Today's Entertainment

Melanie Scrofano of "Wynonna Earp" on Syfy "Lately, I've been stuck on 'Impractical Jokers.' It's bite- sized. You can watch a clip for three minutes, then it's off." M of Ea "L stu Jo siz a m Bill Pullman of "The Sinner" on USA Network "I am a history buff, so I'm making my way through Ken Burns' series 'The Vietnam War.' " Zachary Quinto of "In Search Of" on History "I've been watching this British design show called 'Grand Design.' I just kind of like went off on a tangent, nothing current or hyped up, but that's what I've been watching recently. Yeah, I haven't really been, because I've been on this night schedule doing a play and so my days are full, and then I'm doing a play at night, so I haven't really been watching much television lately." Z " H " B 'G k ta o w r r I' s a a p r m Some days on set are better than others. For Eddie Jackson, host of Food Network's Sunday tournament "Ultimate Summer Cook-Off," a highlight came in the episode that airs this week, when he and judges Damaris Phillips and Jamika Pessoa got to chow down after the five remaining contestants each prepared a six-foot-long lobster roll. That's 30 feet of lobster meat, if you're scoring at home. "That's a school bus," Jackson notes. "... Every one of these lobster rolls is going to be totally different, (the chef 's) own take of what a lobster roll is, coming from their background, their culinary POV. And so it was probably the craziest challenge that I gave them, was to make a six-foot lobster roll. It's the same size as me." In the four-episode series, chefs of disparate backgrounds must take on two rounds of summer culinary challenges that test their skill and creativity, from hot dogs and hamburgers to lobster rolls and tropical fruit, to determine whose dish best exemplifies what summer is about. The winner takes home a $25,000 grand prize. Jackson, a skilled barbecue chef and owner of a Houston food truck park, was impressed by what he saw – and tasted. "We did an amazing job of casting and bringing in some amazing chefs from all different backgrounds," he says. "We have classically trained chefs, we have chefs that cook on food trucks ... . And on the flip side of that, we have someone that has a Vietnamese and Thai background, so everything is fish sauce. So it was an interesting cast and (interesting) being able to see what they could do with their interpretation of barbecuing and grilling and hanging out in the backyard." Eddie Jackson What book are you currently reading? "I'm currently reading two books, actually. I'm reading a book by my friend James Briscione, it's his newest cookbook called 'Flavor Matrix.' And the second book I'm reading is by a guy I used to play football with for the Patriots, Benjamin Watson, and he has a book called 'Under Our Skin.' " What did you have for dinner last night? "I'm working on my cookbook that's coming out next year so I'm doing a bunch of recipe testing. One of the recipes is a banh mi salad, so I ended up eating that for dinner last night." What is your next project? "My next project that'll be coming out around Christmastime is 'Christmas Cookie Challenge,' which I've already filmed. But my cookbook will be coming out spring of 2019." When was your last vacation, where and why? "I haven't had a vacation in over a year but I'm planning on going to Jamaica in October to hang out for seven days because I need it." BY GEORGE DICKIE A creativity battle is on in the 'Ultimate Summer Cook-Off' Page 8 August 6 - 12, 2018

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