CHOPPED?

It's Wednesday night and I was just was not motivated enough to go the Store. Taylor was hungry and cranky so I thought maybe I could make something from the fridge rather than ordering pizza. Unfortunately, the fridge had that all too familiar look.

For some reason, I started thinking about Chopped, a cable show where the "contestants" are Chefs who are given a random series of ingredients and 30 minutes to create a spectacular meal. The ingredients are typically something crazy like duck, M &M's, plantains and potato chips. They inevitably come up with a chocolate and plantain reduction for the duck which is pan fried with a potato chip crust. It usually looks fabulous. But that's not my life.....not tonight anyway.

Food on Hand:

1/2 pound of frozen medium shrimp.
Brocolli
Asparagus
Garlic
1 Red Pepper
Carrots
10 apples
Chicken Stock
Jasmine Rice

You know what I am thinking right? Stir Fry. We all know that it is the thing to do when you have basically nothing to eat.

So I start the Jasmine Rice which takes 20 minutes to cook and start thawing the shrimp. In the meantime, I remembered a sauce that would be perfect for the stir fry: Combine in a bowl, 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of Rice Wine Vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Canola Oil, 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of ginger powder or fresh ginger if your fridge gives it up, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.  Stir and put aside. I did not have any corn starch but you could add a bit to stiffen the sauce if you have some on hand.

Dice the red pepper, carrot, 2 cloves of garlic. Cut up the brocolli and asparagus.

Heat some Canola Oil in a pan at medium high heat. Toss in garlic and cook for one minute or until tender and then add the shrimp. Salt the shrimp and saute it until it is pink. (2 -3 minutes). Remove the shrimp from the pan and add a bit more oil. Toss in the carrots for 2 minutes or so, add the other vegetables and stir fry for about 5 minutes or until the brocoli is just tender.

Throw the shrimp back in and add the sauce. Toss together for about a minute or two. Serve over your rice. If you are like me tonight and do not have any red wine, serve with Berry Juice.



I Made This

 I am on a roll now. So I think why not toss some apples in brown sugar and put them over ice cream?

I heated 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan and added about 1/8 cup of brown sugar. Once both had melted, I tossed in 2 apples, peeled and cubed. I added about a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cajenne pepper. I tossed the apples until just soft on the outside but crispy and warm when you bite in. I then poured the apples-sauce over the ice cream.  It was sweet, warm and spicy. A perfect finish.

After dessert, I anxiously wait for the Judge's verdict. Taylor looks up from her bowl and glances in my direction.  After contemplating my fate for a moment, she calmly informs me that I had not been "chopped."