Coffee-crusted Chicken Breast with Mole-inspired Sauce and Patty Pan Squash

Daniela: "I made a pan seared, coffee crusted chicken breast along with a mole inspired sauce."

Beer-poached Shrimp with Beer and Chipotle Sauce and Beer-infused Jasmine Rice

"So, this is a beer poached shrimp with a beer chipotle sauce and blue moon light infused jasmine rice."

Asian-Spiced Turkey and Hotdog Meatballs, sautéed brocolli and Poached Egg

Daniela: "So today I have for you chicken flavored ramen noodles topped with asian infused meatballs made with ground turkey and hot dogs, sauteed broccoli and a poached egg."

Stuffed Cabbage Roll with Lamb and Pancetta, Braised Sauerkrat and Tomato Sauce

Daniela, interviewed during cooking :"I'm half Serbian, so I'm doing a smoky stuffed cabbage roll, which is a Serbian dish that I ate growing up, and it's called Sarma. And because it's a long braising process, I broke up the components. I'm using lamb and smoked pancetta." 

Joe Bastianich: "How are you going to cook that? You're going to poach them?" 

Daniela: "I'm going to poach the cabbage in the broth so that it gets more flavor."

Aaron Sanchez: "Daniela, do you feel that little cabbage roll would have benefited from being cooked in the sauce?" 

Daniela: "I think that's a great suggestion."

Judges, talking behind the scenes

"Daniela's taken the classic dish from her grandma. Growing up, it was this tough cabbage with big chunks of lamb and rice, and it's braised for hours. But she's trying to fast track this thing with a ground lamb pancetta, and then she's just blanching the cabbage. I think she's going to be up against it, getting this thing done in time. That thing takes hours to cook properly."

Daniela: "My name is Daniela. Tonight I presented to you a Chiles en Nogada with a sherry and pomegranate reduction, and I used almonds and pine nuts in the white sauce. It's part of my heritage. I'm half Mexican and half Serbian."

Judges

"Daniela, the colors are stunning. You look at the plate, you just can't wait to dive in." 

"I'm so happy you didn't fry the chiles because a lot of times people take a shortcut, and they'll fry it. And I like the fact that you roasted it. It's gonna add another dimension of flavor. "

"It is packed with flavor. Honestly, it's festive. It's a celebration. It's so fruity and nutty, and it just needs a touch more seasoning. But it is so delicious." 

"I'm not familiar at all with this dish. Actually, this is the first time I've had this, so I didn't know what to expect. I like the different textures in here. You've got the nuts. There's some crunchiness to it. And I think this dish celebrates a lot of different ingredients."  

"It makes me very proud to be Mexican. When I eat this dish, it really is that magical. It's that special."

"Daniela, this is a dish that's really authentic, flavorful, soulful, and I really like it a lot."