Some like it not-so-hot

I'm a sucker. And people know it.

Last fall, a fellow foodie and I talked up a chili contest at work. I was a cheerleader. I thought it would be a fun idea.

Somewhere in the middle of the cheerleading, I wound up spray-painting a ladle gold for the trophy over the weekend. I became the leader of the whole she-bang even though I don't really even like chili. I mean, it's just a bowl of meat. I layer fritos and cheese on it before I can even stand it.

That said, Fellow foodie and I organized the event and we had 11 entrants here at the station who concocted a wide variety of chilis. We had chili with beer. Chili with turkey, red peppers, and mushrooms. Chili with brown sugar. Lots of chili everywhere. Mostly everyone got into the chili excitement. We set up the studio for the contest. We had our bosses judge. We had scorecards and samples for a people's choice.

My chili? On my first chili making attempt, I came in second place on the people's choice category. I made chili and simply added a spice packet that I picked up at a roadside BBQ stand somewhere in East Texas last month. It turned out good, but I still ate it with fritos and cheese.


There's already talk of the next cooking contest. Chocolate chip cookies. Salsa at the end of Summer. Pies. Mac and Cheese. Hotdish. (that's casserole in southern-speak) It will be hard to top the excitement here.