re: Has anyone done their own “Chopped Challenge”?

Yes - Peppermint

I steamed my carrots with peppermint and made a peppermint and butter sauce, then served them with crushed peppermint sprinkles. They were very good.

I am still unable to figure out the meat I used. I guess it was chorizo, but I made a reduction of Sam Adams and peppermint, caramelized onions with a bit of it and them marinated the meat for a few minutes and cooked it in the pan I had used for the onions, deglazed with my Stout/peppermint reduction.

This was a nice tasting dish, that did not win. My first entry, which was a sweet and sour stir fry, won that week. I can't remember who won the other weeks, or what they cooked. All in all, there were more than a few good looking dishes cooked.