Megan - I see that different - I see the "you didn't barbecue" translating into "you didn't freeze things separately" more than the slant of the cuisine.

Agreed, and it was a slant, not complete abandon. Same with Casey and Dale's meatballs. Whereas Lia's whatever that was last episode had little to nothing to do with Latin cuisine, not just having an odd ingredient or two.

I don't think it should have bit them on the ass, but I wish it had--just because for some reason I really wanted Casey and Dale to win. They were just so excited about their dish.

C'mon, people, you really think a frozen ziploc (err, excuse me, Glad) baggie with a solid chunk of ice in there is going to heat up okay in ten minutes?

Seriously. Have they never done that at home? Because lord knows I have! I guess most people have microwaves.

I was very surprised Sara didn't go home, actually. I may be misremembering, but I think this is the first time one of the cheftestants very obviously didn't do anything, but didn't get sent home for it (see my previous comments on the dangers of making salad on this show).

I think Dale and Casey's still frozen meatball was something of a problem for them (and may have been the final deciding factor), but that was possibly outweighed by being the first (and only, as far as we saw) team to completely sell out of their product.

Which is also good for contrasting with Joey and Hung's utter failure to give away food.

Seriously. Have they never done that at home? Because lord knows I have! I guess most people have microwaves.

Maybe that's it. I've never had a microwave until now (I hate them even more than cell phones) and immediately asked "what are they doing?!?" My housemate didn't get the reheating problem at all.

Relatedly, I do think it's hilarious that these frozen dinners are designed to cook on the stovetop, so people "feel like they're cooking."

Relatedly, I do think it's hilarious that these frozen dinners are designed to cook on the stovetop, so people "feel like they're cooking."

I kinda love the Bertolli frozen dinners. I don't really feel like I'm "cooking" but the finished product tastes more like I cooked than, say, a regular frozen dinner or reheating leftovers.

Well, as with anything "bready", wouldn't the pasta reheat better in a pan than a microwave?

I've only make the Bertollis in a pan. I tried it once in the microwave but it didn't heat as evenly.

This is more a statement on the quality of my 10 year old inherited microwave than on their dishes. I don't use my microwave for anything, really, except frozen vegetables.