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BRITCOM III
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00:00Viewers like you make this program possible.
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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 in Puerto Rico.
00:28It's the 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.
00:43I am half Belizean, half Jamaican,
00:45and cooking is the way I keep our Caribbean culture alive.
00:49You know what, the tears, just 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.
01:06Yes, ma'am.
01:06But as a proud Texan, my most cherished recipes
01:10are those that stem from my southern roots.
01:13Oh, 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.
02:21Yeah.
02:22This is beautiful.
02:23This is it.
02:24She's so excited.
02:25This is amazing.
02:26I am so happy to be among some of the country's best home cooks.
02:43And I am looking forward to sharing my Thai food, my Thai culture.
02:47I want to tell not only my story, but the stories of 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.
03:06Hello.
03:07Hey.
03:08Sandra.
03:09Woo.
03:10Oh, my God.
03:11We're here.
03:12Welcome 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.
03:32Frances Lamb, Tiffany Derry, and Tim Collingsworth.
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 they judge food.
03:46That'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.
03:54During 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, presentation, 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 from each round.
04:12With each dish you create, we'll be tracking your growth and evaluating your success based on our critiques of your dishes.
04:20But this season, we're shaking things up a bit.
04:23What does that mean?
04:24What?
04:25What does that mean?
04:26Since 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.
04:35And only three home cooks will earn a spot in the finale.
04:39And at the end of this journey, one of you will be named the winner of the Great American Recipe.
04:46Winning would mean so much to me because I feel like this is a beautiful opportunity to showcase all the beautiful things that being Afghan American comes with.
04:59It would be wild to win this competition.
05:02Cooking is an expression of my heritage and my southern roots.
05:06That accolade would be like, I would get a little misty.
05:11This week's theme is all about you.
05:14You have 60 minutes to prepare what you consider to be your perfect dish that tells us who you are as a home cook.
05:23All right.
05:24Your time starts now.
05:26Woo!
05:27Woo!
05:28Laissez le bon temps roulé!
05:30Yeah, tamo tivo, tamo tivo!
05:32Okay, 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 asked 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.
05:49And that's really meaningful.
05:50And 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 up who they are.
06:04I agree.
06:05And it's a very diverse group of cooks here.
06:07Yes.
06:08Yes.
06:09Which is always exciting to see.
06:10That's the beauty of American home cooking.
06:12100%.
06:15This is ispand, or wild brew, and 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 Weigel Safi, and I'm from San Diego, California.
06:26I'm 31 years old, and I work for a non-profit.
06:29I'm making lawand with sirish kpolo.
06:32It's basically braised chicken in a yogurt sauce with rice.
06:35It is one of the first Afghan dishes I learned how to make.
06:39I grew up in a first-generation immigrant household.
06:42My parents left Afghanistan because of the Soviet invasion.
06:45I love Afghan food, and my mom is the biggest supporter and teacher.
06:49It's not too traditional for Afghan men to cook, but I'm here to change that.
06:53The main spice for this dish is turmeric.
06:58Turmeric has a very earthy flavor to it.
07:00So for the lawand, I let the chicken cook down.
07:03Add labneh, which is a strained yogurt.
07:06That's the best aroma.
07:09Next, I have to start on my sirish kpolo, which is basmati rice,
07:13perfumed with saffron, and topped with barberries.
07:15It 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, and if I win,
07:23it would just make it that much sweeter.
07:25You can never have too much saffron.
07:28All right.
07:33In 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.
07:47Today, 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.
07:54I love cooking great Cajun food,
07:57because growing up, my grandmother and my mother
08:00were like the matriarchs of the kitchen.
08:02The 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! Look at that boudin right there.
08:15Perfect.
08:16To make this omelet, I taste some onions and some bell peppers.
08:18Ain't no Cajun.
08:19I'm gonna 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?
08:32I'm gonna taste it one more time.
08:35Save me a little bit for my omelet.
08:36Oh, my God.
08:37It's delicious.
08:38Okay.
08:39All right. I like it.
08:40Okay, so you're gonna do an omelet with this.
08:42And it's my family's favorite omelet.
08:43I love that.
08:44I love to share that with everybody.
08:45This is my perfect dish because my mama taught me how to cook eggs when I was about eight
08:50years old.
08:51And that's what really made me fall in love with cooking.
08:54And now I love cooking for my family.
08:56I 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.
09:02So you've got to really pay attention to it.
09:03Yes, ma'am.
09:04All right.
09:05I look forward to enjoying this.
09:06And best of luck.
09:14Here we go.
09:15This is my happy place.
09:16I'm using a mackerel fish.
09:18They're called platu in Thai.
09:21And I'm just gonna 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 in Thai.
09:35It's called .
09:37This is the dish that I grew up eating.
09:39I grew up in a village called 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.
09:49Hey.
09:50Beautiful.
09:51Khnom Jhin Nam Ya has shallot, garlic, lemongrass, and khichai.
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.
10:09Hi, Tim.
10:10Why is this the dish that represents you?
10:12So I came to America when I was 13.
10:14Mm-hmm.
10:15And 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.
10:27And 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.
10:37Awesome.
10:38Yeah.
10:39It gives you a little taste over the top of the noodles here.
10:40Yes.
10:41Well, remember, we see it with our eyes first, right?
10:42Yes.
10:43So make sure that presentation is beautiful.
10:44Oh, of course.
10:45I'll take that from you.
10:46Yes.
10:47Thank you so much.
10:48Yeah, for sure.
10:49Can't wait to eat it.
10:50Get in close.
10:51Getting close.
10:52Oh, something smells so good.
10:57I'm Fran Wescott.
10:59I'm 61.
11:00I'm from Durham, North Carolina, and I'm a consultant in strategic content.
11:05I am 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.
11:36Mm-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.
12:04Forty-five minutes, cubs!
12:07Forty-five minutes. I can do this.
12:09Time is going by.
12:14These onions are getting me.
12:15I'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.
12:29I am half Belizean, half Jamaican.
12:32Also gonna cut some green onion because my husband and I love onions.
12:36My husband's been in the United States Air Force for almost 17 years now,
12:40so 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, all-spiced smoked paprika.
12:58I use maple syrup instead of the standard brown sugar.
13:02It 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
13:11and highlight Caribbean dishes that made me who I am.
13:15And as I like to tell people, flavor is king.
13:18Got some rice.
13:23There are pink ears over there.
13:26Yes.
13:27I'm happy.
13:28I'm very happy about this.
13:30These are the pork cheeks, pork ears, pork face, and pork belly.
13:36It's pretty hot, but it's competition. I got it.
13:39I'm Rex Alba. I'm 46 years old. I'm a physical therapist.
13:43I grew up in the Philippines and now live in Columbus, Ohio.
13:46Today I'm making dinaguan. It's pork blood stew with puto bigas.
13:51It's steamed rice cake.
13:52I'm 100% Filipino and I moved here in the U.S. when I was 28 with my wife.
13:57So my style of cooking is mostly Filipino cuisine.
14:01So those are fresh pork blood.
14:04Pork blood stew is a classic Filipino dish.
14:06It's a little tangy, a little sour, and if you try it, you'll love it.
14:11Back home in the Philippines, they are pretty dry and some people prefer it, but mine, I like it silky.
14:17For the puto bigas, I'm mixing coconut milk, jasmine rice, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
14:22Okay, now we're ready to blend it. Oops. If 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, but in 2004, my mom died.
14:40So every time I cook Filipino food like this, I think of my mom and I really want to win this competition for her.
14:47So this is the consistency you want.
14:50Can't forget some olive oil. Some regular oil.
14:54My name is Carlos Tiburcio. I'm 29 years old.
14:57I grew up in Coupe, Puerto Rico, and I currently live in Aurora, Colorado, and I'm a recruiter in the Army.
15:02I'm a Staff Sergeant.
15:04I'm making a fricasse de pollo con arroz blanco.
15:06A fricasse de pollo is chicken stew with rice, and it's one of the staples of Puerto Rican cuisine.
15:11This is a dish that my grandma taught it to my mom, my mom taught it to me, and now I, you know, teach it to my kids.
15:17I love cooking Puerto Rican food because Puerto Rico for me is home.
15:20I was raised by my mom and my grandparents.
15:23So my recipes represent generations of kosher in Puerto Rico.
15:28Look at this. Look at this. Look at this.
15:29Woo!
15:30After seasoning the chicken thighs and drums with the sazon and the adobo, I start browning out the chicken.
15:35Carlos is making fricasse de pollo, which is a Puerto Rican stewed chicken dish, which, you know, makes me happy.
15:41For sure. It's a very traditional dish.
15:44Is it gonna be like a braised dish?
15:46Yes, but you want that chicken crispy first.
15:48Next, I add potatoes and carrots with some chicken stock, and I begin bringing that to a boil.
15:53I need more heat.
15:54I want to win so badly because I don't know if a lot of people know how good Puerto Rican food is.
16:01And I'm here to show everybody that we are not to be underestimated.
16:06Thirty minutes, everyone!
16:08Woo!
16:09All right.
16:10Oh, my gosh.
16:11Bram, how you holding up? You got it?
16:13I got it.
16:14Mmm.
16:15Nice fragrance.
16:17I'm Anika Chaudhary.
16:18I 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.
16:42My recipes represent my family, my heritage, and nothing signifies home for me like chicken curry.
16:49Bangladeshi curries taste different from Indian curries.
16:52They are a bit lighter.
16:54For the sauce, I'm using turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and Kashmiri chili powder.
16:59Let's see.
17:01Hi, Anika. Can I come join you?
17:03Hi, yes, of course.
17:04Nice to meet you.
17:05So tell me about this.
17:06Everyone's chicken curry is a little bit different.
17:08I want it just like the way my mom and dad made it.
17:10Yeah.
17:11It's 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. The spices are beautiful, but they're not like overpowering.
17:23Exactly.
17:24And we do a technique called koshano.
17:26You stir the raw spices, and you keep adding a little bit of water until the water gets absorbed,
17:31and you add a little bit more until the smell of raw spices goes away.
17:34The spices are like fully cooked, fully infused into the sauce.
17:37Yeah, that's how you develop the flavor.
17:39Oh, that's such a cool technique.
17:40I've never heard of that.
17:41It's a very Bengali technique.
17:42Is the salt level the way you like it?
17:44I mean, what do you think?
17:45My tip for you is...
17:46Add a little bit more.
17:47We like salt.
17:48Okay, I'll add a little bit more sauce.
17:49But it's going to be delicious.
17:51It's so nice to meet you.
17:52See you later.
17:53It is smelling good out there.
17:56Yeah, it is.
17:57I am ready to eat.
17:59This is the home cook's first time cooking for you.
18:02That's a lot of pressure.
18:03Yeah, 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 and cook your food.
18:15I feel like this is one of those hard moments where 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 lawan is simmering away.
18:27So, once my rice is done, I 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?
18:37My.
18:38Golly.
18:39I'm going to let that cook.
18:40Get a little bit more brown.
18:42Our fresh puto bigas is ready.
18:46I'm using a toothpick method.
18:48So, I'm just going to dip this here.
18:50Make sure nothing sticks.
18:51Looks good.
18:52Looks good.
18:53Looks good.
18:55Okay.
18:56In the south, we have a particular trick for making fried okra is to put it in a paper
19:01bag and then shake it up.
19:03Well, hello there.
19:04Well, hello there.
19:05Wow.
19:06I see okra.
19:07I love a brown bag shake.
19:11For the okra, I'm just going to 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 that most people don't love.
19:24Oh, thank you madam.
19:25Now, I really have to do this right.
19:27Okay.
19:29In Puerto Rico, we love our avocado slices.
19:34These are my beautiful garnishes.
19:35That didn't go good.
19:36Now I'm just making a mess.
19:37Obi, watch your time.
19:38Yes ma'am.
19:39The most difficult thing is the eggs.
19:40You don't want it runny.
19:41You want it nice and fluffy.
19:42Cheese.
19:43Please.
19:44One minute guys.
19:45One minute.
19:46I still have one to make.
19:47It's going to take me every bit of that.
19:48The funny thing about oysters is that it's all in the flash fry.
19:54I have rose petals.
19:57Oh, I'm just making a mess.
19:58I'm just making a mess.
19:59I'm just making a mess.
20:00Obi, watch your time.
20:01Yes ma'am.
20:02The most difficult thing is the eggs.
20:03You don't want it runny.
20:04You want it nice and fluffy.
20:05Cheese.
20:06Please.
20:07One minute guys.
20:08One minute.
20:09It's literally going to add a pop of color.
20:21Five.
20:22Four.
20:23Three.
20:24Two.
20:25One.
20:26Time's up.
20:27Yay.
20:30One down.
20:31One down.
20:32A thousand more to go.
20:39Cooks.
20:40We gave you one hour to prepare your perfect dish for our judges.
20:45First up, Kobe, 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.
20:54It's my perfect dish.
20:55It's my perfect dish.
20:56Okay, but I got to 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 and 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 taste the coconut in it.
21:47You taste the whole sweetness.
21:48Yeah.
21:49And the rice.
21:50I 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.
22:00Okay.
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.
22:20Oh, good.
22:21And 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.
22:35Sawani.
22:36I made for you today Khnom Jin Nam Ya, or Thai fish curry.
22:41I came to the U.S. when I was 13, and this was one of the dishes I missed the most from Thailand.
22:46You just did a delicious job.
22:48The broth, the liquid, and everything with the coconut.
22:51It's just so good.
22:52Thank you so much.
22:53I agree, but unfortunately, I do have some fish bones.
22:57I was worried about that.
22:58But other than that, it's an excellent dish.
23:00Thank you so much.
23:01Carlos, come join us.
23:04I made picasse 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.
23:19Yeah, yeah.
23:20Carlos, 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 was cooked really well.
23:28I totally agree.
23:29You concentrated the flavor of the chicken really, really nicely.
23:31But the first step to the fricassee is typically you brown the chicken pretty well.
23:34So 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.
23:43Bye, Carl.
23:44Hey there.
23:45Salam.
23:46Salam.
23:47I made lawan bazirishk 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.
24:18Yes.
24:19But a little sweet.
24:20I mean, this is heaven.
24:21Thank you so much.
24:22Bree, come join us.
24:24Hello.
24:25Hi.
24:26Hi.
24:27I made Jamaican brown stew chicken with rice.
24:31This is one of the first Jamaican dishes I learned how to make.
24:35You have a lot of flavor in here.
24:36There's a lot of warm spices.
24:37There's a little bit of a kick.
24:38I think you use a scotch bonnet over there.
24:40Scotch bonnet, yes.
24:41That's your one, right?
24:42Yeah.
24:43And it balances really well with like the sweetness of the bell pepper.
24:45Yeah, I agree, Bree.
24:46There's a lot of flavor going on.
24:48But you use chicken thighs here.
24:50Yes.
24:51They're a little dry.
24:52But I think overall, this is very good.
24:56And I 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 US, one of the first dishes I really wanted
25:10to 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.
25:20The flavor that you have here.
25:22But the chicken itself got a little bit overcooked, and the potato didn't get cooked enough.
25:26But overall, the flavor is really good.
25:29I want to represent Bangladeshi cuisine to America.
25:32And there really is no room for failure now.
25:35I just have to do my absolute, absolute, absolute best.
25:39So I need to deliver the next round.
25:41Cooks, we asked you to prepare your perfect meal to introduce yourselves to us.
25:53There were so many wonderful dishes.
25:56But the judges would like to recognize the top two dishes of the round.
26:00The first dish that really impressed us was...
26:06...Waigal with your turmeric braised chicken.
26:09The saffron rice was perfectly cooked.
26:12And the turmeric braised chicken had so much depth of flavor.
26:17It was delicious.
26:19No shejan.
26:20It means to me, nourish your soul.
26:21Oh, wow.
26:24I just can't really believe it.
26:25I mean, I love this dish.
26:26So 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...
26:39Rex!
26:40With your pork blood dinou guan.
26:44Your dinou guan was probably the best pork blood stew I've ever had.
26:48And 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.
26:55Really incredible way to introduce yourself to us.
26:59Thank you so much.
27:00This means a lot to me.
27:01Thank you so much, judges.
27:02I'm just feeling ecstatic.
27:04I really did my part showing what Filipino cuisine is.
27:07And that's the purpose of why I'm competing on this competition.
27:12Thank you for that delicious first round, cooks.
27:14We're excited to see what you serve up next.
27:25Your first round dishes told us more about who you are.
27:28Now 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.
27:45Hello!
27:46Hello, hello.
27:47It's so great to be here.
27:48As the creator and executive producer of the new PBS Kids series, Weather Hunters, it's so nice to have a member of the PBS family here with us on The Great American Recipe.
28:06It's so great to be here because I love cooking.
28:09It brings people together.
28:10So this is going to be great.
28:12All right.
28:13Let'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.
28:29Good luck, everyone.
28:30Your 60 minutes starts now.
28:36All right.
28:37Let's do it.
28:38Let's go.
28:39Al, thanks so much for joining us.
28:41Oh, I am so thrilled to be here.
28:42This is so exciting.
28:43So 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?
28:49For me, I just want to see what they feel is the best of their region.
28:53Yeah, I agree.
28:54And 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 to our country.
29:00And I think that's kind of the hallmark of American home cooking, right?
29:03You just have this beautiful amalgamation of flavors.
29:06And I love when you can get amalgamation into a center.
29:09Yes.
29:10I love amalgamation.
29:11Mmm.
29:16I'm very excited that Al Roker is here.
29:19All 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.
29:35And you pop the whole thing in your mouth.
29:37I have tamarind paste in here.
29:39Traditionally, puchka has tamarind sauce.
29:42Puchkas have become very popular in New York.
29:44So 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.
30:00How are you feeling?
30:01It is.
30:02I'm a little bit nervous.
30:03Is there anybody you consulted?
30:04I did tell my husband and my sister.
30:06And they were both like, you 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?
30:20You want more salt?
30:21I think a little more salt.
30:22Yeah.
30:23You're using black salt.
30:24Yeah.
30:25So that gives it the classic puchka taste.
30:26Have you tried this?
30:27I've never tried?
30:28It's a really interesting ingredient.
30:29Try just a tiny bit.
30:30It'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.
30:38Hopefully 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.
30:50Can someone roll up my sleeves?
30:55Being 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.
31:02Time to win again.
31:05I'm from the West Coast,
31:06and I live in San Diego, California.
31:08I'm making sumac steak tacos
31:10topped with calabrine crema.
31:13Being in San Diego has definitely influenced my cooking.
31:16Where I live is 40 minutes from the Mexican border.
31:19This represents San Diego because you can't go anywhere
31:22without seeing a taco shop.
31:23For my steak marinade, I'm using cumin, coriander, sumac.
31:27And I'm using yogurt in the marinade,
31:28which is very Middle Eastern and Afghan.
31:34Mmm.
31:35I really want this marinade to flavor the steak,
31:37but I'm worried about a short amount of time.
31:43Hello, my God. How are you?
31:45Good. How are you?
31:46Good.
31:47Oh, 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
31:56how to vacuum seal your meat,
31:57and then you only need like five minutes marinating.
31:59Okay.
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.
32:06Oh my God, you're getting dirty with me.
32:08I love it.
32:09There's a lot for me to do, so 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.
32:19Thank you so much.
32:20Yeah, good luck.
32:26All right, Montana.
32:27Doing your favorite, some potatoes and some beef.
32:31I 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 not 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.
32:53And I'm also going to cook bacon.
32:56I don't know if I have enough room.
32:58I might have to turn that one.
33:00Make this one fit.
33:02All 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.
33:17So this is for the Rockies while also representing my actual family, and I really want to bring my egg in.
33:24Who doesn't love a good burger?
33:34All I have right here is onions and bell pepper.
33:37This is part of the base.
33:39I'm from the Gulf Coast, and I live in Lafayette, Louisiana.
33:43The Gulf Coast is very influential in my cooking for the simple reason that Louisiana has the best food on the planet.
33:49I'm making crawfish etouffee with a little corn mock choux on the side.
33:53This is a dish I probably made, ooh, 100 times.
33:57Crawfish etouffee is crawfish smothered in gravy.
34:01Corn 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.
34:14Cut this down a little bit.
34:17Colby!
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.
34:36You have to wait?
34:37I have to wait.
34:38My grandmother was probably one of the best cooks on the planet.
34:42And I feel lucky enough to inherit that aluminum pot that's been in our family for,
34:47Lord, I don't even know how many 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.
34:56Ooh, I know.
34:57I'm kind of nervous about that.
34:58That's our heavy pressure.
34:59Do us proud.
35:00I'm kind of nervous about that.
35:01Best of luck, Colby.
35:02Thank you, ma'am.
35:0340 minutes left.
35:05How many minutes?
35:06Let's cook.
35:07Woo!
35:08Cook like the wind.
35:09Woo!
35:10Come on, guys.
35:11I was a 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 coney dog.
35:25The first time I had chili was when my wife and I moved to Ohio because my wife got a job as a nurse.
35:32We've been there for 19 years, and I love it there.
35:35When we first moved here in the U.S., we found this spot in Cincinnati where they serve us spaghetti and cheese dogs, and it's close to my heart.
35:44So I am making three-way chili, which means it's just spaghetti, cheese, and a ground beef sauce.
35:51I'm gonna make a Filipino spin, so I'm gonna be using cacao.
35:55The Filipino cacao powder.
35:56It's a little more bitter than your usual cacao powder, and it's very rich.
36:01Now, this is the fun part.
36:03Next, I add my meat from the pressure cooker and use the hand blender to really let it be part of the sauce.
36:12Now I'm gonna have my hot dogs ready.
36:16Rex, how are we looking?
36:17Good, very good, Chef.
36:18Tell me about these hot dogs here.
36:20It's Filipino hot dogs, so 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 in something that's you and your heritage.
36:32Yes.
36:33The one thing for me is, I think I would add the chili sauce nice and last minute, that 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.
36:46I'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.
36:55I 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.
37:35When I was little, we would always have a beach trip off the coast of North Carolina.
37:40And I'm so excited to share with the cooking of the South Atlantic.
37:44Are you playing nicely?
37:45Oh, you're playing so nicely.
37:47Now what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna 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.
38:01We've got a chili front coming in.
38:04Can we get a little drum roll?
38:07We're here till 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.
38:33I love living in Colorado.
38:35Me 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's very exciting to be there.
38:43Whoo! That's where it's at. Yes, sir.
38:46It's leaner, so I don't want to overcook them.
38:48What we want is a nice sear, and then the inside, you know, almost like it melts in your mouth.
38:53I'm very excited to be representing the Rockies, so I'm giving my all.
38:57Whoo-hoo-hoo! Look at that, guys.
39:00Oh, we got a steak over there.
39:02I'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.
39:14I 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.
39:40Huckleberries, 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.
39:58I 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, and I'm going to need more heat.
40:21I know you. I'm going to need more heat.
40:25That's good.
40:26It's a little mild, isn't it?
40:27You want some Cajun seasoning?
40:29No. I'm not brave enough.
40:31I think it's a good flavor right there. I want you to make sure you do it your way and not my way.
40:34We're fellow Southerners.
40:35Absolutely. I got you.
40:36Okay, thank you so much, Coby.
40:38Now I need to do the shrimp. I just want the shrimp to be sauteed.
40:44Okay. There we go.
40:46Keep the salmon hot for a little bit.
40:51Oh, my God. I'm freaking out. I need to get my steak done.
40:54I feel so rushed with time because there's so many components and moving parts in this taco.
40:59Okay.
41:02All right, everyone. Five minutes.
41:04Now the barometric pressure is getting pretty high on you there, Mr. Al.
41:08I want you to know.
41:09I see what you did there, Coby.
41:11I guarantee I appreciate it.
41:13All right.
41:14All right.
41:15We're going to add some brown sugar to the asparagus to give you that contrast between sweet and salty.
41:26These are my pochka shells, and the stuffing and the topping go in those shells.
41:32I still have to do my egg cream.
41:34The 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.
41:44There's no egg.
41:45There's no cream.
41:46It's fantastic.
41:47It's perfect.
41:48It's completely false advertising, and yet people love it.
41:50All right, cooks.
41:51It's the final minute.
41:53Whew.
41:54Okay.
41:55Blading time.
41:57Okay.
41:58All right.
41:59Let's do this.
42:0030 seconds left, everyone.
42:01Oh, boy.
42:02You want that classic fizziness.
42:03There's my tongs.
42:04This is it.
42:05This is the big deal.
42:06I mean, I don't know how to plate, but hey, that don't look terrible.
42:07Ten.
42:08Nine.
42:09Eight.
42:10Seven.
42:11Six.
42:12Five.
42:13Four.
42:14Ten.
42:15Ten.
42:16Ten.
42:17Ten.
42:18Ten.
42:19Ten.
42:20Ten.
42:21Ten.
42:22Ten.
42:23Ten.
42:24Ten.
42:25Ten.
42:26Ten.
42:27Ten.
42:28Three, two, one.
42:29Ten.
42:30Ten.
42:32Yeah.
42:33Ready of it.
42:34Woo, ho, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.
42:37Woo.
42:38Today, we challenged you to wow us with a first taste.
42:49To get in to know more about your back story and your current life as a home cook.
42:54I am so looking forward to taste these dishes,
42:56because 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.
43:24It'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.
43:42I think you get extra points for including bacon.
43:46That's good.
43:47Which is great.
43:48And 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.
44:14I'm representing the Midwest region.
44:17So today I made Cincinnati chili with a side of county dog.
44:25I used to live in Ohio, so I knew about chili three-way.
44:29But 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.
44:53I represent the Gulf Coast.
44:55And I made today crawfish etouffee with the corn mock chute.
44:59This 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 chute, you char the corn, that flavor comes out really nicely.
45:17But it also just got a little bit toasted to the point where it made it kind of like chewy and tough.
45:22And I think controlling those little details is something you can play with.
45:26Yes, sir.
45:27So, Ani.
45:28Hello, I'm representing the Pacific Northwest.
45:33And I made pan-seared salmon with huckleberry sauce.
45:38The sauce is so tasty.
45:42It's sweet from the berries and the coconut milk gives a richness.
45:45I don't think I've ever had huckleberry before.
45:47Oh, fantastic.
45:48But this sauce, it sings.
45:50So, Ani, I agree.
45:51That sauce is delicious.
45:54But the salmon was a little dry and my skin wasn't crispy.
45:58Okay.
45:59Okay.
46:00Carlos.
46:03Hi, Carlos.
46:04I'm representing the Rockies.
46:05So, what I made today was bison ribeye with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
46:11I love asparagus and you've cooked it just right.
46:15I think that bison's cooked perfectly, but 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, but 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.
46:31Sounds good.
46:32You're good.
46:34Ri, come join us.
46:37I am representing the Rockies and I made an Angus beef burger with fried egg and breakfast potatoes.
46:47Your 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 and I think the burger is cooked nicely, but you broke a lot of the
47:04yolks and we use that.
47:05It's almost like an extra sauce.
47:07So, just be careful.
47:09Waigal.
47:12I'm representing the West Coast and I made a sumac steak taco with a Calabrian crema.
47:22It's really terrific.
47:24It's a fresh take on a taco and I love the Calabrian crema.
47:30Yeah, I agree.
47:31I really like the fusion you have between the different cultures here.
47:33You have all of these great spices, but 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 and it always has a beautiful char.
47:49I feel like the taste was on point.
47:54All 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 because 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, but 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.
48:30Yeah, 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 Waigal's sumac rib eye tacos.
48:46The beef just wasn't seared right, but there was so much flavor.
48:50And 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?
49:01For me, Carlos, we did that bison ribeye with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
49:07Yeah, I liked it, but I just felt it was kind of bland.
49:10Yeah.
49:11Well, let's talk about Sewanee salmon.
49:13I thought the huckleberry sauce was kind of magical.
49:16And 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.
49:31I'd never tasted a sauce like that before.
49:33You 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.
49:53We 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 in order to determine which three of you make it to the finale.
50:11But this week, no one is going home.
50:14That 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, the 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.
50:40But we wish you would have added a little bit more of yourself and fell a little flat with not having enough seasoning.
50:47Okay.
50:48The other dish that didn't really hit the mark for us today was suwanee with your salmon and huckleberry sauce.
50:55Unfortunately, the cook on the salmon was a little bit inconsistent.
51:00But, Suwanee, 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.
51:13The first dish that blew us away this week was anika with your puska and egg cream.
51:19We loved your interpretation of the challenge, but the puska was just a delightful bite.
51:27The egg cream, it was so good.
51:30It was just a wonderful plate.
51:32Thank you so much.
51:33Our other favorite dish of the round was...
51:38Friend!
51:39With your shrimp and shrimp!
51:42Yes, you, friend!
51:46Friend, we loved the dish.
51:48It 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.
51:58But there can only be one top dish.
52:01The winning dish was...
52:04Anika's!
52:05Congratulations!
52:06I got to tell you, Anika, the puska was so perfect.
52:13And again, the egg cream was dynamite.
52:16You nailed it on all counts.
52:18I'm super excited that this particular recipe did so well because I'm so proud to be a New Yorker and to be Bangladeshi.
52:29Thanks again for such a wonderful introduction to yourselves through your recipes.
52:34And please join me in thanking our very special guest, Al Roker, for joining us in this round.
52:45I have just had a blast being here with you guys.
52:48It's been terrific.
52:49And I wish you all the best on your path to the finale.
52:54And good weather from here on up.
52:57We'll see you soon for more of your great American recipes.
53:00Bye, everyone!
53:01Bye!
53:03Bye!
53:04Bye!
53:05Bye!
53:06Thank you!
53:07You did it.
53:08That was cool.
53:33Bye!
53:34Bye!
53:36Bye!
53:37Bye!
53:38Bye!
53:39Bye!
53:40Bye!
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