Chopped.

Highlights from Becca's CHOPPED night, June 2012

Have you seen the show Chopped on the Food Network?  In this show, chefs are given four random ingredients and must create one meal using all of them.  I asked Tony to yell out four ingredients at random (he didn't know what they why I was asking him this) and he yelled back "Grapefruit, Mint, Worcester Sauce, and Eggplant"...the most random group of ingredients I had ever heard of! Thanks a lot, Tony.  Using these four crazy ingredients as our guide, my friend A and I set out to create a gourmet meal using them all.  Here is what we created:

Pan-fried Cod with Mint-Tzatziki Sauce &

Millet Crusted Eggplant  

with a Grapefruit-Worcester Reduction 

Served with Italian Prosecco &

a Dark Chocolate Tasting Plate

While this meal was edible, it wasn't our finest creation. It was rather bland and photogenically ugly (everything was white and boring-looking, hence our garnishes of cherry tomatoes and cilantro, added just to give the plate some color). The best part of the meal, however, was the grapefruit-Worchester reduction.  Surprisingly (so, so surprisingly!) this idea worked really well.  We boiled the grapefruit juice down to a thick sauce and it ended up being very yummy. I might even consider making it again (especially since I now have a whole bottle of Worchester sauce on hand. I didn't have any so I had to buy one just for the Chopped soiree). I've included the recipe below. I believe it would taste swell on crackers or with some cheese (for those who like sweets with their savory cheese). 

Grapefruit-Worcester Reduction 

1 grapefruit, juiced (or 1 cup grapefruit juice)

1 tablespoon Worchester sauce

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Combine ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat until thick and syrupy.