Today, Unwrapped celebrates with all things birthday! First, Swiss Colony makes a birthday hat that's too tiny to wear, but the perfect size for snacking! Roses blossom at Signature Brands so you can decorate your own cake, and Dreyer's uses a little flavor magic to turn ice cream into cake. You can't have birthday cake without plates! Find out how Hallmark turns sheets of paper into festive napkins, cups, and plates. Later, how Dominos delivers 400 million pizzas a year, and the new twist on M&M's that's making them a party favorite all over again!
Today on Unwrapped, we're looking at companies who are putting new twists on a favorite dessert -- chocolate! First up, Malt-o-Meal is bringing dessert to the breakfast nook with their Chocolatey Mini Spooners, and at Max Brenner's chocolate restaurant, you can get the delicacy almost every way imaginable! Then, dip into the Mrs. Field's factory with their new chocolate-covered cookies, and watch how Simply Divine Brownies is using technology to make a personalized treat! Later, the mystery ingredient that makes P2C2 so good, and find out why Gifford's Chocolate Lovers Ice Cream was voted the world's best!
This week, we're setting sail with Disney Cruise Line to visit Disney Lookout Cay, where the native sea creatures are so beautiful and inspiring that Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown ask the bakers to create sea animal desserts in an ocean or beach setting. For the twist, bakers are required to make a custom ice cream with a mix-in that goes with their dessert. Then, very special guests Captain Mickey Mouse and Captain Minnie Mouse drop by for a visit because there is an amazing prize at stake in this challenge -- the winning baker will enjoy a Disney Cruise Vacation!
Jeff Mauro revisits some of The Kitchen's all-time best recreations of restaurant dishes. Sunny Anderson shows how to copy an ultra-popular drive-thru Spicy Chicken Sandwich at home, while Jeff whips up Sizzling Fajitas inspired by the traditional Mexican fare. Then, Geoffrey Zakarian tosses a tableside Caesar Salad like a pro, and Katie Lee Biegel shares the secrets to Cincinnati Chili she learned by working at a famous chili chain. Sunny makes a Brussels sprout dish from one of her fave NYC restaurants, and the hosts end on a sweet note by recreating some favorite ice cream truck treats.
Chopped is always a gamble, but the Casino Royale tournament takes it to another level. The competitors are given the chance to replace basket ingredients with new ones by the roll of the dice. In this first preliminary battle, something slithery is in the original basket, and a Vegas-themed
item in round two isn't a big hit with the chefs. When a chef runs into some bad luck in round three, he doesn't seem phased, but will his bold moves with the ice cream machine result in good flavor? The winner moves on the tournament's finale!
It's a Mexican fiesta in the Chopped kitchen as every basket features foods from our neighbor to the south, and the chefs will be encouraged to dial up the flavor to make extra scrumptious dishes. In the first round, the chefs struggle under the time pressure and hope that their appetizers don't fall flat when it comes to technique. In the second round, the chefs must combine a weird ice cream and a classic Mexican sauce. Then in a neck-and-neck final round, the chefs get creative with some unusual potato chips and a distinctively flavored leafy green.
There's romance in the air in the Chopped Kitchen as eight cooking singles are paired up on blind dates! In the first round, the couples get to know each other and the ingredients, which include scallops in the shell and a strange citrus. The six competitors left for round two all decide to grind the protein in the entree basket, and the minimal use of one of the ingredients gives the judges something to discuss. Then, the creme anglaise in the dessert basket seems like a gift for the final two pairs, but neither team makes a dash for the ice cream machine.