Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag
Season 2
Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic evaluate all aspects of a cookbook currently available on Canadian bookstore shelves.
Where to Watch Season 2
26 Episodes
- The Best Light RecipeE1
The Best Light RecipeFitting with today's health conscious society, Anna and Kristina are testing recipes from the cookbook "The Best Light Recipe" which provides healthier versions of classic high fat recipes. Beyond their main cooking challenge, Kristina also undertakes her own challenge of using tips from the cookbook to lighten up a chocolate cupcake recipe she already has to see if the results still taste good. For their main meal, they are making roasted artichoke dip, chicken Caesar salad, fettuccine Alfredo, oven fried chicken, and New York styled cheesecake. With the latter, they are making the lower fat version in the cookbook as well as a full fat regular version for comparison purposes. Their guest chef taster is Julian Bond, who among other things was named rising young chef of the millennium by a national newspaper and is a culinary instructor. He believes that natural fats, such as butter and animal fats, are required for flavor and are on the most part healthier than many fat substitutes. Therefore, he is skeptical of the cookbook and dismisses recipes that, in their alterations to be lower calorie, fundamentally change what they purport to be. He shows his skepticism by bringing Anna and Kristina special gifts. Chef Julian may be in for a bit of a surprise. Meanwhile, they test the durability and heat capabilities of various celebrity chef endorsed non-stick skillets. - Essentials of Italian CookingE2
Essentials of Italian CookingAnna and Kristina travel to Tuscany to test the cookbook, "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". There, they decide first to go to cooking school to hone their culinary skills. They better be paying attention as their guest executive chef taster is Umberto Menghi, the owner of the school who admits that he thinks the two are going to "screw up". The two have extra pressure in pleasing him as they will feed him immediately after he gets off a trans-Atlantic flight. In just under five hours, they attempt seven recipes: tomato bruschetta, asquacotta (a Tuscan peasant soup), Tuscan meat rolls with porcini mushrooms, fettuccine with butter & sage, sautéed chicken with lemon & parsley, ham & potato croquettes, and zuppe Inglese for dessert. As they are making homemade fettuccine, they get a lesson on hand made pasta from a local Italian woman, and test various pasta rollers and cutters. As an essential ingredient of Italian cooking, they also ask locals to blind taste test various North American supermarket brands of olive oil. - The French LaundryE3
The French LaundryBased on the restaurant of the same name, Anna and Kristina cook recipes from "The French Laundry" cookbook. The cookbook's recipes of five star gourmet fare are intricate processes not to be rushed, and as such they decide to make two recipes only in eight hours: pig's feet with green lentils, and crème de farine with poached apples and ice cream. They are especially concerned about how to prepare the pig trotter for cooking. To match the ambiance of the cookbook, Anna and Kristina travel to the Okanagan Valley to cook in the kitchen of Terrace Restaurant, which is the restaurant of the Mission Hill Estate Winery. In 2008, the restaurant was rated in the top five of all winery restaurants in the world. Their guest taster is the restaurant's chef de cuisine, Michael Allemeier who hopes the two have passion in their cooking. He especially hopes they put passion into cooking the pig's feet, which he considers a special treat. Despite the cookbook specifying a specific variety, Anna and Kristina taste test apple varieties for their dessert, a perfect test for the apple growing Okanagan Valley. They also put various types of cutting boards to the test. - Campground CookeryE4
Campground CookeryIn tackling recipes from the cookbook "Campground Cookery", city slickers Anna and Kristina head on a camping trip on the shores of Alouette Lake. The cookbook strives to have gourmet recipes that can be cooked outside on open fires. The recipes they will be attempting are braised beef round steak, grilled trout, reflector oven zucchini parmigiana, bannock, campground coffee, sweet potato stuffed apples, and cherry filled pudgy pies. One of their first tasks is to catch trout out on the lake, and if they don't, they will down one recipe. And if they do manage to catch a trout, they will have to figure out how to clean it. The other challenges they face are building a fire, and figuring out how hot it is since it doesn't have a heat gauge like a stove or oven. Their guest chef taster is Chili Thom, a gourmet chef and outdoor guide. If they and/or the recipes fail, they will have to hope that Chili, like most outdoorsy west coasters, is relaxed in his attitude. In addition, they evaluate chef knives based on their handles, and taste test canned cherry pie filling with expert pie makers. - Mexican KitchenE5
Mexican KitchenAnna and Kristina have six hours to prepare four dishes from renowned Mexican food chef Rick Bayless' cookbook, "Mexican Kitchen". Much like Bayless, Claudia Ibarondo, the executive chef of Vancouver's Tequila Kitchen Restaurant and the guest chef taster, wants Americans to know authentic Mexican cuisine, as opposed to Tex-Mex, which is what most Americans think is authentic Mexican food. The four dishes they will be preparing are guacamole, pork tacos with pickled red onions, braised chicken in Oaxacan black mole, and cajeta pudding. The multi-step mole is one of the most difficult of Mexican dishes to prepare, which causes Anna and Kristina's smoke detector to go off. Chef Claudia doubts if they will be able to conquer that specific recipe. Regardless of the success or lack thereof of the cooking, they hope that Chef Claudia will at least bring some tequila to drown their sorrows. In addition, they test various electric cast iron griddles, and taste test various types of hot chili peppers to decide which to use in their guacamole. - Nigella ExpressE6
Nigella ExpressAs busy working women, Anna and Kristina are really hoping they will love television personality Nigella Lawson's latest cookbook, "Nigella Express", as it purports to contain good tasting recipes for traditional comfort foods that are quick and easy to make but that are still good enough to serve at dinner parties. Their guest executive chef taster Stephan McIntyre is skeptical. The philosophy of Chef Stephan, the executive chef at Burgoo Bistro in Vancouver, is that slow cooking is the way to go if one wants to develop flavor in food, and that shortcuts in cooking are not worth it if they compromise the overall quality of the dish. To see if the recipes are indeed quick and easy, Anna and Kristina attempt six recipes in two hours: breakfast bars (akin to granola bars), roquamole (a combination of guacamole and a sour cream & cheese based dip), chicken liver salad, macaroni & cheese, high speed hamburgers & fast french fries, and chocolate pear pudding. They are confident that they can easily complete the recipes in the short time frame, but too are skeptical that Chef Stephan will like them. They are most worried about the macaroni & cheese as a slow cooked version of it is a specialty at Burgoo. Because the recipes are written for a British sensibility where ingredients are often measured by weight rather than by volume, Anna and Kristina test various kitchen scales. And along with eighty women, they taste test a number of different commercially available granola bars. - Deceptively DeliciousE7
Deceptively DeliciousAnna and Kristina aim the food they're cooking to a younger demographic: children. The cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious", professes to have healthy recipes that are kid friendly. Many of the recipes contain vegetables purées to hide the vegetables from discriminating kid palates. While they prepare the meal - lasagna (with sweet potato and cauliflower purée), tortilla "cigars" (with squash purée, which is supposed to resemble cheese), blueberry lemon muffins (also with squash purée), brownies (with carrot and spinach purée), chicken nuggets, (also with spinach purée), and green eggs (ditto to the spinach) - they are also babysitting a bunch of kids, who will be fed this meal. Another person being fed this meal is their guest chef taster, Mary MacIntyre. A former pastry chef, Chef Mary has opened her own family friendly aka kid friendly restaurant called Little Nest in Vancouver which aspires to good tasting and healthy food for both kids and adults alike. Because of the number of purées they had to make, Anna and Kristina test various blenders. And a bunch of kids and Anna taste test butter substitutes (melted) on popcorn. - O Magazine CookbookE8
O Magazine CookbookAnna and Kristina have high hopes for the recipes from "The Oprah Magazine Cookbook" solely because everything associated with Oprah Winfrey seems to turn to gold. The cookbook is comprised of recipes from sixty different contributors to the magazine. In their pre-tests with the cookbook, both were so far impressed with their dishes. However it all counts when their guest chef taster comes in for the prepared meal. That person is Melissa Craig, the accomplished twenty-something executive chef of the high end Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler. For her, Anna and Kristina are making five dishes in five hours: beet salad with grilled red onions & manouri cheese with a kalamata vinaigrette, callaloo soup, Moroccan chicken with cous-cous, homemade gnocchi with sage pesto, and maple syrup pie. For their recipes, they taste test different types of chicken broth, and they product test different pepper mills. - The Joy of CookingE9
The Joy of CookingAnna and Kristina test recipes from one of the most influential books - not just cookbooks - of all time, "The Joy of Cooking". They are using the 75th anniversary edition of the book. From the book which has gone through transformations over its history but which still retains many old fashioned recipes, they are making both new and old dishes, six in total, in four and a half hours: caldo verde, grilled salmon with watercress mayo, cheese soufflé cockaigne, ham steak with red-eye gravy, green beans with onions, tomatoes and dill, and plum pudding with hot foamy sauce. Their international guest chef taster is Tom Douglas, a Seattle based restaurateur who owns no less than five restaurants. He considers "The Joy of Cooking" one of his favorite cookbooks. Regardless of Chef Tom's evaluation, Anna and Kristina are hoping to feel the joy when they're cooking. Meanwhile, they test various potato peelers and taste test various types of salts as finishing salt. - Thai FoodE10
Thai FoodAnna and Kristina are excited about tackling recipes from the cookbook "Thai Food" if only to be able to learn about many of the exotic ingredients unfamiliar to them. They are making six recipes in eight hours: egg mousse with pineapple, corn & salted duck eggs, crispy fish cakes with sweet pork salad, pad thai, chicken curry with basil, ginger & peanuts, jasmine rice, and egg white custard with coconut. Their guest chef taster is Brian Marchesi, who has worked at some four star restaurants and now owns and cooks at Chada Thai Restaurant in suburban Vancouver. Although Anna and Kristina think the dessert will be the easiest dish, Chef Brian is most worried about that as Thai desserts have a certain delicacy to their nature. Kristina has another challenge when it comes to the meal, doing a task that ends up consuming most of her time. In addition, they taste test different varieties of canned and powdered coconut milk and wonder if it measures up to making one's own coconut milk from fresh coconuts. They also product test different pineapple corers and slicers. - Garlic, Garlic, GarlicE11
Garlic, Garlic, GarlicAnna and Kristina are making recipes all using one ingredient, "Garlic, Garlic, Garlic", which is also the name of the cookbook from which the recipes come. Every recipe in the cookbook does contain garlic, even the desserts. The six dishes they will be attempting, which contain in total ninety-one cloves of garlic, are: bagna cauda, gazpacho, artichokes with a mint vinaigrette, spiral bread loaf with onions & garlic, garlic chicken (which in itself contains forty cloves of garlic), and a honey garlic sauce for ice cream. They are a bit nervous about especially the dessert, but also their guest chef taster, Andrea Froncillo, the owner/executive chef at The Stinking Rose Restaurant in San Francisco, he who eats, lives and breathes garlic. The restaurant goes through approximately forty tons of garlic per year. As Chef Andrea is flying in directly from San Francisco, Anna and Kristina and their meal are at the whim of the chef's flights and their possible changes. In addition, they product test garlic mincers and compare them to mincing garlic using a chef's knife. And they taste test different varieties of garlic. - Jewish Home CookingE12
Jewish Home CookingBefore testing the cookbook "Jewish Home Cooking", Anna and Kristina take a field trip to New York City, the North American center of Jewish food. The cookbook strives to teach the home cook not only about traditional Jewish home cooking, but how it has transformed itself within North America and how to make it more healthily than it was a century ago. They attempt to make six dishes: gefilte fish, whitefish salad, chicken soup with matzo balls, pot roasted brisket, potato knishes, and challah. Their guest executive chef taster is Jeff Nathan, the owner/chef of Abigael's on Broadway, arguably the premier kosher food restaurant in New York City, if not the US. Flying in from New York for this meal, Chef Jeff is hoping the two will be able to pull off the meal, but will be brutally honest with them if it is not up to standards. Despite some problems specifically with the knishes, Kristina manages to do some damage control. Anna is not so lucky with the matzo balls, but is proud of her work on the recipe which she placed the most focus, the challah. In addition, they test various smokers to hot smoke whitefish, and they taste test various brands of jarred kosher dill pickles. - VegetarianE13
VegetarianSelf-professed carnivore Anna, in preparation for her and Kristina testing the cookbook "Vegetarian Meals" by Good Housekeeping, went meatless for a week in the lead up to the big meal. Going meatless was not as big an issue for Kristina. They will be preparing six dishes: sweet potato stew, lo mein with tofu, carrots & snow peas, leek & goat cheese quiche, microwave carrot risotto, tofu 'egg' salad, and nacho casserole. Regardless of their carnivorous status, Anna and Kristina are skeptical if they will like the recipes - based most specifically on the over-use of prepared food products and under-use of added flavorings - let alone impress their guest. Their executive chef guest taster is Yves Potvin, a French chef renowned for making soy based protein products. The meal could be even worse than Anna and Kristina envisioned because of something outside of their control. In addition, they product test various produce cleaner fluids against washing with a vinegar/water solution and washing with plain water. And they taste test different brands of goat cheese. - FatE14
FatGoing against the general societal trend, the mission of the latest cookbook that Anna and Kristina will be testing is to show the public that cooking with "Fat", specifically animal fat, is a good thing, especially in adding flavor to food. In four and a half hours, they are preparing five dishes: roasted marrow bones, miso & orange roasted pork belly, vegetable cake, chicken Kiev, and beignets. They have added pressure for the meal in that their executive chef guest taster is Andrey Durbach, not only the chef of a group of high end restaurants in Vancouver including La Buca, but also a former high school colleague of Kristina's who intimidated her then and intimidates her now. Hopefully an admission by Chef Andrey about high school life will soften the blow if he doesn't like the food. In addition, they taste test store bought salted butters against their own home whipped butter. And they product test various thermometers specifically for deep frying. - The Best of the Best and MoreE15
The Best of the Best and MoreThe cookbook that Anna and Kristina are testing, "The Best of the Best and More", is a compilation of recipes from the previous six "Best of Bridge" cookbooks - with some updates - as well as a few new recipes leaning toward current food sensibilities. First published in 1975, "The Best of Bridge" was a compilation itself of recipes from a group of friends who played bridge together. The cookbook authors purport that the recipes are easy but gourmet quality. Anna and Kristina are skeptical as some of the recipes, which seem to be a throwback to olden times, do not seem to match the new sensibility of eating healthier and fresher foods. They in particular do not like the over use of prepared foods, such as canned soup. And they think that some of the newer recipes have what sound to be an odd combination of flavors. In three hours, they are preparing six recipes: phyllo wrapped samosas, Regina beach coleslaw, hamburger soup, fettuccine Alfredo with sambuca & cranberries, classy chicken, and fruit cocktail cake. Unlike all their other meals, they will not be serving this one to a professional chef, but rather to talk show host and cookbook editor Vicki Gabereau, who is nonetheless a food aficionado. Vicki is not skeptical of the cookbook - how can millions of cookbook buyers be wrong? - but of Anna and Kristina's ability to pull it off based on feedback from one of their previous "victims". Vicki's prophecy may be self-fulfilling, despite the ease of the recipes. Anna and Kristina also product test can openers, and they taste test various types of cabbage, both eaten raw and in coleslaw. - The Cake BibleE16
The Cake BibleIn testing the cookbook "The Cake Bible", Anna and Kristina are only attempting one cake, but are facing their most daunting challenge yet. The one cake they will be making, which is a three day process, is a wedding cake for a real wedding. Being a small wedding, they are making a three tier white cake, but one on which they will be adding all the trimmings: lemon curd mousseline filling, homemade fondant covering the cake, and royal icing pearls and red hand made marzipan roses as decoration. For a self-admitted opinionated bride, the cake is an important aspect of the wedding, so they have no room for error. An error in even one step could ruin the entire cake. Providing advice is expert pastry chef Sylvia Weinstock, renowned in New York society circles for her elegant cake creations. In the end, Anna and Kristina have advice for those wanting to make their own wedding cake to save money: don't! In addition, they test different types of food coloring, to see which is most true to color. And they test ball bearing rolling pins to see which material is the best. - Barefoot ContessaE17
Barefoot ContessaAnna and Kristina are testing recipes from the cookbook "Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics" by television chef Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa. The cookbook strives to provide recipes and tips for low hassle entertaining. They will be testing the cookbook by attempting six recipes in three hours: pomegranate cosmopolitans, Italian wedding soup, bruschetta with peppers & Gorgonzola, coq au vin, roasted butternut squash salad and pumpkin roulade with ginger cream. They may have a bigger challenge than usual since their guest taster is not a chef per se, but rather renowned and opinionated food critic Jamie Maw who because of his profession tells it like it is. His critiques are not only on food itself but everything associated with the dining experience. As such, chefs and restaurateurs can be intimidated by him. Anna and Kristina, despite some hiccups along the way, are buoyed by Jamie's final comment to them post-meal. In addition, Anna and Kristina taste test various brands of bacon, and product test cocktail shakers. - Entertaining with BoozeE18
Entertaining with BoozeAnna and Kristina are excited about the concept of the cookbook that they are testing, "Entertaining with Booze" as they have been know to imbibe when whey are at parties. However as they pretested some recipes, they found that the added alcohol was more often than not not needed to provide additional wanted flavor, and often had the exact opposite effect of making the dish off tasting. They are hoping that on meal day, things might be different. They are attempting six recipes in two and a half hours: Ruby Tuesdays, a BLT salad, roasted stuffed pork with a cognac sauce, caramelized onion & pear pastries, beer braised mussels with coriander & orange, and chocolate Cabernet peace offerings. They guest tasters know a thing or two about booze. They are Neil Ingram, the co-owner and sommelier at the acclaimed Boneta Restaurant in Vancouver, and Michaela Morris, a wine consultant. Regardless, they can all either compliment or drown the taste of the meal, depending on how the meal turns out, with a nice glass of wine. In addition, Anna and Kristina take a trip to Mission Hill Estate Winery to learn about what to look for in a good Riesling. And they experiment with different methods of storing an open unfinished bottle of red wine, the test being how the wine tastes after several days. - Flexitarian CookingE19
Flexitarian CookingAnna and Kristina are testing recipes from "The Flexitarian Table", which purports to solve the problem of having to cook meals for the household that has both meat lovers and vegetarians. The concept is to provide a basic framework for a recipe that can be made either with meat or as a vegetarian option, with the vegetarian option not being an "afterthought" as many vegetarian dishes in mixed meals often tend to be. The guest taster has some doubts. He is Nico Schuermans, executive chef and owner of Chambar Belgian Restaurant and neighboring Medina Café in Vancouver. Being Belgian, Chef Nico is used to a meat based cuisine, and is skeptical about claims that such recipes can be so easily converted without additional flavorings on the vegetarian side. He will have a chance to try seven dishes made by the twosome which they will prepare in four hours: spring vegetable & apple salad, crispy pressed chicken, crispy pressed tofu ("crispy pressed" being one of the convertible recipes), a slow cooked braise with white wine & escarole in both a lamb shank version and a vegetarian red bean version, cauliflower polenta, and pizzoccheri casserole. Being Belgian, Chef Nico would like a good Belgian Trappist beer with his meal. In addition, Anna and Kristina test Dutch ovens to see which material cooks a pot roast the best. And they taste test different varieties of extra firm organic tofu, plain. - Small BitesE20
Small BitesWith the trend toward tapas styled meals for at home dinner parties, Anna and Kristina test out recipes from a cookbook called "Small Bites", which only features recipes typical to cocktail parties. They attempt six recipes in two hours: margarita, celery & fennel soup with chilled grapes, prosciutto wrapped melon, seafood spring rolls, saffron chicken skewers with tomato jam, and raspberry meringues. Their guest chef taster is caterer Jonathan Chovancek, whose company, Culinary Capers, specializes in cocktail party type meals. Beyond the taste of the food itself, Anna and Kristina learn from Chef Jonathan two other important aspects of catering cocktail parties: the ease of eating the food served, and promptness of service. In addition to cooking, Anna and Kristina test manual citrus juicers through setting up their own lemonade stand, and decide if Serrano ham goes better with melon than prosciutto. - Chinese KitchenE21
Chinese KitchenThe actual cooking may not be the most difficult aspect of Anna and Kristina's latest cooking challenge, but understanding what all the unfamiliar ingredients are. They are tackling six recipes from "Chinese Kitchen", a cookbook that strives to provide its users with knowledge to cook authentic Chinese cuisine, and not the Chinese fast food that so many North Americans know as Chinese food. They admit that the actual cooking will also be a challenge, as food is more than just sustenance within the Chinese culture and as such it will be difficult to impress their guest chef taster, television chef Martin Yan. In the five hours of cooking, they are preparing basic cooked rice, hot & sour soup, sweet & sour pork, shrimp marinated in green tea leaves, beggar's chicken, and glutinous rice cake. They are most concerned with the chicken dish - the most difficult in their estimation - and the rice dessert, as Chinese cuisine is not known for its sweets. For the shrimp recipe, they taste test green teas to see if there is a difference between tea made with loose leaves and tea made with tea bags, which is generally made with what is considered inferior tea. And they test which material makes the easiest to handle chopsticks. - AlineaE22
AlineaAnna and Kristina feel that cooking from the cookbook "Alinea" is a daunting task. A year after it opened in 2004, Alinea Restaurant in Chicago was voted the best restaurant in America. The cookbook is a companion to the restaurant, where the food they serve looks as much like works of art than things to consume. Much of what they prepare at the restaurant is through the magic of molecular gastronomy. An immediate difficulty for the two is to find the ingredients required in many of the recipes. They are attempting only three recipes in five hours: black truffle explosion with romaine & Parmesan, bison with braised pistachios, potatoes & sweet spices, and caramel popcorn liquefied. Their guest chef taster is Warren Geraghty, executive chef of the famed West Restaurant in Vancouver. His concern is that the two may not understand the unusual cooking methods and the preciseness which some of the recipes require. Chef Warren also stresses the importance of presentation with such dishes. Regardless of how their attempt at cooking the dishes turns out, Anna and Kristina do give the A&K stamp of approval to the actual restaurant. Because one of the recipes calls for its use, Anna and Kristina also test vacuum sealer machines and bags. - Gourmet MagazineE23
Gourmet MagazineAnna and Kristina take a departure from their regular testing of a cookbook to the testing of a magazine, specifically "Gourmet". A monthly, "Gourmet" was first published in 1941 and offers its readers a wide variety of recipes, from the simple everyday to the more challenging for the true gourmet. In five hours, they are making five dishes, each taken from a different edition of the magazine: mozzarella (from scratch), pupu platter, buffalo salmon with watercress, Argentinian beef with chimichurri, and twelve layer mocha cake. Their guest chef taster is Pino Posteraro, the executive chef of the famed Cioppino's Restaurant in Vancouver and who was named 2008 chef of the year by "Vancouver Magazine". Despite the apology that Anna offers Chef Pino on his arrival - they failed in their attempt to make one of the dishes - would they be able to impress him with the other four? Their cause may be helped in what the chef doesn't know about their day. In addition, Anna and Kristina take a field trip to Mission Hill Estate & Winery in BC's Okanagan Valley to learn about pairing wine to food. They also product test rimmed baking sheets to see which material is the best to use. - Cowboy in the KitchenE24
Cowboy in the KitchenAnna and Kristina believe that cooking recipes from "A Cowboy in the Kitchen" will be a breeze because of the perceived unrefined nature of chuck wagon cuisine. To get inspired, they are preparing their meal outdoors at Stump Lake Ranch. Their executive chef taster is flying in all the way from Texas for the meal and will be difficult to please. Terry Chandler is the owner and head chef at Fred's Texas Café in Fort Worth, he who also runs real chuck wagons at cattle ranches. He feels that the quality of the beans and biscuits are the true measure of any chuck wagon feast. In addition to sourdough biscuits (they are not making beans), Anna and Kristina are preparing four other dishes in five hours: jicama & carrot coleslaw, smoked rib-eye steaks, son-of-a-bitch stew, and pecan pie. For one dish, Kristina bribes Anna to do the unsavory work required. At the end of the day, Anna and Kristina vehemently disagree with Chef Terry's assessment, but not in the way they have with previous guest tasters. In addition, they test different styles of knife sharpeners, and they taste test different varieties of what are considered premium beef. - A Good CatchE25
A Good Catch"A Good Catch", the latest cookbook that Anna and Kristina will be testing, is a compilation of recipes from several different chefs. The common theme is the use of sustainable seafood. Their guest chef taster is Robert Clark, the executive chef at among other places C Restaurant in Vancouver. This restaurant was one of the first restaurants to sign on to the Ocean Wise program, which promotes the use of only sustainable seafood products in a restaurant's menu. All cooked outside in three hours, the two will be preparing five dishes: shaved geoduck salad, gingered cantaloupe soup with spiced crab & prawns, baked halibut with herbed pesto & warm spring salad, cedar planked glazed salmon (which they attempt to catch themselves), and oyster pie. They may have an extra challenge in pleasing Chef Robert, who dislikes little in terms of food, but detests cantaloupe. Regardless of how the meal turns out, Anna and Kristina do admire the thought of using only sustainable seafood, but may not be too pleased with some of the more unfamiliar seafood ingredients. In addition, they taste test different varieties of raw oysters. - Chef Daniel Boulud Cooking in NYCE26
Chef Daniel Boulud Cooking in NYCAnna and Kristina have taken on their most intimidating challenge in tackling recipes from "Chef Daniel Boulud Cooking in New York City" if only because Daniel Boulud is a three star Michelin award winning chef and one of the most renowned and famous chefs in the world. Because they want to make sure they perfect the recipes, they are only making three dishes in five and a half hours: white asparagus with poached egg dressing, open lobster ravioli with pea purée, and coconut rochers for dessert. They will not have one, but three guest chef tasters, who are all intimidating in their own right. The first two are Stephane Istel and Dale MacKay, the executive chefs of DB Bistro Moderne and Lumière respectively, both which belong Chef Daniel's group of restaurants. But Anna and Kristina do a first in this series in that the third guest taster is the cookbook author himself, Chef Daniel Boulud. Will the meal be up to what Chef Daniel's expectations of recipes from his cookbook are? Meanwhile, Anna and Kristina product test miniature greenhouses for the peas they will need to grow for their ravioli recipe. And they taste test various brands of Dijon mustard.