Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 25: Grape Jelly, Mushroom Soup Lobster Bake

Ingredients for the appetizer from episode 25 were:  Lobster, cream of mushroom soup, matzoh crackers and grape jelly.  The first thing I thought of were those rice casserole dishes one sees at Hong Kong style diners (cha chaan teng) and some dim sum places.  So why not do something similar with quinoa?  Quinoa, after all, […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 23: Chicken Sliders with Parsnip and Cabbage Slaw

For the appetizer round, the mandatory ingredients were chicken breast, stout, parsnip and jelly rolls.  A little bit weird, but not a complete throw-off.  Not that difficult to figure SOMETHING out, either.  What I’d make would be sweet and sour chicken sliders topped with parsnip slaw.  This would work very well both as a passed […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 22: Turkey with Maple Fudge

Maple fudge was one of the items in the main course basket, along with soft pretzels, chili fries and corn on the cob.  So what should one make with that?  Why not pulled maple turkey over pretzel and fries cake?  Topped with corn and kale salad? Maple fudge – would you use it for a […]

Chopped Canada, Season 2, Episode 21: Rabbit Burgers with Rainbow Green Bean ‘Fries’?

Ummm, sure?  Yes, rainbow coloured “fruit ring” cereal (think Froot Loops) was one of the mandatory ingredients for the main course of Episode 21.  This was along with rabbit legs, spicy pickled green beans and port.  Yes.  What a weird basket.  Difficult, too.  But one needs to use the imagination in order to win, right?  […]

Chopped Canada, Season 2, Episode 20: Microwave Cake Elk Roulade?

So what do you make with ingredients such as elk, microwave cake (mix), saba and fenugreek?  Roulade, filling the elk with fenugreek, ricotta, spinach and a bit of cake.  The dish would be served with some orzo and some vegetables. Would you be able to make a main course with MICROWAVE CAKE?? (GROSS!) First of […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 16: Coconut Grape Sausage Yogurt Cheesecake

Well, if you can have maple bacon donuts, why not breakfast sausage cheesecake with coconut flakes?  As a dessert?  I know it sounds crazy, but it can work.  Of course, this would be next to impossible to make on any Chopped episode, since cheesecake really takes more than a day to create!  The last (and […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 15: Goji Berries and Bran Muffin Stuffed Chicken

Mystery basket ingredients for the main course were not all that weird this past airing.  They were whole chicken, malted soda, dried goji berries and raisin bran muffins.  Thus, the first thing I thought of was stuffed chicken, using the goji berries and muffins.  The malted soda could be used as a marinade for the […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 14: Butter Swordfish and Fava Bean Chow Fun?

Due to being out of the country for a family wedding, I actually did not see the episode until Tuesday, so I had to write this up very quickly.  It was very interesting, considering it was the first-ever episode in franchise history where someone was not able to finish a course due to injury (and […]

Chopped Canada Season 2, Episode 13: Licorice Donut Cake Pops

I think this is only my second post using the dessert basket!  The remaining two contestants were to make a dessert using sprinkle donuts, pomelo, peanuts and licorice babies (licorice bits).  I had first thought of making some sort of deconstructed dish, but it just dawned on me…cake pops.  Sure, they’re not really a “thing” […]

Chopped Canada, Season Two, Episode 10: Chicken Hotdog Casserole?

Also known as “student casserole,” this dish traditionally consists of ketchup, hotdogs, bad cheese and pasta.  However, to make it just a bit “fancier,” (as if student food can be fancy – LOL!), I’m going to toss in a few other items, all in the appetizer basket of a recent episode of Chopped Canada.  These […]