[upbeat music plays]
Derrell, I'm so happy that you're here,
because, today, we are celebrating date night.
-Let's do this. -Let's go.
-What can I do? -Play a record.
[Derrell] Oh, I actually love this record. Let's get this going.
Obligatory chocolate-covered strawberries.
[Derrell] Oh, perfect. Cheers.
[romantic music plays]
-[Antoni] All right. -[Derrell] A little flowers.
-[Antoni] Petals everywhere. -This is cute.
Right?
-[doorbell rings] -They're here. We gotta get ready.
Let's do it.
[funky music plays]
-Oh. -So much better.
-Swaggy. -[Antoni] Is that broccoli?
-It is. -All right, let's do this.
[funky music continues]
[Derrell] Hey.
-How you all doing? You all good? -Hello.
Hi, guys. Aprille, reigning champion Haley, and Michael.
Welcome to Easy-Bake Battle.
I am beyond excited to welcome my friend and today's co-judge.
-Derrell Smith. -What's up, yo?
He's a former NFL superstar, has had a killer career in advertising.
Now he's an entrepreneur who's been crushing it in the food world.
You got me blushing. I appreciate that.
[chuckling]
The three of you are here because you are super skilled and clever home cooks.
-Aprille, welcome. -Hey.
-How are you feeling? -Really good, happy to be here.
I'd like to think that my food is kind of an extension of who I am.
It's pretty simple looking, but you eat it and you're like,
"Oh, actually I want more."
-Haley, welcome back, reigning champion. -Thank you.
I wasn't sure if I had what it takes to win this competition,
but after winning $25,000, I'm getting, like, my Haley confidence here.
I'm in the zone. I am focused and determined.
I'm going to bring every bit of what I have.
Michael, fellow New Yorker, so I heard that you have, um,
a very special kitchen, in that it is, like, one of the tiniest kitchens ever.
Honey, it's New York City living. I live in 120 square feet
in gorgeous Times Square, and my kitchen is a quarter of the size of this counter.
-So this is a little different? -A-A little?
Just a little.
Honey, she ain't a size queen, but this is epic.
-Honey, all right. Let's go. -I can relate a little.
For seven years, I lived with one drawer and two burners.
You can still make beautiful food if you have a small kitchen.
Absolutely, I can roll over in bed,
fry you an egg, and go to the bathroom at the same time, honey.
[laughter]
This New York hustle is super real.
And it's definitely gonna help me in this competition, because I don't have time.
I need to get into my tiny kitchen, get these meals pumped out quick,
so I can get out in the streets to, like, you know, get my groove thing on.
Time for your first challenge. Are you ready for the Dish Dash?
So here's the situation.
It's date night.
[upbeat tense music plays]
Bad news, you're already late.
[giggles]
-You invited a date over for dinner. -[laughs]
Then you completely lost track of time binging Love is Blind
and then looking all of the contestants' profiles up on Instagram. I've been there.
Your date is showing up in just 30 minutes.
So for your Dish Dash challenge, each of you have to create a romantic,
swoon-inducing appetizer in 30 minutes max.
But not just any appetizer.
We're specifically asking you to work with at least two known aphrodisiacs.
In your pantry, you're gonna find a selection of 12 aphrodisiacs
to choose from, including things like strawberries,
truffles,
pistachios,
oysters, ginger, honey.
Derrell, what do you know about aphrodisiacs?
I know they make you fuzzy inside. You like that?
[laughter]
So Antoni and I are judging your dishes on taste,
presentation, and how easy it is to make.
Make sure it's cute and it tastes good.
Two of you will move forward for a chance to win $25,000.
Haley, that means by the end of today, you could be $50,000 richer.
-That's crazy. -Rich.
All right, time to spice things up. You guys ready?
Puerto Rico! I am here to represent the people, honey.
I wouldn't say no to some mofongo.
-Is that a proposition? -[laughs]
Between the two of you, you're making me blush today.
Anyway, time starts in three, two, one.
-Make it easy! -[Derrell] Yeah!
Go get 'em. Go get 'em!
Got it.
[upbeat music plays]
[Aprille] What am I doing here?
That, that.
That.
I think part of the challenge is figuring out...
'Cause they have to use a minimum of two aphrodisiacs.
[Derrell] I really think the best way to go is just to keep it simple.
-[Antoni] Simple. -And done well.
-[Antoni] And technique. -Yeah. Absolutely.
[Aprille] I am making my interpretation
of a chipotle, spicy bruschetta, avocado toast.
My two aphrodisiacs are chipotle peppers and ginger.
I'm gonna try to put them together to give it, like, some spicy, tangy,
just like taste in the avocado mash.
I have had dates cook for me. I've never cooked for dates.
So the pressure's on.
Aprille, she's got some avocados and a loaf of bread.
Looks like an avocado toast. Maybe a bougie avocado toast.
Maybe a really bougie avo toast with some shaved truffles, maybe?
Mmm. [chuckles]
All right, time to shuck some oysters.
Michael has oysters and serrano peppers as his two aphrodisiacs.
Let's go, honey.
One of my favorite aphrodisiacs are oysters.
I am so happy I got my hands on them.
Next, second aphrodisiac food, serranos. Right? Serranos have capsaicin in them.
And capsaicin, allegedly, you know, gives you that hot and tingly flavor and savor.
And oysters traditionally are paired with a mignonette sauce,
which is vinegar-based and shallots. Delicious.
-[Antoni] Michael. -What's up?
I see red wine vinegar and shallots. Does that mean you're making a mignonette?
[Michael] Yes, with a little Latin flair.
Um, I'm making a mojo mignonette that has garlic and tangerine in it.
-Swaggy. That's swaggy. I like that. -[Michael] And a little serrano pepper.
So your mignonette is making a little homage to Puerto Rico, maybe?
[Michael] Maybe. Maybe.
-Haley, our reigning champion. -Super smooth.
Two ingredients already that I can notice, cream cheese and jalapeños.
She's a fan of them. This might be like a little... Like a tart, tartlet.
Maybe a stuffed jalapeño.
Well, maybe not. I don't know. Let me not get ahead of myself.
[Antoni] Hey, Haley.
-[Haley] Hey. -What you doing?
I'm making my filling for my filo shells.
I'm gonna do a little play on artichoke dip,
spinach artichoke dip, but instead of spinach,
I'm using the artichokes and a bit of heat from the peppers.
It'll be nice and creamy with the cream cheese and the shredded cheese.
I'm immediately thinking, "What does my husband Jake love to eat?"
And my head always goes to spice, like jalapeño peppers and peppers.
And thankfully that was one of the aphrodisiac ingredients.
That's gonna be a shining star in this dish.
Jake, my husband, he encourages me through any of my passions
and stepping out of my comfort zone.
He's a big part of the reason why I'm here and it's a big reason why I love him too.
A little heat never hurts.
[Antoni] 21 minutes left.
All right. Okay, one of my favorite things to do with ginger
is I actually peel it with a spoon.
It wastes less of the ginger itself. It's kinda easier to peel in my opinion.
It does smell good. It's super fragrant. I don't need all of it.
Avocado and ginger? I've never had avocado with ginger before.
Wait, y-you just added ginger to your avocado?
[Derrell] Have you made this before?
Not this version. I've made avocado toast, so I'm like,
"How good can this get?"
-Is that a date night dish? -[Aprille] We'll hope so. [giggles]
-I hope so too. -[Derrell laughs]
I was born and raised in Japan. And I was born in a military family.
So I'm just pretty used to a mishmash of all these cultures.
Japanese culture, Filipino culture, American culture.
Honestly, I do have a preference to Japanese food over American food.
But I've been able to blend the two in my own cooking.
More spice.
[upbeat music plays]
Oh yeah. This is supposed to be date night.
Please, I can barely find a man to walk me to the corner,
much less somebody to cook for.
I live in 120 square feet of Times Square gorgeousness.
Who else can I fit in 120 square feet of space?
I'm cooking for me, myself, and I, like Beyoncé once said. Okay? Okay.
Grab my ice.
I know I need to keep my oysters cold and the only way to do that
is to put them on ice, but ice comes in big chunks.
Doing the ice to keep the oysters cold in the food processor.
I wanted crushed ice, so I have some place stable to put them
to keep the juices in there and keep them cold at the same time.
Quick and easy hack. So easy, so good.
[Antoni] I really like what Michael's doing right now.
If you create more of, like, a crushed ice situation,
the oyster shells can sit a lot more comfortably in the ice.
It looks fancy and expensive.
-Yeah, it does look really nice. -Yeah.
[Antoni] The towel is so important. You don't want that little slippery slucker,
slippery sucker to slide.
-Slippery sucker. Say that fast ten times. -Mouthful. I know.
[strains]
This is really, like, my first time shucking oysters. Come on.
Yeesh, looks like Michael's really struggling to open up that oyster.
Yeah, he is.
[grunts] There we go.
As someone who's never shucked an oyster before,
I know that this is a dangerous feat and people have literally lost digits.
But is this a risk that I know is going to pay off?
Yes, ma'am.
[tense music plays]
Boom.
This man better be worth it, is all I gotta say.
For all this work I'm doing.
Hey, Derrell, what's your favorite date night app?
I got the perfect trick for you.
I'm gonna show you how to make a date night gazpacho.
-Okay. -[Derrell] This is so simple.
I love this recipe.
We wanna actually take some sherry vinegar,
a little bit of bread crumb in there, cucumber.
We got that bread, we'll put that in there as well.
-Some jalapeño to get that spice. -[Antoni] I smell the sherry.
[Derrell] For my base, I like to use a little bit of V8.
-You wanna make sure it's nice and smooth. -[Antoni] Yeah, let's try it.
[Derrell] Let's get some of this.
-Put a little olive oil on top. -[Antoni] Yes!
[Derrell] Then, just a little bit of that jalapeño.
And just like that, we got a seven-ingredient spicy gazpacho.
-Cheers. -Cheers. Oh yeah.
-That's legit really good. -It's damn good.
[tense music plays]
Haven't lost a finger yet, but let's not put that out there in the ethos.
-[chuckles] -What's the time?
Fifteen minutes before your date orders Postmates.
[chuckles]
-You like that? -I love it.
I need to toast this bread. I put these three slices of toast in the air fryer.
Honestly, I've never used an air fryer before,
so I'm, like, just pressing buttons that look obvious to me.
I'm like "on," "toast," "start." I just prayed, like, "This is gonna be fine."
[air fryer beeps]
I'm getting these filled up and I'm gonna pop 'em in the air fryer.
A little bit more shredded cheese on top.
Really quick hack for this one is using something premade and precooked,
like the filo shells.
-I love this. -[Antoni] That saves a lot of time.
Looking across the kitchen at Michael, and he's making oysters.
He's crushing up ice and making it look like a five-star restaurant.
When you immediately look at my dish,
I wouldn't necessarily say it's a romantic dish.
So hopefully, the flavors will be enough for the judges.
[Michael] I think we are good.
Whoever's done the fastest gets some brownie points from Uncle Rell.
[Aprille] I run back to the air fryer. The toast wasn't even toasty.
[sighs] Maybe it kind of shows I've never used an air fryer before,
because I could've left it in longer.
But I just need to get this toast on the plate and assemble everything.
[tense music plays]
[Michael] Okay.
Michael's way ahead.
-[Michael] For you, for you. -Michael's like Michael Johnson today.
One, two three. Peace out, Cub Scout.
[both] Whoa!
-Ha! -[Antoni] Michael is done first.
-[Derrell] Do that dance. -Seventeen minutes and 56 seconds.
I feel incredible, 'cause I know this dish is going to wow them.
Yes, girl, get it. [laughs]
-Take that, ladies. -[Aprille laughs]
-Wow. -And he talking trash.
And his humility seems to have left the building.
No, I mean, I'm sure these ladies are like getting it in and getting it done.
There we go. We always end with some positive reinforcement.
Of course, of course.
-I mean the woman's carrying twins. -[Haley laughs]
-And a baking dish. Hello! -[laughter]
[Haley laughs]
Eight and a half minutes left.
'Cause why not?
[upbeat music plays]
Mmm.
Yeah. You're testing. You're trying.
What? [laughs]
-[Antoni] Aprille did not grill her toast. -What do you think about that?
It's gotta be... Like, we need texture. If you grill it, it's gotta be toasted.
So she just cut the bread and then put the avocado right on it.
-That worries me. -The avocado's so thin.
Yeah, the food's tasting good.
The avocado is the right amount of creamy. There is a kick in it, which I like.
I really wanna incorporate all these flavors and make sure
the aphrodisiacs come through in the avocado toast.
I'm just really hoping to wow the judges.
And hopefully, they take me on a second date.
Boop, boop.
[dramatic music plays]
Finishing touches are going on for Haley right now.
-[dramatic music continues] -[bell dings]
-Oh! -Oh, Aprille's done.
[Derrell] Done.
-Twenty-one minutes and 43 seconds. -[Derrell] I like it.
[Antoni] Here comes Haley, very close behind.
-[Derrell] Boom. -[Antoni] Haley's done.
Done.
22:01.
-Very close behind. -Yeah. [laughs]
[laughs]
Hello, Michael.
Michael, tell us about your date night dish.
[Michael] So these are Winnow oysters from the Cape Cod Nantucket area.
And then I paired it with my take on a classic mignonette sauce
that I call "mojo mignonette."
And then it's garnished with a thin sliver of serrano.
[Antoni] I love mignonette. I'm very excited.
It's gonna be spicy, salty and delicious.
-[slurps] -Oh.
-[Antoni] No shortage of slurpage. -Absolutely not.
Presentation-wise, I think crushing the ice was brilliant.
It's like that extra little detail of care that I kind of really look for in dishes.
Mignonette, for me personally, wonderfully balanced.
I love the addition of the garlic.
The serrano, you cut it really thin, which is so important.
You don't wanna overwhelm anybody with heat,
because then you don't get to try all the other delicate flavors.
One thing I do have to say, one of them did have a few little bits of shell.
There was a chip and I got a couple of little pieces.
I got a few shells in my bite. If you just take that knife
and go under here and just flip it over, then you could slurp it out really simply.
Other than that, I think the flavor was good. I liked the heat and that mojo.
-I'm a fan of mojo. -Yeah.
You did a really good job with it.
-Thank you so much. -[Derrell] Kudos.
-Cheers. Excellent job. -Thank you.
-[Antoni] We are on to the next. -Hey.
-Welcome, gentlemen. -These are cute.
Haley, our reigning champion. Tell us about your date night dish.
I took a spin off one of my favorite appetizers,
which is spinach artichoke dip.
But today, I did an artichoke and jalapeño pepper little bite
in filo, premade little shells.
So one of your aphrodisiacs was the artichoke and what was the second?
[Haley] Yes, jalapeño peppers.
[Derrell] I like the crunch.
It's a small bite. It packs a punch.
The filo is super nice and crunchy,
nicely browned along the edges for some nice color.
The filling is nice and thick, very well seasoned.
The jalapeños are coming through for me,
not in an overwhelming, aggressive way.
I appreciated the texture. I think it was good flavor.
I like the heat that came through.
I think that the filling,
if it had a little more moisture to it...
Another thing is it didn't make me that fuzzy inside. I think it's a good bite.
I think it's something you could serve to a date, but also a child.
If it was just for a date night, I would want something a little more sexy.
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much. We are off to the next.
Let's do it.
-What's up? -Hello.
[Antoni] Tell us what you made.
[Aprille] Millennials, we love avocado toast.
We love bruschetta. I was like, "Why not combine the two?"
Tell us the two aphrodisiacs that you used.
Chipotle peppers and then ginger. They're hidden in the avocado mash.
-[Derrell] All right. -Dig in.
I was gonna use a knife and fork. You're going in straight.
-All right. -[Derrell] Savage stuff.
-I feel like I'm the brute. -[Antoni] Are you saying I'm not a brute?
I can be brute.
[laughter]
-You don't know me. -[Derrell laughs]
-Woo! Oh, I felt the chipotle. -[Derrell] Ginger.
Visually, it's beautiful. We have the microgreens.
The edible flowers, the micro cilantro.
The ginger with the avocado,
it gives it kind of like a nice sharpness right off the bat, which is something that
I would probably consider putting in in the future.
-Spicy freshness. -Yeah. It's a spicy freshness.
Is this a dish you wanna eat in front of a date?
Hell, yeah. We're gonna feed it to each other.
[laughter]
I didn't need detail or a play-by-play.
I like the flavor. I do wish that you would have toasted the bread.
Just because anytime you make an avocado toast,
bruschetta, anything like that, it adds to it.
To Derrell's point, that bread has to be some kind of toasted or grilled.
-Just to get that satisfying crunch. -Okay.
-Aprille, thank you very much. -[Derrell] Absolutely.
I feel like I looked the most stressed in this first challenge.
Shucking the oysters. I wish I could've watched.
I'll admit it. I raise my hand.
Listen, I was prepared to lose a hand.
-You know what I mean? -But you didn't.
But I didn't. Ten fingers.
You all truly brought the romance today with your aphrodisiac apps.
But unfortunately, only two of you can move on to the Easy-Bake round.
The winner is...
[tense music plays]
...Michael.
-I see you. -Get out!
-[Haley chuckles] -Congratulations, you did a hell of a job.
Oh my God, thank you.
It really surprised me to hear that I won the challenge
while I'm standing next to a person who's already won a challenge.
It was fast, easy, delicious.
This is crazy.
Now for the conversation that truly nobody wants to have.
So although we've had some good times together,
unfortunately, we have to break up with one of you.
The cook going home is...
[tense music plays]
...Aprille. I'm so sorry.
[Aprille] Thank you. This was so fun.
Honestly, in this split second, it's a shock.
And I just feel really excited to go home
and just, like, refine my avocado bruschetta chipotle toast.
I'm gonna refine it. I will toast it, I promise.
-I wanna talk to you for a second, Haley. -Okay.
You've really been impressing me so much.
That said, I wanna see you take more big risks.
-Okay. -Can you do that?
-Fifty Gs. -[Antoni] Yeah.
-Fifty G-rich. -It'll take that.
Exactly.
Then I'll be deserving.
Somehow, some way, you managed to come up with appetizers as dreamy as your date.
But now, you have to bust out the big moves.
It's time for your final round in the Easy-Bake.
Oh boy.
[Michael] Oh.
For your Easy-Bake,
you're gonna have to make wildly reimagined
Beef Wellington.
-Bam! -That takes forever. [laughs]
That is a Not-So-Easy-Bake.
I said reimagined.
Think outside the box.
[Antoni] Let's talk about a Beef Wellington.
Traditionally, it's a beef tenderloin
that's wrapped in a mushroom duxelles, which coats the beef,
and then you have this really wonderful puff pastry.
Ooh.
Both of you are incredibly creative. Like, this is where you get to apply that.
Now, we almost forgot to mention the hottest date in town.
Please welcome the Big Easy-Bake Oven.
[Michael] Ooh.
[Antoni] Where you'll have to cook your entire dish.
You two only have one hour for this round, so within your 60 minutes,
you only have 40 minutes to use your ovens.
When the oven lights up, that means that time has begun.
But when the 40 minutes are up, it's lights out and no more baking.
As a reminder, Derrell and I are the dates that hold your fates.
[Derrell] Oh yeah.
[Antoni] We'll be judging your dishes based on how good they look,
how good they taste, and how easy they are.
-Okay. -You guys ready?
-Yeah. -Oh yeah.
-Derrell, are you ready? -Absolutely.
All right. Three, two, one.
Make it easy!
[Derrell] Let's go!
The tricky part about this challenge is
asking them to basically reinvent the Beef Wellington.
It's one of the most complex dishes that you can make.
Absolutely. I would probably go the empanada or meatball route.
Maybe dip it in some type of batter and fry it maybe, or bake it.
[Antoni] Is that romantic and sexy?
-Hmm, it can be. -It can be.
Pressure. It's so exciting!
His game day energy is coming out over there.
Let's go!
[Haley] This is the first time I'm ever trying a Beef Wellington.
I've never made it before.
It feels out of my comfort zone.
So I am going to do a little twist on the Beef Wellington
and do a Beef Wellington pot pie with the puff pastry crust.
I usually do a chicken pot pie or something like that.
I rarely cook with something like beef, so I wanna make this my own
by making the inside what a lot of people find familiar to be in a pot pie,
with the creamy textures in the inside
and the really full, flavorful gravy component,
but using a lot of the Beef Wellington ingredients.
Haley mentioned that she does love to make a chicken pot pie
and when you think about it,
veggies, mushroom, chicken, meat, and like the puff pastry,
I wonder if there's like a version or something she can do
that's kind of a stewy beef.
That would actually be really good.
-Michael. -[Michael] Yes, sir.
What's your meat of choice there?
-A little ribeye. -What are you gonna do with it?
Cook it, obviously. No. [laughs]
What are you making?
I'm making Beef Wellington empanadas, honey.
Ooh!
Okay.
Growing up, one of my favorite foods to eat always were empanadas.
I'm just starting with chopping some mushrooms and some shallots,
because that's one of the main components of this dish.
Traditionally with Beef Wellington, the ingredients are the beef element,
that mushroom duxelles, the puff pastry, and I think this would be a way
to present this dish that's very kind of stuffy in a new, fun, and delicious way.
-[jaunty music plays] -[grunts]
I season the steaks with adobo.
It's gonna give me the most flavor
in a one-ingredient item.
Oh. Who puts carrots in the fridge?
Carrots are gonna be my side companion to give a little vegetable.
If I were a peeler, where would I be? Found it.
Do you know these things work two ways? You can go down and up. Down and up.
I just noticed something about Michael. How do you... You just peel one way.
-Usually, I'll just go straight down. -Yeah, just one way.
-[Michael] How you doing, Haley? -Pretty good.
My wheels are turning over here on how I can make this awesome.
Stop those wheels. Make it a little less awesome.
Not gonna happen.
Very interesting. Haley went for the traditional route of using the fillet.
Super tender, super lean,
really flavorful, and delicate, and it just feels really special.
Ribeye. A fattier cut, more marbled. In some ways, easier to work with.
But you don't want it to be overcooked.
But if that's cooked perfectly, so nice.
Your Easy-Bake Ovens are now officially on.
[Michael] Oh my God.
Pressure's on.
You have 40 minutes with your Easy-Bake Ovens.
Let's go!
I cut my ribeye into about an inch-thick cut
because I'm going to sear it on both sides and then cut it into cubes.
That way, I'm not throwing raw meat into my puff pastry.
Okay.
In a Beef Wellington, typically you use a bit of prosciutto
throughout the layer, and I'm using bacon instead.
Bacon just has more of that rich note
to really accentuate that taste and flavor of the beef.
I see you chopping that bacon.
-[Antoni] Fillet is such a lean meat. -[Derrell] Yeah.
With something like a Wellington, she's adding bacon, which is very smart.
It needs that fat.
When you said fillet, I was thinking, "What would she add for fat?"
-Yeah. -She's thinking.
[upbeat music plays]
Oh, hello there.
Hi, how's everything going? Right behind ya. Don't burn me.
-[Haley laughs] -[Michael] Thanks.
[Haley] At this point, my filling for the Beef Wellington pot pie is in the oven.
So I feel really good about that being cooked in time.
[Michael] All right.
[Derrell] Those are some thick slices.
-[Antoni] Pretty big pieces of carrot. -[Michael] They are.
What does she have on there? Are those... Oh, Brussels.
So I'm working on the side item now.
I'm gonna do really simple roasted Brussels sprouts
with a little lemon and a little something to crystallize it a bit in the oven.
Because I know I can use the signature hot pan in the oven hack
and really get a nice char on those vegetables fast.
[Michael] She smells delicious.
Um...
This'll be fine. You got this.
[imitates a knife slicing]
-How much time on the oven? -Twenty-five minutes.
[Haley] Perfect.
[Michael] That'll be good for now. Uh...
I run to go get the puff pastry, and as soon as I touch it...
Oh, they're frozen!
It's frozen.
And I'm screwed.
-Mike, what's going on, man? -Puff pastry's frozen, so we're pivoting.
Oh, you didn't thaw it out!
What is the solution?
He's thinking. Okay.
I am a little stressed about the puff pastry being in the freezer.
Puff pastry takes, you know, a good hour to thaw out.
Typically, I would throw it in the microwave for a couple of seconds.
But the microwave is off limits. Oven, thaw it out in the oven.
So I just kind of create my own hack right in the moment.
Patting water on the puff pastry.
I don't want it to burn in the oven, so I cover it with foil.
So essentially I'm kind of steaming it. Making, like, a little steam pocket.
[Michael] No.
No, no.
No. No.
Egg roll skins?
Divine inspiration. It came to me.
All of a sudden, my empanada was a drag queen
in an egg roll dress.
And I'm hoping and praying that it's actually going to work,
because I've never made an egg roll before,
so I've never used egg roll wrappers.
Got it.
[upbeat music plays]
-How you feeling, Michael? Good? -Yeah, good.
-Got that tequila in my hand. -I like it. [laughs]
Is tequila your solve for the puff pastry not thawing out?
Tequila's my solve for everything, honey.
What was your pivot for the puff pastry? What did you do instead?
-Egg roll wrappers. -[Antoni] Okay.
-Did you brush the top with egg? -Oh, that's egg wash.
-Egg wash, okay. -You're still making empanadas?
You better believe it.
Thanks for the egg wash reminder.
You're welcome.
[laughs]
Did I do that? [laughs]
-Haley, how you doing? -I mean, it softened it.
-It worked out? -[Haley] It's a little soft on some parts.
-But I can make it work. -Optimism.
[panting]
Little gentle reminder, you have less than 12 minutes left on your Easy-Bake Ovens.
Oh, beautiful. She is back in the game!
I have the puff pastry dough thawed out, so I need to pop those ramekins
and get those in the oven as soon as possible.
All right.
Get those in the oven. They got to go in.
This is stressing me out.
-It's stressing me out. -I feel like that oven better be on broil.
I'm really hoping I have enough time
to puff up the pastry and make sure it's cooked to golden brown.
Can't forget about you guys.
It's gonna happen. I'm gonna make it happen.
You don't have much time. Come on, come on, come on.
Ow, hot! Yep.
Michael, how did those empanadas turn out?
So tender and juicy.
-Really? -Ew.
Yeah. I hope.
One minute remaining with your Easy-Bake Ovens.
[Michael exhales]
I know the flavor is there and I see that puff pastry just perfectly golden.
But I'm hoping that the pastry is completely cooked all the way through
or I could potentially go home.
I mean, that looks like a nice, golden puff pastry.
It's risen like a nice soufflé.
[Michael] Perfect.
[Antoni] Your Easy-Bake Ovens are officially off.
[Michael] This is insane.
Confident in how this is.
-[both] Five, four, three, two, one! -[bells ding]
-[Derrell] Woo! -[Derrell and Haley laugh]
-Time is up. Take it easy. -I'm sweating.
Oh God, that was stressful.
Haley, you're up first.
All righty, let's do this.
-[Derrell] The moment of truth. -[Antoni] Thank you.
[Haley] I made a Beef Wellington pot pie
and I also added just a little side
of roasted Brussels sprouts to pair with that today.
And the puff pastry kinda adds that buttery element on top,
like in the Beef Wellington wrapped around.
[tense music plays]
[sighs]
When we saw that puff pastry go in,
and I was worried that it wasn't gonna fully cook through...
Yeah?
-It did cook perfectly. -[Haley] Perfect.
-[Antoni] It's flaky. -Good.
[Antoni] It's super elevated, loads of flavor.
You trimmed the Brussels beautifully.
They're well-seasoned. I will say it is a little tad oily.
-Okay. -[Antoni] On the base.
I would've trimmed a little more of that bacon fat to kind of thin it out a little.
But that said, it's perfectly cooked. It's a beautiful golden brown.
[Derrell] The meat is super tender.
The puff pastry, when you put it in the oven with 12 minutes left,
I was like, "There's no way this is going to come out fluffy."
I don't know if you saw me,
but as I was lifting it, it was just flaking off right onto the fork.
That was really nice as well.
Usually with a pot pie, I'm used to, like, that creamy sauce.
So a little cream I think would've went a long way.
But I think the flavor is really good.
The Brussels sprouts didn't have enough seasoning, but other than that,
I don't have much bad things to say about this dish. It's really good.
-Thank you. -A really good job.
-Thank you. That was delicious. -Thank y'all. Glad you enjoyed it.
[Derrell] Michael, you're up next.
-I hope you're ready. -[Derrell] I am.
[Michael] These are Beef Wellington empanadas in a drunken avocado crema
with some chili honey-glazed carrots.
[tense music plays]
The puff pastry didn't work out.
You decided to use an egg roll wrapper instead.
-I think it was successful. -Yes!
[Antoni] This meat is super tender. It's beautifully seasoned.
It's really nice. It's cut perfectly against the grain.
There aren't any chewy parts.
Your duxelles is super flavorful. I taste the mushrooms.
They're not an afterthought, they're definitely present,
and not something I would expect in something like this,
but still makes me think of Beef Wellington, which was nice.
The carrots, they're beautiful. I love seeing the chili flakes.
-They are a little raw in the center... -Same.
The carrots are very well seasoned, but they are a little bit underdone.
Mm-hmm.
Cutting them thinner would've been a possible solve
or a bit more time in the oven.
That sauce is amazing.
I like the fact that you were able to pivot and use the egg roll,
but to me, this is not so much an empanada,
but more like a big wanton.
I don't know if the chunks inside of it
really go with the thinness of the crust that you gave us.
But, overall, I think that the flavors are excellent.
Awesome. Thanks.
Haley, Michael, today has been quite the whirlwind romance.
You're both amazing dates, I have to say.
While you both deserve lifelong love and happiness,
there can only be one winner.
The winner is...
[tense music plays]
...Haley.
[sighs]
-Congrats. -[Derrell] Great job.
How does it make you feel?
I... I truly just feel... I feel so proud of myself.
Like, I don't say that enough and, like, I... I feel so incredibly proud.
I've worked really hard to get to this point.
It is my dream to do something like this and I'm doing it.
I'm halfway through and I'm doing it, and I'm...
-I'm winning. -You're in it.
Fifty thousand. That's so crazy.
Like, I won that, but also I have beat four people so far.
It's definitely bringing out a little bit more confidence for sure.
Something I think that I needed a little bit more of.
We told you that you won.
You got so excited, but then I saw this little hint of sadness, where it was like,
"I'm proud of myself. And I don't say that often enough."
-Yeah. -Where does that come from?
I'm just naturally, um, a nurturer, an encourager.
And I feel like a lot of times I need to take a little time for me.
And I need to really show that love to myself too.
This last challenge,
I saw a different side of you that I did not recognize.
Your apron, for the first out of four challenges, is dirty.
-I know! -You did not have a single speck on it.
-Get that apron dirty. -That's right.
-[Haley laughs] -Okay?
Today, I was jumping out of my comfort zone a bit more.
I wanted to make sure I could show the judges that.
I think I really proved myself in that way.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
You're really special.
-Thank you. -[Antoni] You're amazing.
[upbeat music plays]