When I cook in the humble kitchen in my apartment—which has no dishwasher—I sometimes feel like I'm really roughing it. And for those of you whipping up dinner after dinner in a cramped bachelor pad, you may feel like there's only one thing standing between you and restaurant-quality chow: counter space.

On Extreme Chef, the Food Network competition show, some of America's most talented chefs are tasked with making four-star quality dishes amid a range of serious environmental and physical challenges, such as torrential downpours and hail storms. They don't even have the luxury of buying ingredients at a market—they dive for fish or locate ingredients on a treasure map.

And that was all just last season. Season 2 premieres tonight on Food Network at 10 p.m. Eastern, with a new format. Over the five-episode series, the same set of seven chefs will compete week after week until they're whittled down to one winner, who will take home $50,000.

Host Marsh Mokhtari says the chefs on the show have inspired him to upgrade his own culinary techniques and be more adventurous in the kitchen—from properly scoring the fat on a duck breast to preparing sea urchin himself.

The most eye-opening lesson he’s learned?

If you're not sure how to make something, try anyway. "Even if I don't know the right recipe to make a plum reduction for duck breast, I know it has plums in it," Mokhtari says. "I would assume there's a liquid, maybe a red wine—if I have port, I'll put that in—or cranberry juice." Put your own twist on it, and you might end up with a recipe that lasts a lifetime.

When Mokhtari was a child, he and his father tried sushi for the first time at a food court at Harrod's in London. They loved it—so they worked on a fish recipe that replicates the look of sushi, without seaweed, which they didn't have. The recipe, below:

Salmon Roulade

What you'll need:
1 6 oz salmon fillet, skin removed
1 4 oz fillet white fish, such as sea bass
2 Tbsp dill, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cup white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parchment paper
Butcher’s twine or string

How to make it:
1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Place the salmon filet on a piece of parchment paper. Scatter the dill over the salmon and season with salt and pepper. Place the white fish filet in the center of the salmon filet lengthwise.
2. Roll the fish in the parchment so that it looks like a long sushi roll. Tie it off every 2 inches, as you would with a roast. Cut between the tie marks so that it looks like sushi pieces.
3. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and bake until both fish fillets are cooked through, about 35 minutes.
4. As the fish bakes, prepare the sauce. In a small pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until golden, three to five minutes. Add the cream, lemon juice, and white wine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine.
5. Remove the fish from the oven, snip the strings, and remove the parchment paper. Plate the fish and drizzle with sauce. Makes 2 servings.

—photo of Mokhtari courtesy of the Food Network 

Via: MacGyver Meals With Extreme Chefs Marsh Mokhtari