All is not what it seems as Michael McKean reveals the truth behind dishes in disguise. He uncovers what it took to make turducken tick, how it takes more than magic to get soup inside soup dumplings and how cake and pie have come together in order to save the world.
In Baltimore, Ali Khan comes face-to-face with bacon-infused pancakes fit for "the king," then channels his inner Neanderthal for his first taste of Maryland pit beef. It's a fancy snack of Basque-style fried cheese balls before he slurps down on some out-of-this-world Korean-style street noodles.
Inspired by his mom's cooking, Michael Symon masters Chicken Parmesan Meatballs on the grill. As one cheese is never enough, Michael adds smooth ricotta to the meat and makes a quick and easy Sweet Red Sauce while his wife, Liz, joins him to cook Soft Polenta over their fire pit. Then, Liz whips up a simple Vinegar and Cream Dressing to accompany Michael's mom's favorite garden salad before they relax in the sunshine together, enjoying every tasty bite.
Every good chef needs a good set of tools. When Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos are in Tuscany, Italy, they try to cook with unique Tuscan tools whenever possible. And, like any chef, they're always looking to add to their arsenal. In this episode, they take the kids and Robert to a flea market to hunt for traditional cooking utensils. But first they take them for a picnic at the local zip line adventure park. Back home, after the zip lines and flea market, they'll cook a delicious dinner using the day's finds.
Food truck aficionado Chef Brad Miller starts off in Durham, N.C., with a visit to American Meltdown, a food truck where Chef Paul Inserra is surprising customers with his innovative and mouthwatering spins on the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Then Brad heads to Minneapolis, Minn., to visit Bibuta, where sushi master Billy Tserenbat has turned his truck into a veritable sushi bar on wheels and uses only the highest quality ingredients, like fresh tuna and wagyu beef. Finally, Brad boards the Drizzle truck in Long Beach, Calif., where owner Jenny Diaz is combining fresh funnel cake and ice cream to create a whole new dessert that has customers lining up.
The culinary masters from Iron Chef are sharing their favorite Italian eats. Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian loves the California-Italian inspired dishes at Spartina restaurant in Los Angeles, and Iron Chef Gauntlet competitor Stephanie Izard loves the wood-fired Diavolo and Vongole Bianco pizzas at Nostrana in Portland, Oregon. Iron Chef winner Lee Anne Wong finds pasta perfection at Domenica in New Orleans, while Iron Chef Bobby Flay swoons over the colorful plates of vegetables at Via Carota in New York City.
Four remaining teams made up of an expert pumpkin carver, cake decorator and sugar artist go to battle to create mind-blowing Halloween-themed displays that capture the horror of a two-faced monster. Carlson Young, actress from MTV's Scream, joins the judging panel to help decide which team will be eliminated and which will move on to the final battle.
An Iron Chef's ability to improvise is a key to success in Kitchen Stadium. When ingredients on the altar are revealed, combatants in Kitchen Stadium must respond quickly to what the Chairman has thrown at them. Guest comedian Kevin Nealon and the audience at the Improv comedy club in Hollywood throw ingredient suggestions at the chefs -- everything from octopus to marshmallows, perhaps a coconut? Kevin selects a disparate list of ingredients to cook with and the chefs have 45 minutes to improvise an Iron Chef-worthy dish.
Roger Mooking takes a trip to West Point, Texas, to meet Tink Pinkard. Tink is an outdoor guide, hunter, fisherman, caterer and all-around nice guy. Together they build a barbecue pit out of cinder blocks and prepare Italian porchetta. While the pig slowly roasts over coals, Tink teaches Roger how to fly-fish and takes him to a neighbor's longhorn ranch. It's a wild and delicious adventure that Roger won't soon forget.
After 20 seasons of burnt food, kitchen fires and inedible eats, Chef Anne Burrell is joined by Chef Carla Hall to welcome 14 horrible cooks to culinary boot camp. For the first challenge, Anne and Carla have the recruits make their favorite homemade dishes to show off their cooking chops, or lack thereof, in order to decide who the mentors want on their respective teams. For the main challenge, the recruits are tasked with replicating their chef's favorite Asian takeout dishes. The recruits on each team with the worst dishes are sent home.