Just Desserts All Day Long — Chopped After Hours
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Todd Plitt, 2015, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
There's no question that every competitor wants to make it to the final round on Chopped for a chance to win the $10,000. But reaching the dessert round can also be intimidating to those with little pastry experience. Tonight, for the first time, all the rounds featured dessert baskets, and luckily the competitors were all pastry chefs. And the judges were anxious to try one of the baskets for themselves.
In a new episode of After Hours, judges Maneet Chauhan, Geoffrey Zakarian and Alex Guarnaschelli took on cooking with Mississippi mud pie, maraschino cherries, Brie and potato crisps. "I mean, I don't know about you, but this is a go-to meal for me at home," Alex jokes with Ted Allen about the ingredients. Ted tells the judges that they will have to feature chocolate in their desserts, which the cohorts agree won't be difficult at all.
Although he admits to liking the potato crisps, Geoffrey decides to use them sparingly by pulverizing them and using just the powder to dust his souffle molds. "You are not making another souffle?" Ted asks, astounded. "Stop with these questions," says Geoffrey, just wanting to get back to his cooking. Alex, hoping to make an ice cream cone from scratch, starts working on a tuile batter, but she's not sure it's going to work. "There's so little certainty in life," Ted states pessimistically. But Maneet's already made it to the ice cream machine, so Alex will have to wait to get her batch churned. "Wow, it's not overwhipped — how unusual for you," says Geoffrey, tasting Alex's Brie ice cream once it's out of the machine. "Don't be jealous because you whipped egg whites and you're done," she ribs him. "Pie, cherries, cheese and chips — you made them work together so well," Ted tells the judges after tasting all their unique creations.
Click the play button on the video above to watch the entire After Hours episode and see the dishes Alex, Geoffrey and Maneet created. Then browse behind-the-scenes images for an insider's look at the cooking.
Start a conversation with fellow fans and tell FN Dish in the comments below how you would have approached this basket: What would you make out of Mississippi mud pie, Maraschino cherries, Brie and potato crisps?
Catch up on past Chopped After Hours episodes by watching all the battles online.
