It’s Chili Time!

So, I know we’ve been talking about this chili madness for a couple of months.  We finally participated  in the cook-off this weekend.  Totally unique experience, totally fun!

Anyway, we woke up at the you know what of dawn, ready to take on our competitors.  We had packed the car two days before.  Apparently, we take being prepared very seriously.  We got to RFK Stadium at around 7:30am on Saturday, even though the actual cook-off was supposed to start at noon.  There was the set-up.  There were the “cooks’ meetings”.  There was lots of official chili talk.  And the fire department did make a cameo to make sure we had all the required props.  It was almost like being on a Food Network Challenge.  Ahhhh, if only!  Our dream. 

At 10am sharp, we were allowed to turn on the gas and start chopping.  The people next to us were nice enough to give us tips since they were part of the Freestyle contest, which allows for the preparation of the chili the night before.  They had won the Best Taste award in 2007 and were very nice.  A bunch of home brewers…awesome group of people.  We were part of the red chili contest, which meant we had to cook everything right there on the spot.  A bit stressful, if you ask me.  I ended up chopping about 15 chili peppers…and of course mistakenly touched my eyes.  And cried and cried.  And cried.  Then made the mistake of touching my eyes again.  And cried some more.

When noon came around, we had been letting the meat, chili peppers, onions, spices, and other “secret” ingredients simmer for 2 hours.  The official judging took place at 2pm…sharp again.  And we finally found out the results at around 5pm.  Let’s just say we didn’t come in first, BUT the judges’ comments were very positive. And, the people who had paid to get into the contest seemed to love it too.  The 3 gallons we made were gone in less than an hour!

Next year, we’ll be ready to take on the incumbents!   Karma Chili will most certainly be back with a vengeance.  Yum. check out more pictures here

-k