Chopped Night 2013
December 23rd was the third annual Chopped Night at the Van Spronsens’ house! (In case you’re not familiar with the idea, each family member is given three ingredients and a course, and must make a dish appropriate to that course that uses all three ingredients.)
This year we all had to bring our A-game, because there were three additional challenges to make the evening that much more special:
- We had a theme! This year’s theme was Italian.
- We were each given four special ingredients to use in each dish instead of three.
- We were asked to provide a drink pairing with each course.
It ended up being a tremendous success! Here are the culinary creations our family came up with:
Antipasto #1 (Doug)
Required Ingredients: Prosciutto, Friulano cheese, pears, balsamic reduction
Prosciutto Pintxos
Drink Pairing: Ford Cocktails (by Ivan)
Antipasto #2 (Jon)
Required Ingredients: Bocconcini, lemons, chard, Campari tomatoes
Fried Panko Bocconcini with Chard Crisps & Tomato Chutney
Drink Pairing: Burdock Dandelion Soda with Mint Sprig (by Leah)
Insalate (Matt)
Required Ingredients: Radicchio, olives, orange, egg
Italian Chopped Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Drink Pairing: Festive Flips (by Shari)
Primi (Leah)
Required Ingredients: Squid ink pasta, ricotta, artichoke hearts, foccacia
Sicilian Pasta with Foccacia Crumb
Drink Pairing: Pinot Grigio
Secondi (Ivan)
Required Ingredients: Tenderloin, porcini mushrooms, fennel, rosemary
Dijon Pork Tenderloin with Merlot Porcinis & Grilled Fennel
Drink Pairing: Chianti
Cantorini (Shari)
Required Ingredients: Farro, anchovies, sundried tomatoes, grey squash
Farro with Squash & Tomato
Drink Pairing: Chianti (served alongside previous course)
Dolci (Elyse)
Required Ingredients: Apple, pear, vanilla, basil
Apple & Pear Galette with Basil Disaronno Whipped Cream
Drink Pairing: Lillet Prosecco Cocktails
Nice work, everyone!