season for sure. I can't wait for Puerto Rico.