Note: Contains spoiler info. Missed the show? More "Top Chef" air times. Last time on "Top Chef": The 16 remaining cheftestants rolled the dice — literally — to determine the number of ingredients they could use in their quickfire dishes. Ann Arbor chef and restaurant proprietor Eve Aronoff failed to impress host Padma Lakshmi and guest judge, restaurateur/award-winning chef/former cooking show host Todd English with her salad of grilled asparagus and blue cheese with pine nuts and golden raisins. Michael V's liquid nitrogen-infused gazpacho, however, won him immunity and a $15,000 bonus.

For the elimination challenge, the chefs were divided by sexes to cater the opposite sexes' bachelor and bachelorette parties. The men's team won out, with Bryan V's sweet and sour macaroon filled with guacamole, corn nut and corn puree getting top honors. Meanwhile, Eve was among the women's team members on the chopping block. As in the previous episode, she struggled to imbue enough flavor into shrimp, this time preparing the seafood as a ceviche with smoked tomato salsa and popcorn. With the shrimp too bland and the salsa too strong, the judges thought the dish was beyond repair, and Eve was eliminated.

This week's guest judge was Mark Peel, a California-based chef and author who runs L.A. restaurant Campanile and earlier in his career was head chef under Wolfgang Puck. A beloved ingredient took center stage for the quickfire, as the cheftestants were challenged to create an "out-of this world" dish featuring potatoes. Peel's picks for the worst: Eli's cloyingly sweet yam puree with pistachios, whipped bliss potatoes and bourbon maple syrup; Ron's bland sweet potato-crusted yellowtail with fennel-leek stew; and Jesse's too-spicy sweet potato soup with ginger, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper. Conversely, the best of the potato-ey bunch were Ash's nicely-flavored sweet potato custard with toasted pecans; Ashley's potato gnocchi, the flavor of which was enhanced by perfectly-cooked mushrooms and homemade ricotta; and Jennifer's steamed mussels with Yukon Gold and blue potatoes with lemongrass-potato sauce. Perfectly synthesizing flavor, texture and color, Jennifer took home her second quickfire win, though only netting immunity this week. (Pictured: Ashley on potato detail.)

For the elimination challenge, the cheftestants worked as one team to feed 300 men and women of the Air Force and their families. They had four hours to cook, but their were some catches which weren't revealed until the following day, upon arrival at the Air Force base: there were no stoves, pots, or blenders available, and the pantry was limited to mostly canned and dry goods, plus some proteins. Having immunity, Jennifer stepped up as executive chef, keeping the possibly-hectic kitchen moving smoothly and setting up the buffet lines in an orderly fashion. (Pictured: Ashley, Hector, Eli, Mattin, Michael V preparing food on the Air Force buffet line.)

Pork prevailed at the judges' table, with Michael V and Mike for their braised pork belly with soy mustard and peanuts, joined by Eli and Kevin for their Georgia-style braised pork shoulder with potato salad. Mike admitted that Michael V took the lead on their pork, so once again a Voltaggio brother claimed elimiation challenge victory. That's one apiece for he and sibling Bryan, if you're keeping score.

There was also a theme to the judges' least favorite offerings: uninspired salads. Laurine and Preeti were called up for their farfalle salad with peppers, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, broccoli, onion and vinaigrette. As one could predict, they were criticized for using too many ingredients and ineffectively integrating them. Similarly, Mike I — who, only minutes ago, was among the favorites for helping with the winning dish — produced a forgettable Greek salad with underseasoned olive oil-poached shrimp. (What's with the bad mojo surrounding shrimp this season? Maybe being in the middle of the desert is an issue.) Ultimately, Laurine took responsibility for the pasta salad being a misstep, while Preeti continued to stand behind it, so in the end Preeti was axed. As Preeti left, her comments were similar to Eve's, speaking about knowing how to bring great flavors and just wanting to do her own thing, no regrets. (Pictured: Preeti serving the Air Force members.)

Chrysta Cherrie is the entertainment producer/copy editor for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at chrystacherrie@annarbor.com or 734-623-2526, and follow her on Twitter @chrystacherrie.