On Sunday, we went to Will's Northwoods Inn to watch the Superbowl. I first discovered Will's when I was running and saw a giant moose statue outside of the bar, and as I got closer I saw there was also a bear. When I peeked in the window I saw an antler chandelier and a giant moose hanging on the wall. I knew I would like this bar. When I got home, I checked out their website and found out they were having a chili cook off on Superbowl Sunday! Since I've taken up cooking during the past year, I decided to take a risk and enter! I slaved away in the kitchen on Saturday trying to make the perfect chili. I used a combination of recipes from my dad, Rachael's mom, and Martha. I was nervous because I didn't know how I would keep my chili warm since I didn't have a crock pot, but I got even more nervous when I walked in with my Rachael Ray pot and everyone else had crock pots. Will's was nice enough to lend me a crock pot for the night. The chilis were arranged on the pool table so everyone could sample them, but there were 5 official judges. Everyone's chili also had unique names, so I named mine Michigan Style Chili. There was some tough competition, but my chili placed 5th among 10! I was aiming for at least 3rd place, since there were cash prizes for 1st-3rd. I asked the head judge how my chili fared against the others, and 1 judge gave me a vote for 1st place! Although I didn't take home a prize, I still got an Elmur Fudd hat and free t-shirt just for entering. We also indulged in some great free snacks (hot dogs, ribs, cheese curds, popcorn and lots of chili) and we all regretted it this morning. We even managed to watch a little bit of the Super Bowl! If you would like to see more pictures of the cook off, click on the link to your right that says My Pictures!
Rach and I waiting to hear who the winners are!
Even Kali, who is a vegetarian, tried some chili!
My new friend trying some of my chili. His won 2nd or 3rd place and he named it "Blowout Chili", after tasting it I knew why...
Looks like you girls were the hit of the party. I love cheese curds.
ReplyDeleteWay to go, having never made chili before and to enter a contest - I'm impressed. Now I expect you to perfect your recipe over the next year and get in the top three next time! Sounds like you had fun, by the way, what are cheese curds???
ReplyDeleteHow could anyone vote YOUR COOKING 5th? They must not be aware of what good chili tastes like!
ReplyDeleteCinnamon!! jodie's dad swears by it for his chili. Says it throws the judges off. Better give it a try. Way to go.
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