The 2011 Harvest Festival included the first annual Chili and Pie Cook Offs with proceeds to go towards fixing up the Grange kitchen. For a dollar a ticket (or a can of food for Food for Lane County) everyone had the opportunity to taste all the entries and vote for the best of the best.
With all the fantastic food we were all winners, but when all the votes were in Barry Rogers was declared the Mohawk Valley Chili King and Wendy Kimball became the reigning Pie Queen for the year.
The prizes for the two contests were;
-$50 In-Store Credit at Valley Restaurant Equipment
-Cooks Apron with Grange Winner Info (Tom still to have made)
-Plaque on kitchen wall for one year displaying our proud winners
-Most importantly, bragging rights
Also ran in pie were; Hilary, Julia, Julie Connell, Linda, Teresa
Also ran in chili were; Lance, Tom, Julie Connell, Laurie
Being the kindly monarchs that they are, they have shared the recipes that took home the blue ribbons, posted below.
Wendy’s Always a Winner Pecan Pie
- 1 cup light syrup
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup pecans
Mix all in 9″ pie shell @ 350 for 45 minutes
* aluminum foil edges till last 5 minutes
Note: real butter, real vanilla, homemade crust!
Barry’s Very Spicy Chili
Start with 2 lbs of chuck. Best to buy a roast and either have the butcher grind it – very coarse – or cube it into 1/2” cubes. I have a hand grinder that I use, and it works well. Hamburger grind is too fine and the meat will dissolve as the chili cooks.
Grey the meat in 1 Tbsp of canola oil. As soon as it’s grey (no more pink showing), drain it and set it aside. Don’t overcook it at this point.
In a large stock pot, add 32 oz. of beef broth, and 15 oz. of tomato sauce, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the meat, one Serrano and one Jalapeno pepper.
Add the first dump of spices (it works best to combine these while the liquid is coming to a boil and have it ready to go).
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 cubes Chicken Bullion
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground Arbol Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground Guajillo Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground New Mexico Chili Powder
Boil on medium heat for about 45 minutes. Squeeze the peppers into the mixture and discard them.
Add the second dump of spices (same comment about having it ready to go)
- 1 Tbsp ground Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Ground Arbol Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground Guajillo Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ground New Mexico Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Package Sazon Goya
Cook for 30 to 45 minutes over medium to medium low heat.
Check for salt and adjust if necessary.
I got the chili powders and Sazon Goya at the Plaza Latina Supermarket on 7th avenue in Eugene. I got the meat at Capella Market.