Defining Firsts and Family

Alejandra Ramos: Tonight on "The Great American Recipe"... We're gonna find out which 3 of you are gonna move on to the finale for a chance to be named the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Hoo!

Doug, voice-over: I am up against a lot of great home cooks.

Down the home stretch.

Mae, voice-over: This has changed my whole way of thinking and cooking.

Jon, voice-over: I'm honoring my grandmothers and my family, and that's really the most important thing to me right now.

You're cooking for Dad today.

I am cooking for Dad.

Dad's spaghetti.

Ramos: I know this is the moment you've been waiting for during these past 7 weeks.

Welcome back to "The Great American Recipe"!

♪ ♪ Adjo: Here we go.

Doug: Another big week.

Adjo: Guys, This is the last week we get to cook together.

Doug, voice-over: We're heading into week 7, and there are only two challenges left before the finalists are gonna be announced, and some of us will be going home after this week, so there's definitely a bittersweet feeling.

We've become such a family, but, you know, it is anybody's ball game.

Ramos: Hey, everyone!

Doug: Good morning.

Come on in!

Hey.

What's up?

Hollingsworth: Good morning.

Ramos: Another fun week.

Ha ha ha!

Welcome back to "The Great American Recipe."

Please join me once again in welcoming your incredible group of judges-- Tim Hollingsworth... Hi!

Good morning, everyone.

Francis Lam...

Morning.

and everyone's favorite Texan Tiffany Derry.

Hey, y'all!

This is the last week of competition before the finale.

Can you believe it?

Whoo-hoo!

Jon: Yes!

Yes!

Lam: Last week, we did throw you a curve ball with that recipe swap round, challenging you to cook a dish from a new friend, one of your fellow home cooks, and then you paid homage to another special friend in your life by cooking one of their recipes, and this week, we're gonna find out which 3 of you are gonna move on to the finale for a chance to be named the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Adjo: Yeah!

Kim: All right.

Ramos: This week, we want to focus on the story of your evolution as a home cook.

For this first round, you'll have 60 minutes to prepare a recipe that opened your eyes to new flavors and cuisines.

Whether it be from a person in your life, a place you've traveled to, or even a restaurant you've visited, we want you to make us your version of a dish you discovered.

As always, your dishes will be judged on taste, execution, presentation, and how well you did with the theme.

Ramos: We can't wait to taste your dish discoveries.

Your 60 minutes... starts now!

[Cheering] Let's make some rice.

♪ Ramos: We asked the cooks to prepare for us a dish they discovered somewhere, something they fell in love with.

What are you looking to see from them this round?

Lam: Discovery is such an interesting word because we think of it as, like, you found something, but, you know, most of the time, those things were already there.

Derry: Yeah, yeah.

It's about how did you open your eyes to it, and how did that help you open your eyes to other things?

Derry: Sure, and everyone's fighting for the finale right now, and so I want to see all of those small things we've been talking about because details are gonna add up.

I love seeing it when they start to soar, not just because the food is fantastic, but because they are able to tell their stories.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

♪ Hour.

Marcella: You know I'm out of my comfort zone when I'm measuring.

For this round, I'm making carne asada street tacos.

I went to Mexico for my honeymoon, and my husband and I took a private ATV tour, and one of the stops on the tour was the tour guide's grandmother's farmhouse, and she made us these tacos, and when we took that first bite, it was like... our heads exploded.

This particular dish involves both a dry rub and a wet rub.

When I had this taco, it changed me.

I think I could do the corn now.

While the meat is marinating, I make roasted corn.

This is gonna pop like popcorn.

Ooh!

Ha!

♪ Jon: ♪ Una mas, una mas ♪ Last week, I won both rounds.

Lam: Jon the taste was wonderful, the textures were great.

Appreciate it.

Jon, your chile relleno was delicious.

The ranchero sauce had spice.

It was really, really incredible.

Thank you so much.

And now I feel like there's a chance to get into the finale.

Confidence is an 8.5.

I'm making a shrimp Palermo with fettuccine in a cream sauce.

It's a combination of some Italian flavors and some Cajun flavors, so it's a little bit spicy.

Shrimp Palermo is a creamy pasta with shrimp and sausage.

I learned this recipe at an Italian restaurant I was working at.

It was completely counter to my cultural background, but it's got some amazing flavors.

It's got a little bit of kick.

Derry: Jon, what did you just add in that pot?

Garlic to roast and some of the Creole seasoning.

It's ultimately gonna be more of a cream sauce when I'm done.

OK.

Sounds good.

And habanero, by the way.

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Thank you, thank you, Adjo.

I got you.

[Laughter] Just a small amount of ginger today.

For this round, I'm making panang curry.

Panang curry is a Thai dish that's made with Thai curry paste, basil leaves, and I'm using shrimp as my protein of choice.

I learned how to make it from a friend of mine.

They had a dinner party one time and had some panang curry.

The flavors were just so amazing and different.

And I loved it so much that I asked them to teach me how to make it.

I'm using curry paste to get all of the spices and all of the ginger and the garlic, and then I'm adding coconut cream and coconut milk to give it that thickness.

Ooh!

We're getting there.

Adjo, voice-over: I'm also cooking some green beans, red bell pepper, and onion.

Doesn't it smell so good?

I love panang curry.

Adjo, voice-over: Panang curry typically calls for peanuts, and last week, Mae had fried peanuts that the judges loved, so I'm making some.

She said you got to constantly swirl it so it doesn't get too dark.

Adjo, voice-over: The peanut taste is something that I don't typically do, yet I absolutely love it.

I think this is good.

My bestie Mae.

♪ Ooh!

Ooh!

OK.

I got to get these in the oil so that they stop giving me all their vapors.

Doug, voice-over: So it's the last week before the finalists are gonna be announced, and I am up against a lot of great home cooks.

I know I need to bring it like I do every week, so I just have to keep my focus.

Hi, Doug!

Hi, Tiffany.

What are you making?

I am making some Thai-inspired lettuce wraps, and the star here really is this fish sauce with lots of lime juice, some brown sugar, shallots, and garlic.

I learned it from my friend Jamie, who prepared us Thai food.

Jamie's married to Paul.

Paul has Thai roots, and they invited us over to their house.

Doug, voice-over: These flavors, they were so unusual and so foreign to me that it sort of broke some barriers for me.

We had this salad that was just phenomenal, and the dressing was this sauce, but really the undiscovered flavor for me was the fish sauce.

I love fish sauce.

Yeah.

I had never purchased fish sauce before.

I will say make sure that it's pungent enough...

Right, right, right.

so when you're eating everything together, the rice doesn't tone it down.

Down.

What's the purpose here?

Are you steaming it, sauteing it?

I'm sauteing these chicken thighs till they're fully cooked.

I like getting a little bit of that brown.

Yeah.

You're doing the fancy toss.

This is why you get paid the big bucks.

Thank you.

Yes.

Of course.

It's such an honor to have you taste my food.

Amazing.

Oh, no.

The pleasure is all ours.

Thank you so much, Doug.

Thank you, thank you, Tiffany.

♪ I'm gonna get my grits going.

I am going to make shrimp and grits with a fried egg on top.

It's a dish that has changed my life, and I thought it was just the most delicious thing I'd ever had.

My husband and I visited South Carolina and Georgia.

I had cheesy grits one morning, and I was like, "What are these amazing things?"

And I really loved them.

Kim, voice-over: The first thing I do is start my grits.

I'm getting milk, chicken bouillon, and salt boiling, and then I'm gonna add my grits and let them go for about 20 minutes.

I want my grits to be creamy.

Alaskan sausage is one of my favorite items to use.

It infuses the nice smoky flavor, which I'm super excited about because that's my own spin.

Ramos: Shrimp and grits is a hearty dish, and I think Kim does hearty, well.

Yeah, she does do hearty well, but I see her cooking the shrimp right now, and it's a little early to be cooking the shrimp.

Lam: It's very early.

Derry: You know.

Home cooks love to cook shrimp, but it's also very easy to overcook.

It's like everybody thinks it's super easy, but it actually is a little bit more complicated.

Derry: Yeah.

I think sometimes they think, "Oh, I'll parcook it," and that parcook is already cooked when it comes to shrimp.

Kim, voice-over: There's a narrow window where shrimp can become perfectly done, and I have to be really careful to not overcook it.

Derry: Don't overcook my shrimp.

No, I'm not going to.

♪ A lot of chopping in this dish.

For this round I am going to make lamb curry Jaffna style.

It has more chili flavor in it.

I'm Cantonese.

My cooking has always been mild, delicate.

According to my husband's friends, no flavor, which is not true.

My husband's from Sri Lanka.

They put a lot of chilies because that's their palate.

This has changed my whole way of thinking in cooking.

Mae, voice-over: When I married him, I discovered the world of making curries, so that is what I'm going to cook.

To make my lamb dish, I add the Jaffna curry powder in the pot along with the spices and the lemongrass and the curry leaves and add the lamb before it goes in the pressure cooker.

45 minutes, everyone.

45 minutes.

OK. ♪ We got to get crack-a-lacking on these.

Tim, voice-over: For this round, I'm making a pan-seared duck breast with a sun-dried tomato polenta, as well as some maple glazed carrots.

So the first thing that I need to do is get my duck breast scored.

That is done to just make the fat render a little more evenly.

This dish kind of put me out of my comfort zone.

I started a new job, and my boss took us out to dinner.

He says, "You got to try the duck."

Here I am in a new city, starting a career and trying to impress my boss.

I ordered the duck.

It was different than any other type of protein I'd had at that time, and I just kind of fell in love with it.

Any of my friends know if we go out to dinner and there's duck on the menu, Tim's gonna order it.

It became one of my favorite dishes.

Tim, voice-over: After my duck breast is scored, I'm gonna go ahead and start on my polenta.

We'll add some cheese, a little bit of cream to it.

Tim, voice-over: I'm gonna use chicken stock, sun-dried tomato, and a little bit of parmesan.

Just a little bit.

Not too much.

It's a big pot of polenta, so we should be OK. ♪ 30 minutes left.

OK!

Marcella: Hey, Jon.

Which one's hotter-- chili powder or chipotle chili pepper?

Chipotle chili pepper.

I want a little kick here... and I don't want to overcrowd my skillet.

Marcella, voice-over: My strategy to make it to the finale is really paying close attention to the details.

Before this competition, I would have thrown all the meat in there at once and not think twice, but I'm learning, and one of the things I remember the chefs saying was don't overcrowd your meat.

♪ Tim, voice-over: Got my polenta started.

My carrots are in the oven.

I'm gonna go ahead and start cooking the duck breast.

It's got some nice color on it.

Oh, yeah.

I'm kind of turning them more than I would, because I want to make sure they're cooked evenly.

♪ Tim, you're sweating over here.

I am, sir.

How are you doing?

I'm doing good.

I'm doing good.

Beautiful, beautiful.

You have the duck breasts in here?

Yeah, I do.

I started them off two skillets, searing them.

I would recommend just making sure that the skin is nice and crispy.

Yeah.

What temperature are you going for on the duck?

I'm going for just above a medium rare.

Yeah.

That's nice.

I would recommend checking the consistency on everything, so making sure that that polenta is all the way cooked out.

I added some sun-dried tomatoes.

Uh-huh.

I also put a little bit of parm in there.

♪ I think it's got a great consistency.

Mascarpone goes great with polenta.

It helps, like, give that, like, fattiness, rich texture.

Parmesan is great, but I always do, like, a little parmesan and mascarpone combination.

OK. Not a problem.

I'm gonna check my pantry.

Definitely.

Thank you, chef.

All right.

Good luck.

Back to the polenta.

Oh, yeah, nice.

Adjo: OK, home cooks.

We have 20 minutes!

20 minutes.

Thank you, Adjo!

Jon, voice-over: I'm gonna start my pasta, but you don't want it to overcook.

You don't want it too firm.

Time management with pasta is crucial.

Hey, Jon.

Sir!

Can I do one thing for you right now?

Yes, sir.

Move the pasta.

The reason why you want to move the pasta right when you put it in is all the starch on the outside of the pasta starts to gel when it hits hot water, and gelled starch is essentially glue.

I really appreciate that, judge.

I'm gonna salt this now and put the shrimp at the end.

Yeah.

You got a lot of stuff going on.

I'm sort of competing with myself I recognize throughout all these cooks.

I like what you're saying about competing against yourself because you had such a great week last week... Yeah.

and your chiles rellenos were just fantastic.

Oh!

Thank you for that.

All right.

Well, it's looking great.

Thank you.

Don't overcook your shrimp.

I'm not.

I'm waiting till the end.

Good luck.

10 minutes left.

Ooh.

OK. 10 minutes.

All right.

Good thing I put two extra there.

I'm gonna add my shrimp.

Adjo, voice-over: Last week, I served the judges overcooked shrimp.

I feel like the shrimp and the pasta are a little bit overcooked, but overall, it's a beautiful dish.

Well, thank you.

No overcooked shrimp this week.

We cannot have it.

Lower my heat so my shrimp doesn't overcook.

♪ Kim, voice-over: I check my shrimp for doneness.

I really want my shrimp to be perfectly cooked.

Oh!

So I do have kind of a fail right now.

I did overcook my shrimp.

Previous competitors have been dinged for overcooked shrimp.

I definitely wanted shrimp in the shrimp and grits.

I'm just gonna have to go without them.

Maybe no one will notice there's no shrimp.

Kim, voice-over: So now my shrimp and grits is Alaska sausage and grits with a fried egg on top.

I'm gonna try to make everything else really, really, really, really good.

The dish is shrimp and grits, so that's a pivot.

Lam: Grits and grits?

Shrimpless grits.

Well, if it's not cooked properly, I mean, she's making the right decision at the end of the day.

Kim, voice-over: Right now, there's a little pressure for the grits to be perfect, so I pop over to Tim, who I know is a grits expert.

Tell me what the consistency is.

I think it's a good consistency.

I would just keep adding some stuff to it and keep cooking it down... OK. but not too much.

Here.

No.

I'm gonna keep this.

Ha ha ha!

Ramos: Bust a move, guys!

Less than 4 minutes left.

No.

Ooh.

Jon, have you even cooked your shrimp yet?

Jon: Now!

Now's the perfect time.

Thank you, sir.

Some shrimp go into the sauce, but I'm gonna save some to top the pasta.

Derry: Whoo!

Hollingsworth: Look at this guy.

Multitasking.

I love it, Jon.

Derry: Confidence, baby!

Ha ha ha!

Get it, Jon!

One minute left.

This is it.

Finishing touches now.

Adjo: Copy that.

Uh-oh.

The plating part of this is, like, extremely time-consuming.

Everything went right with the eggs except that guy.

That guy broke.

I want them to think this is something they got from a fancy restaurant, not just a kitchen in a barn.

Putting the chicken at the base of the leaf to sort of encourage them to build their own lettuce wraps.

Ramos: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Time's up!

Time's up!

♪ [Buzz] ♪ You had 60 minutes to make us a dish you discovered from a different flavor profile, culture, or cuisine.

Marcella, come and join us.

Marcella: I made for you today carne asada street tacos.

I discovered this dish on my honeymoon.

It was just the most mind-blowing dish I'd ever had.

Oh!

Derry: Marcella, the steak is delicious.

Lots of flavor and tender.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

I really like the buttery roasted corn.

It takes a little bit of that, like, sharp, pungent bite off of the onion.

Overall, it's an extremely delicious dish.

Thank you.

Jon.

Jon: So I made a shrimp Palermo with fettuccine in a cream sauce.

It's got some Cajun influences, and the combinations of things were sort of new to me.

Lam: It is packed with flavor, perfectly seasoned.

The shrimp is really well cooked.

You taste the heat.

It's very tasty, but some of the pasta ended up being really stuck together.

Jon: Yeah.

And when it's stuck together, then it's twice as thick...

Yes.

so that's gonna be undercooked.

OK. Yeah.

In terms of execution, the shrimp is very nicely cooked.

It's where it's supposed to be, and it's seasoned.

Thank you so much for that.

Thank you so much.

Ramos: Adjo.

Adjo: Today, I made for you guys panang curry with shrimp, and what I really love about this dish is all the flavors and the boldness because that's just how African food is.

Adjo, this is a beautiful dish.

It is flavorful.

It's got a little spice.

Everything is just creating a really nice, luscious flavor, and it's quite delicious, but the shrimp is a little overcooked.

Lam: Yeah, I agree, but my first bite had one of the fried peanuts in it, and it totally made the bite, the richness, the crunch.

It was really nicely done.

Thank you.

Ramos: Kim.

Kim: Hello.

Hello there.

Kim: So my intention was to make you shrimp and grits, but I overcooked my shrimp, and so what I ended up with is an Alaska sausage and grits with a fried egg on top.

That sounds like a delicious breakfast.

Yes!

Ha ha ha!

Lam: Kim, I know you were bummed out about not serving the shrimp, but this is plenty tasty without it.

It's a rich, thick sauce.

You have this, like, fatty gravy with the fatty sausage to go with this nice, big pile of grits.

That makes me happy.

OK.

Thank you.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

I think the grits are cooked really, really nicely.

It has a nice, creamy texture.

In Alaska, you cook hearty is what I'm gonna take away from this competition.

[Laughter] Ramos: Tim.

Today, I've made for you a pan-seared duck breast over some sun-dried tomato polenta, and this is the dish that opened my eyes to, like, different flavors, different tastes.

Hollingsworth: Tim, great job here.

You are in your wheelhouse a little bit with the grits but pushing the envelope a little bit with turning them into polenta.

One thing that I noticed on the duck, you don't ultimately have really crispy skin, but you put a lot of flavor in there.

Thank you, sir.

Derry: So the one thing I will echo with the duck, you've taken the time to get the skin really crispy.

Then you put the lid.

What does the lid do?

Trap in moisture.

So now the skin is losing its crispness, but I think this is still very good.

Ramos: Thank you so much, Tim.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Derry: Thank you.

Ramos: Doug.

♪ Today, I prepared for you a Thai-inspired plate of lettuce wraps, but really, the star of the plate is this sauce.

It's a Thai sauce that I had at a friend's house.

Derry: I think the lettuce wraps was a good idea.

I like the chicken.

The flavor on the chicken is the same sauce here.

It is bright.

It's got some sourness.

It's got some funk in a very good kind of way, right, but I want more herb.

Lam: Yeah, I agree, and one of the things I really love about Thai food.

They always think about some form of balance.

Here, I'm missing a sweetness to balance it out, but the sauce is very savory.

I think this is delicious.

Thank you so much, Francis.

Ramos: Mae.

♪ Mae: Bestie.

[Laughter] Hello, judges.

This is a lamb curry Jaffna style.

When I married my husband, he opened a whole new world for me because he's from Sri Lanka, and I couldn't believe how fabulous their food was.

I really like the flavor of this curry.

I think it's super delicious.

I like the fact that you used lamb shank.

So tender.

I think that it's a really nice, balanced dish.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Derry: I agree.

I think the dish is tasty, and I really like the way you really implement the curry leaves and all the different flavor that you have into this dish.

Thank you.

That's music to my ears.

Thank you so much, Mae.

Thank you, judges.

I think I nailed it, so I'm hoping that it was enough to get into the finale.

♪ Ramos: In the last round, we challenged you to create a dish from a recipe you discovered.

Judges, whose recipes came out on top for you?

Our first favorite dish of the round was... ♪ Marcella's.

[Cheering and laughter] Marcella, your carne asada tacos were delicious.

The steak was nice and tender, and that sweet corn was really nice and balanced.

Great job!

Thank you!

Marcella, voice-over: I'm so excited that I won this round because I've been working on perfecting this dish for 17 years, and finally, I think I did it.

Derry: Our next favorite dish of the round was... Adjo!

Oh!

I thought that shrimp did it.

Well, I'll tell you what.

The flavor of the sauce itself was rich, and it had some punch, and when you ate it with the peanut, it was just a lovely bite, and because of that, we could get over the shrimp.

Thank you so much.

This definitely helps my confidence going into round two.

Ramos: Well done, cooks.

We are excited to see what you're gonna do in the next round, which is the very last round before the finale.

Yeah.

Ooh.

I know.

We're there.

♪ In the last round, we challenged you to create a dish from a recipe you discovered.

This round, we want you to prepare a dish you know so well that it's part of your recipe DNA.

Hollingsworth: And as always, you'll be judged on taste, execution, and how well you achieved today's theme.

Ramos: You'll have 60 minutes to complete this round.

This is the very last chance you'll have to impress the judges and earn your spot in the "Great American Recipe" finale, and all of your dishes will be considered along with the ones you make in this round, and remember, we'll be announcing the 3 home cooks who will move on to the finale.

[Cheering] OK, home cooks.

Your 60 minutes starts now.

[Cheering] Let's do it!

Let's do it!

Mashed potatoes!

♪ Ramos: We ask the cooks to prepare a recipe that's part of your DNA, but also this is their last chance to impress you.

They've got to bring it, right?

This is the moment.

Hollingsworth: Yeah.

I think the dish itself should be extremely well-executed.

If you say that this represents me, I'm assuming you've made it many times.

Yeah.

At this moment in the competition, there's been a lot of sort of ups and downs and in-betweens, and so it could very well be anyone making it to the finale.

Yeah.

100%.

Doug: All right.

Come on, come on, come on!

Down the home stretch.

Doug, voice-over: For this round, I'm making a dish that we call hamburgers in sauce with sour cream smashed potatoes.

Almost done with our potatoes.

Doug, voice-over: The hamburgers in sauce recipe has been in my family for a really long time, and it really represents such a core childhood memory.

Let's get this on high.

While the potatoes are boiling, I get to making the burger mixture.

These burgers are a little bit different because I dredge them through flour.

It's sort of a technique from a German recipe called Frikadellen, so it has almost, like, a crust to it.

I want nice, little sliders, and I want to make sure I make enough for the judges to all have at least two.

Little baby burgers.

This is really my last chance to make it into the finale.

These flavors tell the story of my family, my heritage on the farm, and I'm hoping that it sets me apart from my competition.

Make a little room.

Make a little room.

All right.

Thank you guys for coming.

♪ Baking powder.

Jon, voice-over: We've got one more round to go before they select the finalists, and I really want and hope to be in.

For the recipe DNA challenge, I'm making abuelita food, which is my favorite recipes from my grandmothers-- beans, sopita, which is a Mexican pasta, picadillo, and the flour tortillas that are served with it.

I'm finishing up the first step of my grandmother's flour tortillas.

It's got flour, some garlic powder, and shortening.

Tortillas were something that didn't matter what time of day that you walked into my grandmother Angelina's house, she would start making tortillas.

She didn't ask you if you wanted any.

It was just gonna happen.

So I'm honoring my grandmothers and my family, and that's really the most important thing to me right now.

For my picadillo, which is seasoned ground beef with some diced potatoes, I add smoked paprika, cumin, and I added a little bit of diced jalapeños because the judges love spice.

I feel good about this.

This is for my grandmas.

♪ Kim: This is the color of wild meat.

Kim, voice-over: I feel confident in my Alaskan-style cooking because the judges have loved it.

Your Alaskan seafood chowder really, really represented your region, Using all the amazing seafood that you have around you.

And the moose burger for me, I think it's great.

Thank you so much.

Kim voice-over: I want to make Alaska proud and be in the finale.

I'm going to make my Dad's spaghetti with moose meatballs stuffed with mozzarella.

I start my sauce first.

It is mushrooms, onions, garlic, and some canned tomatoes.

Hey, Kim.

Hello.

What is this?

Gonna have some stuffed moose meatballs.

What are you stuffing it with?

Mozzarella.

Nice.

Did you season it?

I did.

I used a little bit of a seasoning mix that I like to use and then just a little-- Oh, you're not gonna tell me about it?

A little secret seasoning.

Shh!

Family secrets, right?

That's OK, that's OK.

I have secrets, too.

Yeah, yeah.

This is just a meal that we make for my dad.

It's his favorite thing to eat in the world.

And why is that?

Because he didn't grow up with much, and so whenever they got moose, my grandma would make spaghetti, and it's always been his favorite just because of that.

What do you think?

I think it's great.

I think, um, obviously it needs time... Yeah.

and reduce down, and I think, uh, even the addition of the meat and the fat coming out of that going into the sauce, I think, is gonna be delicious.

OK. You know what, Kim?

I really want you to represent your family with this dish.

I love the story behind it.

You're cooking for Dad today.

I am cooking for Dad.

Dad's spaghetti.

Good luck.

Thank you.

♪ ♪ Ahh ♪ Marcella, what do you got there?

A cucuzz.

Derry and Ramos: Ahh!

Oh, my goodness!

I'm the cucuzza queen.

Jon: A cucuzza queen!

This is the dish I've been waiting for.

This is my moment.

I'm so happy right now.

Marcella, voice-over: I am making the almighty cucuzza stew.

It is my absolute favorite food on planet Earth.

Sicilians take such tremendous pride in their garden, and this is a trophy piece in a garden.

Marcella, voice-over: This dish has been in my family ever since the dawn of time.

A cucuzza, otherwise known as the Italian snake squash, is like the national vegetable of the island of Sicily.

Oh, boy.

I found a seed.

This dish does not have a ton of ingredients.

It's essentially extra virgin olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, a potato or two, and some spaghetti that's been broken up.

Oh!

It's boiling.

Thank you, God!

♪ Mae: This is the fermented beans.

It smells awful.

It's very pungent, but it's quite delicious.

I'm making fermented black beans with chicken and broccoli with white rice.

This is an old family recipe, and we make it all the time at home.

I marinate the chicken with soy sauce, fermented black beans, and ginger.

And the fermented beans adds a special flavor for it.

This is a Cantonese dish, and it's delicious.

Every time I went home when I was in college, my mom would make this dish for me, and I still make this whenever I want to feel the taste of home, my childhood.

I probably don't need to blanch.

I'm trying to get into the finale, and this is the way authentically I usually eat this dish.

It's definitely part of my DNA.

[Sizzling] Good, good, good.

Ooh!

Very hot, very hot.

♪ Now for some venison.

Tim, voice-over: This round's theme is something that's a part of your DNA, so I'm gonna make bacon-wrapped venison meatloaf with a sriracha ketchup glaze.

This is my mother's recipe with a couple of my own add-ons.

My mom always made her meatloaf just kind of like the typical way--ground beef, onions, lots of seasonings, lots of pepper.

Just made it real savory.

Venison is my DNA I've added to it.

I started hunting.

Hunting is not something I grew up doing.

The thing about venison is it's very lean.

If you don't add any fat to it, it can be very easily dried out, but that's why I incorporated the bacon wrap.

I really want to be in the finale, and I think I have a very good chance, but most importantly, I'm glad that I'm taking a moment to honor and recognize my mother.

They're looking good.

They're looking good.

♪ Hollingsworth: Okra.

I see some okra.

Derry: Adjo, what you working on?

I am making Togolese okra stew with akume, which is like a paste made out of maize that you use to eat the stew.

This is something that's very specific to West Africa, the way we make it.

Adjo, voice-over: Everybody is making okra.

In the marketplace, you're buying okra.

Your mom makes okra, your grandma makes okra, your aunties make okra, you make okra.

It's the DNA of my home country.

♪ However, I'm worried that the judges might not like it because okra is a very slimy vegetable, and not everybody likes that texture, but the worst thing would be going home without presenting it.

Okra stew has fish and shrimp and beef, so I need to marinate my beef and shrimp in curry, ginger, and garlic until the shrimp goes in last minute, and I've learned my lesson-- don't overcook shrimp.

I think it's gonna be OK. Derry: Adjo, are we gonna get fufu again?

No, it's not fufu, it's akume.

Derry: Akume.

Adjo, voice-over: Akume is kind of like fufu in the way we make it.

However, it's made with corn flour.

A lot of arm strength, a lot of technique.

♪ Oh, my God.

Marcella, voice-over: I feel really, really good about this dish...

It's amazing.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Marcella voice-over: because every time I make cucuzza, I'm a winner.

Hey, Marcella.

Hey.

I wonder what happened to the rest of the cucuzz.

Oh, I put it all in there.

Are you kidding?

Oh, I'm not--no.

Are you serious?

We don't waste cucuzz.

No, no, no, my friend.

It's all in here.

They don't call me the cucuzza queen for nothing.

How would you describe the taste?

People ask me all the time, "Well, what is it?"

To me, it's almost like the halfway point between a cucumber and a zucchini.

A zucchini.

Right.

Yeah.

So, like, right now, it still has that, like, very fresh--does it keep that feeling?

Yeah.

It's not crisp, but like a freshness.

Well, it depends.

Like, I'm gonna add some pasta to it.

This is how we measure pasta where I'm from.

How many people?

1, 2... Ha ha!

This is fideo.

Yes.

And that's what you would use?

Yeah.

OK.

So this is like a-- basically like a broken spaghetti.

Spaghetti broken up.

Yeah.

This is the only time it's OK to break spaghetti.

And so the point is not to make that al dente, but it's like a chicken noodle soup kind of thing.

Right.

Exactly.

It doesn't matter.

It could sit there.

I can't wait to taste it in its finished form.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

♪ [Sizzling] ♪ Thank you.

OK.

This is nice.

Got a little bubble going on.

Doug, voice-over: As the burgers are cooking, I start to focus on the sauce.

I need a half cup of chili sauce.

This sauce is spicy, it's tangy, it's kind of sweet, and it's kind of like a Sauerbraten recipe, which is a sweet and sour gravy.

♪ My mother is right.

It needs more sugar.

Doug, voice-over: I am so proud of this dish because it really represents the food that I grew up with, and I love the flavors.

I hope the judges do, too.

I'm gonna start dropping burgers into the sauce.

Derry: You have 10 minutes left!

Ugh!

Mae, voice-over: My chicken and broccoli are cooking.

I add some cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce.

Probably needs a little more salt.

I don't want to put too much in.

Mae, voice-over: At home, I don't salt my food that much, but here, I need to impress the judges, so everything has to be perfectly in balance.

Tim?

Yes.

Is it salty enough?

I think it could use a little bit of salt.

OK, a little bit.

These cooks came in as home cooks who pretty much only ever cook for their family, their friends, and with your mentorship, they're growing into such sophisticated cooks, and it's just really incredible to see.

Derry: Yeah.

I mean, it's great to see them really applying the techniques and skills we've talked about.

Also, they're learning from each other.

Lam: Yeah, totally, 100%.

That's great!

I'm putting my ketchup sriracha glaze on these.

Ramos: How's it looking, Tim?

That meatloaf ready?

Tim: Yeah.

I'm just making sure that bacon is nice and crispy for you.

OK.

Perfect.

Thank you.

There you go, Tim.

Jon: Come on, baby.

One of the most important elements of this dish is a beautiful, warm flour tortilla.

It's just delicious.

♪ Just one more to go ♪ 3 minutes, everyone!

Ooh!

3 minutes.

More shrimp.

The third time is the charm.

Adjo, voice-over: Being the last week before the finale.

everything is riding on this dish.

I need it to be perfect.

I'm gonna add some of my palm oil, season to taste.

I'm gonna let it cook for a minute, and then I'm gonna turn off the heat because we don't want to have overcooked shrimp today.

Derry: One minute!

Get it on the plate!

Make sure it looks great.

I just want to get them the perfect burger, and I want a little bit more of the sauce.

♪ Kim: Meatballs are not listening.

Ramos: 30 seconds!

Doug: ♪ 30 seconds ♪ ♪ Ramos: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Time's up!

[Cheering] That's it.

My goodness!

Meatloaf.

♪ Ramos: For the second round, we asked you to make us your family's most prized recipe.

Tim, come join us.

♪ Judges, we have a bacon-wrapped venison meatloaf with a sriracha ketchup glaze.

Lam: Tim, I have a problem with this dish.

Ramos: Uh-oh.

Derry: Ha ha ha!

Yes, sir.

I mean, I literally have a problem with the dish because the plate is too small, dawg.

[Laughter] That is about the only problem I have with it.

The meatloaf is delicious, and I love that I taste venison in this.

Derry: I agree.

The flavor on this venison meatloaf is so good.

We love the bacon, we love the glaze.

The only thing was on the very bottom, the bacon wasn't as crisp.

So I would have loved for you to turn it over and get it crispy like that one side, but overall I continue to get great food from you.

Ramos: Thank you so much, Tim.

Thank you all.

Thank you all very, very much.

Ramos: Doug.

Doug: Judges, what I've made for you is hamburgers in sauce with some sour cream smashed potatoes.

Hollingsworth: I tasted the sauce by itself, and it's pretty sweet, but if I eat it with a meat, it literally tastes like a hamburger.

Like, I know you call it that, but, like, all the spices and stuff like that, you know, it's not how I make a hamburger, but to me, it's a very American-flavored dish, and it's delicious.

Derry: Doug, I love the mashed potatoes.

It is very comforting, very homey, and, you know, it feels like I am on a farm eating country food that people have grown, and it is delicious.

Thank you so much.

Ramos: Jon.

Jon: I made a dish called abuelita food.

The reason it's called abuelita food is it's a love letter to all of the people that I love who've passed away.

Derry: Jon, the picadillo is very good.

The potatoes in it, it's tender.

It's got a little bit of spice but not spicy.

It's just flavor.

Lam: Yeah, I agree, and I don't know if you could have served this without making your own tortillas, and the fact that you pulled it all together is really a testament to your improving organization in the kitchen.

The only thing I would say, the tortillas, some were thinner, and some were thicker than others.

I don't know if that's part of the rustic style, but they ate pretty differently from one another from a technical point of view...

Yes.

but the flavor of it, I just love it.

Ramos: Thank you, Jon.

Thank you.

Ramos: Mae.

Mae: I made fermented black bean chicken with broccoli.

Growing up, Mom used to make it, so this is comfort food for me.

Mae, this is such a comforting and nostalgic flavor for me.

I love the flavor of the black bean.

My only thing is I want maybe a little bit more of it to give it a little more punch.

But the chicken was juicy, it was tender.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

The broccoli is perfectly cooked, and then I get down to the rice, and the rice is perfect.

You know, I think your food has been amazing throughout this whole journey, and thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you very much.

Ramos: Marcella.

Marcella: Ciao.

Ramos and judges: Ciao!

I made for you today a cucuzza stew, and I think on a very visceral level this vegetable exemplifies everything that is beautiful about that little, tiny island at the bottom of the boot.

Absolutely delicious.

I love the lightness from the broth.

I do think that it could have benefited from just a touch of maybe sea salt to just kind of perk it up even more.

Lam: Yeah, I agree, but I love the sweet taste of this broth.

It tastes a little bit like a squash.

It is simple but simple in the way that you can imagine a family being like, "This is what we're sharing with each other.

"This is my heart.

This is my heart food"... [Choked up] and you don't got to change it.

Thank you so much for sharing it.

Thank you so much.

Ramos: Kim, come and join us.

Kim: I made my Dad's spaghetti with mozzarella stuffed moose meatballs.

I can't imagine a world without him, so I plan on making it many, many, many more times.

Hollingsworth: Well, first of all, I think it looks great.

The mozzarella that you stuffed in there is, like--adds, like, a really nice, rich quality.

It helps kind of round out that gaminess from the moose and the meatball.

Lam: Yeah, it's funny, this is the second time you've served us moose, and in this one, I really taste the intensity of the moose flavor, and there's a real depth to the sauce.

The mushrooms help that umami, but, like, I didn't realize moose was, like, such an umami bomb.

I really enjoy it.

Ramos: Thank you so much, Kim.

Thank you.

Adjo, come and join us.

Adjo: So today, I've made okra stew with akume.

In Togolese culture, okra stew is literally the fabric.

This is not just my family's DNA.

This is literally my country's DNA, and if I were to leave this competition and go home and I didn't showcase this, I would never forgive myself.

So I'm just glad that I get this opportunity to put my country here.

Derry: Adjo, I think it is so flavorful.

It took me home in a really weird way.

I didn't grow up having this dish, but I grew up having stewed okra.

It shows that our dishes and the roots of a lot of our cooking comes from Africa, and so thank you so much.

It was so delicious.

Hollingsworth: You know, Adjo, every single bite is beautiful.

It all comes together in this rich, craveable just, like, homey, homey dish, but... ♪ I think that you nailed the shrimp cooking, as well.

[Cheering] The shrimp are cooked perfectly.

Whoo!

[Laughter] Finally!

Adjo, voice-over: I am very proud of myself for bringing this dish.

I don't know if I made it to the finale, but if they were to send me home right now, I would feel like I've done what I came here to do.

Thank you so much for sharing with us, Adjo.

[Hushed] Thank you.

♪ Thank you all for sharing these incredible dishes.

You really, really should feel so proud.

Please give us a moment so that the judges can discuss all the dishes you prepared over the past 7 weeks.

Thank you so much.

Tim: Thank you.

♪ Ramos: This is an important round for our home cooks.

3 of them will move on to the finale to compete for the title of winner of "The Great American Recipe."

At this point, it's an extremely tight race.

Let's talk about all of their journeys over the past 7 weeks.

I mean, Marcella came out of the gate swinging, and I feel like she's been in the top maybe more than any other of the home cooks.

Yeah.

We all agreed that the eggplant was done to perfection.

Your chicken piccata over couscous was such a beautiful dish.

Marcella, I think this soup is really, really tasty, and what really impresses me about it is the depth of flavor in the broth.

Thank you.

There's so many good cooks here.

Do you think Marcella deserves a spot in the finale?

Lam: I think she's definitely in the conversation for sure.

Tim's first win was in week 4.

We could see it coming.

Hollingsworth: Oh, yeah.

I mean, I've had a lot of grits.

I've never had anything like that.

Derry: It's the first time I've ever had this, and I'm like, "What is happening?

I didn't grow up with this!"

I wish I would have.

Lam: He pulled a double-double that day.

Ha!

He did!

He came on top in the first round, on top in the second round and won.

Your raspberry tartlets were phenomenal.

I would struggle to think of a bakery that would make a raspberry tartlet that I want more than that.

Thank you.

Thank you so much!

Wow!

Tim really impressed us and was never in the bottom.

Lam: Wow.

Yeah, he's definitely a strong contender.

Yeah.

Let's talk about Kim's journey.

You know, in week one, Kim came out on top with her Alaskan seafood chowder, which was itself a celebration of all of these proteins and flavors that are very unique to Alaska.

I really liked the sweetness of the corn with the smokiness of the sausage.

Ramos: I think this was a first time for all of us, right, having reindeer?

Derry: That's correct.

Yeah, first time.

But she came out on bottom with her strawberry rhubarb cupcakes.

The frosting is a little bit broken.

But the thing I love about what Kim has done through the course of this competition is the dishes come from all over.

I don't know that anyone else has really done that in this competition.

Adjo blew us away with her West African flavors and her Togolese recipes, and it landed her in the top 5 times.

I think the depth of flavor that you were able to achieve in such a short amount of time is really, really incredible.

Awesome.

Although all of her dishes have had a tremendous amount of flavor, there's been a few technical issues.

The overcooking on the shrimp twice.

Derry: Yeah, but the shrimp was cooked very well today.

I appreciate the effort, but sometimes, she struggled with the execution.

Lam: Adjo, there was so much to love about your dish, but the cook of the lamb needed a little tweak of not crowding the grill as much.

She was on the bottom 3 times, I think, but the high highs are real high.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, we had some amazing dishes from Mae in the very beginning.

Lam: This is a really terrific version of the Chinese chicken salad, and I totally see this as a dish that represents California.

Thank you.

Straight out the gate, Mae told us who she was.

Yeah.

Immediately, she's Mama Mae.

Derry: But she struggled with the Singapore noodles.

Lam: I think the noodles started to break a little bit on you.

The noodles are a bit shorter, and here I think they overcooked.

Yeah.

Mae was one of the home cooks who I think was a little bit up and down.

Yeah, but you can really just see the delicateness in her technique and in her flavor profile.

Lam: Yeah.

She is just a great cook.

Mm-hmm.

Jon's journey has been one of the most interesting of this competition.

In week two, he was in the bottom with esquites, the Mexican street corn.

The outside layer of the corn is just a little tough and chewy for me, but overall, it's a great dish.

I appreciate it, chef.

Ramos: But the following week he came through with that mojo de ajo and salmon dish.

That is a perfectly executed salmon, Jon.

Yeah!

Dish after dish, he's gotten better and better.

Derry: I agree.

It truly is a delight to have watched that journey, and the food is even tastier than it was before.

Does that mean you want to see him cook some more?

I'm not sure yet.

[Laughter] And I think with Doug, week one when he gave us the Pittsburgh pocket.

Derry: The back half of it was underbaked dough, but I like everything that you have in it.

Thank you so much.

But Doug won week 2 and week 3 with the farro salad and the lemon pasta.

You can tell Doug knows how to cook.

For sure.

Consistently, he's done OK, but he also struggled.

Yes, he has improved, but there are also a lot of people who have done better than him for a longer period of time.

Sure.

This is true.

Ramos: You know, I agree.

Everyone here had their own unique journey, but at the end of the day, they're all incredible cooks, right?

OK.

It does sound like you've come to a decision.

Derry: Let's do it.

Yeah.

All right.

Let's bring the cooks back in.

♪ Ramos: Welcome back, cooks.

I know this is the moment you've been waiting for during these past 7 weeks.

From the start of this journey until now, the judges have been considering each of your dishes.

It's time to announce the 3 home cooks who will be moving on to the big finale next week for their chance to be named the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Oh, gosh!

Hollingsworth: The first home cook to move on to the finale is... ♪ Adjo!

[Cheering] Adjo, voice-over: My heart is falling out of my chest.

Adjo, we have loved seeing you cook and introducing us to your West African flavors, and we really thank you for the fact that you've shared your ancestral history and your story about bringing that and celebrating it to where you live today.

I wanted to do this because I want people to know that... just because something is unfamiliar does not make it bad.

It just makes it different, and maybe if you give it a try, you might like it, too.

Absolutely.

So being here is just validation for that, and I'm just grateful to be the vessel, so thank you.

Thank you, Adjo.

The next home cook advancing to the finale is... ♪ Marcella!

[Cheering] Mae: I told you.

I'm going to the finale!

It's an honor just to be considered a finalist as one of the greatest home cooks in the United States.

I feel like it's such an honor to be able to represent my culture, my little island, my family.

I just want to make them proud.

Ramos: You've already made them proud.

Hollingsworth: Yeah.

You have produced some amazing dishes but not just your food-- your story.

The love you have for your family is something that shines so bright.

You truly show love through food, and to experience your food is to feel love.

Thank you.

You said it better than I could.

[Laughter] Lam: And the final home cook making it through to next week's finale is... ♪ Jon!

[Cheering] Doug: Yes!

Jon: Holy -- oh, sorry.

[Laughter] Jon, voice-over: I can't believe it.

To be honest with you, I didn't think I was gonna make it into the finale, so I am very proud that the judges started seeing that improvement and that commitment.

Lam: Jon, when we talked about the spirit and the heart of your cooking, you've done that certainly from the beginning, and the ambition of what you're trying to put on the plate week after week.

Making the tortillas today, it was just such a moving culmination of your growth and your journey here, and we can't wait to see what you do next week.

I feel privileged and honored because I'm a first-generation Mexican American, but it's about honoring your heritage and the people you love, and so I feel honored and privileged.

Thank you.

You should all feel so proud of yourselves.

Whether you're moving on to the finale or not, the 7 of you without a doubt demonstrated why you are some of the best home cooks in the country, and I think it's safe to say you've all made some lifelong friendships.

Doug: Yes, absolutely.

Doug, voice-over: Of course, going home is a little bittersweet, but I am truly so happy for my fellow cooks that made it to the finale.

I love that they're being able to share their food and the story around that for one more week.

Ramos: We'll be back next week to crown the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

[Cheering] Congratulations!

Good night!

Ha ha ha!

Doug: Thank you all.

Ramos: Thank you all.

Jon: Is this real?

Marcella: Yes.

It's not a dream.

Ramos: Next time on "The Great American Recipe"... We're just two rounds away from one of you walking out of here as the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Marcella: This is the culmination of a very emotional journey.

Jon: I want the judges to love my food the way my family loves my food.

Adjo: All I ever want to do is share African culture, but winning this would just be the cherry on top.

Ramos: The winner of "The Great American Recipe" is... ♪