King of the Kitchen

This summer I developed a borderline obsession with the TV show on Food Network entitled, "Chopped". It is a cooking show where four chefs compete for $10,000 as well as the title of Chopped Champion. Each episode has three rounds: appetizer, entree, and dessert. They are given a basket of four different mystery ingredients each round that they are to include in their dishes. The time allotment for the appetizer round is 20 minutes, and 30 for entree and dessert. The judges (professional food experts) taste and critique their food and determine who is eliminated from the round. 
In October, I had the idea to host a home edition of Chopped--as my family also loves watching the show. My maiden name is King so we decided to title our competition, "King of the Kitchen". I typed up a script, planned out the basket ingredients, and gathered various things to bring to the competition. For the prize, I embroidered a white apron. I love alliteration (as I'm sure you've noticed based on the titles of my blog posts) so I decided to theme each basket around a letter. 

Appetizer - T
Tuna
Tangerines
Tortillas
Tater Tots (we precooked them)

Entree - C
Chicken
Cream Cheese
Chickpeas
Crackers (Ritz)

Dessert - R
Rolos
Rice Krispies
Rambutan (a tropical fruit)
Reddi Whip

The competitors were my sisters, my brother, and my sister-in-law. The judges were my mom, my grandma, and my husband. We set up the pantry, created four stations, and brought out utensils/appliances for use. I informed the chefs of the rules and the competition began! I video recorded several portions of the competition and compiled them into one video. 
All in all, the competition turned out well! At the beginning we had two cooks in stations in the kitchen, and two stations set up on the table. As we went on, the stations at the table were eliminated. The kitchen was a little tight at times but things worked out. It was a great bonding experience and we hope to make it into a tradition. Try it out with your family! 
My sister-in-law, NaTasha, was deemed the "King of the Kitchen" :) Below are some pictures. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxDqNVgrGw