Miss USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella is one of eight celebrity chef-testants taking part in Rachael Ray vs. Guy Fieri's "Celebrity Cook-Off," which debuts Sunday night, Jan. 1, at 9 p.m. ET on the Food Network.
Alyssa's Quick Bite, "I learned to be patient when baking. I could never wait for the oven to heat up."
Alyssa's All-Star Technique:
"I learned this from Guy: When making a caramel sauce (or any sauce with sugar or butter), heat the pan on low and just let it simmer for awhile. As it bubbles, the liquid will reduce and become gooey and rich."
Alyssa's Behind-the-Scenes Dish:
"We got very competitive. It was always friendly, but each person was out to win. If someone needed an ingredient that I was using, I would say, 'Yeah, you can borrow it, but my dish is going to be better.'"
Was Rachael or Guy more competitive?
"When Guy was judging, he would really think about each of our dishes and how he would have changed it to make it better. He and Rach would always follow up one negative critique with a positive."
Alyssa before the show, "I only ever made my white chocolate and raspberry swirl cupcakes to bring to the Miss USA pageant."
And now, "I experiment with my batters and swirl in liqueur, like Grand Marnier."
