Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge episode 1 recap: Updated classics

Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge episode 1 recap takes those Thanksgiving classic dishes and gives them a little update. But, did one chef still suffer from the dreaded dry turkey?

Who’s ready for turkey? Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge episode 1 recap had the five chefs thinking differently about that classic Thanksgiving meal. While some of the ingredients are holiday staples, these chefs couldn’t just serve the classics. Creativity in the kitchen is the only way to win the $25,000 prize.

This new Thanksgiving show on the Food Network is part culinary competition and part Thanksgiving dinner inspiration. While the chefs are competing, many food fans are watching and learning. Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is the ultimate food feast. Still, that traditional holiday meal can be daunting.

In this new Food Network show, each episode is broken into two challenges. The first challenge features Thanksgiving sides and the second challenge features the entire Thanksgiving meal. The chef who wins the sides challenge earns an advantage for the second challenge. If you think that this format sounds familiar, it is the same as many other Food Network culinary competition shows.

For the Thanksgiving sides challenge, the five chefs had to create an update on classic side dishes. From sweet potato casserole to stuffing, the chefs needed to do more than just add a punch of flavor. These dishes needed to be innovative, flavorful and still be recognizable to the original dish.

Of course, there is always a twist in these challenges. The chefs had to incorporate canned candied cranberry sauce. Some people loathe this jellied fruit. Personally, there is something so bad that makes it so good. Maybe it is that sound when it comes out of the can. Who knows why this tradition continues, but it is always on my Thanksgiving table and I’m not apologizing (but it often goes uneaten).

While all the dishes seemed delicious, two chefs really hit the mark both on flavor and presentation. Darnell’s creamed corn queso sounded like the perfect Thanksgiving football watching food. While I’m not sure about serving the queso in the squash, his combination of flavors were on point. Even the cranberry tended to work in this dish. Darnell had the most creative application of the traditional side dish.

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Jackie created a sweet potato croquette. Even though she struggled with the doneness of her sweet potatoes, her plate was the most visually stunning. The croquette had all the classic sweet potato casserole flavors, including the marshmallows. She was able to create an elevated, yet approachable, transformation of this Thanksgiving side dish.

Winning the first challenge was Jackie. For the win, she was able to choose her ingredient for the Thanksgiving meal challenge. For food TV fans, Jackie might look familiar. While she referred to herself as a food stylist, some people might remember her from The Chew. That’s right, she was one of The Chew’s behind the scenes chefs. Don’t be fooled by that “stylist” label; she can cook.

For the main challenge, each chef had to create a turkey main dish and dessert featuring the “special” ingredient. Choosing first, Jackie got currants and the other chefs ran to the table for the other ingredients. Truthfully, the majority of ingredients didn’t seem that horrible, but finding a way to cook turkey in an hour could be a bigger challenge.

The “special” ingredients included turnips, gooseberries, chestnuts and multi-colored dried corn. Clearly the worst ingredient was the corn. Does anyone actually use this corn? Personally, I never thought that it was edible; instead it was just decoration on the Thanksgiving table.

Putting aside the special ingredients, cooking turkey in an hour is quite a challenge. Since no one could cook an entire turkey in this timeframe, each chef had to butcher the turkey in some way. A few used turkey breast, one wings and the other legs.

One cooking method that really surprised me was sous vide. While sous vide cooking can be an amazing way to evenly cook food, as well as impart a huge amount of flavor, it is usually a long, slow process. My guess is that the chefs thought that the sealed bags would impart more flavor quickly. While the turkey was finished in the oven, I don’t know if this cooking method kept the turkey from drying out.

For the home cook, this challenge can be helpful. While many people love cooking the entire, gigantic turkey on Thanksgiving, it can be overwhelming or even too much food. Breaking the turkey into smaller, more manageable parts can offer the turkey that people crave without the pressure of cooking the entire bird. It could be an option for some people’s Thanksgiving feast.

Looking at all the dishes, I was a little confused. Since each chef had to create a turkey dish and a dessert, using the same ingredient, I was thinking that there should have been some flow of flavor. No, the dishes didn’t have to mirror each other, but shouldn’t there have been some progression of flavor?

If I had to pick a dish that I wanted to eat, it would have been Josh’s osso bucco style turkey with gnocchi and chestnut cheesecake. Although the judges had concern that the gnocchi was too dense, this concept was quite intriguing. Since I prefer dark meat (and I don’t like gravy), this dish seemed to have great depth of flavor without being too traditional.

Also, I give Darnell a lot of credit with this meal. With turnips as his ingredient, he could have tried to hide it. Instead, he didn’t shy away from the turnip. Even the dessert was turnip forward. This first effort shows a lot about his style of cooking. Will this go big style of cooking help him in the competition?

It was curious that the judges didn’t award a winning dish. In many of these Food Network shows, a winner is announced each episode. While the win doesn’t necessarily give the chef an advantage, it does show a potential front-runner. Maybe since there are only five chefs in this competition, it doesn’t make sense to declare a winner each week.

Unfortunately, one chef has to leave the kitchen on the Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge episode 1 recap. The two bottom chefs were Deborah and Jordan. Both chefs had issues with their turkey. Jordan had a dry turkey and Deborah’s turkey was unevenly cooked.

Additionally, the chefs didn’t highlight their special ingredient in the best way. Deborah had a huge opportunity with gooseberries. This sweet, yet tart, fruit could have added both flavor and texture to a dish. She seemed to miss the mark with the gooseberries.

Truthfully, I wish that more people took the opportunity to cook with gooseberries. This ingredient has appeared on a few Food Network shows. Also, it looks to have a boost from the produce industry as home cooks are looking to expand their culinary creativity. Maybe it could have a place on your Thanksgiving table.

Jordan had the hardest ingredient, the dried, multicolored corn. He made a griddle cake and chocolate popcorn with this ingredient. While the popcorn was ok, his cake had too much tooth.

Truthfully, I don’t know what Jordan could have done with this ingredient. Other than popcorn, he didn’t have a lot of options with the one hour time frame. Does anyone have a suggestion for using this corn? I would be curious to see what other chefs would have done.

The first chef eliminated in Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge episode 1 recap was Jordan. Putting aside the corn, his turkey was dry. Everyone knows that a dry turkey is unforgiveable at Thanksgiving (unless it is your grandma cooking and you just smile throughout dinner).

In next week’s episode, it appears to be a leftovers challenge. Will you be watching the next episode of Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge? What did you think of this new Food Network culinary competition?