All language subtitles for The.Great.American.Recipe.S01E04.1080p.WEB.h264-BAE

Tonight on "The Great American
Recipe"...

This week, we'll be focusing

on ready-to-go meals.

These are my go-to
handheld dishes

because these are so portable,
easy to make.

Take a look around.
You've got

3 empty tables behind you.

It's important to
just really
bring it now.

He is going in a completely

different direction
than anything

we've seen before.

Oh, that's beautiful.

There were so many
delicious dishes tonight,

but we all agreed
the most successful dish is...

♪

Alejandra:
What is a great recipe?

Are they the dishes
that are passed down to us

through generations
of home cooking?

Bambi: I love to make
my mom's honey turkey wings.

Alejandra: Are they the ones
that tell the story

of who we are
and where we're from?

Silvia: I make mantecada.
It's like a Mexican muffin.

Tiffany: If this is what
it feels like at your home,

no matter what culture,
no matter what type of cuisine,

this type of comfort
I understand.

Alejandra: Modern American
home cooking has it all.

Dan: You have marinara sauce,
you have pizza sauce,

but you have Sunday gravy.

Foo: I'm making
a crab meatball soup.

Yum!

You guys asking for funk
and some...

[Laughter]

There it is!

Alejandra: To discover
the melting pot of dishes

this country has to offer,

we have invited
10 talented home cooks

from regions
across the united states

to share the unique
and heartwarming stories

behind their
most treasured recipes...

This is family.

Alejandra: and at the end
of their journey,

one home cook...

You're passionate about flavor,

and you respect your heritage.

That is a perfect recipe.

Alejandra: will be crowned
the winner.

Whoo!

Our doors are open,
and everyone's invited.

Welcome to
"The Great American Recipe."

♪

[Pencil scratching]

Tony: I'm feeling
pretty anxious, pretty nervous.

Last week, I was
on the bottom two

and almost got eliminated.

Leah: Tony, while
your dish overall

didn't taste bad,

I'm just expecting
more from you
in 90 minutes.

I have an uphill battle now.

I need to make sure that
there's no mistakes,

there's no miscues.

I'm going to give 110% effort

and give these judges
what they deserve.

[Cheering]

♪

I've been having
really good days

with a few challenges.

Alejandra: The most successful
was...

Silvia and her albondigas.

Thank you!

Silvia, voice-over:
I'm a little worried

because once you hit that high,

there is nothing else
but the bottom, right?

It's just going down,
and I just want to

keep presenting the best food
I can make to the judges.

Hello, cooks, and welcome back

to "The Great American Recipe"!

We're almost halfway there.

You must be feeling
extremely proud.

Yes!
Yeah!

Alejandra: You should be.

The remaining 7 of you
are one step closer

to being named the winner
of "The Great American Recipe."

Wow!

I really want the opportunity

to prepare for the judges

the finale dish, as well as
everything in between.

I would love to be able
to tell my stories

through my food
and share more of who I am.

Alejandra: As always,
we're joined

by our fantastic judges:

Leah Cohen,

Graham Elliot,

and Tiffany Derry.

♪

Graham: At this point,
we know that you have

what it takes,
but now we want you to go

even higher,
push yourselves more,

and put that amazingness
on the plate.

Remember, you need to utilize
every minute that you have.

Alejandra: Last week, you put
your heart on a plate

and showed us how you express
love through your food,

and the dishes were just
as wonderful

as the stories that went
along with them.

All right, cooks.
Want to know what you're

making this week?

Cooks: Yeah!

Alejandra: I thought so.

These days, it's hard
to get everyone

around the table
for a meal, right?

There's work, school,
kids activities.

The list goes on and on,

but just because life
keeps us busy,

it does not mean we can't
also have delicious meals.

[Indistinct chatter]

This week, we'll be focusing
on ready-to-go meals.

In this round, you'll have
60 minutes to prepare

your favorite handheld recipe
that can be enjoyed

on the go.

Tiffany: Your dishes
will be judged on taste,

presentation, execution,

and how well your dish
showcased the theme.

Graham: All right.
We want to see

all hands on deck

for some amazing cooking.

Your 60 minutes
starts... now.

♪

Silvia: Oh, I can smell
the bacon.

So this week,
I'm feeling confident

because having the top dish
last week,

it is very validating.

There is no better feeling
in the world.

I'm making BLT burritos.

It's just the perfect snack,

especially when my kids
go to sports.

When we go to, like,
soccer games,

when we go to the park,

when... even we just need
to go shopping

and we're hungry
and we just want to eat

something on the go,
this is perfect.

So I'm going to render
the fat of the bacon,

and I'm gonna use that
as my fat for the tortillas.

I was thinking that
it would be fun

to have bacon, bacon, and bacon,

which is bacon fat
with bacon bits

in a bacon tortilla
and then put more bacon inside

because who doesn't love bacon?

Making habanero mayo.

Habanero peppers. Very spicy.

You need to put gloves on.

You cannot handle these
with skin.

It's amazingly spicy,
but they're so delicious

because they have...
Even though they're so spicy,

they have this kind of
fruity undertone.

♪

So when you mix it
with the right ingredients,

it takes on, like,
a little fruitiness

and a bit of spiciness.

I need to take
into consideration

everything that the judges
has told me

the past weeks

and make sure the spiciness
is in there

because every time I made
something was spicy

or I thought it was spicy,
they were like,

"You need more spice!"

So for this, I wanted to
really get in

that kick of spice.

Ooh! Spicy!

♪

Smells good back there, Brian.
Whare you making?

We're doing wings.

Brian, voice-over: So for my
handheld dish,

I'm making mustard maple
chicken wings

with sweet potato fries.

For my wife and I,
it's kind of our go-to

on-the-move meal.

Sometimes, we've been known
to sneak them

into the movie theater.

Don't tell anybody.

For these chicken wings,
I'm going to toss them

in some corn starch and salt.

That's going to tacky them up
a little bit

and give a better crisp
on those wings.

First batch of wings go
in the deep fryer,

and I turn my attention
to a mustard sauce

for these chicken wings.

So this mustard sauce
I'm making is pretty much

an homage to my hometown.

I grew up in Northeast Ohio,

a small town called Newbury.

We had tons of maple syrup.

I might end up spilling
maple syrup everywhere.

What drew me to cooking
was my family and friends,

and my father was a legend.

He was a larger-than-life
influence on my cooking style.

Outdoor parties at the lake,

and he would make
these all the time.

Big fan of the mustard sauce
that we're making.

It has mustard,
maple syrup, rosemary.

Perfect combination.

People are going to be like,
"Chicken wings

are not portable food."

Oh, that's beautiful.

Brian, voice-over:
Chicken wings are handheld.

They are messy, but they're also

pretty convenient, you know.

It depends on how you eat.

If you're a messy eater,
don't do it.

If you can control
yourself, do it.

Enjoy your life.

Brian: What are you doing
over there, Robin?

Oh, I'm just playing
with some leaves

I picked off the trees outside.

I'm going to put
something in them.
Ha ha ha!

Robin, voice-over: I'm going to
be making dolmas.

It's something I've
been making since I was a kid.

A dolma is
a Middle Eastern dish.

It's a grape leaf wrapped
with rice inside,

and meat inside.

Alejandra: Hi, Robin.

Hi. Are you hungry?

I'm always hungry.
Always.

I was that weird mother
that sent their kids

to school with bag lunches

with dolmas instead
of peanut butter
and jelly.

Not a weird mother.
An awesome mom!

The teachers liked me.

I think my kids
probably traded
them off

for something else.

Yes. Ha ha ha!
Oh, come on.

So how do you prepare
your grape leaves?

I really like barley
in my grape leaves
instead of rice.

I find a lot
of times that the meat

and the rice kind of
separate a little bit

inside the grape leaves,

and we're going to have lamb,

and we're going to
roll those up,

and a lot of lemon in there.

Wow! Sounds like a mix
of traditional

and being able to kind of put

your spin on it,
right?
Yes.

Well, I'm excited that
we're getting the lamb

because lamb is one
of my favorites.

Me, too.
Ha ha ha!

Is there any kind of
sauce or anything
like that, or...

Yes. I'm going to have...
Always have yogurt.

We grew up making our yogurt,

so there's always
yogurt with lamb,
always,

and a little bit
of toasted pine nuts

and some sun dried
tomatoes on the top.

And, it's still
easy enough...
Just dip.

You're not getting
a fork or a knife
from me.

OK, still easy enough
to eat with your hand?

Yeah.

So I guess my only tip
is just to make sure

that, you know,
the barley is cooked enough

so that it doesn't,
you know, fall apart

as you eat it, right?

Because it almost acts
like a little glue

to hold all
the goodies together.

I agree with you.
Thank you. Ha ha ha!

I need to get these rolled
and in the oven

and make sure
they're good enough to eat.

♪

Nikki: Watch out.
Citrus squeezers
can be blinding.

I love salmon.
It's a staple,

I grew up with it.

So I am making a salmon wrap

with, hello, salmon,

a peanut sauce schmear, cabbage,

cilantro lime rice,

and a roasted corn mixture
that has basil, gorgonzola

combined into an on-the go wrap,

and I know it sounds weird.

I know it, but trust me,

this hodgepodge makes sense
once you taste it.

Seriously, this is what
we eat on the go.

I wrap it in foil,
and I make the kids

eat this in the car.

This is like my carpool jam.

It actually came from a dinner
where I had salmon,

I had this roasted corn
salsa going on,

but then our family loves
peanut sauce,

so I had that
as, like, a leftover,

and it's become
a staple in our house.

Oh, my gosh.
This smells so good.

♪

Judges wanted heat.
I'm feeling good.

I am not stressed,
I'm not worried.

I feel fine, I feel comfortable.

The challenge is to
make something that's portable,

easy to-go dish,

so I'm making a Vietnamese dish
called goi cuon.

The English translation
is spring rolls.

It's accompanied
by a dipping sauce

that's kind of sweet.

It's a hoisin peanut
dipping sauce.

This is a great one to pick up

when I pick the kids up
from school

and I'm trying to get them
to eat some veggies.

They're portable,
they're handheld,

they're versatile.

You can add anything
you want to fill up

the spring rolls.

I first have to lightly boil
pork loin

in some salt and ginger,

and then I also have to
lightly boil

in salted water some shrimp.

So while that's boiling,
I'm prepping my vegetables.

The cucumber, carrots,
as well as some romaine lettuce.

♪

Come on.

I remember the judges
saying that I need to be

more precise
with what I'm cutting.

I love the pineapple in there.

I wish you cut it up
a little bit smaller,

so, you know, more bites
could have more

of that pineapple flavor.

We're going to break
down some roasted peanuts

to top off on our sauce.

Nikki: Foo.
Foo: Yeah.

You're making peanut sauce?

I'm doing a peanut sauce, yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

With hoisin, yeah.

Had I known.
I know.

I would not have gone
up against you today.

Nikki, voice-over:
Foo, what the heck?

You're the master.

Foo, voice-over:
In my dipping sauce,

I have sautéed shallots,

peanut butter,
hoisin sauce, some vinegar,

as well as sriracha.

That sauce is not
a typical goi cuon

or spring roll dipping sauce,
but I elevated with some spice.

Foo's funky spice.

Nikki, voice-over:
I know my sauce is spot on.

Just taste really quick.

Nikki, voice-over: I've got
lime juice, garlic,

ginger in it.

I like it.

In fact, I love it. Ha ha!

It needs more salt I think.

Salt?
Yeah.

It's very sweet.

All I can hear are judges,

"Salt, salt, season, salt".

♪

Alejandra: 30 minutes, cooks.

♪

Tony: Welcome to "Cooking
with Tony Here."

I'm your host Tony Sherber.

Today, we're making quesadillas.

Dan: Did you do it
in your Midwestern voice?

[Minnesota accent]
Oh, hi there.

My name is Tony Sherber.

Uh, today, we're making
quesadillas.

It feels a little
bit scary going

into this week.

I know I have to crawl
my way out again

because last week
I was in the bottom two.

The last thing I want to do
is give these judges

big, old chunks of beef when
they're biting into it.

I am making
my Korean beef quesadillas.

These are my go-to
handheld dishes

because these are so portable,
easy to make.

I usually have tortillas,
cheese,

usually some leftover bulgogi
in my fridge,

so any time where
I'm just kind of, like,

lazy, on the go,
busy after work,

this is something
I like to make.

I marinade the beef
with a soy sauce, sesame oil,

sugar, garlic, and green onions.

While the beef is marinading,
I am cooking

some onions and peppers.

[Sizzling]

You know, I'm definitely
wanting to make sure

that I use all
the time accordingly.

You know, every minute,
every second is precious.

I am putting
the peppers and onions

on the quesadilla,
so I'm making sure

that those are
nice and caramelized.

How are you doing
over there, chef?

Dan: I think I'm
doing all right. Ha ha ha!

Dan, voice-over:
My go-to handheld dish

is a salsiccia
with broccoli rabe,

provolone cheese,
and some roasted red peppers,

and the salsiccia
is just sausage in Italian,

and provolone is
provolone cheese in Italian.

A lot of people drop
the end portion of that word,

but the "e" at the end
of an Italian word

turns into an "a,"
so it's really

"prov-o-lon-ay" cheese.

Where I would take this to
is a tailgating sort of event,

you know, like to football
or something like that

up in New England.

I mean, I'll take it
on the road, too,

if I have a real busy week.

I'm on the go a lot being
in the fire department,

so I'll take it on fire trucks.

The sausage is cooking.

My mother taught me
how to cook sausage.

So you put some oil in the pan,
you put the water in the pan,

you turn it on,
you get it up to boil.

You boil it about halfway,
flip it over

when the water is about half,

finish it off,
and then, your sausage

is all the way cooked.

Now you just have to brown it
at that point.

I think my biggest influence
when it comes

to cooking is my mother.

I would help my mother
in the kitchen

when she was cooking.

It was part of my upbringing
since I was a little kid.

So what's going on right now is

I'm hollowing out
one side of the bread

because there's nothing
worse than a sandwich

that you have so much
bread in you can't even fit

any of the contents.

Two kinds of rolls.
You can get a hard Italian roll,

and you can get
a soft Italian roll.

That's almost like
the great pizza debate...

Thin crust or,
you know, deep dish.

The battle lines
are drawn over this.

So it's a matter
of guessing, you know,

what would the judges like?

Heh. There's no way
for me to know this,

so I'm just going to
give it to them

pretty much the way I like
my sandwiches, you know,

and it's going to be
a hard Italian roll.

♪

Silvia: My bacon is not
cooking fast enough.

I'm making my own
bacon flour tortillas

for the BLT burritos.

I'm going to add
bacon fat to my dough

for the tortillas,

but the bacon is taking
its sweet time cooking,

so I'm a little behind. Ha ha!

I'm a little concerned.

Ah. Oh my, gosh.

Nikki: What? What?

I burned my bacon.

Oh! Throw it away
and start again.

Alejandra:
Hi, Silvia.
Hello.

How's it going?

Well, I burned my bacon.

Oh, no!

So now I'm a little
behind because

I need fat for the tortillas.

I love that you're
using the fat
to make

your own homemade tortillas.

Yeah.
Gonna give it
such amazing flavor.

Amazing. I mean, one time,
I had, like, a bunch of fat

in the house because
we had our breakfast,

and, I said, "What am I
going to do with this?"

And, I said,
"Oh, tortillas!"

Tortillas.
Perfect.

So tell me, what was
your inspiration

behind a BLT burrito?

Well... my kids
love burritos.

I mean, when they're
picky eaters,

can put something in a burrito,

and they will eat it
because they love
flour tortillas.

They're always hungry, right?

They're not hungry
when we leave the house

for some reason,

and then, we get
in the car, like,

"Mom, I'm hungry."

So I said, "OK, here."

Have it at the ready.
"Have this."

We're going to let you focus.

OK. See you very soon.
Ciao. Ha ha ha!

♪

Alejandra: All right, we've got
15 minutes left.

♪

What's going on, Foo?
How are you doing,
chefs?

Hi, Foo.
Amazing.

Good, good.

All right.
I see shrimp.
Yeah.

I see kind of boiled meat.

Pork loin, yeah.
OK.

We're going
a Vietnamese spring roll

called goi cuon.

A very handy, portable dish.
Versatile, as well.

You can put anything into it.

Foo, your girls
must love this, right?

This is such
a kid-friendly dish,

And, your kids like
pork and shrimp
combination or...

They do. My wife and I's
goal in regards to food

around the house
is expose them
to everything.

Yes.
Because they don't know.

Kids don't know, right?
Yeah.

And it helps that
the sauce is sweet.

Yeah, my kids love that.

Yeah.
Yeah.

It hides that veggie...
Fresh veggie flavor.

So you want to make
sure that the veggies

are the proper size
and consistent

so that they're
easy enough to eat

with that bite,
you know what I mean?

You don't want to grab
ahold of something

and it makes
everything fall out.

So when you go through,
if you're going to use
this piece,

make sure you don't
use that piece

you know what I mean?

Like, knife skills, life skills.

I would say when you're
rolling it, you know,

since it's translucent
and you can see

through it, you just want
to make sure that

they're evenly spaced
and that we can see the mint

and the cilantro
and everything that you have

and, of course,
the beautiful pink shrimp.

OK. Thank you, that's
a very good tip. I agree.

Take a look around.
You've got 3
empty tables

behind you, right?

That means people
are going home,

so I think it's
important to just
really bring it now,

you know what I mean?

This is your time to shine.

You're right. Thank you.
Thank you very much.

Foo, voice-over: You have to
wrap this very, very carefully

because the rice paper will rip.

I never take any of the critique

that the chefs give me
negatively.

I absolutely embrace them.

It makes me a better home cook,

but, you know,
I'm used to cooking

for a 5- and 7-year-old,
and their critique

is a little bit warmer.

They don't care.

OK, judges.
Our amazing home cooks

continue to step it up.

Yeah, for sure.
So I think it's important

at this point to stand out
for the right reasons.

You don't want to
always be the one

that's at the bottom.

We have some,
like Silvia and Dan,

that are always bringing it,

but, you know, the ones
that stay in the middle,

this is their time to pop,

and Robin is one
of those, you know.

So if I was Robin,
I would make sure

not only is it tasty,
does it look great,

but that for this round
it is easy enough to eat.

This is about having
food in your hand.

I don't want stuff
falling apart.

I don't want
sauces and garnishes

all over the top.
Yeah.

So Brian looks like
he is making wings,

and we all know
that chicken wings are
a little tricky.

Not sure if I'm eating it
on the go so much,

but there are a lot
of things about wings

that we look for certain things

in texture and flavor.

Are they baked wings,
are they fried wings?

Are they sauced wings?
Are they battered wings,

you know, and just
wanting that perfection

of crispiness and flavor.

It's kind of risky.
Yeah.

Hey, cooks. 10 minutes.

♪

Dan: I have to be very careful
of my salt content today.

I'm worried about the salt
because of all dishes

that I'm doing,
I'm doing broccoli rabe.

It usually requires
a good amount of salt,

so now I'm gun shy
on the salt to begin with

because now the judges are
living rent free in my head,

so now I'm adding
a little salt, I'm tasting it,

and I'm adding a little salt,
I'm tasting it,

and, I'm like
"OK. I'm good right here.

We're not salting anymore."

Broccoli rabe is not
a very well-known vegetable

outside of my area.

So it's a variety
of broccoli really,

but it's bitter.

People are either going
to love it,

or they're going to hate it.

It's really
a traditional topping

for an Italian sandwich.

♪

Tiffany:
Let's go, let's go.

5 minutes.

You should be plating.

5 minutes? What?!

Nikki: I'm just waiting on rice.

Very stressed

because I need to
plate right now.

I cut up some peppers
to give a little more zhuzh

and some orange in there.

I know that mustard sauces
tend to be

a little less colorful
than other sauces,

so there we go.

One minute left.

It's go time!

Silvia: Go, go, go, go!

♪

Please. I need more time.
More time. More time.

I'm fighting.

♪

Graham: 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1!

Stop! Hands up.

[Judges applaud]

Great job, everybody.

Alejandra: Great job!

♪

Hi, Foo.
Hello, judges.

So what have you
made for us today?

Today, I made you
a Vietnamese dish

called goi cuon.

It's a Vietnamese spring roll

with a peanut butter
hoisin sauce.

It's a very easy dish to buckle

my little 7-year-old up

and serve her some goi cuon.

Tiffany: This sauce here,
it is spicy and rich,

which lets me know you've
been listening

to what we've been
saying about
bringing the flavor.

I'm trying.

There is so much flavor packed

into this spring roll.

It has tons of herbs.

This is a wonderful
snack to have
in the car,

so I know the kids will love it.

Thank you.

Hi, Brian.
How's it going?

I have made you
a mustard maple
rosemary wing.

♪

Graham: I never expect you
to underdeliver on the flavor,

and you didn't this time
either, right?

This is just jam packed.

The sauce, the maple,
the mustard.

This is delicious.

Tiffany: You always
kill it with flavor,

but think about every
aspect of the round.

When I have a wing that's sauce,

it's a little bit more
difficult to eat

on the go, right.

I don't want to necessarily have

that problem when
traveling and eating.

Brian, voice-over:
The essence of the challenge

was portable foods,
and while I may do that,

not everybody
is going to do that.

Yeah, I really should have
served it with wet naps.

Hi, Nikki. What have you
made for us?

So today I have made
for you a salmon wrap.

This is a go-to for us.

I mean, whether,
like, we're going up

to the ski hill,
whether, you know,

boys are... we're carpooling.

It's "Boys, get
in the door,
grab your gear,

"grab your burrito
and get your
in the car.

Let's go."

[Laughter]

By boys, you're talking
about your husband

and his friends?
Absolutely.

It all works.
I don't know how.

I'm a little confused
with the Gorgonzola

and the peanut sauce,
but it all really works

together very nicely.

The salmon is cooked perfectly.

I love that each bite,
you get a little bit

of everything in there.

I love that.
Thank you.

Dan, tell us about
your handheld dish.

All right. So
my handheld dish is salsiccia

with a little broccoli rabe,
provolone cheese,

some roasted red peppers
on a hard Italian roll,

also known as
an Italian teething ring.

[Laughter]

Alejandra: And why do
we call the bread
an Italian teething ring?

Because when the kids are
little and they're teething,

you can just cut the ends
of one of these off.

It's big enough.
They'll, like, chew
on it all day long,

and, you know, never make
any progress,

but it's better than them
shoving a piece of plastic

in their mouth.
I agree.

Honestly, I feel like you have

every kind of component
that you want
in a sandwich.

You have that bitterness
from the broccoli rabe.

I think the cheese
kind of mellows it out
a little bit.

You have that fattiness
and that richness

from the pork sausage.

My only critique... maybe
in the broccoli rabe

add a little bit
of, like, lemon juice,

just to, like, brighten
it up a little bit

because broccoli rabe
can be strong
and overpowering.

Good. Thank you.

Alejandra: Hey, Tony.

What have you made for us today?

I made you my Korean
barbecue quesadillas.

Unlike my counterparts,
I am not married

or do not have any children,
so I'm not running around

to soccer practice

or dropping the kids
off anywhere.

However, I do have
friends and a girlfriend

that we're just on the go,
we're always busy,

so I'm just trying to
make do with what I can.

Go on road trips
and trying to have

something handy for them.

Tony, that's
a really tasty dish.

I enjoy it. I think it's
a great idea behind it.

The caramelization on the onion

and the beef itself
give a great sweetness.

The kimchi salsa goes
perfect with it, right,

because it really needs
that acidity

to kind of cut through.

For my personal
preference, I would like

a little more heat,
or even, like, a little herb,

whether it's, you know,
shaved scallion

or cilantro,

but the flavor overall,
especially when you

combine those two together,

makes a really great bite.

Thank you, chef.

Hello, hello.

Alejandra: Hello, Silvia!

Welcome!

So I made for you a BLT burrito

with homemade bacon tortillas

and a habanero mayo.

♪

Tiffany: This really is
a very well-made tortilla.

What I will say, though,
is when I came around

and we were talking
about how much bacon,

you told me that it was
going to be bacon
on bacon on bacon.

3 times it's bacon,

and, yes, I have a lot
of bacon on the outside.

In the tortilla,
I get a little bit,

but I want more than
the two strips

of bacon that I have inside here

more so for that crunch
and that saltiness,

but the creaminess
of that mayo is
delicious with it.

Thank you.

Hello, Robin.
What's up, Robin?

I made you dolmas.

They are stuffed grape leaves,

stuffed with lamb, barley,
lemon, and love.

♪

Leah: Robin, clearly this
is not your first time
rolling these dolmas.

You are a pro,
and I can tell
because the filling

is evenly incorporated,
and you want

a picture of a perfect
rolled dolma,

this is what it looks like.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Delicious.

The lamb is not too gamey.

There is this great
texture in the inside.

It's filled properly.

It is perfect for just
dipping and dunking,

and I know why this
is one of those recipes

that gets passed down
and enjoyed

from generation to generation.

Thank you so much, Robin.

Robin: Thank you.
Thank you.

♪

Alejandra: We asked you to
make a delicious dish

you can grab and go.

Cooks, I have to say
you really impressed us

with your handheld recipes.

I'm going to take one
of each to go actually.

[Laughter]

Remember, your dishes
will be judged on taste,

execution, presentation,
and how well

your recipe showcases the theme.

OK, judges. Who made
your favorite dishes this round?

♪

Robin... your dolmas
were delicious.

They were creative,
and I love that you even put

your own spin on them
by doing the barley

instead of the rice.

Great job.

Thank you.

Robin, voice-over: Dolmas are
one of my more important dishes,

so I'm glad the judges
had a chance to taste my dolmas.

I get to take a deep
breath and relax

for just a second
because I feel good

about the comments.

It helps to build
confidence to go forward

with the next round.

Tiffany: Another one
of our favorites is Foo.

Nikki: Yay!
Dan: Yeah, Foo. Whoo!

Good job, buddy!

Tiffany: Your spring rolls
were delicious,

and we know that it took
some skill and technique

to do it right.

From the cooking
of the shrimp properly

and enough filling of
herb through every bite.

Delicious.

Thank you.

Foo, voice-over: Whoa!
What a confidence booster

to have some recognized chefs
say that they liked my food.

That's a cool feeling,

but you know what?

I'm a laser focused guy.

I believe in
"OK, so let's celebrate quickly,

and let's move on
to the next dish."

Excellent job, Foo and Robin.

We can't wait to see
what recipes you have

for the next round.

♪

In the last round, you showed us

your on-the-go dishes.

This round, we want to see
what dish you'd take

to a festive outdoor event.

Graham: From concerts
to tailgate parties,

food at outdoor events is
no longer just

hamburgers and hot dogs.

Tiffany: I grew up
in the South,

and tailgating is huge there.

We take everything with us.

We barbecue it out,
and, oftentimes,

it's not the typical things

you would think of
with barbecue.

We have chicken tetrazzini
and fried chicken,

but most importantly,
it has to have flavor.

Graham:
For our second round,

we want you to make
a dish that is going to be

a standout for
an outdoor gathering.

Alejandra: You have 90 minutes
to create your perfect dish

for an outdoor gathering.

Leah: Your dishes
will be judged
on taste,

presentation, execution,

and how well your dish
showcases the theme.

Alejandra: Unfortunately,
at the end of this round,

we are sadly going
to have to send someone home.

I hope you're ready.

Your 90 minutes starts now!

♪

Time to go.

Going into
round two,
I'm feeling

completely confident.

I've got this game,

I've nailed it down,

I know where this is going.

I call this the absurdly
cheesy mac.

Every picnic, barbecue,
wedding, holiday

in the South
has macaroni and cheese.

Me and my wife,
we always take this.

It first appeared at
our surprise barbecue wedding.

No one knew except
for maybe 7 people.

We did 4 pork butts,
3 briskets, 12 racks of ribs,

and we got married.

We've got, I think,
6 different cheeses in here.

And ever since then,
it has been requested

at every get-together
that we do.

White cheddar,
sharp cheddar, smoked Gouda,

ricotta, parmesan goes in.

It is definitely
not a side dish.

This is an entree.

We love cheese.

I don't bring my wife flowers,
I bring her cheese.

Cheese is our love language.

Ha ha ha!

So this mac and cheese is not
just mac and cheese.

Some pickled jalapeños in here,

and we've got some little bit
of nutmeg

in the sauce to top it off,

and we're charring off
some corn.

I like to roast off
some cauliflower in the oven.

It was one of those
things that my mom always had,

and she used to throw it
in her macaroni and cheese,

and that's where I picked it up.

It gives it a little
more texture and flavor.

All of that corn,
pickled jalapeños,

cauliflower,
and green chilies goes

into the cheese mixture,

which then goes on top
of the pasta,

and then bake it.

Ooh! Almost lost them.

♪

I am channeling my inner
father-in-law,

making chicken legs.

In this round,

I'm making two different types

of chicken legs
and fresh veggies.

Oh, mama.

My father-in-law,
this is something he taught me

how to make,
and I take this everywhere.

We like to make chicken legs
for Super Bowl events,

any picnic party that we go to.

For my chicken legs,
my plan is to create 3 sauces.

I have a very spicy
but yet sweet chili sauce,

and then I have more
like a savory buffalo sauce

and a homemade ranch dressing.

Thicken this up a little.

So my sweet chili sauce
is rice vinegar,

toasted sesame seeds, sugar,
and then red chili flakes,

♪

And my buffalo sauce
has hot sauce,

the blue cheese crumbles,
and butter.

This brings the heat,
and then we mellow it out

with the ranch dip.

I want to do well by my in-laws.

I just want to do well for them.

♪

Silvia, voice-over:
So for second round,

I need to make a dish
that I can take

to an outdoor activity.

Kids love breaded chicken.

So I'm making Milanesa tortas.

Torta is a Mexican sandwich.

It's going to be topped
with pickled jalapeños,

lettuce, tomatoes,
avocado, cheese.

Tortas is something
very traditional in my family

to take to outdoor activity

because they're easy to make,

they're delicious,
and the star is the chicken,

and I need to pound it down
because I need to

make it thin.

♪

Oh!

Then I do something
that my mom used to do,

which put the chicken in milk
with salt and pepper.

The milk helps to moisten
the chicken.

And I'm seasoning the flour
and the breadcrumbs

with salt, pepper,
onion powder, and garlic.

After the previous dish,
oh, my gosh,

I was a wreck because
I burned my bacon,

so I'm not talking much because
I'm focused on this.

Silvia, voice-over: Since this
is our elimination round...

Oh, come on, come on.

I need to make sure that I don't
make any mistakes.

I don't want to go home
because I have

more recipes to share.

60 minutes left.

♪

Nikki, voice-over: My chicken
legs have been cooking

for 20 minutes.

So it's about 10 degrees off.

They need to be
at 175 with a beautiful char.

It's not happening.

I go from flustered to panic.

I'm pulling out a skillet.

I'm throwing them in the skillet

thinking they just need to cook.

I'm putting them on the grill.

I'm getting the broiler going.

I mean, I set a lid over them,

and I'm just trying
to press down

so at least we can have a char.

I'm just going to do
my best and pray.

♪

We got a little
chicken going on.

For the second round,
I am making

chicken and waffles.

I'm from Maryland.

Just about everybody
who grew up in this area

either owns a boat
or grew up having

some kind of a little boat,

so I love to be able to
take food on the boat.

Getting them thin enough
that they can be

cooked quickly.

I prefer to use
chicken thighs because it has

a lot of flavor.

It's got a little bit
of fat in there.

I don't want the chicken
to make the waffles soggy,

so I want to make
sure I get a nice,

firm sear on the outside
of the chicken.

And then, put them in
the oven and let them

finish baking off there.

See how it does.

I feel confident
about the chicken,

but I want to give a little bit
of a bright flavor

to the waffles because they're
not sweet waffles,

so I want to give it
a savory flavor.

The waffle batter has chives,
and the sweetness

is only going to go
on the chicken.

When it's done cooking,

it's going to get a chili pepper
honey drizzle on top.

We're moving here.

♪

Hopefully, today I will
be able to execute.

We're making beef pho.

It's a Vietnamese noodle soup.

Of all the dishes so far,
this one has

the most pressure because
I'm Vietnamese

and this is one
of the DNAs of Vietnam.

So this is a dish that,
when I was little,

when we'd go to a picnic,
this is something

my mom would make.

I know that when people
think about pho,

they don't think
it's a portable food,

but for me,
it's the most delicious

portable food.

There is a outdoor movie show
at a local cemetery

in Los Angeles, California,

so when me and my friends go,
I do the same thing.

I make the noodles, the beef,

and then the broth is separate.

I also bring
a camping Bunsen burner,

heat it up,

bring our own bowls
and enjoy it outside

watching the movie
under the stars.

In my pho, I have beef shank,

and I have some beef ribs
in there.

I also am putting oxtail.

I'm going to make that pho stock
in that pressure cooker.

Traditionally, pho
can take 12 hours to make,

but we're going to try
to capture that flavor

in a very short period of time.

I also like my pho
with a New York strip steak...

And it's covered
in a barbecue dry rub.

because I like steaks.

This is an American pho.

It's going to be seared
and garnished on top

of the bowl of pho.

Go bold or go home.

I'm not nervous at all.

I'm just doing what
I love to eat,

and I'm doing what
I was raised on.

Hey, Foo?
What's up, buddy?

Do you want to work out?

Do I want to work out?

Yeah, you want to work out?
You gonna take a chance

and knead this dough for me?

Ha ha ha!

I've been going at this
for, like, 5 minutes.

You know, we could
start a gym after this.

What's your gym called?

Uh, No Knead.

No Knead... oh. Ha ha ha!
Nice.

Tony, voice-over: I'm really
excited to make something

different than Korean fusion
for the judges.

I'm making kind
of a deconstructed cannoli,

which is an Italian dessert.

So I'm making cannoli dip
with homemade chips for it,

so it's kind of
my go-to dish for making

at outdoor events,

whenever I have picnics
or a football game.

I just love making it
for friends.

It's a very sweet,
very tasty dish.

This is definitely
a little bit more out

of my comfort zone
that the judges

are used to seeing,

and I'm also making the dough
completely from scratch.

Tiffany: Hey, Tony.
Hi, judges.
How are y'all doing?

Leah: Hi, Tony.
How are you?

What you making?

I am busy cutting out
the little pastries

for my cannoli dip.

Did you say cannoli?

I said cannoli dip.
Yeah.

It's like a deconstructed

cannoli right here.

So I'm making the pastries

right now for them.

I'm going to deep fry those.

And so, what's in your filling?

So in my filling,
I've got ricotta cheese,

mascarpone cheese,
some vanilla extract,

powdered sugar,
and chocolate chips.

I actually worked in Sicily,

and I worked
the pastry station
for probably 3 months,

and I made cannolis
every day.
Oh.

I put orange zest
in my cannoli filling,

and it just, like, took it
to the next level,

so if you want to steal
that little tip...

OK.
I'll share that with you.

Well, hopefully, mine's
up to par, all right?

Yeah. Ha ha ha!

Thanks, Tony.
Thank you, Tony,

Thank you, judges.

Tony, voice-over: So I'm taking
Leah's advice and adding

freshly grated orange zest
to the cannoli filling.

I mean, I'd love to
get Dan's advice

on the cannoli once it's
in its final forms

and give Dan a taste
and let him see

what he thinks of it.

He's looking good.

Next thing we'll have
to practice is

which way the beach is.

Hey. There we go.

The beach is that a-way.

Oh!
Oh!

What I'm making,
it's caprese chicken,

and I'm going to make
some homemade cavatelli.

Where I would take this to is
Fourth of July parties

or any type of house party,

and I get invited to a lot
of house parties.

Hi, Dan. How are you?
Hello.

I'm well, chefs.
How are you today?

Good. What are you
making for us, Dan?

I'm brining some
chicken out right here.

I have the tomatoes
and the mozzarella
cut over there,

and I've made a dough
over here that I'm

going to make cavatelli with.

My grandmother's
cavatelli maker,

after she passed, I got it.

Hopefully, I pull it off.

Wow. So this you
learned to make

from your grandmother,
the cavatelli?

I did. I did.
You would start out,

you'd get to roll
the dough,
and that's it.

Just roll the dough,

and then you were able
to graduate up

to making them with the fork,

and then, once they
were happy with your
performance there,

you were allowed to use
the cavatelli maker

at which point you said,
"I cannot believe

"I rolled 10,000
of these things by hand

when I could have
run them through
this machine."

But, hey, that's
the price you've
got to pay.

This is the original, right?

Yes, that's the original.

It has the price on it.

It's like 11...
There it is, 11.95.

Wow!
Oh, I love it.

Handwritten note in it from her,

and, uh...

I can feel the love
that you have

and the respect that
you have for your nonna,

and I think that's
a really beautiful thing.

Thank you, chef.
It means a lot.

Well, Dan, I tell you what.
We cannot wait

to taste the legacy
that she's left behind

and the love and all that she's

taught you through food.

I'm glad you stopped by.
Thanks for popping in.

It smells delicious.

Thank you, Dan.
Thank you.

What makes me think
about my grandmother,

it's when I'm turning
the cavatelli maker.

It's not the visual
of seeing what comes out of it.

It's you hear that clicking.

Click, click, click,
click, click, click.

And that's actually
what reminds me of her.

My whole life
I've been waiting for that.

♪

Alejandra: 5 minutes left.

Make it happen.

It's not a lot of time, folks.

We've got waffles
in there cooking.

Let's see what they look like.

Come on, guys.
Get brown.

All right, judges.
What are you excited about?

What are you seeing here today?

Leah: Honestly, I'm
really excited to
try Tony's dish.

He is going
in a completely
different direction

than anything we've seen before.

I love that he's
stepping out
of the box

and he's going with a cannoli,

and he's taking
my tip by using
a little orange zest.

Tony: Now we're looking good.

There we go, yeah.

I love that everyone is
cooking from scratch.

There are doughs
being made and batters,

and honestly, I feel
like that's some

of the best part
of cooking at home

is really taking
the time and following up

with those recipes that
have been handed down

from generation to generation.

Silvia:
How many more minutes?

One minute.

Silvia: Oh, my gosh!

♪

Get those plates ready.

♪

Tiffany: 5, 4,

3,

2, 1.

Hands up.
Time's up, everyone.

Whoo!

♪

Alejandra: This week, we asked
you to take us

on a food journey away
from the dinner table

and into the great outdoors.

For this round,
we wanted you to prepare

a scrumptious dish

for a festive outdoor gathering.

Graham: Don't forget,
your dishes will be judged

on taste, presentation,
execution,

and how well your dish
showcases the theme.

OK, Tony.
Come and join us.

So this is my cannoli dip.

It is made with mascarpone,
ricotta cheese,

powdered sugar,
and chocolate chips.

Leah: The filling is
perfectly sweetened.

It's not too sweet,
it's not too overpowering.

It goes really, really well

with the little chips,

and I love
the addition,
of course,

of the orange zest.

I think that brightens
everything up

and gives it
a little bit of pop.

I like that you are getting out

of your comfort zone
because this is not

something I would
expect you to make,

and it's a really
pleasant surprise.

Thank you, judges.

Alejandra: Dan, you're next.
Come and join us.

What I made today is
a chicken caprese
pasta salad.

Tiffany: The pasta
is right on the money,

but I do want a touch
more either acid or salt.

I also would like
a little bit more basil.

I think the salad
could take a little
more freshness,

but the things that
you have on this plate
you did very well.

Thank you, chef.

Alejandra: Silvia,
come on and join us.

Today, I made for you
Milanesa tortas,

which is a Mexican breaded
chicken sandwich.

♪

Graham: I mean, when you
see something like this,

you know, come to you,
to the table, like,

there are so many
emotions that happen

with something like that

Because it's amazing.

It just looks so beautiful.

The assembly of the sandwich

so you get a little bit
of everything.

The cook on the chicken
itself is great.

I love it. Good job.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Foo.

So, judges, today
I made you pho,

which is a Vietnamese
beef noodle soup.

It is not your traditional

outdoor camping,

picnic meal to say the least,

but this is a dish that
when my family and I

went camping, my mom would make

those components,
the noodle and the meat,

and the broth was
carried separately
in a container,

and then we would have
a gas burner,

and she would heat up
that broth that way, as well.

So when you eat
a pho, it's all
about the broth,

and you want it
to have that deep,
deep, rich flavor,

and I think you
did an excellent job

with the broth on this pho.

I love that you
used oxtail because
it has so much flavor,

and it just really,
I think, sets apart
your broth.

Thank you, judges.
Thank you.

Alejandra:
You're up next, Robin.

Thank you.

I have made for you
a chive waffle

honey chicken sandwich.

I'm from Annapolis, Maryland.

It is the sailing capital,

and I'm a motorboat girl
because on sailboats

you don't get to enjoy eating.

You're working,

so I would take this
out on the boat.

Graham: So, Robin, this
has got a lot of flavor.

I really enjoy the fact
that you put the chives

in the waffle, right,
because you can do

a savory waffle, right,

a little cracked pepper,
a little salt,

but the fact that you
added that to it

makes it nice and light.

The cook on the chicken
itself is great,

but I think it's
a really fun dish.

I mean, if you brought
this over,

or we all went
out on the boat,
I'd be psyched.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Nikki, tell us
about your dish.

I made chicken legs.

I made two types, a sweet chili

and a buffalo sauce,

and of course, you
always have to have

the veggies with it.

Tiffany: So, Nikki, as I'm
looking at the chicken,

I see a beautiful
brownness on one side.

When I turned it over...

[Laughter]

the other side
wasn't quite as brown.

I... just temperamental oven
and me just getting

a little flustered,

and I pulled out the grill,

put some in the skillet,

put a lid on that, too,
just to try to

build up some heat.

I was just throwing
all the hail Marys,

so, yeah, yeah.

That's the thing.
Sometimes you have a plan,

and it's not working out
the way that you want it.

You pivot.

Sometimes we get
a little anxious,

and I feel like you were
checking it often,

and each time that you
opened the oven,

the heat would escape,
and you couldn't hold

that temperature in.

So just a little bit
of patience,

go ahead and, you know,
bring yourself down,

work on something else,

and stay calm, because that's

really part of it.

Because I love
the brown on that one top.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Brian,
come and join us.

I made for you
my absurdly cheesy mac.

Every party, wedding,
festivity in the South

requires macaroni and cheese.

It's just... it's always there.

Graham: Great flavor.
I love mac and cheese.

A big connoisseur.

I think that it's great
that you also did

the crust on top because
you do need

that textural contrast
with the crunch

and the soft pasta itself,

but with the cauliflower,

it almost starts getting
into that mealy texture,

just because of the way
it all cooks together,

so I would think next
time you could almost

remove some of the...
The filling, if you will,

and add more of
that cheesy sauce.

Maybe it just doesn't
need all that

extra stuff in there.

Let the noodles
and the cheese speak

for themselves.

Thank you, Brian.

Thank you very much.

Brian, voice-over: I agree
that it should have been

a little more saucy,

but I know
the flavors were there.

That recipe has served
my family well over the years,

and I do not think it's gonna
change going forward.

♪

Tiffany: Your recipes today
showed us that

no matter where you dine
that your food

can be delicious and memorable.

Alejandra: Judges, which are
the dishes that

stood out for you?

♪

Tony's deconstructed cannoli.

Yeah!

Tony: To be
from where
I was

just last week at

the bottom two

to being on top,

I'm very thrilled.

Graham: And our other
favorites dishes...

Silvia's Milanesa.

Thank you.

The judges loved my tortas.

They said that
they loved
the flavor.

I was very happy.

Thank you.

Alejandra: There were so many
delicious recipes today,

but we all agree,
the most successful dish is...

♪

Tony with his
deconstructed cannoli dip!

[Cheering and applause]

Thank you.

Leah: Tony, we've seen
a lot of the Korean,

Mexican flavors,

but this time you took a risk,

and it paid off.

Alejandra:
Congratulations, Tony.

Thank you.

I always put myself
in the bottom.

Just like "Oh,
you know, I'm good,

but I'm not that good,"

so I was very surprised,

but I'm happy.

I'm elated for sure.

Alejandra:
Magnificent work, sir.

Unfortunately, there were
a couple dishes

that, in comparison,
weren't as high on the list.

♪

Brian... and Nikki,

you had the judges'
least successful dishes tonight.

Graham: Brian, I loved
the flavor

of the mac and cheese,

and the story
with the wedding was great.

Unfortunately,
it did eat a little dry.

It needed some more
of that cheesy sauce.

Brian voice-over: I agree
that it should have been

a little more saucy,

and I should have taken down
the size

on the cauliflower
a little more.

Man, I hope I did
good enough not to go home.

Nikki, you had
a few technical issues.

The chicken wasn't
cooked properly.

We had more browning
on one side.

One of the things you
have to do is adapt

and make sure, even if
it isn't working right,

maybe we just put
a little bit more sauce

and baste it in the oven.

Nikki, voice-over:
It was no surprise to me to be

in the bottom two.

Doing it again,
will I make some changes?

Absolutely.

I just want to stay in
and just do the best that I can.

That means that, Brian or Nikki,

one of you will be
leaving us tonight.

♪

The judges have made
their decision,

and sadly...

♪

Brian, you will be
heading back home

to your kitchen tonight.

♪

Brian: It's been
a pleasure, everybody.

Aww.

Don't be sad, don't be sad.

This has been
a wonderful experience.

Brian, voice-over:
I have no regrets.

Leaving on my macaroni
and cheese beautiful recipe

that's shared
by so many other families,

I couldn't have exited
on a better note.

Brian, you cook
with a big heart,

and I think that that's
really, really important

and what sets you apart.

This has been
a tremendous experience,

and I'm so happy to
have gained insight

from y'all and from these
fantastic home cooks around me.

Thank you so much
for sharing your recipes

with us, Brian.

We're sad to see you go.

My pleasure.

♪

Alejandra: Bye, Brian.

Nikki, voice-over:
I just start crying

because you just lose someone
who you've gotten close to,

who I think is
a hell of a guy, hell of a cook.

It stinks.

♪

Alejandra: This week was
all about those recipes

you can make and take to enjoy
outside of the kitchen.

We will see you back
here next week

for your next batch of recipes.

Bye! Ha ha ha!

♪

Next time on
"The Great American Recipe"...

We want to keep
the festivities going...

[Laughter]

by seeing what recipes
you would make

for one of life's
special celebrations.

It was a soup that I made
for the first time

in United States right after
I got my U.S. citizenship.

I think you got to call
in some co-workers

because it's on fire.

It's delicious.

Tony: My mom would always
make this

every New Year's for us.

The most successful dish was...

♪

[Pencil scratching]