Alessia Cara Tries to Keep Up with a Professional Chef

Hey, I'm Carla and I'm here

in the Bon Appetite Test kitchen today with Alessia Cara.

Hello.

And today, we've got 20 minutes

to make a lobster pasta with Calabrian chili

and we're gonna see if Alessia can follow along

with me through verbal instructions only.

My family's from Calabria, so maybe I'll have

the Calabrian gods help.

That's what we were hoping for.

Yeah. I think Angels.

Yeah, definitely angels. Yeah, the spicy angels.

Alright, so on a scale of one to ten,

how would you rate yourself as a cook?

I'd say, between like a two and a six.

Oh, alright we're getting to nine.

Today. Yeah.

Okay. For sure.

I'm trusting you.

You ready? Yes.

Okay, on three and two and one

(upbeat music)

Okay so, Alessia, on the tray in front of you

you've got a two pound lobster, okay?

So, in front of that there's a little tray

with some tools, okay?

So you have everything you need

to take this guy apart.

Okay.

So the first thing I want you to do,

just grab the body of the lobster in one hand

and the tail in the other and just twist the tail off.

And just pull it out.

I'm assuming this is the tail.

(loud crunch)

(grunts)

Oh nice.

I heard good, like, horror movie noises.

Yeah, oh my goodness.

Alright, so now go up to the claws

and the part of the claw that connects to the body

just twist that off as well.

And it's a little spiky on the claws,

so if you want, you can use your towel

and that'll help you grab that leg

and twist the other one off as well.

Huh, my goodness.

And if any stuff comes out

like, I had some tamale and stuff come out,

just let that hit the tray and don't worry about it.

Yeah, mine has a lot.

Yeah, oh really?

Is yours like, green, or is it more beige?

It's, like, green.

Oh yeah, that's okay.

Don't worry about it.

Okay.

Alright, your claws are off?

Yes.

Alright, so now use a towel to protect your hand again,

and you wanna grab the lobster arm

and then you're just going to twist that off.

So, then you have the claw in one hand

and the arm in the other.

Then do the same thing on the other side.

And now you should have five pieces of lobster.

You got two arms, a tail, and two claws.

Sound good?

Got it.

Alright, so then you'll notice you've the claws

one is the crusher and one is the pincer,

like, one is really big and kind of burly,

and the other one is more delicate.

Yeah.

So pick up your delicate one,

and sort of holding it straight up and down

open up, like, pull back the thumb.

Just to, like, break that joint.

And then, instead of having it move up

and back like the claw is biting,

kinda wiggle it towards you and away from you

until you hear it snap and that should loosen

that thumb, nice.

And then pull the thumb out.

Okay. Okay?

And then, what I want you to do is take your claw,

put it on that dish towel,

and then just kind of fold the dish towel over it.

This is just gonna protect it a little bit.

And pick up that black mallet.

Okay.

Alright? Yes.

And what we're gonna do next is we're gonna hit,

like, the widest part of the claw

sort of towards the end that was attached to the arm.

So not the pointy end, but the wide end.

'Kay.

Put the kitchen towel over and just give it some

(pounds heavily)

solid whacks until you hear the shell break.

(shell breaks)

Okay so, Alessia, did you get a good crack

in that claw shell?

I think so.

I don't know if it's enough to open it.

Do you feel like you could pull it open?

If not, give it another couple whacks.

Alright, I think I'm gonna try

to do it a couple more times.

(vigorous whacking)

I think I got it, yeah.

Yeah, we're good.

Alright, so try to pull the shell away from the meat

and hopefully you'll pull out the claw.

Yes.

And then we'll do the other claw.

Yes.

So then, you wanna do the same thing with the next claw,

so just open up the claw

and this guy might be a little tougher on the side

because this is the crusher

so the shell is a little bit more intense,

(claw cracks)

but pull the thumb back until you hear it crack.

Got it. And then wiggle it

towards you and away from you.

Got it.

And then just take it off again.

And that kind of loosens it up.

And then you have your second claw,

so you're gonna put that, again, wrapped

in your kitchen towel.

'Kay.

Fold it over and use your mallet again.

This side might take a little bit of a stronger whack, so

(pounding)

Until you see a big enough crack that you can

kind of pop the shell open.

I think I ruined the meat.

Did the meat get a little bit mushed?

It did get a little mushed, but it's still intact.

I mean, I took it out.

Alright, so now we're ready to move on to the tail.

Yes.

So, I want you to hold the tail

so that the red side of the shell is facing up

and wrap your towel around it again

and what we're gonna do is

we're gonna squeeze the outside edges towards the center

sort of like you're gonna wring something out.

I can't do it, I'm so weak.

That's okay, it's a little extra step,

it makes it a little easier to get out of the shell,

but don't str-- oh, there you go.

These are really horror film sounds.

And then you wanna slide the shear

in between the meat and the shell.

Like, right down the middle?

Right down the middle.

Just try not to cut through the meat

and then you can just open that shell up like a book

and take that tail out.

It looks like something bad happened

like, it looks like a murder scene.

Well, it kinda was a murder scene, earlier.

It kinda was a murder scene, I feel so bad. (laughs)

Okay well, well--

I mean murder is a strong word,

but we did dispatch the lobster.

(shells cracking)

Got it. That sounded good.

Finally!

We got it.

Just put that over on the parchment

and we're gonna do one last, like, extra credit thing

which is cracking the knuckles, okay?

Okay.

So now, pick up one of those arms again,

and you're gonna notice it's got like,

a really skinny flat end, and kind of a--

the very top part is kind of a wide, squared-off

knuckle-looking thing.

Just try to get those two pieces separated.

(pounding)

And then you wanna open that top nugget

and, like, get that top lobster knuckle out.

Which is just like the perfect little bite.

(laughs) It does look like a perfect little bite.

Alright, well that's fine.

I think you're stronger than you think.

That's what it is.

But when you're tapping it with the mallet.

That's what it is.

It's, I'm too strong for this.

So can you do the other one

and just get the other knuckle out?

Yes.

Cool. Yes, I can.

Oh my god, we're very close.

Are you done already?

Um, I'm waiting for you to catch up

I don't wanna steam ahead.

So, I don't know my own strength.

So we got our two knuckles

and the next thing we're gonna do is dice the lobster meat.

So, on the tray now should just be like,

your shells, the body, the carcass, the all of that,

and we can just, like, get rid of that and the towel.

So, now grab the bigger knife.

And whichever claw you think is prettier

just leave it whole,

'cause that's gonna be your, like, presentation claw.

And then the other one, just cut kinda into one inch pieces.

And then, take the tail and just cut it in half lengthwise.

And then you can just cut from there

crosswise into one inch pieces.

Okay. So, Alessia,

was that your first time taking a lobster out of the shell?

It was the first time, yeah.

I don't even know how to eat a lobster.

Like, every time I try to eat it, I don't know how to do it,

so, making it is that much harder.

Well, now you know.

Now I know.

Done. Great.

Finished.

All the meat's on the tray.

Just grab that plastic wrap

and that way the lobster meat won't dry out

while we're making our pasta.

Perfect.

Oh my god, you did the hardest part.

Is this the hardest part?

That was, by far, the hardest part.

Alright, then it's uphill from here.

Now, we don't need these crazy tools,

so you can just push those away.

You should have a square dish with three tomatoes

and a grater.

Yes. Okay.

So take the tomatoes onto the cutting board.

Instead of dicing the tomato, we're gonna do this cool thing

where we're gonna actually grate the tomato for the sauce.

So find, not the stem end,

but like, the little pointy end,

and just slice off a really thin little slice.

Just expose the tomato meat.

Got it, got it.

So now find the largest holes of the box grater

so hold the tomato in one hand

and hold your grater in the other hand

and as though you were grating cheese

you're just gonna grate the tomato.

Okay.

And all of the tomato flesh,

This is where I lose a finger.

is gonna get grated and most of the skin

is just gonna get pushed back so it doesn't go through.

Do you see how that's working?

Yeah.

Nice.

But it's great, cause like a fresh tomato sauce

you want it to be fresh,

and this way, you don't have to cook it for very long.

Alright, tomato number two?

Yes.

So take your second one,

cut end against the grating holes,

and just

(soft grating)

grate.

Alright, my number two tomato is done.

Okay.

You getting close?

Your second one's done?

Yeah.

But I, like, you know.

I've done this a couple times.

(laughs) Okay, I think we're good.

I don't know if I need to get all of it.

I think this looks like a lot.

So do that third one.

And when you're done with that

you can put your grater and all of those tomato scraps

in your clear bowl.

I've never heard of this trick.

It's a cool trick This is really smart.

I love this one.

Tell me when you're ready.

(laughs nervously)

They might have to edit this part.

She's grating.

She's great at grating.

Yeah, I think this is okay.

Yeah, this is good.

So now we're gonna make the sauce and cook the pasta.

And then we're gonna have pasta.

So you have your grated tomato.

And then over on the other side you should have

half a stick of butter, some sliced garlic,

there's olive oil and some, like, nice course flaky salt.

And then hit the power on that saute pan

and hit rapid boil.

Okay, so add your butter and let that start to melt.

And while that's melting, let's season our pasta water.

Lot of salt.

And once the salt is in, just go ahead and add your pasta,

hit start on your timer, and we're purposely gonna cook

the pasta a little extra al dente

because it's gonna cook more in the sauce.

Okay.

How's your butter?

It's almost there.

Great, so go ahead

scrape the sliced garlic into the pan

and give that a little stir.

So as soon as the garlic looks kinda translucent,

I can already smell it,

grab that pan of tomatoes,

pour them into the butter and garlic.

(sizzling)

Okay.

Yes, the sizzle.

Alright, so let's season out a little salt

and a few cracks of pepper.

And give it a little stir.

Alright, so now we're just gonna get our basil ready.

Where's the basil?

So this is one of those dishes that,

as long as you've got your lobster out of the way

the whole thing happens in the time it takes

to make the noodles.

So now grab a couple of,

what are these called?

Sprigs?

Yeah, a couple sprigs of garlic.

Garlic? I mean, oh my god,

a couple of sprigs of basil

and just pluck the leaves off onto your cutting board.

So, I heard that you're from Reggio Calabria, is that--

Yes, both my parents are.

Both of your parents.

Yes. So were you born there,

or were you born in Canada?

I was born in Canada.

Uh, my mom was born in Italy and my dad was,

kinda went back and forth, like,

born in Canada, raised in both places.

Do you speak Italian at home?

I do, yeah.

You do?

Yeah. Do you speak Italian?

Are you Italian, I didn't even know.

I'm Italian-American, but I'm like,

a couple generations behind you.

So my Italian's pretty bad.

Eh, that's okay.

But, when I'm in Italy, you know,

as long as there's like, food and wine on the table

I feel like my Italian's really good.

Yeah, there's no time to talk, you just

(laughs) Exactly.

Your mouth is stuffed with food anyway.

No time to talk, I'm eating cannoli.

Exactly. Very busy, very

Alright so, once you've got like, I don't know,

do you have a nice little pile of basil happening?

Yeah, I'd say. Okay, cool.

So then any leaves that look big to you

just tear them in half.

So one of my favorite foods comes from Calabria.

Really?

Which is the Calabrian chili.

So then, we have a jar of those

and we're gonna use that to spike our sauce.

Oh yeah, my dad has like 80 jars of these in the house.

Really? Yeah.

So this is really to taste.

So it depends on how spicy you'd like it,

but I'm gonna add about a teaspoon worth of chili

right into the sauce and give that a stir.

And then we can give it a taste and see.

The tomatoes are so good like this.

They're really, really good.

I'm such a good cook.

You're such a good cook.

The only reason I'm good is

because you're telling me what to do.

I mean, that's half the fun.

But you still ,it would be like, if you tried

to teach me to sing it would be a nightmare.

I don't think so, I think you've got some pipes.

I think you could do it.

Now, my last name might be Music,

but it's like the joke of all time

because I cannot hold a note.

And see if you can get a spaghetti out of there.

It is.

Pretty al, right?

Pretty al. Yeah, same.

Do you ever do the thing

where you throw it against the wall?

No, do you do that thing?

No.

Well, I did it once. I heard it's a myth.

Is it a myth? The people are like,

throwing spaghetti on the ceiling.

Let's see.

You have to try it.

Just one strand?

Wait, wait.

But if it

But then if it's ready and it sticks

Wait, so it's supposed to stick?

That's what they say, if it sticks, it's ready.

Alright, I'm throwing one up.

Oh! (laughs)

Did you throw it?

Yeah, it landed on my face.

Nope. Not ready yet.

Not ready yet, almost.

You can get rid of that one.

That's hilarious.

I'm tasting another one.

This is the best part of cooking.

I don't think it's ready yet.

No, me neither.

But see how watery the sauce looks?

There's like, a lot of sauce and it's not that thick yet.

Yeah.

So when we add the pasta to the sauce

we're gonna keep cooking it for another minute or two

so all the flavor of the sauce

is gonna get like, sucked into those noodles,

and then there'll be plenty of sauce to coast the noodles

and the lobster and the whole kit and caboodle.

Oh. (timer beeps)

Hold on.

I'm not looking.

Oh sorry, I could have done that.

No, it's okay.

So, alright let's grab another noodle.

Okay.

I feel like this is ready.

You do?

Uh-huh.

It's still pretty al.

It is, but I feel like she might be ready.

Yeah, I feel like once they're in the sauce.

Alright, but are you gonna throw one up?

Ready?

One, two, three.

Aw. Wait, I wasn't ready.

(laughs)

It stuck.

Oh man, try again.

It didn't stick.

I don't believe in this trick.

Alright, so now

grab your tongs,

the master becomes the claw,

and just go right in and grab that spaghetti

and put it straight into your sauce.

There's always gonna be a couple of protesters down there

and they're just, no matter what you do,

they're not coming.

Okay, think we got all of it.

So now use your tongs

like really stirring and tossing and coating the noodles

in the sauce and getting all that like,

spaghetti starch to release.

And then when you feel like the sauce is really

nicely coating the pasta, let's give it a taste.

Make any adjustments or feel like you need salt or pepper

or more chili. More salt.

Half of your basil,

just eyeball it,

and put half of the basil into the pasta.

Okay,

Ready, Alessia?

Yes.

It's lobster time.

Okay.

Grab your tray with the lobster

and then all the lobster is going into the sauce

even the nice claw that you set aside.

And then one last toss,

because the lobster's already cooked through,

we don't really wanna cook it now, we just want

the residual heat and the sauce to just heat it.

Okay, so now, using the tongs still,

go right onto that platter.

Oh great, half of it fell off.

(laughs)

Okay.

And just do that until you've got all your noodles.

You're gonna have pieces of lobster in there, too, for sure.

I have a lot of sauce down here.

You have a lot of sauce?

I have a lot of sauce.

I don't, that's my pro-

you know what went wrong?

I know what went wrong.

I think I rushed you with the tomatoes.

It was the tomatoes.

It was the tomato.

I knew it, I felt it in my heart.

I'm giving you my sauce.

Are you sure?

But, are you gonna have enough?

I have so much sauce.

Okay, good good good.

I don't even know what to do with my sauce.

Okay, that'll be helpful I think.

Okay.

Here you go.

I can look at you, right, yeah.

Thank you!

I think I'm gonna redeem myself here.

I think so, too.

I feel it.

And then the last couple things,

just the nice basil that you saved

you can add a few of those until

it looks the way you want it to.

Now take that bottle of olive oil

and just a couple little drizzles.

And there should be some nice flaky salt,

just a little pinch of that.

And then, I like it a little extra spicy,

this is optional,

but I'm just gonna dribble a little

Calabrian chili oil over the top.

You don't have to.

I'm gonna do it.

But I like it spicy, and I'm gonna eat yours so.

You have to eat mine?

Yeah.

No! Yeah.

I'm so sorry that you have to eat this, okay.

On the count of three.

Okay.

We're gonna turn around

grab your platter

Yes.

And we're gonna turn around

and it's gonna be amazing.

Okay. Okay?

Yeah.

Alright one, two, three.

Tadaa.

Oh my god, yours is so much better than mine.

Yours is amaz--

your claw is perfect.

I'm gonna put mine down for you.

Oh, okay, and then you take mine.

And then you, perfect.

Bon appetite.

Bon appetite.

I feel like we're on a date.

We are.

I'm getting a good piece of the lobster tail.

All of your flavors came together perfectly.

Really? Perfect amount of salt.

Perfect amount of spice.

Really? Would you lie, though?

I love how the tomato's coating the pasta

instead of swimming in the pasta.

You know what I mean?

You sure you're not lying?

No, never.

What would you say then, it's the worst?

I mean, if it wasn't great I would be like

it's pretty good.

But I'm telling you it's pretty great.

Then, thanks!

Okay good.

So where are you now on your scale of one to ten?

I know I said two to six,

I'd say I'm on the six side.

I think you're like the six flipped.

I'm giving you a nine.

A full nine.

Full nine.

I think you're lying, but I'll take it.

And that's just because I believe that like,

if you have something to strive for

you'll come back again.

Really? Yeah.

You'll have me back?

I would love to.

We just have to make farfalle.

I know, we have to do that so we

can wear little bow ties.

This is perfect.