Episode 1

Alejandra Ramos: This is "The Great American Recipe," a celebration of foods from across the country to around the globe...

This recipe has been in my Guyanese family for generations on end.

Alejandra: steeped in years of tradition... Man: We made it a point to rediscover those Greek recipes that I had as a kid, and make sure that we passed those down to our kids.

Oh, yeah.

Woman: Chicken soup is truly Jewish penicillin.

It will cure anything.

Alejandra: This season, our home cooks from regions all across the country get their chance to share their most treasured recipes.

Oh!

It tastes like Mom's.

It has been such a joy to watch you cook, 'cause it is part of our unique American story, all of us together.

Alejandra, voice-over: Their journeys will be guided by our talented chefs-- Tiffany Derry... Wow!

Is that a good wow or a bad wow?

I really don't know.

Alejandra, voice-over: Graham Elliot...

I'm super proud to share this recipe.

Yeah, we want to see Hawaii, we want to see your background.

Stay true to yourself.

You've got this.

Mahalo.

Alejandra, voice-over: and Leah Cohen.

Woman: It's my favorite because it reminds me of my dad.

Leah: Your dad would be proud, because this is delicious, and it's really nice to see that you can share with everyone.

And I kept it together, mostly.

Alejandra, voice-over: After 8 weeks of challenges celebrating the heart of American home cooking... [Squealing] one home cook will be named the winner.

Wow!

Come join us!

Welcome back to "The Great American Recipe."

♪ Woman: Oh, my god.

So cool.

Woman 2, voice-over: This is amazing.

I'm excited.

I am partly worried.

What have I gotten myself into?

This is, like, happening happening.

Hi!

Hi, everyone.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Ahh!

[Laughter] Woman, voice-over: I see Leah, I see Tiffany, I see Graham, I see Alejandra, and I'm like, "I have to cook for these people."

Like, I'm about to make food, and they're gonna taste it.

Hello, home cooks, and welcome to "The Great American Recipe."

Yeah!

I'm your host, Alejandra Ramos.

And these are our award-winning chefs, who will be tasting your dishes.

Hey, I'm Leah Cohen.

Aloha.

I am Graham Elliot.

Hey, y'all, I'm Chef Tiffany Derry.

Alejandra: Here's how it'll work.

Each week, we'll present a new theme.

And over two rounds, you'll prepare your most delicious dishes for our judges.

We will evaluate your dishes based on taste, execution, presentation, and how well you follow the round's theme.

Now, we all know you prepare so many wonderful and tasty home-cooked recipes.

But this is a competition, and there can only be one winning dish each week.

Which means, sadly, the cook with the least successful dish will be sent back to their home kitchen each week until only the top home cooks remain.

At the end of the competition, one of you will be crowned the winner, and the winner's recipe will be featured on the cover of "The Great American Recipe" cookbook.

Man, voice-over: To be able to say that I have my recipe on the cover of a cookbook, that's amazing, because there may be someone out there who's gonna try a recipe that has been so steeped in history and love.

The thought makes me just so happy and so joyous.

For the first round of cooking, we want to get to know you through a signature dish that defines you as a home cook.

You'll have 60 minutes to cook a dish that introduces you to us.

Who's ready to get cooking?

[Cooks cheering] Your time starts now.

Whoo!

Ah-ah.

Let's get this show on the road.

Alejandra: All right.

So these guys have 60 minutes to make a signature dish that sort of represents who they are on a plate.

Tiffany: You know, being that this is our first introduction to everyone, I really want to understand why they chose this particular dish to start it all, right?

Leah: I agree.

I mean, I think this is the first opportunity to really represent their personality, tell us their story.

I'm really excited to see what they come up with.

We got to get the shrimp in lime and salt.

Ooh, this is a nice juicy lime.

All right.

I'm Leanna Pierre.

I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'm an attorney.

Today we're making curry shrimp with white rice.

Growing up, the cooking was primarily my mom and my grandmother.

My grandmother emigrated from Barbados, so I identify myself as Caribbean American.

And that's certainly reflected in how I cook.

What's curry shrimp without some curry?

Let's get that up in there.

Leanna, voice-over: The sauce is supposed to be the star.

It's seasoned with lime, tomato paste, curry powder, seafood stock, and then one Scotch Bonnet pepper just for a little bit of heat.

Shrimp was one of my grandma's favorites.

And then curry in the Caribbean is like what butter is to French cooking.

So when I think about me on a plate, immediately I've got to do seafood, I've got to have some kind of curry.

That's home, you know.

To have one of my recipes in a cookbook would be the biggest ode to my grandmother.

She put so much love into her food, into her recipes, and it's the chance for me to carry along my family's legacy through food.

[Laughs] Yeah.

That smells so good.

Butter in.

I'm definitely the dessert girl.

I'm Relle Lum, I'm 34 years old, I'm from Maui, Hawaii, and I'm a nurse practitioner.

Aloha, Relle.

How are you?

Aloha.

I'm fine, thank you.

Yeah?

Multi-tasking.

Oh, wow.

Look at that.

So tell me what you're making and the inspiration behind it.

So today I'm making liliko'i bars.

Liliko'i is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit.

Mm-hmm.

With that, we're gonna make... a macadamia nut brittle.

Oh.

And then I'm making a li hing mui strawberry sauce to go with it and plate it with.

Love it.

Liliko'i, li hing mui, macadamia nut.

Totally Hawaii right there.

Absolutely.

It's actually my mom's recipe.

This her right here?

Yeah.

This is Mom.

This is Mom?

Yeah.

[Laughs] Yeah.

My mom likes to bake, so growing up, baking was something we did all the time.

So I'm super proud to share this recipe and hopefully make her proud, you know?

Yeah.

It's amazing.

I'm native Hawaiian, born and raised.

And my mom taught me what Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian food is.

It's so awesome to be able to share, especially with my children.

My son Kyten, he's 10 years old.

My daughter Kailena, she's 6 years old.

I want my children to be proud of who they are and be well-versed in their culture.

It's hard to come out of the box baking, right?

It's easy to sear off a piece of meat and-- Most people don't bake, yeah.

Yes.

Very bold statement.

Thank you.

So, mahalo.

Thank you so much.

Mahalo.

Boop!

And a little fat trim.

I mean, everyone likes a little fat trim, right?

I'm Salmah Hack.

I'm a home cook, born and raised in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, known as Little Guyana, but now I live in Florida.

I am making some geera lamb and hummus.

Geera is what we call cumin.

My parents are from a small country in South America called Guyana.

I like to incorporate Guyanese cuisine into other dishes and create something on my own.

Toasted geera.

That's starting to smell like home for me.

Geera lambchops is how I've elevated lamb curry.

Taking those same foundational spices and making a dry rub of geera, curry powder, grated garlic, and garam marsala.

Seal in my flavors and create a little bit of a crust.

That looks good.

That looks good.

I'm looking for a medium-rare.

So I put it into the oven to continue cooking and let it roast and started my hummus, which is chick peas, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini.

And I'm slowly adding in some ice water and ice cubes just to see that gritty paste transform into a smooth hummus.

It'll all melt together.

All in the magic of the ice water.

This is good.

Fluffy.

[Laughs] All righty.

♪ I am currently making the bacon for my shrimp and grits.

I am Mike Thomas.

I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.

And I am a special education teacher.

A lot of delicious flavors, lot of those, like, super Southern, deep soulful flavors.

Even though I'm from Cleveland, my grandfather and my grandmother, they're both from Mississippi.

And my grandmother was the person that was cooking, and she's the reason why I have such a passion for Southern food.

I'm gonna make a shrimp stock, which is all my flavor and deliciousness.

To make the shrimp stock, I take the shrimp tails... That's going right in there.

and I toss them with paprika, onions, celery.

That looks good.

Cooking means so much to me and to my family.

Sunday Funday is something that everyone comes over to my house, and I cook for them.

And it's a way that I show Granny that we love her and we're gonna make memories with those recipes.

Alejandra: All right, cooks, 45 minutes left.

So let's talk about what we're smelling, because it smells fantastic in here.

It does.

Alejandra: I'm getting a lot of-- Leah and Tiffany: Garlic.

Sign me up.

Man: Right now, I'm just getting the garlic ready.

It'll eventually be the start of the stew.

I'm Brad Mahlof, I'm 33 years old, I live in New York City, and I work in residential real estate development.

I am making chraime with couscous.

And chraime is a Libyan fish stew.

My dad's family is from Libya, so I cook Libyan Sephardic Jewish food.

I'm gonna mix paprika, cumin with tomato paste.

[Sizzling] I'm using salmon because it's my favorite fish.

I'm gonna quickly pan-sear it and then finish cooking it in the sauce.

Brad, voice-over: Most people, when they think of Jewish people, think of Ashkenazi Jews, which are Jews of European descent.

But Sephardic Jews are Middle Eastern, North African, Spanish.

We use more spice, couscous.

Generally, if I had time, I would make couscous by scratch, but that's like a 3-hour process.

Couscous from scratch takes hours and hours.

There is a hack where you take semolina, add hot water, and then you do it in the microwave.

Oof.

Hot couscous.

Growing up, my family was a traditional Sephardic Jewish family.

But there's basically zero representation of Libyan Jews in the United States.

So to have my recipes featured, it's a great way to show the world how beautiful our culture and our food is.

How's it going, Abbe?

Ha ha ha!

A watched pot never boils.

I'm Abbe Odenwalder, I'm 64 years young, and I'm from Denver, Colorado.

I am making matzo ball soup.

Matzo ball soup really represents my Jewish heritage.

I love cooking traditional Ashkenazi Jewish foods.

And chicken soup is Jewish penicillin.

It will cure anything.

I grew up in Kankakee, Illinois.

I was the only Jewish kid, along with my brother.

And then I went to Colorado, where I met my husband, and we have two beautiful children.

As a home cook, I love feeding my family.

I love to cook, and I love to make everyone happy.

Get the matzo balls going.

For the matzo balls, I mixed some dill, eggs, and matzo meal.

Abbe!

Hello, hello.

How are you, Leah?

How you doing?

So you're making matzo ball soup.

My grandma taught me how to make matzo ball soup.

I would help her every Passover.

Did you, really?

What else are you serving in the soup?

It's just a chicken soup.

OK.

I'm not planning other than a few sliced carrots and some parsley and dill.

OK.

I'm trying to keep it traditional.

Um, but I'm using duck fat instead of chicken fat.

Yes, that's such a good--yes.

So that's one thing.

Why the duck fat?

Flavor.

It also helps hydrate everything.

I'm actually maybe gonna start using duck fat instead of chicken fat.

I might steal that.

Well, you can do whatever you want.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Matzo balls ordinarily require 40 minutes of chilling, and you let them simmer for another 45 minutes.

There's no way that's happening in this kitchen.

So I'm making very small matzo balls to make them cook faster.

It's just a comforting, quintessential Jewish dish.

Tiffany: I think I saw Khela with a cucumber.

Graham: Maybe she's going, like, salad or something bright and light.

I like bright and light.

My grandmother had this amazing garden, and this is kind of an ode to her.

I'm Khela Brewer, I'm 52 years old, I'm from Overland Park, Kansas, and I'm an operations lead for retirement plans.

I am making some glazed chicken thighs and a cucumber- snap pea salad.

My mom and my grandma mostly taught me how to cook.

I grew up on comfort food, but I try to make a little healthier spin because I've lost a lot of weight.

I'm trying to keep my girlish figure.

[Laughs] Where is my glazer?

For the glazed chicken thigh, I use chicken stock and brown sugar and soy sauce.

It is my boys' most requested recipe.

So how many kids do you have?

Counting the husband?

Ha ha ha!

Khela, voice-over: Sammy and Alex are my boys.

What makes me so proud is when they say, "Have you seen my mom's food?"

I'm hoping this dish is a winner.

I know that it's a winner back home.

How's my sauce looking?

It is not thickening enough.

I'm worried about the glaze.

I want it to be kind of a thicker consistency.

It hopefully caramelizes and works out.

I don't know.

[Laughs] I'm sure it'll work out.

30 minutes left, cooks.

30 minutes.

♪ Woman: So I just started the huckleberry sauce.

I'm Maria Gibbons, I'm 31, I grew up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and now I live in Seattle, Washington.

I'm making Salish salmon with a huckleberry sauce and wild rice.

I'm an Indigenous person, and I'm from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

So I like to use traditional Native American ingredients in my cooking.

Look at the color of this.

You don't get to see that color in many berries.

Like, wow.

Most Native cultures have a berry sauce recipe.

For us Coeur d'Alenes, it's a huckleberry sauce.

They're kind of like a blueberry, so I add sugar, a little bit of lemon juice to have a more fully flavored sauce.

I go huckleberry picking with my mom every summer.

She's in that picture over there.

My mom was the first Native woman ever elected to the Idaho State legislature.

And so she really paved the way for me and my identity as an Indigenous person.

This is what my ancestors have been eating for thousands of years.

I love that Maria's using a mortar and pestle for her peppercorns and spices, right?

The old-school, thousands of years, just kind of, grinding gives it a different texture.

Maria: This salmon is one that we cook all the time, just salt, pepper, lemon, butter.

It's a big piece of fish.

All right.

The soccer mom in me.

Everybody, there's 20 minutes left.

♪ That.

Let's get this griddle going.

I'm Ted Pappas, I'm from Chicago, Illinois, and I'm a semi-retired architect.

I am making pork souvlaki with Yiayia's tzatziki sauce.

Yiayia's "grandma" in Greek.

Pork souvlaki is small cuts of pork that have been marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and Greek oregano.

I get those all nice and skewered up, so I can get those onto the nice hot griddle.

This is one of the staples in the house we make all the time.

My style of cooking really stems from my Greek heritage.

I am a second generation Greek on my mom's side, and I'm first generation on my dad's side.

So we are 100% Greek.

In a Greek house, we always have feta cheese.

This dish gives a very good representation of my heritage.

My mom would make homemade tzatziki sauce.

There's a lot of different tzatziki sauce, but nothing beats my mom's.

I combine Greek yogurt, dill, cucumber, and, of course, garlic.

You got to try this tzatziki.

Good?

That's really good.

To be able to share my recipes is really being able to share the story of my parents.

My parents passed away, and my kids never got to know them.

That they get to taste my mom's recipes and to see their eyes light up when they experience what I experienced as a kid, it's just the most amazing feeling.

That's perfect.

Check my chicken.

I'm nervous about the chicken.

I don't feel like I caramelized it enough.

I put too much chicken stock in it, I think.

Hopefully it'll caramelize a little bit more.

Let's see.

Fingers crossed.

All right.

I think I can pull this out, and we can start carving it.

Salmah, voice-over: I made geera lambchops the first time when I was a newlywed.

I can still see my husband's face, just like the excitement of it all.

He loves my cooking.

He's my number one supporter.

And I've done this many times before.

And that's gonna go some more.

Graham: We've got some amazing island cuisine going on with Relle.

She's really coming out of the box here, doing some creative stuff, baking.

So there's a lot of risk if things don't get pulled together right.

Leah: That's ambitious.

Normally I'd let it cool for little bit.

This time we won't.

5 minutes, everybody.

Game time.

These are alder planks.

This really is about a connection to home for me.

That really represents me as a Northwest Native woman.

We grill all of our salmon over alder.

So since we can't build an alder fire in the middle of the barn, I'm gonna put it on some alder planks.

Leah: You all have one minute left.

You better be plating.

All right, all right.

Hold on.

I'm here trying to, like, make sure these plates look pretty.

4 dots.

One for my husband, one for me, one for my daughter, one for my son.

Mike: Hopefully, the judges are hungry.

Here we go.

Maria: Make sure everyone gets enough huckleberries.

5... 4... 3... 2...1.

Time's up!

[Cooks cheering] We did it, buddy.

Alejandra: Got it.

♪ Alejandra: Khela, how are you doing?

I'm just so excited to see you guys.

We love excitement, and I want to know what you made.

Sure.

I made a glazed chicken thigh and a cucumber- snap pea salad.

Tiffany: It is delicious.

You provided a beautiful cooked chicken.

It feels like something that I want to eat.

You have the saltiness, the sweetness.

I do also appreciate the cucumber and sugar snap pea salad.

There's really great texture.

Overall, I think this is a really good dish.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Leanna.

Hi, judges.

So today I made for you a curry shrimp and rice.

My family is from Barbados, and so when you said plate myself, I went all-in Caribbean.

It's just something that reminds me of my grandma.

Leah: The flavor's really great.

The curry itself is the star.

Graham: It's a real kick in the mouth, right?

I mean, the chilies, the spices.

This is you just coming out bold and kicking the door down.

Thank you, Chef.

Hey, Abbe.

Hello, Abbe.

Hello.

I made you matzo ball soup today, the quintessential Jewish dish.

And when we eat matzo ball soup for our holidays, it just kind of relaxes you.

I feel relaxed already.

Graham: All right.

Yeah, keep talking.

Tiffany: I love the richness of the broth with the dill and all of the fresh herbs.

And I love the texture of the matzo balls as well.

Delicious.

Thank you.

You're really giving us some insight into who you are in a plate or in a bowl.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Hello, Maria.

Hi.

[Speaks Salishan language] Hello, welcome.

So this is Salish salmon with a huckleberry sauce on top and a side of wild rice.

And tell me a little bit about the plate that you chose.

I'm a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, and that's an alder plank.

Back home, we usually cook our salmon over an alder fire.

And that also represents me on a plate because it is the plate.

[Laughter] The huckleberry, it's great.

I think salmon and something sweet always pairs well together.

And then you have that nuttiness from the wild rice.

Thank you.

I really enjoy the story of why you plated on the piece of wood.

I think that's a really great way coming out of the gate to show who you are.

[Speaks Salishan language] Thanks.

Thank you.

Hello, Salmah.

Hello.

So I made for you geera lambchops and hummus.

I was raised on Guyanese cuisine.

And Guyanese cuisine is heavy on our curries.

Tiffany: This is delicious.

I do get the flavors.

I do get the curry, the spices.

And I still can taste the lamb.

Thank you.

Graham: Look at that.

I mean, that is just a gorgeous mid-rare-- Like, if I cut into that at a restaurant, I'd be like, "Gah, who's on the grill?

Like, that's sick."

Thank you.

Hi, Relle.

Aloha.

Tell us about your dish.

So today I made for you liliko'i bars with a macadamia nut brittle and a li hing mui strawberry sauce.

This is actually my mom's recipe.

Alejandra: Was this always a winner when your mom made it for you?

Relle: Always, always.

So is that what you were hoping when you made it for us?

Yeah!

Graham: The fact that you are throwing down macadamia liliko'i, li hing mui, all these flavors, it's a beautiful dish.

Tiffany: The bar was great.

I liked the combination of the liliko'i and-- what's the name of the plum?

Li hing mui.

Li hing mui.

Yeah.

Good job.

Um, we won't say it again, because I won't get it twice.

Mahalo.

Relle: Mahalo.

Mike, what did you make for us today?

So today I have for you shrimp and grits.

My grandparents were from Mississippi, and I grew up with the Southern flavors.

And the reason why this is Mike on a plate is because it just fills you with warmth and love, and I feel as though I do that as well.

Beautiful.

Thank you.

Tiffany: This is just a good bowl of shrimp and grits.

You did these grits great.

Like, they are smooth, they are creamy, they are delicious.

It feels like the South.

Yeah, I think Tiffany just summed it up.

This right here, it's like #bowlofsoul.

There's so much flavor.

This is a big hit.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

Alejandra: Ted.

Hello.

Today I made pork souvlaki with my mom's homemade tzatziki sauce and, of course, a little side of feta cheese.

All these flavors go really well together.

The tzatziki is really nice, but the pork was a little bit dry.

And it's a little underseasoned.

Tiffany: Yeah, I agree with you, Leah.

This could have been a very different dish had you did a drizzle of that good olive oil right on top, a little sprinkle of the sea salt.

We want a little bit more flavor.

Great.

Thanks.

Absolutely.

Hello, Brad.

Hey, guys.

So what we have here is chraime, which is a Libyan fish stew, paired with couscous.

You can, like, bottle that sauce.

It's firing on all cylinders, right?

Heat, salt, everything's just in your face.

And the couscous, so fluffy and light.

It acts as a good vehicle for absorbing that sauce.

I'm a sucker for a great cooked salmon.

Look at that.

It's truly exceptional cook.

I have never had this dish, but I'm fascinated by it.

Thank you, guys.

Brad, voice-over: To have, like, real chefs that are so accomplished, like my food, it's just amazing.

I don't know if I'm gonna be one of the most successful, but I definitely feel good about it based on their feedback.

♪ Alejandra: Cooks, we asked you to put yourself on a plate, and you wowed us with your inventive dishes.

Judges, who made your favorite dishes this round?

All the dishes were stellar and delicious, but we did have a few standouts.

Brad, that chraime, salmon, and homemade couscous and that explosive sauce, I want more of it, and I want to know more about you and that cuisine that you do.

Thank you.

[Applause] Brad, voice-over: I'm so thrilled.

You know, whatever they say about the next one, even if I go home, they liked one of my dishes.

Like, I'm a happy camper.

Leah: Our other favorite dish... was Mike.

Tiffany: Ha ha ha!

Way to go, Mike.

Yeah, Mike!

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Leah: From the shrimp to the grits, everything was executed perfectly.

We really felt like we got to know who you were and your story.

Great job.

Wow!

Mike, voice-over: It feels great that the judges were impressed with this dish because I made it the same exact way that my grandmother cooked them.

She has made me who I am, and I'm grateful for that.

And bragging rights don't hurt at all, either.

Thank you all for that delicious introduction.

We can't wait to see what you cook up in the next round.

Cooks, in the first round, you made a dish that tells us about who you are.

But in the next round, we want to see a dish that tells us where you're from.

You'll have 90 minutes to rep your region.

Leah: We want to taste the ingredients that are signature to your area in each of your dishes.

Tiffany: Remember, your dishes will be judged on taste, presentation, execution, and theme.

This is the time to pull out all the stops.

Are you ready, cooks?

Cooks: Yes!

Your 90 minutes starts... now.

Whoo!

Brad: I've lost my train of thought.

Uhh!

Doing well in the first round was awesome, but I know that you could do well in the first round and still go home in the second round.

I'm still nervous.

Like, the competition is very fierce.

We'll see what happens this time.

Brad, voice-over: I am from the Northeast.

I grew up in New Jersey, and now I live in New York City.

I do keep kosher, so I have dietary restrictions based on my Jewish religion.

There are certain animals that are and aren't kosher.

It also then has to be prepared in a certain way.

And you can't mix meat and dairy together.

So it's basically just a guideline on how we eat.

I am making something like a crab cake, but shellfish isn't kosher, so I'm making a cod cake instead, and I'm pairing that with amba sauce and Israeli salad.

I want to source my ingredients from the Northeast, so I'm using Atlantic cod, dill, and parsley.

I add caraway, cumin.

I have my fish cakes formed.

And then I'm going to coat them with Japanese-style breadcrumbs, and then pan-fry them.

So Israeli salad is basically a fine dice of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, some parsley.

I use Jersey tomatoes, cucumbers.

I grew up on the Jersey Shore.

I spent a lot of time at the Jersey Shore.

Whether it's like, you know, you go to your fishmonger or you're at the farmer's market, I do feel like my region does have an impact in the quality of my cooking.

Relle: Rice.

Rice is huge in Hawaii.

Relle, voice-over: I'm from the Pacific Islands, and I live in Maui, Hawaii.

I'm extremely grateful to be here so that I can show the rest of the world what Hawaii is really about.

I'm making a plate lunch with rice, mac salad, lomi salmon, poke, and some lau lau.

Hawaiian plate is ubiquitous with Hawaii.

It's everywhere.

So there's a lot of different components in this.

My lau lau is made with beef and pork.

It's traditionally buried in the ground and steamed.

For time constraints, we'll do it in a pressure cooker.

Gotcha.

Normally, salted salmon, we make this ahead of time.

So lomi salmon, the word "lomi" itself means "to massage."

So this is Hawaiian salt.

So to lomi, to massage.

Salt, salt, salt.

Hawaii is well-known for its fresh fish.

Poke is raw fish.

Ahi is tuna.

I add Japanese soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little bit of green onions.

Concentration, you know.

Leah: You think that's a little ambitious, to make all those things in 90 minutes?

Uh-huh.

I think so.

Relle, voice-over: I might look like I'm all over the place, but I promise, I know what I'm doing.

I feel confident.

I just need to get the pieces that I need, because a Hawaiian plate has multiple pieces in it.

Better.

Nice.

OK. Alejandra: I love what we're seeing.

I feel like we're gonna go on a cross-country voyage today.

Yeah, I love what we're smelling, too.

Leah: Lots of good stuff.

Cooks, you have 75 minutes left.

Ted: My first round, the comment was not enough salt, so we're going to make sure that we salt this beef properly.

Ted, voice-over: I'm from the Midwest, and I live in Chicago, Illinois.

Being from Chicago, there are a lot of different meat sandwiches.

I'm making a steak sandwich with a cheddar cheese sauce and a side of shoestring fries.

This dish became an instant hit in my household.

And I'm going to cook the same way that I cook for my wife and my girls.

So I'm using a nice beef tenderloin.

I want to get a good sear on this.

And then we're going to put it in the oven.

I sauté some yellow onion, green pepper, and some mushrooms.

Some cheddar, some cream for my cheddar cheese sauce.

I feel very comfortable with my sandwich because Midwestern cooking is comfort food, it's the meat and potatoes.

And it tastes pretty darn good.

Leanna: I grew up in New York, but I have spent all of my adult life in Atlanta.

Leanna, voice-over: I am from the Southeast region, and I live in Atlanta, Georgia.

I am making chicken and red velvet waffles.

Taking you all the way to the South.

I'm coming with all the deliciousness that makes me love Atlanta.

I want to make sure it's not just fried chicken, it is good fried chicken.

I season the chicken in lime, paprika, and cayenne.

I want to bring some of that Southern dessert scene into the waffle.

Red velvet cake in Atlanta is like what cheesecake is in New York.

Ohh!

All of a sudden, there's, like, molten lava red velvet waffle batter pouring out of this waffle maker.

We are not panicking.

Leah: Leanna, what's going on over there?

I've got red velvet coming all out of my waffle maker.

But it's fine, don't-- it's fine.

Nobody panic.

You know what?

This is how I make waffles, too.

I'm just, like, way too much batter in.

Leanna: I want it to be crispier.

Probably didn't help that I overfilled it, though.

Let's try this again.

Act right.

♪ Get all that extra casing off.

It's going to make everything chewy.

We don't want that.

I have a lot to live up to.

Ha ha ha!

I did well the first round, so I want to make sure the next dish I put up is just as good.

I'm going to be making some Polish boys.

But we're also going to do something that is important to Cleveland, which are pierogies.

I'm from the Midwest, and I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.

A Polish boy sandwich consists of a Polish sausage, french fries, coleslaw, and barbecue sauce.

I'm taking all the ingredients from the Polish boy, then using it for the filling for the pierogi.

The biggest challenge of this cook is the dough.

I need to make sure that the dough is at the right consistency and texture so the pierogies turn out the way they're supposed to.

Mmm mmm mmm.

Yes, sir.

[Laughs] I'm from the Pacific Northwest.

I currently live in Seattle, Washington, but I grew up in Idaho with my tribe.

And I want to really show the judges what Coeur d'Alene cooking looks like.

I am making bison short ribs with Idaho mashed potatoes with another huckleberry wojapi sauce.

I'm from Idaho, so obviously I'm making some Idaho mashed potatoes.

I've got 5 minutes left... What?

on the potatoes.

Brad: Oh, my god.

Maria.

Leanna: Wait.

How much time left?

Maria: No, no, no.

Mike: My heart.

Leanna: What did she say?

Sorry, guys.

She was like, "5 minutes."

Girl.

Ha ha!

Ma'am.

I want that flavor to be on point when they get it.

Bison is a traditional food of the Coeur d'Alene people.

Normally, I braise it for about 4 hours, so to pull this off, I'm going to have to use the pressure cooker.

OK.

I think it's time to start this pressure cook.

So Maria's using a pressure cooker.

And we all know that if you are not used to using the pressure cooker, it could be a problem.

You can't open it up and see it while it's cooking, so there is a lot of issues that could go wrong.

We're good.

One hour to go.

60 minutes.

Barbecue is a Kansas City staple.

Khela, voice-over: I'm from the Great Plains, and I live in Overland Park, Kansas.

It's a big suburb of Kansas City, Missouri.

I am making baby back ribs, cheesy corn, and apple-red cabbage slaw.

Most people when they make barbecue sauce use ketchup.

But I like to put my own personal spin on it.

I put a whole jar of banana ketchup in here, which is a Filipino thing.

It's really sweet and tastes delicious.

I've been making ribs for, gosh, as long as I've been together with my husband, 'cause they're one of his favorite things.

And my boys lose their minds over ribs.

The banana ketchup, though, it's a new thing.

Nothing says Great Plains more than corn, right?

So, yeah, who doesn't love corn?

Cheesy corn is kind of famous in Kansas City.

It's kind of like macaroni and cheese but with corn.

Cheesy goodness.

♪ Moving to Florida, I came to realize how versatile cassava is.

Salmah, voice-over: I live in the Southeast region, in Orlando, Florida.

And cassava is a root vegetable you'll find in all of our markets.

I am making cassava egg balls with mango sour.

Cassava egg ball is a fried snack that is mashed in seasoned cassava, wrapped with a boiled egg in the center.

Huge pot for 6 eggs.

Ha ha!

I like to prepare it with a jammy, runny yolk, so I'm staring at this pot because I want these eggs to be the same.

Hi, Salmah.

Hi, Alejandra.

Tell me about what you're making.

So I am making cassava egg balls.

OK.

Currently, I live in Florida, so I'm from Florida.

Yes.

Born and raised in New York, though.

And then I'm also of Guyanese descent, Guyanese background.

And one consistent dish or something that I found in each was cassava.

Well, there's a lot of Puerto Ricans in Orlando.

Everywhere, yes.

And we love cassava.

Exactly.

So this is like an appetizer or snack.

So it's a hearty snack.

I love it.

I love it.

It's a hearty snack.

I mean, this is something that I ate growing up.

And then it's also nostalgic 'cause that's what my parents ate growing up.

Yeah.

They would have stalls that lined their streets of Guyana.

And my parents would buy these...

I'm so excited to hear the connection to your home now, your home where you grew up, and your parents' home.

Yes.

I know this takes a while, so focus.

We'll be back to taste.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Take care.

Take care.

To go with the cassava egg ball, I am also making mango sour, which is a sauce of green mango, vinegar, sugar, and Wiri Wiri pepper.

I mean, there is no Guyanese cuisine complete without Wiri Wiri pepper, and this is where it's going to get all its heat, all its spice.

♪ I just love the smell of chilies.

I'm making Rocky Mountain trout with some red chili sauce and stuffed poblano to go with it.

Abbe, voice-over: I'm from the Rockies, and I live in Denver, Colorado.

If you come to the Rockies to fish, you are fishing for Rocky Mountain rainbow trout.

I covered the fish with chili, Dijon mustard, blue corn meal, yellow corn meal.

We have a great Hispanic population in the Rocky Mountains, and you can't have a meal without Mexican food.

And I'm doing my stuffed peppers now with my mixture of goat's cheese, cream cheese, some apricots just to give it a little sweetness.

Everyone loves this dish.

We got 30 minutes.

30 minutes, guys.

Salmah: Black pepper.

The maple syrup in that is so good.

Here we go.

Most of the time, people might serve chicken and waffles with maple syrup, but the South is nothing without a little bit of heat.

I'm heating up some oil.

I'm gonna get ready to throw in red pepper flakes.

So I'm gonna drizzle hot honey on top.

There we go.

Yep.

That's the sizzle we want to see.

Do what you know you need to do.

♪ They're yummy.

Brad, voice-over: My fish cake needs some sort of, like, tartar sauce, so in Israel, where my extended family lives, the most popular condiment is amba, which is a fermented mango sauce.

It's tangy.

It's a little spicy.

So I add mayo to it, and I had tahini, which is sesame paste.

♪ Hello.

Hi.

How we doing?

How you feeling?

My fate is in the destiny of the pressure cooker.

OK. Hey, well, they fell off the bone.

OK. All right.

That's what I wanted.

So what else is on this plate?

Um, we're gonna have mashed potatoes, um, because I'm an Idaho girl.

♪ Texturally, you know, when potatoes sit out, they get a little-- I'm hoping-- So--get a little stiff.

So they have great flavor, but I just want you to pay attention to all of that.

Yes.

I definitely want to make sure that every note that I get from Tiffany, that I'm addressing it.

And so I add a little bit of heavy cream into the mashed potatoes to try to get a good consistency.

Ted: Now we're getting the potatoes ready.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

How are you?

Good, good.

What are you working on?

I am just about ready to get some shoestring fries in.

Is that your favorite style of fries?

My kids love them.

Who doesn't love fries?

How can you not enjoy fries?

Well, good luck.

We're very excited.

And I want those shoestrings to be nice and crispy.

They are going to be nice and crispy for you.

All right.

Ted, voice-over: Leah said make sure those shoestring fries are crispy.

I am under pressure at this point.

So I put them in the fryer, and I'm definitely keeping an eye on them.

Yep, little more time.

They're getting there.

Home cooks, you've got 5 minutes left.

All right.

First one going in.

Salmah, voice-over: I've got the cassava egg ball in some seasoned flour, and now I can fry it into the oil.

So you have, like, a crispy exterior, fluffy interior, with a boiled egg down the middle.

I'm not gonna touch it.

I just need to leave it and let it be.

♪ Relle: These are ti leaves.

So what we're gonna do is we're gonna put the meat in it.

So traditional lau lau, you wrap it in the ti leaf, and it acts as an insulator.

Loop, swoop, and pull.

One more minute, cooks.

♪ Abbe: I turned it up, but it doesn't look done to me.

As I'm cooking this fish, I realize these pieces are much thicker than I'm used to cooking with.

I wish I had a little bit more time, but the flavors will be there, and I think the judges will be impressed.

We're gonna go for it.

Because Rocky Mountain trout is a great way to represent my region.

♪ Judges: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Alejandra: Time's up!

Whoo!

Graham: Good job, guys.

Good job, cooks.

[Exhales] ♪ Alejandra: Home cooks, today we wanted to get a sense of who you are and how you use your regional influences to become the home cooks you are now.

We'll be judging you based on taste, presentation, execution, and how well you tied in the theme showing us your region.

Alejandra: Let's start with Khela.

Khela: I'm from the Great Plains.

And I live in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri.

And everybody knows that means barbecue.

So I gave you baby back ribs with Kansas City cheesy corn.

It's a perfect dish for you to exemplify yourself and your region.

And this thing, like, on its own, this cheesy concoction, is delicious.

There was some good jalapeños coming through.

Thank you.

And so for the sauce for the ribs, you used one of my favorites, banana ketchup, right?

Khela: For Pete's sake, it is stupid good.

And so I just use that to make barbecue sauce all the time now.

I love that.

It really just adds another dimension of sweetness, so it's great.

You did a really nice job.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Salmah, it's your turn.

Salmah: I am from the Southeast region.

What I prepared for you today is a cassava egg ball and a mango sour.

I love the flavors of this dish.

I do really enjoy cassava.

It's an ingredient that I use a lot in Filipino cooking.

And so now I learned a new technique and a new way to use cassava.

Graham: The execution is the thing that I have the biggest issue with.

The consistency on the cook of the egg.

My yolk is overcooked.

But I really do enjoy the story, and the flavor's great.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Relle.

My region is Pacific Island.

So today I made for you a Hawaiian plate.

So the main of that is called a lau lau.

In Hawaii, it's rice, a mac salad, and then on the side, I've got tuna poke, and then lastly, we have lomi salmon.

Relle, this takes me back home.

I totally can get down with a plate lunch.

And the fact that you put together this smorgasbord of techniques and flavors, very, very ambitious.

And I think when it comes to the theme, you knocked it out of the park.

Leah: The pork, it's nice and tender.

But the salmon is definitely over-salted, and I think you just need to edit yourself down a little bit, because to do 5 dishes perfectly in 90 minutes, it can be a little bit challenging.

Mahalo.

Ted.

I am from the Midwest.

What I made today was a steak sandwich with a cheddar cheese sauce and a side of shoestring fries.

Tiffany: Shoestring fries.

I mean... Wow!

You got any more of those back there?

Because they're nice and salty and crispy.

The only thing I really want to say is that I want to be careful of how you're cutting the steak.

Some pieces are very large.

It doesn't taste the same as when they're cut thin.

Right?

Sure.

Mm-hmm.

But the beef, I love the mid-rare temp on it.

Thank you.

It's a really solid dish.

And it is evocative of Chicago and Illinois and the Midwest.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Mike, you're up.

I am from the Midwest, specifically, Cleveland, Ohio.

The dish that you have in front of you is Polish boys two ways.

Whoa.

Graham: That's what I'm saying.

Graham: This is not a Polish boy.

This is, like, a straight-up Polish man.

[Laughter] This...

But, you know, it works.

This is a very hearty Midwest dish.

Leah: The concept of the pierogi is very smart.

It just falls a little bit short on the actual dough of the pierogi.

It's just a little tough.

But flavor-wise, it's great.

Thank you, Chef.

Leanna, come on up.

So I'm representing the Southeast.

And so I made fried chicken and red velvet waffles with a hot honey.

I love that you made the waffle red velvet, right, because not only does it add color, but it adds flavor, and flavor is what you got going on here.

Thank you.

Tiffany: But I wanted more sauce.

It feels almost like it's a little more on the chicken than it is on the waffle, which ends up eating a little dry.

Thank you, Chef.

Alejandra: Brad.

So I am from the Northeast.

So I have a cod cake with a amba tartar-style sauce with an Israeli salad.

Graham: It's a delicious dish.

It's beautiful, golden sauté, and the thing that I love here is the actual knifework for your salad.

It's doing justice to the ingredients themselves.

What I thought was really smart was this amba sauce.

Traditionally, it can be a little bit overpowering.

And it made sense for you to kind of make it like a tartar sauce.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Abbe.

I'm from the Rockies.

So today I made for you Rocky Mountain trout and stuffed poblano with red chili sauce.

♪ Graham: You seem very mild-mannered and kind of a little quieter, and then you're like, boom!

The chili sauce, it's very bold.

The fish, I think it's cooked really well.

It's still nice and moist.

Tiffany: My favorite thing is the chili.

I mean, it's stuffed, it's cheesy, it's delicious.

And the flavors here are really nice.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Maria.

My region is the Pacific Northwest.

So I made bison short ribs over Idaho mashed potatoes with a huckleberry wojapi.

♪ Tiffany: We talked about how mashed potatoes can get a little stiff as it sat, and you fixed the solution right there.

They're nice and fluffy.

You did really, really good with this today.

I completely agree with Tiffany.

But I will say that my meat is a little tough.

I think it could have gone like 5 more minutes.

But aside from that, the flavor is great.

It really does showcase who you are.

Great job.

[Speaking Salishan language] Thank you.

I'm definitely feeling more confident after the judging.

I'm really excited to be here and to show people what Native food is all about.

Our stories are so rich, and they need to be told.

♪ All right, judges, so you have to figure out two of your favorite dishes from the Rep Your Region challenge.

What are your picks?

I think for me, the first one that really needs to be highlighted is Khela's barbecue with the cheesy corn and slaw.

All of them together were just delicious.

I think we enjoyed a lot about Khela's dish.

Did it really speak Great Plains to you?

Tiffany: Absolutely.

I mean, it was Kansas City all day.

I mean, I felt like I was at the Pit Shack, and I like how she served it big.

I like that the corn was cheesy.

That might be my favorite dish.

Oh.

I really, really liked that one.

Yeah.

I think we can't have a discussion without bringing Brad in.

And, I mean, that cod fish cake with the Israeli salad and the amba was so fantastic.

It was creative, and it really did represent Brad on a plate, right?

The Atlantic cod, being from Northeast.

I think he really understood the assignment, and he really delivered.

We also liked Maria's really simple Idaho-inspired bison short rib with that potato puree.

That was a really simple dish, but just delicious.

Leah: It could have been cooked a little bit longer, a little more tender, but it was still good.

It wasn't fall off the bone, it was like almost fall off the bone.

Sure.

But those potatoes, they were seasoned well, the consistency.

She listened to you when you talked to her.

That's my thing right there.

Yeah.

She really listened and improved.

Leah: Another dish that represented a person very well was Leanna.

Tiffany: Her dish represented the Southeast very well.

I mean, chicken and waffles.

The flavors were there.

She really did take that challenge to heart and give us what we were looking for.

Alejandra: All right, judges, it sounds like you guys have come to an agreement.

Am I correct?

Yeah, I think so.

All right, then.

Let's bring our home cooks back in.

♪ Alejandra: We asked you to show us a dish that best represents the region of the country that you live in.

Judges, which plates came out on top?

One of the first dishes that blew us away... was Brad.

We absolutely loved your Atlantic cod fish cake and your Israeli salad.

I mean, it was just incredibly beautiful and tasty.

Thank you.

The other one that we really loved... belonged to Khela.

Those beautiful, sticky barbecue ribs, the cheesy corn, and the slaw was a mix of sweet and sticky and creamy and rich.

Thank you.

Alejandra: Great job, you two.

But the judges all agree that one dish was the standout star.

Leah: Our favorite dish was... Brad with your Atlantic cod cakes.

[All cheering] Leanna: Good going, Brad!

Thank you.

Good job.

It was smart, it was creative.

It really represented who you are as a person and as a cook.

Really, there were no misses.

Brad, voice-over: Wow.

I won the second round.

My effort during the cook really paid off.

Alejandra: Cooks, because we want a chance to experience all the rich recipes and stories all of you have to offer... everyone stays!

Leanna: Oh, my god.

[Excited chatter] Leanna, voice-over: No one is going home.

I feel like my stomach could have come out of my mouth.

Oh, man!

Y'all could have started with that.

Like, why did you bury the lede?

You didn't have to do us like that.

Alejandra: For all of you, this is your chance to show us your full repertoire of recipes.

The judges look forward to being able to consider each and every dish you make here.

Yes.

The 3 home cooks who come out on top in the weeks to come will earn their spot in the finale.

One home cook will be crowned the winner and will have one of their recipes featured on the cover of "The Great American Recipe" cookbook.

So, uh, how's that for a great first week here?

Ted: It's awesome.

Alejandra: Not bad?

Ha ha ha!

We will see all of you back here next week for your next "Great American Recipe."

Bye!

Contestants: Bye!

Tiffany: Good job.

Leah: Great job.

Alejandra: Next time on "The Great American Recipe"...

There is one pantry item that almost every household has on hand.

Noodles!

Abbe: There's a lot of people that don't like noodle kugels, but YOLO-- you only live once.

A lot of times when you hear about noodles, you don't always see it as something sweet.

I'm the only one that's making my own pasta.

I'm kind of hoping for the best.

Alejandra: Judges, which home cook is the winner of this round?

♪