The Great American Recipe

Narrator : On this season of "The Great American Recipe"... Oh, baby, here we go.

Narrator: over seven weeks of competition, celebrating the heart of American home cooking.

Brian, voice-over: In my mom's house, we always had oatmeal cookies.

They really strike home in my heart.

Nikki: I smell me a bunch of delicious!

Foo: Ha ha ha!

Narrator: Our home cooks have shared their most treasured recipes... Bambi: And when you cook with love, no matter what it is, it's the best thing that you've ever tasted.

Narrator: and the heartfelt stories behind each delicious dish.

Dan: Gnocchi needs the ridges because it has to hold the sauce.

This is the recipe I can say for sure it came from Italy.

Chef Tiffany Derry: I can taste the generations of flavor.

Narrator: Together, they have connected through their cooking.

What do you think?

Mmm, it's great.

It's great?

Yeah.

As much as this is a competition, we're a family here.

Nikki: They've touched my life, my soul, my heart, and I'll take you and them with me for the rest of my life, so thank you.

Ha ha!

Narrator: After experiencing dishes from regions across the country, we're down to the final three home cooks: Robin... Robin: My mother was the pie maker in the family.

Sorry.

[Voice trembles] No one has the recipes, so we've been making them up.

Narrator: Silvia...

It was a soup that I made for the first time in United States, right after I got my U.S. citizenship.

I'm going to cry.

I don't want to cry.

As if we didn't know you made it with love, we can tell with the hearts in this bowl.

[All laugh] Narrator: ...and Foo.

Foo: I took this challenge to heart.

[Voice cracks] It's from my mom.

You're making this dish that reminds you of the years before, and then, years from now, you'll be able to do the same thing.

It's why I love cooking.

Narrator: And for one of them, the title of winner of "The Great American Recipe" is just two rounds of cooking away.

Alejandra: Hello!

Ha ha ha!

[Theme music plays] ♪ ♪ Alejandra: Welcome to the finale of "The Great American Recipe."

Yay!

Whoo!

So excited.

Alejandra: Ha ha!

We did it.

One more time, let's welcome back our talented judges: Leah Cohen, Tiffany Derry, and Graham Elliot.

It has been our pleasure, experiencing your delicious recipes and hearing your heartfelt stories and memories.

All three of you represent the best of the best.

So last week, you made dishes that celebrated the legacy of your friends' and families' most cherished recipes.

Today, you have two final rounds of cooking to show us that you have what it takes to be named the winner and have one of your recipes featured on the cover of "The Great American Recipe" cookbook.

Wow!

Yay!

Ha ha ha ha!

Alejandra: That's pretty cool.

Yeah.

Foo: Winning would be an amazing opportunity to share my family's food to the world.

Alejandra: All right, cooks.

Are you ready to hear about your first big finale challenge?

Yes!

Foo: Yeah.

For this round, you'll have 60 minutes to prepare a recipe that you make time and time again with a person you love to cook with.

We all know the secret ingredient to the most wonderful recipes is love, so even though your kitchen muse can't cook with you today, we want you to introduce us to them through your recipe.

Tiffany: You've shown us that you all are tremendous cooks, but now's the time for you to put everything you've learned on the plate.

And remember, we'll be judging you on taste, execution, presentation, and how well your dish showcases the theme.

OK, cooks, this is it.

Your 60 minutes... starts now.

♪ Alejandra: So, judges, it's the finale.

Did you expect to see these 3 cooks here?

I'm not surprised that Silvia's here.

She was consistently on the top.

Alejandra: We all agreed the best recipe is... Silvia.

Thank you.

Silvia.

Silvia with your pozole.

Silvia: Thank you.

Ha ha ha!

Thank you.

This pozole verde is delicious.

Thank you very much.

Leah: But Robin and Foo, I mean, they really earned their way to the finale.

I am so proud that they are here.

Graham: Yeah, I think Robin did that orzo, but with that killer lamb rack, it was, like, on point.

Yeah, yes.

Let's get one thing clear: this isn't just lamb chops and salad, right?

This is legit.

This looks like you just opened your restaurant and served this.

Thank you.

Tiffany: That's when I feel like I can see a little bit of a difference in her, right?

Exactly, yes.

She was cooking, like, confidently.

She had a spark in her eye.

Yes, she did.

Ha ha ha!

Yes.

Foo: Oh, nice.

Graham: Foo clearly knows how to cook.

He's got great technique, he's got a story, but the only issue is it felt like he was cooking at, like, a 3 or 4, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

Tiffany: I think that you're on to something really great.

It's there.

I just want more of it.

It's coming.

Alejandra: Ha ha!

I like it.

Ha ha ha!

Graham: I think this is your best dish.

I'd have this, like, twice a week.

I love this style.

Thank you.

Tiffany: I agree.

To me, Foo and Robin-- two of the people who have definitely taken the advice that we've been giving... Graham: Mm-hmm.

and added their twist to it.

Yes, true.

Absolutely.

Graham: But right now, with Robin, Foo, and Silvia, it's anybody's game.

Alejandra: Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Leah: I agree, yeah.

♪ All right.

I'm going to pull out all of the stops on these.

Winning "The Great American Recipe," for me, is more about having a voice.

I would love to be able to share more of who I am, more of the cultures that I bring to my kitchen.

I share the Syrian food that I grew up with.

This first finale round is for someone who you love to cook with in the kitchen, and while I love to cook with all of my children, I want to cook something that I did for my daughter when she was turning 3 years old, so I'm making something I call button cups.

It's a shortbread cookie, basically.

It's butter, flour, sugar, and cream cheese that's been shaped into a cup so it can hold a filling, and I'm going to make a top for it out of a cookie, using a button to press on top of it and make it look just like a button.

When we first did this, my daughter was very into fairytale books, and so I wanted to make this look like one of the books that she was into at the time.

She was elated that she had-- what looks like she was eating buttons.

This is unbelievable.

I made it all the way through to the finale.

I've learned a lot here, I've had great response from the things that I've cooked for the judges.

May the best person win.

Hey, Foo!

Yeah?

Who do you love to cook with in the kitchen?

I am making a dish that I like cooking with all five of my sisters.

OK, and do you all fight in the kitchen?

I would never fight my sisters.

I will always lose.

Foo, voice-over: What a roller coaster, but overall, I am ecstatic that I am in the finale.

I am making a chicken congee, Vietnamese-style.

Congee is a rice porridge, and when you're cooking congee, it typically takes a couple hours because you want to really cook it down to get that really strong chicken taste, but because I have a short period of time, I'm going to do it in a pressure cooker.

So I put chicken necks and some chicken wings, along with chicken broth, inside a pressure cooker.

This is round one, and it's important for me to nail this dish because I want to let the judges know that I belong here.

I still can't believe that I am one of the three best home cooks in this competition.

Tremendously humbling.

The reason I like making Vietnamese chicken congee with my sisters--I love spending time in the kitchen with them.

We always have a lot of good times bonding and hanging out and eating good food, sharing recipes.

My brothers are very good cooks as well, but I'm better.

Ha!

♪ Ay, Silvia, Silvia, Silvia.

I made it.

Ha ha!

And I honestly didn't think at the beginning that I'm going to be in this position now, but I'm so excited that I'm making it to the end, absolutely.

It's the finale, right?

So I'm getting nervous because it's, like, this is it, right?

I need to take into consideration everything that the judges have taught me the past weeks.

I'm making pesto pizza with roasted tomatoes.

For this round, I need to make a dish that is inspired by somebody that I love to cook with in the kitchen, and this person is my husband, Matt.

My husband and I divide our time in the kitchen, so one week I cook, and then the next week he cooks, but every Friday is pizza Friday.

It is now a tradition in our family.

Foo: Silvia.

Silvia: Yep?

Are you having fun?

Yes.

All right, good.

Every time I make pizza, I have fun.

Ha ha ha!

OK.

I think my husband has a lot to do on these recipes, so if I win, my husband will be very proud of me.

He always said that I could win this thing.

45 minutes.

Silvia: Whoo-hoo!

45 minutes, cooks.

Robin: Whoop-de-doo.

Robin, voice-over: The filling for the button cups is the important part.

I want to make homemade strawberry jam, and I need to make almond butter, but at home, it takes ten minutes with almonds in a food processor to just let 'em whirl until eventually they break down and make beautiful butter.

This'll be easy.

Right.

Right.

[Whirring weakly] Go ahead, break.

Heh!

Robin, voice-over: It's not coming together.

It's a smaller food processor than the one I use at home.

I've got a mess.

[Turns off food processor] But I refuse to have come this far and get beaten by a food processor.

I've got to figure out what else I'm going to do.

I'm throwing yogurt in here.

Robin, voice-over: So, with the yogurt, I'm hoping that I will get the texture I want.

Raising four children as a single mom, the most important thing was to make sure that I could get homemade food on the table, so if I win this, it will be for them.

I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

♪ Foo, voice-over: So I'm serving my chicken congee with some chicken breasts, and I'm going to cook it separately with some fish sauce, some scallions, ginger, and roasted onions.

What I'm trying to do there is I'm trying to infuse some of those flavors inside the chicken breasts.

Foo: Smells good, Silvia.

Silvia: Thank you.

Hello, hello.

Hello, Silvia.

Hi.

Alejandra: Ha ha ha!

Can you translate for me, please?

I can't say that in English.

Well, it's a phrase that essentially means, like, "caught with my hands in the dough," which translates to "caught doing something naughty"... Got it.

but this doesn't look naughty, this looks healthy.

Leah: No.

No, this is.

delicious.

Yeah.

Silvia: So I'm making pizza.

This is a tradition in our family every Friday, and this is just something that I really miss.

Alejandra: Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so it's going to be a really great reunion when you do see each other.

It will be great.

Absolutely.

We have a system, so I do the dough, and then he's the one that put it in and pull it out, but I am always like, "Put more cornmeal on there."

Leah: Also, I think that a metal pizza peel is much easier to get... Than the wooden?

the dough off of than the wooden one.

I have the wooden one at home, and I make my husband use that one.

Ha ha ha!

I put him to work and I challenge him.

And you also have to make sure to preheat your pizza stove.

Yes.

You want it as hot as possible.

That was the first thing that you did.

Yes.

Yeah.

And we bake our pizzas really hot, like, at 500.

Alejandra: Yes, fantastic.

Well, we are so excited to try your pizza.

OK.

Thank you so much, Silvia.

Thank you for pitching in.

I can't wait for you to try it.

Yes.

OK. Bye.

Bye.

♪ Robin: Here we go, guys.

You can't have cookies without milk, so I'm determined that I'm going to make almond milk as well.

To make almond milk at home, I soak them in water for about an hour, but because I don't have time to soak the almonds ahead of time, I thought boiling them would speed up the process.

It--it didn't.

It's the finale, and I don't think I've ever felt so frustrated and disappointed in anything I've cooked.

Hey, Robin.

Hi.

Oh, buddy.

Oh.

Well, that's not like the usual cheery "Hi."

No, no.

[Sadly] "Hi."

This is one of those days in the kitchen where you want to kick the stove.

Tiffany: OK, well, tell us what you're making first.

Robin: I am making button cups.

Graham: Button cups.

Button cups.

Almond butter, strawberry jam, cookie cups to put them in.

Did you make this name up?

I did.

I use buttons for the top... Oh, look at that.

because they get a lid on it... Wow.

and so the jelly and the butter is on the inside.

And my daughter and I made these when she was 3 years old for her third birthday, and she's the youngest, the princess, with 3 older brothers, and throughout the years, they would love to go and sit down and have tea parties with her and bring all her little stuffed animals and dolls around the table.

Aw!

So we just--we've carried on the tradition for this.

Heh heh!

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Well, you look like you got a lot going on.

Yeah, hopefully you'll get at least a cookie.

Ha ha!

Thanks, Robin.

Thank you.

20 minutes!

Let's do it!

Sylvia: Whoo-hoo!

♪ Let's see what we can do with this.

Foo, voice-over: I'm banking on the execution of my congee.

In order to successfully execute the dish, the flavors and texture need to be perfectly balanced, and I'm banking on the flavor.

I feel like I got the flavors down, so we'll see what the judges say.

I would love to win with this dish, inspired by my sisters.

My sisters have taken care of me.

They still do to this day; I adore them, I love them, so I'm making this for my sisters.

Hello, Foo!

Hello, hi.

Hi, Foo.

What are you making for us?

Today, we're making a Vietnamese chicken congee.

Mmm!

Yeah, it's a dish that, uh, I find a lot of comfort in.

It is a dish that my mom would make us when we were younger and sick, so I make it for my kids, I make it for my wife Amy when she's sick, and-- and sometimes, even if you're not sick...

Right.

it's really soulful comfort food.

This is like your chicken and rice.

And in Puerto Rico, we actually have something called asopao... Foo: OK. which is, like, a soupy rice dish.

Foo: Oh!

It's kind of our version of this.

Oh, wonderful.

I did not know that.

Thank you, Chef.

Well, I'm looking forward to this so much.

Yes.

Going to be so many great flavors.

Thank you.

Thank you.

♪ Right there.

♪ I'm going to make my pesto.

I'm just going to pick in a few, just for, like, garnishing the pizza.

Voice-over: We don't have pesto in Mexico.

I know basil, but it's not something that we use a lot in Mexican cuisine.

But, first time I came to California, I had it and I fell in love with it, and my husband makes amazing pesto, so now I like to put it on pizza.

It's looking good.

Not like my husband's.

He makes the best, so just trying to make something that he will be proud of.

Ha ha ha!

Yeah.

Silvia, voice-over: It's the finale, so even though I--I feel like a winner already, I still want to win, right?

I still want to get that validation because all my fellow contestants are great cooks.

♪ Leah: Five minutes, everyone.

You have 5 minutes left.

Silvia: Hurry up!

♪ All right.

Let's see if this has any flavor.

♪ It's good.

It's warm.

Be better if it was cold.

Robin, voice-over: I tasted the almond milk.

Santa wouldn't be quite so happy with this, but I have something on the plate.

I'm going to hope that I have some cookies finished over there to put something in.

Silvia: Very cheesy.

We're slicing the chicken that's going to top our chicken congee.

I'm just getting nice, thin slices to garnish our congee.

I'm not doing a very good job.

♪ We're all about pretty today.

♪ Alejandra: One minute, cooks, one minute.

Whoo-hoo!

Foo: Whoo-hoo!

Silvia: I need to finish this, I need to finish this.

♪ Foo: Perfect.

That's all she wrote.

Alejandra: Finish that plating.

Come on.

5... 4... We're looking sweet.

3... 2... 1!

Time's up!

Congratulations.

Ah.

Great job, everyone.

Good job!

Good job.

[Alejandra giggles] ♪ Foo, voice-over: I'm a little nervous because when you're cooking congee, it typically takes a couple hours to get that really strong chicken taste.

I think I reached all the flavor points that I wanted to obtain.

We'll see what the judges say.

Hi, Foo.

What's up?

Hello.

Hi, Chefs.

I made for you today a chicken congee.

I make it with my sisters, so it brings a lot of comfort when I'm cooking this dish.

♪ Tiffany: Foo, cooking with siblings is amazing, and I think that it's something special when we have those memories with them, and you made a great congee.

It is comforting and soulful, yeah.

Leah: This is a very light congee.

I'm used to my congee being really thick and sometimes people complain that it's too thick, but this is really nice.

Ha!

Tiffany: Ha ha ha!

They do.

If I'm being honest, people say my congee's too thick.

Alejandra: Ha ha ha!

But this is really nice, it's really light, but I wish you added a little bit of salt on top of the chicken.

OK.

I think the chicken is just not as seasoned as the rest of the bowl.

Graham: Yeah, it's muted, especially compared to what we've seen from you lately, where it's just explosive.

I'd like to see you go back to where you were.

You got it.

Hi, Silvia.

Oh, hello.

Hi!

So I made for you a pesto pizza with roasted tomatoes.

Alejandra: Ooh, and who do you usually make this pizza with?

With my husband.

We do pizza Fridays.

♪ Tiffany: Silvia, you made a great pizza dough.

It is delicious, it's soft, it's airy.

We have a little bit of crunch on there.

Flavor-wise, it's just really, really good.

Thank you.

Graham: Yeah, this is delicious.

I really do enjoy how pronounced that pesto is.

Thank you.

Leah: Silvia, I love how you make pizza with your husband, and I love that you added the pesto.

I never make pesto pizza... Heh heh!

and my son loves pesto, so I'm definitely going to take this idea and make pizza pesto at home.

Thank you.

Great.

Graham: Hey, Robin.

Hello, Robin.

Hello.

I've made for you something our family calls button cups.

I make 'em with my children.

We've been making 'em since they were very little.

There's homemade strawberry jam in there, and I've made a version of my almond butter and almond milk.

Mmm.

Graham: Robin, this is super-cute, and not just that, but I love how restaurant-y it looks.

We were talking about attention to detail, and when it came to the presentation, very simple, but beautiful...

Thank you.

so thank you.

Wow.

Thanks.

Heh!

Leah: Robin, my inner kid is loving this dish.

The dough on the cookie is perfect.

It is crispy and crumbly and buttery and flaky.

It's everything you want a cookie to be, and then you have that creamy almond butter and you made the jam, and then, of course, the almond milk.

You really used your 60 minutes.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

[Birds chirping] ♪ Alejandra: In this round, we asked you to make the dish that you love to cook with someone special in your life.

You may not have had that extra set of hands this time, but judging by these gorgeous plates, you didn't need 'em.

Graham: We really enjoyed all of your dishes, but the one that stood out above the rest... ♪ were Robin's button cups.

Oh, God!

Ha ha!

Silvia: Good job, Robin!

Foo: Good job, Robin.

Oh, thank you.

Your button cups were restaurant-quality, as far as presentation and execution, and of course, the flavor was there.

Great job.

Thank you so much.

Robin, voice-over: I'm feeling very confident going into the final round.

It was an affirmation for me.

There's a chance I could win this.

Alejandra: Excellent job, Robin.

Cooks, you all really stepped it up in the finale, and we can wait to enjoy which recipes you have for us next.

Nice.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Alejandra: Well, this is it, cooks.

There's only one round of cooking left to determine who will be named the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Yay!

Whoo!

[All chuckle] Alejandra: In the last round, we learned about your favorite person to cook with when you're back home, and even though they weren't here in the kitchen cooking with you, the love you share came through in each of your dishes.

So this round, we're going to feel the love even more because we brought in a few special guests.

Gosh!

Really?

What?

Ha ha ha!

Alejandra: Silvia... Oh, my.

please welcome... Tiffany: Ha ha!

Alejandra: your husband Matt.

Can I move?

Can I move?

Oh!

Ha ha ha ha!

Silvia: Oh, my.

Silvia, voice-over: I'm losing it, you know?

I'm losing it because we haven't seen each other for so long, and I'm so grateful that he is with me, not just to experience with me this final recipe, but also to help me.

Silvia: He's my helper in the kitchen, so I'm very happy that he is with me.

Ha ha ha!

Alejandra: Foo, we have... your sister, Susie!

Whoo!

Hi!

[All laughing] Alejandra: Ha ha ha ha!

Oh!

[Foo sobbing] Tiffany: Oh!

Foo, voice-over: Oh, my gosh.

This journey up to this point has been so crazy, and then to have my sister come in, what a--a feeling of, uh, relief, excitement, happiness.

Foo: Whoo!

She might slow me down.

[All laugh] Alejandra: Robin, joining us here today is... your son, Tomio!

[All laugh] Robin, voice-over: To be in this stressful environment of cooking and have my head focused on what I'm trying to do here, and then to feel that warm fuzzies that you get when someone you love and love to be with walks in the door, I lose it.

He'll be telling me what to do in a minute.

[All laugh] Alejandra: I wish we could keep this beautiful moment going all day long, but you still have more recipes to cook.

In this last round, you will have 3 hours to prepare a special meal and dessert.

Your main dish should be the one you are most proud of.

Everything you make today should reflect who you are and how far you've come over the past 8 weeks.

Graham: This is time for you to show us what you do best and give us your story through your food.

Alejandra: As always, your dishes will be judged on taste, execution, presentation, and how well your dish showcases your Great American Recipe.

Your sous chefs can help you however you want, but keep in mind you are responsible for everything that ends up on that plate.

At the end of this round, one of you will be the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Yay!

Foo: Ha ha ha!

Alejandra: Your 3 hours start now.

Ha ha ha!

♪ Robin: The dish will be like this.

Dish is there.

Foo: This is crazy, Susie.

I know.

Tell me about it.

Foo: So we're going to make hu tieu, the Vietnamese pork noodle soup dish... OK. and then we're going to do some Vietnamese fried chicken.

OK. For dessert, we're having a sweet, sticky mango rice.

Nice.

Yeah.

Foo, voice-over: So my dishes represent The Great American Recipe because of the fried chicken.

[Grunts] It's where I am now.

It's an iconic American dish with my own personal twist on it.

Are you deep-frying that, I guess?

Yeah, yeah.

Foo, voice-over: And the pork noodle soup, it rings very close to who I am and my upbringing.

And then you're going to sort these out.

Only get the small ones, OK?

Voice-over: There are so many types of noodle soups in Vietnam.

My mom made it a lot when I was brought up.

♪ My mom is about love.

She is one of the kindest people that I know, and her food, when you eat it, you feel that, too, so I'm elated that the judges and the whole world can get a little piece of my mom here in the finale.

Do the ribs go in the same bowl?

Foo: Huh?

Yeah.

This one?

Keep that in there, yeah.

No, the ribs, I mean.

The ribs?

Yeah.

No, ribs-- ribs go in here.

All right.

Foo, voice-over: For this final round in the competition, I feel great.

Cooking with my sister Susie is absolutely wonderful because I have a sous chef and I have somebody that knows my flavors and knows my food, so no matter what the outcome is, I feel fantastic.

Susie is an amazing chef... Ha ha ha!

uh, when I'm in my dreams.

[Both laugh] I still call him to this day and I'm like, "How do I make that again?"

and "How long do I leave it in the oven for?"

Foo, voice-over: So the first thing I need to do is create a pork stock.

Now, typically, when I'm making this pork noodle soup, it takes about 4 to 5 hours to really obtain this rich pork flavor.

Clearly, I don't have that time, so I'm going to use the pressure cooker again.

Keep on going, keep on going.

Are you watching?

More, more, more, yeah.

Foo, voice-over: I grab the spare ribs, I season them with a quick marinade of fish sauce, black pepper, garlic sauce, some fried shallots, and fresh minced garlic.

We feel good.

We feel really good.

He's working me to death.

[Both laugh] Then I put all of my marinated pork and some water and some chicken broth inside the pressure cooker and I set it for 30 minutes.

Boy, this is going to be a feast.

♪ What's up, Silvia?

Silvia: Oy!

I'm trying to organize.

Now I need to organize what I'm doing and what Matt is doing... Foo: Yep.

so a little challenging.

Silvia, voice-over: I'm so excited my husband is here, and then I'm so excited to see also Foo's family member and Robin's family member because I hear about them so much that, you know, now it's like part of our family, and I'm happy to see the six of us working the kitchen.

So today, I'm making tacos.

Ha ha!

It's called parrillada tacos.

It's like a carne asada with veggies, and I'm going to have some beans con linguiça on the side, and for dessert, we're going to have tres leches cake.

That's my menu.

Heh!

Silvia, voice-over: The tres leches cake, it needs to be served super-cold, and I need to bake it and put the milk in before I actually decorate it, so that's the very first thing I need to make, and I told my husband, "You need to marinate the meat for the tacos."

Do I salt and pepper both sides?

Yes.

Please, yeah.

OK. Lots of it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just full season, yeah.

Silvia, voice-over: So now I can focus completely in the making of the cake, which is very important because that cake needs to be airy and fluffy, and I need to beat the eggs and the sugar correctly and for ten minutes.

♪ The whole lime, honey?

Yes.

♪ And that's one teaspoon.

OK--whoa!

Yeah.

Producer: Does he ever help you to make the tres leches cake?

No, no.

Heh!

The tres leches cake I do myself.

Nobody touches my cake.

[Chuckles] Matt: So, beer?

Yes.

I notice there's 3 beers.

Is one for us?

Ha ha!

Probably.

I'm just saying.

Ha ha ha!

Just pour it in?

Yes.

All 3 of 'em?

Uh, just start with one.

OK. Silvia, voice-over: So this is the final round.

I don't want to-- One more.

It has to cover the meat.

Got you.

And I'm choosing tacos and the tres leches cake not just because they're part of my heritage, but also because I think our cultures are so interconnected that the tacos and the beans and the cake is something that can be seen as American as well, so that's why this is my Great American Recipe.

Silvia: Uhh!

Matt: You all right?

Yes.

Silvia, voice-over: This is a cake that I have made multiple times...

I didn't mix it correctly.

and now I make a mistake.

It's uneven, yeah.

It's OK.

I just need to kinda mix it a little bit more, and it's going to be OK. ♪ Foo: Robin, how you doing?

I'm doing good now.

How 'bout you?

Foo: Doing good.

We've got the best help in the world, huh?

Yep.

There you go.

Alejandra: Cooks!

Two hours and 30 minutes left!

Whoo-hoo!

Let's do it!

Robin, voice-over: For the final round, there are two components to make-- an entrée with a dessert.

For the entrée, I'm making a fig-leaf-wrapped salmon with a little beet endive salad on the side and a fig tart for dessert.

I'm calling this my fig finale.

I'm working on the fig custard tart.

I'm still not over the shock that my baby boy's here.

Producer: So how does it feel to have Tomio here?

1,000% wonderful.

1,000%?

1,000.

[Both chuckle] Robin, voice-over: There isn't anyone I enjoy being with more in the entire world than any one of my children, and now Tomio and I, we're going to do this together, and he can cook.

I know the first thing I need to do is deal with this tart, so while Tomio chops the vegetables, I need to get the tart crust done.

OK.

This is a crust I made up.

I like it because I love cookies, so I created this recipe to make it almost like an almond oatmeal cookie.

As soon as I get the crust in place, and I will mix up the custard and get that in there and top it off with some figs and let it bake.

Robin, voice-over: The custard is mascarpone, eggs, sugar, and orange blossom.

Tomio: All right, beets are done.

What, sweetie?

Beets are done.

Robin, voice-over: Tomio says he's finished with the beets.

OK, I've got another job for you.

Heh heh!

Just get yourself some slices that are about that wide.

One--probably 3 out of each one... OK. and then just lay them there so they're ready for me to put on top of the tart, OK?

All right.

Robin: Whether I win or not, finishing this with my son is--is a win, so, for me, don't make me cry on camera, girl.

Ha ha ha!

For me, that's the win, to be able to do this with him.

♪ Does Mom know you're here?

No, not at all!

Oh, my gosh.

She's gonna die when she sees you.

Yeah.

And then me.

Yeah.

Alejandra: Foo and Susie.

Hello.

Graham: Hey, guys.

Hey, Chef, hello.

This smells incredible.

Foo: Our Great American Recipe dish is a pork noodle soup, and then we're doing fried chicken, but Vietnamese style.

Graham: So what's the difference between Vietnamese-style fried chicken and traditional?

Foo: We're marinating it in some rice wine... Mm-hmm.

Ooh.

some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and some fresh garlic, and then, after the second fry, we're going to coat it with a cooked-down sugar fish sauce that's spicy with Thai chili peppers.

OK, that sounds amazing.

Wow, it sounds really good.

I am really excited about that.

Yep.

Why did you choose this dish as your Great American Recipe?

As you know, in the Vietnamese culture, there's a lot of noodle soups.

Personally, I find it super-comforting.

I mean-- "Souper-comforting"?

Oh!

Ha ha!

"Souper"?

Ha ha!

Oh!

Graham Elliot.

He brings it.

I'm going to use that one.

Ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

Foo: And then I love fried chicken.

You know, there's a couple of dishes that ring "American."

Mm-hmm.

Fried chicken, hamburger, hot dogs, so fried chicken is one of my comfort foods.

Every culture has their own spin on fried chicken.

Yeah.

Yes.

So this'll be really exciting to see.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

Thank you so much, Foo, Susie.

Thank you.

Have fun.

Thank you.

We will.

Can't wait to try your dishes.

Foo: Thank you very much.

Thank you, Chef.

Thanks.

Ooh, it's spicy!

[Chuckles, coughs] Whoo!

Silvia, voice-over: My husband is working on the roasted salsa for my tacos... That's what I'm talkin' about.

Spicy!

and I need to start with the beans.

Can you start opening the beans?

Silvia, voice-over: The side dish is a combination of linguiça, which is a Portuguese sausage, and beans.

Silvia: So this the finale.

I know the judges are really looking into details, and every cook here is amazing, so I'm just cooking my best, combining the flavors that I know, and making the best dish I can for them.

♪ Robin: Hour and 15 left!

Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!

Foo: Whoo!

Tomio: How's everything going?

OK.

I'm just searing off the salmon.

Robin, voice-over: I want to put just a quick sear on the salmon.

I don't want to cook it, I just want to make sure it's got a little bit of color on both sides.

Try to get oil on them quickly 'cause they're starting to dry.

OK. OK. OK, so for each one I put there... Mm-hmm.

first we need a little schmear, and try not to get it on the leaves.

What is this?

Oh, this is the-- Oh, fig jam.

We got fig everywhere.

We're in fig heaven today.

Go figgy.

Yeah.

Robin, voice-over: Figs just have a symbolism for me, based on their ancient history, but you do the best you can with everything you can, bear fruit in all you do in your life, and this is going to be my Great American Recipe.

Tomio: Now she's in the finale, it's amazing.

I'm so proud of her.

She's always been cooking, and now she gets to do it in front of everybody else.

Tomio: Does this look how you want it so far?

So far, I think it looks good, yeah.

Good?

OK. Hey, Silvia?

Silvia: Yes?

Are you using these?

I filled them, but take what you need.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Foo: Right now, I'm pickling some red onions to top off on our pork noodle soup dish.

Susie is working on peeling some mangoes for our sticky mango rice dessert.

I was not raised on eating cakes and cookies, I don't have a sweet tooth... All right, last mango.

so I really enjoy eating fruit, and sticky rice is a good balance to some nice mangoes.

Susie: Mix that up?

Yeah, mix it up with your hands.

Voice-over: And I'm going to toss the mangoes with some cayenne pepper, salt, and lime to bring on those bold flavors.

Susie: If he won, I would just--I don't know.

I would be so ecstatic.

We all would.

We're so proud of him.

♪ We got one steak.

So I'm going to start?

Go for it.

[Sizzling] Matt: Ooh, that smells good.

Wow!

Tiffany: Hello.

Hello, hello!

Ha ha!

Hi.

Hi, Silvia.

Hi, Matt.

It smells good.

What are we making?

So we're making something I call parrillada tacos.

OK. Parrillada is what is like a barbecue in English.

It's a party, yeah.

Graham: OK. Yeah, so my family used to have, like, this, like, 3-feet comal, and they used to cook the meat in there and the veggies, and then everybody would just line up with their tortillas and then make their tacos.

Graham: OK.

So we're doing something similar with this.

I just want to make sure that you pay attention to how you cut the meat.

Against the grain.

Uh-huh.

Especially with skirt steaks and hanger steaks, the way that that actual muscle-- you can see that it's very, you know, striated and you're going to want to cut that into thin, across-the-grain as you can.

Tiffany: OK. That's our plan.

Well, we're looking forward to it.

So we'll see.

It's smelling delicious around here.

It really does, huh?

It smells so good.

Ha ha ha!

Best of luck, y'all.

Thank you, thank you so much, both of you.

Bye.

Graham: Cooks, you have 20 minutes to go.

Foo: Hurry.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

♪ Tiffany: Hey, Robin.

Hi!

What you making for dessert over here?

We have fig tarts with almond and oat crust, and it'll get a little bit of juiced-up whipped cream and fig drizzle on the top... Graham: Ooh.

and a little edible flower because figs are actually inverted flowers.

Graham: Wow.

Robin: And over here, we've got fig leaves, too, so there we go.

Graham: Ah, I love that.

I love taking an ingredient and getting as many things as you can out of it.

Robin: Yes, the whole tree.

Tiffany: Yeah.

The fig leaves actually send off a smell that's like coconut, and it keeps whatever fish is cooking inside from drying out, it's moist.

Lovely.

I just want you to remember your presentation, but I feel like we don't have to worry.

Robin: My son, he's got a real eye for the details of presentation, so I couldn't have had a better sous chef in the kitchen with me.

Heh heh!

Well, I think I know where he got it from because you've been giving us great presentation.

♪ Do you want to taste it?

More.

It's still crunchy.

I'm sorry, but you have to work faster.

[Both laugh] Wrong sibling!

We're on TV!

Oh, God!

Ha ha ha!

Alejandra: Well, this final round is for the Great American Recipe.

What do you think of everyone's choices?

Leah: You know, Foo is doing a Vietnamese pork noodle soup with fried chicken, and he is really bringing out who he is.

He's a Vietnamese American, and he wants us to know those flavors because this is what he grew up on, and so I think he is bringing us a delicious dish.

Tiffany: So I love Robin and the energy and her story.

I love the fact that she's always thinking about the freshness, and you really can see that through even the food she's preparing today, with using the leaves, using the actual fruit.

Every part of everything is used, and it's always light and fresh.

Yes.

That's the only other thing going on the plate besides what's on the plate.

OK. Alejandra: Graham, what do you think about Silvia's parrillada?

Graham: It sounds amazing, and it, like, more importantly, looks and smells incredible.

Tiffany: Yes.

Silvia's story that she tells through food, from coming from Mexico to California, this dish is completely emblematic of that.

Alejandra: Yeah, I'm about ready to dive into that tres leches cake... Oh, absolutely.

one of my favorites.

Silvia: It's looking great.

You have 5 minutes left.

Seriously?

Robin: Three hours goes fast, doesn't it?

Tomio: Mm-hmm.

I think it's very important that I try that to make sure it's good.

Yes, yes, yes.

Here, I'll try this.

And the salt?

Yes.

The meat is cut, so, at this point, I just have to finish my tres leches cake, and I need to put Matt on guacamole duty.

Matt: Just one serrano?

Just start with one, and just build from there.

I'm feeling very calm because I know what I'm cooking, I know my favorites are there, and I'm very proud of my cuisine.

Matt: I think she feels like she's kind of won already 'cause being here, that would be, like, icing on the cake.

Robin: One more minute, and those have to come out.

OK. Robin, voice-over: I feel good.

I feel I have enough time to plate the dish the way I want and I know the flavors are all there.

Everything I need to be successful today is right here.

Woman: Oh.

Ha ha ha ha!

♪ Foo: Susie, how's it going?

Susie: Last batch.

OK. Foo, voice-over: After 8 weeks of competing in this, I would love to win.

I would love to be crowned "The Great American Recipe" winner but, in the same vein, I'm with a pantheon of really, really excellent home cooks.

Alejandra: One minute, cooks, one minute.

Whoo-hoo!

At this point, it's pedal to the metal.

Pedal to the metal.

OK. ♪ Foo: These are perfect.

Susie: Smells delicious, Foo Hee.

♪ Tomio: Everything looks good.

Matt: Honey, this salsa smells amazing.

I need a spoon for that.

Alejandra: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Time's up, cooks!

Whoo!

Whoo!

Hands up!

[All clapping] Great job, everybody!

Ha ha!

Robin: Mmm!

Matt: Ha ha!

Silvia: Thank you, honey.

You did it, honey.

Robin: Aren't you glad you came to visit Mommy?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Ha ha ha ha!

♪ Robin: Wow.

Alejandra: Everything looks absolutely stunning.

I'm blown away.

Ha ha ha!

For this round, we asked you to prepare a special meal that includes an entrée and dessert that best showcases who you are as a cook and also represents your Great American Recipe.

Let's start with Foo.

Foo: So today, I made a Vietnamese dish called hu tieu.

It is pork noodle soup, and then, on the side of that, I made some Vietnamese-style fried chicken.

♪ Leah: Foo, the pork is really nice and tender, and I love how you added so many herbs.

That really helps bring the light and freshness to the soup, and the chicken drumettes are to die for.

They are super-crunchy, it's sweet, it's spicy, it's a little acidic, and it's just perfect.

It's the perfect bite.

Thank you, Chef.

Thank you.

Great job.

I feel like you're able to come and highlight who you are and your journey right through food, which is what this is all about, so this being your Great American Recipe, I feel, you know, it hits on all those points, and I think it's a mirror of you, so great job on that.

Thank you, Chef.

Alejandra: Robin, what have you prepared for us?

Fish in a fig leaf.

There's fig sauce on top of the salmon, and there's a little bit of fig in the salad, which is beets.

♪ Mmm.

Robin, that is a delicious piece of fish.

Great job on cooking that thing.

It's a really cool technique.

Leah: Oh, I completely agree with you.

I like how simple this dish is.

I think the endive salad with the beets has great balance of flavors.

Thank you.

Heh heh heh!

You showed us how you live, how you like to eat with fresh fruits and vegetables, and this is what great cooking is about, taking simple ingredients and making them shine.

Robin: Thank you for that.

Appreciate that.

Alejandra: Silvia, what did you make for us?

Parrillada tacos, which is skirt steak tacos, and linguiça beans.

♪ Graham: Wow.

Tiffany: Silvia, this plate screams "you."

[Laughter] Tiffany: The beef is delicious, and you grilled it beautiful.

Silvia: Thank you.

Graham: Yeah.

I want to be your neighbor.

Tiffany: Ha ha!

I want to move next door or at least get invited to the party.

But on that skirt steak, we mentioned cutting it against the grain, which you did, but just not so thin that it starts to lose the identity of what it is.

OK. Leah: Silvia, you incorporate all these things that you learned from your family and you learned from your friends, and you put them into your dishes, and we really get to know who you are, who your friends are, and who your family is.

Thank you very much.

Silvia, voice-over: I'm so happy because they recognized me in the tacos, in the colors, and the flavors, and now our family members are joining us for the dessert round.

My husband loves dessert, and actually, he likes to eat the dessert first, before the main dish.

Ha ha ha ha!

Alejandra: Thank you all for joining us to enjoy these amazing desserts that you all helped prepare.

This is gorgeous.

Silvia, what have you prepared for us?

Silvia: This is a tres leches cake, my favorite cake, a cake that has been present for generations in my family.

♪ Tiffany: Silvia, wow!

[Giggling] I mean, wow!

The cake is moist and fruity and sweet and creamy and, I mean, everything that you want a tres leches to be.

Just delicious.

Graham: Yeah, it's a beautiful dessert.

I love the color, and it's delicious.

You know that there's technique behind it.

I feel that this really captures who you are: your story, your sweetness.

It's a great thing and really thank you for it.

Thank you, Chef.

Foo, what dessert did you make for us?

Foo: Today, I made you a mango sticky rice.

The mangoes are seared, and they have a little bit of chili and salt on them.

♪ Leah: Foo, I like how you charred the mangoes.

I think that really intensified the flavor and brought out the natural sugars in the mango and added just another dimension of flavor.

Thank you, Chef.

Graham: Yeah.

The execution is there, but I do feel it needs to be sweeter.

Tiffany: Yes, things can be sweeter, but I love the fact that you stay true to what you do, and we appreciate your story and the journey that we've been on with you.

Thank you, Chef.

Robin, what did you make for us?

Robin: Well, in keeping with my fig finale... [Laughter] I've made for you an almond and oat fig tart with fig and amaretto drizzle on the top.

♪ Tiffany: It is creamy, the custard is really nicely set.

I mean, it is edible art at its finest.

Thank you.

Graham: Yeah, this is wonderful.

I feel like every time you give us food, it just gets better and better... Wow.

and not only on the palate, but visually; I mean, this is a striking dish.

Only thing is the thickness of that dough.

I would just like more custard in this tart than crust, but even with that, you were able to, you know, still nail the cook on it, so great, great stuff.

Thank you so much.

♪ ♪ Foo, voice-over: My main goal entering this competition was to share my mom's food with the world, so whatever happens, I'm really proud being able to showcase that.

Robin, voice-over: I think we've all produced dishes that we're all very proud of.

We've been lucky to have gotten to be a part of the story about many different cultures coming together and sharing what we love most, is our food.

Silvia, voice-over: Sharing my Mexican recipes gives me a lot of joy.

They're part of me and my heritage, and now I don't have any more recipes to make.

This is it.

Alejandra: Cooks, I know we've said it a thousand times over, but bravo!

Thank you.

Alejandra: Ha ha ha!

Tiffany: Good job!

Alejandra: Your final dishes were incredible, and getting to meet your families was the cherry on top.

[All chuckle] There were so many delicious recipes today, and it has been a joy to get to know each of you through your food, but there can only be one winner.

Leah: This cook has shown tremendous growth.

Tiffany: This person has truly shown that they're capable of telling stories through the plate.

Alejandra: The most successful meal and the winner of "The Great American Recipe" is... Silvia.

Robin: Oh!

Ha ha ha!

[Applause] Robin: I told you!

[Laughter] ♪ Silvia: Can't believe it.

[Chuckles] Silvia, voice-over: I'm super-excited because I won.

I'm also very emotional because I won.

Silvia: I'm crying.

I'll finish crying.

Ha ha ha!

I'm an immigrant, OK?

English is my second language.

[Sniffles] I'm always know that I have this accent, and I always know that I'm not fully American, even though I feel American, but now my recipes are going to be in a cookbook.

It's just a big deal.

It's been an amazing experience, not just for me, but for all my fellow cooks and everybody who is not here because we lived one of the most amazing experiences of our life, so I'm truly, truly grateful.

How do you feel, Matt?

Matt: Um, overwhelmed.

Heh!

[Laughter] Overwhelmed.

You know, I've always believed in Silvia [voice cracks] and...

I think it's very validating.

[Sobs] You know.

[Laughter] Silvia: We're crying.

Cry family.

I think having my husband with me... really move a lot of emotions because he's been my greatest supporter in everything I do.

Thank you, honey.

[Chuckles] Graham: Silvia, it's very clear you love people.

You're passionate about flavor... and you respect your heritage and cooking in general.

That is a perfect recipe for anything.

Thank you so much, Chef.

i¡Felicidades, Silvia!

♪ Yeah!

Alejandra: Yay!

Foo, voice-over: I'm so happy for Silvia.

I knew very early that Silvia is an amazing cook.

She pours a lot of love into those dishes, and when you're cooking with love, you cannot go wrong.

Silvia: It's all been a pleasure.

Robin, voice-over: Silvia's a beautiful person.

She's turned out beautiful dishes.

I'm happy for her that she won, and this was an amazing opportunity to showcase who I am as a person, who my family is.

Silvia, voice-over: I just feel that my fellow cooks, they're now part of my family, they're part of my life.

This experience is something that we will never forget.

[Overlapping chatter] Narrator: These past 8 weeks, we saw our talented home cooks wow us with their most-treasured recipes.

Foo, voice-over: It's the very first dish I made for my wife while we were dating, so it has a lot of memories.

Narrator: Together, we experience a celebration of food... Bambi: Ain't that pretty, baby?

That is pretty!

Brian: Oh, that looks beautiful!

Holy pho, that's good.

[Imitates rim shot] Narrator: and family.

Bambi, voice-over: I made this dish in honor of my mom.

Tiffany: Food brings about so many different emotions when you can't be around the ones you love the most.

Narrator: Thank you all for joining us on this season of "The Great American Recipe."

♪