Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 4, Episode 8 - Midwest Potluck - full transcript

Molly: Today, I'm whipping up

some bacon-egg-and-cheese
turnovers

for a quick lunch out
on the farm with nick.

This is perfect.
[ laughs ]

then we're headed
to a potluck dinner

at my friend niles' house.

Make sure you dig all the way
down to the bottom

because there's eight layers.
-What?

And I'm bringing some of
my favorite midwest dishes

with a twist,

like my beautiful
eight-layer salad



loaded with sweet squash
and farro,

chewy halva magic bars...

Oh, yeah.
These are looking great.

...And for an after-dinner
pick-me-up,

sweet peanut butter mochas.

Oh, yah. Mmm!

Hey! This is me -- molly yeh.

I'm a cookbook author
and food blogger.

[ ding! ]

this is my husband, nick.

This is our new addition...

And this is our home,

our farm on the
north dakota/minnesota border,

the place where I eat,
sleep, and breathe food.



[ camera shutter clicks ]

these look like a party.

My food is a delicious mix

of my chinese and jewish
heritage

and a taste of the midwest.

♪♪

♪♪

potlucks are huge around here.

Everybody brings dishes
to share,

and you end up with a feast.

Today, my friend nile
is hosting,

and I'm going to be bringing
a salad, a dessert, and a drink,

but first, I'm going to whip up
a quick lunch

that nick is going to love.

My bacon-egg-and-cheese
turnovers

are one decadent little meal
in a handheld flaky pastry.

I'm starting with the best
part -- the bacon.

I'm crisping it up in my pan.

Now, while this continues
to crisp,

I'm going to whip up some eggs.

I'm going to scramble four eggs
with some mozzarella cheese.

That's going to get really melty
inside of these pastries.

They're so good.

Scrambled eggs are great,
but they're kind of hard

to eat out on the farm
when nick is working,

so this way he can have them
in handheld form.

♪♪

now, I'm going to add
some shredded mozzarella.

It's going to make these eggs
creamy and gooey,

and I'm also going
to chop up some chives

for a nice pop of freshness.

I'll pour these right in.

Okay, I'm going to check
on my bacon now.

Oh, it's looking great
and really crispy,

just the way I like it.

Okay, I'm going to transfer this
to a paper towel

to drain any excess grease,

and I'm going to use
the bacon fat

that's in my pan
to cook my eggs.

Now, I'm going to cook these
eggs until they're just set.

I do not want to overcook them
because otherwise,

they'll get dry,
and even if they're a tiny bit

undercooked, that's okay because
once they get put

into the puff pastry and baked,
they'll complete their cooking.

My eggs are looking great.

I'm going to remove them
from the heat,

and I'm going to transfer them
to a bowl,

so they don't continue
cooking in the pan.

Now, I'll season with salt
and black pepper,

and I love hot sauce
on my scrambled eggs,

so I'm going to add
a few shakes of that.

I'm also going to add
some scallion cream cheese,

which will add
great creamy tanginess,

and now I'll get
my puff pastry.

My puff pastry has thawed
overnight in the fridge

so that it's soft
and easy to work with,

and now, I'm going to roll it
out onto my work surface,

and I'm going to dust
my surface with some flour

so that the puff pastry
doesn't stick.

I love puff pastry.

It's so buttery and flaky.

Whenever I eat these, I end up
with crumbs all over my body,

but it's worth it.

Okay, I'm going to roll this out
until I have

a 15-by-10 rectangle,
and that's going to make it

so that I can have
six big squares.

This recipe is a mash-up of two
of my favorite things --

bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches
and bourekas,

which are a pastry that's common
throughout the middle east.

I first had them in israel,
and they were filled

with potatoes
and veggies and cheese.

They're so good.

This rectangle is looking good.

Now, I'm going to cut this
into two rows of three squares.

So, first, I'm going to divide
it in half along the equator,

and now, I'll divide it
into thirds vertically,

making sure
I have perfect squares.

Okay.

Now I'll transfer my squares
to my baking sheet

that I've lined with parchment
paper so that they don't stick.

I'll evenly space these out,
and now, I'm ready to assemble.

So to assemble these,

I'm first going to add a schmear
of scallion cream cheese,

the best cream cheese,
in my opinion.

I'm just adding a thin layer.

I don't want to add
too much filling.

Otherwise, they might start
leaking out in the oven.

♪♪

♪♪

okay.

Next, I'm going to add
some bacon,

which I'm just going
to rip up with my hands,

and I'm adding the bacon
underneath the eggs

so that the bacon doesn't
poke through the puff pastry

when I fold it over.

Okay.

Next, I'm going to add some of
my scrambled egg mixture.

Ugh!
These are going to be delicious.

Go ahead, make a big batch.

These reheat beautifully

in the toaster oven
or the microwave.

You can keep them
in the freezer.

Now, to seal these up,
I'll make an egg wash.

I'll just crack an egg
into a little bowl.

I'll add a tiny splash of water,
and then I'll whip it up.

♪♪

and then I'll brush
this around the borders,

which will act like the glue
to hold the turnover shut.

♪♪

♪♪

now I'll fold these over

and then pinch the edges
to seal them shut,

and I want to pinch
the edges well

so that they don't open up
in the oven.

It's okay if at this point
they look a little rustic

because the magic of puff pastry
is that in the oven,

it's going to puff up and
look beautiful no matter what.

So now before these go
in the oven,

I'm going to brush the tops
with egg wash,

and that's going to help them
get golden and shiny,

and then it's also going
to help my toppings stick.

I'm going to sprinkle the tops
of these

with everything-bagel topping.

♪♪

♪ mm, these are so fun ♪

okay.

Now, these are going to bake
at 375 for 30 minutes

until they're golden brown
and puffy.

♪♪

♪♪

ohh.

These puffed up perfectly.

Look at those layers.

They are going to be so flaky
and buttery and good.

I can't wait to eat these.

Okay, I'm going to pack
these up,

and I'll pair them
with a little bit of ketchup.

They're so cute.

Okay.

I'd better get these out
to nick.

He must be starving.

He's always starving.

♪♪

I hope you're hungry.

I made bacon-egg-and-cheese
turnovers.

This looks awesome.

Oh, my goodness.

♪♪

this is perfect.
[ chuckles ]

♪♪

this is so fun. So are you going
to help me scout the field?

Mnh-mnh.

I have to go back in
and continue cooking

for tonight's potluck.

Okay.
Work up an appetite,

because we're going to have
a feast tonight.

-Will do. Thank you.
-Bye.

Coming up, I'm making
the perfect chewy delight

for a potluck --
my halva magic bars.

Then I'm putting together
my eight-layer salad

and a quick-and-easy
peanut-butter-mocha mix

that my friends will love
making fresh on site.

♪♪

a friend of mine is having
a good ol' midwestern potluck,

and any potluck
around here needs bars.

So I am making
my halva magic bars.

They're chewy and sweet
and literally magic

because they're all made
in the same pan.

I just add every ingredient
to the pan and bake it.

So I'm starting with a pan
that's been greased

and then lined
with parchment,

and greasing it helps
the parchment paper stick.

I'm going to add a stick
of butter,

and I'm going to melt my butter
directly in the pan.

I'll stick this in the oven
for a few minutes,

and my oven
is already preheated at 350.

And while this melts, I'll
gather my remaining ingredients.

I've got some graham crackers
here and pistachios,

and I'm going to crush up
my graham crackers.

I'll just put them in a bag

and crush them up.

♪♪

looking good.

I'm going to check
on my butter now.

Perfect.

I'm going to swirl my pan around

to make sure that the butter
gets all over the bottom,

and then I'll scatter
my graham-cracker crumbs

all over the butter,

and I'll use my spatula
to spread it around evenly.

You don't have to worry
about packing this

down like an actual pie crust.

It's just one of the layers.

Now, my next layer is going
to be a cup

of chopped dark chocolate.

I like using dark chocolate here

because the other ingredients
are really sweet,

so the dark chocolate
adds a nice balance.

Traditionally, magic bars
have butterscotch chips

and chocolate chips,

but instead
of butterscotch chips,

I'm using one of my all-time
favorite foods -- halva.

Halva is a middle eastern candy
that's made of sesame and sugar,

and it's a little bit crumbly,
a little bit flaky,

kind of fudge-like,
totally addictive.

I'll sprinkle this all over.

And halva is available at a lot
of grocery stores

or specialty stores,

or you could also
order it online.

Next, I'm going to add
some chopped, salted,

toasted pistachios.

I love the green color
that this is going to add.

You need something salty too
to balance out

all of the sweet ingredients
in these bars.

The pistachios complement
the halva really nicely,

and I just
love pistachios so much.

Next, I'm going to hold
everything together

with my sweetened
condensed milk

first, I'm going to pour
a little bit out over the bars

just to make room
for my extracts

so that I can have space
in the can to mix it up.

And now I'm going to add some
vanilla extract and rose water,

which goes so incredibly
with the pistachios

and the halva and the coconut.

That's got to be, like,
my favorite flavor family ever.

And I'll mix this up
right in the can.

If you don't have rose water

in your pantry,
don't worry about it.

It's optional.

Now, pour this on evenly
all over the top,

and it's just going to soak down

into all the cracks
of the ingredients

and hold everything
together.

Mm, I love these.

And now, I'll sprinkle on
sweetened shredded coconut,

and this gets all toasty
in the oven.

It gets gorgeously brown,
and it adds great texture.

Okay.
I'll spread out my coconut,

and now I'll finish these off
with some dried rose petals.

They're really pretty,

and these will also
complement the rose water

that's in the sweetened
condensed milk.

♪♪

now I'm going to bake these
at 350 degrees

for about 25 minutes
until the edges are golden,

and when they bake, everything
is going to melt together

and form this flavor party
that is so good.

♪♪

and that's it.
Almost no cleanup.

That is my kind
of potluck dessert.

♪♪

[ chickens clucking ]

my halva bars have cooled
completely.

They came out beautifully,

and now I just need
to cut them into squares

and then pack them up
for the potluck.

I'm going to score them first
so that I can know

where to cut with my knife,
and now I'll go the other way.

♪♪

okay, and now, I'll use my knife
to chop them up.

♪♪

oh, yeah,
these are looking great.

And I'll grab my container,
and I'll pack these up,

and I feel like
every good midwesterner

has a collection
of sturdy containers

specifically for potlucks.

♪♪

oh, no.

One of these won't fit.

Mmm.

It's chewy and sweet and nutty,

and there's this great crust
all around the outside.

Okay. My friends are going to be
so into these bars.

♪♪

next, I'm rolling in deep
to this potluck

with a salty
and sweet eight-layer salad.

Prosciutto, I love you.

♪♪

♪♪

nick and I are heading
to our friend's

midwest-themed potluck tonight,

and I can't wait to taste
everyone's dishes

and get the town dish.

Seven-layer salads are a classic
potluck staple around here.

So I'm making my version.

It's got eight layers.
Got to go big.

It has salty prosciutto,
sweet squash,

a creamy basil dressing
all on a bed of farro.

To start, I'm peeling my squash
so that I can roast it.

And now I'll chop it in half
to get the seeds out.

And now I'll scoop
out the seeds.

Mm. Squash always reminds me
of the fall,

and I just love how
sweet and hearty it is.

It goes beautifully
with prosciutto.

And now I'll chop this into
3/4-inch cubes.

The classic seven-layer salad
has hard boiled eggs, bacon,

iceberg lettuce,
shredded cheddar.

And so my version, I subbed out
some of the ingredients

for some of my favorite
salad ingredients,

but I couldn't choose
just seven,

so that's why there's eight.

Okay.

I'm going to get this
onto my sheet pan now.

I'm going to drizzle this
with some olive oil.

This will help it get crispy
and browned.

I'll season with salt
and pepper.

And then a tiny bit of heat
goes nicely with squash,

so I'm going to add a few
pinches of crushed red pepper.

I'll toss this to combine,

and now I'll roast this
at 400 degrees for 25 minutes

until it's cooked through.

And while the squash roasts,

I'll make my creamy
basil dressing

and prep my other seven layers.

This dressing is such a lovely
way of showcasing fresh basil,

and the flavor
of the basil goes so well

with all of
the other elements in the salad.

I'm going to start with 1 cup
of plain greek yogurt,

and then I'm going
to add 1/2 a cup of mayo,

and that adds creamy richness
to the yogurt.

Next, I'll add a little zing
with some dijon mustard

and then some acidity
with some white-wine vinegar.

Okay?

Now I'll finally chop
two cloves of garlic,

and the acidity from the yogurt
and the vinegar

are going to mellow out
the garlic really beautifully.

This garlic is going to make
this dressing pop.

Okay, now for the star
of the show -- the fresh basil.

Mm. I could smell basil
all day long.

[ sniffs ] it's so good.

I think the basil might be
my favorite part of this salad.

Okay, I'm going
to finely chop this.

And then a few leaves,

I'm going to save
for the top of the salad.

I'll just dump this
into the bowl.

Now, I'll season my dressing
with salt and pepper...

♪♪

...And then
I'll mix it all together.

♪♪

okay, let me give it a taste.

Mmm, mmm.

It's so creamy, and that
basil flavor is delicious.

I'm going to check
on my squash now.

The squash looks great.

I'm going to see if a fork
pokes easily into it.

That's how I know
that it's tender.

Oh, yeah, that's good.

I'm going to let this cool while
I prep my remaining layers.

The bottom layer of my salad
is going to be farro,

which is a hearty,
chewy grain.

I've cooked it in some stock,

which will infuse it
with some flavor,

and now I'm going to toss it
with some olive oil

to prevent it
from sticking together.

I want beautiful
individual grains.

And then I'll season
with salt and pepper.

It's important to season
every layer of the dish.

I'll toss this around.

Now, another layer of my salad
is going to be chopped shallot.

It'll add nice crunch.

I'll finely chop this.

I know I said that the basil was
my favorite part of the salad,

but I think it's actually
the prosciutto,

and prosciutto is one
of those indulgences

that I don't often buy,

but when I make this salad,
it's a good excuse to get it.

I'm going to cut this
into small pieces now.

Prosciutto is salty cured ham,
and it's thinly sliced,

and it's going to really nicely
in this salad.

I should probably taste it
to make sure it's okay.

Yeah.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.

Prosciutto, I love you.

Look at these gorgeous colors,

and the flavors are going
to go so well together.

Now, the only thing I have
left to do is layer it up.

I'll start with my farro.

It's a nice hearty base.

I'll top it with a big old pile
of baby kale.

It adds a hint of bitterness,

some tender sweet squash,
halfway there.

Layer four is my prosciutto
and then chopped shallots,

my creamy basil dressing,

a bunch of shaved parmesan, yum,

and toasted sliced almonds

add great crunch
on top and nuttiness.

I am so pleased with this.

I love how you can see
all eight layers.

Now to finish this off,

I'll garnish with a few leaves
of fresh basil

and one more crack
of black pepper,

and I'm all done.

Looks great.

I'm ready to go to the potluck.

Still to come,
I'm assembling a super delicious

peanut-butter-mocha
mix for the party,

and then we're taking
the show on the road.

-Happy potluck!
-Potluck!

♪♪

nick and I are about to head
to our friend's house

for a potluck dinner.

I just need to make the last
thing that I'm bringing.

I'm going to make my
peanut-butter-mocha mix.

I'll prep the dry mixture here

and then assemble the drinks
at the party with warm milk.

And I'm just dumping
everything into a cute jar.

I'll add 2 tablespoons
of espresso powder,

4 tablespoons of
unsweetened cocoa powder.

Chocolate and coffee,
what's not to love?

And now 4 tablespoons
of peanut butter powder,

which is one
of my favorite ingredients,

and I love it because you can
add peanut butter flavor

in powder form.

Now, I'll sweeten this with 2
1/2 tablespoons of sugar.

And this mix is
a really great gift too.

You can make it in cute jars
and mail it off to friends.

I love homemade drink mixes.

And now I'll just shake this
to combine.

Okay.

I think the guests
are going to love this.

Now, whenever I go to a potluck,

I like to come super prepared
with all of my utensils

and serving vessels so that
I don't put my host out.

So for this I'm going to grab...

♪♪

I have some whole milk
to heat up to add my mixture to,

and then I'm also
going to top it

with a dusting of cinnamon

and a sprinkle of coarse
turbinado sugar,

which will add nice sweetness
and crunch to the top.

And that's it.

How cute is that?

♪♪

♪♪

hey!
You guys made it.

How's it going?

Good. Welcome.
Come in.

-Hi, you guys.
-Hey!

-Oh, hey.
-How are you?

Everything looks amazing.
Did you make that casserole?

Yes, I did.

Got to have a casserole
at a potluck.

-Got to. Yes.
-Yes.

These bars look incredible!

-Thank you.
-Looks delicious.

-Should we eat?
-Yes.

-Nile, thank you for hosting.
-I'm happy to host.

Those are some great buns,
heather.

-Only the best for you guys.
-Nice buns.

Make sure you dig all the way
down to the bottom

because there's eight layers.

-[ gasps ]
-what?

I love how we managed to end up
with so much food.

It's all so good.

Can I get your help
with my peanut butter mochas?

Yes, I'd love to.

Each of them are going to get
a little sprinkle of cinnamon

and some turbinado sugar.

Cinnamon smells heavenly.

Oh. Right?

We've got peanut butter
mochas, everybody.

-Oh, wow!
-Yum!

Woman: Awesome.

We should do potlucks
more often.

Okay. [ chuckles ]
our house next time.

[ laughter ]