This week, the Recruits huddle up to tackle game day dishes as they as they create deep-fried fan favorites for Chefs Anne and Tyler. Will they make crowd-pleasing dishes, or be defeated by the fryer? After the big game, the Recruits try not to lose their noodles when they break down a raw squid to make squid ink pasta with calamari.
They may have been born in Mexico, but today the taco is a concept as "American" as apple pie. Host Alton Brown seeks to refurbish two particularly tarnished variations on the theme. Recipes include Flour Tortillas, Taco Potion #19, All American Beef Taco, Fish Taco and Crema.
It's family time at Patti LaBelle's place, when Patti invites her good friend Carla Hall over for a down-home Southern lunch, inspired by her father's Cornmeal Fried Catfish. Patti and Carla reminisce and cook up a storm, and then NBA champion J.R. Smith brings his mother, Ida, for a very special Italian meal of Linguine with Meatballs at Miss Patti's.
On their way to Las Vegas for a convention, Fran discovers that his cousin Sal has booked them on a connecting flight through St. Louis, with an eight-hour layover. But, there is a method to Sal's madness. He has mapped out iconic eateries in St. Louis to try out, starting with Tiffany's Diner on Rt. 66, where they've been serving up "Slingers", traditional St. Louis breakfast, since 1960. Then, the guys head over to Russell's on Macklind to try a unique spin on gooey butter cake. No layover is complete without discovering the local pizza scene, so Sal and Fran head to Frank & Helen's for a slice or two of their famous St. Louis-style pizza and Toasted Ravioli.
Andrew Zimmern brings us to Baltimore, a gritty city where the food is alive with original flavor. Hearty and unique favorites are featured, including local blue crab, tender pit beef and beloved chocolaty Berger cookies.
FoodCrafters is on the rocks as Aida Mollenkamp gets a sip of alcohol-infused artisanal foods. From a team making loaded chocolate sauce in Chicago to two brothers crafting single batch whiskey in Denver. Then it's bourbon balls from Kentucky and a decadent cognac tobacco chocolate in Dallas.
Andrew Zimmern unveils the diverse delicacies of ultra-modern Dubai like marinated meat kababs, an Egyptian dish with roots to an ancient past and halwa, a rosewater-flavored sweet known as a symbol of the region.
Alton Brown teaches all you need to know about making the best use of the biggest berry to ever be called a vegetable, the tomato. With a serious look at serrated knives, a strange and delicious sandwich and a tomato sauce that almost isn't. With recipes for: Tomato Sauce, TBL Panzanella and Stuffed Tomatoes.
Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman love Italian food so much they're challenging the bakers to create lasagna dessert imposters! The bakers must create meat lasagna, spinach-and-mushroom lasagna or veggie-pesto lasagna imposters if they want to stay in the game.
Fearlessly innovative Michelin-starred chef Richie Farina is rolling the dice at the Great American Foodie Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada! Robert Magsalin's Fukuburger Food Truck was voted the Best in Las Vegas and his fried egg "Tomago Burger" is tearing up the food scene in Sin City. Now, Richie has 24 hours to come up with his own version of Robert's big-time burger before a head-to-head cook-off where the fairgoers decide on a winner.