Chilli Cook Off

Chilli and winter go together.  I love a bowl of chilli on a crisp winter day.  I can't say it felt much like winter on Wednesday when our church held their annual chilli cook off.  It was a beautiful 65 degree January day, but that didn't dampen my spirits for the event.

 I've been excited about it for weeks and with a little schedule tweaking, Paul and I cleared our evening.  The pastor has been bragging about his recipe for several Sundays while wearing his chili pepper necklace. He was determined to conquer the first place winner from last year.  

The categories were:

• Chilli from a can
• Chilli from scratch
• Salsa
• Cornbread
• Brownies

I've never cooked for competition, but thought it sounded fun.  So I called up my friend and well renowned cook, Emilie.  Sure enough, she had a tried and true cornbread recipe.  Finding those special southern ingredients proved to be a challenge in California, but I decided to adlib and go for it.  I also made a batch of peanut butter brownies.

Each chilli pot had a stack of small, numbered styrofoam bowls beside it.  It's amazing how different they all were.  Some had steak, some sausage, some ground beef, a variety of beans and so on.  Our table was covered in these small bowls as we sampled each one.  

 

The cornbread, salsa, and brownies were also numbered.  As I added my cornbread muffins to the table Pastor David said, "I am competing against you, but I can pray you come in second."  

How do you pick?

You try a little of each!

When the winners were announced, my cornbread muffins came in third!  (Thanks Emilie!)  Sure enough, Pastor David was second.  When he received his ribbon he said, "You lost to a better man."  

It's undeniable that fellowship is sweet, but it also has some spice. :)