The chefs are pleased to see a delicious selection of Italian ingredients for the appetizer round, including pasta dough, but time management issues lead to some big problems with the plates. The tasty trend continues in the entree round, with veal chops and bottarga in the basket, and one chef makes a repeat mistake. Then desserts made with figs are the final two dishes the judges will taste.
Trisha Yearwood celebrates her love of an Italian meal by cooking up a menu filled with an abundance of flavor and memories. She invites her neighbor, Kathy, to help, and Trisha learns how to make fresh pasta from scratch! To pair with the pasta, she prepares a Hazelnut Arugula Pesto, giant Meatballs with Marinara and a side of Charred Green Beans. For dessert, there's a delicious No-Bake Espresso Ricotta Cheesecake.
Mary Berg showcases her go-to recipes to cure everything from a tummy ache to heartache. Her Ginger Cinnamon Smoothie helps replenish some nutrients after an upset stomach, and once she's ready to eat again, she prepares Homemade Cheese Ravioli using a sneaky store hack. Soup solves everything, especially Italian Wedding Soup with homemade cheesy meatballs. On those decadent dessert days, Mary's Saucy Chocolate Fudge Cake Sundae is the cure.
Ree Drummond cooks up ranch-style Italian and a lot of fun with the help of her kid crew. There's a real pasta-pronto family favorite, Chicken Florentine Mac and Cheese, and squash replaces spaghetti in a healthy spin on classic Bolognese. Then, Ree makes Cast Iron Pizza Bianca in a skillet with a great shortcut, and her Sugar Cookie Bruschetta is a perfectly sweet make-your-own dessert.
Noah Cappe heads to Pacific Northwest for the Washington State Spring Fair to take in the seafood scene with the Seattle Crabby Dog loaded with cream cheese, sauteed onions and native Dungeness crab, plus Bowtie Prawn Pie -- an alfredo prawn pizza topped with farfalle pasta. Then, Noah stops and smells the flowers at the Meriden Daffodil Festival in Connecticut. Local Italian Americans carnival-fy family recipes to create perfect comfort foods like the Italian Chili Dog that tops a classic Italian sausage with pasta e fagioli and Lasagna Nachos that deep fry lasagna sheets covered in parmesan, mozzarella and marinara. For dessert, Noah grabs the Lemon Meringue Funnel Pie, a classic funnel cake loaded with tart lemon curd, buttery shortbread and crunchy meringues. Finally, it's off to the Four States Fair in Texarkana, Arkansas, for rocky road-ified fries and the Mud Bug Roll -- a sushi roll stuffed with local crawfish wrapped into spring roll and deep fried.