Chopped Canada 25: Chicken Skin? Digestive Cookies? Instant Mash?

Well, at least they weren’t all used in the same round.  Chicken skin was up first, along with green beans, prunes and sweet apple cider.  I probably would have stuffed the chicken skin with prunes, quinoa and tomatoes, serving it with a bean salad and an apple cider dressing, but that would probably have taken […]

Chopped Canada 24: Jiggly Stuff and Pickled Eggs

I have no words.  “Strawberry parfait” (it looked more like a gelatin parfait packaged in a mold, but it was hard to tell.  Anyway, it looked gross) was one of the mandatory ingredients in the competition.  However, it wasn’t for the first round.  In Round One, the chefs had to create a dish using ostrich, […]

Chopped Canada 23: Of Critters and Tropical Fruit

What would you make with escargots and onion ring chips?  It is, in a way, taking “high and low” to a whole new level.  Well, maybe not that high, since the escargots were canned, not fresh, but still.  Those two ingredients, combined with cranberry juice and chanterelle mushrooms were the four mandatory items for the […]

Chopped Canada 22: Marshmallow Cream, Lamb Kidney and Cotton Candy

The ingredients weren’t used in the same round, mind you, but they were all mandatory ingredients for episode 22.  I think the combinations from last night’s show were the most interesting (read: gross) to date, and it’s a good thing.  It’s Chopped Canada, after all. Tahini is a kind of sesame paste/sauce/dip The episode had […]

Chopped Canada 21: Kohlrabi and Canned Pressed Ham

Yes, along with the kohlrabi, “canned pressed ham” is excatly what you think it is, without the brand name.  They had to use it.  In the first round.  I bet everyone was grossed out.  The other ingredients for that round were quince past and white wine.  Out of the four contestants, I’d say that the […]

Chopped Canada 20: Yeast Extract and Spruce Tips

I think out of the 20 shows so far, combinations last night were one of the tamest.  In addition to the yeast extract, contestants were required to use mussels, instant coffee and portobello mushrooms for the appetizer round.  The dishes weren’t all that innovative.  All four of them went a traditional route and steamed the […]

Chopped Canada 19: Candied Fruit Rolls, Mustard and Other Icky Stuff

This time, the gross ingredients mostly came in the first round, with candied fruit rolls and yellow mustard in the same basket.  Nothing against yellow mustard, but it’s just not as good as the grainier kind.  Anyway, the contestants, two from Toronto and another two from Calgary, set out to create a starter using those […]

Chopped Canada 18: Chicken Thighs, Lemonade and Burdock Root

Wait, didn’t they have chicken thighs LAST WEEK?  Anyway, it was on the ingredients list again this time (first round), and unlike the previous episode, contestants actually cut the chicken into smaller pieces so that it would cook quicker.  Unfortunately, judges were still left with undercooked (and therefor inedible) chicken.  Other ingredients in round one […]

Chopped Canada 17: Cheese Puffs, Chocolate and Corn Dogs?

Not only was there a lot of junk in the mystery boxes, but last night’s show also featured one of the most “mature” candidates yet.  Chef Philip was in his early 60s!  Not that age really matters, of course.  But it was interesting to see the difference in dishes he made and the other candidates, […]

Chopped Canada 16: Cupcakes, Cinnamon Hearts and White Chocolate

How sweet!  There was definitely something dessert-focused in each round of the 16th show.  I have to admit that the ingredients seemed a bit more challenging this time – cupcakes with liver for the main?  Unlike many of the previous episodes, I can’t even begin to think what I’d do with such a mix.  But […]