Have those midwinter blahs got you down? Here's the cure: Join us while we watch tonight's episode of Top Chef and live-blog it in the comments under this post. Your mood will change from dreary to cheery in no time!

Also, if the recent storm left you snowbound in your home, it's the perfect way to while away the hours until the men in dogsleds arrive to rescue you. Here's all you need to do: Turn on your TV and start watching the show, which airs on Bravo at 10 pm Eastern. Then join the rest of us as we all post a running commentary on the episode in the comments section below. It's a group experience that'll warm the cockles of your heart. And who wants cold cockles? Not me. The warmer my cockles are, the better!

Last week's live blog was a real cockle-warmer too. Highlights of that one included the following:

  • We liked the new wrinkle that started the show: Chefs talking shit about each other before the opening title sequence starts. Let's hope they do that every week from now on.
  • Thanks to commenter homoviper, we've gained another good nickname for Marcel: "Douchebag Wolverine."
  • When Mike I. won a car at the end of the quickfire challenge, commenter GonzoMaz predicted: "That Prius will end up on eBay Motors, and the money will be spent on a U-Haul filled with hair gel."
  • Commenter ghiagirl suggested that Richard Blais would make a good cartoon character. Later, I realized that he already looks like one: Tintin! Check out this side-by-side comparison if you don't believe me.
  • We were frightened by Casey's chicken feet, which commenter cacahuate said looked "like the monkey paw in some Poe story." They must have tasted as scary as they looked, because Casey wound up getting the boot. Alas, the pretty female chefs are falling like flies this season!

And as usual, there countless funny quips from the commenting crew, a few of which I've collected in a separate highlights post! I've also collected a few highlights of tonight's episode after watching the preview clips, so be sure to watch for the following as we live blog tonight:

  • The chefs will voyage out to sea on a fishing boat that looks just like the one in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"—and most of them don't appear to be much better at fishing than the inmates in that movie were.
  • After catching her first fish, Antonia will let loose a series of shrill, girlish screams that may leave you nostalgic for the days when she was quiet and unmemorable.
  • Fans of Tre's physique will be pleased with his choice of boating attire: A muscle shirt and shorts.
  • After being nagged relentlessly by Richard during a team challenge, Fabio will utter this memorable line: "This guy's gonna get a nut attack if he doesn't peace himself out a little bit." At least, I think that's the right quote—with Fabio's accent, you can never be too sure.
  • Tonight will be another double elimination. Maybe they can eliminate Jamie twice!

OK, get your cockles ready for warming, kids, because it's almost time to get this live blog started. I'll see you down in the comments!