All language subtitles for The.Great.American.Recipe.S01E02.1080p.WEB.h264-BAE

Alejandra Ramos: Tonight on
"The Great American Recipe"...

We want you to create
that one recipe
everyone always loves.

Dan: My grandmother
and my aunt taught me

to make gnocchi when
I was a little kid,

and I'm the last one
in the family

that I know of that makes it.

Alejandra: There's
another fried rice

happening in the room today.

The battle of fried rice.

Tony: Hey, Foo,
I'm coming for you.

Brian:
Here you go.

Woo! Those peppers.

There is spice in the air.

Graham: Yeah.

Oh.

Oh, man, what is in that?

Alejandra: What makes
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 mantecadas.
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
in the bottom two

and almost got eliminated.

Tiffany: Tony,
unfortunately the texture

wasn't right for the meatloaf.

♪

Tony: But I'm going to give
110% effort this week.

Irma: Coming into this week

after last week's elimination
is still scary.

Christina, unfortunately
you're going home tonight.

♪

Irma: It's one thing
to cook at home

and it's another thing to
cook in a competition.

But I'm so happy
that I'm still here.

Ha ha ha!

Alejandra:
Welcome back, cooks,

to week two of "The
Great American Recipe."

We're back with our judges,

Graham Elliott, Leah Cohen,
and Tiffany Derry.

♪

Are you ready to find out

what you're going to
cook up next?
Cooks: Yeah!

This week's theme
is The Daily Dish.

We want to see a recipe
that you cook in
your daily lives.

Life and work keeps us
so busy that before
you know it,

you have to get
dinner on the table

and you barely even
have time to plan.

Mm-hmm.
So in this round,

you have 45 minutes
to make a quick dish

with your go-to staple
ingredients you
always keep at home.

This is your chance
to give us a peek
into your daily lives.

You'll be judged on taste,

presentation, execution,

and how well your dish
highlights the theme.

Good luck.

Your time starts now.

Whoo-hoo!

♪

Judges, we asked
the cooks to make a dish

they prepare in their
everyday lives.

What are you guys
looking for here?

Leah: I really want
to get to know them.

I want to feel like
I'm at their house

and they're cooking for me,

in like, you know,
20 or 30 minutes,

they just threw
something together.

I've always got a bunch
of veggies and greens
in the fridge.

My go-to is just ramen
noodles that I can tweak,

throw in some sliced
pork or shrimp,

some veggies, a little
green onion on top.

It's the go-to.

♪

Bambi: Taste the mushroom.

Mushroom is good.
Not too salty.

Bambi, voice-over: I am ready,
I'm excited. I'm going to do it.

I'm ready to make it
do what it do.

Ingredients I always have
is a lot of pasta.

So I just go in and I see
what type of meats I have,

and then I get all my vegetables

and I put them all
together in one,

and I call it a soul
satisfying linguine.

I'm going to take pork,
chicken, sausage, peppers,

sauté all of those up.

I throw in some chicken
broth for added flavor

and make it a great meal.

I make it for my husband
and my children,

especially when they
come from college

and they want to have
a home cooked meal by mom.

I have a large family,

and my kids would always
bring somebody over.

So when the kids
were over to the house,

I would cook pasta meals,
pasta bake.

I'm moving so fast, I'm
using my mitten gloves to cook.

Ha ha ha!

♪

The number one thing
I want to not do
is not cut myself.

So I'm making kimchi fried rice.

Tony, voice-over: Kimchi
is a spicy pickled cabbage,

and it's a staple
in a Korean household.

A lot of Americans have a fridge

for beers or alcohol
in their garages.

Well, a lot of Koreans have
a fridge just for kimchi.

I always have kimchi
and leftover white rice
in my fridge.

And so whenever I come
home late at night
and I'm just like,

you know, I want to
make something quick,

I always fry up some rice
with some soy sauce,

some sesame oil,
and some leftover
veggies and kimchi,

and it just tastes
like home to me.

When my girlfriend and I
first started dating,

one of our first dates I cooked
her kimchi fried rice,

and I think that's
what sealed the deal,

so I think we're good.

♪

Come on, hot dog, cooperate.

Stay still, dude.
Stay still, man.

Come on. There we go.

Today I'm making pineapple
fried rice.

It's a dish that I ate
when I was in college.

It's whatever was left in
the dorm refrigerator

and putting it together,

season it with some traditional
Vietnamese sauces.

My fried rice has hot dogs,
some grilled pineapple,
and canned ham.

♪

Canned ham is sweet,
it's salty, it's savory,

and you fry it,
it's crispy, it's yummy.

My family always have it
in their pantry.

Look at that, that's beautiful.

Foo, voice-over: I feel pretty
confident about my dish,

but as I look around, I see Tony
is also making fried rice.

Tony is a great home cook,

and Tony is younger,

and Tony is taller,
and he's better looking.

Man, come on.

Please don't cook
fried rice as well.

Ooh, something smells good.

I don't know what it is but...

Chorizo, it's chorizo.

Silvia, it's Silvia's dish.

Love it.

Silvia, voice-over: For this
round, I'm making choriqueso,

which is a combination
between chorizo and cheese,

and I'm serving it with some
homemade flour tortillas.

Also, I'm making
the salsa guacamole

because avocados and tomatoes
are always in my fridge.

That's it. That's my
chopped guacamole.

It's not smashed, you can see
every piece in there.

My kids will be happy to eat
at it any time of the day.

It's like a snack,
and it's so delicious.

♪

So I'm making flour tortillas,

which they're very
easy to make at home.

You just need 4 ingredients.

Silvia, voice-over:
Flour, water, lard, and salt.

So I'm just waiting and kneading

so I can get more
uniform tortillas,

and then I need to
let the dough rest

to get flexible and smooth.

Maybe it's a little ambitious,

but I like flour
tortillas with a queso,

so go big or go home,
I think. Ha ha ha!

♪

Robin: All right, we've
got feta, olives,

herbs, and tomatoes.

I am making shakshouka.
That's sort of a Moroccan dish.

Whoever's at my house eating.

'Cause there's always
somebody there eating.

Robin, voice-over: I do not keep
very much in my pantry.

I like to get most
of my products fresh.

I grow tomatoes and peppers,

and I use canned tomatoes
when it's not tomato season.

Shakshouka is
an easy dish for me

because it's a delicious spicy
tomato sauce with an egg on top.

Perfect.

All right.

I am going to attempt
to get a quick little
flatbread going here.

Robin, voice-over: I want
the judges to have something

to dip in the eggs,
and I don't want to give them

a store-bought piece of bread.

Just a little nibble
of something

to dunk in the egg.

Baking is sometimes very
technical, it's niggling.

You have to follow measurements,

and it's not so much
cook by how you feel
or how you think.

But I love it.

Let's see how these
babies are doing.

Not yet.

How's it going over there?

Oh, wow, aren't you
looking good?

Soup's gotta cook.

Robin: Soup's gotta cook.

So when I have to cook
a dish in a pinch at home,

the best way to do
that is take a note
from my childhood

and get some zuppa
Toscana on the stove.

Brian, voice-over: Zuppa
Toscana, or Tuscan soup,

is a hearty, everyday
Italian soup.

It uses bacon, spicy sausage,
and a hearty broth,

a little bit of cream,
Parmesan cheese.

We're getting there.
Pan's heating up.

I learned how to make
this soup from my friend

and brother from another mother.

His family is Italian.

When I met my wife, we adapted
it for leaner means,

replacing potato
with cauliflower.

What makes my food unique
is my strong sense

of experimentation and flavors.

And I think that that will go
a long way in this competition.

Here we go, friends.

♪

Dan: All right,
I am officially naked.

What I'm making is a dish
called chicken Sicilian,

and it's all this chicken
that I've seasoned up

with some shallot and garlic,
hot pepperoncini peppers,

sun-dried tomatoes,
marinated artichoke hearts,

and some oven-roasted potatoes.

All right, keep going.

I put a little twist on it.

In the traditional dish,
they use cherry tomatoes in it,

where I like sun-dried tomatoes
a little bit better.

I think it adds
a little sweetness

to all the acidic stuff
that's inside of it.

I make it in the
firehouse quite often,

because we're always
eating on the go

and things have to be fast.

Dan, voice-over: Italian
food is great for feeding
a lot of people.

We like pretty big meals.

We are looking good.

With my grandmother,
you could eat like
a giant plate of food,

and then she'd be like,
"Oh, do you want some more?"

It's like, "No, I'm
absolutely stuffed."

"Oh, what's the matter?
Didn't you like it?"

"I ate 10 pounds of it,"
you know.

Chicken's looking good.

I'm preparing myself
for what's next.

Alejandra: 30 minutes!

Oh.
Nikki: Oh, no!

♪

Heh.

It's exciting business
right here.

See how big she can
chop that garlic today.

Irma, voice-over: This round
we have to showcase dishes

that you can
make fairly quickly,

and for me that's going
to be bacalaitos,

which is a Spanish term
for cod fritters.

Oh, no, that's not
going to fit in there.

Oh, problem number one.

It's traditional
to our Dominican and
Puerto Rican culture.

But there was a time when
this was not easily made

'cause you had to
take all the salt

off your codfish,
and this took hours.

But now we use pollock fish,
which is readily accessible.

I keep it in my freezer
all the time.

Irma, voice-over:
There's a history there.

There's a reason why
Puerto Ricans

are always using
dried, salted cod,

and it's because that's
the part of our culture

that came over from Spain.

That salted cod had to survive
the boat ride over.

Well, I'm making a mess,
but this is my batter.

So this is pollock fish,
and I added my
favorite seasonings,

like the adobo that
I make from scratch.

It's coriander and annatto,

garlic powder,
turmeric, oregano,

and I dropped a ton of
cilantro and garlic in here.

It just makes a nice
little batter that I'm
now going to fry,

and you're going to get these
nice little fritters.

When you just want to eat
something warm and fried

and just good, bacalaitos.

♪

OK, well, do what you know.

Do what you know.
Do what you know.

Nikki, voice-over: I am making
a pork ragu with polenta.

And it's my jam because
I make it all the time

in my pressure cooker.

This is me in a pinch
'cause we have
a crazy busy lifestyle.

I'm a work-from-home mom,

so this lets me put everything
in the pressure cooker

and I can still be a mom,
I can run carpool,

I know that food is cooking,

and then I just have to
wait for it to be done,

and then I can serve it
when everyone's back home.

Also, this dish speaks
to my Italian roots.

Who doesn't love a ragu?

♪

Foo! How are you?
Hi. Hey, judges.

I see you're making
some fried rice.

I'm going fried rice.

And there's another fried rice

happening in the room today.

Oh, the battle of fried rice.

He better watch out.

What is making
yours different than
Tony's fried rice?

We got some hot dogs,

and we're gonna sweeten it up
with some pineapple.

Fried rice is so versatile.

You can really add
whatever ingredients
you have.

Throw whatever you
have in the fridge,

and that's why
I love it so much.

My wife and I have two
little girls as well,

and we work, so it's,
as you stated, Leah,

it's such an easy,
portable dish.

By portable, I mean that you
could port everything

out of the fridge
and dump it in to a wok.

Yeah.
I love it.

Well, thank you so much, Foo.
Can't wait to try it.

Thank you.
Good luck.

Thank you, thank you.

♪

Tony: We're going to make
a couple of extra.

What do you need, bro?
What do you like?

You like sunny side up,
you like scrambled eggs?

What would you like?
I like any kind of eggs.

Welcome to Tony's Diner.

Sorry, we're out of bacon,
we're out of sausage.

Oh, no pancetta?
Mamma-mia.
Yeah, I know, bud.

No, honestly, I'm good.
You good?

I'm just trying to
get a couple more
eggs just in case.

Tony, voice-over:
Foo and I, we're doing
a fried rice throwdown,

but my fried rice has
kimchi and fried egg,

so I'm thinking, "Hey, Foo,

I'm coming for you.
Don't slip it up."

Alejandra: All right, we've
got 10 minutes left, cooks.

Brian: Don't tell me that.
Don't tell me that.

Nikki: No, no, no.

Just a pinch, just
a pinch, just a pinch.

♪

Soup goes with bread,
bread goes with soup.

Hey, folks, how's it going?

Hey. How you doing, Brian?

We're doing OK.

What you cooking?

We're making some zuppa Toscana.

We make it once, maybe
twice a week sometimes.

Really?
Yeah.

Keep you warm on those
cold winter nights.

And this is it?

I mean, you've got
3 more dishes you're
going to pull out?

We're pulling back
a little bit today.

We're going to give you
a bowl of beautiful soup

with a nice crusty bread,

and then we'll go from there.

Yeah, I love that.

It seems like you're editing
yourself a little bit.

I mean, you started
with doing the most,

in my words, the most, right?

We can feel your passion.

We know you love to cook, right,

and you've got great flavors.

And I think it
really is important

to stay confident
with what you do

and your vision of food,

but be humble enough to
be like, yeah, you know,

I agree, maybe that's too much,

maybe I can dial this in.

Brian, voice-over: I only
need one delicious dish

in order to knock this
one out of the park.

Come hungry.

Thank you. Thanks, Brian.
Thank you.

♪

And that's freaking good.
That is good.

There we go.
It's going, baby.

One of the most
important things about

cooking the flour tortillas
is to get the right temperature

in the cast iron
that you're using.

There we go.

Silvia, voice-over: I was trying
to, like, roll them on the side,

and then I move
and I flip them over,

and I run the other way,
keep rolling them out.

♪

Just keep watching them
so they don't burn.

But I'm liking the way
the tortillas are looking.

♪

How much time I have?

We've got 5 minutes left.

[Sizzling]

Hmm, what am I doing wrong?

Irma, voice-over: At this point,
this should be so easy.

But my bacalaitos are wobbling.

They're not forming anything.

But I don't know
if this is my error,

because I did have
to double the recipe,

and that gets
a little confusing.

We're adding a little
more flour here,

'cause I feel like my batter
might have too much liquid

'cause they're
frying up very moist.

And nobody wants
a soggy bacalaito.

We can do this, we can do this,
we can do this.

I hope this works.

♪

Finish that plating.
Come on.

Irma: Oh my gosh,
go, go, go.

Tiffany: See Tony over there,
sprinkling a little bit of salt,

which means he's paying
attention to what we said,

and I love to see that.

♪

Ooh!

I thought kids gave me
gray hairs.

This gives me gray hair.

♪

You've got to have cilantro
on top of your fried rice.

Why?

'Cause I'm Vietnamese.

Alejandra: Just one minute.
Finish that plating.

Come on!
Bambi: Oh, my gosh, go, go, go.

♪

Robin: Come on, you jiggly egg.

♪

Irma: Come on, little guys.

They could be better.

I think I got
a few uneven fries,

so I'm hoping for the best here.

But at least there will be
something on the plate.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Time's up.

Whoo!

Oh!

We did it, guys.

♪

Alejandra: Hi, Irma.
Hi.

How are you?

I always feel
like I'm coming home

when I come to your station.

Oh, thank you for saying that.

These are bacalaitos.
They're cod fritters.

I think that it
looks refreshing,

having some fresh herb
on the plate,

but one of the things
you want to be careful for

is making sure that
both sides cook properly,

you know, one side is
a little bit lighter
than the other.

And I've had this dish
quite a few times,

and it seems to be
a little bit thinner.

Graham: Yeah, I was going
to say the same thing,

but really good job
as far as the flavor.

They're really tasty.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Hi, Tony.
Tony: Hi, judges.

I made you kimchi fried rice
with a fried egg

and a lot of fresh veggies.

I always have a jar of kimchi

and leftover white rice
in the fridge,

and so this is
my meal in a pinch.

Leah: Tony, I think
the flavors are great,

I love the textures in
the rice with the carrots

and the kimchi
and the scallions.

But I feel like this
version is a version

that I make for my son.

He is two years old.

I do a little bit edited down.

I make it a little less
salty, a little less spicy,

but we all have really
strong palates here,

so I think you can
just kick up the
seasoning a little bit.

Welcome to the Midwest
of Minnesota, right?

We have a little less
of a spicy palate.

My parents' spice cabinet
is salt, pepper,
maybe garlic powder.

So for me, I have a
totally different spice
cabinet, but yes.

Thank you so much, Tony.

Thank you, chefs, appreciate it.

Hello.
Hi, guys.

Foo, tell us what you made.

My wife and I are kind of busy.

We have a 5 and 7-year-old,

so life is a little bit hectic.

So this is kind of like
whatever's in my fridge

and pantry fried rice.

Graham: Obviously the thing
that we all want to know

what the heck is going on is
this thing hanging on the side.

What have we got going on here?

Like I said, I have
5 and 7-year-olds,

so there's hot dogs in there.

And the advice that
I give my girls is

that you'd better eat
all of it before
the octopus escapes.

Ahh!
[Laughs]

Tiffany: That's cute.
That is cute.

I love that.
That's some good Dad-ing.

Graham: It is. I love it.
Thank you.

Yeah, my kid would totally
just like take his brother's

and they'd fight the whole
time instead of eating.

It's all they...
Everything's a toy.

It's fun.
I love that whimsy,

and I love the story behind it.

That's what we're here for.

I think you did a great job
with the flavor.

The freshness of the herbs,

the brightness and sweetness
of the pineapple.

Really, really well seasoned.

Thank you.

Bambi, Bambi.
Hi, guys. Hi.

Alejandra: What do you
have for us?

I have my soul
satisfying linguine.

Ooh.

Presentation of
the dish looks great.

And I can totally see you in
the fridge, "What do I have?

Chicken, sausage, shrimp,
peppers," you know,

and putting it together
and making something
flavorful and fulfilling.

Bambi, the flavor
of all of the goodies

on top are awesome, right,

but just remember
the pasta needs to be
just as flavorful.

Leah: And I feel like it's
a little overcooked,

and so it's kind of breaking
into smaller pieces,

and I like the long
pieces of pasta

that you can really twirl
and get your fork full,

and I just didn't
get it with this bowl.

Thank you, thank you.
Thank you.

Alejandra: Hi, Dan.
Hi, chefs.

What do we have here?

We have chicken Sicilian.

It has oven roasted potatoes,
some sun-dried tomatoes,

artichoke hearts,
pepperoncinis, black olives.

The way you executed
it is great.

You nailed the potato.

It's got a great richness.

The fact that you
were able to use these
jarred ingredients

but let them
speak for themselves

and get a really great flavor

that cuts through
that with the acidity.

The chicken, you can
see the color on it.

Really good job as
far as the technique
and execution.

Thank you, Chef.

Hi, Nikki.

I always in a pinch go
back to my Italian roots,

so I made for you a pork
ragu with a polenta.

You know, just give me some
well-cooked polenta,

a nice neat sauce,
a little bit more salt.

Oh, my.

A little bit more.

And in honesty, the polenta
itself is well seasoned,

you need a little
more in your sauce.

And the meat is beautiful
and tender,

so you obviously know
what you're doing with
the pressure cooker.

Thank you.

Hey, Robin.

Hi, welcome to my kitchen.

I made for you shakshouka.

In my kitchen, there's
always lots of eggs,

and there's always flour
in my pantry.

So, you know, I like bread.

Alejandra: So you
made this bread?

Yeah, I did.
Oh.

You've got to open with that.

It's just a... [Laughter]

It's just a quickie.

I like that you have,
you know, the bread

that's like sticking out,
and it's like ready
for me to grab

and you have so many
beautiful colors.

I mean, it just looks so
appetizing and delicious.

Tiffany: Yeah,
I have to agree.

The dish is just smart,
you know.

You have this beautiful sauce,

and then you made us
this beautiful flatbread

that is perfect for soaking,
and it has a great texture.

It really just speaks
to who you are.

I'm just really happy
to have this dish.

Thank you so much.

Hey, Brian.
Hey, chefs.

So I made today a zuppa Toscana.

In our home we always have
cauliflower, bacon, and sausage,

and that's the basis
of this soup.

♪

Graham: So as far
as presentation goes,

this is so simple, in
the best possible way.

It just screams, "Dive in."

I mean, the only thing
that's missing for me

is like a handle on the side,

so I can just walk around
or drive eating this thing.

That's how I do it
at home, actually.

Yeah.

Tiffany: Yeah, I agree.

The cauliflower
without the potato,

like it changed the soup
direction from feeling
hearty and heavy

to feeling hearty
but feeling light.

Thank you very much.

Alejandra: Silvia, hello.
Hello, hello, hello.

Welcome to my little
piece of Mexico.

[Laughter]

Tell us what we're
enjoying in your
little piece of Mexico.

Well, this is choriqueso.

Chorizo and cheese
and my tortillas,

and it's something
that my kids enjoy.

Especially lately, my kids
always say, "Hey, make more
tortillas, more tortillas."

So I'm getting faster.

You had me at fresh,
handmade tortillas.

I mean...

Seriously, you executed
these tortillas beautifully.

To me, this is a very
confident plate of food.

This is who you are,
and I love that.

And I think for all of us,

the takeaway is that,
hey, you know what,

you don't need too many dishes,
too many ingredients

to make something delicious.

Yeah, that's right.

♪

Alejandra: Great work, cooks.

We asked you to make
a quick meal

using your go-to staple
ingredients.

You will be judged on taste,
execution, presentation,

and of course, how well your
dish highlights the theme.

OK, judges, tell us about
some of your favorite dishes
from round one.

Tiffany: One of our favorites
was Silvia.

Thank you.

One of the special parts
about your dish

was of course the chorizo,
the queso, that was delicious,

but it was all about
the house-made tortillas,

and it was a pleasure to eat.

Thank you.

The judges loved my dish,
and I am ecstatic again.

[Laughs]

Leah: So for our
other favorite dish,

it all came down to the
battle of the fried rice

between Tony and Foo.

It was a tough choice, but
it finally came down to Foo.

Presentation, the story,
and also the flavoring,

and the octopus garnish
just took it over the top.

Thank you.

Foo, voice-over:
I feel great.

I taught Graham Elliot,
essentially,

how to feed his kids.

Alejandra:
Amazing job, cooks.

I hope you all take what
you learned in this round

and apply it to
your next recipe.

♪

For our second round, we want
you to create a crowd-pleaser.

For example, it could be
that one recipe everyone
always loves,

or it could be a favorite dish
you adapted,

like something you made
for Meatless Monday.

I don't just make fried chicken,

I also make vegetarian options.

I love chargrilled hen
of the woods mushrooms.

I just think
that it turns heads,

and they're like, I don't
like vegetarian dishes,

but I love this dish.

You have 90 minutes
to make a dish that
can win anyone over,

but especially us.

Unfortunately, at the end
of this round,

one of you will be going
back to your home kitchen.

Remember, your dish
will be judged on taste,

presentation, execution,

and how well it
highlights the theme.

Ready to get started?

Cooks: Yes!

Great, because your time...

starts now!

♪

Dan and Nikki are
the resident Italian cooks,

but this round I'm
also going Italian.

Ow!

That garlic peel
is pretty sharp.

I'm making
spaghetti and meatballs,

and I'm going to make it my own.

So in my sauce there's sriracha.

I call it sriracha pasta,

and I'm adding
some heat that is not in

a traditional spaghetti
and meatball.

When I have friends
and family over,
it's a crowd-pleaser.

My little girls like it too
because it's comforting.

Foo, voice-over: On paper it
looks like a very simple dish,

but there's a lot to do,
especially with the meatballs.

I like to elevate my meatballs

and give them a little
bit more flavor.

They have ground pork,
ground beef, roasted
garlic, parsley...

I don't want to overwork it
or it's going to be chewy.

grated Parmesan cheese,
onions, mushroom stock.

That's a lot of stuff
for one meatball.

It's time for me
to make the spaghetti.

I don't like it kind of
long and stringy

personally, myself,
so I tend to break it.

[Gasps]
Italians' nightmare.

Ooh-we.

Nikki: My grandmother is
rolling in her grave.

Oh, I'm sorry, Nikki's grandma.

Maybe if she tastes
my marinara sauce,

she'll roll back over.

[Laughter]

♪

Nikki: I need a jalapeno.

I am making cilantro lime
shrimp tacos.

Nikki, voice-over: Foo is behind
me making Italian food,

and I'm Italian
making Mexican food

while Silvia is
right in front of me.

I am sweating just even
thinking about it.

Who doesn't love tacos?

And shrimp tacos are just
so light, they're easy.

I'm also making my own chips,
I'm making a salsa.

Woo! Pepper got me.

And I'm making a guacamole.

Am I nervous
that I'm doing Mexican

in an elimination round
when I am Italian?

Yes, I am.

But I don't really have
a lane to stay in.

I love all flavors.
I make it at home.

It is a crowd-pleaser.

So that's what I'm going with.

Nikki, voice-over:
I just want to show
that I'm a contender

and also to make
my two boys proud.

Mama, open, just open.

Mmm.

Salt.

Salt? Oh, my God.
You guys and your salt.

Just A little bit, a little bit.

♪

Silvia: I'm making
chicken tostadas,

which is a crowd-pleaser

because it's just layers
and layers of flavors.

Silvia, voice-over: Tostada is
a fried or baked tortilla.

[Indistinct] is how we call
a tostada in Spanish.

It's toast.

And you top it with
whatever you like.

Oops! Ha ha ha!

It is perfect for like
gatherings or family reunions.

I just put everything
on the table

and everybody can do
their own thing.

So it's like a tostada bar.

Silvia, voice-over:
Today my tostada is going
to have refried beans,

roasted tomato-based
salsa, and chicken.

I usually cook the chicken
on a pot on the stove,

but because of the time,

I'm using a pressure cooker
to cook the chicken faster.

Just prepare my chicken with
some herbs and seasonings.

Going to put a little bit
of cilantro as well.

Going to put a little bit
of onion to give some
flavor to the broth.

Onion and garlic.

You can never go wrong
with onion and garlic.

I know it's going to be
juicy and flavorful.

♪

Y'all, it's warm in here.

Or is it just me?
Probably just me.
It's cool.

So I'm making my
chicken tinga tacos

with a CAP salsa, which is
corn, avocado, and pineapple.

I made tacos last week.

Tiffany: To have a dish that
looks enticing and delicious,

and the flavors
there are explosive.

Darn good taco.

Thank you so much, chefs,
I appreciate that.

Tony, voice-over: But my
friends and family love tacos,

and I cook these a lot.

Hopefully these chicken
tacos taste as good

as the Korean ones
and the judges like it.

I just need to
keep pushing myself

and impress the judges
even more.

♪

Round one, the judges said
they wanted more heat.

So the star of this dish
is the marinade,

which has a lot of chili.

♪

Silvia, sweetheart?

Yes, yes.

My Mexican mother, please,
please try this for me.

What do you think?
Is it good?
It's great.

It's great?
Yeah.

Silvia, voice-over: We know
it's a competition,

but now it is like
we're part of a family.

Ooh, it's spicy.
Ha ha! Oh, my gosh.

It's building, it's building.

It's so humbling that they come
and ask me for my opinion,

right, because
they're great cooks.

♪

Well, the judges said
they wanted more spice
and some more flavor,

well, I'm giving it to them.

Good thing I got a fireman
right here in front of me.

[Laughs] Yeah.

Oh, my God, Tony.
[Coughs]

Tony: Sorry.
Ooh!

No, that's his.

We're getting it from
both ends, Irma.

We have you got going on
over there?

I'm trying to smoke the
place out here, Brian.

Well, you know, you've
just got to bring it.

I'm so sorry,
it's all the spices.

Luckily, my salsa
will probably cool
it down a lot.

♪

Brian: Got to get in there
with the hands.

So today I'm making
a trio of tacos.

We've got shrimp tacos
for my wife.

She loves shrimp,
she eats it mostly.

We've got beef for all
the meat-eaters in the family,

and we've got beans for
our vegetarian friends.

Brian, voice-over: I am
the third one in the barn
this round making tacos.

Here we go.

I want to punch it up
and bring the flavor.

One of the important components
of my dish is a habanero salsa.

[Blender whirs]

And it's a very pungent aroma
and pungent heat.

Whoo, those peppers.

Those peppers are floating.

Are we getting hot or what?

Brian, voice-over: I've been
known to clear our home

from time to time
when I puree chilies.

My wife has sent me out
to the porch multiple
times to do this.

Whoo, it is hot in this kitchen.

♪

It adds flavor.

Irma, voice-over:
This round I'm going to
make chicken pot pie,

because it's chicken pot pie.

Who doesn't like
chicken pot pie?

We all love chicken
pot pie in my house.

My kids, me, and
everybody I make it for.

[Whirring]

There we go.
Come on out,
little dough ball.

Irma, voice-over: It's got
a flaky little crust
that I love to make,

and it's a simple recipe.

Usually peas, carrots,
sometimes potatoes,

corn, typical medley.

I add a lot of oregano
and I use sour cream.

Sour cream is my winning touch

because it adds a little tang.

All right, I give that to God.

I'm happy with the filling,

but I start getting nervous
about the crust.

♪

I did bring my
rolling pin from home,

so hopefully it
gives me good luck.

45 minutes left.

Oh, my.

Here we go, here we go.

♪

Round two, I am cooking
a crowd-pleaser.

My family loves soul food,

so what I would normally make

is fried chicken, black
eyed peas, and cornbread.

But this time I'm making
a vegetarian version.

Come on, Jesus, and help me.

So I'm doing
southern fried cauliflower,

soul food salsa
with black eyed peas,

and corn muffins
with a jalapeno topping.

Hey, Bambi, how we doing?

We're doing it, baby,
we're doing it.

And this is a dish
you've made before
for someone special?

Yes, I made it for my niece
who moved out to California,

and I went out there to visit,

and I was actually making
brunch for her friends,

and she was like, "Oh,
my friends have so many
food restrictions."

I said, "Honey, I
grew up in the South,

"what is food restrictions?

"Honey, we will eat roadkill

as long as it's cooked
good and dressed well."

So just make sure that
when you're spending
all this time and love

in every single dish,
you know,
in every ingredient

that you're making,
when you go and plate it,

spend just as much time on that.

Like, I've seen your outfits.

I see how you roll.

I want to see the
same thing with...

You appreciate a good accessory.

Yes, I want to see
the same thing
with the food.

So you want
my food to be fabulous.

Yes. Yes.
Yes, exactly.

We want that Bambi
fabulousness in every bite.

Accessorize.
OK, I will.

Thank you so much.

All right, thank you, Bambi.

Thank you.

♪

Wow, it's getting hot.

Dan, voice-over: This round
I'm making gnocchis

with buffalo mozzarella
and tomato sauce.

Gnocchis are a potato pasta.

My grandkids will eat it
because I tell them it's
macaroni and cheese,

and the old timers
in the family love it.

My grandmother
and my aunts taught me

to make this when
I was a little kid,

and I'm pretty much
the last one in the family

that I know of that makes it.

You add some egg, flour, salt,
Parmigiano-Reggiano,

and you mix them all together,

and you form them
into little dumplings.

With the gnocchis,
I like to roll them

across something that has
a little texture to it.

Obviously I'm not at my house,

so I don't have something
that I would generally roll on.

Then I see this
platter of some sort

that's like an oak log
that they cut,

and it has old ridges on it,
and I'm like, this could work.

Gnocchi needs the ridges because
it has to hold the sauce

or else it's just
going to slide off.

It'd be like putting
sauce on an eel.

Check out Dan.

Dan is using the board to get
the edges for his gnocchi.

Graham: That is so rad.

Yeah, pay no attention to me
using a huge slab of wood

from the back as
I roll my gnocchi.

I'm so impressed.

Time for everybody
to go in the pool.

♪

All right, that ought to do it.

8 eggs.

I am making a
potato-crusted quiche.

[Whirring]

Robin, voice-over:
When our family gets
together for the holidays

and everyone's staying
at the house,

everyone expects
a quiche for breakfast.

We've been doing that ever since
the kids were little.

Hello, Robin.
Hello.

Hi. So we've seen
you make pot pie,

we've seen you make
delicious pastries.

You're baking again,
but it's gluten-free.

It's gluten-free
because the crust
is potatoes,

and if it comes out right,

they might feel
like French fries.

Oh, it looks delicious.

And my little bit
of Mediterranean

is that I make
the filling in there

that's kind of like
a spanakopita,

so it has lemon
and garlic and...

I love... I love spanakopita.

Do you? Me, too.

What inspired you to make
this dish gluten-free?

As my kids have grown up,
they're gluten-free,
they're this and that,

and so I created this,
and now everyone
can eat it.

Can't wait to try it.
Thank you.

♪

Robin: Got to protect this crust
so it doesn't burn.

I'm feeling good
about this round.

The only thing I'm waiting for

is to make sure if
my quiche cooks in time

for it to cool and set
so I can slice it.

♪

Irma: Maybe I'm getting one
more, maybe I'm not.

We shall see.

Irma, voice-over:
I'm a home cook,

so in my kitchen,
there is a calmness.

Eee.

But this is competition,

which actually ups
the nerves a little bit,

'cause I feel like there's
more high stakes here.

Uh-uh-oh.

We're at 15 minutes.

Whoo!

OK.

♪

Irma, voice-over:
Time is of the essence.

It is a thick crust.
I want them to get brown.

I want them to fully cook.

So I have no intentions
of taking it out

until at the very last second.

It's coming right down
to the wire today.

♪

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

I have to count or
I'm going to lose count.

Brian, voice-over:
I am making 3 tacos...

Beef, bean, and of
course, shrimp tacos.

We're going to hit habanero
salsa on this sucker

and hit it with the crema,

and then it hit it with
a little queso fresco.

Winning would be validation for
my flavor profiles and recipes.

And taste, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

And water, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8?

Brian, voice-over: I love
the experimentation.

I love pushing the boundaries
and borders on flavor.

But not everyone is
acceptable to that.

We've got 5 minutes left.

[Cooks shouting]

Oh, my gosh!
Go, go.

Brian: Tit for tat.
Good luck.

♪

5, 6, 7.

Oh, boy. Yeah.

Ha ha ha!

Oh!
Oh!

There's a lot of
smells happening.

There is some spice in the air.

Yeah.

I hear some hollering,
right? I hear...

Oh! Oh, man,
what is in that?

Brian: Fire-roasted
habaneros.

That's friendly fire, my friend.

Ha ha ha!

If you get the hiccups,
that sauce is too hot.

I have not seen Tony
get the hiccups.

[Laughs]

Looks like Tony's either
yelling in pain

or in anger at Brian
for trying something.

Oh, my God.

Tiffany: You know, you want
to be careful with the spice.

We all love spice,

but we still want to be able
to taste the food and enjoy it.

There is that line of
like just giving us enough

and where it's just too much.

Especially when the
challenge is to please
a crowd, right?

Tiffany: Exactly.

I hope they brought
some water bottles.

Nikki: I am nervous because

I just want to make
sure everything is perfect.

We've got one minute left.

Whoo!

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Come on, we're going to do this,
we're going to do this.

♪

Whoo-hoo.

Come on, cauliflower.

♪

Eh, that needs a little time.

♪

OK.

Brian: That's making
my eyes run.

5, 4, 3,

2, 1.

Time's up!

[Cooks cheering]

Silvia: We did it, guys!

My goodness.

[Exhales]

♪

Alejandra:
Great job, cooks.

In this round,
we asked you to showcase

a recipe that is
a crowd-pleaser.

Before we taste your dishes,
just to remind you,

you will be judged on taste,
execution, presentation.

and of course, how well your
dish highlights the theme.

OK, Dan, come on and join us.

♪

My crowd-pleaser is a gnocchi

with buffalo mozzarella
and a tomato sauce.

As a firefighter,
you're used to
cooking for a crowd.

I am.
Are they picky?

They'll eat anything, but then
they'll be more than happy

to critique you
about it afterwards.

[Laughter]

♪

This was light and
delicious and flavorful.

The small amount of basil that
you have in here, love it.

Yeah, I think the
sauce is delicious,

and I love the texture.

I think it was a great idea

rolling it on that
piece of wood.

I love that.

I love the ingenuity behind it.

And I love the fact
that there's nothing
really in the dish

that doesn't need to be there.

So great job.

Thank you, Chef.

Silvia, come on and join us.

♪

This is chicken tostada
with refried beans,

lettuce, tomato, onion,
avocado, salsa, and cheese.

Leah: So this is like
a fully-loaded tostada.

That is the way that
I like my tostada.

You have the beans and chicken.

It really works together.

But I wish that there
was maybe some acid.

I actually was hoping
that the carrots

were going to be
like pickled carrots.

And I'm missing the heat
that I really love.

Yeah.
Thank you so much.

Foo, come on back to
the tasting table.

♪

Foo: I made sriracha pasta.

It has a little bit of a kick.

It's a crowd-pleaser
because my friends like it

and my beautiful
spicy Korean wife.

Beautiful.
[Laughs]

♪

It is a really nice
spaghetti and meatballs.

The meatball is still juicy,

and I love the onion,
and I love all the flavors
that's really inside of it.

It goes really nicely together.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Nikki, come on
and join us.

Nikki: So This is
cilantro lime shrimp tacos

with salsa and guacamole.

♪

I think this dish is beautiful.

The flavor is really good,
and I love a shrimp taco.

My son loves shrimp.

So it's a definite
crowd-pleaser.

Graham: I think the salsa and
the guacamole are delicious.

I really wouldn't do
anything to them.

And so I don't mind
having, you know,

like, an 8-ounce bowl, you know.

I'm just going to
pretend it's gazpacho
and drink it later.

It's a home run.
So great job.

OK, thank you.

Alejandra:
Bambi, come on down.

Tell us what you made today.

Bambi: We have southern
fried cauliflower,

and you also have a corn muffin.

♪

Tiffany: Sometimes it's
really difficult when
we're feeding a crowd.

Everyone has their
tastebuds that they like,

that they grew up with,

or that they recently
started to develop,

and I think you did a good
job with trying to give

some variations of
different flavors.

Thank you.
Graham: Yeah.

And if anything,
I would maybe cook
the cauliflower less,

just so it has some more
of that texture to it,

'cause it's getting, you
know, on the soft side.

So if you know it's going
to cook in the fryer,

maybe par-cook it
a tiny bit, then
finish it in there.

But flavors and everything else,

this is really good.
Thank you.

Thank you.

Robin.

♪

I have made a
potato-crusted quiche.

It's a crowd-pleaser
for my family.

There's avocado on the side
because my daughter's weird

and eats 3 avocados a day,
and she smears it on the top.

And there we go.

♪

Leah: So I think this is a
really nice-looking quiche.

You know, the important thing
when you're making a quiche

is that it sets
and that you can cut
that perfect triangle,

and you really did
a great job with that.

I think that the crust is great,

and instead of trying to
do a gluten-free flour,

you said, no, forget it,
I'm just going to use
potato instead.

And so I really like
that creativity that you
brought to this dish.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Irma,
come and join us.

♪

Irma: I made chicken pot pie,

and it's a crowd-pleaser
'cause it's chicken pot pie.

Everybody likes it.

♪

So I think that the
flavor of this dish
is really on point.

It's velvety,
it's creamy, it's rich.

Graham: Yeah, I think
the flavor's amazing,

but the dough here,
you can see that it's
just undercooked.

That's something that, you know,

you really want to just
take into consideration,

having enough time
to let it fully bake.

♪

Alejandra: Tony,
come and join us.

Judges, for my
crowd-pleaser dish,

I made my chicken tinga tacos
with my CAP salsa,

which is my roasted corn,
avocado, and pineapple salsa.

This is a crowd-pleaser
because everyone that I know

always asks for this dish.

I think when it comes
to pleasing everyone,

chicken is a great start.

This is a delicious salsa,

and when you put it
together with the chicken,

you get a nice balance
of the heat,

and it's very nice.

Thank you, Chef.

Brian, come on and join us.

Tell us what you made
for us today.

My crowd-pleaser is tacos.

On this plate, we've got a beef
taco, there is a shrimp taco,

and the bean taco
is the final taco.

♪

Graham: It's a running theme
from you so far

that you give more than
just the one dish.

So I think that
that's pretty cool

that you're always
shooting for the stars.

Thank you.
Tiffany: Yeah, I agree,

but I'm looking for
relief inside the taco.

It's almost too spicy.

I know we've been saying it,

but there's also
a line of spicy.

I blew my palate immediately

because the habanero was so hot.

Noted.

Brian, voice-over:
I stand by my tacos.

I serve this at home.

We've got friends that are
just absolute chili heads,

they'll eat those habaneros.

♪

In this round we asked
you to create a dish

that would please a crowd.

Some of you even adapted a dish
for dietary restrictions.

Judges, which are the dishes
that stood out for you?

Leah: Dan, you did your
nonna proud tonight.

♪

I loved your gnocchi,

and I loved the
addition of the
buffalo mozzarella.

Thank you, Chef.

Tiffany: And another one
of our favorites was Nikki.

[Applause]

Nikki!

Tiffany: Nikki, we
loved the tacos

and all of the things
that you brought

to the table with that dish,

It was fantastic.

Thank you.
Thank you.

♪

Alejandra: We all agreed
the best recipe is...

♪

Nikki, your shrimp tacos.

Ohh!

[Cheers and applause]

Tiffany: Nikki, I think
you have a crowd-pleaser
of tacos on your hand.

There was balance and flavor.

You did such a good job,

and honestly, we wanted
to keep eating.

Thank you.

Nikki, voice-over: I'm competing
to do my family proud.

In this round, I was channeling
every bit of positivity

that my family gives me,
and it paid off.

Unfortunately, there
were two dishes that
weren't as successful.

Tiffany: One of our least
favorites was Brian.

The tacos 3 ways
lacked technique,

and overall, the flavor
was too spicy.

Fair enough.

I know that
I'm potentially going home.

My stomach's in knots.

The other dish that
just wasn't quite
up to the level

as everyone else's tonight...

Irma, your pot pie.

When you have a dish
with just those
two main components,

like the pot and the pie,

they both really,
really have to shine.

Unfortunately, that
crust was undercooked.

Irma, voice-over: Honestly,
I'm not surprised.

A crust that's undercooked,
that's not a good thing.

I'm so sorry, Brian, Irma,

one of you will be
going back to your
home kitchen tonight.

The judges have
made their decision,

and sadly...

♪

Irma, you will be
going home tonight.

♪

It's OK.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Laughs]

Graham: Irma, remember that
you were here for a reason.

Your food is delicious.

Thank you so much
for all the love

that you put on the plate.

We really enjoyed having
you here in the kitchen.

I'm thankful
that I made it here.

It's time for me to go home.

These people actually really,
really know what they're doing

and just to have
been here, blessing.

Irma, thank you
so much for sharing
your recipes with us.

Thank you.

Irma, voice-over:
I would have never thought

I would have had
an opportunity like this.

I regret nothing.

This experience
has reinforced that

I have so much more
in terms of learning

and so much to do in this world.

♪

Robin, voice-over: Irma cooks
beautiful Puerto Rican food.

She is such a vibrant
personality.

I enjoy her friendship, so I
really didn't want her to leave.

Brian, voice-over: I am relieved
that I am not going home.

The judges have thrown me
a lifeline,

and I know that I can
do this better.

I'm grateful that I'm here
to fight another die.

Alejandra:
Cooks, amazing work.

This week was all about
your daily dishes,

and we can't wait to taste
your next batch of recipes.

All right, get some rest, relax.

We'll see you back
here next week.

♪

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

This week is all
about expressing
the language of love.

I am making comfort food
so that I can get a hug.

When you cook with love,
no matter what it is,

it's the best thing
that you've ever tasted.

I feel the love of your
uncle channeling through.

This round is all about showing
love to someone else.

Brian: When I make this dish,

it's like tracing the steps
of my ancestors.

Tiffany: I can taste the
generations of flavor.