Damaris visits her favorite neighborhood Italian grocery store, Lotsa Pasta, where she finds beautiful fresh ricotta and local goat cheese, and transforms it into a decadent but easy-to-make Goat Cheese Gnocchi With Bacon, Dates and a Kentucky Brown Butter Wine Sauce. For dessert, Damaris puts her twist on an Italian favorite with a silky Buttermilk Panna Cotta. It's a celebration of Italy with a Kentucky accent.
Chopped champs compete for a chance to make it to the grand finale to fight for $50,000. Red snapper in the entree basket must be filleted in a snap, and pastries and pops in the dessert basket challenge the remaining competitors.
Little Italy is where is all began for Alex's love of Italian cooking. For Alex, it's all about the ingredients and some of the best are found in her favorite New York neighborhood. The Italian seduction process begins with dessert - a flakey sfogliatella - filled with whole milk ricotta and candied citron and orange. Then, a simple roasted fish with just three ingredients: salt, oil, and lemon. Finally, a salad that pairs distinct Italian flavors like caramelized fennel, fresh orange, and walnut pesto.