Party on a Plate

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

This week, we want to keep the festivities going by seeing what recipes you would make for one of life's special celebrations.

Dan, voice-over: I made this meal for my wife on our 30th wedding anniversary.

It's gonna be really hard not to cry about this one.

I'm gonna cry.

I'm gonna cry.

You shouldn't make me cry.

No.

Now we're gonna tear up, too.

You won her over with this dish, and then you're keeping her with this dish.

I'm feeling the festive spirit.

Alejandra: What makes a great recipe?

Are they the dishes that are passed down to us through generations of home cooking?

Bambi, voice-over: I love to make my mom's honey turkey wings.

Alejandra: Are they the ones that tell the story of who we are and where we're from?

Silvia, voice-over: I make mantecada.

It's like a Mexican muffin.

Tiffany: If this is what it feels like at your home-- no matter what culture, no matter what type of cuisine-- this type of comfort I understand.

Alejandra: Modern American home cooking has it all.

Dan: You have marinara sauce, you have pizza sauce, but you have Sunday gravy.

Foo: I'm making a crab meatball soup.

Yum!

You guys asking for funk and some... [Laughter] There it is.

Alejandra: To discover the melting pot of dishes this country has to offer, we have invited 10 talented home cooks from regions across the United States to share the unique and heartwarming stories behind their most treasured recipes...

This is family.

Alejandra: and at the end of their journey, one home cook... Graham: You're passionate about flavor, and you respect your heritage.

That is a perfect recipe.

Alejandra: will crowned the winner.

Ohh!

Alejandra: Our doors are open, and everyone's invited.

Welcome to "The Great American Recipe."

[Pencil scratching] ♪ Robin: Ha ha ha!

No, you aren't.

♪ Leah: Hey, everyone.

Hi.

Welcome back.

Tony, voice-over: Being on top from last week feels great.

The most successful dish is...Tony with his deconstructed cannoli dip.

Nice.

Tony, voice-over: I'm coming in this week feeling strong, and I know that I just need to keep up this momentum.

Aloha, all.

Dan: Buongiorno.

Hey.

Yes.

Knowing that I was on the bottom last week was more devastating than actually being eliminated... Nikki, you had a few technical issues.

The chicken wasn't cooked properly.

One of the things you have to do is trust yourself and adapt.

Nikki, voice-over: so this week, I'm gonna bring it.

Alejandra: The remaining 6 of you represent the best of American home cooking.

Please welcome back our judges-- Graham Elliot, Leah Cohen, and Tiffany Derry.

Last week, you took our palates on an adventure to the great outdoors by creating dishes that you can make and take anywhere.

This week, we want to keep the festivities going by seeing what recipes you would make for one of life's special celebrations.

In this first round, you will have 60 minutes to create a dish that reminds you of a special occasion, those memorable events that bring everyone together.

The recipes you make should not only be delicious, but they should also speak to how your community and your family celebrate.

Remember, your dishes will be judged on taste, execution, presentation, and how well the recipe highlights the theme.

Dan, voice-over: At this point now, I'm feeling pretty good.

I think I know just the perfect dish to make.

I see the wheels turning, getting some ideas.

[Laughter] Your time starts now.

♪ Ooh.

Ooh.

Ooh!

It's all good.

Nikki, voice-over: Last week, I gave them horrible chicken legs with vegetables, so this week, I'm back in my wheelhouse.

I'm in it to win it.

I'm making a pesto pasta with seared scallops.

So this is all from my grandmother.

I found out that my grandmother actually loved pesto, and it was in my DNA.

Like, I knew I loved it, but the trip of a lifetime happened when I turned 40 and my family took me to Italy for my birthday, and I was able to take an actual culinary class and learn this firsthand.

Nikki, voice-over: So I make it with basil, toasted pine nuts-- Oh, these are pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty.

Nikki, voice-over: have to have the toasted pine nuts-- lemon juice and lemon zest-- Whew!

This is a arm workout, arm workout.

Nikki, voice-over: like, so many pesto recipes don't have lemon, and I really never had that until I went to Italy-- and then salt, parmesan cheese.

Nikki: I'm hoping that the judges feel the love in this.

Oop.

♪ Oh, ho ho ho, baby.

Dan, voice-over: Today I'm doing a little stuffed veal chop, and then I'm doing a little bit of spinach as a side, and we're gonna go for it.

Dan, voice-over: I need to get this stuffing made really fast because I only have 60 minutes and these chops are gonna take, you know, at least 30, so I get the breading in chicken stock and then add the meat and cheeses.

I'm gonna stuff them with Prosciutto di Parma, some fontina cheese, some pecorino Romano, and some mozzarella cheese.

My wife's favorite thing is veal chop.

Anytime we go out to a restaurant, more than likely veal chop, so I made this meal for my wife Desiree on our 30th wedding anniversary.

Dan, voice-over: So we've been together for some time now.

My daughter's grown.

She's actually married to a Providence firefighter.

They have 3 kids.

I wish that my wife was a judge today, even though she's probably just as harsh as they are, so wouldn't get a free pass from her, either, which is just how I like it.

Dan, voice-over: It would be pretty cool to win the whole entire thing for my wife.

That's a nice one there.

That's the one I would want.

♪ Yeah.

These are beautiful.

Robin, voice-over: I'm making lamb chops with a Mediterranean orzo salad and some haricot verts on the side, which is a finer, French green bean.

This is a dish that I have to nail because this is my favorite dish.

My second oldest son Omar now prepares this for my birthday every year, and he's a chef, and if my birthday falls on a day where he is supposed to be working, he takes off and makes sure I have this dish.

OK.

It's gonna be really hard not to cry about this one.

First thing I need to do is prepare the lamb.

I have rubbed them with mustard that has also been laced with lots of garlic and then sprinkled salt on top of them-- ah, I like salt right there close to the meat-- and then I make a nice panko-breaded crust, make sure it's patted on all sides of it, and put them in a hot oven.

♪ Robin: You've got gorgeous carrots over there.

Tony: Thank you.

I'm gonna julienne these real quick, so we're gonna use these for my bulgogi.

OK. ♪ Tony, voice-over: My special-occasion dish is beef bulgogi--which is a Korean-style, marinated beef-- and then I'm serving it with a nice, little, quick pickled veg.

♪ This is a dish that my mom would always make for us on our arrival day.

It is a day that we celebrate for when my mother adopted me and my brother from Korea.

Have our ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil.

Tony, voice-over: You have to start by marinating the beef with a mixture of Asian pear, onion, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper.

♪ Mm.

Yep.

Tastes great.

Tony, voice-over: The biggest concern I have is preparing the ribeye.

♪ Bulgogi is really thin slices, and so typically, I like to par-freeze my beef so that way, it is able to cut a lot cleaner with those thinner slices, but that's really tough to do in the short amount of time.

45 minutes left, chefs.

Let's got going.

45 minutes.

All right.

Thank you, Tony.

You're welcome, Robin.

♪ There's something about fried tortilla.

You just cannot stop eating them.

Ah.

Silvia, voice-over: For this round, I'm making sopa Tarasca.

It is a tomato and bean soup that is garnished with different things, like fried tortilla strips that create this very complex mixture of textures.

It was a soup that I made for the first time in United States right after I got my U.S. citizenship and even though I became a citizen and I was very glad because my family here are Americans bringing a little bit of Mexico back to me because it's still my identity was a big comfort to me.

Silvia, voice-over: So sopa Tarasca is another of the dishes that you need to layer the flavors, so I like to do a roasted-tomato-based salsa because there is something really beautiful about the smokiness of that charred tomato skin, and then I make my salsa with some chicken broth because you want that marriage of, like, the spices and the liquid... ♪ Foo: Silvia, may I have a bay leaf?

Yes, absolutely.

Silvia, voice-over: and then I fry it.

Frying the salsa, it gives another layer of flavor.

Smells good, Silvia.

Silvia: Thank you.

Ha ha!

Foo, voice-over: Today we're making shaking beef.

The Vietnamese name is called bo luc lac.

Traditionally, it is beef tenderloin and tomatoes with oyster sauce and hoisin sauce and dark soy sauce... Ee, ay, ay.

Foo, voice-over: but the way I'm making it, instead of using tomatoes, I'm adding red bell peppers for some contrasting texture, and then I'm serving it on a coconut jasmine rice.

It's the very first dish I made for my wife while we were dating, so it has a lot of memories, and now we do it on our anniversary, and that's why we're still married.

She has me cooking every day.

Ha ha ha!

I'm kidding.

I feel good.

I feel good.

Leah: Hi, Nikki.

Hi, guys.

How are you?

Good.

How are you?

Doing great.

What are you cooking up for us?

So I am making today a pesto pasta with a seared scallop.

Pesto is one of my favorites.

Oh, my gosh, I'm excited for you to try this.

I love that you have the cast-iron out for these scallops, so we're expecting to see a good, brown sear.

OK.

I mean, you can't go wrong with that, but I want you to do what you do.

I mean, no pressure.

No, no, no.

I get it.

I want to make sure today that you are breathing and that you have a plan...

I do.

because sometimes you get flustered.

Yes.

I got a plan today, and if I have to, I'll just casually pivot.

No one will know the difference.

You will because you are a good cook, and you have to trust that.

Trust your gut.

Make it happen.

We believe in you.

Yeah.

What do we got on time?

Tiffany: 30 minutes, everyone, 30 minutes.

Let's go.

30.

Hello, Dan.

Hey.

Dan the man.

What's happening, chefs?

Tell us what you're making.

All right, so what we have is a stuffed veal chop that's inside of the oven, and I'm trying to reduce this sauce down.

I got it in two pans.

You know, I'm trying to get it down-- I can't change physics, though-- and then if it's not thick enough, I have my Plan "B" over here.

I made like a little, light roux, and then, you know, that's maybe what I have to go with.

I don't know.

Cornstarch always works, too, right, a little cornstarch and water as a slurry.

Just add a little, maybe don't put too much in, you still get that nice, thickness that you're looking for.

Really?

All right.

Yeah.

Fingers crossed on that.

♪ Robin, voice-over: As the lamb is cooking, I need to put together the Mediterranean orzo salad.

Ha ha ha!

Working it.

My son Omar is an incredible chef, and he created this dish for me for my birthday based on the things he knows I like to eat.

He knows I like feta.

He knows I like olives.

Eh.

Robin, voice-over: I would love to be able to win with my son's recipe.

♪ Mm.

Mm.

Ha ha!

♪ [Hums] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4... Let's get you over here.

Ooh!

Almost busted my ankle.

Tony, voice-over: The meat for my bulgogi is well-marinated, so I'm gonna focus on cooking that with some scallions and some onions.

And I'm just doing a batch.

It's still kind of a wash, rinse, repeat step here, so we're just taking all that, and I'm toasting some sesame seeds that I'm gonna add for the garnish at the end, so while we're doing all that, the pickled vegetables ae marinating, so we're just kind of rolling with it.

Tony, voice-over: I'm paying a lot of attention to all the components of this dish because this is something that is near and dear to me but also because we're down to the final 6 of us and I want to make sure that every step along the way is perfection.

Hopefully, everything comes out in the end for the judges.

♪ Hello.

Hi.

Hi, Silvia.

How are you doing?

Good, thank you, very happy making this dish.

[Laughter] I love soups.

I love beans.

What's in it?

It's a roasted tomato and beans.

What special event does this dish celebrate?

I became a U.S. citizen when I was pregnant with my second kid, and I never thought that I would be live in United States and I will have kids that are Americans, so when I became a U.S. citizen-- I'm gonna cry; I'm gonna cry; you shouldn't make me cry-- I was very happy for my family because now may family is my husband and my kids, right, all Americans, but after I went to that ceremony, I came back, and I had to make something homey, something that reminds me that I'm still Mexican... Yeah.

Yeah.

right, so that's my soup.

Sorry.

No.

Now we're gonna tear up, too.

Yeah.

It just reminds me that I'm both.

My kids are both, and it's just a way, too, like, feel that I was not abandon my family in Mexico just because I became an American.

100% here, 100% there, aqui y alla.

Yes, exactly.

That's wonderful.

Thank you, Silvia.

I love how you honor your culture of being both Mexican and American.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

♪ All right, everybody.

15 minutes to go.

All right.

Silvia, can I use your wok?

Absolutely.

Come get it.

Thank you.

Foo, voice-over: The reason why this dish is called shaking beef is because you want that wok really searing hot so when you throw that beef in there, it sizzles, and you're shaking the wok as it's cooking.

That's why they call it shaking beef.

♪ Whew!

That is a hot wok.

Foo, voice-over: I've made this dish a hundred times.

I can make it with my eyes closed.

I feel good about my dish at this point.

All right, everyone.

10 minutes left.

[All hoot] Alejandra: So we're down to 6 cooks.

How do you think everyone is doing?

Tiffany: One thing today that feels a little bit different is that there is crazy intensity in here.

It's kind of like this.

I don't hear anything.

Focus.

I hear focus.

Yes.

Focus.

Yeah.

Yep.

People are connected to their pots and pans, and they're not playing around.

Tiffany: Yep.

♪ [Beep beep, beep beep] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... Nikki, voice-over: So I want this perfect sear on a scallop, and I learned that if you count openly for two minutes, so 120 seconds, you get the perfect top sear, and then you just turn it over for, like, a minute, and then it will be perfect.

59, 60, 61, 62, 63... Nikki, how's it going?

64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70... Nikki, voice-over: So Foo's asking me, "How we doing?"

but I am, like, "Just focus.

Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus."

99, 100, 1, 2... Foo, voice-over: Nikki, relax.

Ha ha!

♪ Ohh, look at that, perfect.

♪ Tony, voice-over: The judges said, "Make sure you season.

Make sure you salt"... Could use a little more salt, to be honest.

so I just want to make sure that I season as I go.

I'm happy.

5 minutes, guys.

5 minutes.

You should be plating.

Time's overrated.

Dan, voice-over: Yeah.

I'm behind, so as time's running down, I'm definitely concerned about whether I'm gonna get everything on the plate or not.

I got to finish the sauce-- I haven't even tasted it yet-- and then I got to get these chops, leaving those till the last second, feeling fear, F-E-A-R. Ha ha!

I want it to look just beautiful because that soup and I-- it's really close to my heart, and I think all the colors-- Because it's a bean soup, it's brown.

It really needs a pop of color, so I'm being, like, super careful trying to get everything on the plate.

Sometimes when I do it at home, I add a little bit of the cream, and I like, you know, when you go to restaurants and it's something beautiful and you do these shapes.

They look like hearts.

Here we go.

Nikki, voice-over: The judges want to see a perfect sear on the scallops.

So I think these are cooked perfect because--check that out-- gorgeous and white, tastes good, really good.

♪ Alejandra: One minute left, cooks.

Oh, boy.

OK. ♪ Robin: Wouldn't I love to take a bite right now?

Make it happen, Dan.

Tiffany: Go, Dan.

Go.

Alejandra: You got this.

You got this.

Chefs: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Graham: Hands up.

Oh... Yummy.

Heh heh.

♪ Hi, Nikki.

Tell us what you made.

So today I made for you pesto pasta with a seared scallop.

This is for my birthday.

My family took me to Italy.

We did the Cinque Terra Trail, and my family had a culinary experience for me to make this dish.

Nikki, this is a very light and refreshing bowl of pesto pasta.

I love the addition of the scallops.

That sweetness really makes a difference to this dish, and you can really taste the basil, and I love that.

Graham: Yeah.

I feel like you saved us the cost of a plane ticket by letting us vicariously go with you to Italy, so thank you for doing that.

Yeah.

Thank you, judges.

Thank you.

Hi, Tony.

Hi.

I made for you all my beef bulgogi with pickled veg, so this is near and dear to my heart.

This is my beef bulgogi that my mom used to make for me, for my brother and I and my whole family for our arrival day.

There's definitely quite a bit of flavor in your bulgogi.

There is some sweetness.

We definitely get the sesame, some great pickle notes from the pickled cucumber, which are excellent, and then I just like the carrot, kind of fresh, very delicious, but when you're cutting your beef, you really want to make sure that you cut it even because how you cut it affects how it's gonna taste, the texture you're gonna have in your mouth.

All of those things mean something.

Right.

Thank you, Chef.

Alejandra: Hi, Robin.

Hello.

Graham: Hey.

I've made roasted lamb chops with a Mediterranean orzo salad.

My second oldest son Omar now does this for my birthday every year.

Let's get one thing clear.

This isn't just lamb chops and salad, right?

I have a rosemary-skewered rack of lamb with haricot vert, some red onion, and a Mediterranean orzo salad.

Like, don't sell yourself short.

This is legit.

This looks like you just opened your restaurant and served this.

Way to bring it, Robin.

Thank you so much.

Hi, Foo.

Hi.

Tell us about your dish.

I made a Vietnamese dish called bo luc lac.

In English, it's translated to shaking beef.

It's the dish I made my wife on our very first date.

It's the first dish I cooked for her, and now we do it on our anniversary.

The beef itself is very tender.

There's a lot of flavor going on.

It is delicious, and I really like the crispy shallot and the garlic on there, love it.

It is truly a delicious dish.

Leah: And I can tell that this is something that you have been cooking for a long time, many, many years of repetition and nailing it down, and I can see why you're still married to your wife because the flavor, I mean, you made her stay or, I mean-- I don't know, but you won her over with this dish, and then you're keeping her with this dish.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Chef.

Ha ha!

Hi, Dan.

Hi, judges.

What I have is a stuffed veal chop, and on the side, I did a little bit of spinach and a veal reduction sauce.

How is this a special-occasion dish?

The day before I came out here was my 30th wedding anniversary, and, in my wife's words, veal chop is her "favorite thing on the entire planet," so I wanted to do something special for her on our 30th anniversary because when it comes to having, like, the perfect wife, at least for me, she checks all the boxes.

Aww.

Aww.

I mean, come on.

Yeah.

Graham: I really think you got to call in some co-workers because it's on fire.

It's delicious.

You know what I mean?

You did a really great job in the flavor of the sauce especially, and I know that trying to throw it on the plate last second, you know, is hard, but we got it.

You were able to do it, got some great flavor.

Tiffany: And I absolutely love that your wife has your heart in every aspect and there's no other woman as great as your wife... Nope.

and we need every man to say that, but I think it's just so special, and we know and we feel that love that exudes through the food.

Thank you, Chef.

Hi, Silvia.

Hello.

[Laughter] Tell us about this beautiful dish.

Well, this is sopa Tarasca.

In English, could be, like Tarascan soup, and it is very close to my heart because the first time I made this in United States was the day that I became an American citizen.

Silvia, as if we didn't know you made it with love, we can tell with the hearts in this bowl.

Ha ha ha!

I love that.

You executed this perfectly.

The texture, the mouth feel that you get from the soup is what a cream soup should be, and then you have all these wonderful textures from the crispy tortilla, the creaminess from the avocado.

Very flavorful and, you know, one of your best dishes.

Tiffany: Yeah, and I think that it's just such a beautiful way to showcase everything you love about being Mexican and about being American with your family.

It's absolutely amazing, but also the story makes it even more rich.

Thank you very much.

Silvia, voice-over: It is emotional because this soup is very special to me, and every comment that they said about this soup is just confirming that the judges like my recipes.

♪ Thank you all for sharing such memorable dishes with us.

It was all so delicious, we want to be invited to each and every one of your parties next year.

We're just inviting ourselves.

Leah: Yeah.

Alejandra: All right, judges.

Who made your favorite dishes this round?

Robin, your rack of lamb with the orzo was delicious.

Robin, voice-over: I feel as though I put my son Omar on a plate, and I think if my son were standing here now, he'd be very proud.

Tiffany: And another one of our favorites was Silvia.

Two words--muy deliciosa.

Oh, thank you.

Gracias.

Tiffany: It was so good, and it was wonderful to hear the story of this was the dish that you chose to share with your family for your American citizenship day, and then you chose to share it with us.

We feel very honored.

Thank you.

Heh heh.

Silvia: voice-over: I'm very proud of myself because this soup is very special, and the story behind this recipe is very moving.

Amazing job, Robin and Silvia.

We can't wait to see what recipes you have for the next round.

♪ Alejandra: In the last round, you introduced us to a cherished recipe for a special gathering.

This round, we want to taste the food you make year after year for your friends and family when your favorite holiday comes around.

You will have two hours to create a single dish featuring your family's favorite holiday recipe, and since the holidays are all about togetherness, we're doing this round a little differently.

You need to make enough food to feed all of us and all of you.

Whoa.

Nice.

[Laughter] Robin, voice-over: Cooking for large groups is something that comes natural for me.

I love this.

This is exciting.

Your dishes will be judged on taste, presentation, execution, and how well your dish showcases a theme.

So be sure to apply all the tips and feedback you've received from the judges to make sure that this dish is your best one yet.

Unfortunately, at the end of this round, we will be saying good-bye to one of you.

Cooks, are you ready for the ultimate holiday celebration?

Let's do it.

Yes.

Alejandra: Good, because your time starts now.

♪ Nikki: This smells like home.

I am making baccala, so baccala is a salted cod, and it's packed with all different types of garden veggies and wine, and it's gonna be in a tomato broth.

It's the staple of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Nikki, voice-over: The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Christmas Eve tradition for many Italians, and it's where we just cook all different types of fish.

Yes.

Caught it.

Nikki, voice-over: It's just this big celebration.

The whole family is there, and so we still do that to this day.

Actually, I'm really excited.

Any traditions that I can share I absolutely love.

♪ Rice.

Rice.

Tony, voice-over: I'm making my Asian-style shish kebabs with chicken and beef and coconut rice.

It screams the holidays because my mom would always make this every New Year's for us.

I'm trying to remember how my mom would always get the best way of getting them all roughly the same sizes.

Tony, voice-over: We have two hours this round, and it's a lot time, but there's also a lot of prep work that needs to be done.

♪ After I cut the vegetables, I'm gonna make the marinade by blending together my green onions, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and pineapple juice.

♪ Then, I'm going to reduce that a little bit on the stove, and then I'm gonna let that cool for a little bit while I work on cutting the meat.

My favorite thing about the New Year's is being able to start anew with my friends and family, the people that I love the most.

When I am cooking these dishes, I'm putting my heart, my soul onto these plates, and I'm in this competition to share my story and hopefully my food will win.

We'll see how it goes.

♪ Foo: I'm drowning in calamari, and it feels squishy.

Foo, voice-over: I am making a Vietnamese dish called muc xoai goi.

It translates to calamari mango salad.

This salad is made traditionally for Christmas.

It's a lot of components on this one.

This is crazy.

Tony: Foo, you need a hand?

Uh...yeah.

If you have time, I would like help peeling mangoes.

Peeling mangoes.

All right.

I'm coming with my peeler, question mark.

Thank you.

Peeler on the way.

Tony, voice-over: It's called paying it forward.

I mean, as much as this is a competition, we're family here.

Foo: What a good guy.

What a good guy.

♪ Foo, voice-over: After I prep the calamari, the next thing I need to do is start my marinade.

[Inhales] Foo, voice-over: The marinade is fish sauce, sriracha, chili paste, garlic salt, salt, and pepper.

Ee, ay, ay, that's a lot.

Foo, voice-over: I'm praying that they're gonna enjoy this dish because it's something that I really, really enjoy making every year for my family.

I'm doing good.

I feel comfortable.

I got a good flow going.

Hey, guys, it's 90 minutes.

90 minutes.

Thank you.

Men: Thank you.

Foo: Silvia... Yeah?

How's it going?

Good.

Nice.

You know what?

After Tony's peeling the mangoes, how about you come and peel my apples and peaches, too, you know?

Tony: You know, Silvia, for you, I'll do anything.

Aw, thank you, Tony.

Silvia, voice-over: For this round, I'm making chiles en nogada, which in English is stuffed poblano peppers with walnut sauce.

It honors the colors of the Mexican flag-- green, white, and red-- and it is traditional for Mexican Independence Day.

Every year, my family gets together on September 15, which is one day before Independence Day, and we eat together.

Silvia, voice-over: Chiles en nogada is a time-consuming dish because you need to do a lot of things, like preparing the filling, which is sweet and savory... Oops!

Silvia, voice-over: mix of meats, nuts, fruits, and spices.

You'll see.

It's gonna be delicious.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Robin, what are you making?

Oh, I'm making something called kibbeh.

They're kind of like Middle Eastern meatballs.

Ooh, a Middle Eastern meatball.

I love it.

Robin, voice-over: My lamb chops were a success the first round, and what makes me feel good is that each round that I've presented the judges food that I wanted to serve to them, they're enjoying what I'm preparing for them.

I hope to do the same for this round.

All right.

Spice.

Robin, voice-over: Kibbeh should probably be the national dish of Syria and Lebanon because every Lebanese, Syrian family makes this dish.

It is ground lamb with a bulgur wheat that is soaked overnight in water so that it swells so it's this light, fluffy grain to mix with the lamb.

My major concern with this dish is the fact I don't have 24 hours to soak this bulgur wheat, so I'm gonna boil it.

We always have it at Christmastime because our family gets together then.

I've got kids coming from all different parts of the United States with their families now, and so it's nice to get everybody home, and then we all cook together.

Robin, voice-over: There's no way I'm gonna serve the judges our family kibbeh without having bread to go with it, so I think in the time allotted, I'm gonna be able to whip together a rosemary bread.

Smells like--almost like the Christmas tree.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Dan: Now I know why I've given the grandkids this job.

Dan, voice-over: I'm making Italian Christmas cookies, so I'm gonna make a almond biscotti, and then with some of those almond biscottis, I'm gonna dip them in some chocolate.

Then I'm gonna make a pignoli cookie, and I'm gonna make a butter ball cookie.

Well, the butter balls, a lot of people know them as snowballs around the holidays.

They're round, and they have the powdered sugar on them, but that's a traditional cookie that you would see in any Italian house on Christmas.

Dan, voice-over: So at this point, I have the butter balls in the oven, and then I start the pignoli cookies... ♪ so that's got a lot of almond paste in it.

Mix that with some egg, sugar in the food processor.

[Food processor stops] [Click click click click click click click] Huh.

That was the end of that food processor.

Hey, Tony, my good man... What's up, my guy?

I'm just gonna use this for one second.

Hey, go ahead.

We're gonna let this thing rip and make magic happen.

[Food processor stops] [Click click click] Food processor number two dies.

OK. Well, apparently, heh, the food processor does not like this dough, so we're gonna have to go to a quick Plan "B."

One hour left, guys, one hour.

Whoo!

Timing is absolutely gonna be an issue for me.

♪ Foo: ♪ ...you're around ♪ I'm just singing to myself.

Ha!

I caught it.

Ha ha ha!

Nikki, voice-over: I'm making a fried fish to go with the baccala stew.

Typically, what we do is, it's called smelt, but it's hard to find, and if you can't find it, then you do flounder.

So growing up, you have stages of the Seven Fish dinner that you can do, so you start off by cleaning the fish to then finally getting to bread the fish to then finally getting to make a soup, and now I have these amazing pictures of my dad taking my son aside and teaching him the traditional baccala.

It's actually good.

♪ Tony: You almost slipped away from me.

Why am I talking to a shish kebab like that?

That's weird.

Tony, voice-over: I am working feverishly on putting those shish kebabs together.

We've got 45 minutes, y'all.

What?

45.

OK.

Thank you.

Tony, voice-over: I am panicking a little bit.

I still have, like, 7 more skewers to do, cooking the ones that are already on the pan, and I still need to get the glaze going on.

I mean, that's a lot.

My mother is a saint, putting all these together.

Dan: I had 3 more minutes on those cookies, so I got 2 1/2 minutes.

Need something?

Do you want to put these, actually, just in here and then put them in the oven real quick?

They're done?

Yup.

I'm gonna cook them up.

I'll finish them off in the oven while the rest of these go on, so we're just gonna do a flip-a-roo.

Roger that.

Tony, voice-over: I was helping Foo earlier.

Now Dan is helping with my kebabs, and now it's just become full circle.

Fireman Dan to the rescue.

♪ Whew!

That's a workout.

Hello, Foo.

Hello, chefs.

Foo, what are you making for us?

So today I'm making you a grilled calamari mango salad, so typically at my household, this is eaten during Christmas, which is a time that a lot of my siblings live across 5 states, so we don't get together often, so when we do, this is a cherished dish, and it's a labor of love.

Well, I love what you have going on here.

I think this is really genius.

You don't have a grill, necessarily, right?

You need that open flame to char the squid.

This is what they do on the beach in Vietnam, right?

That's right.

You see the grill right over that charcoal burner.

100%.

100%.

Love it.

Thank you.

Thank you, chefs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Leah: All right, cooks.

30 minutes left.

Oh, my God.

Ha ha ha!

Silvia, voice-over: This dish, it's a lot of work.

You need to roast, peel, and deseed the poblanos.

I just decide just to put my hand in there.

It's easier to take the seeds out, and then you need to make the sauce, and the thing is, when we make it in my family, there is my mom and my aunts doing it together.

This time it was all me.

Salt, salt.

Silvia, voice-over: I love sharing the culture in traditional Mexican recipes, and it's a very important dish in Mexico, so I'm just hoping the judges think it's a winner.

♪ It's good.

20 minutes, everyone.

♪ Alejandra: So, judges, we have 6 home cooks left, and they keep impressing us.

What do you think about the cook's choices so far?

You know, I think there is a great mix of dishes being represented here.

Leah: Yeah, because it just shows I might celebrate one holiday one way, and someone celebrates the exact same holiday with completely different food.

Yeah.

That's what's fun, is that might even be a completely different holiday.

We're not saying, "This is a Thanksgiving theme," you know, "Let's see you make stuffing."

It's like, "No.

We don't do that," so it is really exciting to not only taste the different food, but, like, know why they're doing it.

♪ OK.

I think we're close to that being done.

Alejandra, voice-over: Robin is making kibbeh, and what's interesting and kind of unusual is that they're a Lebanese appetizer, but they're also incredibly popular in the Dominican Republic.

A lot of my Dominican friends also grew up eating kibbeh.

Graham: Interesting.

Kibbeh, you always dig a hole in the center of your meatball, and you stuff it with something else, so I'm going to stuff it with loosely ground lamb, pine nuts, onions, and some seasoning.

Once it's filled, you can fry it, or you can bake it.

I always baked it, but my son Omar said, "Mom, you should try frying it," so I'm gonna try it for the first time in front of the judges.

Oh, OK. Sure.

Why not?

Ha ha!

Nope.

That's not gonna work.

It's important to me to carry on my family's cooking tradition because it keeps it alive.

I remember my mother.

I remember being in the kitchen with her, so by keeping her recipes part of our household, it keeps her part of our household.

It's hot...hot, hot, hot.

Robin, voice-over: I made these meatballs really large, and now I'm second-guessing myself, so I'm gonna put them in the oven because I'm afraid that the inside is not gonna be cooked.

♪ Dan, how you doing?

Oh, I'm baking up a storm.

Dan, voice-over: Growing up, Christmas, for me, definitely felt like a magical time of year because I had two Christmas trees.

I had one in my house, and then I walked across the street to my grandparent's house, and I had another Christmas tree, and now the grandkids come over for Christmas.

My son-in-law's family, they come over for Christmas.

Christmastime brings me some of my fondest memories, actually.

Hey, Dan... Hey, chefs, how are you?

see some sweet stuff happening in this kitchen.

Oh, yeah.

We're doing a little baking.

Graham: So I heard that there was an issue with the food processor-- or processors.

Processors, due, so I had to go old school and mix them by hand.

[Bang] Shots fired.

Silvia: Yeah.

I'm OK, I'm OK, I'm OK. Is that a food processor?

Graham: Yeah.

I think so.

Another food processor went down.

It's not just you, Dan.

You're good.

Oh, there's always somebody to take the pressure off.

Well, I can't wait to try your sweet treats.

Dan: Yes, yes.

Thank you.

Good luck.

♪ Tony, voice-over: So I'm blow-torching the shish kebab.

I just want to make sure that each of them has a nice, little caramelization, a nice browning on them, and I'm also brushing those with an orange glaze.

See how I perked up?

I know that sound.

Sounds like fire.

Alejandra: 5 minutes, everyone.

Whoo!

♪ Nothing cooks when you look at it.

Robin, voice-over: I'm just gonna wait till the last minute and see if it's cooked the right way.

Can't have calamari without their heads.

This is where the good stuff comes in now.

Robin: Dan, your sweets are looking sweet.

Dan: I'm gonna bring you a cookie pretty soon.

One minute to go, everybody, final minute.

Tony: All right, crunch time.

Can I use your ladle?

Absolutely.

Robin: We're almost there, almost dinner time.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Hands up, everyone.

Alejandra: Great jobs, everyone.

Two hours, that went fast.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Cooks, come join us at our table and bring your holiday dishes with you.

Graham: What do we got?

What do we got?

Wow!

Sweet.

Leah: ♪ Amazing ♪ Alejandra: Ha ha ha!

I'm feeling the festive spirit.

Ha ha ha!

Foo, tell us about your dish.

This is a Vietnamese dish.

It's called muc xoai goi.

The English translation is grilled calamari mango salad.

♪ Alejandra: And what holiday do you celebrate when you eat this dish?

Traditionally, we eat it on Christmas every year.

Graham: I think this is your best dish.

I'd have this, like, twice a week.

I love this stuff.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Leah: I completely agree with you.

The squid is really nice and tender, and it's perfectly cooked.

It has that nice char on the outside, and then you have the perfect ratio of all the other ingredients.

I just think that it is really well-balanced.

Thank you, Chef.

And next up, we have Silvia.

Hello.

Ha ha!

I made for you chiles en nogada, which in English is stuffed poblano peppers with walnut sauce.

And what holiday do you celebrate with this dish?

Silvia: Well, as you can see in the colors-- green, red, and white-- it honors the colors of the Mexican flag, and it's usually served during Fiestas Patrias or in September for Independence Day.

Tiffany: Silvia, this dish is delicious.

There is so much favor.

There is some sweetness.

There's some crunch.

There is some savory going on, but one of the things that I must talk about is the poblano because it's not just charred and the skin taken off.

It has acid in it.

It has flavor.

it's almost pickled in a way, and so, it's great to see that technique of doing something where we're adding on flavor, layering this very complex dish.

Thank you so much.

Robin, tell us about your dish.

I made for you a dish called kibbeh.

It is bulgur wheat with ground lamb.

It's stuffed with pine nuts, and I made for you rosemary yeast bread.

We used to have it for lots of different holidays, but now Christmas, for sure, when we can all be together, we all want to make sure that we have traditional foods.

Tiffany: Robin, the flavor is delicious.

Once I had that bite with all the flavor of the lamb, and all those spices, and I add a little bit of that yogurt sauce that has the texture with the cumbers and the fresh dill and that lemon juice of brightness that you get, because it is a heavier meat, you want some brightness, and you get that in the yogurt, but the texture of the meat feels a little dry to me, and-- Robin: It is.

I could taste that, too, first bite.

Graham: But the fact that you had time to do the bread, I was gonna say, like, "What'd you do with the two hours?

You don't seem--" you know, and then you're like, "Oh, I baked my own bread," I'm like, "All right.

Never mind, Like, go back to what you're doing," but that's great that you were able to get all that stuff finished.

Thank you.

Hi, Tony.

Ha ha!

Hi, judges.

What have you made for us tonight?

I have made you my Asian-style beef and chicken shish kebabs served with coconut rice.

My mom makes tons of these on New Year's Day for my family and I, so this is in honor of her.

Mm.

Yeah.

So when I think of New Year's, I think explosions and, like, fireworks and everything else, and that's kind of, like, what you give us, right, like, "big food on swords" type of deal with all the colors and flavors popping, but the rice is not screaming tasty, tasty, right?

There's just not much going on.

Maybe next time, throw in some toasted coconut on top, something to kind of tie it in.

Leah: And I think maybe just do a little bit more layering on that flavor, glazing it a little bit more because the meat itself, it has great flavor, right, but the vegetables, you're not really getting that glaze, and so, you know, it's an onion.

It's a nicely grilled onion, but you're not getting that flavor.

Yeah.

Thank you, Tony.

Thank you, judges, appreciate it.

Alejandra: Nikki.

I have made for you baccala.

It's a salted cod stew with a fried fish to go with it.

This is our family tradition that we do for Christmas Eve, and we do the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Graham: This is a delicious, really concentrated flavor, right?

They really meld.

It's beautiful.

It's kind of like family in the bowl, right?

Leah: So, Nikki, you started when you were young.

You were cleaning the baccala, and now you're in charge of making this wonderful dish, and I'm very happy that you shared it with us because this is delicious.

Thank you so much.

And next up, we have Dan.

Hi, judges.

What we have here is a tray of Christmas cookies, and, obviously, they're for Christmas.

[Laughter] Why don't you tell us about the cookies?

I have almond biscotti, and one of them I dipped in some tempered chocolate, and I have pignoli nut cookie, and a butter ball cookie.

Dan... [Laughter] Mm mm mm.

We have had so many delicious traditions here at the table.

For Christmas, honestly, there is no better way to end on the sweet note but with the perfection of all of these flavors.

You hear people say, "There's always room for dessert," right, and when they taste like this, there's always room for dessert.

Thank you, Chef.

Graham: So I know that you killed two food processors today, and they died for a worthy cause.

They were martyrs in the kitchen because these cookies are fantastic.

Thank you, Chef.

Alejandra: Thank you all for sharing so much of yourselves and your unique family traditions with us today.

We wish all of you could stay with us, but sadly, one cook will be going home tonight.

♪ Your dishes today proved why the 6 of you have made it this far.

[Laughter] Today was a true celebration of holiday traditions.

We're gonna have a really tough time sending any of you home.

OK, judges.

What recipes stood out for you?

♪ Leah: Dan, your Christmas cookies were delicious... Dan: Thank you.

Ha ha ha!

and I want to eat Christmas cookies like that every year.

Tiffany: Another one of our favorites was Foo.

We loved your squid and mango salad.

Thank you.

Tiffany: You have been taking our critiques and listening and turning them into your own.

Thank you, Chef.

Alejandra: There were so many delicious recipes, but we all agree the most successful dish was... ♪ Foo with your squid and mango salad.

Graham: Absolutely.

Thank you.

Tiffany: It is something that I think would be lovely at every Christmas table.

Thank you.

Foo, voice-over: My squid salad, it's one of those dishes that I'm very proud of.

It's a dish that resembles my family, so I'm happy to hear the judges enjoyed it, and it gives me the confidence to move forward to the next challenge.

Alejandra: Unfortunately, there were a couple recipes that were not as successful.

♪ Tony, we love that you showed us your shish kebabs that you do, but there were two hours, and we wish we could've seen just a little bit more from you because we know that you have some amazing flavor profiles.

Tony, voice-over: It's a real big bummer, facing the reality that the judges were probably gonna call my name in the bottom two.

This could be it.

Graham: The other dish that just wasn't quite up to the level, Robin, we love that you have been stepping it up and really going after some big flavors, but, however, the kibbeh itself was dry and needed less time in the oven.

Robin, voice-over: It's wrong.

What can I say?

The kibbeh is wrong.

Messing up the one dish we've made ever since I was born, there's a good chance I'm going home.

That means, Robin or Tony, one of you will be leaving us.

This was extremely hard for us, and we don't want to see any of you go, but the judges have made their decision, and sadly, Tony, you'll be heading back to your home kitchen tonight.

♪ It's OK, guys.

That's all right.

♪ Tony, voice-over: You know, I'm bummed that I'm leaving.

I've had these highs, I've had these lows, but also, I feel very proud that I was able to share my story.

Tiffany: Tony, it's just been wonderful to experience your traditions and your culture and so much love that we see exuding from you.

Thank you very much, chefs, judges.

I'm just so glad I'm able to share my story, and, honestly, being amongst these home cooks, it's just been a dream come true.

Speaking of dreams, I know our first day, we talked about you wanting to be in a kitchen.

I think that you should definitely follow that.

You got some great skills, and like to see where you end up.

Thank you very much, Graham.

I really appreciate that.

Tony, thank you for sharing your recipes with us.

We have loved getting to know you better through your food.

It was wonderful to have you here with us.

Tony, voice-over: I'm disappointed, but I'm very appreciative of the experience that I've had so far, the friendships that I've made.

Learning from these other home cooks and competitors and also learning from the judges, it's given me more confidence.

This experience has changed me for the better, so I'm very thankful for it.

Robin, voice-over: I feel relieved that I'm not the one going home, but I'm also feeling sad for Tony.

He's our youngest cook in the kitchen, so my heart as a mother kind of goes for him.

This week was all about honoring the way that food is at the heart of every special celebration in our lives.

Thank you for sharing your stories, your recipes, and your talents with us.

We will see you back here next week for the next "Great American Recipe."

♪ Next time on "The Great American Recipe"...

This week, we're gonna mix it up a little bit.

I know.aid.

♪ Robin: I don't know how to do Asian food.

Dan: Love empanadas, just not mine.

Leah: I know you didn't create this dish, but you recreated it very well.

Alejandra: This round, we want to see the melting pot of flavors from your individual food story.

Foo, voice-over: This dish represents where I came from and where I'm at now.

This is wild!

[Pencil scratches] [Pencil scratching]