We love watching Chopped at our house. The whole family gets into it, so when we were coming up with Summer Bucket List items, having our own chopped was at the top of the list. Summer is flying by and I realized on Saturday that we needed to do it this week. Hannah pointed out that Monday was her only day off of work and that was Callie's first day on a new job, but we went ahead and held 3 rounds of Hannah vs. Jacob. First they had to do some ritual for good/bad luck. Jacob reports that the prediction was right and Hannah did have good luck.
Round 1: The Appetizer
Basket ingredients: bacon, fresh pineapple, potato rounds, and pickles
The first round was the most fun for everyone involved. Drew, Camden, Emmie and I all sat and watched while doing a skillful analysis and commentary on what the chefs were doing. It was hilarious to hear what came out of the mouths of my little people.
Hannah's plating station - in the middle of round 1 I realized that this was lunch and they actually needed to make 6 plates!
Jacob's rather unusual plating station. Don't tell the health authorities.
Hannah's bacon-wrapped pineapple appetizer on a bed of potato crumbles with an artistic sauce. I saw her throw the pickles, pickle juice, and carrot from the pickle jar into the blender with some oil and I thought I might be sick. But it actually was just a nice dipping sauce for the potatoes. If she had fried the pineapple the entire dish would have been heavenly.
Jacob's plate: pineapple cooked in bacon grease, a potato-round breaded fried pickle, and an apple slice - "to round things out".
Everything tasted good. Unfortunately, with 4 judges split down the middle we had to call a tie. The judges that voted for Jacob stated that his plate was better because the different foods didn't touch each other. Unanticipated, but I would expect nothing less from young children.
Trying to look serious and intimidating, but really we're nice.
Round 2: The Entree
Basket ingredients: garden-fresh kale, frozen cooked shrimp, egg roll wrappers, and firm tofu
While the busy chefs worked, the junior judges because restless and I needed to keep them entertained. I figured it was the right time to check another thing off of our summer bucket-list: making homemade butter. More about that here. By the time our butter was ready, we had some food to eat. Both entrees were tasty, but we docked Hannah for her appetizer-sized servings, so the round went to Jacob. Both of my kids made kale chips. So proud.
Tofu and shrimp burrito with kale chip
Egg-roll wrapped shrimp bites with alfredo dipping sauce and kale crisps
(The shrimp bites were so good that I made them again with the leftovers. I thought that I put the leftover alfredo sauce in the freezer, and a couple of weeks later I pulled it out for Hannah to put in on some veggies and noodles...only I accidentally gave her frosting instead. Oops!).
Round 3: Dessert
Basket ingredients: graham crackers, anjou pears, cashews, and coconut milk
Ready to duke it out for the tie-breaker!
Jacob threw everything but the cashews into the blender for a shake. We were a little frightened,
but the shake actually turned out pretty good.
Hannah went big and was determined to make ice cream, but we don't have one of those fancy ice cream machines, so she made "ice cream soup" with a cashew garnish and a pear cinnamon sauce on the side on a bed of graham cracker crumbs.
Callie got home in time to test-taste the dessert round with us and we determined together that while we enjoyed the creativity and hard work of both contestants, Hannah was the over-all winner due to her transformation of the basket ingredients and her creative presentations.
Closing statements:
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