Fowl Fun At Cooking Contest
Lots of folks will be going for the gold in Atlanta next year, when the Olympics come to town.
Betty Noel of Spokane already gave it a try, but she came home empty-handed - and happy.
“I had $25,000 worth of fun, but no cash,” says the 71-year-old Noel, who represented Washington in the National Chicken Cooking Contest.
The $25,000 first prize went to a Georgia woman (fowl play?) for her Baked Spicy Pineapple Balinese Chicken, coated with gingersnap crumbs.
Edwina Ruth Gadsby of Great Falls, Mont., finished fourth and took home $2,000 for her Key Lime Thai Chicken.
“My chicken turned out as well as it ever has,” Noel says of her Gold Coin Chicken recipe (which we printed on April 26). “It looked so pretty on the platter.”
But she understands the judges’ decision. “They were the ones I would have picked,” Noel says of the winners.
Recipes from all the state champions and more are available in a nifty little book for only $2. Send a check or money order to: Chicken Cookbook, Department NBC, Box 307, Coventry, CT 06238.
Chunk of cash
If you’d like to try your hand at competitive cooking, the Pace Picante Sauce “Pick Up The Pace” contest offers a respectable payoff.
Original recipes must use at least cup of Pace picante sauce or thick and chunky salsa. Categories include main dishes, soups and stews, chili, dips and salads.
First prize is $3,000, or a San Antonio vacation for two.
Send your recipe and a front label from any Pace jar to: Pace Picante Sauce Recipe Contest, 60 East Chestnut #402, Chicago, IL 60611. Postmark deadline is May 31.
Mom’s the word
If writing is more your style, and you’re 16 or younger, check out the Mother’s Day contest from the Contadina tomato people.
Send an essay of 50 words or less on why your mom deserves special treatment on Mother’s Day, along with a label from any Contadina Pasta Ready Chunky Tomato product, to: Contadina Mother’s Day Contest, P.O. Box 6779, Beverly Hills, CA 90212-6779. Grand prize is a family vacation to Disneyland. Entry deadline is May 26. < The morel, the merrier
It’s time to start harvesting wild mushrooms, and last year’s fires and this spring’s rains should combine to produce a bumper crop.
The U.S. Forest Service offers guides to fire locations, forest maps and booklets on how to safely pick and prepare mushrooms. For further information, call 353-2574 weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
MEMO: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.