cooking this week
WEDNESDAY
Returning champs: ‘Chopped’
$50,000 tournament gets underway
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Chefs
are forced to weigh their steakhouse
dinner. (CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Chefs
create an Asian Stir Fry with 5 ingredients.
T
hey’re baaack!
They’re already win-
ners, but 16 past champions
are stepping back into the
“Chopped” kitchen and our
TV-loving lives this week, as
Food Network rolls out its
newest installment of the
“$50,000 Champs Challenge”
tournament.
The five-part “Chopped”
tournament-within-a-season
kicks off on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The event is an audience favor-
ite and has become somewhat
of an annual tradition since
the first $50,000 challenge
ran in 2010. (The very first
“Chopped Champions” was in
2009, but the current format
was introduced a year later.)
There’s nothing new in
terms of how the elimination-
style contest works: four
competitors (in this case, all
past “Chopped” champions)
must outcook their opponents
in two elimination rounds (the
20-minute Appetizer round
and the 30-minute Entrée
round) before the final two
face off in the 30-minute Des-
sert round that determines the
winner.
These “Chopped” pros will
have a slight advantage, at
least over their past selves,
because they know exactly
what it’s like to race against
the clock in a kitchen that isn’t
your own. They’ve also had
practice with keeping their
cool under hot television lights
while being critiqued before
an international audience of
millions (“Chopped” airs in
more than 30 countries).
But the mystery basket items
— and the way chefs integrate
them into their hastily impro-
vised but (mostly) impeccably
prepared dishes — are precise-
ly why we’ve been tuning in to
“Chopped” for more than 10
years. In reality, once they open
those baskets, the contestants
only have two minutes to come
up with a recipe that will seam-
lessly combine those flavors
without disguising them. And
that’s the true measure of a
“Chopped” champion.
Spoiler alert: Expect some
“watermelon weirdness” in
Tuesday’s event opener. There’s
also a mention of a funky soy-
bean product (fingers crossed
it’s my favorite fermented
food, natto) and a crunchy des-
sert surprise. For Part 2 airing
on Jan. 28, Food Network is
also teasing a … salad cake?
Judges for this edition
include Jamie Bissonnette, Ma-
neet Chauhan, Chris Santos,
Scott Conant and Angie Mar.
Ted Allen hosts.
The tournament will run
from Jan. 21 to the Feb. 18
$50,000 finale (mark your
calendars). Throughout the
event, you’ll find video high-
lights on foodnetwork.com,
and you can always share your
mystery ingredient ideas on
social media using the hashtag
#Chopped.
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games None of
the chefs get to shop for their ingredients.
(CC)
(CC)
7:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Chefs can
only use five pounds of ingredients. (CC)
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Chefs
are challenged to budget wisely with
$40. (CC)
1:00 p.m.
OPB Christopher Kimball’s Milk
Street Christopher visits places in Port-
land, Maine. (CC)
FOOD Kids Baking Championship Bak-
ers are challanged to create Neapolitan
desserts. (CC)
1:30 p.m.
KTNW tasteMAKERS (N) (CC)
OPB America’s Test Kitchen From
Cook’s Illustrated Jack challenges
Bridget to a tasting of black pepper. (CC)
2:00 p.m.
OPB Christina Cooks: Back to the
Cutting Board Recipes: hearty lentil soup
with fresh herbs. (CC)
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
is rustling up the best of breakfast. (CC)
2:30 p.m.
OPB Sara’s Weeknight Meals Smoky
fish chowder; chicken shrimp; stew. (CC)
3:00 p.m.
KTNW America’s Test Kitchen From
Cook’s Illustrated Jack challenges
Bridget to a tasting of black pepper. (CC)
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guys checks out the country for chicken
dishes. (CC)
3:30 p.m.
KTNW Food Over 50 No salt chicken
chili verde and orange sesame chicken.
THURSDAY
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay A smokehouse
master and a Californian take on Bobby.
(CC)
4:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Either Scott
Conant or Hannah Hart will face Bobby.
(CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chefs return
for a second chance to take Bobby down.
(CC)
5:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Pastry chefs
Clarice Lam and Avery Ruzicka face
Bobby. (CC)
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Daniel Gomez
Sanchez competes against Matthew
Ridgway. (CC)
6:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Alton Brown
and Valerie Bertinelli judge. (CC)
FRIDAY
Ted Allen hosts “Chopped”
SATURDAY
Noon
FOOD Trisha’s Southern Kitchen (N)
Trisha invites her friend, Julie, into the
kitchen. (CC)
12:30 p.m.
FOOD Trisha’s Southern Kitchen Trisha
whips up a meal for a local firestation.
(CC)
By Michelle Rose
TV Media
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
Fieri’s grabbing some bbq and Southern
comfort. (CC)
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
tries local homemade Tuscan-style Italian
food. (CC)
4:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
finds the best homemade cooking in the
country. (CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
looks for timeless traditions like bayou
crawfish. (CC)
5:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guy makes unique pizzas in Boulder,
Colorado. (CC)
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
visits locations with heart and soul. (CC)
6:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guy’s in search of funky neighborhood
joints. (CC)
7:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guy’s giving love to a little town with lots
of flavor. (CC)
7:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
It’s all about the meat, from Denver to
Yellowstone. (CC)
(CC)
6:00 p.m.
OPB Confucius Was a Foodie Chef
Christine meets her Chinese chef mentors.
(CC)
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guy tries Puerto-Rican and Jewish deli
specialties. (CC)
6:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy
visits Columbus for pierogies and Boulder
for Thai. (CC)
7:00 p.m.
KTNW The Great British Baking Show
The Showstopper is a mighty layered
meringue. (CC)
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Visit
a Vietnamese sandwich shop in Salt Lake
City. (CC)
7:30 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
A hidden gem serves Nepalese-Tibetan
specialties. (CC)
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Guy Fieri’s on the road to grab some
sandwiches. (CC)
SUNDAY
Noon
FOOD Delicious Miss Brown (N)
Kardea invites her notoriously frugal Aunt
TC over.
12:30 p.m.
FOOD Giada Entertains (N) Giada’s
friends create their own pasta shapes.
(CC)
1:00 p.m.
FOOD The Kitchen Bucatini al limone;
red beans with rice and sausage. (CC)
2:00 p.m.
FOOD Worst Cooks in America The
recruits enter boot camp. (CC)
3:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped Chefs find impressive
greens and sweet treats. (CC)
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped The chefs prepare deli-
cious healthy dishes. (CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped Four fit chefs create
healthy but flavorful dishes. (CC)
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Challenge The Challenge take on
Pokémon cakes.
6:30 p.m.
KVEW Chance of Wine (CC)
7:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Four chefs
test their burger prowess. (CC)
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Guy Fieri
doesn’t let up on the final three pairs. (CC)
MONDAY
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Seis Kamimura
and Demetrio Zavala try to beat Bobby.
(CC)
4:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chefs Allison
Fasano and Paul Dev Favro battle it out.
(CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Some past
judges return to the kitchen to cook. (CC)
5:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Alex Guar-
naschelli is pitted against Jet Tila. (CC)
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Alton Brown
enlists past season winners. (CC)
6:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Scott Conant
sits back as his team takes center stage.
(CC)
7:00 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Ted Allen turns
the tables in Bobby Flay’s kitchen. (CC)
7:30 p.m.
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Bobby’s
protégée Leia Gaccione has a surprise in
store. (CC)
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Kids Baking Championship:
Extra Icing (N) Bakers are challanged to
create Neapolitan desserts. (CC)
TUESDAY
4:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped Four Chopped champs
are back to compete for $50,000. (CC)
5:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped Champs come back to
compete for $50,000. (CC)
6:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped Champs return to
compete for $50,000. (CC)
7:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped The chefs deal with tiny
eggs and a Moroccan meat. (CC)
8:00 p.m.
FOOD Chopped A seafood delicacy
requires thoughtfulness. (CC)
Pendleton East-Oregonian, OR: Food Jan 15,
2020 to Jan 21, 2020
East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald | January 15, 2020
Screentime | 21