Chilly and Chili Cooking for Winter Comfort

When Winter strikes in all it's icy glory and the temperature outside is frigid and Springtime seems like it will never arrive what is there that can bring a little cheer and warmth. The comfort of a good home cooked meal with your family and friends comes to mind. Good Company and Comfort Food. What are the best Comfort Foods to warm up your Winter. A Bowl of Home-Made soup like Minestrone or a plate of Home-Made Stew or - the King of all Comfort Foods - A big helping of your favorite Chili. After all, who ever heard of a Stew Cook-off.

A great bowl of Home-Made Chili makes a great meal any time, but in the dead of Winter it is the perfect food, a hearty, warm, stick-to-your-ribs great meal.

Chili is easily the most personal of all foods. There is so many ways to make it and almost nothing is off limits. You can use the traditional beef but it is equally perfect with turkey, lamb, chicken or pork. The meat can be ground or cubed or you can make it with no meat at all. You can make it with or without beans. It can be mild or so hot as to make you sweat, depending on your tastes and preferences and for whom you may be cooking.

Read More about Chilly and Chili Cooking for Winter Comfort

see resources for:

bbq cook off

chili cook off

How To Cook Shrimp

When you want to cook shrimp but have never done it before you will need to know how to cook shrimp. There are many ways that you can use when cooking shrimp. The way that you choose will depend on the way that you like to do it. You can find out very easily how to cook shrimp when you look on the internet or buy a cookbook about shrimp. However, here is how to cook shrimp to help you get started.

One thing before you learn how to cook shrimp is that you want to buy shrimp that is frozen with their shells still on if you can. You don’t have to but the shells will help to protect the meat of the shrimp and add more flavor to it. You can either cook the shrimp with their shells off or leave the shells on and then remove them after you have cooked them.

I am going to tell you how to cook a pound of shrimp so if you want to cook less or more than a pound you will have to find out how. It will be pretty much the same for all batches of shrimp, you will just have to use more or less of everything to cook it.

Read On How To Cook Shrimp

related resources:

bbq cookoff

chili cook off

bbq cookoff Different Types of Barbecue Grills

All Americans would readily agree with one thing - one of the best ways to spend time during the weekend is to arrange a barbecue party in the backyard. A hectic week at work gives you enough reason to throw a barbecue party at your place, where, besides your family even close friends are invited. Opting for a barbecue get- together is as much about playing the perfect host as it is about de-stressing and relaxing.

But behind all the enjoyment lies the basic joy of cooking which remains incomplete if the wrong kind of cooking equipment is used. When you decide to throw a barbecue party, there are different types of barbecue grills that you can choose from. Initially, the sheer range of barbecue equipment might confuse you. This is precisely why you should have a fair idea about all possible types of barbecue grills.

On average, the market for cooking equipment offers five different types of barbecue grills to choose from. These types of barbecue grills are charcoal grills, smoker grills, propane grills, natural gas grills and multiple fuel grills. All the mentioned types are adequately suitable to be set up in your backyard. But if you are looking for something inexpensive then you should probably opt for a charcoal grill.

Read more about Different Types of Barbecue Grills

Learn more about bbq cook off

Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser Or Cake Bake-Off Fundraiser

One of the best ways to generate a lot of money for your upcoming fundraiser is to generate buzz and excitement - a great way to do that is with a competition. Get the members of your group, school, church, team and community involved by creating a competition they can sink their teeth into.

A chili cook-off or cake bake-off fundraiser is a fun way to get the competitive juices flowing. First, set a date and some guidelines for your chili cook off or bake-off. You can set any rules you want and you want to give enough time for your group members to share the news of the cook-off or bake-off with as many people as possible. But you don't want to let people know too far in advance that they forget about it. About 2-4 weeks notice is a good amount of time to publicize your fundraiser.

Then, as a group, create posters, flyers, anything your members can think of to generate buzz and competitive spirit. It would be great to go to a local newspaper to do a story about the upcoming competition. You will want to sell tickets to the cook-off or bake-off at a minimal fee. You can also ask local businesses to sponsor different competitors of the competition - the businesses could pay an entrance fee for the cook-off or bake-off competitor to generate funds. Have each cook or bake-off contender make enough chili to feed 12-16 hungry people. Take the lead and get a few volunteers to be the first to sign up to compete.

Read on Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser Or Cake Bake-Off Fundraiser

By Jenny Ann

Cookoff USA’s Second Stop is Thomaston, Georgia

No April Foolin’ around here… our second stop for Cookoff USA will be… right here in the Peach State! We’ll be truckin’ it over to Thomaston, Georgia for the 2nd Annual Smoke on the Water BBQ and Bluegrass Festival, April 3rd and 4th! It’s a benefit being held for the Local Volunteer Fire Departments and the Harbor House. 60% of the proceeds will greatly help both these organizations, so here’s your chance to do something nice, for something very tasty in return!

If you love the outdoors, this is gonna be an exciting weekend for you…

On Friday, April 3rd, This Smoke on the Water Festivity will be smokin’ hot… with live entertainment AND good food. And on Saturday the 4th, you can expect a full day of live Bluegrass and barbecue from grillmasters all over the south! We’ll be interviewing local musicians, cookoff attendees, and those who claim to have the ‘magic touch’ on the grill!

Continue reading Cookoff USA’s Second Stop is Thomaston, Georgia

Good painting is like good cooking: it can be tasted, but not explained

Cookoff USA’s First Stop. Mobile ALABAMA!!!

Hooooo-weeeee! Cookoff USA’s first stop is right around the corner! On March 13^th and 14^th, we’ll be attending the Eighth Annual BBQ Championship and Hog Wild Festival in Mobile, AL.

This event (being held at the Greater Gulf State Fair Grounds) is hosted by AIG American General, and it benefits the United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile organization.

More than 70 local and national teams will be firin’ up their grills in hopes of winning trophies, prizes, and best of all… cash money!

In addition to the good eats, there will be live music on two stages, activities for the young’uns, barrel races for everyone, and even some tasty cooking demonstrations!

Admission is only $10 per person and all children under 12 are FREE.

If you plan to enter the BBQ Championship…bring your grill, your apron, and your best recipe. There will be three divisions you can enter: Pro, Semi-Pro, and Backyard.

If you plan to attend just so you can “pig” out… then bring your friends and their appetites, ‘cause there’s going to be plenty to eat…all weekend long!

The event schedule for this swine ‘n’ dine gathering is as follows:

2009 BBQ & Events Schedule

Thursday, March 12, 2009
8:00am - 5:00pm	Team Check In (All Divisions)
6:00pm	Swine & Dine Affair/Silent Auction GGSF Hochlander Building Additional tickets may be purchased at the door for $30 each
6:30pm	Buffet Begins
7:00pm	Program Begins
8:00pm	Silent Auction Ends
8:00pm - 10pm	Team Check In (All Divisions)
Friday, March 13, 2009
6:00am - 2:00pm	Team Check In (All Divisions)
1:00pm - 3:00pm	Table Captain Class (In Judges’ tent)
3:00 pm	Festival Gates Open
4:00pm	BBQ Championship & “Pro-Am” Cook’s Meetings
5:00pm	Seafood/Sauce Judges Meeting
6:00pm	Sauce Turn In
6:30pm	Seafood Spectacular Turn In
Saturday, March 14, 2009
6:00am - 8:00am	Team Check In (“Backyard” only)
8:30am	“Backyard” Cook’s Meeting
9:30am	Judges’ Sign In Begins (All divisions)
9:00am	Festival Gates Open
10:00am	“Backyard” & “Pro-Am” Judge’s Meeting
10:30am	Championship Judges’ Meeting
11:00am - 2:00pm	People’s Choice Competition (Backyard Division Only)
11:30am	Championship Turn In Begins
4:30pm	Awards Ceremony (Midway Stage)

Cookoff USA will be hammin’ it up with grillmasters and BBQ lovers of all ages.

We’ll be shooting on-camera interviews, promoting the 2^nd stop of our 2009 cookoff tour, and tryin’ to get folks to divulge that secret ingredient that makes their BBQ stand out above the rest!

For more information on the Eighth Annual Championship and Hog Wild Festival, visit: www.bbqmobile.net .

We hope to see you in Mobile for this affair that promises not to be a… “boar!”

I’ll be blogging throughout our entire trip to ‘Bama, so stay tuned for our adventures…

Your Grillin’ Girl,

-Stefanee

Learn More About Cook Offs Here