In the first challenge, host Jesse Palmer asks the 10 bakers to introduce themselves with edible place cards and one-bite signature holiday desserts. The main heat is all about holiday wreath cakes, and the competitors must bake and decorate a Danish Kransekake featuring holiday ingredients like chestnuts, graham crackers or toffee. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale have the final say in which baker goes home.
Meat roasting over an open fire. Warm chocolate and gooey marshmallow on top of a crispy graham cracker. Flapjacks and bacon in a skillet. Nothing is more satisfying than eating outdoors. But what are the secrets to eating out on the range without a range? Jim O'Connor puts on his boots and apron to explore traditional campground foods and some surprising new twists for dining in the wild.
Kardea Brown is meeting up with family and friends at the high school stadium for a proper tailgate, and her menu is a cut above the average burgers and hot dogs. She grills St. Louis-Style Ribs and sets out Beer Cheese and Soft Pretzel Bites to nibble on. She gives boring coleslaw a makeover into Collard and Red Cabbage Slaw, and she layers coconut and chocolate in a graham cracker crust for Momma Pat's Goodie Bars.
Tom Papa heads home to New Jersey to bake flatbread in a 400-square-foot, coal-fired oven at Frank Sinatra's favorite bakery. Crumb cake gets a massive makeover when its piled high with the s'mores trifecta: chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker. Tom goes international with new New Jersey classics like paper-thin Turkish dough layered with butter and cheese and Portuguese puff pastries filled with cinnamon-spiked custard. And his childhood memories come flooding back with a bite of Italian rum cake soaked with the spirit and layered with whipped cream.
Just how the graham cracker crumbles in the Appetizer Round depends on how the chefs can recover from setbacks. One contestant struggles to plate after suffering a cut, while an opponent learns that flashy knife work may not yield the best results. Then in the Entrée Round one chef breaks a plate and another chef breaks with cultural tradition by incorporating puffed rice cereal into a typical chorizo dish. Then the two finalists endeavor to make coffee bean desserts that are good to the last bite.
You'd better watch out! The "Holidays are Here," and Big Daddy is just as jolly as old St. Nick! You would be too if you were making this satiating menu. He starts with his Maple Glazed Ham Cobb Salad. Then, it's a party pleaser with a kick, Horseradish Deviled Eggs, followed by a luscious dessert, Graham Cracker Crusted Pecan Pie a la Mode. Finally, did you make the list? You'll find out with Big Daddy's Naughty or Nice Buttered Rum. The "Holidays are Here" and in full force at Big Daddy's house!