Anybody that eats chili cant' be all bad!
Hidden
:
Thursday, May 25, 2006
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
“The secret of making superior chili lies first in the ingredients and second in the genius of the cook.” By H. Allen Smith – The International Chili Society
AND THE WINNERS ARE:
1ST - EXTREME MOM (points 312)
2ND - ENDUROKING (points 304)
3RD - CATFISH OF NITECRAWLER-N-CATFISH (points 299)
As you can see there was a spread of only 13 points with the top 3 placers. This was a very close competion!
Many THANKS to all the cook-off entrants and to all of our guests.
This is a separate event from GeoWoodstock 4, but is being used as an early, early bird, meet and greet at Cedar Hill State Park, at the large pavilion.
The posted coordinates lead to the park gate. Pick up a map to find the pavilion.
We’re having a chili cook off on Thursday, May 25, 2006 from 7 PM until 10 PM. We’ll have prizes and trophies, so come and show YOUR genius! You don’t have to enter the contest to attend. We’d appreciate the contestants making plenty for judging and then to share so that our visitors can share in the Texas legend – Chili! All are welcome, we’ll need someone to eat all that chili and cast their vote for the best! Please feel free to bring shredded cheese, onions, crackers, corn chips, tortillas, sour cream, etc. (your favorite chili fixin’s). Drinks and desserts are also welcome!
We’ll start out with a taste test for judging and while the votes are tallied up, we’ll commence to eatin’.
Please let us know if you are 1) entering the Chili Cook-off [beans welcome!] 2) attending 3) bringing fixin’s (please tell us what); we’ll be able to keep the page updated.
Now onto the history of Chili and Chili cook-offs!
While there’s been talk that Los Angeles is the chili capital of the world, the title is claimed by San Antonio and Terlingua, and more lately by Dallas.
The first documented chili cook-off took place in 1967 in Terlingua, a dusty remote ghost town in Texas' Big Bend country that was revitalized by its annual contests. The official chili sanctioning body in Texas is the Chili Appreciation Society International, CASI. There is only one kind of chili recognized by CASI: Texas red., as the rules state: "NO FILLERS IN CHILI - Beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients are not permitted." (In Texas putting beans in chili has replaced horse thievery as the number one hanging offense.)
What it takes to make a true chili is the subject of fierce debate, but the answer depends largely on where you are from. The required ingredients are meat (we're talking tradition here) & chiles or chili powder, & usually garlic, cumin, and oregano.
At one end of the chili spectrum are the traditionalists, or purists, otherwise known as Texans, who prefer (what else) Texas-style chili. That translates to no beans, and on this point they are rigid. Chile con carne means "chili with meat," not "chili with beans." They do, however, like their pinto beans on the side. This group also insists on using chunks of beef, or sometimes coarsely ground "chili grind." To keep the chili pool pure, the entry rules for many cookoffs in the Lone Star state disallow the use of ground meat.
Once the above criteria are met, every other ingredient is subject to dispute: Are onions used in authentic Texas red? What about tomatoes or tomato sauce? And thickener? If yes, flour or masa harina? But never beans!
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the advocates of Cincinnati-style chili, which is popular in chili parlors in Cincinnati, Ohio. This unique chili was created by a Greek immigrant in the 1920s who was reportedly having difficulty selling Greek food to Americans at the time, so he concocted a "chili" made with ground beef, chili powder, and Middle Eastern spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, mace, coriander, etc.), which was then served over a mound of spaghetti. Optional toppings included shredded cheese (three-way chili), chopped onion (four-way), and kidney beans (five-way).
Whatever your penchant, the Chili Appreciation Society International offers some guidance in its motto: "The aroma of good chili should generate rapture akin to a lover's kiss”.
Outlaws and Chili: It’s been said that Frank & Jesse James fell prey to the taste of chili. Fort Worth had a chili joint just north of town, and the James boys rode in there just for the chili, vowing never to rob their bank because "anyplace that has a chili joint like this just oughta' be treated better." "Anybody that eats chili cant' be all bad.” supposedly said of Billy the Kid.
For more enjoyment of your chili cookoff experience, following are some suggestions to follow.
1. Arrive in pickup truck, the bigger the better. If you don't have one, borrow one. You may substitute an SUV if it is the size of a small house, get 3-7 miles to the gallon and made in the good ole USofA. What ever you drive, it must have a tailgate.
2. Ice chests. The more and the bigger, the better. These should be filled ice & Dr Peppers, preferably bottled in Dublin, Texas.
3. Lawn chairs; at least two, any style.
4. Tables are optional; that’s what a tailgate for.
5. A Texas flag or two.
It's also important to know what to wear. Dress for comfort. Blue jeans are always acceptable and, in warm weather, shorts. Sandals, sneakers or hiking boots work for footwear. Or you can go barefoot. A ball cap with some sort of logo is also acceptable. The logo should be for a beer brand, a tractor brand or a football team (high school or professional). T shirts of any type with any logo or picture on front works. All shirts should have sleeves of some sort or someone might mistake you for a redneck and they won't share their beer and pig skins (the hot kind) which could be hazardous in case of a beer or food emergency. And that's how fights get started.
For women it's the same as above but tighter and shorter. (Note: if you are going to go "western' with the a cowboy hat, jeans, pearl snap shirt, boots and a dinner plate-size belt buckle then you'd better be ready to defend your cowboyness. Failing to do so is how fights get started. Most Texans don't dress like that anyways.)
Don't worry about your Yankee accent. At cook-offs everyone's welcome and everybody's equal. And please don't try to talk Texan. You won't fool anyone and that's how fights get started.
Dropping names is a good way to make friends and influence folks at a cook-off. Willie Nelson, George Jones and Bob Wills are good names to throw down. Don't ever mention Nashville. That's how fights get started.
And don't discuss politics. You might get a hold of a Yeller Dog Democrat and they're kinda touchy these days.
Most importantly, eat as much chili as you are able to and have as much fun as possible.
UPDATE 5/20/06
Cookin' Contestants:
1. Jeepers2
2. NiteCrawler-N-CatFish
3. stupid&lucky
4. Dark Star
5. sodajerk
6. medmanton
7. Extreme Mom
8. GPSTX
9. enduroking
10. Jeff of Team Tx_Secsy & Jeff...
Hmmm.....looks like 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are sewn up! Oops, with the addition of Dark Star, not anymore - the competition begins!
Bringin' Fixin's:
Texas Dreamweaver - lots of FRITOS
Riddlers
TGBear - Dessert
Team Dinosaur - Dr. Pepper yummm
Leapin'Lee - DUBLIN Dr. Pepper yummm - yummm
Caraloopy - bowls and Fritos
Team Shydog - cheese (hopefully shredded)
AB4N - Little Debbie snack cakes
TX Diva - diet sodas, cookies, and sharp shredded cheese
AbbysGrammy - rolls, butter, non-caffiene drinks
bloodhoundgrl - onions
reg3 - crackers & TUMS
txoilgas - bowls & spoons (for 200)
enduroking - bowls & spoons
rock&crystal - "heat"
klce - a mess of Jalapenos
stupid&lucky - dessert plates (350)
Sandbassking & queen - sample bowls & spoons
Mama Cache - 1/4 sheet cake
DayHunters - cheese, napkins, water and DP
Sweet T47 - napkins and HOMEMADE tamales
jtee - dessert or nachos
cheefy - crackers & water (hmm, sounds like a prison diet!)
Attendees: rough count as of 5/23/06 - 119 hungry people!
WOW - looks like we may exceed 100 by the time Thursday rolls around! Please remember that when you're fixin' and shoppin'.
Anyone that can bring ANYTHING to contribute will be greatly appreciated.
If anyone is unable to bring something, if you'd like to pitch in some $$$, email me with the amount you want to throw in the pot and I'll try to round out the extras.
05/22/06 UPDATE
With the number of people coming (wow - more than I expected), I don't think everyone will be able to judge. After everyone has had a taste for judging, there won't be any left to make a meal -LOL -
I'd like to pick a small panel of Judges to actually perform the "JUDGING" of the chili. The Judges will not be any of the cooks, and I'd like to have Judges from all over, at least 1 representative from each state (plus Germany) that is attending the event.
ALMOST TIME!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)