Dipped Chips Definitely A Hit
In the kitchen, as in the rest of life, sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.
Last Christmas, Phyllis Kintschi of Spokane had some leftover chocolate almond bark candy, and some leftover potato chips.
“I thought the chips might be good dipped in some (melted) chocolate,” Kintschi says. “It tasted pretty darned good.”
She remembered the “recipe” when the Snacking Across America Recipe Contest rolled around this spring. And her “Chocolate Dipped Chips” proved to be good enough to earn runner-up honors in the national competition, sponsored by the Snack Food Association and The National Potato Promotion Board.
“I just do it for the heck of it,” says Kintschi, who’s entered several recipe contests in the past but never won anything before. “This gives me a little incentive to do it again.”
Her reward was a month’s supply of assorted snack foods. The grand prize winner (with “Potato Chip Chicken”), on the other hand, received a catered July 4 barbecue party hosted by jolly “Today” show weatherman Al Roker. (Just imagine how many chocolate-dipped chips he could put away.)
Cherry pickers
In case you’re thinking that the chocolate-dipped approach would be a great new way to eat cherries, sorry — somebody’s already beaten you to that one.
But there’s plenty of room for truly innovative cherry ideas in the second annual “Cookin’ With Northwest Cherries” contest.
Recipes must make six servings and will be judged on originality, appearance and taste. There are two categories, sweet and savory (nonsweet), with the winner in each category receiving $500.
Entry deadline is Aug. 25. For an entry form, visit www.nwcherries.com, fax to (509) 453-4880 or write to Contest, NW Cherry Growers, 105 S. 18th Street, Suite 205, Yakima, WA 98901.
The French sheet
Finally, as all you Francophiles out there are well aware, today is Bastille Day, which commemorates the storming of the infamous Paris prison that started the French Revolution in 1789.
That also was the beginning of the French food revolution, according to the American Butter Institute.
“Before France’s independence, the most skilled chefs cooked only for French aristocracy,” an institute press release explains. “After independence was declared, many chefs started restaurants where the public could dine. From there, French cuisine gained popularity, and French restaurants gradually spread to locations around the world.”
Like we always say, let them eat coq au vin.