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Family Recipe Showdown Season 1 Episode 2
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00:00Reese, you want to help us get started?
00:02Yeah.
00:03What do I do?
00:04We're going to all do this together.
00:05Surprise!
00:08I'm Octavia Spencer.
00:10I may work in Hollywood.
00:12But when I'm looking for good food,
00:14I just head home to the South.
00:17Oh, Lord.
00:18So I've created a real down-home competition.
00:22You come with the right time, we're buttering the biscuits.
00:24Where I surprise pairs of loved ones
00:26by inviting them to cook their secret family recipes for me.
00:30Is that Octavia?
00:31It is indeed.
00:33And a bunch of my friends.
00:35I'm ready to eat.
00:37If I'm being honest, I don't like the look of it,
00:38but I'm sure the taste of it is going to be great.
00:42We're going to have a party.
00:47It's not a kick, it's a punch.
00:48It's like whoop, whoop.
00:51Helping me judge is Chef Duke Chase,
00:54the grandson of Leah Chase, the queen of Creole cuisine,
00:58and executive chef of the world-famous restaurant,
01:01Dookie Chase's.
01:02Grandma would be proud.
01:03And the jalapeno, look out.
01:05So y'all ready?
01:06Then let's get cookin'.
01:15Hey!
01:16Oh my gosh.
01:17How are you doing?
01:19I'm so excited.
01:20Welcome.
01:22Hi.
01:23I cannot believe we are standing in the same room
01:26as Octavia Spencer.
01:28How y'all doing?
01:30Great.
01:31I did an essay over her when I was in beauty school
01:33because she played Madam C.J. Walker.
01:35It's got a service and it's amazing.
01:37I don't know if y'all know, but I grew up in the South,
01:40and I love coming back whenever I can for my friends, family,
01:44the food.
01:45Maybe not in that order.
01:46Yeah.
01:46Today, you'll be representing your families and showing the world why Southern food is the best.
01:54And your judges will be me and a member of the first family of Southern cuisine, Chef Dook Chase.
02:01Wow.
02:02Just to give you a little extra motivation, the winning team will go home with $10,000.
02:08Oh, I knew you'd like that one.
02:12So, let's get to your first challenge.
02:15When I hear the word Southern comfort, I think of buttery biscuits, and I can see that biscuit in my mind
02:22as fluffy as a cloud and as golden as a sunset.
02:26So, your first challenge is to whip up your family's best Southern biscuit meal.
02:31Mmm.
02:32We have biscuits and gravy, a biscuit casserole, a chicken pot pie with a biscuit,
02:37a biscuit sloppy joe.
02:38OK, OK, Forrest, we get it, we get it, we get it.
02:41I've been cooking biscuits since I was six years old, so I'm confident.
02:45You're confident, Chef?
02:46Yeah, I'm very confident.
02:47Yeah, we're confident.
02:49Now, over there is our farmer's market.
02:52Think of it as your open-air pantry.
02:54Dook, anything else we need to tell them?
02:56Oh, certainly.
02:57We've got to put some heat on you all.
02:58You have 60 minutes for this challenge.
03:01And after it's over, one team will be going home.
03:04Mmm.
03:05We'll worry about that later, because right now, it's time to get cooking.
03:10Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
03:13Who's asking?
03:14We need that one.
03:16We got a one.
03:17Strategize.
03:18What are we making?
03:19Oh, I don't know.
03:21This is my mamaw, Gail.
03:22Almost everyone calls her mamaw, Gail.
03:24So she's the glue that holds our family together.
03:27This is one of my many grandchildren.
03:32So we are actually from a very small town in eastern Kentucky.
03:36It's just a full circle moment from going from when I was little, stirring the brownies
03:40for her before she put them in the oven to now we're on a cooking show trying to win
03:45$10,000.
03:47Some heirloom.
03:48Yeah, those are beautiful.
03:49And perfect.
03:50Here we go.
03:52This is my sister, Rachel, and we're only 11 months apart, Irish twins.
03:57As kids, we shared a room for 13 years.
04:01We were best friends, but at the same time, there were times when we fought like cats and
04:05dogs.
04:06I've always had a love for food and cooking in the kitchen.
04:10So I will be head chef, Rachel will be sous chef, and she's totally okay with that.
04:15She'll basically get to boss me around.
04:17Even though I'm the younger sister.
04:18For the first time in her life.
04:20I get to boss around my older sister for once.
04:22So we're going to use the head chef.
04:25We started out as best friends maybe about 26 years ago, and she became my sister-in-law.
04:34Yes.
04:35We just clicked, you know, like real sisters.
04:38Yeah.
04:40We do everything together.
04:41We get our hair done together.
04:42We get our nails done together.
04:43Yes.
04:44We go on vacation together.
04:45We shop together.
04:46And we are throwing down in the kitchen at least three times a week.
04:51Yes, yes.
04:52Let's go, let's go.
04:53Oh, my God.
04:54Look how pretty it is in here.
04:56It's nothing like Mamaw's Kitchen at home.
04:59Mamaw has a single wide trailer.
05:01This is either going to help us in the competition, or this is going to hurt us, because we're not
05:05used to all this fancy equipment.
05:07Biscuits are in our genes.
05:08Yeah.
05:09Apple, Mamaw, Nana.
05:10We're making a buttermilk biscuit, like Nana does it, layered with a lot of butter.
05:16We can't really go wrong if we use those recipes.
05:18That's right.
05:19I was saying always, did the folds for the layers of the biscuit.
05:22Yeah, how many folds do you typically do?
05:24I do, like, about four or five.
05:25So you just do, like, a little envelope.
05:26Yeah.
05:27Then you bring it back together.
05:29Haley.
05:30Right on.
05:31Rachel.
05:32What an honor.
05:33Hi.
05:34Good to meet you, y'all.
05:35We are psyched, and I'm excited to see what y'all are doing.
05:38Our Nana always did a big southern breakfast.
05:40We're going to take elements of the country breakfast, a soft scrambled egg, a super crispy bacon,
05:46and then we're going to load it up over really tall buttermilk biscuits.
05:49Tell me a little bit about the biscuit recipe.
05:52Yeah, so our great-grandmother always made biscuits for the family.
05:55It's a really simple recipe.
05:56Flour, baking powder, buttermilk, high-quality, like, either Irish or European butter.
06:02Mmm.
06:03Our Nana is known for tomato gravy.
06:04Oh.
06:05And so we're going to make her tomato gravy.
06:07We're kind of working on a roux over here.
06:09I'm like, I can't stop moving the gravy.
06:11Yeah, yeah.
06:12I don't want it to burn.
06:14They're looking good, though. Everything looks good.
06:17It's a classic, like, brown gravy.
06:19It truly is the best thing over a biscuit.
06:21Ah, okay.
06:23What were you like growing up?
06:24Were you both in the kitchen helping?
06:26I was always in the kitchen from when I can stand on a little bucket by my Nana, my grandmother, my mom.
06:31Yeah.
06:32This is a little out of my comfort zone.
06:34And she said, we can do it together.
06:37Our fam, you know?
06:39Well, I'm very interested in something, Chef.
06:41Yes.
06:42When I put my eggs in the skillet, they're cooked in, like, 30 seconds.
06:45Low and slow, baby.
06:46Low and slow.
06:47Okay, okay.
06:48When you go low and slow, main thing that you don't want to do is you don't want to overcook it.
06:52Even when you, like, put the eggs on your plate, they're still going to continue to cook on top of each other.
06:57Okay, I am excited to see, ladies.
06:59Yeah.
07:00I hope they enjoy my mama's biscuits.
07:02I know they will.
07:03So we got to get these biscuits right, huh?
07:05Yes, we do.
07:07We cook a lot of, as you would call it, soul food cooking.
07:10Mm-hmm.
07:11And so cooking together, you know, you cook it with love.
07:13We listen to music and cook and just have fun.
07:16Yes.
07:17I'm the only child.
07:18And so I, of course, didn't have any sisters and brothers.
07:22But God gave me...
07:23Don't make me cry.
07:25God gave me a sister, a sister that I never had.
07:29And it's just unbelievable how you can love a person that's not blood related to you like that.
07:37Hi, Mama T and Pamela.
07:38Hello, hello, Mama T. How are you all doing today?
07:41We're making biscuits.
07:43I'm gonna make my special Mama T grits.
07:46We, you know, cook the grits until creamy.
07:49We add rolled sausage.
07:51We cook about a half a pound of shrimp.
07:54Uh-oh.
07:55I make my special salmon croquettes.
07:57Ooh.
07:58This sounds like a Sunday breakfast.
08:02Yes.
08:03Talk to me a little bit about what's in the salmon croquette.
08:06You put the bell pepper and then onions enhance the flavors.
08:09And do you bread it with a little bread crumbs or...
08:11With a little flour.
08:12A little flour, okay.
08:13Hey, okay.
08:14Y'all ain't coming to play with us today.
08:17In that biscuit recipe, I saw the biscuits go in the oven.
08:21And I see some buttermilk out here on the table.
08:23Any salt, any sugar?
08:24Sugar.
08:25Sugar.
08:26Okay.
08:27See, I'm seeing...
08:28She just poured stuff.
08:29That's measuring by the eyes.
08:30Yeah.
08:31Well, my eyes can't measure.
08:32I don't even use a measuring cup.
08:35This is how my sisters used to work with my mom in the kitchen.
08:38Yes.
08:39And I would be, like, right over, like, looking.
08:40So it's kind of...
08:41Yes.
08:42This is warming my heart a little bit.
08:43Yes.
08:44This is down home in the kitchen cooking right here.
08:46Yes.
08:47I love it.
08:48I love it.
08:49If I were home, I would go stick my head in that sausage and take a bite.
08:52But I'm not home and I don't want you to hit me with a wooden spoon.
08:55Oh, I got whole milk.
08:56That's okay.
08:57Um, 2%.
08:58To get to do this with Ethan, it's very special because he's special.
09:10I was about to ask if he needed a measuring cup.
09:12Calm down.
09:13Calm down.
09:14I'm running.
09:15When he gets excited, you know it.
09:17I can't help it.
09:18It's not a...
09:19It's not an act or anything because he gets so excited, sometimes he gets me tickled at
09:24him.
09:25I can't help my life.
09:26Well, hello, hello.
09:27Hello, hello.
09:28Oh, what do we have here?
09:31We're gonna make biscuits and we're gonna make goulash.
09:33Yeah, walk me through the process.
09:35Is that a secret recipe?
09:36I make a lot of biscuits.
09:39A lot of people use buttermilk, but now I don't.
09:41I use 2% milk.
09:42I don't roll them out.
09:43I just dip them out of the skillet.
09:45But mom always done it like that.
09:47It's just quicker and easier.
09:48That's the way I do it.
09:49I am impressed and that might be something I can do.
09:52This might be the thing you teach me.
09:53If you ask for the secret ingredient, I would have said simplicity because it's so
09:58simple to do.
09:59We started a TikTok for Mamaw and then overnight she was 70,000 views.
10:04Oh, viral.
10:05See how pretty they are?
10:07And not near as much work as if when you do them, I don't think.
10:12These biscuits have over 10 million views.
10:14That's some world famous biscuits right here.
10:15I need to lay next to the biscuits.
10:17She has over 340,000 followers now and they all call her her Mamaw.
10:22I have to share her now.
10:23She's not just my Mamaw.
10:24She's the world's Mamaw.
10:26Okay, well I need to come talk to you about my TikTok.
10:29Absolutely.
10:30He's doing all that so I got to call him my granager.
10:34That's my title now.
10:35Great adieu.
10:36That's his title.
10:37I'm a grandson but I'm also a manager.
10:39Let's get started on the goulash.
10:41Walk me through some of the seasonings.
10:43Pepper, tomato paste, ground beef, macaronis.
10:47Really, this is just a hearty meal that fills your belly.
10:50Where did you learn to cook?
10:52My mom.
10:53Oh.
10:54That's my lawyer.
10:55Oh.
10:56I love it.
10:57I love it.
10:58I called her Old Mamaw.
10:59Old Mamaw.
11:00You think Old Mamaw would have let you put her on TikTok and bring her on a TV show?
11:04No.
11:05You want to give up that recipe.
11:07Exactly.
11:08Do you cook for a lot of people?
11:10Every Sunday I cook for about 25 or 30.
11:12Awesome.
11:13Oh.
11:14Cooking with a grandmother, that's just a whole different element that I grew up with.
11:19Certainly you are doing it right now.
11:21I'm blessed beyond measure for one to even have her as a mamaw.
11:25We couldn't do anything without this one right here.
11:27I'm not kidding.
11:28You exaggerate a little bit.
11:29I'm not exaggerating.
11:31It's tangy.
11:32Only 30 minutes left.
11:34Time is a-tickin'.
11:36Perfect.
11:37Okay, so this needs a little bit of salt and pepper.
11:40Salt at the end always.
11:42What are we out on the biscuits?
11:45You want to check them?
11:46Oh, they look good, man.
11:47It's going to be interesting to see, one, how the biscuits come out, and two, how the flavors come out.
11:52They're all very different.
11:54They're getting there.
11:55Okay.
11:56One thing to note that I am worried about over here is on Mama T's table is the temperature of that oven.
12:02They were at a 350.
12:03And what should it be?
12:05I think it has to be about 415 to 425.
12:08At a higher temperature, it rises, keeps the moisture, and they get the crispy edge.
12:12We're going to find out pretty soon.
12:14I want these biscuits to be good done on the inside.
12:18Okay.
12:19I'm feeling a little pressure.
12:21The challenging part is just to make sure that my biscuits don't overcook.
12:26I'm a little nervous.
12:29Later.
12:30What we're going to do now is add one more family to the kitchen.
12:35Please welcome television icon Al Roker and his daughter Lila.
12:41Oh, hello.
12:42Wow.
12:43I'm so excited.
12:44Hello.
12:45Wow.
12:46I'm just going to check them out.
12:48Okay.
12:54So I'm going to have to put the biscuits on broil.
12:57So it's on broil.
12:59I'm going to sit here and watch it and make sure that these don't burn yet.
13:03When you put biscuits under the broiler, you can't turn your back.
13:07You have to kind of be right there.
13:09You can go ahead and start frying your salmon.
13:14Ethan, Meemaw.
13:15What are y'all making?
13:16So goulash.
13:17Goulash and biscuits.
13:18Our Nana made goulash.
13:19You called it fill up because it would fill up all her kids.
13:22That makes so much sense.
13:24That might be what I'll start calling it.
13:26They're so close.
13:28Doing a little more egg wash on the top.
13:31Walking into Nana's like on a Saturday morning, you would just instantly be hit with all kinds of breakfast food.
13:37With food and family.
13:38100 family members and 100 biscuits.
13:41So when we go put the tomato sauce in, how much do we put in this?
13:46I don't know.
13:47You know me.
13:48I don't measure nothing, honey.
13:50Dab of this.
13:51Dab of that.
13:52Got it.
13:53A lot of your recipes are just simple.
13:55Simple.
13:56It's like, I mean, growing up, Meemaw's family didn't have much of an income, so they did what they could.
14:01They made food with what they had in the kitchen.
14:03If they just had flour, milk, and butter, they made some biscuits and they were delicious.
14:07Ooh, those look good, Meemaw.
14:09Here.
14:10Ooh.
14:11You come with the right time, we're buttering the biscuits.
14:14Oh, shit.
14:15Putting a shine on it.
14:16Yeah.
14:1715 minutes.
14:18Okay.
14:19Okay.
14:20How many salmon do you have enough?
14:22Well, the grits are ready.
14:23We're waiting on the salmon.
14:24A little bit longer.
14:25Okay.
14:26All right.
14:27I was stirring.
14:28You think I need to get this a little more brown or you think it's the right?
14:33Maybe just keep that on a low simmer.
14:35I wouldn't consider myself a competitive person except in the kitchen.
14:41Okay, bacon is done.
14:43We can't lose.
14:44No pressure since this is your greatest passion in the whole wide world.
14:49What do you think our chances are of actually winning this thing?
14:52I need to check out what they're, I have no clue what they're doing over here.
14:54I need to like, maybe we should do some snooping.
14:56Do some snooping.
14:57Those look so good.
15:00Oh, thank you.
15:01Mama T, how's it going?
15:04It's going fine.
15:05It looks so good.
15:06It looks so good.
15:07It looks amazing.
15:08It's going fine.
15:09I want to eat one of those.
15:10Wow.
15:11Okay, now what do you think our chances are?
15:12This is looking so good.
15:13I don't know.
15:14You got the melted butter, sis?
15:15Yeah, I'm melting them.
15:16Because these biscuits are coming out now, right now.
15:19I'm very confidence, a little nervous, but confidence.
15:22They should be scared of us.
15:24Yeah.
15:25We're not afraid of anything.
15:26No.
15:27I'm ready to dive in every biscuit you got out there.
15:30Oh, honey.
15:31Woo.
15:32Mm, ma'am, all that looks good.
15:35Ladies, how y'all doing over there?
15:36We're doing fine.
15:37How you doing over there?
15:38Same here.
15:39One minute left.
15:41One minute left.
15:42One minute.
15:43Oh, my gosh.
15:45Oh, baby.
15:46That came so fast.
15:47We got this.
15:48We got this.
15:49Look, I'm really nervous now.
15:50I'm going to get some butter.
15:54I'm actually impressed with the consistency.
15:59Two oranges.
16:00Five, four, three, two, one.
16:04Step away from the biscuits.
16:06Dinner for me.
16:07Okay, we're done.
16:08All right.
16:13Woo!
16:14Oh, my gosh.
16:15We did it.
16:16We literally did it.
16:17I think everything turned out exactly the way I wanted it to.
16:19The biscuit has to be the star.
16:21With anything, Mamaw's biscuit is the star.
16:23I think my chances of making it to the next round is, uh, it's pretty good.
16:32Ooh.
16:33Oh, Nathan, what do we have here?
16:36Goulash and my homemade biscuits.
16:39Her famous homemade biscuits.
16:40Well, let me just say, the presentation to me is stunning.
16:44The biscuits, I love that you put them out as the star of the show.
16:49Very beautifully done.
16:50I'm going to dig in and try it.
16:51Let's go.
16:58Oh!
17:01Mm-hmm.
17:04Mm!
17:05What I love about the biscuit, that texture is just soft.
17:09It's airy.
17:10And that really allows it to soak up this wonderful goulash.
17:14That's delicious.
17:15Mile high, soft as a cloud.
17:18Ooh!
17:20Those biscuits have been fixed for many, many grandkids.
17:23And you can see why.
17:24Yeah.
17:25One thing I think is, when we're tasting, it's just really making sure when we're pairing
17:30these two, that the flavors don't overpower from here to here, right?
17:35We still want to get the magic of that beautiful biscuit recipe that you have.
17:39My one and only criticism.
17:40My one and only criticism.
17:41A little more salt in the goulash, but it's delicious.
17:46Competition is steep!
17:48Steep!
17:49All right, Mama T and Pamela.
17:52T, what do we have here?
17:54Ooh!
17:55We have salmon, my mother's recipe for her biscuits, and we have Miss T's grits.
18:03The biscuit is shining like a beacon on a hill, you know?
18:07It's a mini buffet for me.
18:09I just want to make sure that biscuit's gonna be the star of this buffet.
18:12I know!
18:13You want to dive in?
18:14Let's dive in.
18:15All right.
18:20Delicious biscuit.
18:21I get the crunch on the biscuit.
18:23Let me taste some of these grits here.
18:28You can taste that sausage coming through.
18:30You can taste all that flavor coming through.
18:32But if I'm looking for the star of the biscuit challenge, this guy got to speak to me.
18:37Is it normally cooked at 350 when you're at home, or do you raise that temperature a little?
18:42Sometimes I go a little bit higher.
18:43It all depends.
18:44That gives that biscuit time to rise.
18:47This biscuit, I think some of that moisture started to seep out of it.
18:50Okay.
18:51Okay.
18:52Very delicious.
18:53Very beautifully presented.
18:55Ooh!
18:56Yes, indeed.
18:57We gotta go think about some things.
18:58This is gonna be tough.
18:59This is gonna be tough.
19:01Wow!
19:02Ooh!
19:03Shiny biscuits.
19:04I love it.
19:05I love it.
19:06This is a buttermilk biscuit with soft scrambled eggs and crispy bacon tucked inside,
19:11and a side of Naina's tomato gravy.
19:14Presentation?
19:15It's stunning.
19:16This is restaurant-grade beautiful.
19:18The biscuit is the star.
19:21Certainly.
19:22I mean, when you look at this biscuit, it has that elegant shine.
19:25So somebody hit it with a little butter.
19:27Then you get that bacon that's speaking to me, hopefully nice and crispy.
19:30And then this wonderful family recipe sauce.
19:33Let's try it.
19:34Let's try it out here.
19:41Mmm!
19:42Mmm!
19:43Mmm!
19:44This is tomato gravy.
19:47Nana's famous.
19:48The eggs, low and slow, they're still fluffy, so great job on that.
19:54I'm gonna talk about this biscuit because I think you nailed it on the fluffy.
19:59It's nice and light on the bite.
20:02You're getting that texture.
20:03I'm getting that crunch that's coming through.
20:05That sauce, was it a flour rule?
20:08What's the basis here?
20:09Butter and flour.
20:10Mmm!
20:11The reason why I asked, you still get a hint of that flour taste coming through with that tomato.
20:16I'm definitely nervous.
20:18I don't think that we executed the gravy as well.
20:21I guess that was my fault, right?
20:22Yeah.
20:23I gotta say, those were some of the best biscuits I ever tasted.
20:33But there was one family that created a dish that we couldn't stop thinking about.
20:37The team that won the first challenge is...
20:46Mamaw, Gail, and Ethan.
20:47Oh my gosh!
20:48Mamaw and Ethan, you two played this really smart.
20:53You gave us the perfect biscuit.
20:55Thank you all so much.
20:57You made the biscuit the star of the show.
20:59Wow!
21:00I'm so excited!
21:01We won, Mamaw!
21:02We literally won the challenge!
21:04Don't seem real, but we're going for it.
21:07Yeah, it's like an out-of-body experience.
21:09I don't believe it.
21:11Congratulations!
21:12You've picked up an advantage for the next round, but we'll get to that soon.
21:17As you know, only one team will be moving forward, so let's talk about your dishes.
21:22Hayley and Rachel, you gave us a very pretty plate, but you didn't quite have enough time to perfect Nana's tomato gravy.
21:30Pamela and Mamaw T, there was lots of love on your plate, but the biscuit was less of a star.
21:36Unfortunately, the team that has to say goodbye is...
21:44Pamela and Mamaw T.
21:46Wow.
21:47But here's the thing.
21:48I know you can throw down, and I want to give an invitation to that buffet.
21:53We want to come to Sunday brunch.
21:54Yes.
21:55You're welcome.
21:56Yes, all the time.
21:57Let's clap it out, because we're in the South, and then we have...
22:01This has made my day, and it's checking off my bucket list.
22:04Yes, yes.
22:05We're going to continue to cook, and it ain't no stopping us now.
22:08No.
22:09We're going to cook till the day we die.
22:11Yes, keep cooking and dancing, and listen to them.
22:13I'll probably cook for my own repass.
22:19For making those amazing biscuits, you're in the running for some serious gravy.
22:24$10,000.
22:29What we're going to do now is add one more family to the kitchen.
22:33But don't worry, they won't be cooking.
22:38Yes, I guess.
22:40Please welcome some very good friends of mine.
22:43Television icon, Al Roker and his daughter, Leela.
22:48Well, hello.
22:50Hey!
22:52Wow.
22:53Al Roker walks through the door like America's weatherman.
22:57Thank you for that.
22:58It is great to be here.
22:59I know that cooking is very important to the Roker family, right?
23:03Oh, absolutely.
23:04When we were growing up, my mother, my grandmother, all cooking, but they never wrote anything down.
23:09Yeah, you can relate, right?
23:12And Leela, I know you're the baker in the family.
23:14Yes, my hobby, not profession, but it is a very nice pastime, and I'm really excited to be here.
23:20Alan, Leela, you brought two family desserts from the Roker family cookbook.
23:25That's right.
23:26Tell us about those.
23:27Well, tradition has it.
23:28Columbus Day weekend, we always go apple picking for the last 25 years.
23:32We always have an abundance of apples.
23:34So we always make a great baked apple crisp.
23:38Mm.
23:39Mm.
23:40And another one that we have is my lemon meringue pie, which I love making on the weekends.
23:45Your final challenge today is to put your own stamp on one of the Roker family favorites.
23:53Mamma, Gail, and Ethan, for winning our first challenge, you get to choose which Roker family recipe you like to take on.
24:00Aw.
24:01So which one do you want to tinker with?
24:03The lemon meringue pie or the apple crisp?
24:08I mean, we'll do a lemon pie.
24:11It's a discussion.
24:13Apples.
24:14Oh, we're going to go with the apples.
24:15We're going to go with the apples.
24:17Mm.
24:18That felt good.
24:19Rachel and Haley, the lemon meringue pie is yours.
24:22We'll take it.
24:23Y'all feel good about that?
24:24Yes.
24:25Good.
24:26It took Al two years to write this cookbook, and now you have to re-imagine what you're
24:29and now you have to re-imagine two of his dishes in just 60 minutes.
24:33The family that creates the best dessert will win $10,000.
24:40When you're making pie, that's a lot of dough.
24:43Yeah.
24:45That's all you need to know for now.
24:47But Al might break in at some point with the weather.
24:50Until then, you know what to do.
24:54Get cooking.
24:55We start now?
24:56Yes!
24:57Good luck, guys.
24:58I'm grabbing this whole thing.
25:01One, two, three, four.
25:04Okay.
25:05Grabbed this sorghum syrup.
25:08This was Big Daddy's thing.
25:09This was Nana's thing.
25:10I know.
25:11Ginger snaps.
25:12I think that we should do a parfait and then have an element to our family in each layer
25:18of the parfait.
25:19Oh, that's a great idea.
25:20If we win $10,000, that's like a life-changing amount of money.
25:24I don't even know what...
25:25I'm down payment on a car.
25:26I'd like to get rid of my 2,004.
25:29She's literally been in that car since I was little.
25:31When Al said apple crisp, I instantly knew we should do cobbler.
25:34Mommy always made all different kinds of that.
25:37Cobblers.
25:38She'd make peach cobbler, strawberry cobbler, rhubarb cobbler.
25:41So cobblers are like second nature in our family, per se, I guess you could say.
25:45It makes me nervous.
25:46Very much so.
25:47Their family tradition is eating this, and one of ours is watching him tell the weather.
25:51Okay, so meringue Nana made on all of her pies.
25:56You walk into Nana's house, you see mile-high meringue pies.
26:00From banana puddings, from scratch, chocolate pies, lemon pies.
26:04Nana is the queen of meringue.
26:06So I think we're going to be able to execute this really well.
26:09Yes, and represent her well.
26:11I'm feeling like Nana's presence, because she's a dessert queen.
26:15And so I know we can make her proud.
26:16Okay.
26:17I'm feeling excited.
26:18Did you hear that, Nana?
26:19She feels your presence.
26:20The little bowls.
26:21Bowls?
26:22Oh, we need bowls.
26:23Okay.
26:24Mamaw Gail is not playing though.
26:25I think we've got some steep competition.
26:28She's been doing this for a lot longer than we have.
26:31Mmm.
26:32This is all in the cinnamon.
26:34We just added the most important ingredient.
26:36I'm going to get this heated.
26:37Go ahead and find the sweet tea.
26:38Hi, ladies.
26:39Hi.
26:40Hello.
26:41I'm so excited that you're making my lemon meringue.
26:43Yes.
26:44We are too.
26:45We hope you love it.
26:46So what's the twist?
26:47We're going to do a parfait, because each layer has ingredients.
26:49That just evoke a memory of our family.
26:51Wow.
26:52And so we're going to stick with the classic meringue, but that's going to be layered throughout.
26:56So this is going to be the custard part of the dish.
26:59Yep.
27:00It's a lemon custard.
27:01With sweet tea infused.
27:02And used to really make it super southern.
27:05Yep.
27:06And one key ingredient is sorghum syrup.
27:08So our nana was married to our big daddy, and he just always had sorghum on the side of everything.
27:14And I'm sorry.
27:15I don't know what sorghum.
27:16Sorghum?
27:17Yeah.
27:18Sorghum syrup.
27:19Yeah.
27:20It's an ancient grain.
27:21It's a little more earthy almost than maple syrup.
27:23Yeah.
27:24And then...
27:25Want to try a spoonful?
27:26Yeah.
27:27Why not?
27:28I love that this is really like a generational parfait.
27:31Yeah.
27:32You're telling a story through each layer.
27:34So that's really exciting to see.
27:35And the ginger snap.
27:36Our nana always had a big cookie jar of ginger snaps on the counter.
27:40That's delicious.
27:41And so instead of like a graham cracker crumb or a pie crust, we're going with the ginger
27:45snaps because it reminds us of our nana Evelyn.
27:47What would this mean for you all to win this challenge?
27:50It would mean a lot.
27:51We come from a long line of amazing cooks in the kitchen.
27:54Yeah.
27:55And so food just means family to us.
27:57And so we're cooking with a lot of heart.
27:59Yeah.
28:00So can I present them?
28:01This is awesome.
28:02I can't wait to taste it.
28:03Can't wait.
28:04Good luck.
28:05Thank you all.
28:06Thank you all.
28:07This always stresses me out when you don't measure.
28:08Let's look like a half a cup.
28:10Yup.
28:11That's about a half a cup, I guess.
28:12That's your version of a half a cup anyway.
28:14Ethan and Mama.
28:15Oh my gosh.
28:16So now what's your take on the apple crumble?
28:20So we're doing a apple cobbler crisp.
28:23Now what's the difference between the cobbler and the crisp?
28:25I've got like a dough mixed up with the flour, sugar, milk.
28:30So we're going to get a crust and a crunch.
28:32Exactly.
28:33Oh, y'all a double.
28:35Double dipping.
28:36So this is the crumble part you guys are going to get on top.
28:41Safely in?
28:42Safely in.
28:43Well, what would it mean for you to win this competition?
28:47Oh my gosh.
28:48It'd mean a whole lot.
28:49It really would.
28:50It would be life changing.
28:51Really.
28:52How would it be life changing?
28:53Mamaw lives in a single wide trailer.
28:56She has 30 plus people there every Sunday.
28:59Sorry.
29:00Every Sunday.
29:01And she's just the sweetest.
29:02Oh honey, you can't start crying because I'm going to start crying.
29:05But she's the sweetest.
29:06And we couldn't do anything without her.
29:09Mamaw Gail is so special to not just me, but the whole entire family.
29:14I mean, cooking is what our family does.
29:17So back at home, we've got so many people that are on our side, ready for us to come home with the $10,000.
29:24And I think, I think we can do it.
29:26I really do.
29:28I hope so.
29:31It's already life changing because we've gotten to meet you and we've gotten to enjoy your amazing recipes.
29:38I just hope it turns out all right.
29:40It's going to be real.
29:41I think it will.
29:42Keep my fingers crossed.
29:43I think you're going to be okay.
29:44All right.
29:45All right.
29:46We're going to let you guys do what you do.
29:47Bye.
29:48And I'm going to go wipe my eyes.
29:49I'm sorry.
29:50Sorry about that.
29:51I'm sorry about that.
29:5630 minutes left, guys.
29:5830 minutes.
29:59Oh my gosh.
30:0030 minutes left.
30:01This is definitely ready to be poured in, isn't it?
30:03Perfect.
30:04And then get that in the fridge.
30:05This is when we get serious and make sure we have to win to get that $10,000.
30:11We've got 26 minutes left here.
30:13We're pushing it really close on this one.
30:15Okay.
30:16Go ahead and crush up some ginger snaps.
30:19Give me one of those.
30:20So good.
30:23Oh.
30:24Oh.
30:25The cookies are all ground up.
30:26Perfect.
30:27That's going to be perfect.
30:28Set that aside.
30:29One of those newfangled food processor things.
30:30Ah.
30:31I might need to invest.
30:33You don't have a food processor?
30:34I might.
30:35I just don't know what it is.
30:37Honestly, I have all of these things and I don't know what they are.
30:43Oh my God.
30:44Oh my God.
30:45Have I actually used it?
30:46No.
30:48This is me learning.
30:51What does this need to thicken up heat?
30:55I'm going to crank the heat a little bit.
30:56Oh, Hailey.
30:57You're so welcome.
30:58Hailey, you seem really in charge of this.
31:02She is in charge for sure.
31:04You cook at home clearly.
31:05I cook for four children.
31:07Ah.
31:08It's also just a passion of mine.
31:09So I love to cook.
31:10My oldest is only four.
31:11Okay.
31:12So I'm a four year old.
31:13Under four.
31:14Two and a half year old twins.
31:15Wow.
31:16And a six month old.
31:17How do you have time to cook?
31:18Mm-hmm.
31:19A lot of times they help me.
31:21So what's going in the mixer?
31:22So this is just egg whites.
31:24Italian meringue.
31:25I've never heard of an Italian meringue.
31:26Yeah.
31:27I know.
31:28Yeah, it's like same ingredients as like a Swiss meringue, like a classic meringue you put on a pie.
31:31But since we're doing it in a parfait and not baking the meringue, I've got to cook those egg whites somehow.
31:35The only meringue I know is when I eat it.
31:37Uh-huh.
31:38So how do you do a meringue?
31:40You beat egg whites until they're all peak.
31:43So it's just kind of like.
31:44Peaks, a little like.
31:45Oh, oh, fluffy.
31:46Yeah, fluffy, right?
31:47Yeah.
31:48And then heat, sugar, and water and make a hot syrup.
31:50Put it on top of the egg whites.
31:51Yes.
31:52And so that's going to kind of cook the egg whites.
31:54And then you're going to whip it, whip it, whip it until it's like stiff.
31:57You know what I'm never going to do?
31:59Make a meringue.
32:00There you go.
32:01But you can dance the meringue.
32:02I can dance the meringue.
32:03You can dance the meringue.
32:04We're good.
32:07No?
32:08Okay.
32:09I'm going to be the kitchen egg.
32:1115 minutes.
32:12I don't think I've ever seen you make this.
32:15Matt Maughan Ethan, I saw your apple crust going in the oven.
32:18What's going on here?
32:19I'm just making a whipped cream to put to the side.
32:24That feel good?
32:25Yeah.
32:26Perfect.
32:27All right.
32:28So you're making almost like we would do a a la mode with some ice cream, but this is going
32:31to be that cream that balances that apple crust.
32:34Yep.
32:35It's interesting since the lemon meringue has kind of a meringue on top and now you guys have
32:38the whipped cream, so.
32:39Yeah.
32:40So we've added that element kind of.
32:41Leveling in the playing field.
32:42Exactly.
32:43I like it.
32:44I like it.
32:45Meringue has very simple ingredients, but it's very, very easy to mess up.
32:49The texture, it's so important because you can't under whip it.
32:53You can't over whip it, but I learned from Nana and my mom, Cindy, how to make a meringue.
32:58Oh.
32:59Look at that.
33:00Gorgeous.
33:01That's a stiff peak right there.
33:02I'm feeling really confident that the judges will love our techniques in each little part
33:07of our dish.
33:08Back in there further?
33:09Yeah.
33:10It looks.
33:11It looks good.
33:12Should we turn the oven up a little bit though?
33:14I don't want to turn it up too much.
33:15We're stressing too much.
33:16Five minutes, guys.
33:18Are you for real?
33:20I love this part when they get.
33:22Yeah.
33:23Got to hurry.
33:24We're in the final minutes, ma'am.
33:25I don't know.
33:26Get that in there.
33:27How many layers?
33:28Two of each?
33:29Yeah.
33:30We're going to do crumb, custard, meringue.
33:31I'm glad they're going with the egg whites on top of that.
33:34Because what a parfait.
33:35You don't want anything to start to soak down into the custard or the curd.
33:39Then you don't see the layers.
33:40Oh.
33:41So it's going to be interesting.
33:42All right.
33:43I'm excited about the double crunch on that pie.
33:45The crunch and the crust.
33:47Lord, let it be good.
33:49You know what I mean?
33:50You know it's good when you're praying.
33:51Yeah.
33:52Yeah.
33:53Geez.
33:54Geez, you don't want it to be.
33:55I mean, I think it looks like it's getting done, my mom.
33:57Yeah.
33:58I'm going to hit this one with a little meringue.
33:59You know it's distracting, the smell of that apple crisp.
34:02It smells good, doesn't it?
34:03It smells good.
34:04Ugh.
34:05We want high meringue like Nana always had.
34:06I'm going to torch this thing, too.
34:08You know, there's a point when you're whipping up a meringue.
34:11If you go too far, you lose the essence of the stiff peaks and the fluffiness and the airiness
34:16of it.
34:17And this could be on that borderline.
34:18We've got to dive in and taste and see.
34:20I'm just crunched for time.
34:22Like, they've got three more parfaits to do.
34:25And they have, what, about three or four minutes left for that apple crisp, the ghost.
34:29A close call for everybody.
34:30We are a little pressed for time.
34:31We are a little pressed.
34:32Three minutes.
34:33We've got three minutes now.
34:34It's a nail biter.
34:35Okay, let's give it another minute.
34:36All right.
34:37Lord have mercy.
34:38I know, honey.
34:39I know.
34:40Okay, meringue.
34:41Crumb.
34:42Good thing there's two of us.
34:43Okay, we've just got to wait a few minutes until that comes out, and then I've got to sprinkle
34:44all this.
34:45We've still got two more meringues.
34:46All right, keep going.
34:47It's really important that we actually have two more meringues.
34:50We've got to wait a few minutes until that comes out, and then I've got to sprinkle all
34:53this.
34:54We've still got two more meringues.
34:56All right, keep going.
34:57It's really important that we execute this just right, because we want to make our family
35:01proud, and each layer, it's a representation of them.
35:04Yeah.
35:05Each layer matters.
35:06One minute left.
35:07Ugh!
35:08Go ahead and get it out, Amy.
35:09Go ahead and get it out.
35:10Ugh!
35:11Crispy top, crispy top.
35:13Oh!
35:14Oh my gosh, ma'am, that looks so good!
35:18Ten seconds!
35:19Oh my gosh.
35:20Hit it with that zest, girl.
35:22I'm so stressed, I'm not even the one cooking.
35:24All right.
35:25We're falling, we're falling.
35:26Five.
35:27Four.
35:28Three.
35:29Two.
35:30One.
35:31We're done.
35:32We did it.
35:33High five.
35:34We got this.
35:35Clap it out.
35:36Clap it out.
35:38Woo!
35:39I like came down to the second.
35:41Look at that, how pretty.
35:43Ooh, it looks so good.
35:44It does look good, don't it?
35:45We might have some stiff competition, but I got faith in your cobbler.
35:49Hello, hello.
35:50Hello.
35:51So first, we've got you all some whipped topping.
35:55Oh, thank you.
35:56And then this is the star of the show.
36:00Ooh.
36:01Okay, I made an apple cobbler crisp.
36:03The twist I put on it was the cobbler part and then the crisp on top of that.
36:13I think we should call it a cobbler.
36:15Oh!
36:16If we make a cookbook, we'll call it a cobbler.
36:19All right, there you go.
36:20One of the things I love about it, and it's simple in its presentation, but I think that's
36:25the beauty of it.
36:28It evokes home.
36:31We didn't get to use ice cream because we didn't have any in the freezers here.
36:35So, we have whipped cream with cinnamon sugar topped on top for the presentation.
36:39Should we dig in?
36:40We should dig in.
36:41We should dig in.
36:42Wow.
36:43That's, wow.
36:48The dough part is so fluffy.
36:50Mm-hmm.
36:51I was expecting it to be denser, but this is really light.
36:56And you gotta top it with the cream, though.
36:59It gives a balance like you were expecting with that ice cream.
37:03That crunch is just ever-present, which, let me tell you, if you're gonna have a crisp,
37:08you want it to be crispy.
37:10Mm.
37:11Well, for me, the apples feel a little too soft.
37:15You want a little crunch.
37:16I'll just a tad bit, but that would be my only complaint.
37:19I'm still blown away by the dough.
37:21Okay, I just cooked my apples in water, sugar, and cinnamon.
37:26And I forgot the butter this time.
37:28Yeah, we did not put the butter.
37:29You know, maybe the butter might have added a little bit more of a richness to it.
37:36If you hadn't told me there wasn't butter in it, I probably wouldn't know that I was missing the butter.
37:40Now that I know I'm missing the butter, but-
37:43I'll take that part back.
37:44There you go.
37:45I'm still blown away by the topping.
37:48If you can eat that on its own, then you're doing pretty well in my book.
37:54And this is great.
37:56Well, thank you.
37:58To be honest, I'm confident.
38:00But if I win, I win.
38:02If I don't, I don't.
38:03But I'm a winner either way.
38:04It don't matter.
38:05Exactly.
38:06Hey.
38:07All right.
38:08It looks great.
38:12We decided to do a deconstructed parfait version of a lemon meringue pie.
38:20Each element has ingredients that just represent memories of our family.
38:24And so we want you guys to be able to see that throughout each layer.
38:27Well, I'm just very impressed with the layering.
38:30It looks gorgeous.
38:33I also love the lemon zest.
38:34Everything is perfectly layered.
38:36Should we dig in?
38:37All right.
38:38Yes.
38:39I love the lemon, the custard part that's coming through.
38:51And the lemon zest makes sure you hit that lemon up top.
38:54Yeah.
38:55Mmm.
38:56I thought the ginger snap might be a little overpowering, but it's really like just the perfect amount.
39:01Perfect.
39:02The ginger snaps, I like the bite.
39:05I like a little bit of bite after the custard.
39:08The custard is a little almost too sweet.
39:13I know we used the syrup.
39:14I know we folded in some sugar and then some of that sweet tea.
39:18It's a good bit of sugar in this dish.
39:20Yeah.
39:21I do like the idea of the browning of the meringue.
39:25I think, you know, that's kind of what you expect in a lemon meringue pie.
39:29When you think of lemon meringue, you think of those beautiful peaks that's bending over.
39:33And the only way you get that is by not over whipping.
39:35I think here you just went a little too far.
39:37I know you were working in a simple syrup, but unfortunately, this is over whipped.
39:42But delicious.
39:43Very delicious.
39:44Thank you, ladies.
39:45Thank you all so much.
39:47It's our pleasure.
39:48I'm so proud of what we've presented and what we've worked together in the kitchen towards.
39:53I think we executed really well, but I'm definitely nervous.
39:58Teams, you showed so much skill and creativity in this round.
40:02Hayley and Rachel, when it comes to your presentation, you hit it out of the park with your parfait.
40:08We loved all those beautiful layers from the toasty meringue to the tartness of the custard.
40:14The inventiveness of the parfait was amazing, especially finishing it off with the flame.
40:20It was really beautiful.
40:22Mamaw, Gail, and Ethan, you balanced the sweet and salty flavors so well.
40:27We were surprised by the lightness of the crispy bits, and the cream was just a beautiful finishing touch.
40:34I love the tradition that you added to the cobbler crisp combination.
40:39It was really amazing.
40:42This is it.
40:43And the winners of $10,000 are...
40:50Mamaw, Gail, and Ethan.
40:51Mamaw, Gail, and Ethan.
40:52Oh, my God.
40:53Oh, my God.
40:54Oh, my God.
40:58We just won $10,000.
41:01Oh, we did it.
41:03It's just an amazing lifetime experience.
41:06Thank you all for sharing your family recipes with us.
41:09We came to make our family proud, and I definitely think that we did that today.
41:14And I'm also just so excited for Ethan and Mamaw, Gail, because they are absolutely precious.
41:21So I'm excited for them.
41:22What do you think you're going to do with the prize?
41:24Probably get rid of my 2004 vehicle.
41:28She's driven as long as I knew her.
41:31Oh.
41:32You've earned that today.
41:33You've earned your way into our hearts.
41:36Thank you so much.
41:37All right, listen, we're in the South.
41:38We hug it out.
41:39Let's hug it out.
41:40Sounds good to me.
41:42Congratulations.
41:44What's next for us is getting back home so I can cook Sunday dinner.
41:51I think now our best bet is working on a cookbook.
41:54Yeah, probably.
41:55Yeah.
41:56Thank you, guys.
41:59So good.