In the little town of Rocklin, CA there is a tradition among some fiesty & spicy locals: The Annual Chili Cook-Off!
Since this was to be my first year at the event, and a great way to really bond and get to know my neighbors, I decided that the best impression would be to come in and snatch that 1st place ribbon from the current reigning champion and tout it in their faces! Muhahaha! Okay, maybe not the best impression, but atleast a strong one...
Having never made chili, and considering James lost 10 lbs. the first year we were married due to my cooking skills (or lack thereof) I wasn't a bit surprised when, after announcing my entry, he just raised an eyebrow and said, "This ought to be fun..."
Scientists probably make the best cooks, in my opinion. All that precise measuring and mixing and combining of ingredients seems right up their alley. On the other end of the spectrum, there's me: "a pinch of this" and "a dash of that" and "Oh, that looks about right". A recipe is merely a list of suggestions, if you happen to have all of those ingredients. I'm notorious for "improvising" when running short on something which almost always leads to heartburn and forgotten leftovers. :)
That being said, knowing that I was to be judged on this masterpiece, I decided to actually follow a recipe to the letter and hope for the best. To find the World's Best Chili Recipe, I went to the experts, of course: whatever showed up first on Google's search of the "world's best chili recipe" and voila! I had the secret weapon that ensured my success! Off to the grocery store!
Seven pounds of meat later, I found myself doubting the greatness of the recipe. And doubting whether I ever wanted to look at that much raw meat again - yuck! But I plunged forward. Saute this, boil that and an hour later I was ready for the so-called "easy" part of letting the whole mixture simmer for 3 hours. Doesn't sound so bad - oh, wait - you have to stir it every 5 minutes! What I put up with for a little fame and fortune...
The cool part was that I was able to use my Dutch Oven for the very first time since we received it as a wedding gift almost 5 years earlier. Mine has little feet on the bottom of the pot, probably for sitting over hot coals, but also fit great right over my gas burner on top of the stove. Who says you need to go camping to enjoy one of the these bad boys?
"And the award goes to..."
With over 100 locals in attendance, this year's event was heating up. The categories were Spiciest, Thickest, Most Original, and Best Overall. I was up against some delicious competition, especially the spicy chicken chili. (which I secretly really enjoyed!) Crockpots, stew pots and my Dutch Oven cluttered the table with swarms of people going back for 2nds and 3rds. Surprisingly, my chili went pretty fast. I actually saw a little kid licking the ladle after he saw that nothing was left in the pot!
I felt a warm feeling deep inside that my dreams of glory might be coming true - or it was the onset of heartburn - either way, I was nervous as the judges announced that the votes were in. Slowly, each category found it's winner. I sat in my cold, metal folding chair, clinging to my last ounce of hope when...VICTORY! I had done it! The Best Overall Chili 1st place ribbon was awarded to my temperamental, time consuming, meat-laden masterpiece!! Was it the mouth-watering chunks of tender steak or surpise bite of sausage morsels that swayed the judges? Probably both. :) If they had allowed me to make an acceptance speech, I would have shared my success with my inspiring mentor: Google. After all, it led me to the now award-winning "World's Best Chili Recipe."
Want the secret to my success? Click here for the World's Best Chili Recipe. *Note: Recipe serves 10-20 people and I ended up only using 3 lbs of stew meat and 2 lbs of sausage.
Some Chili Links:
International Chili Society
The Chili Cookoff with John Voight
The Great 2006 Miller Lite Chili Cookoff
