Ina is hosting a surprise dinner party with an Italian theme for a friend. She's sharing her dinner party know-how and strategies, from menu planning and shortcuts to setting the scene with the help of a florist. Recipes include Parmesan Crisps, Rossinis, White Bean and Arugula Salad, Balsamic Roasted Beef, Parmesan Fennel Gratin and for dessert, Limoncello and Ice Cream.
Four bakers bring their lofty dreams to the bakery as they try to bake themselves into the stratosphere. One competitor has a creative spin on an Italian favorite while another draws on French inspiration with a rustic macaron. Buddy Valastro is then left having to decide if it's a savory dessert or a pie that should be available to all of America.
The competitors find a prized member of the onion family in the first basket, ramps! But will the flavorful wild leeks play nicely with the other mandatory ingredients? An organ meat and an Italian treat are in basket two, then the two chefs who make it to the dessert round get a popcorn-flavored candy and a citrus-flavored stalk.
Four chefs tackle a takeout takedown in this thrilling battle. The baskets are packed with go-to, to-go choices like pizza in the first round. In the second round, the chefs must make a Chinese specialty work with an Italian cocktail. Then, a tower of something sweet and a cup of something bubbly are part of the puzzle for the dessert round.
As the competition kicks off, the chefs are challenged with making appetizers using a delicate herb and a playful take on potatoes. When the chefs get a strange Italian street food in the entree basket, they must do as the Neapolitans do. And the judges hope the Dutch baby pancake and sour plums in the dessert basket will spark some delicious creativity.
Gesine Prado creates some clever ways to bring baking to the grill while hosting an outdoor party to celebrate warm weather and good friends. She's grilling Pizza Two Ways with homemade pizza dough along with a zesty Italian-style Green Bean and Potato Salad. For dessert, she's making homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches and a Grilled Creamsicle Cake baked right over the coals.
It's one of those nights where Valerie Bertinelli and her husband Tom's cravings are all over the map, so they decide to have it all! Valerie cooks up some of their favorite guilty pleasure dishes: Chicken with Prunes and Olives, Italian Wedge Salad with Gorgonzola topped with Crispy Pancetta, Vegetable Pot Stickers and, for dessert, Mini Zeppoles with a Caramel Marsala Dipping Sauce.
Chef Anne Burrell shares recipes and tips for a classic Italian-American supper. Tender veal scallops get browned to perfection, then finished in an easy yet perfectly balanced white wine sauce with capers and fresh lemon. For dessert, her homemade Cannoli feature crisp homemade cookie shells and a rich ricotta filling kissed with a pinch of cinnamon and studded with mini chocolate chips.
Jesse Palmer teaches the six bakers a lesson in repurposing holiday gifts in the first round, when they must turn panettone, the classic holiday Italian sweet bread, into an entirely new dessert. Then they're challenged to create a beautifully decorated cupcake mosaic inspired by a pair of holiday pajamas. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale send one baker packing.
Things are getting very cheesy in Ree Drummond's ranch kitchen, with four recipes and eight different cheeses! She takes Italian food to the next level with 5-Cheese Pasta, and fresh mozzarella stars in her Fried Green Tomato Caprese Salad mashup. Her goat cheese-topped Fiery Goat Dip is beyond delicious, and for dessert, there's a marvelous Mascarpone Berry Bowl.