angelika perez-oquendo wrote:

i really like Dale, he is a perfectionist and in my book it's ok if he gets a
little angry. perfectionist are like that.
really would love to see him and Richard to get together and open a Restaurant.
I believe these two would compliment each other... they cooked great together
on the show. would love to eat their food.

KEEP DALE AND RICHARD UNTIL THE END. I just love to watch these 2 on
your show... they are amazing.

posted on May 14, 2008 at 8:22 PM

Marc Blinder wrote:

Yo Dale, this looked delicious... but wasn't lettuce banned for you?

posted on May 14, 2008 at 11:28 PM

pauline reader wrote:

Dale used lettuce which was one of Spike's ingredients that others were not allowed to use - why was that not brought up at all?

posted on May 14, 2008 at 11:30 PM

Cathy Williams wrote:

I can't believe Dale won for this dish. As I recall everyone gave Andrew a hard time for not use a whole grain. Spike took away the use of tomatoes, bread, chicken, and LETTUCE!!!!! What was the outside of Dale's bison wrap? LETTUCE!!!! I am not saying that he should be eliminated for it, but I do believe that he should not have won.

posted on May 15, 2008 at 5:54 AM

Cathy Williams wrote:

Dale used LETTUCE!!!! That ingredient was eliminated for use in the competition by Spike. How did Dale win by using LETTUCE!!!!

posted on May 15, 2008 at 5:56 AM

Lizzie wrote:

No, Dale did NOT use lettuce - he used Napa CABBAGE.

Anyway, this looks delicious!

posted on May 15, 2008 at 8:08 AM

kathy df wrote:

i agree with angelika , dale and richard are great and should open a restaraunt together . i enjoy the show very much! ,also whats not to like tom is very nice to look at! my daughter and i enjoy watching the show .thanks!

posted on May 15, 2008 at 9:18 AM

JCR wrote:

I agree with Agelika....Dale and Richard are a great match...and what Chef doesn't have a temper....they're artist! And for the above comments about lettuce....that's why Dale was so smart! He used CABBAGE...HELLO!!!! Know your food gang!

posted on May 15, 2008 at 10:17 AM

Steve wrote:

um.. he used Napa Cabbage.. It says so on the ingredients list and he said so in the episode. How can you miss that?

posted on May 15, 2008 at 1:39 PM

SK wrote:

Cathy Williams: Rice is also a whole grain , in case you did not know. Dale used Bison for protein, Brown Rice for whole grain , Mango as fruit and Cabbage as the vegetable.

posted on May 15, 2008 at 1:51 PM

Amy wrote:

Dale used Napa Leaves / cabbage - not lettuce.

posted on May 16, 2008 at 9:54 AM

Camdon wrote:

so glad it was cleared up that Dale used Cabbage not lettuce for his "lettuce wraps" since that ingrediant was off-limits. I logged on to write a very pointed email about how upset I was, as if they would have missed that!

posted on May 16, 2008 at 3:57 PM

Top Chefffff wrote:

I'm glad to see that other fans see the positive energy between Dale and Richard... my favorites this whole season. They're both very creative and obviously have a respect for each other. The other chefs who complain about Dale are just jealous of his talent. I hope Dale wins the show. I can't wait to got to Buddakan in Philadelphia to try out his dishes. I'll make a special trip just for that. None of the other chefs made that kind of impression. Get jealous over THAT!

posted on May 16, 2008 at 5:07 PM

elizabeth wrote:

I agree with everyone about Dale and Richard opening up a restaurant. These are the only chefs that have produced food that I would pay for in a restaurant. I'm glad they got rid of "spineless, take no responsibility" nikki. The only food she cooked that was liked by the judges was mixed veggies and meat. Come on...I can cook this and I'm not a chef. Hopefully they'll get rid of Spike who is apparently the slowest cook on earth in addition to being underhanded. I loved Dale's comment during the wedding episode when he told the judges "you should[like Spike's course], it took him three hours to make it"----priceless comment. Also, this girl Lisa needs to be booted off. Why is she still there? She made a comment about Andrew not following the rules and she surely didn't follow the rules when she partnered with Antonia with the polish sausage.

posted on May 16, 2008 at 8:19 PM

Larry wrote:

Now where am I going to find three pounds of bison? Guess I'll have to kill the buffalo wandering the back yard.

posted on May 17, 2008 at 6:15 AM

Stallion88 wrote:

This just shows you how how much some people know about food. It's Napa CABBAGE! It irks me going to a grocery store and buying seedless cucumbers but I'm being charged for squash because the cashier doesn't know how to identify vegetables. Why is she ever behind the register at a grocery store?!?!

posted on May 17, 2008 at 8:00 AM

De'Borah wrote:

A true Foodie knows the difference between lettuce and cabbage! Dale this recipe tastes great and easy to prepare. Thanks to SK for breaking down how Dale utilized the required ingredients. I also agree with Angelika and JCR. Love u TC!

posted on May 17, 2008 at 9:18 AM

mary wrote:

Question about the recipe: What is a "piece"? Piece of garlic? Is that a diced piece, a sliced piece, a clove? Piece of shallot? Piece of lemon grass? Piece of red chili? What the hell???

posted on May 17, 2008 at 9:44 AM

Beth wrote:

I think Richard and Dale also should be in the finale. Dale needs a few more people skills, but he and Richard are the two most skillful chefs. Some of the others, I would not pay ten cents for a meal. This seasons chefs left much to be desired. Many of them, came off at various times as stupid, catty, not very innovative, no grace under pressure, overly arrogant, and not very good cooks

posted on May 17, 2008 at 10:22 AM

Erald wrote:

PEOPLE! It's not a LETTUCE....its a freakin Nappa CABBAGE! I guess you guys dont shop at the asian stores!

posted on May 18, 2008 at 3:18 AM

Edward wrote:

This is not the first time Dale has won the challenge. I believe he won 5x already. This guy just doesn't cook. He thinks and gives his heart into it. When people eat what you make, you can't afford to be careless. He gets mad sometimes because he wants it done perfectly, not so-so. I can see him to be the next Top Chef!

posted on May 18, 2008 at 1:56 PM

chef christine wrote:

I find it hard to believe that there are so many people (foodies) who devote themselves to this program that dont know the difference between lettuce and napa cabbage.

posted on May 18, 2008 at 2:36 PM

mary wrote:

Hey,
does anyone remember Lisa not using sausage in a very specific must use ingredient during the comedy club episode. And she nor her partner went home. And yet she's the one who points someone else out. Then she says if she followed the rules and he didn't then he should go home. well go home Lisa no one will miss you.

posted on May 18, 2008 at 4:00 PM

TP wrote:

Made Dale's Lemongrass mango dish tonight (with beef since i didnt have
any bison in my fridge). Love the lemongrass mango marinade!!!
The beef came out so tasty!!!!!! Thanks!!!

posted on May 18, 2008 at 7:22 PM

Chef Matt wrote:

Napa leaves are considered to some as lettuce, but it is technically a cabbage. It is part of the lettuce family, but it is under its own category. That is why they said nothing about it. It was totally fair and legal. And I LOVED this dish. I cant wait to try it out for myself and even maybe change something in it to make it better and use it as a special at work.

posted on May 18, 2008 at 9:56 PM

Poppz wrote:

Cathy Williams wrote:

Dale used LETTUCE!!!! That ingredient was eliminated for use in the competition by Spike. How did Dale win by using LETTUCE!!!!

Lol, No! Dale used Napa Cabbage. Next time read the recipe before you assume, Dale hater!

posted on May 19, 2008 at 3:02 AM

HD wrote:

Dale and Richard are the best. They come up with creative dishes and really think about the ingredients. Sure Dale gets angry, but I noticed he's only angry when he has to work on a team with Lisa. I'd be mad if I had to work with her as well. When he and Richard paired as a team, they blew the judges away with their creation. I say Richard, Dale, and Stephanie for top 3.

posted on May 19, 2008 at 12:14 PM

Theresa wrote:

I agree, the final three should be Dale, Richard and Stephanie. Antonia has really been impressing me lately though.
Neither Lisa nor Spike have the attitudes nor the maturity and creativity to win this competition.

posted on May 20, 2008 at 12:53 PM

Chris wrote:

I'm so glad that Dale is out of the competition. I was looking forward to it. He is a very good chef but is not all about that... first you have to be a good team mate and he showed to have a very bad atittude which it was bringing a lot of tension to the competition. I think the judges took to long to keep in the comptetion.

posted on May 21, 2008 at 9:28 PM

Kathryn wrote:

Honestly, I really would have liked to see all three members of the Mai Buddha’s team kicked off the show. Spike, because he really didn’t cook a darn thing and this is a cooking show (look at how much is counterpart, Stephanie, did for her team); Lisa for her miserable dishes; and Dale for not taking accountability for the overall menu and performance of his team in his role as the executive chef (his statement about not being able to fix a soup because it wasn’t “his soup” pretty much sums it up). Despite Dale’s anger management issues, he is a good chef, though. So, back to the food –

I made this recipe last night for a birthday celebration with some minor tweaking. I am a very amateur cook, but I love to experiment with new concepts. I often season my food to taste, rather than to exact proportions, but I can see where parts of this recipe that call for a “piece” are somewhat confusing. What, exactly, is a “piece” of mango? It doesn’t matter too much, though, since it all goes into a food processor. Well, this is a terrific dish and one I’ll be adding to my recipe collection.

So, I am a vegetarian and I obviously had to adjust this recipe right off the bat. I cut strips of seitan as a substitute for the bison, and I made a faux “fish” sauce from soy sauce whisked with a small amount of mushrooms. I also didn’t have yuzu sauce on hand, so I used lime juice.

The marinade for the meat is outstanding. At first, I didn’t add enough mango and the flavor was overwhelmed by the garlic and lemongrass, which is rather easy to do with those two ingredients. However, as I worked it in the processor, I just kept adding more mango until it tasted delicious.

I also really enjoyed the mango-chili sauce, which really compliments this particular recipe. It is also a fantastic dressing to have for many other dishes as well. Be certain that you strain the mango at this stage; otherwise you’ll have a denser, pulpy sauce from the residue of the mango.

Finally, I only used fresh basil in the herb salad and combined it with butter lettuce, radishes and cucumber, because it’s what I had in the fridge. I think the other herbs would be delicious, too, although I am not a huge fan of cilantro. I also halved this recipe, because I wasn’t feeding that many people, but it still made more than enough to feed four people. Thanks for the recipe, Dale and Bravo!

posted on May 28, 2008 at 6:46 AM

Amanda wrote:

For those of you that are having trouble with quantities of the ingredients, I hope this helps. I made this yesterday, and I scaled it a lot (since I was only serving 4 people I didn't think I needed to serve rice by the quart and bison by the multiple pounds!)

For 1 pound of bison I used the flesh of 1 mango, about 4 oz dried mango, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 enormous section of shallot, 2 large cloves of garlic, 2 pieces of lemongrass, a 1 inch X 2 inch piece of ginger, 1/2 of a large green chili with seeds and ribs, and 1/8 cup of fish sauce, plus a splash more after I tasted it. The aroma and taste of the marinade was amazing. I might go a little lighter on the dried mango if I did it again...the flavor was really intense.

I kept similar proportions for the mango/chili/garlic sauce, using lime instead of yuzu. I was tired and had some difficulty straining it, so I gave up on the straining. This meant we ended up with more of a chutney than a dipping sauce, which was fine. We just scooped it into the wraps with everything else.

I was surprised at how much I loved the radish/cucumber/herb salad. Every bite was just a little different in this dish, sometimes the mint would hit just a bit harder (and the mint was incredible in this), sometimes the basil. It was such a fresh and lovely contrast with the rich gingery bison and the warm rice.

Absolutely amazing. You MUST make this.

posted on June 15, 2008 at 7:30 AM