Michael Symon grills up a feast of summertime staples, starting with juicy Barbecue Chicken slathered in a Kansas City-style sauce. Then, he gives fresh coleslaw a twist by adding pickles, mint leaves and poppy seed. Plus, Liz puts a spin on a summery cocktail by replacing the vodka from a Moscow Mule with sweet bourbon to make a refreshing Kentucky Mule -- perfect for washing down a delicious meal outdoors.
Michael Symon makes a quick, flavor-packed and hearty meal that's perfect after a day on the boat, by the water or just hanging out in the backyard. He prepares Cast Iron Striped Bass with Brown Butter and Lime Cilantro Sauce and chars the husks of his Baltimore Buttermilk Corn. Michael's wife, Lizzie, steps in to make a lively No-Bake Blueberry Lemon Pie that Michael can't get enough of.
Host Maneet Chauhan welcomes three teams to the first qualifying round, where they learn that this year, Santa's reindeer are taking the holidays off and he's holding open auditions to replace them! Each team of cake and sugar artists must showcase an unlikely understudy who dreams of winning a spot to pull the sleigh. Judges Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira decide which two teams move on and which team heads home.
A great food show host has to be able to interview a featured chef while highlighting their food. To put the remaining prospects' interview skills to the test, Guy Fieri, Alex Guarnaschelli and Mark Dissin bring them to Las Vegas, the city where Guy got his start. He puts them through a hilarious but educational exercise that involves interviewing different types of chefs, and one prospect is sent home.
Eric Adjepong welcomes chefs Kelsey Barnard Clark, Carlos Anthony and Crista Luedtke, who set their friendships aside for a cutthroat culinary competition with an impressive $15,000 pot of their cold, hard cash on the line. Throughout each battle, underdog Carlos tries to prove he belongs in the kitchen with two of the fiercest chefs in the Food Network universe, until one of these frenemy chefs emerges to take home the win.
On Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy Fieri travels around the world eating the best food he can find. Now he's bringing together top prospects to find the best concept and host for the next big food road show on Food Network. For their first exercise, Guy gets help from Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and producer Mark Dissin to road-test the prospects' ideas, asking each prospect to make a pitch tape explaining who they are and what their show is about. Then the prospects head into the kitchen to see who can back up their show idea with the necessary cooking chops before one prospect is sent home.
The six remaining bakers must make perfect mini fruit tarts using pate sucree, or sweet pastry, in the Skills Challenge. Then, for the Master Challenge, the bakers are given their hardest task yet: their original version of a St Honore Cake, which must contain elements of puff pastry, pate au choux, and creme chiboust, as well as feature the required flavor of coffee. One baker is sent home by host Adam Rapoport and judges Jason Smith and Marcela Valladolid.
Ina shares her foolproof formula for the perfect cocktail party. There are canapes -- homemade, store bought and assembled, cocktails with the help of cocktail expert and friend Glenn Laughton from Red Bar and tips on setting up a cocktail bar at home. Then it's time for cocktails in Ask Ina when she answers everyone's cocktail party dilemmas. Recipes include Blinis with Creme Fraiche and Smoked Salmon, Turkey Tea Sandwiches, Grilled Lemon Chicken and an Ina-Tini.
Ree Drummond is hitting the road on a major bulk buy trip. On the grocery list are Chicken Thighs to turn into fabulous Peach Whiskey Chicken and on the side ideas for great casseroled and fried chicken thigh dishes. She's getting Apples for home made Applesauce, delicious in Apple Pancakes, with Pork Chops, in Healthy Breakfast Muffins and over ice cream and Briskets to braise, as perfect as they are marvelous in Tostadas, on Pizza or piled on Nachos.
This trip, Guy Fieri's celebrating the holidays with dishes perfect for the Christmas and Hanukkah season. In California, he's hitting up joints cooking up savory stuffing and lights-out latkes. In Nashville, dive into sugar-glazed ham and holiday tamales. And in Denver and Florida, off-the-chain Jewish delis mastering matzo ball soup and killer knishes. Plus, there's even a trip to Alaska for mouthwatering meat and a real North Pole culinary celebration.