Jeff Corwin makes his way back to beautiful Greece, where he spent time as a graduate student. On the island of Crete, Jeff power milks dozens of sheep in minutes and churns the results into a toulomotyrion, a soft cheese fermented in a goat’s stomach. The ultimate “guest” meal on Crete is slimy snails, so Jeff hunts them and slurps them down. He then goes underwater in a quest for octopus and the tasty roe of the spiny sea urchin. Catch in hand and with nerves of steel, he cooks up Kakavia, a fisherman’s stew with the dangerous “scorpion fish.” In the Peloponnesus, things heat up as Jeff skewers a whole lamb for the spit, complete with organs wrapped in intestines, called Kokoretsi, as an appetizer.
With recipes for Forever Roasted Lamb with Roasted Winter Vegetables, Risotto al Cabernet, Roasted Beet Onion and Orange Salad, and Peppermint Mock Misu, Michael is going to show you how to throw a dinner party full of elegance.
Gameplan 1 Day Before Party:
Peel, dice and boil sweet potatoes for Roasted Vegetables. Trim, halve and blanch brussel sprouts. Drain, cool and store sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts in refrigerator overnight.
For Roasted Beet Onion and Orange Salad. Wash, trim and roast beets. Trim pearl onions and toss with olive oil.
Toast and grind spices for Fennel Spice Rub. Store overnight.
Add pearl onions to beets in the oven and roast until both beets and onions are tender. Cool and store separately in refrigerator overnight.
Morning of the Party (At least 8 hours before meal is served):
Peel and chop onions and herbs for Forever Roasted Lamb. Sauté onion herb mixture.
Prepare lamb leg by slicing it open and laying it flat. Season the leg with salt and pepper and reserved Fennel Spice Rub. Stuff with half of the onion and herb mixture. Roll up and tie the leg. Season outside and roast with carrots and celery on low temp for 7 hours.
Simmer brandy syrup and chop peppermint for Peppermint Mock-misu. Blend chocolate and ricotta filling. Assemble Mock-misu, cover and store in refrigerator until service.
One Hour before the Party:
Cover lamb with remaining onion herb mixture and cover with foil. Roast lamb for an additional hour.
Sauté onions and rice for Risotto al Cabernet and add the wine and the first ladle of stock. In another pan, sauté reserved brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. Finish vegetables in oven and season with chopped herbs and garlic.
Finish Risotto al Zinfandel with remaining broth, wine and cheese. Pour the risotto onto a platter and serve hot.
Pull lamb from oven and serve on a platter with roasted vegetables.
Assemble Roasted Beet, Onion and Orange Salad by peeling and dicing beets and plating them with oranges, roasted pearl onions, hazelnuts and vinaigrette.
Serve the Peppermint Mock-misu for dessert.
Eat and Enjoy!
Jeff Corwin takes a wild journey through the culinary wonderland of Morocco. Off the coast of Essouraia, Jeff bobs in tiny boats, line fishing for gigantic conger eel. Then Jeff milks a camel to make an exclusive cheese and a traditional smen, a rancid butter that increases in value with age. Up to his ankles in goat dung, Jeff digs for elusive argon nuts, the main ingredient for the flavorful “liquid gold of Morocco” – argon oil. He hits up Marrakech to create a tagine, an earthen pot dish cooked in the furnace of a bathhouse, and a Bisteeya, the famous pigeon pie. A steep hike up to the High Atlas Mountains and the Berber village of Aguersuoual is the ultimate BBQ for Jeff where he cooks a whole ram in an underground oven.
Michael gathers his best chef friends and gives them a mission - remake pot luck classics with no more than 5 ingredients, no more than 10 steps, it must be finished and ready to eat, and no exotic ingredients. Church suppers will never be the same!
Gameplan Day of Potluck Challenge:
Peel, and cut celery for Rockin’ Celery Boats
Mix, coat, and put pecan nuts in to bake for Celery Boat filling
Prepare Celery Boats for soaking, soak for crunch
Puree nuts with cream cheese, stuff into Celery Boats and top with jalapenos.
Chop, juice and dress the Ambrosia Salad
Blanche and cool green beans for Green Bean Casserole with Fried Onions
Mix, heat and reduce mushroom brandy sauce for Green Bean Casserole, mix in green beans, set aside.
Boil pasta shells, mix cheese sauce for Macaroni and Cheese My Way.
Add spinach, shrimp and bake in the oven.
Fry up onion rings to top Green Bean Casserole with Fried Onions
Wine Recommendation Chiarello Cabernet Sauvignon, Gargiulo Vineyards Pinot Grigio
In a country famous for its refined cuisine, Jeff Corwin travels off the beaten path to discover the gastronomic delights of central Italy. On the scenic, wide-open range of Tuscany, Jeff saddles up with Italy’s cowboys to help with the huge-horned cattle and share a working meal. He heads to the coast to catch cuttlefish for an inky pasta dish and then hunts down elusive black truffles in San Miniato with the help of trained dogs. Off the picturesque coast of Le Marche, Jeff dives for wild mussels with no machinery or oxygen tanks for a traditional fisherman barbecue on the beach. He rounds out his exploration in the hill town of Castel del Monte with a taste of tangy maggot cheese.
Food Network searched for the Ultimate Pasta Recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Stuffed Pasta and Lasagna. A panel of food experts determined whose pasta dish was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Lasagna
Elizabeth Morath -- PASTA GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: Summer Eggplant Lasagna
Sonali RuderRecipe: Spanakopita Lasagna Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Laura KonenRecipe: Meat-za Hometown: Fond Du Lac, Wis.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ying CompestineRecipe: Spaghetti with Lion's Head Meatballs Hometown: Lafayette, Calif.
Elaine Jones -- Winner!Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta with Lamb Meatballs Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Cecelia WardRecipe: Chicken Gravy and Meatballs with Multigrain Spaghetti Hometown: Troy, N.Y.
Stuffed PastaMichelle Herrigel -- Winner!Recipe: Mama Mirabella's Ham and Cheese Ravioli Hometown: Pottstown, Pa.
Lorraine StevenskiRecipe: Stuffed Manicotti with Fresh Marinara Sauce Hometown: Clearwater, Fla.
Amy ThorsonRecipe: Stuffed Shells with Chicken and Arugula and Creamy Alfredo Sauce Hometown: Marietta, Ga.
Chef George Stella is right at home as he cooks up a smorgasbord of his favorite Italian dishes. He assembles a beautiful antipasto platter of sliced meats and cheeses topped with fresh basil that takes only a few minutes to prepare. He makes an Anaheim shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta; a radicchio salad with a simple and light raspberry vinaigrette; and he finishes the meal off with low carb neopolitan parfaits topped with strawberries and mint for garnish.
Top 5 Tips
1. Don't peel cucumbers -- the skin is full of vitamins and nutrients.
2. Remember to buy unsweetened cocoa powder for the parfaits, not a cocoa drink mix.
3. Radicchio is a great Italian lettuce you can buy in most grocery stores. Cut the core off the bottom, throw it away, and peel off the leaves.
4. If you can't find fresh raspberries for the salad, substitute frozen ones without added sugar.
5. Stock your pantry with a low carb staple: hearts of palm.
It's a quiet dinner at home, filled with some of your all-time favorite comfort foods and served TV dinner style! With Michael's recipes for Cup of Quick Minestrone , Turkey Polpettone Sandwich in Marinara, Parmesan Fries oven baked, Warm Bananas w/Brown Sugar & Bay leaf over Chocolate Cake
Gameplan Day Before Party:
Assemble and sauté soup (without pasta) for Super Quick Minestrone.
Mix and simmer sauce (without sliced bananas) for Warm Bananas with Brown Sugar Sauce to top Chocolate Cake.
Skim the simmering Minestrone and refrigerate it overnight.
Remove Warm Bananas with Brown Sugar Sauce from the heat and refrigerate overnight.
Prep, par-boil, drain, coat and refrigerate the potatoes for Parmesan Fries.
Mix raw turkey with other ingredients and for Turkey Polpettone, refrigerate overnight.
One Hour Before Party:
Boil Pasta for Super Quick Minestrone, remove from pot and cover with olive oil to keep moist until ready to add to soup.
Put Super Quick Minestrone on the stove to get back up to a boil.
Take Par boiled potato sticks and bake them in the oven to bake.
Begin to sauté the turkey patties for the Polpettone, and place the marinara on the stove to heat to combine with sandwich.
Grate parmesan and top baking fries in the oven for Parmesan fries, place them back in the oven to melt cheese.
Flip the turkey patties to brown on the other side, then lift and put them in the heated marinara sauce. Top with extra mozzarella.
Slice crostini bread and place sauteed patties from the sauce in the sandwich bread for serving.
Pull fries form oven to cool.
As Guests Arrive:
Add pasta to Super Quick Minestrone.
Reheat and add bananas to Warm Bananas with Brown Sugar Sauce.
Eat and enjoy, serving in TV Dinner trays if possible.
Eat and Enjoy!
Wine Recommendation 2001 Trefethen Merlot
Host David Guas travels to Asheville, North Carolina, a scenic arts community, as four rough-and-tumble grillers battle it out using local cuisine like scuppernongs and liver mush, to take home $10,000 and the title of grill master. Here, tucked between the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains, it's all about homegrown foods, the great outdoors and beer. In this episode, there's Will Smith, a self-proclaimed refined redneck caterer, Shawn "Tiny" Townsend, a part-time caterer and full-time grill lover, Jeff Banister, a process server who hunts and grills whole animals and Dillon Black, the youngest in the group but perhaps the most experienced in the BBQ circuit. Some of the final plates are wildly creative. Some are overly ambitious. And one is incomplete. The clock keeps watch and waits for no one. David is joined by guest judges Elizabeth Karmel, owner of Hill Country BBQ restaurants and Jason Sandford, a food writer and journalist from Asheville. Some of the food exceeds the judges' expectations. And some literally go up in flames. It's a high-heat, high-intensity rush to the finish. And only one will survive. The Starters Challenge round required the use of bison loin and Ellington cheese, a stinky goat cheese. After some hectic, hair raising grilling, Dillon Black was sent home due to his bland dish. The Butcher's Choice round required the use of guinea fowl, scuppernongs, a large grape native to the Southern United States, and microbrew beer. After a tense, last minute grill, Will Smith's scorched guinea fowl resulted in his elimination. The Monster Mains round determined who walked away with $10,000. Jeff and Tiny used ribeye, red Russian kale, peaches and liver mush. Tiny was unable to finish is sauce in time, but ultimately the judges decided that he best represented both the grill and Asheville. As a result, he took home $10,000 along with the title of Asheville grill master.
It's an American Thanksgiving tradition, country style. With recipes for Whole Roasted Turkey with Citrus Rosemary Salt, Roasted Winter Squash, and Autumn Panzanella
Gameplan 1 Day Before Party
Peel and dice butternut squash and chop herbs for Roasted Butternut Squash.
Blend and simmer brown butter sauce and toss with squash. Roast squash.
Blend Citrus Rosemary Salt for Roasted Turkey. Store in a container overnight.
Remove roasted squash from oven and and puree it. Cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Dice bread, toss with brown butter and cheese and bake croutons for Autumn Panzanella Salad. Cool, cover and store overnight.
3 Hours Before Party:
Season turkeys with olive oil and reserved Citrus Rosemary Salt. Roast turkeys. When finished, pull from oven and allow to rest before carving.
Sauté onions and vinegar and puree for dressing for Autumn Panzanella Salad.
Sauté mushrooms and thyme and add to Autumn Panzanella Salad.
Reheat prepared Roasted Butternut Squash.
Blend flour, butter and stock for gravy. Simmer a few minutes and serve warm with turkeys.
Assemble and dress Autumn Panzanella Salad.
At the Party:
Carve and serve turkeys with gravy.
Serve Autumn Panzanella Salad and Roasted Butternut Squash.
Eat and Enjoy!
Wine Recommendation 2001 Trefethen Cabernet, Napa Valley 2001 Adler Fels Gewurztraminer, Russian River Valley