Journey to the SHS Chili Cook-Off
Back in 2019 my son was shadowing the school while some of the parents got a tour of the campus. During that tour we were walking around the HS football field when our tour guide mentioned an annaul Chili Cook-Cff. My ears perked up and all of a sudden I started asking pointed questions about the competition. I wanted to know how many participate, are the lower grades encouraged to join in and what about the crowd size?
My boy gets accepted to SHS and I promptly form a team of 3rd grade parents. Many of which did not want to cook the chili but, rather, hang out. We decorated our booth according to the theme we’d chosen. At that event there were some great chilis offered. One was a Texas chili with only one guy working the booth, a solo act. Another was an Indian inspired chili, a recipe I have replicated at home to my kid’s and nephew’s delight. Let’s just say I was inspired.
In the crowd of that first Chili Cook-Off was a friend and neighbor, Toby. He was excited to see that I had a table and quickly mentioned that we should do it together the following year. That was beginning of the PV Dads Chili Cook-Off Team. We went all over the place with flavors each year chosing a different recipe and then cooking it multiple times subtracting/adding to it along the way till it was The One.
The Chili Making
Having cooked so many chilis now certain things just make sense without thinking about it. For example, all meats typically need to be cooked a certain lenght of time to yield an ideal doneness. Even further, how much the meat needs to be cut down to in order to create the ideal bite is well understood. This has eased the process of iterational chili cooking where at least a half dozen attempts are made before honing in on the ideal recipe. Once that is reached the recipe is recorded: first through logs then in a final writeup.
As a group we decide which way we want to go: traditional or unique. I have to say the team does a great job chiming in, strategizing and critiquing. Hope that my chili inspires you to find a recipe then make it your own and, even more so, win with it!