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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 space 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?
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. Do us proud.
01:05You got it. Yes, 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,
01:24I think a cook's most defining dishes
01:26are 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
01:32is cooking in 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,
01:40all of our family traditions were 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.
01:51Use 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.
02:21We're really here.
02:22Yeah.
02:23This is beautiful.
02:24This is it.
02:25She's so excited.
02:26This is amazing.
02:27I 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
02:51in 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.
03:08Hi, Sandra.
03:11Hi.
03:12Oh my God.
03:13We'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
03:27most beloved 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
03:46how they 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.
04:00At the end of each round, we're going to evaluate your dishes based on taste, execution, presentation
04:05and 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
04:10our favorites from 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?
04:25What 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.
04:46Winning 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.
04:58It would be wild to win this competition.
05:02Cooking is an expression of my heritage and my southern roots.
05:06And that 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, your time starts now.
05:27Let's do this.
05:36Welcome back, judges.
05:37You excited to be back?
05:38Yes.
05:39Totally, 100%.
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?
05:48This is the story they want to tell about themselves.
05:50And 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, where you live now, where you grew up?
05:59And I feel like the ingredients that they choose really gives them an opportunity to set up
06:03who they are.
06:04I agree.
06:05And it's a very diverse group of cooks here.
06:07Yes.
06:08Which is always exciting to see.
06:10That's the beauty of American home cooking.
06:13100%.
06:14This is a spand, or wild brew, and it's going to get rid of any bad energy.
06:21There's not much to begin with, but just in case.
06:24My name is Waigal Safi, and I'm from San Diego, California.
06:26I am 31 years old, and I work for a non-profit.
06:30I'm making lawand with sirish kpolo.
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.
06:39I 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.
06:55The 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.
07:08Next, I have to start on my zerish kpolo, which is basmati rice,
07:12perfumed 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,
07:22and if I win, it would just make it that much sweeter.
07:25You can never have too much saffron.
07:32All right.
07:33In Cajun country, cooking gets passed down from generation to generation,
07:37and I really want to do the Cajun people right.
07:39I'm Colby Bailey. I'm 53 years old.
07:42I am a professional firefighter in Lafayette, Louisiana.
07:46Today, I'm making a boudin omelet.
07:48Boudin is a sausage that's made with rice and pork.
07:51It's a Cajun tradition. It's what we love.
07:55I love cooking great Cajun food because growing up,
07:58my grandmother and my mother were like the matriarchs of the kitchen.
08:02The Cajun influence has made me the cook that I am,
08:05and 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.
08:11I just love it that much.
08:12Ooh, look at that boudin right there.
08:14Perfect.
08:15To make this omelet, I'd taste some onions and some bell peppers.
08:18Ain't no Cajun.
08:19I'm going to be right without Cajun seasoning right in there.
08:21Hello there.
08:22Hey, Chef Tiffany.
08:23Hold on.
08:24Can you smell it?
08:25Let me taste this boudin right now.
08:26All right, get you a piece of that.
08:30How is it?
08:32I'm going to taste it one more time.
08:34Save me a little bit for my omelet.
08:35Oh, my God, it's delicious.
08:37OK.
08:38All right, I like it.
08:39OK, so you're going to do an omelet with this.
08:41And it's my family's favorite omelet.
08:42I love that.
08:43So I wanted to share that with everybody.
08:44This is my perfect dish because my mama taught me
08:48how to cook eggs when I was about eight years old.
08:50And that's what really made me fall in love with cooking.
08:53And now I love cooking for my family.
08:55I also love cooking for everybody at the firehouse.
08:58One thing to remember, if it's cooked too much,
09:00you have a dry egg.
09:01So you've got to really pay attention to it.
09:02Yes, ma'am.
09:03All right.
09:04I look forward to enjoying this.
09:06And best of luck.
09:13Here we go.
09:14This is my happy place.
09:16I'm using a mackerel fish.
09:18They're called platou in Thai.
09:20And I'm just going to make sure there are no bones in here.
09:23Here's one big one.
09:24We don't want that.
09:25I'm Suwani Lennon.
09:27I'm 46 years old.
09:28I'm from Spokane, Washington.
09:30And I'm a photographer.
09:31I am making fish curry.
09:34In Thai, it's called khnomji nam ya.
09:36This is the dish that I grew up eating.
09:38I grew up in a village called Nikom Prasad in Thailand.
09:42And I'm here because I want to represent the people
09:45that I grew up with and my beautiful Thai culture.
09:48Hey, beautiful.
09:50Khnomji nam ya has shallot, garlic,
09:54lemongrass, and gichai.
09:56It's from the same family as the ginger.
09:58They're called finger roots because they look like fingers.
10:02And then I add coconut milk and let the flavors build.
10:06Hi, Suwani. How are you?
10:07Hi, Tim.
10:08Why is this the dish that represents you?
10:11So I came to America when I was 13.
10:14And so this was the dish that we grew up eating in the village.
10:17When 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.
10:34Can you taste it?
10:35It gives you a lot of depth.
10:36Yeah. Awesome.
10:37Yeah. So you're going to basically be putting this 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. I'll take that from you. Yes. Thank you so much.
10:46Yeah, for sure. Can't wait to eat it.
10:53Getting close. Getting close.
10:55Oh, something smells so good.
10:58I'm Fran Wescott. I'm 61.
11:00I'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. Both my grandmother and my mother were rock solid in their traditions. And I think that there's a lot of complexity to Southern food.
11:22I've been making this for about 30 years. My 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.
11:35Mm-hmm. Nothing about that sucks.
11:38And then I leave it alone while I work on the rest.
11:41Okie Smokie.
11:43My fried okra is my mom's recipe. I'm using egg wash and then flour. And then for my fried oysters, I'm using cornmeal as well as flour.
11:53So here's the tricky thing about timing. I've set up my dredging stations, but all the frying magic has to happen at the last minute.
12:01You gotta be brave and fry it all at the end.
12:0445 minutes, cubs!
12:0645 minutes. I can do this.
12:09Time is going by.
12:14Onions are getting me.
12:15I'm Bree Jamison. I'm 36 years old. I 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. I 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, 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, 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.
13:07I want to win because I want to represent military spouses and highlight Caribbean dishes that made me who I am.
13:14And as I like to tell people, flavor is king.
13:17Got some rice.
13:19There are pig 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.
13:35It'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. I now live in Columbus, Ohio.
13:46Today I'm making dinaguan. It's pork blood stew with uputubigas.
13:50It'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.
14:00So those are fresh pork blood.
14:03Pork 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.
14:10Back home in the Philippines, they are pretty dry,
14:13and some people prefer it, but mine, I like it silky.
14:16For the uputubigas, I'm mixing in coconut milk, jasmine rice, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
14:22Okay, now we're ready to blend it.
14:24Oops. If I can find the lid, okay.
14:26Once the grain has been pureed, it's ready to go in the steamer.
14:30We want this to open up like a flower.
14:34My mom taught me how to cook,
14:37but in 2004, my mom died.
14:40So every time I cook Filipino food like this,
14:43I think of my mom,
14:44and I really want to win this competition for her.
14:47So this is the consistency you want.
14:49Oops. Can't forget some olive oil.
14:52Oops. Some regular oil.
14:54My name is Carlos Tiburcio. I'm 29 years old.
14:56I grew up in Coupe, Puerto Rico,
14:58and I currently live in Aurora, Colorado,
15:00and I'm a recruiter in the Army.
15:02I'm a Staff Sergeant.
15:03I'm making a fricasse de pollo con arroz blanco.
15:06A fricasse de pollo is chicken stew with rice,
15:09and it's one of the staples of Puerto Rican cuisine.
15:11This is a dish that my grandma taught it to my mom,
15:13my mom taught it to me,
15:14and now I, you know, teach it to my kids.
15:16I love cooking Puerto Rican food,
15:18because 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.
15:27Look at this. Look at this. Look at this.
15:28After seasoning the chicken thighs and drums
15:31with the sazon and the adobo,
15:33I start browning out the chicken.
15:35Carlos is making fricasse de pollo,
15:37which is a Puerto Rican stewed chicken dish,
15:39which, you know, makes me happy.
15:41For sure. It's a very traditional dish.
15:43Is it going to be like a braised dish?
15:45Yes, but you want that chicken crispy first.
15:47Next, I add potatoes and carrots with some chicken stock,
15:51and I begin bringing that to a boil.
15:53I need more heat.
15:54I want to win so badly,
15:56because I don't know if a lot of people
15:58know how good Puerto Rican food is,
16:01and I'm here to show everybody
16:02that we are not to be underestimated.
16:0530 minutes, everyone.
16:07Whoo!
16:09All right. Oh, my gosh.
16:11Ram, how you holding up? You got it?
16:13I got it.
16:14Mmm.
16:15Nice fragrance.
16:17I'm Anika Chaudhry.
16:18I am 54 years old.
16:20I'm originally from Bangladesh,
16:23and 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
16:34before he passed away.
16:36As a home cook, my biggest inspirations
16:39were my parents and my grandmothers.
16:42My recipes represent my family, my heritage,
16:46and nothing signifies home for me like chicken curry.
16:50Bangladeshi curries taste different from Indian curries.
16:52They are a bit lighter.
16:54For the sauce, I'm using turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom,
16:57and Kashmiri chili powder.
16:59Let's see.
17:00Mmm.
17:01Hi, Anika.
17:02Can 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.
17:07I want it just like the way my mom and dad made it.
17:09Yeah.
17:10So after my mom passed away when my dad was here visiting,
17:12so I'm like, will you just show me how you made it?
17:14And I watched him make it, and this is literally his process.
17:17Tell me what you think.
17:20Oh, my God.
17:21The spices are beautiful, but they're not like overpowering.
17:23Exactly.
17:24And we do a technique called koshano.
17:25You stir the raw spices, and you keep adding a little bit of water
17:29until the water gets absorbed, and you add a little bit more
17:32until the smell of raw spices goes away.
17:34The spices are like fully cooked, fully infused into the sauce.
17:36Yeah, that's how you develop the flavor.
17:38Oh, that's such a cool technique.
17:39Yeah.
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 salt.
17:49But it's going to be delicious.
17:51It's so nice to meet you.
17:52See you later.
17:53Yes.
17:54It 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.
18:05You're cooking in a new kitchen.
18:07Everything feels a little bit different.
18:09But I think it's important to sort of find the grounding early on and cook your food.
18:14I feel like this is one of those hard moments where you don't know who you're cooking for,
18:17but you're about to find out.
18:18Yeah, you are.
18:19Oh!
18:20Um, I think it's looking good.
18:24My low end is simmering away.
18:26So once my rice is done, I add some saffron and butter to a portion of the rice.
18:31Who doesn't want extra butter in their rice?
18:34You have seven minutes left.
18:35What?
18:36Come on.
18:37Golly.
18:38Gonna let that cook get a little bit more brown.
18:42Our fresh putte bigots is ready.
18:45I'm using a toothpick method.
18:47So I'm just gonna dip this here, make sure nothing sticks.
18:50Looks good.
18:51Looks good.
18:52Okay.
18:53In the south, we have a particular trick for making fried okra is to put it in a paper bag and then shake it up.
19:02Well, hello there.
19:03Well, hello there.
19:04Wow.
19:05I see okra.
19:06I 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.
19:15Do you put any vinegar or anything else in there?
19:17No.
19:18Should I do a little vinegar?
19:19A little bit of vinegar can take out some of that sliminess that most people don't love.
19:23Oh, thank you, madam.
19:24Now, I really have to do this right.
19:30Okay.
19:31In Puerto Rico, we love our avocado slices.
19:36These are my beautiful garnishes.
19:41That didn't go good.
19:44Now I'm just making a mess.
19:46Colby, watch your time.
19:47Yes, ma'am.
19:48The most difficult thing is the eggs.
19:51You don't want it runny.
19:52You want it nice and fluffy.
19:54Cheese.
19:55Please.
19:56One minute, guys.
19:57One minute.
19:58I still have one to make.
20:00It's gonna take me every bit of that.
20:01The funny thing about oysters is that it's all in the flash fry.
20:06I have rose petals.
20:08It's literally gonna add a pop of color.
20:21Five.
20:22Four.
20:23Three.
20:24Two.
20:25One.
20:26Time's up.
20:27Yay.
20:28Woo!
20:29One down.
20:30One down.
20:31A thousand more to go.
20:32Cooks, we gave you one hour to prepare your perfect dish for our judges.
20:44First up, Kobe, come join us.
20:47I made a boudin omelet.
20:49It's my perfect dish because the first thing I ever learned to cook was eggs.
20:53Well, Kobe, I gotta say, you know, these andouille sausage just kinda look a little odd.
20:59But the omelet is beautifully filled.
21:01You brought an amazing boudin.
21:03It's meaty but a little sweet, too.
21:05I could eat this all day long.
21:06Thank you, Chef.
21:07I have to agree with Francis.
21:08I mean, the egg itself, it's not overcooked and I think you really let the dish shine.
21:14Thank you, Chef.
21:15All right, Rex.
21:17Hey, Rex.
21:18Today, I made pork denuguan and puto bigas.
21:22Since I'm a Filipino, we don't waste any part of the meat back home.
21:26And I really wanna show what Filipinos are made of.
21:29I love that.
21:30You have to be very careful when you're cooking blood because it can get grainy.
21:34And this texture is like super silky, smooth, and it's great.
21:38I agree.
21:39It is delicious.
21:40And the rice cake was something very special.
21:43It's still creamy.
21:44It's soft.
21:45You can taste the coconut in it.
21:46You taste the sweetness.
21:47Yeah.
21:48And the rice.
21:49I will never forget this.
21:50Oh, thanks.
21:51Fran, come join us.
21:53I made fried okra, fried oysters, and a horseradish cream reduction.
21:58Ooh.
21:59Okay.
22:00This is what my friends and family request.
22:03Every time it's in season.
22:05You were really smart.
22:06You know, I don't see a lot of like flour dredged only okra.
22:11It's really delicious.
22:12You don't get what people are often scared of with okras, which is like the mucus feel inside of it.
22:18It 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.
22:26The texture is stunning.
22:28Oh.
22:29And the sauce, it's beautifully balanced.
22:31Oh, good.
22:32Thank you, chef.
22:34Sawani.
22:35I 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.
23:03I made fricasse de pollo con arroz blanco, or chicken fricassee with rice.
23:08This 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 for my family.
23:24It's just so homey.
23:25I think the chicken is cooked really well.
23:27I totally agree.
23:28You concentrate on the flavor of the chicken really, really nicely.
23:31But the first step to fricasse is typically you brown the chicken pretty well.
23:34Yeah.
23:35So it does make me wonder what it would taste like if you had gotten that chicken as brown as you wanted it.
23:38Right.
23:39I'm happy so far, so.
23:41Gracias.
23:42Baikal.
23:43Hey there.
23:44Salam.
23:45Salam.
23:46I made lawan bazirishk polo.
23:48It's chicken that's braised in turmeric yogurt with basmati rice.
23:52I know that it's a royal dish.
23:54I thought who better to make it for than culinary royalty.
23:57Okay.
23:58I like it.
23:59The winner of the great American recipe season four.
24:04The chicken was so tender.
24:08And the yogurt sauce and all the flavor.
24:11It's just, wow.
24:12I gotta say this rice is perfectly cooked.
24:16And these barberries are so sour.
24:18Yes.
24:19But a little sweet.
24:20I mean, this is heaven.
24:21Thank you so much.
24:22Bri, come join us.
24:24Hello.
24:25Hi.
24:26Hi.
24:27I made Jamaican brown stew chicken with rice.
24:30This is one of the first Jamaican dishes I learned how to make.
24:33You have a lot of flavor in here.
24:35There'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.
24:39Scotch bonnet, yes.
24:40That's your one, right?
24:41Yeah.
24:42It tastes really well with the sweetness of the bell pepper.
24:45Yeah, I agree, Bri.
24:46There's a lot of flavor going on.
24:47But you use chicken thighs here?
24:49Yes.
24:50They're a little dry.
24:52But I think overall, this is very good.
24:55And I really feel like we're getting to know who you are on the plate.
25:00Anika, come join us.
25:02I made for you Bangladeshi chicken curry.
25:04I grew up in Bangladesh, and when I came to the U.S., one of the first dishes I really
25:09wanted to learn because I missed it was chicken curry.
25:11This tastes very different from any other curry I've ever had.
25:15The beauty here is the spices that we're getting.
25:18Yeah, I agree.
25:19I love the depth of the flavor that you have here.
25:21But 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.
25:48Cooks, 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
25:58two dishes of the round.
26:00The first dish that really impressed us was...
26:04...Waigal with your turmeric braised chicken.
26:09The saffron rice was perfectly cooked.
26:11And the turmeric braised chicken had so much depth of flavor.
26:17It was delicious.
26:19It means to me, nourish your soul.
26:21Oh, wow. Thank you.
26:24I just can't really believe it.
26:25I 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.
26:33And our other favorite dish of the round was...
26:38Rex!
26:39With your pork blood dinuguan.
26:43Your dinuguan was probably the best pork blood stew I've ever had.
26:47And the fact that you casually make this rice cake that Tiffany is ready to steal for a restaurant.
26:53It's on the menu tonight, chef.
26:55Yeah.
26:56Really 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.
27:17Your 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.
27:34But 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, hello.
27:51It'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 Recipes.
28:06It's so great to be here because I love cooking.
28:08It brings people together.
28:10So this is going to be great.
28:12All right, let's get to it.
28:13For 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.
28:29Your 60 minutes starts now.
28:32All right, let's do it.
28:33Let's go.
28:34Al, thanks so much for joining us.
28:35Oh, I am so thrilled to be here.
28:36This is so exciting.
28:37So today we've asked the home cooks to prepare a dish that represents where they live.
28:47What 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.
28:57Sure.
28:58And we have many cooks who are immigrants from 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.
29:08I'm very excited that Al Roker is here.
29:18All right.
29:20I am from the Northeast region and I live in New York City.
29:23I'm making puchka with New York egg cream.
29:27Puchka is a Bangladeshi street food.
29:30It'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 pasting here.
29:39Traditionally, puchka has tamarind sauce.
29:41Puchkas have become very popular in New York.
29:43So it's a perfect blend of my home country and my adopted country.
29:47And then for the stuffing, I combine boiled potatoes and garbanzo beans with cumin and coriander.
29:53Well, hello, Anika.
29:54Hi, Anika.
29:55Hi, Al.
29:56Great to meet a fellow New Yorker.
29:57Yes.
29:58This is a big responsibility for you.
29:59How are you feeling about the present?
30:00It is.
30:01I'm a little bit nervous.
30:02Is there anybody you consulted?
30:03I 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 before?
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.
30:32Oh, wow.
30:33Right?
30:34It's almost like sulfurous.
30:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:36Totally.
30:37Yeah.
30:38That's really cool.
30:39Yeah.
30:40Hopefully you guys will like it.
30:41Good luck, Anika.
30:43We're all counting on you.
30:44Fingers crossed.
30:45Al Rokor came and tasted my food.
30:46Oh, my God.
30:47Trying to hurry up and get these potatoes peeled.
30:52Can someone roll up my sleeves?
30:55Being the top dish in the first round, it 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 and I live in San Diego, California.
31:08I'm making sumac steak tacos,
31:10chopped with a 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
31:21without being 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.
31:49Yeah.
31:50I think I'm a little behind.
31:51Okay.
31:52Because I wasn't expecting my marinade to take so long.
31:54All right.
31:55Well, I'm going to show you how to vacuum seal your meat.
31:57Okay.
31:58And then you only need like five minutes marinating.
31:59Perfect.
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.
32:07You're getting dirty with me.
32:08I love it.
32:09There's a lot for me to do,
32:11so I could really use any extra help.
32:13All we do is line it up here.
32:15Oh, perfect.
32:16And 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.
32:27I'm doing your favorites.
32:28Some potatoes and some beef.
32:31I am from the Rockies and I live in Great Falls, Montana.
32:34I'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.
32:53And I'm also going to cook bacon.
32:56I don't know if I might 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
33:09because there's so many cows.
33:10There's so many farmers.
33:12So I make burgers often for my family,
33:15and my husband loves a fried egg on a burger.
33:18So this is for the Rockies while also representing my actual family,
33:23and I really want to bring my egg in.
33:25Who doesn't love a good burger?
33:32All I have right here is onions and bell pepper.
33:37Just cut to 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, who, 100 times?
33:56Crawfish etouffee is crawfish smothered in gravy.
34:01Corn looking nice and roasted right here.
34:03Corn mock choux is corn with stewed tomatoes, onions, chili peppers.
34:09I like roasting corn a little bit, kind of get that char flavor.
34:12All right.
34:13Cut this down a little bit.
34:16Kobe!
34:17Yes, ma'am!
34:18What's happening?
34:19I see something right here.
34:21Yes, ma'am.
34:22And I grew up with this thing.
34:24This is my grandmother's pot.
34:26It was passed down to me, not to my mom.
34:28Oh, okay.
34:29Me and my grandmother were like this, so I'll let you know.
34:31I'm seeing a favorite.
34:32I'm seeing because I didn't get mine.
34:34It went to my mama.
34:35You have to wait?
34:36I have to wait.
34:37My grandmother was probably one of the best cooks on the planet.
34:41And I feel lucky enough to inherit that aluminum pot
34:44that's been in our family for, Lord, I don't even know how many years.
34:48So one thing we want to be careful of is don't overcook that crawfish, right?
34:51Okay.
34:52And bring the flavor.
34:53You are representing all of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
34:56Ooh, I know. I'm kind of nervous about that.
34:57That's a heavy pressure. Do us proud.
34:59I'm kind of nervous about that.
35:00Best of luck, Kobe.
35:02Thank you, ma'am.
35:0340 minutes left.
35:04How many minutes?
35:05Cook.
35:06Woo!
35:07Cook like the wind.
35:08Woo!
35:09Come on, guys.
35:10I was a top dish in the first round, so I'm feeling confident.
35:13Let's do this.
35:14I'm from the Midwest, and I live in Columbus, Ohio.
35:18So this is a little sweeter than your normal spaghetti sauce.
35:21I'm making Cincinnati chili with a coni dog.
35:25The first time I had chili was when my wife and I moved to Ohio,
35:29because my wife got a job as a nurse.
35:31We've been there for 19 years, and I love it there.
35:34When 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 going to make a Filipino spin, so I'm going to be using cacao.
35:54The Filipino cacao powder.
35:55It's a little more bitter than your usual cacao powder, and 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 going to 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.
36:23Spices in there?
36:24Not 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, you know?
36:33Yes.
36:34The 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.
36:45I'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.
36:52I am making shrimp and grits because in the Southern Atlantic, that is a staple.
36:59Everyone's shrimp and grits is different, and I like making it with a little twist.
37:04I'm using blue corn grits because they have a more nutty flavor.
37:09Like a lot of recipes from the South Atlantic, I need bacon.
37:13Brand, your bacon smells delicious.
37:16There's nothing that smells better than bacon.
37:19As far as the gravy is concerned, what I do is a white wine reduction, and I'm using mushrooms and onions and peppers.
37:28Shrimp and grits is important in North Carolina, and 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, and I'm so excited to share the cooking of the South Atlantic.
37:44Are you playing nicely? Oh, you're playing so nicely.
37:47Now 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 the 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?
38:06We're here till Thursday. Try the veal.
38:09What makes my mashed potatoes so special is that I put a little bit of crema mexicana.
38:13It 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.
38:23Bison is iconic in the Rockies, especially in Colorado.
38:26As you can imagine, we don't have bison in Puerto Rico, and I'm hoping to give the judges the same experience I had 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.
38:39It's very exciting to be there.
38:42Whoo! That's where it's at. Yes, sir.
38:45It's leaner, so I don't want to overcook them.
38:47What we want is a nice sear, and then the inside, you know, almost like it melts in your mouth.
38:52I'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, huh?
39:02I'm here for the steak.
39:03You're here for everything, Alex.
39:04I am here for everything, but I'm particularly here for the steak.
39:07I 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.
39:52Wow, I want to drink this whole thing. 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.
40:01Okay, I'm going to reduce the heat just a bit for these guys.
40:04Fifteen minutes left.
40:08Just want to make sure you have enough room for the pasta to dance.
40:11Hey, Coby, I'm putting a little heat in my grits. Say a prayer for me.
40:15You got it. Are we tasting?
40:17Yeah. Tell me if it's too much salt.
40:19And I'm going to need more heat. I know you. I'm going to need more heat.
40:22That's good.
40:23It's a little mild, isn't it?
40:24You want some Cajun season?
40:25No. I'm not brave enough.
40:27I think it's a good flavor right there. I want you to make sure you do what you're waiting on my way.
40:31We're fellow Southerners.
40:32Absolutely, I got you.
40:33Okay, thank you so much, Coby.
40:35Now I need to do the shrimp. I just want the shrimp to be sauteed.
40:40Okay, there we go. Keep the salmon hot for a little bit.
40:47Oh, my God. I'm freaking out. I need to get my steak done.
40:52I feel so rushed with time because there's so many components and moving parts in this taco.
40:58Okay.
41:01All right, everyone. Five minutes.
41:03Now the bare metric pressure is getting pretty high on you there, Mr. Anne.
41:07I see what you did there, Coby.
41:10I guarantee I appreciate it.
41:12All right.
41:21We're going to add some brown sugar to 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.
41:33I 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.
41:53All right.
41:54Let's do this.
41:55Thirty seconds left, everyone.
41:56Oh, boy.
41:57You want that classic fizziness.
41:58Where's my tongs?
41:59This is it. This is the big deal.
42:00I mean, I don't know how to plate, but hey, that don't look terrible.
42:02Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
42:11Time's up!
42:12Woo-hoo!
42:13Woo-hoo!
42:14Woo-hoo!
42:15Woo-hoo!
42:16Woo-hoo!
42:17Woo-hoo!
42:18Woo-hoo!
42:19Woo-hoo!
42:20Woo-hoo!
42:21Woo-hoo!
42:22Woo-hoo!
42:23Woo-hoo!
42:24Woo-hoo!
42:25Woo-hoo!
42:26Woo-hoo!
42:27Woo-hoo!
42:28Woo-hoo!
42:29Woo-hoo!
42:30Woo-hoo!
42:31Woo-hoo!
42:32Woo-hoo!
42:33Woo-hoo!
42:34Woo-hoo!
42:35Woo-hoo!
42:36Woo-hoo!
42:37Woo-hoo!
42:38Woo-hoo!
42:39Woo-hoo!
42:40Woo-hoo!
42:41Woo-hoo!
42:42Woo-hoo!
42:43Today, we challenged you to wow us with your first taste, getting to know more about your
42:51back story 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 kanish.
43:22I grew up eating in Brooklyn.
43:23Wow.
43:23So it's really tasty.
43:24I totally agree.
43:25It's really delicious.
43:26And the tamarind is just so good.
43:29I love this.
43:30All right, Fran, you're up.
43:34Hey, Fran.
43:34Hey.
43:35I represent the South Atlantic, and I made shrimp and grits.
43:38I think you get extra points for including bacon, which is great.
43:48And then I really like the sauce.
43:50But I think the shrimp's just a tad maybe tough.
43:55That 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.
44:11Yay.
44:12Rex.
44:13I'm representing the Midwest region.
44:18So today, I made Cincinnati chili with a side of county dog.
44:26I 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, so it's like a party in your mouth
44:34going 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.
44:51Bonjour.
44:52I represent the Gulf Coast.
44:54And I made today crawfish etouffee.
44:57With the corn mock chute.
45:03This kind of reminds me if my mom had gotten a little crazy with the spices.
45:07It'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 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
45:22and tough.
45:23And I think controlling those little details is something you can play with.
45:26Yes, sir.
45:27Soani.
45:28Hello.
45:29I'm representing the Pacific Northwest.
45:30And I made pan-seared salmon with huckleberry sauce.
45:35The 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.
45:50Soani, 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.
46:01Hi, Carlos.
46:02I'm representing the Rockies.
46:05So what I made today was bison ribeye with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
46:10I love asparagus.
46:13And you've cooked it just right.
46:15I think that bison's cooked perfectly.
46:17But I'd like some more seasoning on this.
46:20I totally agree with Al.
46:21I 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.
46:31Sounds good.
46:33Ri, come join us.
46:36I am representing the Rockies.
46:38And 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.
47:00And I think the burger is cooked nicely, but you broke a lot of the yolks.
47:05And we use that.
47:06It's almost like an extra sauce.
47:07So just be careful.
47:09Waigal.
47:10I'm representing the West Coast.
47:13And I made a sumac steak taco with a Calabrian crema.
47:22It's really terrific.
47:23It's a fresh take on a taco.
47:27And I love the Calabrian crema.
47:29Yeah, I agree.
47:30I 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.
47:49But 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 a Nikka because the Pushka, 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, that 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.
48:31The sauce was really good too.
48:32It's also so good.
48:33And Fran really did represent our region.
48:35But unfortunately, the shrimp was just like a little bit overcooked, right?
48:39But I mean, gosh darn it, it was good.
48:41That was good.
48:42That was good.
48:43One of my favorites of the round was Waggall's Sumac ribeye tacos.
48:47The beef just wasn't seared right, but 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.
49:08Yeah, 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.
49:24Yeah, 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.
49:49Well, it sounds like you've all come to an agreement.
49:51Okay, 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 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.
50:19Before 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.
50:26The first dish that we thought had some room for improvement was Carlos with your bison ribeye with mashed potatoes.
50:34I wasn't 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 sawani with your salmon and huckleberry sauce.
50:55Unfortunately, the cook on the salmon was a little bit inconsistent.
51:00But, Swanee, I just want to tell you that I just want to get a big pool of that huckleberry sauce and jump in.
51:07All right.
51:08So 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.
51:18Oh, my God!
51:20We loved your interpretation of the challenge, but the puska was just a delightful bite.
51:27The egg cream, it was so good. It was just a wonderful plate.
51:31Thank you so much.
51:32Our other favorite dish of the round was...
51:37Fran!
51:38With your shrimp and shrimp!
51:41Yes, you, Fran!
51:43Oh, my God!
51:45Fran, we loved the dish.
51:47It was bright.
51:48It was different.
51:49The shrimp was a little overcooked.
51:51But you know what?
51:52We got past that because it was just so darn good.
51:56Great job, you two.
51:58But there can only be one top dish.
52:01The winning dish was...
52:04Anika's!
52:07Congratulations!
52:10I 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.
52:19I'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.
52:43I 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 out.
52:57We'll see you soon for more of your great American recipes.
53:00Bye, everyone!
53:01Bye!
53:05You did it.
53:07Aw.
53:08Bye.
53:09Bye.
53:10Bye.
53:20Bye.
53:24Bye.
53:25Bye.
53:26We'll see you next time.
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