Posted: January 4th, 2015 | Author: Jonathon | Filed under: Food | Tags: chopped | 1 Comment »
Welcome, friends and family members! On December 28, 2014, the family Van Spronsen held its fourth annual Chopped Night!
This year, two exciting twists were added:
- Each set of ingredients was placed in a bowl and each person drew a set randomly, so that it wasn’t known which course or ingredients would go with each person!
- Ingredients were grouped by colour, and each person received a different colour!
As usual, the creativity was off the scale, and the night was a smashing culinary success! Well done to all participants! (Trust me, all the food was delicious too.) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: January 6th, 2014 | Author: Jonathon | Filed under: Dinner, Food | Tags: chopped | 1 Comment »
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!