[upbeat music plays]
Alyse, I'm so excited you're celebrating the holidays with me on Easy-Bake Battle.
[choir] ♪ Deck the halls with boughs of holly... ♪
-Looking very festive. -[Antoni] Almost there.
Happy holidays.
Love. Okay, it's looking really good.
Yeah, it's just missing a little something.
-Something. -[Alyse] What could it be?
-Wait, I know. -What?
[dramatic music plays]
[magical music plays]
Wow!
Aren't the holidays magical?
-[Alyse] It's like we're in a snow globe. -I love it so much.
-[festive music plays] -[laughter]
How about this holiday weather?
-Yes! -I love it!
Welcome to the Easy-Bake holidays, you three!
-Yes! -Yes, round of applause for the holidays.
Woo!
Okay, let's get to know each other.
We have Stephanie, Eman, and Chris.
This is my partner in crime, Alyse Whitney.
Alyse is a food writer and editor.
She also happens to be a dear friend of mine.
Thank you. Hi. I'm so excited to be here and meet you all.
We brought all of you here because we know
that you have the savvy to make incredible dishes look easy.
[Stephanie] We do not give enough credit to home cooks.
I am cooking every day, multiple times a day.
That has gotta count for something. So I am ready to prove myself today.
Eman, welcome back.
Eman has already won $25,000. She's here to get another 25.
-So we'll see. -Fingers crossed.
Knowing that I won is even more nerve-wracking,
because I have a feel of what Antoni likes,
but a completely new judge?
You never know what's gonna happen.
And Chris.
-Actually, it's Guapo Grande. -[Antoni] Guapo Grande?
That's right. Loosely translated as "The Big Sexy," and of course, why not?
That's my professional wrestling name that I've carried over.
I'm a Gemini, so it's Chris and Guapo Grande.
We know you're a Gemini. We know you're a very talented cook.
-We know you're a professional wrestler. -Sexy. Yes.
Yes, of course.
When it comes to food, I'm good at it.
Whether it's serving food, cooking food, or obviously eating food.
It's good to be guapo, and it's even better to be grande.
-[Antoni] Ready for your first challenge? -Ready.
It's time for the Dish Dash.
[Antoni] The situation. You committed to making dessert for a holiday party.
But instead of feeling merry and bright, things are feeling crazy and fraught.
Okay.
And guess what? Your oven's broken.
Who's been there?
So for your Dish Dash challenge,
you'll have to put together a no-bake dessert
that is delicious enough to save your party.
And the theme is holiday, but it can be literally any holiday.
And you only have 45 minutes.
I wanna see your most festive cheer. Bring your personality to the table.
And give me the most dynamic flavors you can think of.
Shoot for the stars. Like Santa-flying-through-the-sky stars.
-Ooh. -Okay.
You just gave me a little chill.
Well, there's no time to waste. Your Dish Dash starts in three, two, one.
Make it easy!
-[Chris] Let's go! -And they are off.
[Alyse] Dashing through the kitchen.
-[Eman] What else do I need? -[Stephanie] I need vanilla.
So they have 45 minutes to create a no-bake festive dessert
for literally any holiday that brings them joy.
That's a lot of options.
[upbeat music plays]
[Antoni] There's no wrong answer with whatever they wanna celebrate.
I just want it to be personal.
I need the salted butter.
I'm gonna be choosing Christmas, because I love Christmas.
So the dessert I'm making is eggnog mini-cheesecake with gingersnap,
because I'm trying to tap into all that Christmas flavor.
I have never made this before, but there's nothing to it but to do it.
[upbeat music continues]
[Eman] And then one more thing.
I choose Eid as my holiday,
because I want the world to know about the desserts we make.
Right before Eid, we make these delicious cookies called kleicha.
They're Kurdish cookies.
They're stuffed with dates, some of them with coconut, some of them with walnuts.
All the women get together, drinking coffee, tea,
and they're making this... these cookies, and having fun while doing it.
But because I can't bake the cookies in the oven,
I'm gonna put all that flavor into a trifle.
-Have you ever made this before? -[Eman] No.
[Antoni] Okay. We're pushing ourselves outside of our comfort boundaries.
-We love to see it on Easy-Bake Battle. -Yes.
[Chris] There's butter.
Here we go, folks.
I'm gonna make strawberry and cream cake in a microwave.
I'm choosing Valentine's Day,
because I made this dish for myself quite often, celebrating alone.
So I-I know it well.
This is what I used to make for myself in high school
when everyone else had a Valentine and I didn't.
-So this is where the foundation... -My heart!
[chuckles] This is the foundation of where my self-love came.
I'm like the sensei of self-love. Shout out to 2006 to 2010 Chris.
-[Antoni laughs] -It gets better, buddy.
You'll find a hot girlfriend, turns into a fiancée way out of your league.
Put all of that love and that intention
into those beautiful little microwave cakes.
[Chris] There you go.
So just like a pineapple, the core is very tart. Not good.
So what you wanna do for strawberries,
take a little straw, and it's gonna take out the cores.
-Just don't throw 'em on the table. -That's a really smart hack.
-I'm gonna use that. -I love that.
All right, let's take these.
Hacks are really important to me, because the quicker I can make a meal,
is the quicker me and my fiancée can cuddle up on the couch.
All right.
I am super ready to win this money because I got a wedding to pay for.
Weddings are expensive, man. I had no idea.
[in Spanish] The more, the merrier.
[in English] He's making strawberry sauce, I think, in that little pot.
-That's gonna be really delicious. -Oh, yum.
Perfect. Lime juice. [growls]
[upbeat music plays]
[Stephanie] I am making the gingersnap crust.
I'm trying to get the Christmas flavor in, because I need Christmas to shine through.
Who doesn't love Christmas? Christmas is fun.
It's that holiday where you get to spend time with your family.
Okay. I am a Nigerian girl that loves to cook.
I'm a critical care nurse and I am a mom of three girls.
So we always cooking.
While we're eating breakfast, while we're cooking breakfast,
somebody's already asking what's for lunch, but I love it.
I enjoy absolutely every minute of it.
Okay, so this is my little hack. I'm gonna get my plate.
I'm gonna put it in the freezer, so that way it stays chilled,
so when I bring it out, my stuff will stay cold.
What Stephanie's doing here is a great hack for a no-bake cheesecake.
[Alyse] So smart. When you're against the clock,
you want it to be as cold as possible, because if you don't set it enough,
then it's just gonna be like a spoonful of cream cheese.
[Antoni] Yeah.
I'm very nervous about if I'm gonna have enough time for my cheesecake to set.
Because it's a no-bake, there's no egg and there's no flour,
so I really don't have a lot of binding agent,
other than my cream cheese, and my eggnog, and my heavy whipping cream.
I need to get everything done very quickly.
[upbeat music plays]
[Antoni] Eman is clearly after my heart. The whipped cream situation for dessert...
-[Alyse] Yeah. -Always the way to go.
It's nice and light.
But it's all about proportions, for me, in a trifle.
You can't have too much of one thing and too little of another.
[Eman] This is so easy to make.
I dip my ladyfingers in milk to soften it up,
and then a layer of the whipped cream,
the chopped dates, the coconut flakes,
continuing with the layers until I get to the top.
Eid is very special for all Muslims.
It's a time for all the family to get together.
The kids get presents and money and candy.
I'm so excited to introduce the judges to Kurdish food.
Under 25 minutes left.
[Chris] Need more strawberries.
[Stephanie] Yum.
[Alyse] All is calm. All is bright.
-Not for long. -[Alyse laughs]
Ooh!
It's all right. We're good, we're good.
[festive music plays]
So Eman, timing-wise, seems to be quite ahead of her competitors.
Because Stephanie is starting to fill the little ramekins,
Chris is still working on the insides of his mugs.
And then Eman is on her last layer of those trifles.
Wow. I think that it will be cool to see how she tops it though.
[Eman] A lot of my desserts, I like adding crushed pistachios on top,
'cause it makes it look beautiful.
And now I have a new hack.
I'm gonna buy a coffee grinder and keep it just for my nuts at home.
[tense music plays]
[Antoni] Stephanie is doing something really clever.
She is doing it with intention.
So I am using the back of the spatula to pound my crusts.
So if you got a wooden spoon, you use it.
[tense music plays]
Just under 15 minutes left.
Done. I have so much extra time.
So I think, "What else should I make?"
At home, we have dates all year round.
Why don't I make the judges a special little treat?
-Now she's doing an extra little bite. -[Alyse] I like this.
-I like an extra credit moment. -I'm into it.
[tense music continues]
[bell dings]
And Eman is done first with 33 minutes and 59 seconds.
-Wow. -And she's done.
Don't get intimidated.
[tense music plays]
[Stephanie] So my plan right now, because time is running out,
I am going to plate my dessert,
put the strawberries on top, then put it back in the freezer,
'cause I need every little time I can get to get that cheesecake to set.
There we go.
[Eman] Raisin.
-Yes. -I wonder if Eman's gonna make us a snack.
I'm kinda getting used to her making delicious snacks in her downtime.
[funky music plays]
-[Eman] Mmm, so good. -Eman's chillin' like a villain.
-She's chillin' like a villain. -[Eman chuckles]
Ten minutes until you serve up your sweets.
[funky music continues]
[Chris] Oh no!
They're, like, not done at all.
All right. I get a waft of like not cake. It smelled like a dentist office.
Cake flour... Cake flour is different from regular flour?
[Antoni] Yes, it is.
[Chris] Cool, so we're doing a game-time change up.
So, uh, I did not realize there was a difference
between regular flour and cake flour.
-Cake flour has more starch. -[Alyse] Yeah.
And less protein.
-That's gonna... That might affect it. -Might make it gummy.
-It might make it gummy. -Yeah.
Just like love, sometimes you change yourself to be better, you know?
I'm in a bind. I only have ten minutes. Time to pull an honorable.
So in the spirit of the holiday season, I'm making sugar cookie popcorn.
Something that my mom used to make at Christmastime.
It's super fast, super efficient.
Chris has pivoted if I've ever seen a pivot.
I found some precooked popcorn. You just put it on a pan.
Then you're gonna melt butter. You're gonna put almond extract in it.
Drizzle it onto the popcorn. Take two or three tablespoons of icing.
I'm choosing vanilla. Just gonna pour it on.
That's gonna give you that sugar cookie taste.
It's sweet and salty. What's not to love?
So I'm done with my challenge, but I am just having to wait,
because I need it to set, and that's what's killing me.
I wanna beat time, but I need to put the powdered sugar on.
I'm a little nervous, but I gotta wait.
[tense music plays]
Three minutes. Three minutes remaining.
[sighs]
[tense music plays]
[Stephanie] A little snow.
[tense music continues]
[bell dings]
[Antoni] Oh, Guapo is done in 43 minutes and four seconds,
and Stephanie just behind him in 43 minutes and six seconds.
Ah, the smell of holiday celebrations is in the air.
-Look at this. -Hello.
What are we celebrating with you today? What did you make for us?
You guys are celebrating Christmas. I made a Santa's mini eggnog cheesecake.
[Alyse] Is it supposed to look like Santa's hat?
[Stephanie] Yes, the little Santa's hats, and the powdered sugar is the snow.
[tense music plays]
[Stephanie laughs] You go for it. Good job!
-[Alyse] Antoni is a gentleman. -How does it taste?
[tense music continues]
-Oh, I'll tell you in a minute. -Yes.
Christmas is your chosen holiday. I 100% feel that with this dish.
Brilliant with the Santa's hat and the little drop on top. I love that.
You could work in Santa's workshop. I think that it is so fun.
It's got a lot going for it when it comes to festivity.
As far as ease, like, I watched you throughout the whole process.
It was really easy. Like, kids could do it.
I could see this being a hit at a holiday party where it's interactive.
-Yes. -Super creamy filling.
You definitely get those notes of eggnog and all the warm spices that come with it.
And then you just get that little sharp, gingery snap at the end with the crumble,
which kind of rounds it out for me, which I really love.
If I have a little critique...
-Eating it was a little challenging. -[Stephanie] You made it work.
-I made it work. -You made it work.
But that said, I wish it were a little more dense and a little more solid.
-Thank you very much, Stephanie. -[Stephanie] Thank you.
-[Eman] Welcome. -[Alyse] Hello, Eman.
Hello.
I am celebrating Eid.
All Kurdish households make these cookies called kleichas,
stuffed with dates, coconut, some of them with walnut, pistachio.
Because it was a no-baking challenge,
I wanted to make a trifle with all those flavors.
And I added chocolate-covered dates. In the middle, there's pistachios.
[tense music plays]
So I really love this, from the slivered almonds,
the visual, the presentation.
How did you get the pistachios to be...
I used a coffee grinder.
Great little hack.
With the proportions,
I'm usually all about having more of, like, the whipped cream
and a little less of the cookie.
But in this instance, I would've put just a little more of the cookie.
-Just to balance out the flavors. -Okay.
There could be a more pronounced coconut flavor.
Maybe that could come from soaking the ladyfingers in coconut milk.
Or some toasted coconut on top. That would've helped with textural contrast.
Okay.
But that said, I am stealing this for every single snack hack situation.
[Alyse] The balance of flavors. I like the sweetness of the date.
But since it's a fruit, it's just a bit less cloyingly sweet.
A lot of holiday desserts can take that turn.
The festivity was really nice,
because even though I don't celebrate your holiday,
I felt like I was there with you celebrating.
I got a bit of your story and your cultural background, which is so special.
-[Antoni] Thank you very much. -You're welcome.
-[Antoni] Guapo Grande! -[Chris laughs]
What are we celebrating, and what did you make for us today?
So we were originally thinking Valentine's Day,
but, uh, for the first time,
Christmas actually came sooner than we thought.
So I'm Italian. We have a dish that's like honey balls.
It's called a struffoli.
-It's kind of a sugar cookie popcorn. -[Alyse] Mmm.
[Chris] You can use any popcorn. You can whip this up in five minutes.
I screwed up 33 minutes into it. Finished second, but first in your heart.
Uh, but my mom really... [chuckles]
-You're a good one. -[Chris] That's how I got my fiancée.
Guapo's a lifestyle.
I have to say, hats off for the pivot.
It's definitely on the simpler side, but that's something we're looking for.
The use of almond extract in the butter, I think, is really smart,
because it makes me reminiscent of those, like, classic Italian cookies.
A little flake salt or a bit of salt would've gone a nice way
just to balance out some of the sweetness that's going on.
Even though I was excited to see your twist on Valentine's Day,
because it was different than everyone else,
I still saw your heart in this, which is lovely.
But I think that you could've taken it a step further presentation-wise
to maybe make popcorn balls and make them look like ornaments,
or to make a Rice Krispy Treat out of popcorn.
-Did you come up with that on your own? -Yes, yes.
Alyse! Like I know you're my friend and I love you, but you're so smart.
-Thank you. -Guapo Grande, thank you very much.
Thank you, guys.
I think I can still win. I think they really felt what I was feeling.
I put a lot of my-my feelings into my food.
I felt like they really got the taste of Guapo.
[festive bells jingle]
[Antoni] Stephanie,
Eman,
Chris,
we covered a lot of ground today.
It's not every day that you get to celebrate
Christmas, Valentine's Day,
Christmas again, and Eid in the same day.
I think we made a little bit of a family here today.
We did!
And now I get to give the ultimate gift. Announcing the winner.
This winning dish was fast, well-balanced. It had all of the holiday flavors.
It was just a treat to experience.
The winner of the Dish Dash challenge is...
[tense music plays]
...Eman.
[upbeat music plays]
-[Alyse] Congratulations, Eman. -Thank you.
That means that you officially have
the chance to win an additional $25,000.
Yes.
But unfortunately, only one of you will be joining Eman in the next round.
The cook going home is...
[tense music plays]
...Chris. I'm sorry.
It's been a pleasure to be here, guys. Callie, I'm coming home, baby! [chuckles]
Thank you, Chris.
-Happy holidays! -Thank you.
Going forward, I'll plate my dishes better.
I'll make an ornament out of popcorn.
By the time you guys are seeing this, Guapo Grande will be a married man.
So, my wife, I love you so much.
I learned to be better, not bitter, because of you, baby.
Eman, you haven't lost a single challenge.
-I haven't. -You just looked up. You had to remember.
-I had to remember. I haven't. -You got what it takes, Stephanie?
I'm gonna try. [giggles]
Are you ready for the next round?
-Yes. Ready. -Ready.
'Tis the season for the Easy-Bake.
This time around, we are declaring the holiday.
You're gonna have to find a way to make Thanksgiving dinner in just 75 minutes.
All right.
We're asking each of you to serve us one protein and two side dishes.
[Antoni] Here's the twist.
Neither of you can make turkey.
[Alyse] We'll be judging you, like the last round,
on taste, presentation, and how easy it was to make your dishes.
I forgot to tell you the best news.
-Oh. -[Antoni] Guess who's here.
Who?
Your big Easy-Bake Oven.
[upbeat music plays]
You'll only have one hour to use them during this round.
Once she lights up, she is ready to run.
But when the light goes out, no more ovens.
Are you both ready?
-Yes. -Ready.
Your time starts in three, two, one.
Make it easy!
[upbeat music plays]
-And they are off! -Ooh, look at them go!
[Stephanie] All right. Let's do this.
Where's paprika?
I won the first round.
And now getting a chance to win $50,000.
You have no idea how much that would mean to me and my family.
They believe in me, and they pushed me to do this.
What do you think the key to this challenge is?
I think it's oven organization. Not everything needs the same time...
-[Eman] I'll take this. -[Antoni] Oh!
-[Alyse] Sneak attack. -She is bold.
She took our delicata squash. I'm here for it though, because I love delicata.
[Stephanie] I want to do chicken.
Chicken cooks fast.
I'm nervous about Eman, because she's done this before.
But I'm counting on my cooking skills.
I'm more of a cook than a baker, and I just know that I have to step it up.
[upbeat music plays]
All right, Antoni, what are your go-to side dishes at Thanksgiving?
First things first, I have to decide what my potato is gonna be.
Mm-hmm.
And then gravy. I think gravy is like... If I had to pick one thing...
I'm gonna give you a little glimpse into my childhood.
-Yes. -Just picture it.
The Porowski household. My mother's making the entire Thanksgiving feast.
As everyone is getting dressed up to put on nice clothes,
I go down to the kitchen and I grab a spoon,
and then I start ladling the gravy into a mug, and then I drink it.
-Oh. -Because I'm that person.
[upbeat music plays]
[gasps] I just spotted Brussels sprouts. I love Brussels sprouts.
-Stephanie? -Yes?
[Antoni] What are we making?
[Stephanie] Some roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted potato,
and you are going to get some chicken with that,
full of sage and Thanksgiving flavor.
So chicken on Thanksgiving. Is that traditional in your household?
Or are we Easy-Bake-ifying things?
We are Easy-Bake-ifying things,
because we want to make sure that it is juicy and nice and tender.
[Antoni] Are we gonna see any of your Nigerian background in this?
Not today. Maybe tomorrow.
-[Antoni] Okay. Got it. -[Alyse] Okay!
-Oh, look at that confidence. -Uh-huh.
-[Antoni] Did you hear that, Eman? -Yes, I caught that.
-It's on! -Pew-pew-pew!
-Battle of the moms. -Now I have to bring my A game.
Come on, baby. Bring it.
[laughs]
I'm making salmon.
It will be great at any Thanksgiving table 'cause not everyone likes turkey.
And for the side dishes,
I decided to make green beans with toasted almonds on top,
and delicata squash.
[Antoni] Your ovens turn on in one minute.
What I love, and is smart, is doing squash with an edible skin, like delicata.
-[Antoni] Totally. -[Alyse] Don't worry about peeling it.
Peeling a butternut, nightmare! That's a recipe for disaster.
And that's, like, an extra ten minutes easily.
[upbeat music plays]
[Eman] Oh, wrong way. [chuckles]
Your ovens are now on.
[Alyse] Ah, the countdown...
...begins. Look at us finishing each other's sentences.
Sandwiches.
They all have to be in a single layer so they can cook at the same time.
In there.
I'm very excited about this challenge, because I love Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is my first daughter Grace's favorite holiday.
She's a swimmer. She loves to eat.
She loves the amount of food that we get to make for Thanksgiving.
And I know that, even though I'm making chicken,
just have to add sage, rosemary, and thyme, you got Thanksgiving.
I'm warming up my cast-iron right now so I can get a little char on my chicken.
Is anyone making gravy?
Uh, not me.
-[Antoni] Okay. -We might.
All right. If it doesn't happen, I'm gonna mourn it for a moment,
but I'm gonna pass on, because I saw a lot of other beautiful things.
-Okay. -[Antoni] We'll be fine.
-[Stephanie] Okay. -I'm not gonna ask about the stuffing.
-No. -[upbeat music plays]
[Alyse] It looks like Stephanie preheated her skillet,
then put that marinated chicken inside the skillet that's already ripping hot.
-Smart. Get a bit of that browning. -Yeah.
[Antoni] Nothing beats a cast-iron skillet.
It will take longer to heat up in an oven,
but the payoff is huge, because it's such a great conductor
-and holder of heat. -[Alyse] Yeah.
If you wanna get that nice little crispy exterior, it's really the way to go.
As long as there's enough fat in the pan.
I think simple is best.
I'm trusting my instincts,
because the two side dishes that I picked are really easy,
and I feel like I can get 'em done in no time.
I know I got this.
Ah, man, it smells good in here.
-It does smell really nice. -[Alyse sighs]
-[Eman] Hey, neighbor. -[Stephanie] How's it going?
[Eman] Good.
[upbeat music plays]
So I decided to put my potatoes in water and in the oven, so I can get it boiling.
That way, while I'm prepping my Brussels sprouts,
it gives me time, soften it up a bit.
Then I drain it, season it, and throw it back in there.
[Antoni] It appears Stephanie added some water
to the casserole dish in which she's baking those potatoes.
So basically, parboiling them before she roasts them.
[Alyse] That's a really smart hack, because potatoes are risky.
Potatoes are risky.
If you don't parboil a potato in this time frame, they're gonna be raw.
-I know. -[Alyse] Can't think about that.
-Too stressful. -[Antoni] Too stressful.
[Stephanie] All right.
I am going to put the bacon in my Brussels sprouts.
Brussels sprouts with a little crunch.
[upbeat music plays]
Toss those Brussels, season every single nook and cranny,
nook and cranny.
Just under 40 minutes left for your cook.
[tense music plays]
-I like salmon with lemon. -[Alyse] Me too.
I love, like, a slow-roasted texture of salmon, but crispy skin,
which is hard to achieve at the same temperature,
especially in this, like, cutthroat oven situation.
[Eman] Yes.
When I put the salmon in there, my delicata squash
and green beans are done.
At this point, I'm just waiting for my salmon.
It only needs, like, 20 minutes to cook in the oven
to have a really juicy piece of salmon, so I have plenty of time.
So in true Eman fashion, she has already plated her delicata squash,
and now she's currently plating her green beans.
-So all she has left is the salmon. -She has 30 minutes left.
I know.
[Antoni] So not to make this about me,
but can someone please tell me that they're making gravy?
I'm not.
-Got it. -I am.
-You are?! -[Eman] Ooh.
-I mean, oh, you are? -Uh-huh.
-[Antoni] That's cool. I guess. -[Alyse] Very chill.
Oh no, she's giving the judges what they want.
Gravy's not gonna go with my dishes. I wish it would, but I have seafood.
How are you... I mean, how are you gonna make your gravy?
[Stephanie] A little bacon in it.
Would that help?
I'm gonna make Antoni gravy. There is no potato without gravy.
Usually, I count on my turkey drippings to make the gravy.
Since I don't have turkey drippings, I had to get creative.
So I am making the gravy out of some bacon,
some shallot, and some flour, and some chicken broth.
-A bit of bacon fat goes a long way. -[Alyse] Nothing's better than gravy.
-[Antoni] Nothing. -[Alyse] But you have to drink it.
-Like you did as a kid. -Correct.
-It's the only way. -Everyone should try it at least once.
[tense music plays]
[Antoni] You have a little over 20 minutes left total
and just over 15 minutes left with your ovens.
I'm nervous about the potato. I don't have enough time.
I wish I had at least ten more minutes to get the potato just right.
She only has 14 minutes left. It's still enough,
but that is definitely a little tight on time.
[Eman] Make it count.
Everything's out of the oven, and I wanna make it look pretty
and Thanksgiving.
Ooh, the skin is falling off.
[Antoni] Ten minutes remaining.
Okay. Great.
-Stephanie is plating her first dish. -[Alyse] Okay.
[Eman] Easy-peasy.
And then Eman seems like she's kind of almost done with plating.
-[Eman] Everything looks really good. -Classic Eman.
[Stephanie] I see that Eman is done, and I'm trying not to panic.
My kids are swimmers. I tell them, put on your blinders.
Don't look to your left, don't look to your right. Focus on what you're doing.
I'm trying to take my own advice.
Oh, baby.
There was nothing I could do. I have to wait for everything to cook.
Waiting till the last second, huh?
-[Stephanie] Every second counts. -Every second counts.
[Alyse] It's the potato waiting game.
Will it be a hot potato?
[Stephanie] It is what it is.
[Antoni and Alyse] Three, two, one.
-Your ovens are off. -Ovens are off.
[Antoni] Stephanie has her dishes out of the oven.
[tense music plays]
[bell dings]
So Eman is officially done with about four and a half minutes left in the cook.
Eman, the confidence. It's palpable.
I hope you guys like the taste.
Same!
[tense music plays]
[Antoni] One minute remaining.
That means less than one minute left of your meditation, Eman.
-I hope those potatoes are fully cooked. -Me too.
[tense music continues]
[Antoni] We have some finishing herbs. Meanwhile, Eman is cleaning up.
I hate a messy kitchen.
-Really down-to-the-wire. -Yeah.
[Alyse and Antoni] Five, four, three, two, one.
Stephanie is done. Take it easy.
I'm confident about my Brussels sprouts and I'm confident about the chicken.
The only thing I'm nervous about is the potato.
I don't know who's going to win.
But I feel the stress level is worth 25,000 and some change.
[Antoni] So you had just 75 minutes to create an entire Thanksgiving dinner.
-Yes. -I feel that's kind of a world record.
[Stephanie] It's unheard of.
[Antoni] It's time to taste your dishes.
Stephanie, please talk us through your Thanksgiving dishes.
Um, so I decided to go with chicken, just because of time.
And of course, the Brussels sprouts.
I went ahead and add some cranberries to it,
because we want that Thanksgiving in there as well.
And the potato roasted with some rosemary.
And then some friend person said, "Go ahead with the gravy."
-Oh, who was that friendly person? -You know. [giggles]
It was absolutely a great idea. Thank you for that.
[tense music plays]
-[Antoni] Let's get into it. -Let's do it.
[Antoni] Gonna start with the chicken. Visually, very into it.
There is some really lovely browning.
The seasonings, for me, are reminiscent of a traditional turkey,
or traditional for me, I should say.
-I think they're seasoned nicely. -Thank you.
It still had the phenomenal Thanksgiving flavors you're used to.
-So I like that balance. -Thank you.
[Antoni] Moving on to the Brussels sprouts.
Perfectly cooked.
There were some nice crispy, dark leaves on the outside, which I really like,
touch of the cranberry for that nice little tart sweetness
to balance it out, and really well-seasoned.
Thank you.
Love the gravy! Stephanie, your gravy is rich.
It's decadent. It's exactly what I want a gravy to be.
And it truly ties in all of the different elements together in a really lovely way.
And it's just... It's so flavor-packed.
The potatoes, I definitely had a couple that were a bit raw.
Although the flavor was there, I think if it had a little more salt
and a little more time, you could've knocked it out of the park.
Because you didn't coat them in any sort of fat,
it didn't get as crisp as it could have.
Got it.
-Hi, Eman! -Hi!
-You're next. -[Eman] I know.
-So I made oven-baked salmon. -[Antoni] Mm-hmm.
[Eman] And for the spices, I used what we season turkey with,
which was rosemary, thyme, sage.
And then I made green beans with toasted almonds on top,
and delicata squash with a balsamic glaze.
-El fiet bet. -What was that?
El fiet bet. That's, in Kurdish, basically like saying, "bon appétit."
-El fiet bet. -[Eman] Yep.
-[Antoni] Bon appétit. -El fiet bet.
[tense music plays]
Eman, you killed it with the salmon.
-Thank you. -It's perfectly seasoned.
It's not overcooked.
Love. Even your lemon slices are cut thin enough.
I love the bitterness of citrus. I can actually eat them.
I didn't eat my whole lemon like Antoni, 'cause that's not who I am,
but I did like that it added that nice zest.
-Yes. -[Alyse] And a little bit of acidity.
I do wish that your salmon skin was crispy, which is my favorite...
-Wait, you have salmon skin? -You don't?
-I don't have salmon skin. -Some came off when I was plating.
[both] Oh!
So if salmon skin isn't crispy, it's just kind of flabby and fatty.
Yeah.
So I would've removed from all, at least for consistency.
[Antoni] Moving on to your green beans,
love the dark char.
These ovens are amazing. I wish I had one at home.
-You'll take one home with you. -Look under your seat.
Under your seat.
I wish.
[Antoni] The almonds are nicely browned and add a nice, lovely crunch.
But because you had so much time, preparation is everything.
-Oh. -It's just that little stem.
It's not edible. It's not delicious. This is $50,000 on the line.
With the squash, I found that it was just a little bit underdone.
Flavor-wise, thought it was great.
My squash was perfectly cooked through. Was your thicker piece a little...
Yeah, I think it was just a little variance in thickness.
I would say an additional note I would add is just consistency throughout
to make sure everybody gets that same experience.
-Thank you. -You both created a beautiful meal.
I feel like I've gotten to know each of you better,
which for me is actually genuinely the greatest gift you can give.
I feel like you really gave yourselves with this food
-in a lovely, vulnerable way. -Thank you.
-Thank you, guys. -Thank you.
-Stephanie, she's so nice. -Thank you.
It's lovely meeting a person like that, especially for me.
When I go out into the real world, not everyone's nice to you.
My mom, she's not fully hijab, but she-she's Muslim.
I know we live in a world that people can be cruel.
-[Eman] Yes. -Took guts to come here.
T-To come here and do this.
-I'm very proud of you for doing it. -Thank you.
[tense music plays]
This has been an absolutely incredible day and I, we, are so proud of you both.
[Stephanie] Thank you.
[Antoni] But unfortunately, there can only be one champion today.
[tense music plays]
The winner is...
[tense music continues]
...Stephanie.
Congratulations.
-Congratulations. -Thank you. Thank you.
I cannot believe this! I can't believe that I won.
Eman, we really did love your meal. It was a tough choice.
Don't stop cooking the way you do.
And I would just like to add,
I know what it's like to have people in my life who believe in me when I don't.
As lucky as they are to have you, you are so lucky to have them.
[Eman] Honestly, I feel accomplished.
I know my kids, I know my husband, they're gonna be so proud of me.
I presented my Kurdish culture.
And I already won once.
I'm not going home empty-handed. I feel great.
When it's all said and done, there's only one thing left to do.
Let's have some pumpkin pie.
-Yes! -Yes! Thank you.
[upbeat music plays]
-Ah! -Thank you.
-Slowly she falls. -[Alyse] It's a pumpkin pie.
Thank you. Oh, look at the snow.
I just won $25,000.
And I am so excited.
I cannot wait to get home and share this with my family.
I wish they were here right now, and I could hug 'em,
and just, just tell them.
It's a really nice feeling.
-Get that whipped cream. -Congratulations to both of you.
-Thank you, thank you. -Yes.
This is good.
-This is really good. -Mmm.
[upbeat music plays]