Melissa D’Arabian won Season 5 of “The Next Food Network Star” on Sunday, but what you may not have known was that since the finale taped (about two months ago, so we were told by the network), her new show, “Ten Dollar Dinners,” already has taped six episodes. The show premieres this Sunday, August 9 at 12:30pm ET/PT, and on the it Melissa will demonstrate how to create flavorful and interesting meals for a family of four for under ten bucks.
DArabian, who recently moved from Keller, Texas to Kirkland, Washington, beat out runner-up Jeffrey Saad of Los Angeles to take the title of Next Food Network Star, and we had the chance to participate in a conference call with Melissa this past Monday. Here are a few of the highlights of what she had to say…..
On her new show’s premise: “The challenge isn’t how to feed a family of four hot dogs on ten dollars. The challenge is how to feed them shrimp or a well-rounded meal that has several components. I think you’re going to be really surprised by the ingredients and by the recipes.”
They began the episode by having the three finalists meet Emeril Lagasse at his restaurant, and Emeril announced their challenge for the week–in honor of the upcoming film, “Julie & Julia,” the contestants would have to create their own ultimate 3-course meal for some very distinguished judges. Each would have $1000 to shop as well as the help of a sous chef. After shopping (and Jeffrey being way under budget), they arrived back to find out who their sous chefs would be….naturally, former contestants….Jamika, Michael and Katie, who would be paired with Melissa, Debbie and Katie, respectively. 
