Recipes from the Top

Wanna cook like a pro? Our four Top Chef participants share their favorite at-home recipes.

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Jenna Kinard’s Recipe

Shrimp Fra Diavolo 

Perfect pasta dough ingredients:

  • 2 cups 00 flour
  • 3 eggs 
  • 5 yolks
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions:

  • Gently whisk eggs, olive oil, milk, and salt
  • Make a well in the flour and pour in egg mixture
  • Slowly incorporate flour into egg mixture with fork until you form a sticky dough
  • Begin kneading with your hands for 7 to10 minutes until dough is soft and shiny and springs back at you when you poke it
  • Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for one hour 
  • Unwrap dough and cut into eight triangular sections
  • Take one section and set aside the rest, covering with the plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out
  • Sprinkle countertop with flour and begin rolling out pasta dough, folding when needed to keep a uniform rectangular shape
  • Once dough is thin enough, crank (the key is to roll out dough until you can see your fingertips through the other side)
  • Gently sprinkle dough with flour and fold from top to bottom into a square shape so that after you cut pasta at desired width, you have a long length once you unravel it
  • Continue with the rest of pasta dough, shaping sections into nests as you go
  • Set nests aside on a sheet tray until ready to use

Diavolo Sauce ingredients:

  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 3 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
  • 2 cups whole Roma tomatoes boiled
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • Fresh juice from 3 large lemons
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

  • Fill a medium pot with tomatoes and just enough water to cover
  • Bring to a boil and cook until tender about 5 minutes
  • Transfer tomatoes to ice bath and chill until cool enough to handle
  • Dice tomatoes and transfer them with their juices in a medium bowl
  • Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and set aside until ready to use 
  • For the pasta, fill the same pot with more water and add generous amount of salt and oil
  • Bring to a boil
  • While waiting for water to come to a boil, toss the shrimp in bowl with salt and red pepper flakes
  • Heat the oil and butter together in a heavy large skillet over medium heat
  • Add the shrimp and saute for about a minute, toss, and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 2 minutes.
  • Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and set aside
  • Add the onion to the same skillet, adding an extra 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes
  • Add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, wine, garlic, and oregano
  • Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes
  • Return the shrimp and any accumulated juices to the tomato mixture, toss to coat, and cook for about a minute so the flavors meld together
  • Stir in the lemon, parsley, and basil
  • Season with more salt to taste and serve over fresh pasta
  • Feel free to garnish with more lemon and fresh herbs

Max Zubboli’s Recipe

Spaghetti alla Marcello

Feeds one person (just for him)

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces spaghetti n 12 De Cecco 
  • 15 littleneck clams 
  • 1 clove of fresh garlic chopped 
  • 1 tablespoon of Italian parsley finely chopped
  • A whisper of crushed red pepper flakes 
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil from Genova
  • 1/4 cup white wine

Instructions:

  • Cook pasta in a pot with boiling salted water 
  • In a separate pan, combine pan oil, parsley, garlic, and red flakes and start to cook
  • Immediately after cooking begins, place clams inside pan, cover, and cook for 1 minute
  • Add wine and cook down until wine evaporates
  • Add a spoon of pasta water and cover again until the clams open  
  • Drain the pasta al dente into the sauce and cook everything together for 2 minutes 

Keith Hick’s Recipe

Pork Chops Smothered and Snorted

Ingredients:

  • 8 pork chops (Letz Eat size)
  • 4 cups Crisco or Granny’s Grease on stove
  • 6 cups of seasoned flour
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 green bell pepper, rough chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, rough chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery (just cut it, man!)
  • 1 cup sliced Cremini mushrooms
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 quart of chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 straw
  • Seasoned flour:
  • 6 cups flour
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup coarse ground pepper
  • 1/8 cup garlic powder 
  • 1/8 cup onion powder 
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper 

Instructions:

  • In a large skillet, heat up medium high (2 tokes)
  • Add Crisco or Granny’s Grease to the skillet
  • Season the pork chops with a lil’ bit of salt and pepper
  • Dredge in flour and place in skillet, adjust heat accordingly (be careful not to burn the chops or oil)
  • Fry on both sides for about 4 minutes
  • Let the fried chops chill on a platter
  • Take out 3/4 of the oil and add half of the onions, peppers, and mushrooms
  • Add enough flour to start your rough
  • Stir gently so that you are not stressin’ out the veggies
  • Slowly stir in the cream and then the chicken broth (find your Zen ... let it all come together, stirring again as needed)
  • In a large casserole pan, ladle in enough gravy to coat the bottom of the dish
  • Add the pork chops and the rest of the veggies
  • Cover with the lid or aluminum foil
  • Cook for about an hour or to your liking of tenderness
  • Serve with country-style rice or garlic smashed potatoes, or fried potato and onions, braised cabbage or Brussels

Kobi Perdue’s Recipe

Red Wine–Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

  • 3 English-cut beef short ribs
  • 5 carrots
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms
  • 750 milliliters cabernet sauvignon
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon chopped thyme 
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • Flour for dusting 
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • Your favorite mashed potatoes, pasta, or polenta

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • First things first, open the wine and pour yourself a glass
  • Now that, that's out of the way, place a 4-quart pot or Dutch oven on medium heat with a drizzle of oil
  • Remove the short ribs from their packaging
  • Give them a good seasoning on all sides and then dust in flour
  • Shake well to remove excess flour
  • Begin to sear off the ribs on all sides, cooking in small batches in order to not over crowd the pan.
  • While the meat is searing, cut the vegetables (I prefer larger cuts)
  • When the meat is caramelized, remove from the pan and discard the oil/fat
  • Throw in the butter and thyme along with the onions and carrots
  • When the onions are translucent, add the garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until the vegetables start to caramelize
  • Carefully arrange the short ribs on top of the vegetables and add in the remaining wine and beef broth
  • In a small bowl, mix a tablespoon of flour with a few tablespoons of the braising liquid until smooth and add back to the pot
  • Bring to a simmer
  • Put the lid/ cover on the pot and place in a 350 F oven for 4 to 6 hours
  • Serve with your favorite mashed potatoes, pasta, polenta, or even risotto!