chopped party: appetizer round

don't you love chopped?!?!

i do; i love the creativity of it and cooking on the fly

that's how my mom always cooked

throw some stuff together that's in the pantry and hope for the best

i guess i picked that up from my mom

sean is always saying - where did you get this from

which my answer is always - i just made it up - and then he laughs

my sister, not so much, she's an exactly by the recipe kind of cook - down to the brand the recipe calls for!

but i digress...

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so several of my friends came up with an idea of having a chopped party

in case you don't know the premise of the show...

chefs compete in 3 timed rounds where they're given mystery ingredients and a pantry to create a dish

round 1 - appetizer round is 4 chefs and the worst dish gets chopped

round 2 - entree round is 3 chefs and the worst dish gets chopped

round 3 - dessert round is 2 chefs and the best overall chef wins $10,000

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since we didn't have $10,000 to give away, our take on it was:

3 pairs of friends get together at one person's house

bring a basket with 4 mystery ingredients for one of the rounds (which was prearranged)

each pair could also bring a "ringer" ingredient, which was an ingredient only that pair had access to

draw straws to see what pair is cooking what round

create 6 plates of food (yes, you have to eat your own) in 45 minutes

rate each meal you didn't cook on taste, presentation, creativity and overall impression

first round - entree round - here's how it went down...

take the following ingredients:

• hot italian sausage
• smoked gouda
• craisins
• caramels

and turn it into an appetizer side dish - that's edible

this round included re-hydrating craisins, trying desperately to melt caramels, food processor action and, overall, making a big mess

don't forget, presentation counts - way to clean up those plates ladies!

oh, and how could i forget the use of their ringer ingredient - FUNYUNS!

oh and we also made one of the chefs present the dish

wish i could remember her description, but i don't, so i'll go with

hot italian sausage and craisin bruschetta with caramel cream with a side of micro greens topped with onion rings

doesn't that sound fancy....

what do you think - would you have tried it?

tomorrow - entree round (which we picked out the mystery ingredients for)