Food Network Star

by Ian Jackman

  —Jeffrey Vaden

  SEAFOOD PASTA

  with Broccoli Rabe

  Recipe courtesy Jeff Vaden

  Yield: 8 servings • Prep Time: 35 minutes • Cook Time: 20 minutes • Ease of Preparation: intermediate

  1½-pound live lobster

  1 bunch broccoli rabe (1 pound), stems trimmed, coarsely chopped

  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  1 yellow onion, minced

  2 cloves garlic, minced

  8 sea scallops, small side muscles removed

  8 shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

  ½ cup white wine

  ¾ cup heavy cream

  ½ teaspoon freshly ground green pepper

  Kosher salt

  16 mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

  Freshly ground black pepper

  1 pound linguini, cooked according to package directions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully lower the lobster in, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lobster from the water and set aside to cool. Carefully remove the meat from the claws and tail.

  2. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the rabe and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove, drain, and set aside.

  3. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the scallops and shrimp and sauté for 1 minute. Add the rabe and stir to combine. Add the wine, heavy cream, ground green pepper, and salt. Simmer, uncovered, until it begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Add the mussels, cover, and continue to cook until the mussels are opened. Stir in the lobster meat and cook until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve warm.

  Something Fishy

  Chef Tyler Florence, host of Tyler’s Ultimate, came to work with the finalists for the fourth episode’s first challenge, teaching skills and information in sixty-second technique videos. Unfortunately, Shane and Aaron forgot Tyler’s main focus—“Cook and talk at the same time.” They both ran out of time. Nipa was having her own set of difficulties because she had “no idea” how to clean a squid. “You’ve got to figure it out,” Tyler told her. “You’ve got to come across as an authority.”

  Jennifer apologized for not being able to shuck an oyster. “If I can’t do an oyster, I can’t do anything.” Most of the finalists felt defeated, except for Kelsey. Tyler liked Kelsey’s energy as she Frenched lamb chops, and she was also the best communicator of the bunch.

  “I have always been someone who thrives under pressure and almost gets an adrenaline rush when that red light comes on. Being in front of the camera does get easier and more comfortable with experience. The camera and I have become good friends.”

  —Kelsey Nixon

  what is BEURRE BLANC?

  Kelsey made beurre blanc to accompany her cod. Beurre blanc means “white butter,” a French sauce for fish made of warmed butter and an acid such as vinegar, white wine, or lemon juice.

  In the Main Challenge, Iron Chef Michael Symon, with Michael LaDuke of the seven-hundred restaurant chain Red Lobster, told finalists that they would have to prepare a fish dish showcasing freshness and culinary expertise. To sweeten the pot, the winner would be featured on the menu at Red Lobster. The catch: They would have to make a seafood second dish, using an “uncommon” ingredient—something sweet like marshmallow, caramel, white chocolate, or that multicolored fruity breakfast cereal . . .

  “The competition is about testing mettle. I know that some of the scenarios are ridiculous, but you might be put in a situation on your own show where you have to be fast on your feet. It might not be making mahimahi with fruit cereal, it might be that you think you have three minutes for a segment and it turns out you have thirty seconds and you’ve got to think. That kind of stress is very real.

  “We’re asking, ‘How clever are you?’ If you can hide the crazy ingredient in the sauce. What kind of person are you? They are coming into our family, and it’s a marathon. You can be awesome the first three episodes and then fall off a cliff. It’s a very hard job.”

  —Susie Fogelson

  Finalists prepped their dishes in the Food Network kitchens. Kelsey coated her Tilapia in Macadamia Nuts and made a White Chocolate Beurre Blanc to serve over Coconut Rice. Jennifer prepped Beer-Battered and Coconut Cereal–Crusted Mahimahi. Nipa, working with trout and grape jelly, cut a tiny piece from her fresh fish and threw the rest away.

  The finalists climbed aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba to serve their final creations to thirty Coast Guard men and women. Kelsey was up first and presented her Tilapia Fish Cake with Chipotle Mayonnaise and her other tilapia dish with the chocolate. Susie liked her personality; the chefs liked the sauce.

  Adam staged a pratfall into the mess deck for his presentation. No one laughed.

  “The stunts I pulled were an attempt to stand out from the pack on the show. I knew that the Selection Committee was looking for more than a cook, and I thought, ‘Why not be bold? Not going to have a second chance next season.’ The Martha Stewart routine I was quite proud of. That’s me. The following week with the Coast Guard I went too far, and it was not funny for the time and place. That’s me. To be honest, I regret the food I made that day even more than the stunt. Bad week, that.”

  —Adam Gertler

  “I so wish he hadn’t done that,” said Bob. To add insult to injury, Adam’s fish was overcooked. “It was a train wreck,” said Chef Symon.

  It didn’t get better with the other finalists. Nipa, while presenting her Tandoori Trout and her Trout Marinated in Grape Jelly with Cilantro and Mint, did a Bollywood dance that raised some eyebrows. Aaron’s cod was dry; Jennifer’s cereal crust tasted too sweet. Lisa, who always cooked in her heels, took a hard fall in the kitchen and ended up covered in her sauce. Although she was worried about her Pucci shoes and three-hundred-dollar shirt, all she truly cared about was her food.

  “I seriously cracked a rib. . . . I couldn’t even lift a pot of water by the time we were in Vegas. Proud of myself for getting up and getting my food done regardless!”

  —Lisa Garza

  Michael Symon: A Q&A

  Was this challenge a decent test of a chef’s ability?

  I am a chef who does television in that order so for me it’s interesting to see how quickly someone adjusts to something that isn’t natural. It shows you what kind of person they are and how they are going to do on TV. You will do live appearances and you have to be quick on your feet because things happen.

  You were upset that Nipa threw away her fish . . .

  I have been a chef for twenty-five years and have spent a lot of time on farms and with the product and I know we’re killing something to eat it. You need to respect that. You see how hard farmers and fishermen work to get us this great product. Forget television—as a chef and someone who loves food it was a slap in the face.

  Kelsey did a good job in that challenge.

  I thought it then and I think it now, there were a lot of talented people on that run and Kelsey was my favorite then and she’s still my favorite. Everyone thought she was a little bit young. She had the personality and she had the cooking chops and I think she is very good at what she does now.

  When Lisa presented her arctic char dishes, she mentioned that her brother, who was serving in Iraq, would be proud of her. “It was the most charming I’ve ever seen her,” said Bob. In evaluation, Chef Symon told Nipa that her discarding of the trout offended him as a chef. Shane made Dover Sole with Orange Liqueur Sauce and also with Parsnip Roasted Garlic Puree with Marshmallow Cream and Panko-Crusted Sole and Michael Symon liked both dishes very much. “Thank you, chef,” said Shane, “that means the world.” Aaron’s food was disappointing, and he hadn’t shared who he was in his presentation. When he was safe from elimination, Aaron said that his son had run away from home right before the show started. He w
anted his son to come home to the next Food Network star. Kelsey was the winner of the Red Lobster challenge, and for her off-the-wall white-chocolate dish rather than the more conventional offering. It was good-bye to Nipa.

  “The challenge I was most proud of and could have walked away at the end of feeling great was cooking Dover sole and marshmallow in a galley of a ship. Chef Michael Symon gave my food the highest marks of the challenge and after that I could have left feeling at ease.”

  —Shane Lyons

  DRY-RUBBED SHRIMP

  with French-Cut Green Beans and Steamed Basmati Rice (Jhinga Masaledar)

  Recipe courtesy Nipa Bhatt

  Yield: 4 servings • Prep Time: 20 minutes • Cook Time: 35 minutes • Ease of Preparation: intermediate

  FOR THE SHRIMP

  1 teaspoon chat masala

  Kosher salt

  1 pound (16/20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

  2 tablespoons canola oil

  ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

  FOR THE GREEN BEANS

  ¼ cup canola oil

  1 teaspoon mustard seeds

  ½ teaspoon dhanna jeeru powder

  ¼ teaspoon turmeric

  ½ teaspoon chili powder

  2 (9-ounce) packages frozen French-cut green beans, thawed and drained

  1 teaspoon salt

  STEAMED BASMATI RICE

  1 cup basmati rice

  2 cups water

  Pinch of salt

  1. FOR THE SHRIMP: Rub the shrimp with the chat masala and salt, and set aside for 5 minutes. Over high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet until it shimmers. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn pink and start to curl, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the cilantro.

  2. FOR THE BEANS: In a medium skillet, heat the oil and mustard seeds over high heat. When the seeds start to pop, add the dhanna jeeru powder, turmeric, and chili powder and cook for 30 seconds, then add the green beans and salt and toss to coat. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for about 7 minutes. Serve with the shrimp and Steamed Basmati Rice.

  STEAMED BASMATI RICE: Rinse the rice two or three times. In a small pot, add the rice, water, and salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and cook, uncovered, until most of the water has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

  Yield: 3 cups cooked rice • Cook Time: 20 minutes

  Bon Appétit

  In the first challenge of the next episode the remaining finalists—Aaron, Adam, Shane, Jennifer, Lisa, and Kelsey—lined up, each behind a basket. In the Food Network kitchen, chef Cat Cora instructed them to create a dish from the ingredients in the basket and describe it on camera. But once they’d finished, she switched things up a bit. Now they would have to describe a dish made by one of the other finalists. “If you’re going to be on camera, you gotta be able to talk about anything,” Cat explained.

  “She is striking and she wields a powerful knife,” said Shane of Cat. “That’s a hell of a combination.”

  “Cat Cora was one of my favorite judges. She had such a welcoming, natural chemistry with all of us.”

  —Shane Lyons

  Shane talked about “aromas of saffron” and the “Mediterranean, sea-inspired” elements of Kelsey’s Pan-Seared Cod with Saffron Polenta. Cat liked his energy and his description. She reminded Adam to tell viewers his POV and to anticipate the wrap-up—but he took a huge bite of food with ten seconds to go.

  Aaron wanted to describe his own dish. Jen mistook udon for linguini. “You don’t really know your food,” Cat told her.

  The winner was Shane, whose victory gave him a leg up in the Main Challenge.

  “That salmon dish is all about technique. Pan roasting a piece of fish or meat, caramelizing onions, and of course the sautéed greens are all very basic cooking methods that can be applied well beyond those ingredients. I run specials of bowls of fresh greens from my restaurant’s garden during the summer (anything from spinach to collards to Swiss chard), sautéed with caramelized onions, mushroom dashi broth, Amarillo chili paste, and shiro miso paste, finished with fresh basil, cilantro, and lime.”

  —Shane Lyons

  PAN-ROASTED SALMON

  with Caramelized Cipollini Onions, Sautéed Greens, and Fines Herbes Truffle Butter

  Recipe courtesy Shane Lyons

  Yield: 6 servings • Prep Time: 25 minutes • Cook Time: 25 minutes • Ease of Preparation: intermediate

  FOR THE TRUFFLE BUTTER

  ¼ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

  2 tablespoons chopped fresh fines herbes mix (parsley, chives, chervil, tarragon)

  1 to 2 teaspoons white truffle oil

  Kosher salt

  Freshly cracked black pepper

  FOR THE ONIONS AND GREENS

  18 medium-size cipollini onions

  2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  5 cups (8 ounces) prewashed baby spinach

  3 cups (8 ounces) prewashed arugula

  Kosher salt

  Freshly ground black pepper

  2 tablespoons canola oil

  6 (5-ounce) skinless salmon fillets, patted dry

  1. FOR THE TRUFFLE BUTTER: In a small bowl, combine the butter, herbs, and truffle oil and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

  2. FOR THE ONIONS AND GREENS: In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Trim the onions, drop them into the water, and boil for 2 minutes. Drain the onions and plunge them into a large bowl of ice water. Once the onions are cool, peel and dry them.

  3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and sauté until tender and golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add the spinach and arugula with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until wilted. Adjust the seasoning.

  4. FOR THE SALMON: While the onions are cooking, prepare the salmon. In a large sauté pan, heat the canola oil over high heat. Making sure there is no excess moisture on the fillets, salt and pepper them liberally on both sides. When the oil begins to smoke, lay the fillets in the pan, making sure they are not touching one another—cook in batches if needed. Cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, for medium.

  5. To serve, place a spoonful of the onions and greens in the center of each plate. Top with a salmon fillet and a dollop of the truffle butter.

  Reinventing the Classics

  In addition to her Iron Chef duties for Food Network, Cat Cora, also the Bon Appétit Executive Chef, introduced the Main Challenge: The three teams of two had to reinvent a classic dish for the modern home cook, in forty-five minutes. The winners and their dish would be featured in the magazine. Because Shane had won the previous challenge, he chose the dishes for each team: Beef Wellington for himself and Kelsey, Coq au Vin for Aaron and Adam, and Turducken for Lisa and Jennifer.

  These are dishes that take hours or days to make, and Lisa and Aaron weren’t happy: “This is impossible,” said Lisa.

  Aaron agreed. “I’m not a French-food dude,” he said.

  When presentation time came, Adam and Aaron’s plating was less than perfect. Chef Cora asked them if they had intentionally plated their pasta over the edge of the bowl. What’s more, the dish didn’t reflect the original.

  Lisa and Jen’s dish was missing components at presentation time because Jen accidentally smashed a bottle of apple juice on the stove. With glass everywhere, everything on the stove had to go in the trash.

  Shane and Kelsey presented their No Nightmare Beef Wellington and were declared the winners.

  “You don’t often see Beef Wellington on menus these days. If you have the urge, I’d make sure you’re at a well-respected eatery with cooks who can execute it properly, otherwise you might find yourself gnawing on burnt puff pastry, underseasoned pâté, and raw beef tenderloin.”

  —Shane Lyons

  It was time for elimination. Bobby said that Adam was on “
very, very, very thin ice” because his food was not up to par. The judges all agreed that Adam was having issues getting comfortable with the camera and gave credit to Lisa for not being a perfectionist.

  It was Jennifer who was going home; she did not describe the dish well in the first challenge, and in the Main Challenge she had missed a side dish.

  what is TURDUCKEN?

  The turducken is a boned chicken stuffed in a boned duck stuffed in a boned turkey. Although we’ve been stuffing animals into other animals for centuries, the origins of this dish are obscure. It’s now thought of as a Cajun, or at least a southern, specialty.

  CHICKEN PARMESAN

  with Vodka Sauce

  Recipe courtesy Jennifer Cochrane

  Yield: 4 servings • Prep Time: 30 minutes • Cook Time: 30 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy

  FOR THE SAUCE

  4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  ½ red onion, diced (¾ cup)

  3 garlic cloves, minced

  ½ cup vodka

  1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled Italian tomatoes, with juice, crushed with hands

  1 cup heavy cream

  10 large fresh basil leaves, torn

  ½ teaspoon kosher salt