The Chili Cook-off Results Were.....

Saturday, we packed up the food, camp stove, cooking utensils, and us- to head for Larkins, a bar and restaurant located 20 miles east in a little town called Lowell. The purpose of the trip was to enter a chili cook-off they hold as a part of the towns' Fall Fest with our Wicked White Chili. The weather was good for this time of year, about 50F when we got there at 9:15AM. We (my wife and I) paid and set up our cooking area. The other two Buffalo Bros. I cook with were entering our Red Chili, as they have two catagories at this contest (white & red) and a Peoples' choice award, which is nothing more than a local getting all his friends to stuff the ballot box. The sun came out to make it a beautiful Fall day, with attendance by tasters way up from the previous 2 years. A bluegrass band played too long, too loud, and too badly for my taste. Any kind of music (blues, oldies, country, polkas, Celtic, etc.) played exclusively for 2-3 hours while you're trying to talk, cook, and pay attention to the business at hand will ultimately piss you off! The samples were picked up earlier than announced, which also cheesed me off- and because of that all the people waiting wanted chili early too! We made 3 gallons of white chili, and it was gone quickly. Rave reviews, and repeats make you feel good! Finally, they announced the winners: 1st White Chili-not me??!! 1st in red chili- The Buffalo Bros.! My buddies were flippin' out happy, as the prize was 4 tickets to the Denver vs Lions game and a trophy! 2nd in Red was our good friends Team Dragon Spit, and to ever beat them means your chili was really really good!
For those interested, the recipe for Buffalo Dicks' Wicked White Chili is as follows:
4lbs boneless, skinless chix breasts, cubed 1", sauteed in splash of chix broth
2lbs sweet Italian sausage, bite size pcs, browned
2 green bell peppers, diced to fingernail size
2 medium yellow onions, " "
6 Jalepeno peppers, diced small as poss. no seeds.
2 cans 15oz. chix broth
Put all in pot, season with 2 tbsp Mexican oregano,crushed, 3 tbsp crushed garlic, 1 tbsp white pepper, splashes of jalepeno hot sauce to taste, 2 tbsp celery seed, 1 tsp ground cumin. Bring to simmer, cover and simmer for 1 hr.
Add 48-60oz of cooked white beans(great northern), drained.
2 jars prepared alfredo sauce
1-2 tbsp ground cumin
1 15oz can of corn
Add hot sauce to taste
Simmer for 15 min. or until all is heated through. Thicken with masa harina if needed.
Top with grated Parmesan, or Romano (or both) stir in til melted.
Serve with grated cheese and sliced black olives.
Sorry,no pictures as I forgot my camera in the hectic loading-of-everything process.... Also, this cook-off gives you a gift basket from the local merchants that probably covers the entrance fee of the contest! Nice people, nice town!