The Grand Finale

Alejandra Ramos: This season on "The Great American Recipe," over the last 7 weeks of competition, our home cooks from regions across the country... [Sighs] Kim: That is sourdough starter from Alaska.

Legend has it it's over 120 years old.

Whew!

Wow.

Tim: This skillet was my grandmother's.

That's where I get my Southern roots from.

It's kinda like she's in the kitchen with me.

Ramos: ...celebrating their most cherished recipes.

Mae: This is a very auspicious cookie because we always serve at New Year's, so that's a sign of prosperity.

♪ Ah ♪ Marcella, voice-over: This dish has been in my family ever since the dawn of time.

I'm the cucuzza queen.

Ramos: ...and sharing the stories that inspired each memorable dish.

Jon: This is a beloved drink for all of my ancestors.

It's really about remembering all the things that they loved through food.

Lam: I love that.

My grandma was really just one of my culinary idols.

I didn't grow up having this dish, but it took me home.

Marcella: Aw, Doug.

Heh heh!

Tim, voice-over: All of us have built such a strong bond.

I like this.

I like the heat.

That means a lot, coming from you.

Awesome.

We're kind of turning into a little family.

Jon: This is my new hermano.

Ha ha ha!

Oh!

Ramos: Now, we're down to the final 3.

[Applause] Ramos: Marcella... Marcella: I love sharing what Sicilian cooking is all about, and I think I'm a wicked good cook.

Ramos: Adjo... Adjo: My goal is reaching as many people that I can reach with my cooking and my West African food.

Ramos: Jon.

Jon: I am a first- and second-generation Mexican-American, and I want to share the complexity and the vibrancy of Mexican cuisine.

Ramos: For one of these home cooks, claiming the title as the winner of "The Great American Recipe" is just two rounds away.

♪ ♪ Ramos: Welcome, home cooks, or shall we say "finalists"?

Jon: Whoo!

Tim Hollingsworth: Congrats.

Ramos: Please join me for the last time in welcoming your mentors and judges... Francis Lam... Hey, everyone.

Tiffany Derry... Hey, y'all!

Ramos: and Tim Hollingsworth.

Good morning, everyone.

Ramos: And now we're just two rounds away from naming one of you the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Whoo!

Ha ha ha!

♪ Ramos: And because it's the finale, we thought it might be fun to bring in a special guest judge to join us for the first round of cooking today.

Ooh!

Please welcome to the kitchen season-one winner Silvia Martinez.

Jon: Oh, my gosh.

Ha ha ha!

Silvia: Hello!

Hey!

Hey, everybody, hi!

Thank you.

Gracias.

Ha ha ha!

Ramos: Welcome back to the kitchen, Silvia.

Thank you so much.

I'm very happy to be back with my "The Great American Recipe" family.

Marcella, voice-over: I just adore Silvia, and if anyone can empathize with the nerves that are happening within me, it's her.

She gets it.

Derry: We have loved being on this journey with you to experience your food and hear your stories, but I can imagine that it's been hard being away from your family.

Lam: We wanted to bring a little bit of your home to you this round.

At each of your stations, you will find a care package from your loved ones back home.

Each of these packages contains a note and some of your favorite ingredients.

Aw.

Adjo, voice-over: I'm definitely missing home.

I miss my kids and my mom back in St. Louis, so I'm excited.

My card is from my mom.

It says, "Hi, lovely daughter.

"I'm very happy right now.

[Sniffles, sighs] Adjo: "Happy that you are showing the world..." [Breath trembling] "what your grandmother and I "have shown you.

I'm very proud of you."

Oh, my goodness.

So, our Togolese curry and, um, makhani, very important.

Adjo, voice-over: It feels very heartwarming for me.

This reminds me of home.

Marcella: Right away, when I flipped the card over, I could see it's my daughter's perfect penmanship.

It just immediately brought me home.

"Hi, Mama.

Although it's very hard "that we have been apart from each other this long, "make sure you win big for us.

We love you so much.

Take it home, Mama."

All: Aw!

When I open the basket, I see things that my family knows I love... Ricotta Salata.

Hmm.

and things that they know I love to cook with.

Fusilli...

Judges: Oh.

Which is my favorite pasta.

Yum.

Jon: Mm-hmm.

I see this beautiful note from my wife, Amanda.

"We know that being in the kitchen is "your happy place.

Stay focused, and your love for making delicious food will always shine through."

This care package has special ingredients to remind me of my home kitchen.

My family sent me nopales... Lam: Ah.

and tunas, also known as prickly pears.

Ramos: All right, let's talk about your first big finale round.

You'll have 60 minutes to prepare a dish incorporating some of the ingredients from home.

Derry: Your dishes will be judged on taste, presentation, execution, and how well you did with the theme.

Silvia: I know it's very emotional to cook these meals that you make for your family, but I want you to take all that right now and put it in your heart and just imagine that you're in your kitchen, cooking for your loved ones, and everything will be fine.

Mm-hmm.

You have this.

You can do it.

Let's get cooking.

Your time starts now.

[All cheer and applaud] [Chuckles] All right.

Here we go.

I got no time here to waste.

This challenge is a little bit different than previous ones because it's ingredients that are leading the dish.

Silvia: It reminds me when you have something on your fridge and you had to cook something, right, and then you need to get creative with what you have, so I think it's a good exercise for them.

Ramos: Actually, you bring up a great point, Silvia, because that is what home cooks do every day, right?

It's what's for dinner, what's in the fridge... Yeah.

what's in the pantry, and then you just kinda get creative and do it.

Yeah.

♪ This is definitely a challenge, but I trust my hands and my brains to know what to do, so I'm gonna get it done.

I'm going to use my care package to make goat suya with fried taro balls.

When you go back home, there's suya on every street corner.

Suya is West African street food.

It's meat that is grilled over a big, giant, open flame to bring out the smokiness of the meat.

There must be blending.

That's the African way.

The marinade has garlic, ginger, Togolese curry, and parsley.

I think I've done a good job representing myself, my culture, my country over the past 7 weeks through my dishes like my egusi stew, goat pepper soup, and the fried red snapper.

Whoo!

That is good.

Thank you, Chef.

Adjo, voice-over: I just need to keep cooking what I love and making sure my flavors are on point because, at the end of the day, I want to win, but then, at the same time, I really want to make my family proud, my mom especially.

She's always been that one person in my life that's proven to me time and time again that hard work and dedication always pays off.

Oh, yeah, that's good to go.

♪ I'm very excited about this cook.

Marcella, voice-over: With all these care-package ingredients, I am gonna make a pasta with a lobster, swordfish fra diavolo sauce, which means "really spicy."

It's a fairly simple sauce with olive oil, onions and garlic and tomatoes, some seafood stock, and I'm gonna add chopped Calabrian peppers.

I really want to bring that spice into the dish.

I have to get these lobsters in 'cause they're gonna take a while to cook all the way through, so I'm gonna drop them in now.

I'm gonna immerse the entire lobster in the sauce to infuse in that flavor.

My mom makes an insane sauce with lobster, and it's a real special dish for my family.

All right.

And it just reminds me why I'm here and what I'm doing this for, and that's my love for my family and my love for my Sicilian heritage.

I'm just gonna channel my mother.

I think I've proven that I have some staying power in this competition.

I've cooked really significant dishes that put Sicilian cooking on the map, like eggplant Parmigiana, cannoli, mini Bundt cakes, and my cucuzza stew.

I love this dish.

You can imagine a family being like, "This is my heart.

This is my heart food."

Thank you so much.

But it's not over yet.

I am surrounded by talent, and I really need to step up my game because I want to win, especially with my mom's recipe.

My mom is my best friend, and she's never not been there for me.

I think I'm really gonna make my mama proud.

♪ ♪ This one ♪ I was really grateful that they sent me this wonderful basket, and it's all the things that I love, but I'm gonna focus on the showcasing both my Mexican and Texas roots.

And so I'm gonna make a ribeye with a nopal cactus salad and rajas con crema, which is roasted poblano cream sauce.

Nopal tastes a little bit like green beans, and it's a vegetable that could get viscous, so it takes a little longer, you've got to cook them down 'cause you want that juice to release.

While those cook, I'm gonna start working on the poblanos.

Ramos: Jon is roasting poblanos over the open flame.

You know, he already had a win with poblanos, so maybe he's like, "I'm gonna go back to what I know."

Lam: Yeah, yeah.

It's smart.

If it's worked once, it might work again.

Silvia: Poblanos is one of the most beautiful Mexican peppers because you can get that hint of spice, but also a lot of flavor, right?

Hollingsworth: Lot of flavor, yeah.

Throughout this whole competition, I wanted to showcase the complexity and the vibrancy of Mexican cooking, and I feel very much that I accomplished that with my dishes like green chicken enchiladas, salmon and shrimp al moho de ajo, and chile rellenos.

Lam: Jon, in the past, we have talked to you about really bringing the flavor.

You brought it all today.

Thank you all.

Jon: I wanted the judges to love my food the way my family loves my food, and I want to bring this home for my wife and my 3 daughters.

Ooh, lovely.

Hey, guys, 40 minutes!

40 minutes.

Thank you, 40.

Oh, that works.

Ramos: Adjo, what are you working with there?

Adjo: Makhani.

I mean, the English word for it is taro.

Oh, yeah.

Adjo: It's a root vegetable.

Why do you think your mom sent you that one?

This is very predominantly found in Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria, and so this is very rooted in our culture.

Lam: Right on.

Adjo, voice-over: To make my taro balls, the first thing I'm going to do is boil the taro to cook and get soft so I can mash it into a dough.

Then I need to get my goat on my grill.

[Sizzles] Looks great.

♪ Derry: Hi, Marcella.

Hi.

How are you?

I'm great.

Ooh!

You have a lot of things working.

I have a lot of things going on right now.

I am seeing a lot of flavor.

So I remembered last time, in terms of spice, you said my arrabbiata seems just not quite arrabbiata, made me just a little annoyed.

Ha ha ha ha!

So my diavolo sauce is gonna bring out the devil in all of us, I hope.

OK, let me see!

♪ It's there on the back end.

It's there or it's there?

It's not there.

OK.

It's got a touch.

I feel it now, but then, when you add the pasta, it's gonna take it down a notch.

Yeah.

I think, at this point, though, be careful with the lobster.

How long has it been cooking in here?

It's been in there for 15 minutes.

You gonna check it?

Yep.

We don't want to overcook the lobster.

No, I do not.

I think we're looking good here... All right.

based on what I can see.

Look at how beautiful that's cooked right now.

Yes.

We kinda threw a curveball at you today, didn't we?

Listen, this is the culmination of a very emotional journey... Sure.

and I'm feeling it now.

It has been a great 7 weeks.

We cannot wait to taste this dish.

I know you're gonna bring the flavor.

And I appreciate all your guidance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

She said to bring the heat... so I'm gonna bring it.

Jon: Hey folks, 30 minutes.

Adjo.

I got you, Jonny.

Thank you.

You got it.

Oh, wait.

Jon just whipped out some big old steaks.

Silvia: Ooh.

Jon: Big ole ribeyes.

Yeah.

Jon, voice-over: It's the finale, and it's real important to get this steak cooked just right.

I'm from Texas, and you can't mess that up.

Yes, sir.

Char is good.

Whoo-hoo!

Hola, Jon.

Hola.

Hi, Jon.

Jon: How are y'all?

Lam: So high.

Ooh.

High.

Sorry, sorry.

Lam: So, this is gonna be a big, beautiful steak dinner.

Yes.

Jon: Last week, I was talking about comida pobre.

Today, it's comida casera, and that's just home cooking.

Home cooking, yeah.

Yeah.

So it's what I would make for my family, and so it's just reminding me of who I love, all of those things you said, and, man, I'm missing my family so much.

Yeah.

Heh!

It's crazy.

But I can see it right here.

I mean, it's like a fiesta.

Gracias.

We're already seeing it, right?

So, because I just met you today, I would like to know how you start cooking and who was your inspiration.

It's for my ancestors.

It's for my abuelas who passed away.

It's for my family, it's for my culture.

So I'm not cooking for me.

I'm cooking for you all, but I'm cooking for all of them as well.

Yes.

Well, it smells so delicious... Gracias.

and we cannot wait to see the final dish.

OK. Vamos a ver.

Thank you.

[Sizzling] Marcella :OK. Ooh, that was a nice one.

Hey, Adjo.

Hello, Chef Tim.

How are you doing?

I'm doing well.

How are you doing?

I am doing fantastic, surprisingly.

What cut of the goat did you use?

The leg of the goat and-- Make a little top round, kinda?

Yeah.

A top round, and it was sliced really, really thin.

That way, when I flash-grill it, it can cook to the inside while keeping the inside nice and medium... Yeah.

so it's still very flavorful.

Yeah, that piece of meat on the leg there has a lot of flavor.

Yes.

Adjo, I have to ask you.

Yeah.

How does it feel to be a finalist?

Oh, my gosh.

You're trying to make me cry.

Ha ha ha!

It feels great.

It feels like I'm representing my culture well, and you guys are loving it, and my whole country is riding on my back, my whole continent is riding on my back because I want to make them proud, yeah.

Wow.

I can tell you right now... Yeah.

I'm sure they feel very, very, very proud... Oh, thank you.

and I love the way you talk about your culture.

Good luck with this cook.

Thank you.

I can't wait to try it.

It smells delicious.

Thank you.

All right, we'll see you soon.

See you soon, Chef.

♪ Yes.

My sauce is boss.

The heat is perfect.

I'm gonna redeem myself with that red sauce.

Here we go.

For finishing my nopalitos salad, I add some diced tomato, cilantro, some chopped jalapeños.

♪ [Spoon taps] We're good.

Now I'm gonna make my rajas con crema, and it's just roasted poblanos with cream and some cheese.

Almost there, y'all.

Marcella: How's it going, Jon?

You feeling good?

I'm feeling good.

How you feeling?

I'm good.

How you doing over there, Adjo?

You fufuing it up?

Ha ha ha!

Jon: Fufu!

I'm not making fufu right now, actually.

Oh.

I'm just mashing my taro.

Adjo, voice-over: To make the taro balls, I'm going to form the dough into little balls, and I'm going to add some sesame seed for texture and deep-fry it.

Ramos: 5 minutes, folks!

[Sizzling] I hope I'm good.

♪ 5 minutes.

Marcella, voice-over: There is not a second to spare.

I get my fresh pasta going, and I'm gonna grate that Ricotta Salata cheese to add at the end.

And of course, I'm gonna finish the sauce with my mother's spice blend.

That is really what's-- what is gonna Marcella-fy this.

♪ [To the tune of "The Barber of Seville"] ♪ Multitasking, multitasking ♪ ♪ Multitasking ♪ Time is moving so fast.

Stress level's high because I always take on more than I should, and at the last minute, I make the decision to make a drink, a prickly pear limón agua fresca.

♪ I'm still breakin' the rules ♪ ♪ Always breakin' the rules, Jon ♪ 1 minute left, everyone.

Aha!

1 minute?

Get those finishing touches on.

Derry: Jon, make it look nice.

Jon: I'm working on it, guys.

I'm working on it.

[Laughter] ♪ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Time is up!

[Applause] Whoo!

Congratulations!

Silvia: You are finished.

[Birds chirping] ♪ Ramos: For this round, we gave you 60 minutes to prepare a dish utilizing the ingredients sent to you by your loved ones back home.

Marcella, come join us.

Marcella: Hi, judges.

I made for you today pasta with lobster, swordfish fra diavolo sauce.

♪ Derry: Wow, Marcella, this is a stunning plate of pasta.

I think it was very smart for you to cook your lobster directly into the sauce because it gave it some flavor.

In fact, I wish I had a little bit more to really get that flavor, but I think that it's done very well, and the Ricotta Salata is a really nice touch.

Silvia: So there is a lot of love in this plate.

The sauce is wonderful.

It has just the right amount of spice.

It just gives you that kick, but it's not overwhelming, so I think that was really well done.

And all the flavors together, they meld beautifully.

Thank you so much.

Adjo, come join us.

Hello, judges.

What I made for you is goat suya with fried taro balls.

Suya is the heart of West African street food.

Man, if you're West African and you don't eat suya-- ha!--we might take your citizenship or something.

[Laughter] Lam: Adjo, what I really want to talk to you about is the taro ball.

[Chuckles] It is so crispy, and then you get this very tender, sweet center.

I could not love this taro ball any more.

Yeah.

Ha ha ha!

I want, like, a dozen of these to go.

Ha ha ha!

Beautiful dish and, you know, the spices in the goat are fantastic.

Lam: I totally agree.

Your suya is so well-seasoned.

It's just a little tough, but I don't really mind that much here because you've nicely cut it.

I really enjoy it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Jon, come join us.

Adjo: Go, Jonny boy.

Jon: I made grilled ribeye with a nopal cactus salad and rajas con crema, the prickly pear in agua fresca.

Ramos: Salud.

Lam: Salud.

♪ Wow, Jon.

This plate is beautiful.

And the fact that you have this beautiful drink that's bright and vibrant, refreshing, it's extremely inviting, and I just want to dig in and enjoy it.

The fact that you chose a big, fat, thick ribeye, I was like, "Wow, that looks good."

[Derry chuckles] And you got a really nice sear on it, but one little tip or trick-- when you cook a big steak like that, make sure you're cooking the meat on all the different sides.

Ah, so I should have done the edges?

Exactly, but overall, the nopales, they're bright and juicy, and that crema on the bottom was delicious.

Silvia: Yeah, I want to borrow this crema because it really is flavorful, and I want to put rajas con crema under my beef next time.

Jon: Gracias.

Beautiful, yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

♪ Ramos: Cooks, in this round, we asked you to prepare a dish that reminds you of home.

And, wow, did you deliver.

Silvia: I've been in the place that you are right now, and I know how difficult it is, but I think you all did a wonderful job, and I'm just very proud of you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Lam: We really did enjoy all 3 dishes, but there was one dish that really stood out, and that home cook is... Jon!

Derry: Ha ha ha!

Tsch!

Jon: Are you serious?

Are you serious?

Yes.

Marcella: It was delicious, Jon.

Jon: You're kidding me, y'all.

Yeah, congrats, Jon.

Hollingsworth: Man, Jon, that dish had all of the flavors and the textures that we were looking for.

Congrats.

Silvia: I feel that I was in my abuela's kitchen, eating it.

I think everything work beautifully.

Gracias.

Thank you.

Jon, voice-over: It feels great to win.

This is an incredible moment, just because, again, it reflected who I am as a cook.

But I'm still worried and nervous about the final round of the finale.

Well done, cooks.

You have set the stage for an incredible finale cook, and please join me in thanking our very special guest judge, Silvia Martinez.

Jon: Whoo-hoo!

Derry: Ha ha ha!

Silvia: Thank you.

Ha ha!

It was truly an honor to be here with you today.

I'm rooting for all of you, and I wish you a great cook for the grand finale.

Ramos: We can't wait to see what you cook up for us in our next and final round, which will determine who will be the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Yes.

Heh heh!

Ha ha ha!

Oh.

♪ Ramos: All right, cooks, this is it.

At the end of this round, one of you will be named the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Whoo!

Hollingsworth: Yeah.

Yes!

Ramos: Ha ha ha!

Derry: For your final round of cooking, we're giving you your biggest task yet.

Ramos: You'll have 90 minutes to prepare a dish you consider to be your great American recipe.

Derry: "The Great American Recipe" is our story, but translating it through your eyes, your taste buds to your plate.

And, because every minute counts in this round, we thought you might need a little extra help... [Adjo gasps] so we brought in some familiar faces.

Hi!

Ha ha ha!

Kim: Yay!

Marcella, voice-over: Doug, Kim, and Mae walk through the door, and I'm completely shocked.

[All talk at once] Jon, your fellow home cook Kim will be here to help you for your finale meal.

Jon: Now that I have an extra set of hands, I'm super-excited.

Ha ha ha ha!

Ramos: Marcella, Doug will be helping you.

Marcella: I'm absolutely elated and relieved to see Doug.

Oh, my gosh!

Ramos: And, Adjo, your bestie Mae is here to help you with your finale meal.

Ooh!

Adjo, voice-over: My bestie Mae!

I was like, "I'm taking Mae!"

Ha ha ha!

She supports me through everything I do here.

I'm here for my bestie.

Derry: Aw, I love that.

Adjo: Thank you.

Mae: But she's the boss.

[Laughter] Just for today, OK?

Don't forget.

Adjo: Yes, Mae-Mae, just for today.

Just for today.

Right.

I know you probably all have a lot of catching up to do--[chuckles]-- but we still have a big round of cooking ahead.

Finalists, as always, Tim, Tiffany, and Francis will be judging your dishes based on taste, execution, presentation, and our final theme, which is to present your great American recipe.

Remember, you all have your fellow home cooks acting as your sous chefs, but you are the ones responsible for the meal that's plated at the end of the round, so use them wisely.

At the end of the finale round, the judges will name one of you the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Whoo!

Ramos: Good luck to all of you.

Your 90 minutes starts now!

[All cheer] ♪ All right, we got this, Mae.

Ramos: We asked the home cooks to make us their great American recipe.

What are you excited to see in this round?

You know what I want to see from them?

I want to see a legacy recipe.

We've seen a lot of recipes that are passed down from your grandma, from your mom.

What are they gonna pass down?

Mm, love that.

Marcella: Right now, the best thing you could do is chop up shallots and carrots.

Shallots?

Totally works for me.

All right?

Doug: Yell at me if you need something.

I will.

Thank you.

For my final cook, I am making osso buco, which is bone-in beef shanks in a slow-braise tomato sauce, and I'm gonna serve it over polenta.

The first thing I need to do is sear my meat.

This was the dish my mom always picked when she was pulling out all the stops in the kitchen.

It's a celebratory dish, and it's my great American recipe because it represents the finish line of an amazing journey that my parents accomplished together.

When they came to this country, they had little to nothing, and they've built a remarkable life, a remarkable family, and it's something that I'm so proud of and so grateful for.

This is it.

Typically, when I make this dish, I need 2 1/2 hours of braising to make the meat fall-off-the-bone tender, but I don't have that.

I have only 90 minutes.

Think I'm playing with fire.

But I'm Sicilian, and nobody's gonna tell me I can't do this.

I have to figure out a way to make this work.

I'm gonna try to speed it up a little by increasing the heat, and I got to get this in the oven.

It all comes down to this very last cook, and to be able to win, I need to take risks and give it my all.

Hey, Doug, I need help.

I can't carry this thing in the oven, I'm afraid.

Doug: OK, yeah.

Uh... Is it hot?

Yeah, it's very hot and it's heavy.

Yeah?

Doug: All right.

You want to open?

Marcella: Get her in there, my friend.

Ah!

Thank you.

Yeah, that is your body work, Marcella.

That's what I'm saying!

OK.

I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here.

I'm gonna go up.

All right.

Please, God, cook.

OK. ♪ I'm gonna need you to do all of the prep work.

I can do that.

Can we do it?

Yeah, we can do that.

Let's do it.

Let's go.

Bam!

High-five.

For my final cook, I'm making turkey in mole negro, black beans, and a white lime rice.

Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce from Oaxaca, and it's very complex, it's got a whole bunch of ingredients, like 6 different kinds of chilies, nuts and seeds, and spices, so if it looks like a million ingredients, that's correct.

Kim: Hey, Jon?

Jon: How we doing?

Do you like that color, or do you want 'em a little darker?

OK. A little bit more.

OK.

Thank you.

Jon, voice-over: This dish is about my history and culture.

Growing up, I didn't really understand my Mexican heritage, but as I got older, I learned that I have Indigenous roots, which include the Zapotec and Mixtec, which come from Oaxaca.

So, it became really important to me to go to Mexico to experience and know who I was, and so that began my culinary journey.

Come on, baby.

Let's do your stuff.

Ramos: Jon has selected turkey with mole negro as his dish.

Lam: This is a sauce that is pre-Hispanic.

This is a sauce that goes back to ancient times in Mexico, and it is a sauce that is about effort.

Jon has been talking about cooking for his ancestors, and this is the ultimate tribute.

Derry: Absolutely.

Jon: For my mole sauce, I take all the toasted ingredients and I'm going to blend them up with chocolate, tomato, and chicken stock.

I need a favor, Kim.

Yup.

We're gonna turn it on together... OK. for all the mole.

All the mole.

Jon: And then I've got to get my mole sauce simmering so that all the flavors can blend.

Holy cow.

You all right?

This is so good.

Jon: This recipe is pretty complicated, but this is the final cook, and this is the perfect dish to tell my story.

♪ OK.

So this is what I'm thinking... All right, mm-hmm.

right?

I have a whole ton of plantains to prep... OK. so I'm thinking-- Let's do it, and I'm gonna bring the onions.

The onions, yes.

OK. For my final cook, I am making guinea hen yassa, which is like an onion stew, with fried plantains.

Mae, how's it going?

Good.

I'll call you to show me how to fry it next.

Adjo, voice-over: Mae and her Chinese cleaver are here, so I want to give her all the things that needs cutting, and I can focus on cooking.

First, I'm gonna make the marinade for my guinea hen.

The marinade has garlic, ginger, curry, seasoned salt, parsley, and green onions.

Marinating this in well.

Guinea hen is very flavorful...

This is gonna be on here for a while till the hen can cook down.

and it's a staple protein in my culture as well.

I'm just stirring it so it doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pot.

This is happening.

Adjo, voice-over: I'm also making oxtail in palm nut stew, served with fufu because, in week one, I served these world-renowned judges some tough oxtail.

Derry: Now, if I'm being really, really picky, I think that your oxtails needed a few more minutes.

Adjo, voice-over: So I need to redeem myself.

Lam: Adjo is remaking a dish she made in the very first challenge.

Hollingsworth: The fact that she's gonna bring two dishes today, that's pretty impressive.

Derry: I love that Adjo is leaving nothing on the table.

Lam: It's high risk, high reward, right?

Exactly, yeah.

Adjo, voice-over: These are my African recipes that stem from generations of my family, and that's how I started to do it from back home, and I'm gonna absolutely give it my all, no regrets.

♪ 60 minutes left.

Jon: Whew!

♪ Thank you, 6-zero ♪ Marcella: Doug, the oven was set for 375.

Oh.

I just moved it to 400.

I mean, you could crank it a little higher just to get that heat up.

Don't open it.

Go?

Yeah, go 475 for, like, a couple minutes.

It's such a massive pot.

All right, I like that.

Marcella, voice-over: The shanks are braising in the oven.

I can only hope and pray that the magic is happening within that pot because I need to focus on the polenta.

The goal of this is to get some really nice consistency, a creamy consistency.

I'm using a premade polenta to save time, and I dress it up with some chicken stock, mascarpone, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.

Is it OK that I'm whisking the heck out of this?

Yeah.

OK.

I think so.

All right.

Ah!

♪ Vamonos.

My mole sauce is simmering, so now, I need to start cooking my turkey.

[Sizzling] ♪ Yes ♪ When celebrations are had in Oaxaca, they use turkey.

Turkeys, or guajolotes, are indigenous to Central America and Mexico, so this is a dish that focuses on my cultural heritage.

Nice, nice, nice.

Jon?

Jon: Yes?

Jon, are you running from me?

I'm not, I'm not!

I'm coming back.

Ha ha ha!

I'm coming back.

Slice those and juice them into the same container.

Throw away the limes.

Talk to me.

Derry: You have taken on the most adventurous-- Ha ha!

dish that I have ever heard you do.

Of course.

And right now, you are so calm that I'm slightly worried.

No, no, I'm good.

You're good?

I'm paying attention to the time.

I've browned the turkey breast.

In just a minute, I'm gonna turn up the oven to crisp 'em a little bit more.

What temperature do you want your turkey to be at?

I want it-- when it's done, 165.

So listen to me here.

Yes?

165 is done.

There's gonna be carryover cooking... Yeah.

so I need you to at least pull it out.

150?

155, and then temp it again...

I appreciate it.

before it goes out.

Like, that is very important.

I got it.

OK, cool.

How does it feel?

You're in the finale.

You're cooking right now.

I'm still so surprised and honored.

If I win, gosh.

I don't know.

The men don't cry, but there might be some tears.

Ha ha ha!

I would love to see those tears.

There might be some tears.

All right, look.

Yes, ma'am.

You still have a lot of work to do.

A whole lot to do.

Stay clean, stay organized.

Yes, ma'am.

And use your sous to taste as well...

Yes, ma'am.

so y'all make sure it's ready.

Thank you, ma'am.

♪ Adjo: Mae, how are we coming on the onions?

Boy, these onions are strong.

They're not gonna make me cry.

Adjo, voice-over: While the guinea hen is cooking down, I start the yassa.

Back for my onions.

Adjo, voice-over: "Yassa" literally means "cooked in onion," and it is seasoned with lemon juice, parsley, mustard, and bay leaves.

Oh!

Mae's right.

These onions are barking!

Then you caramelize and cook the onions down.

[Sizzling] Adjo.

Hello, Chef.

What do you got going on?

Today, I am making some yassa.

Growing up back home in Togo, the wild chickens are always in the yard on farms and things like that.

It's guinea hen, and so I grew up eating it.

It's kind of like chicken, but it is a little bit more chewier.

OK. Yeah.

You know, we only asked you to make one dish.

I know, but I wanted to offer to you the best of myself in "The Great American Recipe."

Are you confident it's all gonna work out?

And if it isn't, I want you to be ready to pivot if you need to...

Absolutely.

and just focus on the one dish...

Yes.

that really shows what you really want to show us today.

Yes, if I don't make it to the end, I definitely would not put it on the plate.

Ha ha ha!

Great.

What would it mean to you to win?

Oh, my God.

To win this, for me, would just be so great because ever since I found my voice, all I ever want to do is share African culture with everybody that I meet.

And what I want is for that immigrant kid somewhere to be able to see this and feel validated.

Yeah.

And I think, so far, I've done that, but winning this would just be the cherry on top.

Ha ha ha!

Great.

I don't want to take more of your time 'cause you are very busy today.

Yes, I'm definitely busy.

I'm sweatin'.

Good luck to you.

Thank you.

♪ Here's your onion, Chef.

Gracias.

Oh, my God.

I love it.

Marcella, voice-over: My polenta has all the right flavor profiles, so I'm feeling good about that, but I'm still kind of concerned about the meat.

Marcella.

Hi.

How we doing?

I'm buggin' out a little bit.

Why?

Because I'm super-worried that my osso buco is not gonna be, like, fall-off-the-bone, and I want to reduce it 'cause I have a feeling it's gonna be kinda soupy, but I'm afraid I'm not gonna have time to do that.

Can we peek in there, look at it?

Um, yes.

♪ Marcella: What are we-- what's going on in your head?

Heh!

That's gonna be a tough one.

They're very, very-- they're big.

I mean, I would crank the oven as high as you can, but just let it have time.

If you want your sauce to thicken, like, a shortcut is you can make a cornstarch slurry-- water and a little bit of cornstarch, just until it's smooth.

Oh.

OK. Then, as long as it boils, then it'll thicken.

OK. Yeah.

All right.

I'm gonna do that.

Yeah.

This is not something I've ever done, but this is a brilliant solution to achieve that thickening without pulling anything out of the oven prematurely.

Good luck.

I can't wait to taste it.

Thank you.

Marcella, voice-over: This has to work, so... That will definitely tighten up.

OK. ♪ Hollingsworth: All of these cooks are stressing me out.

[Derry and Ramos laugh] These guys are-- And Tim don't get stressed.

I mean, I'm, like, calm, cool, and these guys?

I mean, they've bitten off maybe more than they can chew.

We'll see.

I think all of their dishes are ambitious.

Yeah.

Ramos: So no pressure.

Lam: Yeah.

[All chuckle] 45 minutes left, y'all!

Jon: Cuarenta y cinco.

Jon, voice-over: I have to work on my sides, which are rice and black beans, and they're really simple because it's all about the flavors of the mole that are gonna enhance 'em.

I'm toasting the rice with pork fat, and I add chicken stock into the vegetables.

I'm adding some peas 'cause I like the peas, and then Kim is dicing some carrots for me.

And I'm gonna finish it with lots of lime and then I start working on my beans.

Mole negro Oaxaca will always come with black beans.

Beans take a long time to cook.

Normally, it's about a 3-hour cook time, but I'm using the pressure cooker to be able to put them on my plate.

Again, another challenge for myself, but this is the finale; I've got to leave it all on the table.

OK, beans are going.

Watch that time for me, please.

♪ How's it going, Mae?

Take a look at the little ones.

Let me see.

Ooh, perfect, Mae!

Listen, I'm gonna hire you as my sous plantain fryer, man.

All right.

You are killin' the game, Mae.

Oh, thank you.

The oxtail is still in the pressure cooker, and the yassa is cooking down... Oh, yeah.

so now, I am finally getting a chance to make my fufu, and I'm very happy about that.

Doug ended up making it, but you know what, though?

Doug didn't do too bad.

He was a good student.

I know this needs to be smooth, but-- It needs to be smooth, yeah.

OK.

Nothing else goes in there.

You don't do salt?

No seasoning, nothing.

No seasoning?

Adjo, voice-over: The secret to making a good fufu is you want to bring the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom.

All right.

♪ The fufu is ready ♪ Derry: 15 minutes left.

Let's get going.

Marcella: Yeah, it's done.

Doug: Ooh!

Yes.

OK. Oh, here we go.

It's heavy.

Oh, my gosh, and hot.

[Grunts] Marcella, voice-over: At this point, I have to take my meat out of the oven, and I followed Tim's advice to stir in the thickening agent.

Marcella, this is amazing.

Marcella, voice-over: I think I can actually win this.

Ha ha ha!

Adjo: Mae, how are we looking?

Mae: The last batch.

Whoo!

♪ That's good.

Jon, voice-over: I check my rice.

Whoo!

It's really delicious, so I'm gonna check my beans.

Jon: I'm worried about these.

Kim: What's going on?

Not quite ready.

Do you have time to put 'em in for longer?

Taste 'em.

No, don't have time.

OK. Yeah, they're not done.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

Derry: Jon, what's goin' on over there?

Jon: I made an executive decision.

My black beans, they're not quite ready, so I'm takin' 'em off the menu.

That's good.

OK, all right.

I think it's a smart decision, right?

But at the end of the day, if the beans aren't gonna be cooked, there's plenty going on with the mole, the turkey, the rice.

Lam: Yeah, for sure.

Mm-hmm, that's true.

♪ Pressure cooker coming out.

My oxtail should be done by now, so I'm gonna release the pressure and add my oxtail into the palm nut stew.

Oh, absolutely perfect.

Yes, baby, yes, baby.

Falling off the bone.

♪ Redemption ♪ Hollingsworth: You're down to the final minute!

Doug: Marcella, that's lookin' beautiful!

Almost done, bestie.

♪ All right.

God...give me some of that.

Ramos: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Time's up!

[Cheering and clapping] High-five, Mae.

Kim: Yeah.

Derry: You did it!

Lam and Ramos: Whoo!

Marcella: Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mm.

Whew!

Salud.

Ramos: A Cerveza.

[Giggles] Mm-hmm.

♪ Ramos: What an amazing round of cooking, everyone.

This is such an accomplishment!

Adjo: Yes.

Ramos: Yes!

♪ And thank you, Tim, for joining us for dinner.

Wouldn't have been the family without you.

Thank you.

Ramos: You had 90 minutes to prepare your great American recipe.

Marcella, let's start with you.

Marcella: I made for you today an osso buco plated over a Parmesan polenta.

Growing up, my mom used to make this for very, very special occasions, and it really was a way for her to showcase where she came from and where she landed with my dad, so I just think that this dish is a great nod to them.

Lam: Marcella, funny enough, this is actually a very nostalgic dish for me.

Marcella: Oh, really?

Lam: When I was growing up, when we would go out for Western food and my parents were feeling flush, they would get osso buco.

Like, that was a celebration meal for us, so I am very, very happy to see this.

I mean, it just looks incredibly inviting.

The flavor of the osso buco is gorgeous.

Also, I'm not Southern and I'm not Italian, but I've cooked a fair amount of grits and polenta in my life, and I wouldn't dream of making polenta this creamy.

It's just pure silk.

Thank you.

I love the grits and I do love grits.

I love-- [Laughter] I love the polenta, and to be able to have a little bit of that gravy and polenta, that right there is the bite that you want.

But I do think that the osso buco just needed a touch more of time in the oven.

Marcella: Yes.

I mean, it has just a little bit of pull, but the flavor is incredible.

Thank you.

Ramos: Kim, how did you like the dish?

I thought it was amazing.

You know, I tried to make my own grits, but maybe I was trying to make polenta.

[Laughter] Kim: This was delicious.

Yeah.

Give me more.

[Chuckles] Ramos: Thank you so much, Marcella.

Thank you.

Adjo, tell us what you made and the story behind the dish.

Adjo: What I made is oxtail in palm nut stew with fufu and also some chicken yassa using guinea hen and some fried plantains.

On this plate right here is everything that makes me who I am.

I am African and proud always, and Africans, we eat with our hands, so I want you to use your hands.

I want you to dig in and enjoy it.

♪ Doug: Your fufu is better than my fufu.

Just saying.

[Laughter] Derry: Adjo, the oxtail is perfect.

♪ Oh ♪ Ha ha ha!

And I was really excited when I started there, and then I made my way over here to the yassa and then the different textures of the plantain.

It is all so lovely.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree, and the fufu, I'm sorry, Doug.

[Laughter] Oh, I know.

It was my first time having fufu before, but I feel like it's my first time having fufu right now.

[Laughter] But if there's one little piece of advice that I can give you, I think that the guinea hen, could have braised a little bit longer, just so it breaks down the skin, 'cause it was a little bit of pull and a little bit of tough there, but overall, it was a great dish.

Ramos: Marcella, what did you think of Adjo's dish?

Marcella: First of all, you need to teach, like, a meat-cooking class, 'cause it was so tender, it truly melted in my mouth.

I was absolutely blown away.

Thank you.

Ramos: Jon, tell us what you made and the story behind it.

Jon: Today, I made pavo with mole negro and white rice with some lime and cilantro.

I found out that I was 35% Mexican Indigenous, so I started traveling to Oaxaca, and my first journeys were to learn how to cook mole negro, so this is sort of me on a plate.

Marcella: This sauce, what's it made of?

Oh, God.

So many things!

Marcella: Sorry.

Loaded question.

Lam: Jon, when we first learned that you were making mole, I was already like, "Oh, boy," and then you were roasting turkey breasts, and again, it was one of these things where I'm like, "All right, Jon, are you doing too much?"

And you did not do too much.

This turkey is tender, it's juicy.

You nailed it, but I do want to say some of the rice was a little bit undercooked.

I got a little bit of a chalky bite in some of the rice, however, this mole, the flavor was beautiful, and this was so well-seasoned and well-spiced.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

It has a smokiness, it has a rich depth, and it also has this, like, slight sweetness.

And the fact that you were able to make this mole in an hour and a half?

I mean, holy moly.

[Laughter] That's all I can say.

I love it, and thank you, Chef.

Ramos: Tim, tell me what you thought about Jon's dish.

I think my clean plate... [Laughter] speaks volumes.

It was delicious.

I think you've done a great job, man.

Thanks, hermano.

♪ Judges, first I'd like to thank you all for the guidance and care you've given our cooks this season.

I know that they're gonna take all the advice you gave them back to their home kitchens.

But now, it's the toughest part of your jobs.

Let's discuss their final dishes.

Let's start with Jon.

Can you believe this is the same cook that kept giving us food where we said, "You got to turn the flavor up"?

Derry: Yep.

But he did it--a roasted turkey breast that was succulent and juicy, and the flavor of the mole was hauntingly beautiful, so complex.

But I have to say, I thought the rice was a touch undercooked.

It sort of distracted me from the mole a little bit.

Hollingsworth: Yeah, I agree.

I mean, it's an extremely ambitious dish, and there are so many areas where it could have gone wrong, but it was beautiful, it was silky.

It was a gorgeous mole.

Derry: I agree, and I think him being able to just concentrate on the flavor of cooking, it showed up for him.

Mm-hmm.

Ramos: Yes.

Let's talk about Adjo.

She knows her flavors.

There's just been a little bit of a roller coaster when it comes to execution and consistency.

Yeah.

In the first week, in round one, Adjo came out on top with her oxtail and palm nut stew, but you did give her the note about that oxtail being a little bit tough.

Do you think she redeemed herself tonight?

Yes!

Yes, 100%.

Derry: That oxtail was so much better than the first one.

I mean... Ramos: Ha ha ha!

it was rich, fall-off-the-bone.

It was seasoned.

The fufu!

Ramos: Oh!

I was like, "What is this?"

[Laughter] Lam: Yeah.

Derry: Yeah, and the yassa as well was just delicious with the onion and the lemon and everything.

Lam: Yeah, that Guinea hen flavor was wonderful, but some of the bites were tougher.

Yeah, I felt like the dark meat was really juicy and lush, but the breast was a little bit dry.

Yeah.

Lam: Yeah.

Ramos: Let's talk about Marcella.

Derry: Marcella made a dish that meant so much to her, and I've never seen polenta whipped.

I'm not talking about a-- y'all, I'm saying it was like they were doing heavy cream!

Ramos: Ha ha!

Hollingsworth: Like they were making the fufu.

Derry: Yes, seriously!

[Laughter] And so, to have that texture later, I'm like, "Wow, well, that did something."

Lam: Yeah, it was so velvety.

Delicious!

Hollingsworth: Yep.

And I loved the flavor of the osso buco, but I did think that the shank just needed a little bit more time in the oven.

Yeah.

Lam: Yeah, and it wasn't perfectly braised meat, but the flavor of the sauce was wonderful, the flavor of the polenta was wonderful, and Marcella cooked at a consistently high level the entire time.

Derry: Right.

Ramos: These recipes were all so impressive, and they represented the best of home cooking.

But it sounds like you've come to your decision on who is the winner of "The Great American Recipe."

Yeah.

Yeah.

Ramos: Let's bring back the home cooks to announce your decision.

[Birds chirping] ♪ Ramos: Thank you, home cooks, for all the recipes and stories you've shared with us along this journey, and especially for the beautiful dishes you plated in the final round.

Your final recipes were the most complex and refined that we have seen in the past 7 weeks and again were a testament to why you were the 3 finalists.

Hollingsworth: And let's not forget your helpers this round, your fellow home cooks.

[Ramos chuckles] ♪ After much consideration, we have made our decision tonight.

This home cook showed tremendous spirit through their recipes and was able to tell us their story through their food.

Take a deep breath and take this moment in.

Marcella, voice-over: I feel really fortunate to have been able to share my story and my Italian roots with the world, and I'm also feeling a tremendous sense of pride because I've really proven myself as a real standout home cook.

Jon, voice-over: Every time I was in the kitchen cooking, I was thinking about my family.

I honored my ancestors, I honored our Mexican heritage, and I am so proud of what I accomplished.

Adjo, voice-over: I've been working hard for so long to just be seen and be culturally represented, and oh, my goodness, I definitely have accomplished my goal.

I've done what I came here to do.

The winner of "The Great American Recipe" is... ♪ Adjo!

[All cheering] ♪ [Indistinct] Adjo, voice-over: Coming here, I was so focused on improving the experience for the next generation, the next generation of me, the next generation of immigrant kids like me, that I didn't realize how much this experience was gonna heal the child in me.

Congratulations, Adjo.

This box is filled with all of your incredible recipes.

[All cheering] Congratulations!

Jon, voice-over: Adjo took the boldness of who she is and amplified it not only for her own community, but for her country.

Marcella, voice-over: I have watched Adjo cook, and I have seen the complexity of her cooking style and, frankly, she's one of the most gifted cooks I know.

This is just one step in your really incredible journey.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I'm gonna stop crying now.

Ramos: No, no!

Adjo, voice-over: I hope that after this, an African child gets to see me and is very proud.

[Voice cracks] [All chanting "Adjo"] Ha ha ha!

♪ ♪ ♪