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Chili Cookoff
Inviting all chiliheads -
Host your own chili cookoff
Cool fall weather can bring on chili pangs, even in folks
with the most discriminating palates. This is evidenced by
the plethora of chili cookoffs around the country this time
of year, many of which are concentrated in Texas.
The first documented chili cookoff took place in 1967 in
Terlingua, a remote ghost town in Texas' Big Bend country
that was revitalized by its annual contests. The idea spread
like good gossip, and since that time, communities large and
small have been hosting annual competitions to determine who
makes the best chili. Check out a list of upcoming cookoffs
sanctioned by the Chili Appreciation Society International-last
year they sanctioned over 450 events.
If you don't happen to live near one of these chili championships,
and don't have the inclination to saddle up your mule, you
can host your own chili cookoff. Get a few of your friends
to rustle up their favorite chili, or assign them one of our
recipes here. Award prizes for the best-tasting chili, best
cook's costume, and best-named chili-descriptive words like
buzzard's breath, mouth-of-hell, buffalo carcass, and saloon
dog should earn contestants extra points.
A variety of chili styles keeps the menu interesting-perhaps
a traditional chili con carne (that means no beans), a chili
with beans, and a vegetarian chili. Offer an assortment of
side dishes and items for people who like to serve their chili
over something: two or three kinds of beans (pinto, kidney,
or black beans), rice, pasta, cornbread, tortillas, soda crackers,
corn chips, or guacamole salad.
Mandatory toppings include chopped onion (green or white),
sour cream, shredded cheeses, and an assortment of TABASCO
brand pepper sauces-red, green, garlic, habanero, and
chipotle.
Decorations can be as simple as bowls of red, yellow, green,
and orange bell peppers, baskets of dried corn on the cob,
and strings of dried chiles and braided garlic. Hang a few
strands of Chili
Pepper Lights, and you're in business.
Chili Cookoff Recipes
Bowl
of Red (Chili Con Carne)
Chipotle Chili
Con Carne
Cowboy
Chili with Beans
Walter McIlhenny's
Chili
Gringo
Green Chile Stew
Vegetarian
Chili
Baked
Potatoes with Chili and Cheese
Chuckwagon
Chili Pie
Guacamole
Tangy Sangria
Sweet and
Spicy Brownies
Story © Sandra Day
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