Chili Cook-Off

It's that time of the year once again...... the annual chili cooking contest at the local college. So off we went, with our friends J and S. I must admit that I was praying for rain today, but it turned out to be a bright and sunny day. J and S had never been to the cook-off, so I made sure my husband told them how informal it was--- an outdoor event on the college campus, with paper cups and plastic spoons for chili tasting, and the Board of Health Rules and Regulations may or may not be adhered to by the chefs.

I don't eat chili, and even if I did, sampling dozens of chili recipes cooked by student groups just wouldn't be my cup of tea. I usually do, however, get to taste the cornbread recipes there... squares of which are given with some of the chili recipes. My husband doesn't much like cornbread, so that's where I come in. He gets the chili, I get the cornbread. The perfect marriage.

There were nearly 20 separate chili booths this afternoon, each decorated with their own theme-- the History Group (with team members dressed in Shakespeare-like outfits); the "Good Morning VietNam" booth, with VietNamese students dressed in traditional clothing; a booth that looked like it belonged on a tropical island, with chunks of pineapple mixed into the chili; another booth with team members dressed in baseball shirts; still another with a booth shaped like a pirate ship, its members wearing eye patches and balancing fake parrots on their shoulders.

The VietNam students made spring rolls (50 cents each) and they gave away free samples of a wonderful tossed vegetable salad--- carrots, cucumbers, lotus and palm hearts, cabbage, crushed peanuts, ground ginger.... not only was it pretty to look at but it was one of the most delicious salads I've ever eaten. I was so impressed with their spring rolls that I bought a dozen to take home for dinner (no cooking tonight).

My husband and our two friends sampled all of the chili recipes, and filled out their ballots for the ones they thought were the best. There were also ballots for the most decorated booth and most innovative costumes.

The highlight of the afternoon, however, was a free cornbread given out by one of the tropically-decorated booths.... their cornbread was baked in mini-muffin pans, and it was, by far, the best cornbread I've ever tasted. We spoke to one of the students at the booth and she told us that her grandmother baked the cornbread. Her grandmother wasn't going to tell anyone the exact recipe, but all the food served at the cook-off has to list the ingredients.

So, into that delicious cornbread mixture was creamed corn, cheddar cheese, green bell peppers, onions, butter, eggs, and (are you ready for this?)--- crawfish. And that's not a misprint. That delicious cornbread had chopped-up bits of crawfish in it........ absolutely moist and just the best cornbread, every last crumb of it.

I've got cornbread mix and creamed corn in the pantry, and crawfish tails in the freezer. There's also cheddar cheese in the fridge, but I don't have green bell peppers. I don't think the recipe would be the same without the peppers, so I'll wait till I go to Kroger and get some. And then I'm going to try and whip up that cornbread and see if it comes out as good as that girl's grandmother's.

I was happy, of course, that my prayers for rain weren't answered. I would've missed that cornbread.