Alejandra Ramos: Tonight on "The Great American Recipe," We want you to prepare a family-style dish for our holiday table just like at home.

Marcella: Happy holidays, everyone!

Mae: This is a Chinese New Year dish.

Jon: The holiday that I want to celebrate is Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

Ooh!

[Kissing] Tim Hollingsworth: If this is what holiday meals are like at your houses, I need that invite.

The winner this week gets a special advantage next week.

Contestants: Ooh!

Welcome back to "The Great American Recipe."

♪ ♪ Kim: All right.

Are we ready to get our cook on?

We sure are.

I'm ready.

I'm feeling anxious because last week I had a bottom dish.

The frosting broke a little bit, and so it had a little bit of a grainy texture.

Ramos: Hi, everyone.

Hey!

Hey!

Hi!

Ramos: Welcome back!

Great to see you!

Kim, voice-over: So this week, I have to redeem myself if I want to make it into the finale.

Tim: Although I keep saying that baking isn't my thing, last week I had two top dishes.

Hollingsworth: Tim, your grits casserole was the perfect breakfast item that I can't wait to make for my kids.

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

Adjo: Way to go, Tim.

Tim, voice-over: I just want to keep that winning energy going, and we're gonna pull this off today.

Ramos: Welcome back to "The Great American Recipe."

As always, please join me in saying hello to our judges Francis Lam... Hey, everyone!

Tiffany Derry... Hello!

and Tim Hollingsworth.

Good morning.

Hey.

So last week, you satisfied our sweet tooth with your breakfast items and your bake sale treats.

This week, we want to do some celebrating.

All right.

Ramos: This week's theme is all about life's special occasions and the food that goes along with them.

For this first round, you'll have 60 minutes to prepare a dish from a standout moment in your life, from a graduation or a family reunion to a milestone birthday.

Hollingsworth: And as always, your dishes will be judged on taste, execution, presentation, and how well y'all did with the theme.

Lam: We are only a couple weeks away from knowing which 3 of you are gonna go into the finale, and it could legitimately be any one of you, so you have to keep wowing us with your recipes.

Ramos: Only one of you is going to be the winner of "The Great American Recipe," so cook today like you can taste the finale!

Kim: Right.

Absolutely.

Cooks, we can't wait to taste your special occasion dishes.

Your 60 minutes starts now.

[Cheering] Jon: Let's do this, guys!

Doug: Whoo!

♪ Let's do this.

♪ Ramos: Judges, we asked the home cooks to prepare us a dish that they always make for a special event or occasion in their lives.

What are you looking for this round?

Lam: You know, I think there's a lot of ways you can take this.

Is it like, oh, that anniversary dinner where you're trying to, like, create a restaurant in your home, or if it's gonna be a very homey, comforting dish, I want to see what made it special for you.

Derry: I mean, honestly, I want to feel like I'm special when I eat this because obviously this dish is so special to them.

Absolutely.

♪ Marcella: All right.

I'm gonna make this punchy.

Food is the epicenter of all celebrations in my family, so I'm feeling like I'm in my wheelhouse right now.

I'm making lemon chicken piccata over Moroccan couscous.

I make it for my son's birthday.

He was born under extenuating circumstances.

My son was born considerably early, and it was very touch and go for both of us.

Every morning, I woke up, and I just prayed that he was gonna still be there, and it was just heart-wrenching, so I go so big to celebrate him, and once he told me that this dish was his favorite, it became a staple for his birthday dinner.

It's more than just being a chicken dish, you know?

It's really a celebration of his life.

Chicken piccata is sauteed chicken breast in a sauce with capers and white wine.

So after I sear the chickens in butter and olive oil, I remove them from the pan and I get started on my sauce.

There's a lot of bold flavors here, but again, it's fitting for my bold, spicy kid.

♪ Whew!

♪ So much stuff!

Jon, voice-over: I love a party.

My big thing is how many folks am I cooking for?

That's all I need to know.

I am making honey-chipotle barbecue ribs.

It's gonna be a celebration.

This is a dish that I made for my 35th wedding anniversary.

My wife Amanda is the most amazing wife, mother, and friend, and she loves baby back ribs.

In Texas, it should always be a dry rub.

I'm using dry mustard, garlic powder, ancho chili, cayenne, and smoked paprika.

I usually make them on the barbecue, but I have 60 minutes, so I'm gonna use the pressure cooker for the first time ever.

Fingers crossed.

A good rib needs barbecue sauce.

It's pretty much a ketchup-based sauce with honey and chipotle chilies, and I think I have enough time to sort of let it simmer.

Hollingsworth: Hi, Jon.

How we doing?

I'm quite a bit nervous about the pressure cooking with my baby back ribs.

Ribs in a pressure cooker?

Yes, sir.

Have you made that before?

Never.

I want them tender, but I don't want them falling off the bone.

I want a little bit of a give.

Yeah, definitely, and then you're gonna glaze it in the oven?

Yeah.

So broiler on the bottom with a little barbecue sauce.

This is the barbecue sauce?

Yeah.

It's a chipotle-honey.

Tell me what you think.

I think it's good.

I think it's nice and spicy, but normally when I think of barbecue sauce, you know, I think of it kind of like smooth and, like, viscous, and, like, I would puree it and maybe even strain it.

Oh, brilliant!

Thank you for coming over, chef.

Absolutely.

♪ I love using this.

It's such a time saver.

Any celebration that I can include food into, I'm gonna do it.

I'm making pepper goat with couscous.

Pepper goat is something that I make for a monthly event that I host.

I throw dinner parties once a month, and I call it fufu and chat.

It mostly involves friends eating great food.

I am making goat again today, but I made it into smaller pieces, so it's gonna get nice and tender.

The first time I made goat for the judges, it was not my best.

Derry: The goat could have used a few more minutes... OK. because some of the pieces near the bone has a little bit of a chew.

OK. Adjo, voice-over: This time, I have to make sure my goat is cooked properly.

Come on.

I start caramelizing the bell peppers and onions.

This is where the goat is gonna go into.

The stakes are high, and I really have to redeem myself with my goat.

I need to get my couscous going.

Ramos: 45 minutes!

Mae: Oh, Lord.

Jon: Whoo, baby!

How come I can't remember how to use this now?

Last week was my second time on the bottom.

I know I need to prove myself, and so I'm really gonna try to create perfection.

I am making a Caesar halibut with Sophie's Caesar salad.

Kim, voice-over: In Alaska, going back to school is a big event.

Growing up in a small village, we didn't have places to get school supplies, so we took a plane to Anchorage every year.

We would do our school shopping.

We would get fast food once in a while.

Kim voice-over: The first day of school is a parent celebration, it's a kids celebration, and now that I'm a parent, I celebrate it with my kid's favorite food, and it's a good day to have a special meal.

I'm massaging the kale.

It helps to break it down a little bit.

Kim, voice-over: I'm making my daughter Sophie's favorite salad, and it has quinoa, panko, Parmesan, red onion.

OK. Can't do much more of that.

And my creamy Caesar dressing.

I'm also going to be putting Caesar and Parmesan on my halibut as the flavor element.

I really want my halibut to be perfectly cooked.

I want redemption.

Ha!

♪ Tim: I've got some garlic.

I'm gonna work on a little bit of thyme here.

I feel a dad joke coming on.

Tim, voice-over: After last week, I think I've got a great grasp on what the judges want, and now I just need to perform.

I am making a Caribbean-style fish curry with johnnycakes, as they call them in the islands.

I make this dish every anniversary.

I learned how to make this on our honeymoon in Anguilla.

It was great.

It was white sand, crystal blue water.

We had a wonderful time and some great meals.

For my mahi-mahi, I use a Jamaican curry powder.

Whew!

Ahh!

Spices!

And then I get my curry started.

I've got coconut milk, onions, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet peppers, and some hot curry.

We're gonna bring that island heat here to the barn.

My man Tim.

Hey.

How's it going, sir?

How you doing?

I'm doing good.

How's it smell over here?

It smells incredible.

All right.

Wonderful, wonderful.

That's looking really good.

So you had a great week last week.

I understand with success comes a little bit of expectation.

Yes, sir.

So how are you dealing with that?

You know, it was good being on the top, so I'm hoping that I end up as a favorite somewhere today.

I love the confidence.

Thanks so much.

Good luck.

Thank you, sir.

Bye-bye.

♪ It's not swell to have a shell.

Over the past couple weeks, I've had really mixed results from the judges.

Derry: Doug, unfortunately, the puff pastry on the bottom was a little undercooked.

Your lemon pasta was delicious.

Great work.

Thank you, judges.

Doug, voice-over: At this point, I just need to keep making my food the best I can.

I'm making a Spaetzle in a beer cheese sauce with buttery langostinos and some crunchy breadcrumbs.

This is a dish that I made for my mom's milestone birthday that we just celebrated.

I don't know if she wants me to say how old she is, but she liked it quite a bit.

Doug, voice-over: German Spaetzle are these tiny, little dumplings.

It's a simple dough of some eggs, milk, and then I add several cups of flour, mix all this dough together, and I set that bowl aside because I want the dough to rest.

So open up some beer.

♪ Doug, voice-over: For the beer cheese, I get butter and flour cooked together.

I add some whole milk and good alpine Swiss cheese.

Now for the most secret ingredient-- packaged American cheese.

I love it.

It makes the whole cheese sauce really velvety.

We're in week 5, and I'm only gonna have a few more times to impress the judges.

I have to nail this challenge.

This is looking really delicious.

♪ Tim: Oh, yeah.

I want to make sure there's ginger.

In Chinese culture in any celebratory event, we always have chicken because the word for chicken means good fortune.

I'm making Chinese barbecue chicken.

I made it for my husband's 83rd birthday party.

For my husband's birthday, a lot of family came to my home and stayed with us.

I had a full house.

I made this dish for dinner, and everybody just loved it.

I marinate chicken thighs with hoisin sauce, Chinese wine, garlic, ginger, and chopped green onions.

I got to get the rice in the rice cooker.

Mae, voice-over: I'm serving my barbecue chicken with white rice.

To measure the water for the rice to be perfect, you have the most essential tool right in front of your fingertips.

Chinese way, first joint.

Mae, voice-over: At this point, I feel like I have a chance to make it to the finale, but I have to up the game.

Fingers crossed everything will be just right.

30 minutes.

Halfway there.

Doug: OK, OK, OK.

Looking pretty good.

Tim: Roll with it.

Work with what you got.

Jon: Brilliant hint from Chef Timothy.

♪ Marcella: I want to just make sure that it's evenly flavored.

Marcella, voice-over: For my chicken piccata, I'm just letting the chicken simmer in my sauce so it absorbs all that flavor.

I got to get going on my couscous.

Marcella, voice-over: If my son was sitting right next to me, he would tell me, "Go big, Ma," so I am cooking my heart out on this dish.

I'm cooking for him today.

♪ Feeling OK.

Feeling OK. My Spaetzle dough is looking good, and the beer cheese is nice and creamy, so then I get started on the seafood.

Langostino is going ino.

Langostinos are kind of like a little mini lobster.

I heat them in a shallow pan with some butter so that they're just tender and delicious.

Smells so incredibly good.

Now it's time to make the Spaetzle.

I actually brought my Spaetzle maker from home.

I love bringing German dishes to the table in my family, and Spaetzle is really a simple dish, but it takes some technique.

I place the maker over top of the boiling water, and I use a scraper to force the dough through the holes of the Spaetzle maker.

Not too much.

You don't want to overload it.

Nice.

And super fun, and they cook instantly.

All right.

As soon as they come to the surface, they're done.

A trick that I have learned over the years is to wet the maker itself because if you don't do that it makes it hard to actually scrape the dough through this maker, and I just keep repeating in batches.

It's gonna go really well in our cheese sauce.

♪ Ramos: We're more than halfway through the competition, so this is really the time when everyone needs to step it up because you've been giving them tips and tricks all of this time, so you kind of want to see that they're actually executing and listening.

Absolutely.

And Kim's got her game face on after last week.

Derry: Adjo is trying to redeem herself with her pepper goat.

And Jon's trying something for the first time.

Derry: Oh!

Ramos: Oh!

It wouldn't be Jon if he wasn't taking some kind of risk.

[Laughter] Jon: This is it.

This is it.

The ribs look like they're coming out right now.

[Hissing] How's it looking, Jon?

Jon: Here we go, y'all.

It's looking good.

Jon, voice-over: My ribs look pretty dang good, and I'm so relieved.

It's time to get them on a rack and glaze them with the barbecue sauce.

♪ I've become a pressure cooker king ♪ But let's see what the judges say.

Oh, my God!

In the oven it goes.

Let's do your thing.

Come on, baby.

10 minutes left!

Pbblll!

Marcella: We're kind of short on time.

Focus!

♪ Tim: Adjo.

Adjo: Yeah.

Do you have a second for a taste?

Adjo: Oh, yeah.

Absolutely.

This is my curry.

Tim, voice-over: Adjo's got these very spice forward dishes, and I'd love to hear what she thinks.

Oh, yeah!

You like that?

I like this.

I like the heat.

That means a lot from you.

Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Tim, voice-over: Next, I'm gonna move on to making my johnnycakes.

Johnnycakes is very similar to what we call in the South hoecakes, and they're made with some sugar, some cornmeal, and some flour.

Whipping up my batter here.

It's almost like a cornbread pancake.

Pancakes, you know what they say.

The first one's always a little weird, right?

[Sizzling] Marcella: I just want to check to make sure it's cooked.

It's amazing.

My God.

I'm really liking the flavor.

They taste good to me.

♪ Time to check the halibut ♪ Oh, yeah!

Kim voice-over: My halibut looks perfect, and I sprinkle a little bit of Parmesan over the top, and now I just need to put it under the broiler to get it golden brown.

Perfect.

Lam: You have 3 minutes.

This is it.

Moment of truth.

Got to move quickly.

Get on there.

All right.

These-- these are winners.

Down to the wire, as always.

Boy, it's taking forever.

I'm feeling a bit nervous about my Chinese barbecue chicken.

I think it's not getting enough heat on that rack.

I have to move it lower.

I'm gonna literally play at the last few seconds because I need to make sure that chicken is done well enough.

It's a simple dish, but so many things can go wrong.

This, I believe, is cooked to perfection.

Only one minute left.

One minute?!

What?!

Jon: This is it!

Party on the plate!

Kim: OK.

I got this.

♪ The parsley.

Ramos: 10... 9... OK. Half chicken, half rice.

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

[Sighs] [Cheering] Ayyy!

♪ Ramos: We gave you 60 minutes to make us a dish associated with a special moment in your life.

Let's start tasting.

Kim, come and join us.

Tell us about the special occasion dish you made for us.

So what I made for you is Caesar halibut with my daughter Sophie's Caesar kale salad.

We usually do this dish around the first day of school.

Derry: Your halibut is... ♪ perfectly cooked.

Ha ha ha!

You're killing me.

I'm sorry.

I can't help myself.

Lam: I was about to fight you.

I was like, "Really?"

That Caesar dressing that you kind of laid on the top has really gone into the fish.

It's delicious.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree, and the salad is awesome.

You're discovering all these bites.

You have the flakes of the cheese.

You have the sweetness of the tomato pops, the sharpness of the onion.

Gorgeous dish.

Thank you.

I'd be really proud if I were Sophie to have this salad named after me.

She should be proud.

I mean, I'm her mom.

Ha ha ha!

Mae, come and join us.

Hello, judges.

I made Chinese barbecue chicken.

My husband wanted a big celebration for his birthday, so all these relatives were at my home, so I had to feed them... Ha ha ha!

and I decided on this dish.

Derry: Mae, the chicken is delicious.

It's very juicy and tender, and that marinade on it, it really went through that chicken.

Lam: Yeah, I agree, and I'm really curious, what is your water ratio to your rice?

How much water do you use?

Up to my joint.

[Laughter] Lam: Because your rice is always so beautifully cooked.

It's such a pleasure to eat.

The chicken is not bad either.

Thank you.

This is exactly what I would want if I was just at home with friends and family.

Thank you.

Next up Doug.

Hello, judges.

What I've made today is Spaetzle in a beer cheese and then topped with langostino.

I made this recently for my mom's-- I'll just say milestone birthday.

We won't give the age.

Lam: A gentleman never tells.

For me, it really feels like a lobster mac and cheese.

That is the inspiration.

I think it's very creative to take Spaetzle and to fold in a beer-based sauce.

Overall, I think it's a really great dish.

Thank you, chef.

Lam: Doug, I like that sort of more chewy element of the Spaetzle, but the langostinos were slightly overcooked, but overall, it's really nice.

Thank you so much, Francis.

Ramos: Tim, come on up.

Tim: Today, I've prepared for you a Caribbean fish curry with some johnnycakes.

Lam: The flavors, they're wonderful.

The spices in the curry, the coconut definitely came through, but the johnnycakes, a little bit uneven in the cook and the color.

They're just a little bit different from one another.

Derry: I agree, and right now it's gonna come to who is gonna make it to that finale, and the little small details of a perfectly cooked johnnycake is gonna be the difference.

Thank you.

Adjo.

Hello, judges.

Lam: Hey, Adjo.

I made for you guys pepper goat with couscous.

I started this thing called fufu and chat to connect with my friends for us to come together, and we share good food.

Ramos: Yeah.

Ha ha ha!

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful dish.

The couscous is nice and fluffy just like you want it to be, and I also love that you're cooking goat for us again.

Derry: I agree this is tender, and it's great, and I think, you know, you know, showcasing the goat is, like, a stand of, like, "This is where I'm from.

"This is how I eat.

"If you don't like it, you're gonna get it again, and you're gonna like it even more this time," and the truth is I like it a lot more this time.

Thank you, chef.

Thank you.

Ramos: Jon.

Jon: I made honey-chipotle barbecue ribs.

It's for my wife.

We just celebrated our 35th anniversary.

Jon, I was a little scared for you.

I'm surprised at how tender the ribs are compared to what I thought they were gonna be.

Overall, I think it was an excellent attempt, and I think the barbecue sauce has a lot of depth of flavor, and the texture that you got out of there, the viscosity is really, really beautiful, but the ribs themselves could have used another 20 minutes more in the pressure cooker.

Lam: Maybe what you could have done was instead of serving these big chunks, cut them into individual ribs, and I think that could have helped you, as well, but you swung for the fences.

I gave it my all.

Ramos: Marcella.

Marcella: I made for you today a chicken piccata over Moroccan couscous.

I made this for my son for his 13th birthday, and it's become his annual birthday tradition, and he had a rough entry into the world, so for me, it goes beyond a piece of chicken on a plate.

It's really a celebration of his life... Oh, I love that.

and he deserves it.

That piccata sauce tastes so good.

You have a lot of lemon, a lot of the brininess from the capers, and it balances great with the chicken.

It's really, really delicious.

Derry: I agree.

Thank you for this beautiful dish.

This is a representation of the love that you have in your heart, so thank you.

Thank you.

This is one of those dishes that I truly put my heart into.

Thank you.

Kim: We love you.

I'm just so glad that the judges could see how much it means to me.

Marcella: You guys.

You guys!

Kim: That was perfect.

♪ Ramos: Cooks, in the last round, you had 60 minutes to make a dish from a memorable event in your life.

Judges, whose recipes came out on top for you?

Lam: Our first favorite dish of this round was... ♪ Kim!

Ahh!

Thank you.

Lam: Your Caesar halibut was just delicious.

Every part of it was just perfectly executed.

The salad was perfectly dressed, the breadcrumbs were super crispy, the fish was perfectly cooked, and I can see why you serve it to your family on the first day of school.

Thank you so much.

Kim, voice-over: I put a lot of effort into this dish.

I wanted to make it perfect, and it paid off.

Last week was not great.

This week is great so far.

Hollingsworth: Our other top home cook of this round is... Marcella.

[Cheering] Marcella, your chicken piccata over couscous was such a beautiful dish.

The chicken was cooked beautifully, and that piccata sauce was bright, acidic, briny with this beautiful couscous.

Thank you for sharing your story, and thank you for sharing this amazing dish.

Thank you, chef.

Marcella, voice-over: I am feeling awesome, and I'm really excited to let my son know that his birthday dinner is what got me into the winner's circle.

Well done, cooks.

All of your dishes were a cause for celebration, and we're eager to see what you do in the next round.

♪ In the last round, your challenge was to make a memorable dish from a special occasion in your life.

Well, I hope you're ready to get into the holiday spirit because for the second round we're focusing on your most delicious holiday recipes.

Kim: OK. All right.

Ramos: You'll have 60 minutes to complete this round, and because holidays are a time when friends and family gather together, we want you to prepare a family-style dish for our holiday table just like at home.

Lam: And remember, your dishes will be evaluated on taste, execution, presentation, and of course how well it fits the theme of a holiday dish.

Ramos: OK, home cooks.

We can't wait for your dishes to get us in the holiday spirit, so... your time starts now.

[Cheering and applause] [Humming] ♪ All right, all right.

♪ OK. We asked the home cooks to prepare their most cherished holiday recipes.

What are you excited about for this round?

There's such a rich culinary diversity here.

I'm excited to see what dishes they create and how they present them.

But it is the holidays, so, you know, it's one thing to say, "Hey, this is a dish we have for a holiday."

Yeah, that fits the challenge, but is it festive, is it exciting?

I want to know what is gonna make this special.

Yeah.

For sure.

♪ Marcella: Happy holidays, everyone!

Jon: Ho ho ho!

Doug: Happy holidays, Marcella.

♪ There's a lot of mussels in here.

Marcella, voice-over: When I think about my favorite holiday, it's got to be Christmas Eve.

I am making steamed mussels in a arrabbiata sauce.

Arrabbiata means angry, but it's really describing its level of spice.

Marcella, voice-over: For the mussels, I'm going to be steaming them in a combination of garlic, white wine, and some clam juice.

This is a dish that my dad makes every year for what we call the Feast of the 7 Fishes.

In the Italian community, the Feast of 7 Fishes is a Christmas Eve tradition.

We choose 7 different fishes to serve, and my dad's mussels are iconic.

You really smell the anchovies.

Marcella, voice-over: I'm going to be enhancing my sauce with a spice blend from Sicily.

Oregano, basil, hot pepper flakes.

Hey.

How's it going, Timothy?

I'm doing well, Marcella.

What's in there?

Well, the secret ingredient is really my mom's spices that we put together when we were in the Catania market.

I love that you're bringing something from home.

You know, I've always loved cooking with my mom.

She's, like, the only person in the world that can make me cry, thinking about my mom.

I see it in your eyes, too.

It's that same sparkle of, like, the joy that they bring for you...

Absolutely.

and that's what the holidays are all about.

It's about family...

Absolutely.

it's about those memories, and now making sure I share the traditions of my family and my heritage with my kids.

It's never a dull moment, right?

Yeah.

Ha ha ha!

So what do you got going on here?

Will you puree it?

Will you leave it like this?

No.

I like the chunks.

Like, chunky?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So my recommendation to you is you want to think about building that spiciness, especially when you have arrabbiata sauce.

It's a rule.

You're right about that.

Good luck.

Thank you so much, Chef Tim.

It's about the size of a newborn baby.

Ha ha ha!

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I've adopted since coming to America, but we never quite make Thanksgiving food.

So, today, I'm making deep-fried red snapper served with kelewele.

It's a plantain dish, and being an immigrant, we have family all over the United States, so Thanksgiving is one of those times that the whole family gets together, and on my mom's table, you can always find fried red snapper because red snapper is a fish that we ate a lot of in Togo, so this is our way of celebrating.

The fish is rubbed in a blend of garlic, ginger, curry, and green onions, and then for my favorite part, I fry it.

[Sizzling] Lam: It was a big old fish.

Ramos: It is.

No matter what holiday we're talking here, a whole fried fish, that is a celebration.

What do you need to really fry a whole fish well like that?

Derry: Some space.

You know, you don't want to have a pan that is, like, crowded.

Absolutely.

Frying a whole fish is not an easy feat, but I know the judges are gonna like this, and I hope this is gonna help me make it to the finale.

Ooh!

[Kissing] All right.

This is a lot of green beans.

Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with great dishes, but my favorite holiday happens in the summertime.

Memorial Day is my mom's family reunion, so I've chosen to make what my family simply calls a 3-bean casserole.

It technically actually has 4 beans in it, but that's the name, so I'm not changing it.

This 3-bean casserole is sort of like baked beans kind of gone wild.

Let's drain some beans.

I'm using butter beans, kidney beans, fresh long green beans, some baked beans.

There's also kielbasa and ground beef.

Everything's going into the pot first before it goes into the oven.

Doug, voice-over: I'm also adding in some ketchup and mustard to make the sauce.

This dish is perfect for your summertime barbecue picnics.

So good.

Doug, voice-over: We always make this dish every Memorial Day.

I just really don't even know how old it's been going around in my mom's family.

♪ It tastes like home.

Just like home.

How are we looking?

Tim, voice-over: This round, I'm making a family Thanksgiving staple.

I am making my grandmother's cornbread sausage stuffing.

I've kind of made it my own over the years since grandma's passed, and I'm using wild boar for this recipe.

My grandma's cornbread stuffing always was one of my favorite things that she would make, and it's just kind of the perfect family-style dish.

Let's see how this is.

Tim, voice-over: And I'm using pre-made cornbread to save time.

I put that in the oven just to kind of toast it so that it'll crumble, and then I start on my wild boar sausage.

This skillet, this was my grandmother's.

We called her Grandmama.

She was one of the greatest cooks.

She was a soft and caring woman, but she was also about as tough as and strong as this skillet.

My grandmother passed away in 2006.

She loved being in the kitchen, and she could cook everything and anything, and I'd love to win this challenge honoring my Grandmama.

It's kind of like she's in the kitchen with me.

Derry: 45 minutes left, y'all.

How am I gonna do this?

Doug: Feeling good, feeling good.

I'm trying my best to quickly do it.

Come on, baby.

Let's get you back up.

The holiday that I want to celebrate is Dia de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.

I'm making arroz con pollo, or chicken and rice, with a jamaica agua fresca, which is a hibiscus tea.

Day of the Dead is when you welcome your ancestors back by creating an altar and cooking their favorite foods, so I just wanted to honor my family with this dish.

[Sizzling] For my arroz con pollo, I season up the chicken with chili powder and smoked paprika, give it a good sear, and I'm gonna finish it in the oven.

It's one of the things you want to cook first because you want it to cook alongside the rice.

To get my rice ready, I'm using a sofrito.

Sofrito is onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

Jon, voice-over: The idea is to intensify the flavors before you add the rice and your chicken stock.

Hello, Jon.

Tiffany, how are you?

Fantastic!

What are you making?

Arroz con pollo.

OK.

Traditionally chicken and rice, and I'm doing Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead.

Ah!

It's really about loving and remembering with food, so this is the perfect dish for both my grandmothers and my mother-in-aw.

This was their favorite food.

Jon, it seems like you got a lot of important women in your life.

I'm grateful for it because they're amazing.

Yeah.

OK.

So we've been having some lessons you've had to go through a few times.

Yes, ma'am.

I'm learning and growing.

He's learning and growing.

I'm learning and growing.

So I really want to see you focus in on salt because, you know, rice absorbs.

It's really hard to put that salt on the outside of rice once it's cooked.

Absolutely, ma'am.

Yeah.

Make us something delicious... You got it.

that you will be proud of and your family will be proud of.

Got it.

Thanks, Tiffany.

Thank you.

I appreciate your help.

Jon, voice-over: Tiffany reminds me again that I need to heighten my seasoning, and I am so really trying to get my flavorings and salt right because I really want to get to the finale.

This is lovely.

Come on, baby.

♪ Mae: OK, OK, Mae.

Let's do it.

Mae, voice-over: Food is definitely a part of all my holidays.

I'm making Buddha's feast.

It's a vegetarian dish.

Mae, voice-over: This is a Chinese New Year dish, and in Chinese tradition, they always start with this dish because everybody wants to have a clean slate for the new year.

Got a whole bunch of stuff.

It has shiitake mushroom, oyster mushroom, carrots, Napa cabbage, baby corn.

Let's do it, Mae.

Don't dillydally around.

Mae, voice-over: And the most important ingredient is red fermented bean curd, and that gives a really special and pungent flavor.

It's earthy, it's filling, and it's just a great dish.

Chinese New Year is a wonderful holiday.

OK. Now.

I remember all the family celebrations from my childhood, and I tried to keep the traditions with my family.

As my son said, "Don't worry, be happy."

Serious technical difficulties just opening the sausage.

Out, sausage!

Kim, voice-over: With my win in round one, I'm feeling pretty good, and I know I have to keep up the good job that I'm doing.

I am making a sausage and seafood rice, and this is kind of like our New Year's dish.

Every year, we have a big New Year's party.

A lot of different places have rice dishes, and this is just kind of Alaska style.

We just love having people over.

We love feeding people, making good food, and we always have a big pot of this sausage and seafood rice.

I started by sautéing my Alaska sausage.

I also add smoked salmon and shrimp.

It's just the perfect blend.

I'm gonna add my rice.

It comes out as a really hearty, like, stick-to-your-ribs kind of rice, and in Alaska, that's what we need.

♪ Tim: 30 minutes, my fellow chefs.

Doug: 30 minutes!

30 minutes.

Oh, I forgot the ginger.

Putting these suckers in.

It smells good over there, Jon.

Thank you!

It smells good over there, as well.

Doug: Gently fold.

Gently fold.

♪ I'm making a mess today ♪ Tim, voice-over: Now I have to get my cornbread stuffing in the oven.

So I put in the wild boar sausage, and I add eggs, pecans.

Just a rough chop on the pecans.

They're gonna add some texture.

Tim, voice-over: Some dried cranberries, and then I put all the contents into the skillets.

I think they're pretty equally blended.

Tim, voice-over: Then I put them in the oven.

I'm just basically kind of waiting for the egg that's mixed into it to set so it kind of has that, like, light, airy feel to it.

At this point, it's all over except for the baking.

♪ Get ready to get all of this into our bakers.

OK. Marcella, voice-over: I am really happy with the steamed mussels.

Perfect.

I really want to make my dad proud with this dish, and I'm just hoping it's gonna help me get into the finale.

Sometimes, I impress myself.

[Sizzling] ♪ Ramos: Looks like Adjo's fish is coming out of that oil.

Looks a little dark.

Derry: You know, Adjo started frying her fish really early, and the fish, it doesn't-- it looks big, but it doesn't take that long to cook.

Ramos: That's true.

Oh, beautiful.

Adjo, voice-over: I think everybody else is more worried about this fish than I am, but I've had bigger fish to fry.

Ha!

Ha ha!

Next, I start my kelewele.

The judges so far have loved my plantains, so I'm just plantain a hundred ways, you know?

Kelewele is fried plantains mixed with blended ginger root.

I am gonna make sure that there's different shapes and sizes because I want some of them to be nice and crispy, and I want some of them to be chewy, and because it can take a long time to caramelize, I really need this to hurry up.

Come on, come on.

Marcella: All right.

I got to get these in.

I just have to put the vermicelli in.

Mae, voice-over: The most important part of the Buddha's feast is different textures.

It's looking pretty nice.

Mae, voice-over: I think the judges will like it because the whole of China likes it.

Ha ha ha!

Mae.

You know what this dish is.

Yeah.

I love the flavor of the fermented bean curd, which gives it a really deep umami flavor.

Yeah, this is what I use.

Yeah.

Oh, OK. Yeah.

It's a great dish.

You want to make sure all the vegetables have their own character.

Oh, yeah.

I love it.

So how are you feeling in the competition since this is week 5?

These people are so good, they intimidate me.

Well, you are doing things that other people aren't doing.

You're knocking it out of the park.

I appreciate what you say.

I hope you judges like it.

Good luck.

Talk to you later.

Thank you.

Thank you.

♪ [Sizzling] ♪ Got to get these in the oven.

I want the surface of the casserole to get a nice crunchy edge.

Oh, get in there.

Doug, voice-over: So I want them to cook as long as possible.

I'm wearing some of my casserole on my classes.

Oh!

Derry: 7 minutes left on the clock!

Oh, my goodness.

OK. Oh, where were we?

Tch, tch, tch.

I'm running out of time.

♪ Kim: All right.

It is smelling as it should.

Kim, voice-over: My sausage and seafood rice is festive, it's colorful.

It's the perfect dish for a party table.

That's a lot of salmon.

Mmm!

Kim, voice-over: I add my shrimp, peas, and smoked salmon, and I get it in the oven.

My final item I will add to it will be some delicious green olives.

♪ There we go.

That's what I want to see.

I'm gonna start working on my agua fresca.

Jon, voice-over: Agua fresca means in English water, but it's much more than that.

Agua de jamaica is made with hibiscus flowers.

It's a little bit tart.

I'm adding piloncillo, which is a sugar from Mexico.

A sugar that's been cooked down sort of like brown sugar but gives an amazing sort of flavor.

This is a beloved drink for all of my ancestors and my abuelitas.

I think that my grandmothers would be proud.

All right.

We're down to the last two minutes.

Oh, come on!

Two minutes remaining?

That's...not good.

OK.

Here we go.

Put those finishing touches on your holiday dishes.

Let's put a little more.

That's it.

I just have to get it garnished now.

Tim: Looks good, looks good, looks good.

I'm definitely happy with my cornbread stuffing.

I think my Grandmama would be extremely proud.

I'm glad that I got to honor her.

♪ A little zhuzh of salt.

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

Time's up!

[Applause] Whoo!

♪ Ramos: For this second round, we asked you to make us a favorite dish that's served at a holiday that's special to your family.

Cooks, this table is beautiful.

I mean, look at this spread.

It is incredible!

Hollingsworth: If this is what holiday meals are like at your houses, I need that invite.

Ha ha ha!

Ramos: All right.

Shall we dig in?

Lam: Yeah.

Yes.

Ramos: Tim, come join us.

♪ Today, for you, I've made my grandmother's cornbread and sausage stuffing.

This is a Thanksgiving Day meal.

My grandmother, her name was Ernestine.

I called her Grandmama.

I brought her skillet with me today, and I used it to help prepare today's meal.

It's kind of like she's with me here today.

Oh, Tim, you're making me cry.

Sorry.

Ha ha!

Um, not my intent.

So, yes, I've replaced the sausage with a wild boar sausage.

That's a piece of me.

Hollingsworth: You know, I grew up with cornbread stuffing.

It tastes like home to me, and I like the gaminess that the boar brings, so I think it's a beautiful dish.

Derry: I agree, and I think one of the things that you nailed, which is not easy to do, is that perfect, almost souffle texture, and maybe that beautiful pan from grandma was helping you out in the oven.

Thank you, ma'am.

Ramos: Mae, come and join us.

OK. All right.

Hi, judges.

Ramos: Hello, Mae.

I made Buddha's feast, and it is for the Chinese New Year.

Chinese food is full of symbolism, and this one is like good fortune.

Lam: Mae, my mother follows a vegetarian diet, and we're very familiar with this dish, and I have to say many times it's not as good as this.

Thank you.

The fermented bean curd gives it that sort of earthy, musky flavor, which I love.

I'm really enjoying this.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

One thing I really love about the dish is that you're biting into different types of mushroom, the corn, the peas, the celery.

All of them texturally are different.

You know, I haven't had this dish before, but I would definitely like to have it again.

Thank you.

Ramos: Marcella.

Hi, Marcella.

[Speaks Italian] I made for you steamed mussels in arrabbiata sauce.

Arrabbiata means angry, but in this sense it's really talking about the spice, and this is a traditional dish that we make for Christmas Eve to celebrate the Feast of the 7 Fishes.

Hollingsworth: A lot of times I've had arrabbiata sauce where it's a lot more blended, but I love the mussel with the chunky parts of the tomato.

Lam: You're totally right.

It's a really special part of the dish.

Derry: You know, there is a little bit of that spice, but it doesn't really feel angry, maybe just a little annoyed.

Uh, I would like to taste it just a little bit more spicy.

Thank you.

Hollingsworth: Thank you.

Lam: Thank you.

Kim, you're up next.

Hello, judges.

Ramos: Hi, Kim.

I made for you a sausage and seafood rice, and the holiday we typically have this at is New Year's.

Lam: I can probably guess that it doesn't get very warm on New Year's in Alaska, so I can totally see why.

This feels like a very, very, very hearty dish that you want in that kind of weather.

But the shrimp is a little bit underseasoned for me, though.

I agree with Francis.

I think, you know, you could take a little bit of the spices that might have been used in the sausage and, you know, sprinkling over that shrimp just to, like, lift it a little bit more.

Sure.

Jon, come join us.

So I made arroz con pollo, which is chicken and rice, and I made jamaica agua fresca, which is a hibiscus tea.

The holiday that I'm celebrating is Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, and you cook your ancestors' and your other people that have died favorite foods, and so it's a really meaningful celebration for us.

Ramos: Cheers.

Derry: Yes.

Salud.

Salud.

Jon: To our family and loved ones.

Derry: Salud to you, Jon.

Salud to everyone.

Ramos: Gracias.

Lam: The texture of the rice is so beautiful, and in part because you can tell you really took care to sauté out that sofrito and then sauté the rice in it, too.

Derry: I agree, but I think you still need a little seasoning on your chicken specifically, but this agua fresca is delicious.

It is tart and bright and very much an enjoyment to have.

Thank you so much, chef.

Doug, come join us.

♪ Judges, I've made for you 3-bean casserole, although there's 4 beans in it.

Hollingsworth: This is reminiscent of the baked beans that I grew up on.

My mama would put a ton of bacon, and the fact that you used a sausage here, it's a little different for me but also very, very interesting.

Derry: I appreciate the various beans in here, but I wish it had different textures with each of those beans because right now it's very mushy, but I think this is a pretty tasty side.

Thank you so much, chefs.

Ramos: Adjo, come join us.

Hello, judges.

What I made for you guys today is fried red snapper with fried plantain called kelewele, and the way to eat this is just use your hand and eat it all at once.

So our first Thanksgiving, somebody said, "Well, you know, you have to make the turkey," and my mom goes, "Ah, what turkey?

We eat fish in this house."

[Laughter] This is how this came about.

Lam: Ooh!

That's good.

Thank you, chef.

The plantain so crunchy but so soft inside.

The fish is cooked beautifully.

Thank you, chef.

Derry: We were a little worried when we saw the fish cooking, but truly, it's done so well.

Cook as many pieces of fish you want to cook in a pot.

[Laughter] I think I nailed this one, and it feels even better that it's a dish taught to me by my mom that she loves making.

Ahh.

Wssshhh!

♪ Ramos: Well, judges, we certainly saw a medley of holiday dishes at the table today.

What are some of the standout dishes from this round?

You know, one of my favorite dishes from the round was Tim's.

Started out with a pan from his grandma, and the wild boar sausage stuffing was, like, stuffing texture on the inside and that crispy cornbread on the outside.

The technique was spot on for me.

Derry: Yeah, I thought Tim's dish was really, really good.

I think this is just one of his things where he's just a smart cook.

Derry: One of my favorite dishes that we had was Adjo's crispy red snapper and plantains.

The fish was beautiful, and the crispiness of the plantains was unlike any other plantain I've had.

That dish was spectacular, but she fried that fish so early, and if she had timed it coming out hot, it would just be that much juicier.

I don't remember you having any complaints as you--as you were screaming, "Aah!

Ooh!"

Ha ha ha!

Lam: Yeah.

I think another dish we should talk about on the top is Marcella's with her steamed mussels and the spicy red sauce.

I love the fact that this is really her father's dish, but I also think in terms of the cook itself, mussels were perfectly cooked, and the sauce was very refined.

Derry: Yeah, it was a very refined dish, but it was just missing a little spice for me... Fair, fair.

you know, just a little bit.

Ramos: All right.

What holiday dishes did you feel were lacking in some areas?

For me, Doug's 3-bean casserole.

To me, it ate kind of pasty from the canned beans he used.

He could have maybe pressure cooked some fresh beans to give a little bit more of that fresh texture.

Yeah.

Another dish that sort of missed the mark to me was Kim.

You know, her sausage and seafood rice felt like it was just missing a little seasoning.

Lam: I agree.

The shrimp I thought was really underseasoned, and it started to take away from the rest of the rice for me.

Yeah.

You know, another dish that I felt needed just a little bit more work was Jon's chicken and rice, and I think that adding the agua fresca was a really nice touch... Lam: Yeah, that was great.

but for me, his actual chicken wasn't the best bite.

Yeah, more salt would have perked all those different flavors up.

Yeah.

So many beautiful dishes this round, but it sounds like you guys have come to an agreement, right?

Shall we bring the cooks back in?

Let's do it.

Get 'em in.

Yes.

♪ Ramos: We asked you to share a family-style dish that's always at the table on your favorite holiday, and guess what!

The winner this week gets a special advantage next week.

Oh!

Ooh!

Ramos: Ha ha ha!

As a reminder, the judges are tracking the overall success of your dishes from week to week to determine which 3 of you will make it to the finale, and since this process is all about growing, the judges want to give some feedback to some of your dishes.

Lam: The first dish that we thought could have used a little bit of a different approach was... ♪ Doug's.

Your 3-bean casserole was really well seasoned, but we thought maybe the 3 canned beans had a little bit of a soft sort of mushiness.

Maybe you could have taken one of those beans and pressure cooked it to add another kind of texture to it, as well.

Derry: And the other dish that we thought needed a little bit of improvement was... ♪ Jon, your arroz con pollo.

Jon: OK. Derry: We keep reminding you season.

You're getting better.

You're getting closer to kind of what we're looking for, but we really want you to pick that up a little bit.

Ramos: Thank you, judges.

Now, which holiday dishes were the standouts of this round?

The first dish that we couldn't get enough of was... ♪ Tim's.

No way!

Get out of here.

Adjo: Good job, Tim.

Your wild boar cornbread stuffing took me back home, and I think your technique was great.

Overall, a really beautiful dish.

Thank you, Tim.

Thank you so.

Kim: Nice job.

Our next favorite holiday dish was... ♪ Adjo.

[Cheering] Adjo: I thought you were gonna win it.

I told you!

Yes, you did.

Yes, you did, Mae.

You did.

You told me.

Lam: Your fried red snapper with fried plantains was just such a riot.

Everything about that dish was a standout element on its own, and then putting it all together into one bite, eating with your hands, it was great.

Mae: Good job, Adjo.

Ramos: Congratulations, both of you, but there can only be one winner.

Derry: The winning dish was... ♪ Adjo!

[Cheering] I tell you, I tell you.

Kim: You totally deserve it.

You totally deserve it.

Adjo, your crispy plantain and red snapper was not only delicious, but it told a story of a person who has fought to keep her traditions.

Oh, my God!

I got to give you a hug.

Ramos: Ha ha ha!

Been working hard for this for so long to just be seen and be culturally represented.

It feels great.

All of you are so special.

All of your sauces and your pots and your pans and the spices.

These are special moments.

Don't take it for granted.

This opportunity means a lot.

It means a lot for my African culture and my community.

At this point with this win, I feel like there is a higher chance of me getting to the finale.

Thanks, bestie.

Thank you, Mae.

Ramos: Congratulations, Adjo.

You did a beautiful job.

Oh, my God.

I have to tell my mom.

[Laughter] Ramos: And, Adjo, as the winner this week, you're gonna get a very special advantage next week.

Adjo: Oh, my God!

I forgot about that.

[Laughter] Oh, she's happy!

Ramos: I am gonna keep you a little bit in suspense.

Adjo: Ooh!

You'll find out next week what the treat is.

Aww!

OK.

Thank you so much, everyone.

We will see you back next week as we get even closer to finding out who will make it to the "Great American Recipe" finale.

[Cheering] Have a great night!

Take care!

♪ Next time on "The Great American Recipe"... Cooks, we're bringing back the recipe swap.

Oh, God!

[Laughter] Ramos: This challenge is all about getting them out of their comfort zone.

Mae: I'm not familiar with Italian cooking, certainly not artichokes.

Adjo: Dirty rice.

What is that?

If I closed my eyes and I ate this, I would legitimately think you might have been Adjo.

Ramos: Nothing like keeping you on your toes to test your skills in the kitchen, right?

♪