- 6 weeks ago
The Great American Recipe (2022) Season 4 Episode 1- The First Impressions
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00:08There's nothing quite as comforting and delicious
00:10as a home-cooked meal.
00:12I love it.
00:13I love it.
00:14This smells like home in Afghanistan.
00:17I mean, this is heaven.
00:18Oh, I like that.
00:20But what is it about our most treasured recipes
00:22that make them so heartwarming?
00:25My recipes represent generations of kosher
00:28in Puerto Rico.
00:28This is my face of the island.
00:30This is an heirloom recipe, not just to my family,
00:34but to six generations of people in my Thai village.
00:37They make a beautiful thing out of this dish.
00:39I feel like your mom and your dad were there
00:41when you were cooking this meal.
00:42I am half Belizean, half Jamaican,
00:45and cooking is the way I keep our Caribbean culture alive.
00:49You know what, the tears?
00:50Just a little extra seasoning.
00:53I am so happy.
00:55That means she knows what she's doing.
00:57As a chef and restaurateur, I've experienced meals prepared
01:01by some of the finest chefs in the world.
01:03Bring the flavor.
01:04Do us proud.
01:05You got it.
01:05Yes, ma'am.
01:06But as a proud Texan, my most cherished recipes
01:10are those that stem from my southern roots.
01:12Oh my god, it's delicious.
01:15Y'all are cooking.
01:16This is my favorite, and it was mom and dad's favorite.
01:19I should be measuring sherry, shouldn't I?
01:21Measure with your heart.
01:21That's it.
01:23As a food writer and editor, I think a cook's most defining
01:25dishes are the ones that come from their life experience.
01:28Chinese food, to me, it's always just delicious,
01:31because it starts to smell like someone else is cooking
01:33in my house.
01:33I'm super excited to be doing this.
01:36Biscuits and gravy.
01:37This is something my dad used to make.
01:39Growing up in the South, all of our family traditions
01:41were tied to food.
01:42But as a chef, my most requested recipes
01:45are the ones that I spent years perfecting
01:47in the best kitchens in the country.
01:48Back in the Philippines, not a lot of people do this.
01:50Use your intuition.
01:52You're going to pull it off, right?
01:52Yes, I am.
01:53Can't wait to taste it.
01:54Winner, winner, butternut squash dinner.
01:58You're awesome.
01:59And this season, we have a new batch
02:02of talented home cooks from regions across the country.
02:06Come join us as they arrive in Nashville, Tennessee,
02:09where their incredible journey is about to begin.
02:12And how you feeling today?
02:13I feel great.
02:14This is going to be fun.
02:16Welcome back to The Great American Recipe.
02:20We're really here.
02:33Yeah.
02:34This is beautiful.
02:35This is it.
02:36She's so excited.
02:37This is amazing.
02:39I am so happy to be among some of the country's best home cooks.
02:42And I am looking forward to sharing my Thai food,
02:46my Thai culture.
02:47I want to tell not only my story, but the stories
02:51of the people in my village in Thailand.
02:53I'm ready to get cooking.
02:54I'm hungry.
02:55I know, right?
02:56I'm extremely excited to be here.
02:57Cajun people are super proud of their food.
02:59We think we're the best cooks on the planet.
03:01So I have good faith in myself that I'll do well.
03:05Hi.
03:07Hello.
03:08Hey.
03:09Sandra.
03:11Oh my god.
03:12We're here.
03:14Welcome home cooks to a new season of The Great American Recipe.
03:19You all represent the best of American home cooking.
03:22And over the next six weeks, you'll get to tell us your unique story by cooking your most
03:27beloved recipes.
03:29Joining you along this journey are your incredible judges, Frances Lamb, Tiffany Derry and Tim Hollingsworth.
03:37Seeing the judges for the first time is sort of surreal.
03:40It's so nice to see a diverse panel and how their own cultural experiences have shaped how
03:46they judge food.
03:47That's huge to me.
03:48Here's how the competition will work this season.
03:51Each week we'll have a theme and two rounds of cooking.
03:55During each round, you'll make your standout recipes for our judges to taste and critique.
03:59And at the end of each round, we're going to evaluate your dishes based on taste, execution,
04:04presentation, and how well you did with the theme.
04:07We know all of your dishes are going to be great, but we're going to be choosing our favorites
04:11from each round.
04:12With each dish you create, we'll be tracking your growth and evaluating your success based
04:17on our critiques of your dishes.
04:20But this season, we're shaking things up a bit.
04:23What does that mean?
04:24Hello?
04:25What does that mean?
04:27Since this is a competition, every dish really does count.
04:31And we will be saying goodbye to some of you leading up to the final week.
04:36And only three home cooks will earn a spot in the finale.
04:40And at the end of this journey, one of you will be named the winner of the Great American
04:45Recipe.
04:46Woo!
04:48Winning would mean so much to me because I feel like this is a beautiful opportunity to showcase
04:55all the beautiful things that being Afghan American comes with.
04:59It would be wild to win this competition.
05:03Cooking is an expression of my heritage and my southern roots.
05:07That accolade would be like, I would get a little misty.
05:11This week's theme is all about you.
05:15You have 60 minutes to prepare what you consider to be your perfect dish that tells us who you
05:21are as a home cook.
05:23All right.
05:24Your time starts now.
05:26Woo!
05:27Woo!
05:28Let's do it.
05:29Let's do it.
05:30Let's do it.
05:31Let's do it.
05:32OK, here we go.
05:33Woo!
05:34Let's do this.
05:35Welcome back, judges.
05:36You excited to be back?
05:37Yeah.
05:38Totally.
05:39100%.
05:40So good to be back.
05:41So for this first round of cooking, we ask the home cooks to prepare their perfect meal.
05:45What do you want to learn from this first bite?
05:47This is the story they want to tell about themselves, and that's really meaningful.
05:51And I really want to see how they interpret that.
05:53Yeah, I'm excited to see, you know, where you're from.
05:55Is it like where you're from culturally?
05:57Where you live now?
05:58Where you grew up?
05:59And I feel like the ingredients that they choose really gives them an opportunity to set
06:03up who they are.
06:04I agree.
06:05And it's a very diverse group of cooks here.
06:08Yes.
06:09Which is always exciting to see.
06:10That's the beauty of American home cooking.
06:13100%.
06:14This is ispand, or wild brew.
06:18And it's going to get rid of any bad energy.
06:20There's not much to begin with, but just in case.
06:23My name is Waigal Safi, and I'm from San Diego, California.
06:27I'm 31 years old, and I work for a non-profit.
06:30I'm making lawand with sirish polo.
06:33It's basically braised chicken in a yogurt sauce with rice.
06:36It is one of the first Afghan dishes I learned how to make.
06:40I grew up in a first-generation immigrant household.
06:42My parents left Afghanistan because of the Soviet invasion.
06:46I love Afghan food, and my mom is the biggest supporter and teacher.
06:50It's not too traditional for Afghan men to cook, but I'm here to change that.
06:56The main spice for this dish is turmeric.
06:58Turmeric has a very earthy flavor to it.
07:01So, for the lawand, I let the chicken cook down.
07:04Add labneh, which is a strained yogurt.
07:07That's the best aroma.
07:10Next, I have to start on my sirish polo, which is basmati rice,
07:13perfumed with saffron and topped with barberries.
07:16It creates a pop of sourness in your mouth.
07:18I'm here to put Afghan food on the map.
07:20These dishes are part of who I am, where I came from.
07:23And if I win, it would just make it that much sweeter.
07:26You can never have too much saffron.
07:33All right.
07:34In Cajun country, cooking gets passed down from generation to generation,
07:38and I really want to do the Cajun people right.
07:40I'm Colby Bailey.
07:41I'm 53 years old.
07:42I am a professional firefighter in Lafayette, Louisiana.
07:46Today, I'm making a boudin omelet.
07:49Boudin is a sausage that's made with rice and pork.
07:52It's a Cajun tradition.
07:53It's what we love.
07:55I love cooking great Cajun food because growing up,
07:59my grandmother and my mother were like the matriarchs of the kitchen.
08:02And the Cajun influence has made me the cook that I am.
08:06And I just love being a Cajun.
08:07In fact, if I die, there really is reincarnation.
08:10I hope God can become a Cajun again.
08:12I just love it that much.
08:13Whoo!
08:14Look at that boudin right there.
08:15Perfect.
08:16To make this omelet, I taste some onions and some bell peppers.
08:19Ain't no Cajun.
08:20I'm going to be right without Cajun seasoning right in there.
08:22Hello there.
08:23Hey, Chef Tiffany.
08:24Hold on.
08:25Can you smell it?
08:26Let me taste this boudin right now.
08:27All right.
08:28Get you a piece of that.
08:31How is it?
08:33I'm going to taste it one more time.
08:35Save me a little bit for my omelet.
08:36Oh, my God.
08:37It's delicious.
08:38OK.
08:39All right.
08:40I like it.
08:41OK, so you're going to do an omelet with this.
08:42And it's my family's favorite omelet.
08:43I love that.
08:44So I wanted to share that with everybody.
08:46This is my perfect dish because my mama taught me how to cook eggs when I was about eight
08:51years old.
08:52And that's what really made me fall in love with cooking.
08:55And now I love cooking for my family.
08:57I also love cooking for everybody at the firehouse.
08:59One thing to remember, if it's cooked too much, if you have a dry egg.
09:03So you've got to really pay attention to it.
09:04Yes, ma'am.
09:05All right.
09:06I look forward to enjoying this.
09:07And best of luck.
09:14Here we go.
09:15Here we go.
09:16This is my happy place.
09:17I'm using a mackerel fish.
09:18They're called platu in Thai.
09:21And I'm just going to make sure there are no bones in here.
09:24Here's one big one.
09:25We don't want that.
09:27I'm Suwani Lennon.
09:28I'm 46 years old.
09:29I'm from Spokane, Washington.
09:31And I'm a photographer.
09:32I am making fish curry.
09:34In Thai, it's called khnomji nam ya.
09:37This is the dish that I grew up eating.
09:39I grew up in a village called Nikom Prasad in Thailand.
09:43And I'm here because I want to represent the people that I grew up with
09:47and my beautiful Thai culture.
09:49Okay.
09:50Beautiful.
09:51Khnomji nam ya has shallot, garlic, lemongrass, and kri chai.
09:57It's from the same family as the ginger.
09:59They're called finger roots because they look like fingers.
10:02And then I add coconut milk and let the flavors build.
10:06Hi, Suwani.
10:07How are you?
10:08Hi, hi, Tim.
10:09Why is this the dish that represents you?
10:12So I came to America when I was 13.
10:14And so this was the dish that we grew up eating in the village.
10:18When I was 13, I met an American woman, Rebecca.
10:21She decided to adopt me and we moved to Wisconsin.
10:25I only wanted Thai food.
10:28And I taught myself how to make this dish all from memory.
10:31Well, it's delicious.
10:32You get like a little funk from the salted mackerel that comes through.
10:35Can you taste it?
10:36It gives you a lot of depth.
10:37Yeah.
10:38Awesome.
10:39Yeah.
10:40So you're going to basically be putting this over the top of the noodles here.
10:41Yes.
10:42Well, remember, we see it with our eyes first, right?
10:43Yes.
10:44So make sure that presentation is beautiful.
10:45Oh, of course.
10:46I'll take that from you.
10:47Yes.
10:48Thank you so much.
10:49Yeah, for sure.
10:50Can't wait to eat it.
10:51Getting close.
10:52Getting close.
10:53Getting close.
10:54Oh, something smells so good.
10:58I'm Fran Wescott.
11:00I'm 61.
11:01I'm from Durham, North Carolina, and I'm a consultant in strategic content.
11:05I'm making fried okra, fried oysters, and a horseradish cream reduction.
11:10As a home cook, I like to showcase Southern cooking.
11:14Both my grandmother and my mother were rock solid in their traditions.
11:19And I think that there's a lot of complexity to Southern food.
11:23I've been making this for about 30 years.
11:25My family tells me it's that good, so I'll believe them.
11:28My cream sauce has garlic, butter, horseradish, Dijon mustard, and some lemon juice.
11:34Mm-hmm.
11:37Nothing about that sucks.
11:39And then I leave it alone while I work on the rest.
11:42Okie smokie.
11:43My fried okra is my mom's recipe.
11:46I'm using egg wash and then flour.
11:49And then for my fried oysters, I'm using cornmeal as well as flour.
11:54So here's the tricky thing about timing.
11:56I've set up my dredging stations, but all the frying magic has to happen at the last minute.
12:01You've got to be brave and fry it all at the end.
12:0445 minutes, cubs!
12:0745 minutes? I can do this.
12:09Time is going by.
12:14These onions are getting me.
12:16I'm Bree Jamison. I'm 36 years old.
12:18I am from Great Falls, Montana, and I'm a teacher aide in the Great Falls Public Schools.
12:22Today I'm making Jamaican brown stew chicken with white rice.
12:25This is my perfect dish because my culinary style is very Caribbean.
12:30I am half Belizean, half Jamaican.
12:32Also gonna cut some green onion because my husband and I love onions.
12:37My husband's been in the United States Air Force for almost 17 years now, so me and my kids have lived in multiple places.
12:44And cooking is the way I keep our Caribbean culture alive for my family.
12:48Normally I use bone-in chicken, but I switched it up because bone-in chicken takes much longer to cook.
12:53I'm seasoning five filets with Jamaican seasoning, allspice, smoked paprika.
12:58I use maple syrup instead of the standard brown sugar.
13:03It just adds a complexity.
13:04Scotch bonnets going in for the spice. Love the colors.
13:08I want to win because I want to represent military spouses and highlight Caribbean dishes that made me who I am.
13:15And as I like to tell people, flavor is king.
13:18Got some rice.
13:24There are pig ears over there.
13:27Yes.
13:28I'm happy.
13:29I'm very happy about this.
13:31These are the pork cheeks, pork ears, pork face, and pork belly.
13:36It's pretty hot, but it's competition.
13:39I got it.
13:40I'm Rex Alba.
13:41I'm 46 years old.
13:42I'm a physical therapist.
13:44I grew up in the Philippines.
13:45I now live in Columbus, Ohio.
13:47Today I'm making dinaguan.
13:49It's pork blood stew with uputubigas.
13:51It's steamed rice cake.
13:53I'm 100% Filipino.
13:54And I moved here in the U.S. when I was 28 with my wife.
13:58So my style of cooking is mostly Filipino cuisine.
14:01So those are fresh pork blood.
14:04Pork blood stew is a classic Filipino dish.
14:07It's a little tangy, a little sour.
14:09And if you try it, you'll love it.
14:11Back home in the Philippines, they are pretty dry.
14:14And some people prefer it, but mine, I like it silky.
14:17For the uputubigas, I'm mixing coconut milk, jasmine rice, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
14:23And now we're ready to blend it.
14:25Oops.
14:26If I can find the lid, okay.
14:27Once the grain has been pureed, it's ready to go in the steamer.
14:31We want this to open up like a flower.
14:35My mom taught me how to cook.
14:38But in 2004, my mom died.
14:41So every time I cook Filipino food like this, I think of my mom.
14:45And I really want to win this competition for her.
14:48So this is the consistency you want.
14:51Oop.
14:52Can't forget some olive oil.
14:53Oop.
14:54Some regular oil.
14:55My name is Carlos Tiburcio.
14:56I'm 29 years old.
14:57I grew up in Coupe, Puerto Rico.
14:59And I currently live in Aurora, Colorado.
15:01And I'm a recruiter in the Army.
15:03I'm a Staff Sergeant.
15:04I'm making a fricasse de pollo con arroz blanco.
15:07A fricasse de pollo is chicken stew with rice.
15:10And it's one of the staples of Puerto Rican cuisine.
15:12This is a dish that my grandma taught it to my mom.
15:14My mom taught it to me.
15:15And now I, you know, teach it to my kids.
15:17I love cooking Puerto Rican food because Puerto Rico for me is home.
15:21I was raised by my mom and my grandparents.
15:24So my recipes represent generations of kosher in Puerto Rico.
15:28Look at this.
15:29Look at this.
15:30Look at this.
15:31Woo!
15:32After seasoning the chicken thighs and drums with the sazon and the adobo,
15:34I start browning out the chicken.
15:36Carlos is making fricasse de pollo, which is a Puerto Rican stewed chicken dish,
15:41which, you know, makes me happy.
15:42For sure.
15:43It's a very traditional dish.
15:44Is it going to be like a braised dish?
15:46Yes, but you want that chicken crispy first.
15:49Next, I add potatoes and carrots with some chicken stock.
15:52And I begin bringing that to a boil.
15:54I need more heat.
15:55I want to win so badly because I don't know if a lot of people know how good Puerto Rican food is.
16:02And I'm here to show everybody that we are not to be underestimated.
16:0630 minutes, everyone!
16:08Woo!
16:09All right.
16:10Oh, my gosh.
16:11Bram, how you holding up?
16:12You got it?
16:13I got it.
16:14Mmm.
16:15Nice fragrance.
16:17I'm Anika Chaudhry.
16:19I am 54 years old.
16:21I'm originally from Bangladesh, and I now live in New York City.
16:25And I am a consultant in digital transformation.
16:29I'm making Bangladeshi chicken curry.
16:31I learned how to perfect the technique from my dad before he passed away.
16:36As a home cook, my biggest inspirations were my parents and my grandmothers.
16:43My recipes represent my family, my heritage, and nothing signifies home for me like chicken curry.
16:50Bangladeshi curries taste different from Indian curries.
16:53They are a bit lighter.
16:54For the sauce, I'm using turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and Kashmiri chili powder.
17:00Let's see.
17:02Hi, Anika.
17:03Can I come join you?
17:04Hi, yes, of course.
17:05Nice to meet you.
17:06So tell me about this.
17:07Everyone's chicken curry is a little bit different.
17:08I want it just like the way my mom and dad made it.
17:10Yeah.
17:11So after my mom passed away, when my dad was here visiting,
17:13so I'm like, will you just show me how you made it?
17:15And I watched him make it, and this is literally his process.
17:18Tell me what you think.
17:21Oh, my God.
17:22The spices are beautiful, but they're not, like, overpowering.
17:24Exactly.
17:25And we do a technique called foshano.
17:26You stir the raw spices, and you keep adding a little bit of water
17:30until the water gets absorbed, and you add a little bit more
17:33till the smell of raw spices goes away.
17:35The spices are, like, fully cooked, fully infused into the sauce.
17:38Yeah, that's how you develop the flavor.
17:39Oh, that's such a cool technique.
17:40I've never heard of that.
17:41Yeah.
17:42It's a very Bengali technique.
17:43Is the salt level the way you like it?
17:44I mean, what do you think?
17:46My tip for you is...
17:47Add a little bit more.
17:48We like salt.
17:49Okay, I'll add a little bit more salt.
17:50But it's going to be delicious.
17:51Thank you so much.
17:52Thank you so much.
17:53It's so nice to meet you.
17:54See you later.
17:55It is smelling good out there.
17:57Yeah, it is.
17:58I am ready to eat.
18:00This is the home cook's first time cooking for you.
18:03That's a lot of pressure.
18:04Yeah, I think the first cook is very intimidating.
18:06You're cooking in a new kitchen.
18:08Everything feels a little bit different,
18:10but I think it's important to sort of find that grounding early on
18:14and cook your food.
18:15I feel like this is one of those hard moments
18:17where you don't know who you're cooking for,
18:18but you're about to find out.
18:19Yeah, you are.
18:20Oh!
18:23Um, I think it's looking good.
18:25My low end is simmering away,
18:27so once my rice is done,
18:29I add some saffron and butter to a portion of the rice.
18:32Who doesn't want extra butter in their rice?
18:34You have seven minutes left.
18:36What?
18:38My golly.
18:40Gonna let that cook.
18:41Get a little bit more brown.
18:42A little bit more brown.
18:43Our fresh puttabigas is ready.
18:46I'm using a toothpick method,
18:48so I'm just gonna dip this here,
18:50make sure nothing sticks.
18:52Looks good.
18:53Looks good.
18:56Okay.
18:57In the south, we have a particular trick
18:59for making fried okra,
19:01is to put it in a paper bag and then shake it up.
19:03Well, hello there.
19:04Well, hello there.
19:05Wow.
19:06I see okra.
19:08I love a brown bag shake.
19:11For the okra, I'm just gonna use flour.
19:13Okay.
19:14And it lends a nice little crispiness.
19:16Do you put any vinegar or anything else in there?
19:18No.
19:19Should I do a little vinegar?
19:20A little bit of vinegar can take out some of that sliminess
19:22that most people don't love.
19:24Oh!
19:25Thank you, madam.
19:26Now, I really have to do this right.
19:31Okay.
19:34In Puerto Rico, we love our avocado slices.
19:39These are my beautiful garnishes.
19:44That didn't go good.
19:45Now I'm just making a mess.
19:47Colby, watch your time.
19:48Yes, ma'am.
19:50The most difficult thing is the eggs.
19:52You don't want it runny.
19:53You want it nice and fluffy.
19:55Cheese.
19:57Please.
19:58One minute, guys.
19:59One minute.
20:00I still have one to make.
20:01It's gonna take me every bit of that.
20:02The funny thing about oysters is that it's all in the flash fry.
20:08I have rose petals.
20:09It's literally gonna add a pop of color.
20:12Five, four, three, two, one.
20:22Time's up!
20:23Yay!
20:24One down.
20:25One down.
20:26One down.
20:27A thousand more to go.
20:28Cooks, we gave you one hour to prepare your perfect dish for our judges.
20:45First up, Colby, come join us.
20:48I made a boudin omelet.
20:50It's my perfect dish because the first thing I ever learned to cook was eggs.
20:56Well, Colby, I gotta say, you know, these andouille sausage just kind of look a little odd.
21:00But the omelet is beautifully filled.
21:02You brought an amazing boudin.
21:04It's meaty but a little sweet, too.
21:06I could eat this all day long.
21:07Thank you, Chef.
21:08I have to agree with Francis.
21:09I mean, the egg itself, it's not overcooked.
21:12And I think you really let the dish shine.
21:15Thank you, Chef.
21:16All right, Rex.
21:17Hey, Rex.
21:18Today, I made pork dinuguan and puto bigas.
21:23Since I'm a Filipino, we don't waste any part of the meat back home.
21:27And I really want to show what Filipinos are made of.
21:30I love that.
21:31You have to be very careful when you're cooking blood because it can get grainy.
21:35And this texture is like super silky, smooth, and it's great.
21:39I agree.
21:40It is delicious.
21:41And the rice cake was something very special.
21:44It's still creamy.
21:45It's soft.
21:46You can taste the coconut in it.
21:47You taste the whole sweetness.
21:48And the rice.
21:49I will never forget this.
21:51Oh, thank you so much.
21:52Fran, come join us.
21:54I made fried okra, fried oysters, and a horseradish cream reduction.
21:59Ooh!
22:00Oh, OK.
22:01This is what my friends and family request every time it's in season.
22:05You were really smart.
22:07You know, I don't see a lot of, like, flour dredged only okra.
22:11It's really delicious.
22:13You don't get what people are often scared of with okras, which is, like, the mucus feel
22:18inside of it.
22:19It is perfect inside.
22:21Oh, good.
22:22And this is just about one of the best fried oysters I've ever had in terms of the execution.
22:27The texture is stunning.
22:28Oh.
22:29And the sauce, it's beautifully balanced.
22:32Oh, good.
22:33Thank you, chef.
22:35So, Ani.
22:37I made for you today Khnom Jhin Nam Ya, or Thai fish curry.
22:42I came to the U.S. when I was 13, and this was one of the dishes I missed the most from
22:47Thailand.
22:48I did a delicious job.
22:49The broth, the liquid, and everything with the coconut.
22:52It's just so good.
22:53Thank you so much.
22:54I agree, but unfortunately I do have some fish bones.
22:58I was worried about that.
22:59But other than that, it's an excellent dish.
23:01Thank you so much.
23:02Carlos, come join us.
23:04I made fricasse de pollo con arroz blanco, or chicken fricassee with rice.
23:09This is a plate that was passed down generations.
23:12My grandma gave it to my mom, mom gave it to me.
23:14You know, when I found out there was going to be a fellow Puerto Rican here.
23:17Yeah, that's cheating.
23:18No me falles.
23:19Carlos, this really reminds me of something that I would cook for my kids or my family.
23:24It's just so homey.
23:26I think the chicken is cooked really well.
23:28I totally agree.
23:29You concentrate the flavor of the chicken really, really nicely.
23:32But the first step to fricasse is typically you brown the chicken pretty well.
23:35Yeah.
23:36So it does make me wonder what it would taste like if you had gotten that chicken as brown as you wanted it.
23:39Right.
23:40I'm happy so far, so.
23:42Gracias.
23:43Baikal.
23:44Hey there.
23:45Salam.
23:46Salam.
23:47I made lawan bazirish polo.
23:49It's chicken that's braised in turmeric yogurt with basmati rice.
23:53I know that it's a royal dish.
23:55I thought, who better to make it for than culinary royalty?
23:58Okay.
23:59I like it.
24:00The winner of the great American recipe season four.
24:05The chicken was so tender.
24:09And the yogurt sauce and all the flavor, it's just, wow.
24:13I gotta say this rice is perfectly cooked.
24:17And these barberries are so sour.
24:19Yes.
24:20But a little sweet.
24:21I mean, this is heaven.
24:22Thank you so much.
24:23Bri, come join us.
24:25Hello.
24:26Hi.
24:27Hi.
24:28I made Jamaican brown stew chicken with rice.
24:31This is one of the first Jamaican dishes I learned how to make.
24:34You have a lot of flavor in here.
24:36There's a lot of warm spices.
24:38There's a little bit of a kick.
24:39I think you used a scotch bonnet over there.
24:40Scotch bonnet, yes.
24:41That's the one, right?
24:42Yeah.
24:43I think it's good.
24:44It's good.
24:45It's good.
24:46It's good.
24:47It's good.
24:48It's good.
24:49It's good.
24:50It's good.
24:51It's good.
24:52It's good.
24:53It's good.
24:54It's good.
24:55Yeah, I agree, Bri.
24:56There's a lot of flavor going on.
24:57I really feel like we're getting to know who you are on the plate.
25:01Anika, come join us.
25:03I made for you Bangladeshi chicken curry.
25:05I grew up in Bangladesh, and when I came to the U.S., one of the first dishes I really
25:10wanted to learn because I missed it was chicken curry.
25:12This tastes very different from any other curry I've ever had.
25:16The beauty here is the spices that we're getting.
25:19Yeah, I agree.
25:20I love the depth of the flavor that you have here, but the chicken itself got a little bit
25:24overcooked, and the potato didn't get cooked enough, but overall the flavor is really good.
25:30I want to represent Bangladeshi cuisine to America, and there really is no room for failure now.
25:36I just have to do my absolute, absolute, absolute best, so I need to deliver the next round.
25:49Cooks, we asked you to prepare your perfect meal to introduce yourselves to us.
25:53There were so many wonderful dishes, but the judges would like to recognize the top two
25:58dishes of the round.
26:00The first dish that really impressed us was...
26:05...Waigal with your turmeric braised chicken.
26:10The saffron rice was perfectly cooked, and the turmeric braised chicken had so much depth of flavor.
26:18It was delicious.
26:20It means, mate, nourish your soul.
26:22Oh, wow.
26:25I just can't really believe it.
26:26I mean, I love this dish, so to see that they love it just as much as I do is the best feeling.
26:30I'm excited to show them more of what my cuisine has to offer.
26:34And our other favorite dish of the round was...
26:38...Rex!
26:40With your pork blood dinou guan.
26:44Your dinou guan was probably the best pork blood stew I've ever had, and the fact that you casually make this rice cake that Tiffany is ready to steal for her restaurant.
26:54It's on the menu tonight, chef.
26:57Really incredible way to introduce yourself to us. Thank you so much.
27:00This means a lot to me. Thank you so much, judges.
27:02I'm just feeling ecstatic.
27:04I really did my part showing what Filipino cuisine is, and that's the purpose of why I'm competing on this competition.
27:12Thank you for that delicious first round, cooks. We're excited to see what you serve up next.
27:26Your first round dishes told us more about who you are.
27:29Now we want to learn more about where you live and the delicious food from your region of the country.
27:35But we decided we could use a little help from a friendly face all the way from New York.
27:41Home cooks, please welcome Al Roker to the kitchen.
27:50Hello, hello.
27:52It's so great to be here.
27:53As the creator and executive producer of the new PBS Kids series, Weather Hunters.
27:58It's so nice to have a member of the PBS family here with us on The Great American Recipe.
28:04Thank you. Thank you.
28:06It's so great to be here because I love cooking. It brings people together.
28:10So this is going to be great.
28:12All right, let's get to it.
28:14For this challenge, home cooks, you'll have 60 minutes to prepare a dish that spotlights the region of the country that you call home.
28:21Remember, your dishes will be judged on taste, presentation, execution, and how well you captured the theme.
28:28Good luck, everyone. Your 60 minutes starts now.
28:33All right, let's do it. Let's go.
28:40Al, thanks so much for joining us.
28:42Oh, I am so thrilled to be here. This is so exciting.
28:44So today we've asked the home cooks to prepare a dish that represents where they live.
28:48What do you want to see from this dish?
28:50For me, I just want to see what they feel is the best of their region.
28:54Yeah, I agree. And we have some cooks who are multiple generations deep from where they're from.
28:58Sure.
28:59And we have many cooks who are immigrants from our country.
29:01And I think that's kind of the hallmark of American home cooking, right?
29:04You just have this beautiful amalgamation of flavors.
29:07And I love when you can get amalgamation into a center.
29:09I'm very excited that Al Roker is here. All right.
29:21I am from the Northeast region, and I live in New York City.
29:24I'm making puchka with New York egg cream.
29:27Puchka is a Bangladeshi street food.
29:31It's a shell made of semolina, and it's filled with stuffing and multiple toppings.
29:36And you pop the whole thing in your mouth.
29:38I have tamarind paste in here.
29:40Traditionally, puchka has tamarind sauce.
29:42Puchkas have become very popular in New York, so it's a perfect blend of my home country and my adopted country.
29:48And then, for the stuffing, I combine boiled potatoes and garbanzo beans with cumin and coriander.
29:54Well, hello, Anika.
29:55Hi, Anika.
29:56Hi, Al.
29:57Great to meet a fellow New Yorker.
29:58Yes.
29:59This is a big responsibility for you. How are you feeling about the present?
30:01It is. I'm a little bit nervous.
30:03Is there anybody you consulted?
30:04I did tell my husband and my sister, and they were both like,
30:07you have to go with the puchka.
30:10My husband's name is Chuck.
30:12We've been happily married for 22 years.
30:15So, you know, I really want to win for him.
30:19Is it salty enough? You want more salt?
30:21I think a little more salt.
30:22Yeah.
30:23Yeah, using black salt.
30:24Yeah. So that gives it the classic puchka taste.
30:26Have you tried this before?
30:27I've never tried.
30:28It's a really interesting ingredient.
30:29Try just a tiny bit. It's going to be very intense.
30:33Oh, wow.
30:34Right?
30:35It's almost like sulfurous.
30:36Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.
30:37That's really cool.
30:38Yeah. Hopefully you guys will like it.
30:39Good luck, Anika.
30:41We're all counting on you.
30:42Fingers crossed.
30:43Al Rokor came and tasted my food.
30:45Oh, my God.
30:48Trying to hurry up and get these potatoes peeled.
30:53Can someone roll up my sleeves?
30:56Being the top dish in the first round was amazing,
30:58but I don't want it to decline from here,
31:00so let's see what happens.
31:03Time to win again.
31:05I'm from the West Coast,
31:07and I live in San Diego, California.
31:09I'm making sumac steak tacos
31:11topped with a Calabrian crema.
31:14Being in San Diego has definitely influenced my cooking.
31:17Where I live is 40 minutes from the Mexican border.
31:20This represents San Diego
31:21because you can't go anywhere without seeing a taco shop.
31:24For my steak marinade,
31:25I'm using cumin, coriander, sumac.
31:27And I'm using yogurt in the marinade,
31:29which is very Middle Eastern and Afghan.
31:34Mmm.
31:35I really want this marinade to flavor the steak,
31:38but I'm worried about a short amount of time.
31:44Hello, my God. How are you?
31:45Good. How are you?
31:47Good.
31:48Oh, it's smelling good over here.
31:50Yes.
31:51I think I'm a little behind.
31:52Okay.
31:53Because I wasn't expecting my marinade to take so long.
31:55All right, well, I'm going to show you how to vacuum seal your meat,
31:58and then you only need, like, five minutes marinating.
32:00So let's get it in here.
32:01Be careful with the sides.
32:02Got it.
32:03Because you need it to seal.
32:04I'm so grateful Tiffany's helping me.
32:07Oh, my God.
32:08You're getting dirty with me.
32:09I love it.
32:10There's a lot for me to do,
32:12so I could really use any extra help.
32:14All we do is line it up here.
32:16Oh, perfect.
32:17And now you can go finish doing something else until this is done.
32:20Thank you so much.
32:21Yeah, good luck.
32:22All right, Montana.
32:23I'm doing your favorites.
32:24Some potatoes and some beef.
32:25I am from the Rockies, and I live in Great Falls, Montana.
32:35I'm making an Angus beef burger with a fried egg and breakfast potatoes on the side.
32:41This dish is hard to execute just because there's so many pieces.
32:45Trying that overcrowd so that it cooks.
32:48I need to make sure the potatoes bake as long as possible.
32:51Get both of these fit up here.
32:54And I'm also going to cook bacon.
32:57I don't know if I have enough room.
32:59I might have to turn that one.
33:00Make this one fit.
33:03All right, I need to get my seasoning.
33:05There we go.
33:06Living in Montana has definitely influenced my food because there's so many cows.
33:11There's so many farmers.
33:12So I make burgers often for my family, and my husband loves a fried egg on a burger.
33:19So this is for the Rockies while also representing my actual family, and I really want to bring
33:24my egg in.
33:25Who doesn't love a good burger?
33:35All I have right here is onions and bell pepper.
33:38This is kind of the base.
33:40I'm from the Gulf Coast, and I live in Lafayette, Louisiana.
33:44The Gulf Coast is very influential in my cooking for the simple reason that Louisiana has the
33:49best food on the planet.
33:50I'm making crawfish etouffee with a little corn mock choux on the side.
33:54This is a dish I've probably made, who, a hundred times.
33:58Crawfish etouffee is crawfish smothered in gravy.
34:01Corn is looking nice and roasted right here.
34:04Corn mock choux is corn with stewed tomatoes, onions, chili peppers.
34:10I like roasting corn a little bit, kind of get that char flavor.
34:13All right, cut this down a little bit.
34:17Colbert!
34:18Yes, ma'am!
34:19What's happening?
34:20I see something right here.
34:22Yes, ma'am.
34:23And I grew up with this thing.
34:25This is my grandmother's pot.
34:26It was passed down to me, not to my mom.
34:29Oh, okay.
34:30Me and my grandmother were like this, so I'll let you know.
34:32I see a favorite.
34:33I'm seeing because I didn't get mine.
34:35It went to my mama.
34:36Do I have to wait?
34:37I have to wait.
34:38My grandmother was probably one of the best cooks on the planet, and I feel lucky enough
34:43to inherit that aluminum pot that's been in our family for, Lord, I don't even know how
34:48many years.
34:49So one thing we want to be careful of is don't overcook that crawfish, right?
34:52Okay.
34:53And bring the flavor.
34:54You are representing all of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
34:57Ooh, I know.
34:58I'm kind of nervous about that.
34:59That's our heavy pressure.
35:00Do us proud.
35:01I'm kind of nervous about that.
35:02Best of luck, Colby.
35:03Thank you, ma'am.
35:0440 minutes left.
35:05How many minutes?
35:06Cook.
35:07Cook like the wind.
35:08Woo!
35:09Come on, guys.
35:11I was the top dish in the first round, so I'm feeling confident.
35:14Let's do this.
35:15I'm from the Midwest, and I live in Columbus, Ohio.
35:19So this is a little sweeter than your normal spaghetti sauce.
35:22I'm making Cincinnati chili with a coni dog.
35:26The first time I had chili was when my wife and I moved to Ohio because my wife got a job
35:32as a nurse.
35:33We've been there for 19 years, and I love it there.
35:36When we first moved here in the U.S., we found this spot in Cincinnati where they serve
35:41us spaghetti and cheese dogs, and it's close to my heart.
35:45So I am making three-way chili, which means it's just spaghetti, cheese, and a ground
35:51beef sauce.
35:52I'm going to make a Filipino spin, so I'm going to be using cacao.
35:55The Filipino cacao powder.
35:57It's a little more bitter than your usual cacao powder, and very rich.
36:02Now, this is the fun part.
36:04Next, I add my meat from the pressure cooker and use the hand blender to really let it
36:09be part of the sauce.
36:12Now, I'm going to have my hot dogs ready.
36:16Rex, how are we looking?
36:18Good, very good, Chef.
36:19Tell me about these hot dogs here.
36:20It's Filipino hot dogs.
36:22So it's a combination of beef and pork.
36:24Spices in there?
36:25Not much, but I mean, it's very clean and very juicy.
36:28I like the fact that you're doing something from your region, but you're also bringing
36:31in something that's you and your heritage, you know?
36:33Yes.
36:34The one thing for me is I think I would add the chili sauce nice and last minute.
36:37That way it heats up the noodles again.
36:38Yes.
36:39But everything's looking like it's coming out great.
36:40I can't wait to try it.
36:42I'm doing math in my head.
36:47That's always fun.
36:48I'm from the South Atlantic region and I live in Durham, North Carolina.
36:54I am making shrimp and grits because in the Southern Atlantic, that is a staple.
37:00Everyone's shrimp and grits is different and I like making it with a little twist.
37:05I'm using blue corn grits because they have a more nutty flavor.
37:10Like a lot of recipes from the South Atlantic, I need bacon.
37:14Brand, your bacon smells delicious.
37:17There's nothing that smells better than bacon.
37:19As far as the gravy is concerned, what I do is a white wine reduction.
37:24And I'm using mushrooms and onions and peppers.
37:28Shrimp and grits is important in North Carolina.
37:31And also, this is reminding me of our summers at the beach.
37:36When I was little, we would always have a beach trip off the coast of North Carolina.
37:41And I'm so excited to share the cooking of the South Atlantic.
37:44Are you playing nicely?
37:45Oh, you're playing so nicely.
37:46Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to saute peppers and onions before the potatoes can join them in there.
37:52We've got cooks from all over the country.
37:54We've got folks representing the Northeast, the Gulf Coast, the Rockies.
37:59You're doing a forecast.
38:00I am. I'm doing the forecast.
38:02We've got a chili front coming in.
38:04Can we get a little drum roll here?
38:07We're here until Thursday. Try the veal.
38:10What makes my mashed potatoes so special is that I put a little bit of crema mexicana.
38:14It really gives it a little more texture.
38:16I am from the Rockies and I live in Aurora, Colorado.
38:19I'm making some bison ribeye with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.
38:24Bison is iconic in the Rockies, especially in Colorado.
38:27As you can imagine, we don't have bison in Puerto Rico.
38:29And I'm hoping to give the judges the same experience I have when I tried it for the first time.
38:34I love living in Colorado. Me and my family love the great outdoors.
38:37You know, you've got the mountains, you've got the trails and all that.
38:40It is very exciting to be there.
38:44Whoo! That's where it's at. Yes, sir.
38:47It's leaner, so I don't want to overcook them.
38:49What we want is a nice sear and then the inside, you know, almost like it melts in your mouth.
38:54I'm very excited to be representing the Rockies, so I'm going to give it my all.
38:58Whoo-hoo-hoo! Look at that, guys.
39:01Oh, we got a steak over there.
39:03I'm here for the steak.
39:04You're here for everything, Alex.
39:05I am here for everything, but I'm particularly here for the steak.
39:08I want to make sure the salmon fillets are as dry as possible.
39:18I am from the Pacific Northwest and I live in Spokane, Washington.
39:22I'm making pan-seared salmon with huckleberry sauce.
39:26Because of our close proximity to the coast, we have a lot of salmon.
39:29I want the skin of the salmon to be crispy and the meat to be flaky and just perfect.
39:35We have a lot of huckleberries in the Pacific Northwest and I want the sauce to be the star of the show.
39:41Huckleberries, a tart, the sweet, and just special berries.
39:45My kids love picking huckleberries on the mountainside in the late summer.
39:50Wow. I want to drink this whole thing. It's so good.
39:55I love living in the Pacific Northwest. I feel like I'm so lucky and I want to make my region proud.
40:02Okay, I'm going to reduce the heat just a bit for these guys.
40:0515 minutes left.
40:08Just want to make sure you have enough room for the pasta to dance.
40:12Hey, Coby, I'm putting a little heat in my grits. Say a prayer for me.
40:16You got it. We tasting?
40:18Yeah. Tell me if it's too much salt.
40:20And I'm going to need more heat. I know you. I'm going to need more heat.
40:24That's good.
40:26It's a little mild, isn't it? You want some Cajun season?
40:29No. I'm not brave enough.
40:32I think it's a good flavor right there. I want you to make sure you do it your way and not my way.
40:35We're fellow Southerners. Absolutely. I got you.
40:37Okay. Thank you so much, Coby.
40:39Now I need to do the shrimp. I just want the shrimp to be sauteed.
40:44Okay. There we go.
40:46Just keep the salmon hot for a little bit.
40:48Oh, my God. I'm freaking out. I need to get my steak done.
40:53I feel so rushed with time because there's so many components and moving parts in this taco.
40:59Okay.
41:00All right, everyone. Five minutes.
41:04Now the barometric pressure is getting pretty high on you there, Mr. Hale.
41:07I want you to know. I see what you did there, Coby.
41:10I guarantee I appreciate it. All right. All right.
41:22We're going to add some brown sugar to the asparagus to give you that contrast between sweet and salty.
41:27These are my pochka shells, and the stuffing and the topping go in those shells.
41:33I still have to do my egg cream.
41:35The New York egg cream consists of chocolate syrup, very cold whole milk, and very cold seltzer water.
41:42I love egg creams.
41:43Oh, my gosh. There's no egg. There's no cream. It's fantastic.
41:46It's perfect.
41:47It's completely false advertising, and yet people love it.
41:50All right, cooks. It's the final minute.
41:56Whew. Okay. Plating time.
41:58Okay. All right. Let's do this.
42:0330 seconds left, everyone.
42:06Oh, boy.
42:09You want the classic fizziness.
42:11There's my tongs.
42:14This is it. This is the big deal.
42:16I mean, I don't know how to play, but hey, I don't look terrible.
42:1910, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
42:30Time's up!
42:32Woo!
42:33There you go.
42:34Woo-hoo-hoo!
42:35Woo!
42:36Woo!
42:37Today, we challenged you to wow us with your first taste.
42:50Getting to know more about your backstory and your current life as a home cook.
42:54I am so looking forward to taste these dishes, because watching you guys work was spectacular.
42:59First up, Anika, come join us.
43:02Hi.
43:03Hi, Anika.
43:04Hi.
43:05So today, I'm representing the Northeast region.
43:07I made fuchka paired with New York egg cream.
43:13I'll tell you, Anika, the egg cream is spot on.
43:17And the fuchka is almost like a Bangladeshi version of a knish.
43:21I grew up eating in Brooklyn.
43:23Wow.
43:24So it's really tasty.
43:25I totally agree.
43:26It's really delicious.
43:27And the tamarind is just so good.
43:28I love this.
43:30All right, Fran, you're up.
43:33Hey, Fran.
43:34Hey.
43:35I represent the South Atlantic, and I made shrimp and grits.
43:43I think you get extra points for including bacon.
43:46Yes!
43:47Good.
43:48Which is great.
43:49And then, I really like the sauce.
43:50But I think the shrimp's just a tad, maybe, tough.
43:54But that said, the flavors are really terrific.
43:58I would agree with Al.
43:59The shrimp is a little overcooked.
44:01But I think this is a really nice spin versus what I'm used to having.
44:05And I think the blue corn definitely brings a little more of a complex flavor.
44:10It's very delicious.
44:12Yay.
44:13Rex.
44:15I'm representing the Midwest region.
44:17So today, I made Cincinnati chili with a side of county dog.
44:21I used to live in Ohio, so I knew about chili three-way.
44:28But I've never had pasta with a side of hot dog before.
44:32So there's like a party in your mouth going on.
44:35I really like it.
44:36Yeah.
44:37And I think that the flavors are really interesting because it tastes like a little chocolate.
44:41Yes.
44:42But I do wish that the sauce was a little bit thicker and a lot heartier.
44:48Kobe, come join us.
44:52Bonjour.
44:53Hello.
44:54I represent the Gulf Coast.
44:55And I made today crawfish etouffee with the corn mock choux.
45:00This kind of reminds me if my mom had gotten a little crazy with the spices.
45:08It's really good.
45:09And if you put it all together on one spoon, it's this great little medley.
45:13I agree.
45:14And with the mock choux, you charred the corn, that flavor comes out really nicely.
45:18But it also just got a little bit toasted to the point where it made it kind of like chewy and tough.
45:23And I think controlling those little details is something you can play with.
45:27Yes, sir.
45:28Sawani.
45:31Hello.
45:32I'm representing the Pacific Northwest.
45:34And I made pan-seared salmon with huckleberry sauce.
45:37The sauce is so tasty.
45:43It's sweet from the berries and the coconut milk gives a richness.
45:46I don't think I've ever had huckleberry before.
45:48Oh, fantastic.
45:49But this sauce, it sings.
45:50Sawani, I agree.
45:51That sauce is delicious.
45:54But the salmon was a little dry and my skin wasn't crispy.
45:59Okay, okay.
46:00Carlos.
46:03Hi, Carlos.
46:04I'm representing the Rockies.
46:06So what I made today was a bison ribeye with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
46:12I love asparagus.
46:13And you've cooked it just right.
46:15I think that bison is cooked perfectly.
46:17But I'd like some more seasoning on this.
46:20Okay.
46:21I totally agree with Al.
46:22I also think the potatoes are really nice.
46:23But I think it's a very straightforward dish.
46:25I would like a kind of sauce or something to really bring your style, your personality to it.
46:32Sounds good.
46:34I agree.
46:35Come join us.
46:37I am representing the Rockies.
46:39And I made an Angus beef burger with fried egg and breakfast potatoes.
46:43Your potatoes are like diner worthy potatoes.
46:52If I got this on a plate when I went into a good greasy spoon, I would be thrilled.
46:57I agree.
46:58The potatoes are excellent.
47:00And I think the burger is cooked nicely.
47:03But you broke a lot of the yolks.
47:05And we use that.
47:06It's almost like an extra sauce.
47:08So just be careful.
47:10Weigal.
47:11I'm representing the West Coast.
47:14And I made a sumac steak taco with a Calabrian crema.
47:18It's really terrific.
47:24It's a fresh take on a taco.
47:27And I love the Calabrian crema.
47:30Yeah, I agree.
47:31I really like the fusion you have between the different cultures here.
47:34You have all of these great spices.
47:36But I do wish that the meat had a little bit more caramelization on it.
47:39It's cooked well.
47:40Just a little bit more char would be great.
47:42Totally.
47:44I'm a bit disappointed because I've made steak tacos so much.
47:47And it always has a beautiful char.
47:49But I feel like the taste was on point.
47:59All right, let's dive in and talk about our favorite dishes of the round.
48:03What are your thoughts?
48:04I want to bring up Anika.
48:05Because the Fushka, it was really cool in the sense of bringing a traditional Bangladeshi street food that you also find in New York City.
48:12And boy, it tastes good.
48:14Absolutely.
48:15And the egg cream, you know, you had the chocolate syrup.
48:18But then there was a little extra syrup at the bottom.
48:20So it's like the dessert on the dessert.
48:23That was terrific.
48:24You know, one of my other favorite dishes from the round was Fran with her shrimp and grits.
48:28The blue grits were really nice and creamy.
48:31Yeah, the sauce was really good too.
48:32The sauce was so good.
48:33And Fran really did represent our region.
48:35But unfortunately, the shrimp was just like a little bit overcooked, right?
48:39Mm-hmm.
48:40But I mean, gosh darn it, it was good.
48:41It was good.
48:42One of my favorites of the round was Wagah's sumac ribeye tacos.
48:47The beef just wasn't seared right.
48:49But there was so much flavor.
48:51And when you got a perfect bite, it was delicious.
48:53It was tasty, yeah, for sure.
48:54We had so many amazing dishes today, but we did also have a couple that failed to hit the mark.
48:59Which ones had a bit of a struggle?
49:02For me, Carlos.
49:03We did that bison ribeye with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
49:07Yeah, I liked it, but I just felt it was kind of bland.
49:11Yeah.
49:12Well, let's talk about Sewanee salmon.
49:14I thought the huckleberry sauce was kind of magical.
49:17And the cook on the salmon's skin was excellent.
49:19Mine was like crunchy, crackly, like a chip.
49:21My skin wasn't as crispy as your guys' skin.
49:23Yeah, and the salmon was very dry for me.
49:26Yeah, my salmon was definitely overcooked, unfortunately.
49:29But boy, that sauce was good.
49:31Yeah.
49:32I'd never tasted a sauce like that before.
49:34You know, another dish that really didn't quite, like, make the mark for me was Rex's Cincinnati chili.
49:39He had this sauce that had a lot of depth, but it also felt a little bit loose.
49:44Yeah, it just seems like it could have taken a little texture.
49:46That would have been good.
49:47That would have been good, yeah.
49:48All right, well, it sounds like you've all come to an agreement.
49:50Okay, then let's bring back the home cooks.
49:59We asked you to prepare a dish that best represents your part of the country.
50:03As a reminder, the judges are tracking your performance and growth from week to week
50:08in order to determine which three of you make it to the finale.
50:11But this week, no one is going home.
50:15That way we can get to know you even more through your recipes.
50:18All right, before we get to the top dishes of this round,
50:22the judges did feel that there were a couple of dishes that had some room for improvement.
50:27The first dish that we thought had some room for improvement was Carlos with your bison ribeye with mashed potatoes.
50:34I was expecting that.
50:35We love the fact that you really represented where you're from by using the bison front and center on the plate,
50:41but we wish you would have added a little bit more of yourself and fell a little flat with not having enough seasoning.
50:48Okay.
50:49The other dish that didn't really hit the mark for us today was salami with your salmon and huckleberry sauce.
50:56Unfortunately, the cook on the salmon was a little bit inconsistent.
51:01But, Swanee, I just want to tell you that I just want to get a big pool of that huckleberry sauce and jump in.
51:08All right, so let's move to our top two dishes.
51:11The first dish that blew us away this week was Anika with your puska and egg cream.
51:23We loved your interpretation of the challenge, but the puska was just a delightful bite.
51:28The egg cream, it was so good. It was just a wonderful plate.
51:32Thank you so much.
51:33Our other favorite dish of the round was...
51:38Fran! With your shrimp and shrimp!
51:42Yes, you, Fran!
51:44Oh, my God!
51:45Oh, wait, wait.
51:46Oh, whoa!
51:47Fran, we loved the dish. It was bright, it was different.
51:50The shrimp was a little overcooked, but you know what?
51:53We got past that because it was just so darn good.
51:57Great job, you two. But there can only be one top dish.
52:02The winning dish was...
52:05Anika's!
52:08Congratulations!
52:11I gotta tell you, Anika, the puska was so perfect.
52:14And, again, the egg cream was dynamite.
52:17You nailed it on all counts.
52:21I'm super excited that this particular recipe did so well,
52:25because I'm so proud to be a New Yorker and to be Bangladeshi.
52:30Thanks again for such a wonderful introduction to yourselves
52:33through your recipes.
52:35And please join me in thanking our very special guest, Al Roker,
52:39for joining us in this round.
52:42Thank you!
52:43Thank you, thank you.
52:46I have just had a blast being here with you guys.
52:48It's been terrific, and I wish you all the best
52:50on your path to the finale.
52:54Thank you, and good weather from here on out.
52:57We'll see you soon for more of your great American recipes.
53:01Bye, everyone!
53:02Bye!
53:03Thank you!
53:04Thank you!
53:05You did it.
53:06You did it.
53:07You did it.
53:08You did it.
53:09Aw.
53:10You did it.
53:12Bye.
53:13You did it.
53:14See ya later.
53:16Bye.
53:17Bye.
53:18Bye.
53:19Bye.
53:21Bye!
53:22Bye.
53:25Bye.
53:26Bye.
53:27Bye.
53:28Bye!
53:29Bye.
53:32Bye.
53:38Bye.
53:39You
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