Food Network Star Read online

  6. Serve over jasmine rice, if desired.

  Bumps in the Road

  While Jess said of Guy: “He’s just rollin,’ ” he had a different view of his pasta demo. “Running in cowboy boots,” he said. “It was not smooth.” Bob agreed, saying that he made it seem so complicated.

  CHIPOTLE PASTA

  Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

  Yield: 4 to 6 servings • Prep Time: 10 minutes • Cook Time: 10 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy

  2 tablespoons olive oil

  4 hot links, sliced on the bias into 6 pieces

  20 (21/25) shrimp, deveined, shelled, and butterflied

  1 cup heavy cream

  ¾ cup Chipotle Sauce (recipe follows)

  ¾ teaspoon sea salt

  ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

  1 pound penne, cooked

  ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

  ¼ cup diced fresh tomato, for garnish

  ¼ cup chopped scallion, white and some green, for garnish

  CHIPOTLE SAUCE

  ½ cup barbecue sauce

  ¼ cup canola oil

  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  2 tablespoons chipotle paste

  ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

  ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper

  ⅛ teaspoon cayenne

  ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

  1. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add hot links and sear until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the cream, Chipotle Sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and cheese and turn off the heat. Toss to combine.

  2. Serve in a pasta bowl, and garnish with the diced tomato, scallion, and more of the grated Parmesan.

  CHIPOTLE SAUCE: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, purée, cover, and refrigerate.

  • Yield: 1 cup

  “Guy was made for the camera. You can’t deny it. Guy is really fun to watch. As his friend, I’ve enjoyed watching his career skyrocket over the years, and whenever he’s in L.A. shooting one of his shows, we still make time to meet up. I don’t know how he does it. The guy is a machine.”

  —Nathan Lyon

  Thinking on Your Feet

  Carissa misunderstood the demo instructions and hadn’t prepared any swap-outs. She was impressively fluid, but she was making her dish from scratch and her potatoes didn’t cook. Reggie did the best job of improvising. When he couldn’t figure out how to get the food processor to purée his Spinach and Sweet Pea Soup, he served it country-style. “It didn’t need to be puréed,” said Bobby Flay, who had his own issues with a food processor on a show in 1996. “It’s good. . . . That’s how great things happen—by accident.”

  Beth had so many ingredients that she thought there was “no way in heck” she would finish her Turkey Wraps in time. She did miss a few items, but unlike anyone else, she managed to taste her own food.

  “This somehow became my signature dish on the show, but it’s not something I make that often. I do enjoy the flavors, but I think my cooking has a little more of a creative angle that wasn’t necessarily reflected in this recipe. Nonetheless, it’s a quick and tasty weeknight dish, and I have a group of friends who swear by it.”

  —Beth Raynor

  “The kindest advice you can give anybody is the most direct, honest advice, and I think the best thing I can do for someone who wants to grow is to be honest with him about his failings. It doesn’t do him any good for me to pull my punches.

  “I derive no pleasure from tearing someone down. My greatest pleasure is to help people succeed and achieve their dreams. This show gives aspiring chefs an outlet they would never otherwise have, and they are looking to us to help them get through this maze of stardom and TV and the Food Network.”

  —Bob Tuschman

  Now for the elimination room’s first victim. Rushing, nervousness, failing to bring personality to a demo are standard Next Food Network Star shortcomings. According to Bob, Guy talked about the “set,” when there should be an illusion that the chef is taking us into his world. And he talked about “20/25 shrimp” (referring to the count per pound)—but viewers are not all chefs who can understand that lingo. Guy himself noted eighteen points where he felt he went wrong.

  But it was Jess, whose stories were endearing but who succumbed to nerves, who went home first.

  “It’s always tough to take criticism so publicly, but I always tried to take it very literally and make sure that I legitimately worked on everything that they suggested. Any insight or advice they gave, I tried to implement that and put that into practice.”

  —Carissa Seward

  what is A KAFFIR LIME LEAF?

  Kaffir limes are a vital ingredient in Thai cooking—the zest is part of the popular Thai red curry paste. For some dishes the leaf, which can be bought fresh or dried, is cut into thin strips, but it is most often used whole, like a bay leaf, as Nathan Lyon did with his Poached Halibut recipe in this challenge.

  TURKEY PINE NUT CABBAGE WRAPS

  Recipe courtesy Elizabeth Raynor

  Yield: 4 servings, 2 wraps per person • Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 15 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy

  1 small head red cabbage

  1 tablespoon peanut oil

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  2 tablespoons finely diced fresh ginger

  ¼ cup diced yellow onion

  ¼ cup diced red bell pepper

  ¼ cup diced yellow bell pepper

  ½ pound lean ground turkey

  2½ teaspoons hoisin sauce

  1 tablespoon oyster sauce

  1½ teaspoons red chili sauce, such as sriracha

  2½ teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

  1 teaspoon rice vinegar

  1 teaspoon fish sauce

  1 teaspoon sesame oil

  2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish

  2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

  2 tablespoons diced scallion, white and some green

  1. Wash and dry the cabbage and cut off the bottom. Carefully remove about 4 leaves, being sure not to tear them, and cut in half lengthwise. Arrange on a platter or on four plates.

  2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onion and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until soft. Add the red pepper, yellow pepper, and turkey and sauté until the turkey is almost cooked through and slightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Let the turkey cook for another 4 to 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the fish sauce, sesame oil, cilantro, pine nuts, and scallion. To serve, place a spoonful of the mixture into each cabbage cup. Garnish with the extra cilantro, if desired.

  The Satellite Tour

  One of a Food Network star’s jobs is to take part in publicity events such as the satellite media “tour” to twenty or more cities from the studio. This involves cooking and saying the same things over and over to a succession of hosts. But most hosts aren’t like the ringers provided to finalists for their next challenge: Russ Mitchell and Tracy Smith from the CBS Saturday Early Show.

  Tracy, as “Ann Walker,” asked static-plagued Andy about “dreamy” Bobby Flay, then she called Carissa “Clarissa.” Russ as “Brad” called Beth “Carissa,” but she was able to run with it. Reggie had terrible interference piped into his earpiece, but he remembered Rule Number One: Don’t stop. He did get a little chippy with Russ. Russ as “Miles” told Nathan that his dish sounded “nasty” and asked if Rachael Ray was “hot in person.” Evette had “Bruce from St. Louis,” aka Russ, who whined about having to do a food segment. She gamely cooked her omelet through the background noise as well as Bruce hitting on her—clumsily at that—on the air.

  “I grew up with the ubiquitous Spanish omelet or, as we call it, the Tortilla Espanola. It is a favorite for my family and it evolv
es constantly.”

  —Evette Rodriguez

  SPINACH, BACON, AND POTATO OMELET

  (Tortilla de Papa y Carne de Cerdo con Espinaca)

  Recipe courtesy Evette Rodriguez

  Yield: 8 servings • Prep Time: 10 minutes • Cook Time: 40 to 45 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy

  8 slices bacon

  2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced (2½ cups)

  2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  1 tablespoon olive oil

  1 teaspoon sofrito (recommended: Goya)

  ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

  ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

  2 ounces fresh spinach, chopped (1½ cups)

  10 large eggs

  Crusty bread or whole-grain toast, for serving

  1. Preheat the broiler.

  2. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cook under the broiler for 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the bacon from the baking sheet and drain on three paper towels. Coarsely chop and set aside.

  3. Add the potatoes to 2 to 3 cups of water and boil until just tender but not falling apart, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

  4. In a wide nonstick ovenproof sauté pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the sofrito and stir-fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, seasoning with half of the salt and pepper, until the potatoes are golden and slightly crisp. Stir in the spinach, chopped bacon, and remaining salt and pepper.

  5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are fluffy. Pour the eggs over the potatoes and shake the pan a bit while the eggs begin to set. Using a heat-resistant spatula, pull the eggs from the sides of the pan, tipping the pan slightly to one side to allow the eggs to spread over the space. Tilt the pan in another direction to repeat the process, going around the entire pan. Place the pan under the broiler until the eggs are set and the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

  6. Cut the omelet into wedges and serve with warm crusty bread or whole-grain toast.

  Points of View

  Every season, finalists have to present and stand by their culinary Point of View—what part of the food map are they going to own? It’s a defining element of the show. Giada De Laurentiis is the spokesperson for “Everyday Italian” because that is who she is. Bobby Flay balances big bold flavors with sweeter things for harmony. The take is authentic. “You can’t fake it,” said Bob.

  Sandra Lee, who appeared to introduce the finalists to their episode three challenge, is “Semi-Homemade.” She uses 70 percent store-bought and 30 percent fresh ingredients to create dishes that look and taste homemade but don’t take much time. Sandra talked about combining a Cordon Bleu education with a saver’s sensibility: “Why am I spending fifty dollars on five jars of spices when I can spend a dollar-fifty on this packet?” Her advice: Explore the grocery store and look at what’s on the shelves to come up with new dishes.

  “Sometimes people have an idea of what POV they think they want. What they can’t know is how many times we might have heard that idea before. When we know it’s not going to work, they’re stripped naked.”

  —Bob Tuschman

  In this challenge, the finalists had to represent their POV using pasta. Reggie cooked his Macaroni Blanco with Sausages. “Reggie, I love you,” said Sandra, “but I felt you were a little scattered.” Carissa didn’t have a swap-out. Guy was concerned with getting it all done for his “Full-Flavored Bird.” “The timing’s the hardest part. If you can’t launch the rocket, you can’t launch the rocket.”

  Andy, who presented a Shiitake Cheese Ravioli with Brown Butter, Walnuts, and Oregano, felt he demonstrated great techniques but that his POV was weak. Beth tried to get her personality across but Sandra thought she sounded instructional. Nathan talked about cooking his lasagna with his niece. “You’re a pleasure to watch,” said Sandra. “I think this is yours to lose.”

  In the elimination room, Susie told Beth that she needed to be bigger. Finally, Bobby let Beth go.

  “I knew what my point of view was—and still is—from the beginning. I can’t tell you how many people I heard from after the show asking me to write a cookbook full of healthy, approachable, simple, and flavorful recipes. Hopefully, I’ll reach that goal one of these days soon!”

  —Beth Raynor

  what is CONCASSÉ?

  Guy added concassé to his “Full-Flavored Bird.” Concasser is the French verb for “to chop” or “to crush.” Many ingredients can be prepared concassé—for example, tomatoes, herbs, ice, or chicken bones to go in a stock.

  The Mentors

  In back-to-back weeks, finalists received the best advice from mentors Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown. First, in episode four, Giada ran through her TV demonstration techniques in a multi-tasking challenge:

  ∗ Make all the recipes with ten ingredients or fewer.

  ∗ Use simple, fresh ingredients with tons of flavor.

  ∗ Learn multi-tasking, how to make more than one dish at a time.

  ∗ Ask yourself: “Why is my recipe different from the others out there?” That’s what you’re selling.

  ∗ Give tips: Can I make the dish way in advance?

  ∗ Minimize the number of steps required.

  what is A KABOCHA SQUASH?

  For the multitasking challenge, Nathan made Salmon Tartare with Roast Kabocha Soup. Originally from Japan, the kabocha is a winter squash with dense, sweet orange flesh.

  Right after Evette’s elimination in Giada’s multi-tasking challenge, finalists had to spend their evening and a lot of the night decorating cupcakes to demo the next morning before a live audience at Sur La Table, the cookware store. To help with the performance, Dave Lieberman, host of Good Deals, demo’ed the demo by decorating a sponge cake. “Be natural. Just relax and have fun,” said Dave. Finalists should engage the audience while working on their food. While he was grating, Dave asked the audience, “You guys use a Microplane before?”

  “What am I going to do with a cupcake? I hate cupcakes. I don’t eat them. My kids don’t eat them. I’ll make you something like Bananas Foster French Toast. That’s my kind of dessert. When these kinds of things came up, I’m like, ‘All right, here we go.’ ”

  —Guy Fieri

  Alton Brown—“the Professor”—took the finalists back to school in episode five and then into Chelsea Market to make a field piece. They were to come up with an idea and a recorded spot for a TV show to present to the Selection Committee. Alton pitched his tips:

  ∗ If you haven’t got them in ten seconds, go home.

  ∗ Think like Velcro—be very sticky and get them to stick to you.

  ∗ Think about how your personality and passion can make your field piece unique.

  ∗ Don’t be too rehearsed and stiff or too slick and overconfident.

  ∗ Don’t get caught up in how you look: Sexy comes from not being sexy sometimes.

  ∗ When you’re talking about wine, it’s very easy to sound pretentious. Don’t.

  ∗ Stop to think if you need to think—your minute-long piece is not the Gettysburg Address.

  ∗ Never say “It’s gonna be great!” It’s TV: You can’t prove it because no one can taste it.

  After the pitches, it was Andy, and his idea of “Bringing the restaurant home,” that was sent on his way.

  “Alton’s five times more intense live than he is on the show.”

  —Guy Fieri

  Alton Brown: A Q&A

  Has the ability of finalists improved over the seasons?

  I’ve never really been privy to their culinary skills. I’ve always been brought in to deal with camera-related issues. In general the on-camera skill level has remained the same.

  Being on TV is something they have to learn . . .

  Well, some people just have the innate ability to perform in that medium. Others have to learn it like a new language. Others just never get it.

  So some o
f them are naturals?

  Sure, but it’s rare. Most of them, even when they’ve really polished their act, you can see them turning it on and off. The really good ones, like Bobby Flay or Giada De Laurentiis, just are who they are and it works. They’re the same on screen as off and that resonates with people. Sometimes of course you see one of these people and there’s a glimmer, just a glimmer of a gem and you think . . . “If I could just get ahold of them, before they get a big head or get polluted. . . .”

  What can aspiring Food Network Stars teach themselves?

  People pitch shows and ask about the camera. I say, record yourself at home over and over and practice until the person you see on the screen looks like you and sounds like you.

  So is the Alton Brown we see the real Alton Brown?

  Yep, that’s me . . . but polished up and adjusted for the 2-D environment. I move and act a little differently when I’m inside that box. It’s different in there.

  You don’t mind calling it as you see it . . .

  You can’t have people telling you you are great all the time if you aren’t. You need to be honest. These people are young, they are inexperienced.

  Still, do you find that you bite your tongue on occasion?

  I do bite my tongue. I don’t want to beat around the bush and I want to be honest but I don’t want to be mean. I have a vested interest in getting a good winner. It’s my network too and my stock falls if they’re bad. I want good shows.