JB and I love watching the cooking competition ‘Chopped’ while we eat dinner. Chefs whip up an appetizer, main course and dessert with basket ingredients that are revealed to them just before cooking, with a chef being eliminated after each round. It is really fun to watch and yell at the TV when a chef does something that we know the judges will not appreciate, like being too liberal with the truffle oil.

Inspired by the show, I joked that we should cook each other a dinner with ingredients from Trader Joe’s because we love the grocery store and because I am random like that. This would also give us the opportunity to try some TJ’s products we typically would not have picked up. Without the pressure of a time restraint and, disappointingly, without the thrill of winning a $10,000 prize, I set about bringing this meal to life.

Pretending our apartment was a private kitchen of sorts, I worked on the evite for this unique dining affair. I decided to use a brown paper bag background to tie back to the grocery store theme.

Once JB confirmed yes, I sent him this confirmation email, which I thought was quite amusing.

It was hard trying to decide what to make for each course. I felt the pressure of wanting to impress JB with something delicious and unexpected as I combed the internet and walked through TJ’s on several different occasions for inspiration.

I was also hoping to plate my dishes beautifully like the ones below but quickly decided to keep it simple enough to execute in our tiny kitchen.

I knew I wanted to use the signature Trader Joe’s grocery bag in some way for my menu. I decided to cut out the circular graphic and write all the dishes I would make on the other side.

Here are all the items I picked up at TJ’s. Not pictured the Italian blood soda and sparkling water I got last minute to make a welcome drink. I tried to select items that I never bought at TJ’s, i.e. the brioche toasts, the everything but the bagel sesame seasoning, green chiles and dijon mustard.

I also bought a few more ingredients at other stores. You may be say that is cheating as this is a Trader Joe’s inspired dinner but who’s checking? Plus, my dessert needed black sesame paste, which I would not be able to get at TJ’s – it is too Asian. Maybe in due time like the Korean Style beef short ribs.

DINNER IS SERVED AT CASA DE IBU

WELCOME DRINK

Italian Blood Orange Soda topped with Sparkling Water and Mint

TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS: Italian Blood Orange Soda, sparkling water

INSPIRATION: I had this drink at a friend’s gathering and thought it was so pretty and refreshing - perfect for the summer. You can add vodka to take it up a notch.

APPETIZER

Smoked Salmon Toasties with “You are my everything” Bagel Seasoning

TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS: Wild sockeye smoked salmon, dijon mustard, everything but the bagel sesame seasoning, brioche toasts, light cream cheese

INSPIRATION: I tried the toro toasts at Brooklyn’s Shalom Japan and thought they were so charming – all the wonderful flavors and textures of a lox bagel in miniature toast form. I chopped up the smoked salmon and seasoned loosely based off of Ina Garten’s salmon tartare recipe. I then sprinkled with Trader Joe’s wildly popular “Everything but the bagel sesame seasoning,” green onions and capers.

MAIN COURSE

Salsa Verde Chicken with Summer Corn Salad and Our Usual Rice

TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS: Boneless chicken breast, green chiles, salsa verde, lite shredded mozzarella cheese, roasted corn

INSPIRATION: I turned to YouTube for my main course. I found a simple baked chicken recipe from Journey to Health using canned green chiles, salsa verde, and cumin. I paired the protein with a corn salad inspired by Ina Garten, jasmine rice and lime wedges. I realized after dinner that I forgot to add the plantain chips for some crunch. Oh well…more for snacking in front of the TV.

DESSERT

”B.S” Panna Cotta with Blackberries and Crushed Sesame Seed Candy

TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS: Milk, heaving whipping cream

INSPIRATION: When I tried the black sesame panna cotta at Washington, D.C.’s Daikaya, all my tastebuds started to sing. It was such a simple and not-too-sweet dish that satisfied my undeniably Asian platter. I tried following the recipe from Cooking with Dog, but as I did not have a kitchen scale, figuring out how much gelatin powder to use would prove to be quite tricky. I realized I did not add enough gelatin when my panna cotta would not set so I had to just freeze it.

TAKE TWO!

The flavors of my first panna cotta were good, but I really wanted to get the texture right for my second attempt. For this one, I added a bit more gelatin powder which did the trick - the panna cotta was delicious! A few days later, I tried making it a third time and I got the gelatin measurement wrong again and it was way too firm and had tiny beads, which were not pleasant. Who knew gelatin was such a sensitive ingredient to work with! *Shaking my fist*

MIGNARDISE

(I was curious to know if there was a word for a small bite after dessert, similar to how an amuse bouche is a small appetizer that is enjoyed at the beginning of a meal. I found the word mignardise, which are tiny pastries or sweets, usually served with coffee)

”A Dutch Ending”

TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS: Caramel bites

INSPIRATION: As JB is from the Netherlands I wanted to create something inspired by his birthplace. My last item of the evening was inspired by two classic Dutch treats - the bitterballen and the stroopwafel. The former are deep-fried and breaded balls filled with a savory filling of beef, veal, or chicken. I thought it would be fun to make something that looks like a bitterballen, but with all the sweet caramel goodness of a stroopwafel wafer.

MELTED HOT MESS

I thought this would be the easiest thing on my menu to make as all I need to do was to shape my Häagen-Dazs Caramel Cone Ice Cream into a ball and then cover it with chopped caramel bite crumbs. Just a bit of DIYing. But, I had such a hard time keeping the ice cream from melting - I did not realize my freezer had spots that were not as cold as the others. Such a fail!

Here is the one that looked the most decent to serve, dressed with a Dutch flag that I saved from my Holland trip.

It was tricky switching hats as hostess, server, cook, and dinner date. As the server, I jokingly asked JB, “I have not seen your dinner date all night, is she ok?”

I crack myself up.

All in the all, the dinner was a success and I had so much fun flexing my creative muscles in the kitchen. I definitely would like to cook another dinner with just Trader Joe’s ingredients and try some more complicated dishes. Maybe Trader Joe’s can sponsor that meal. *wink wink…lol*

I always say that “nothing is easy” and while cooking this dinner I was reminded of this saying. I had to put together a excel sheet to keep me more going insane. The paper would eventually be covered with notes and a bit of middle school math to figure out how to convert grams to ounces for my black sesame panna cotta.

During this cooking process, I felt an new appreciation for all those who work in the food industry. The food may be the final output, but running a restaurant takes a tremendous amount of skill to plan and develop a thoughtful menu, to source quality ingredients while sticking to a budget, to run a smooth operation in the kitchen and in the dining room, to everything else I have no idea about. I will try to think about that the next time I am quick to poo-poo a dish because it was not to my liking.

Til next time, happy cooking, happy creating!