Get your game face on for beef, chicken contests
If you have an original recipe that showcases beef, this could be your year to win a top prize in the National Beef Cook-Off.
The contest seeks recipes that have a simple approach reflecting the Sonoma-style diet, using few ingredients that complement the beef while adding color, texture and flavor to the dish. Recipe entries should shine with great taste, health and convenience and should yield four to six servings.
The categories are: Live Well With Fast and Convenient Grilled Beef; Teens Cooking With Beef; and Lean Beef in Nutrient-Rich One-Dish Meals. Fifteen finalists will compete in Sonoma, Calif., this fall for the $25,000 grand prize. Three category winners will each receive $10,000; three runner-up winners will each receive $5,000.
In the 2007 competition (the cook-off is held every other year), Shannon Mitchell and twin daughters Danielle and Riley of Naperville won the Kids in the Kitchen category for their Crispy Beef Lettuce Wraps With Wowee Sauce (pictured).
The deadline to enter this year's competition is March 31. Head to beefcookoff.org for complete rules and entry information.
Souper bowls: If chicken is more your thing, enter a favorite soup recipe in the Chicken Souper Bowl.
Now in its 13th year, the contest challenges home cooks from across the suburbs to dust off their kitchen playbooks in hopes of being crowned a Souper Star.
This year's event will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Midtown Athletic Club, 1760 N. Hicks Road, Palatine, and is sponsored by Whole Foods Market Palatine. The winner will receive a $100 Midtown Club Cash Card and a $50 gift card to Whole Foods Market Palatine. All participants will receive a one-week membership to Midtown Athletic Club Palatine. Second- and third-place winners will receive Whole Foods gift cards for $35 and $15, respectively.
Entrants must bring two mason-type containers of their finished soups along with two index cards containing the recipe. One container will be used for judging, while the other will offer those in attendance a little taste of their creation. The contest is limited to the first 50 entries and is limited to one soup per contestant.
For details and an entry form, call Dave or Brooke at (847) 729-7333.
Top toques: Tickets are still available for the Grand Chefs Gala and Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence Friday, Jan. 30, at the Fairmont Chicago Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago.
The event, which raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, begins at 6 p.m. with Champagne, caviar, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from 40 of the area's top chefs. At 7 p.m., the food frenzy moves to a sit-down dinner prepared by chefs from Fairmont properties across the country, an auction (which includes incredible wine, food and travel opportunities) and the awarding of the awards, named for the founder of Wheeling's now-closed Le Francais.
The nominees for Celebrity Chef are Grant Achatz (pictured), Alinea; Laurent Gras, L2O; Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia; Marcus Samuelsson, C-House; and Takashi Yagihashi, Takashi. Celebrity Pastry Chef nominees are Elizabeth Dahl, BOKA; Gale Gand, Tru; Andres Lara, NoMI; David Same, Pane Caldo; and Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate. Awards also will be given for rising chef, rising pastry chef, best sommelier, best neighborhood restaurant, best fine dining and best catering company. For a full list of nominees and event details, head to grandchefsgala.com.
Come join us: The Daily Herald Food section is now on Facebook. Join the group Daily Herald Food fans and you'll join a community of people who like to cook and clip recipes and be on top of the latest food and nutrition news. Register at facebook.com.
- Deborah Pankey
• Contact Deborah Pankey at (847) 427-4524 or food@dailyherald.com