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I think it's safe to say that we can put an end to any nonsense about affirmative action; as I have said (and Annien, blackolive, Jeana, all more persuasively than I), the FN has other priorities and Aaron, at the very least, consistently made what was judged to be the best tasting food -- which is a start for the FN; I think we can agree that he made good progress. Adam is awesome and needs his own show on some other network.

It's also safe to say that we can move beyond any idea that the FN is or ever was committed to diversity or justice. We'd only have to remember that they have had, in their entire history, never been committed to either. I would only have to invoke the short-lived "Melting Pot" to which was relegated every foreign form of cookery. It was genuinely one of the most interesting shows (Indian food; Chinese food; Eastern-European/Jewish food) in terms of novel techniques and information, despite the fact that it had a motley rotation of others every episode (I think it was Padma, Susur Lee, etc.). Ming Tsai's show also did not last. Two Hot Tamales did not last either. And not even Mario Batali who made Italian, and not Italian-American food (i.e., Giada), did not last. Any alarmist response about a trend of a handful of shows on FN is pretty silly. For every "Down Home with the Neely's" there is "Food Detectives" and Paula Deen's mentally retarded sons, and Ace of Cakes.

We can also very easily dismiss any notion that the FN should live up to hiring the most qualified and best candidates because of the simple fact that Sandra Lee and Marc Summers are on air and have comfortably retained their shows. Neither of them are the best qualified candidates for anything. So most qualified means nothing.

Also, by all accounts, Amy was disgusted with the FN and decided she wanted out. She wasn't great, mind you, but she had a brain. And that's enough to turn one off from the FN.

The finale could've been a lot clearer about why they chose Aaron. In all other episodes, we were shown the judges weighing the negatives and positives of each contestant. For the finale, they only discussed positives (which was apt since all three pilots came out equally good -- or edited extremely well) and portrayed the deciding factor as 'who is most ready to start taping a show tomorrow?' And again, all three contestants seemed equally ready and eager to have that opportunity.

But I really don't think we should be calling Aaron's win an instance of affirmative action, for numerous reasons. (And by the way Annien, the very idea of 'catch up' and redressing of whiteness is affirmative action, no?) I think it's much easier to imagine that the FN is more interested in broadening its national audience for strictly financial reasons than it is or ever was concerned with diversity or being just -- concerns they have never demonstrated!

That sounds like an awesome potato salad. The lardons and the cornichon slices sound perfect for it. Need to try this!

Isn't ten minutes a bit long for soft-boiled eggs, though? I turn off the heat and throw on a lid as soon as the water boils -- less than five minutes for soft-boiled, for me usually. Also, does the vinegar make it easier to peel the eggs?