SHOTA NAKAJIMA (VOICE OVER): Friendsgiving
is one of my favorite holidays.
It's a day to kick back and eat too much with some
of your favorite people.
It's a day to focus on being joyful
and forget about work for a minute,
until you're finalist on "Top Chef."
Then your friends expect you to do
all the cooking, all the time.
So today, I'm challenging two of my season
18 friends to create a stellar side dish that
elevates the humble potato.
MARIA MAZON: Hello.
Hey, chefs.
Are you guys ready to entertain some people?
Of course. Of course.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: It's good to see you guys once again.
And I'm on this side.
Right. Right.
I suspect it might be more fun on that side.
But we're still going to have fun.
Right, girl? - Oh yeah.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: Every Thanksgiving, there's
always potatoes on the table.
But they're not talked about as much.
Everyone talks about the turkey and the main.
Today, I want the potatoes to shine so much that everyone's
going to be like, turkey who?
Shota being Shota.
All right. Let's do it.
Let's do it.
Our friends at Campbell's have stocked our pantry
with a ton of ingredients.
I want you guys to use one of their products in your dish.
You guys are going to have 40 minutes for your challenge.
Let's make the potatoes the star of the show.
And your time starts now.
It's always fun to say that.
MARIA MAZON: Here we go.
Hi, papito. - What's up, lady?
What's your thinking?
You know patatas bravas, papas bravas, like in Spanish--
- I know exactly what that is. - Claro.
Si? - No.
I have no idea.
Well, OK.
It's a dish from Spain.
I use fingerling potatoes, Campbell's tomato soup,
chipotle in adobo, butter, and a bunch of citrus.
I actually boiled the potatoes in broth and stock.
Once the potatoes are fork ready,
do not throw away that stock because now it
has potato flavor.
I'm a little snacky right now, just so you know.
Snacky?
Is that word?
Maria is bringing the heat and the spice.
Dawn do you have anything to taste?
DAWN BURRELL: Not a one thing.
In a minute, you'll be able to have some stuff.
I don't have patience.
And it's smelling really good in here.
You're going to slap me.
DAWN BURRELL: I don't know what to tell you.
What I said was that it's not done.
That's what I said in my mama voice.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: Gotcha.
I'm making a potato medley with brown butter,
hazelnut, and sage gremolata, oyster mushrooms,
and a mushroom cream.
The star of the show is the cream of mushroom soup.
I'm going to get the flavor on the plate
by using Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
at the base for a delicious cream sauce.
There you go.
Thank you.
Mmm, that's yummy.
DAWN BURRELL: Thank you.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: I love the oyster flavor in there.
Dawn's always about that cozy flavor that wraps you around.
DAWN BURRELL (VOICE OVER): Break the skin
of a potato, especially the small ones,
because if you sear it in hot oil,
it would yield a beautiful crispy
potato that you will love.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: Just so you guys know, the timer goes a lot
slower when you're not cooking.
MARIA MAZON: Really?
Thank you for rubbing it in, kid.
DAWN BURRELL: Can I have another towel, please?
We have five minutes.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: We got some hungry people.
They might be a little hangry, too.
All right, chefs.
Two minutes left.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Hands up, chefs.
Good job, guys.
You did it.
Woo-hoo.
All right.
Oh.
Ready for some friendsgiving?
Eat some food?
Eat some snacks?
MARIA MAZON: Hi, guys.
DAWN BURRELL: Hello.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: So are you guys hungry?
Dawn, do you want to give us a little explanation
of what you made today? - Absolutely.
I made a potato medley.
On top, you'll find a hazelnut gremolata
with brown butter and honey.
I think what ties it all together is the mushroom cream
sauce that I put at the bottom.
It is super easy to make.
And I think everyone at home will be able to make this.
I feel like you adding those oyster
mushrooms in it really elevated the cream of mushroom soup.
You know, it's one of those flavor profiles
that you grew up eating.
So it's cozy but you kind of added a little edge to it.
DAWN BURRELL: Love it. SHOTA NAKAJIMA: Really love it.
That's what I was going for.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: So Maria, do you want to talk about your dish
and the ingredients you used?
MARIA MAZON: For the agridulce, the Campbell's tomato soup
already packed that flavor for me.
So it did half of the work.
I used lemon, lime, and blood orange, a little bit of honey,
lots of garlic.
SHOTA NAKAJIMA: So to make at home for anyone,
how easy would you say it is?
MARIA MAZON: Super easy.
You can make the sauce ahead of time,
boil the potatoes ahead of time, let's
say, a day before Thanksgiving, so you're not, like, rushing,
and have them in the fridge.
And then you already have a vegetable
seasoned chicken broth as well.
So you can literally kill two birds with one stone.
I really love the acidity you added.
Turkey is going to make you tired,
but the spice is going to wake you up.
There you go.
Thank you for letting me watch in the kitchen.
I learned a lot.
And I'm excited to cook these for my friends for many years
to come. - Yeah.
Thank you. - Thank you for having us.
Yes, definitely.
Thank you guys.