Winner 2006 Chili Cook-Off

Who would have guessed this Downtown girl could cook? Especially since my idea of cooking dinner is pulling back the plastic wrap of a Lean Cuisine and placing it in the microwave for three minutes.

This weekend, I traveled to Boston to take part in the newlywed’s annual chili cook-off. The previous year’s winner used bacon in his recipe and won in a landslide victory. There is no monetary prize tied to this contest - just bragging rights.

I dubbed my winning recipe – Tatanka Organic. I didn’t follow a recipe; I just added lots of crazy meat, mainly buffalo, as well as ground sirloin and cubed chicken andoullie sausage. Special thanks to The Nudist for recommending we roast the jalapeno peppers and add red wine vinegar and pickle juice (no joke) as final ingredients.

For the next year, the winning engraved silver spoon is predominantly displayed in my kitchen, appropriately enough -- right next to my microwave.