Welcome to the Able And game recap of Sunday Night Mystery Box/Invention test episode.

We are halfway through the competition. Here is a list of big names we have seen so far:

Nigella!
Maggie!
Gordon!
South Australia!

But hold onto your seats, there are more to come:
Zumbo!
Heston!
Meghan Markle’s father in law!

The mystery boxes are back, but George has gone. No explanation as to where or why.
It’s time to put the mystery back into the mystery box. Will the mystery box contain the reason for George’s absence?

Today’s ingredient found in every kitchen, and in all different shapes and sizes and flavours.

Reece thinks, despite the last challenge with Maggie Beer, that it could be chicken.
They lift the mystery box lids and it’s a big loaf of white bread. LOLS AND GROANS.

Ben talks about bread like it is a familiar co-worker. He loves it! You can toast it! Eat it all the time!
Sashi talks about it like it is an unfamiliar co-worker. He doesn’t bake it. Maybe he’s used it in a sandwich?


The rules:
One delicious dish using your loaf of bread.
Open pantry, garden in play. 3 most appealing dishes. 60 minutes.

WHAT THE FRUIT CAKE DO YOU MAKE WITH BREAD?

George isn’t here so Gary and Matt are eating for three.




Samira says what everything is thinking, it is weird to incorporate bread as an ingredient.
Khanh is making banh mee. He is on a roll. A bread roll?
Lisa is turning hers into a tuile.

Please, someone make white bread flavoured ice cream with a vegemite crumb and a butter jelly.

I wrote that sentence out then Reece said he was making toast ice cream and I CANNOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP. I try and make lolz and then the LOLZ HAPPEN ON SCREEN but even more lolz than that I can make up.




Gary chats toast ice cream with Reece like it is an actual thing.

Matt tells Gary there is a world of desserts that incorporate bread and they drool over all the bread based desserts.



Bread can also become a CRUNCHY TOPPING.

Gina is doing chicken schnitzel. She uses the world moist.
Gary comes to chat and tells her she loves chicken schnitzel.
If I had to bet my life on something, it would be that Gary loved chicken schnitzel.

Gina has been tasted in 4/5 mystery boxes, but alas no win.

Aldo is making meatballs.



Ben is making crumbed lamb cutlets. He describes how to eat them: chuck it in your mouth and get it done.

15 minutes in Gary yells that the challenge is nearly over. No it’s not Gary, it’s only just started.

Jess is making an Indonesian fried bread sandwich. It has plum sauce and chicken filling.

Sarah is grilling whole leaks and making a Romesco sauce.

No time for loafing around 30 minutes to go. This pun-lol was courtesy of Matt.

Reece asks Gina for more paper towel as he has gone through all his wiping his face.

Reece’s toast has soaked up all his anglaise. It looks like a gross sloppy wet bread mixture and it is a well known fact that wet bread is pretty bleak.

Gary realises this is going to seriously impact the amount of ice cream he will be consuming and looks peeved.

Hoda uses a whizzer and it whizzed out of her arms and onto the ground and she says, in a calm voice, oh shoot like it is NO BIG DEAL.

Aldo’s meatballs are perfection and he hopes his Nonna would be proud.

Jess is deep pan frying her sandwich.

Lounge room conversation:
Gareth: Why can’t someone just make marmalaide on toast?
Anna: Someone is deep frying a sandwich with chicken in it.
Gareth: Lol, really?

Jess gives Matt some of her deep-fried sandwich and all the joy in the world beam out of his eyes.


Matt tells them they will rise to the occasion. He oversees boggles tonight.

Reece has a quenelle!

Gina has made a perfect schnitzel.

Cook finishes and people hug.

TASTING

ALDO
Meatballs in a sauce with toasted bread on the side
Nonna would be proud.
Texture looks lovely and tender and light.
It is warming the cockles of Gary’s heart.
Meatballs. Really. are they that impressive? Uplifting music plays indicating that yes, they are that impressive.

Question: why are meatballs too basic? They can make ice cream until the cows come home and it is always impressive. I don’t get why ice cream is so fancy.

GINA
Chicken schnitzel and potato salad
If it is the best schnitzels the judges have tasted she will be in with a chance.
Gary does his own slow mo special effects putting the chicken in his mouth.
Gary and Matt fight over it. MOIST AND TENDERS!
Simple dishes must be perfect.
Matt says he needs to look Gina in the eye and tell her it’s one of the best schnitzels he’s eaten in the world.

BEN
Lamb Cutlets
The judges had arguments over who would be the third dish tasted. I am going to assume Matt wanted more of Jess’s deep-fried sandwich.
Gary asks if they are to pour the sauce over or dip the cutlets in. Ben suggests dipping. Gary still pours some sauce over as dipping doesn’t offer a good enough sauce to cutlet ratio.
They are pink, but they are apparently just a little bit over.
The sauce is good. Tasty and intense.
The crunch is phenomenal, you fried them, and you fried them HARD
Ben has found his voice in the competition.


Winner: GINA! She is off to the gantry to watch over every cook in the invention test.

Invention Test
Matt reveals a big bowl of spaghetti bolognaise. Gina side eyes him, she’s annoyed she doesn’t get to cook this.

60 minutes to bring us a delicious dish using only the ingredient in the spaghetti bolognaise.

They can make sweet or savoury, using the ingredients and there are a lot:
Various pork and beef meats (un-minced). Anchovy. Celery. Garlic. Lemon. And Other Things.

ALDO is in heaven. beautiful!

Ben reveals he eats spaghetti bolognaise on toast the next day.

Aldo is turning spaghetti bolognaise into a carbonara.
Gary asks Aldo if he makes a good carbonara. He does. Wow!

Jess is making tortellini with guanciale and cheese filling.

Reece is going savoury.

Khanh is using pork belly but in a smart way, this means the ovens will be on when he tries to cook it.

Lisa doesn’t know what to make. Other than spaghetti bolognaise.

Sarah is making a tomato tea. I assume this is made by putting tomato into hot water for three minutes.

Sashi doesn’t do spaghetti bolognaise, his kids find it mushy.
He is cooking the rump steak with an anchovy butter.

Reece’s dish is old fashion, meat and three veg,

Lisa has made carrot noodles but she doesn’t know what the sauce will be. The carrot noodles are not spiralised vegetable noodles, Gary and Matt wouldn’t stand for Pete Evans style let’s pretend that vegetables are starchy carbs and taste delicious. The carbs are safe, she just poured a minimum amount of carrot juice into the dough.

Matt tells Ben that the game plan of good meat and sauce worked for Trent and Arum. By worked he means get to 5th or 6th place.

Gary questions Sarah’s tomato tea and rump.
Question: does Gary want mushroom sauce, peppercorn sauce or tomato tea with his rump?
Answer: Gary’s rump doesn’t want tomato tea.
Sarah says SHIT.

Lisa is stress cooking a bunch of stuff.

Sarah has ignored the judges advice.

TASTING

REECE
Rump steak with carrot puree, gremolata and onion bits
Lots of colour.
Reece is told to get the sauce on the plate because Gary just wants to tuck in!
Gary loves it. Moreish. Well done.



LISA
Carrot noodles
Scary you’re totally in the bottom three music plays.
It looks a bit dry.
Matt gives probably the meanest assessment of a dish ever: "It’s the dish you make when you’ve been away for a month and have nothing in the cupboard"
Harsh words.

SARAH
Rump and tea
Scary you’re maybe in the bottom three music plays.
She pours the tea over her rump and it looks insipid. Gary says what he said in the first place but doesn’t say I told you so. Matt drinks from the jug.

SASHI
Pan friend rump with anchovy butter
Beef beautifully cooked., flavours are smashing

BEN
Beef and green liquid inside onions.
Beef is perfectly cooked. Gary describes the plating, featuring a chunk of meat as a blocky, architectural look.
Ben is a totally different cook from when he first entered the kitchen.

HODA
Steak and three veg
Perfectly cooked rump, watery and irrelevant sides.
Matt tells Hoda she is currently giving them her difficult third album.

JESS
Tortellini filled with stuff
Tortellini are fantastic, great technique

CHLOE
Spaghetti with anchovy lemon and parsley
Middle of the road

ALDO
Carbonara
BAGS OF FLAVOUR

SAMIRA
Yarpag Shingal
Plain.

KHANH
Cute dumps
Why hello!
Weird looks from the judges. And uh-oh from Khanh. Fire storm cut to ad break.
The Bitterness has dissipated. UPLIFTING MUSIC!
He used the ingredients and came up with something completely different. To be fair everyone did.

KIRSTEN
Who knows, they didn't show her at all tonight
Why couldn't they spend at least 30 seconds showing the tasting of her dish?

TOP THREE DISHES
(into Tuesday’s immunity pin challenge with Gina)
Reece
Dish of the day

Sashi
It had the Sashi touch

Khanh
Tender dumps

BOTTOM THREE DISHES
(into tomorrow night’s pressure test)

Lisa
Hoda
Sarah


If you're in Brisbane we will be visiting for The Finders Keepers Market this weekend. Pop by and say hello and chat Masterchef with Anna!

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