The Hardeman's House of Hellfire Chili Cook-Off is rockin the house and raising money for the Blue Dog Rescue!
Allow me to start at the beginning. It all started at a campsite in a park far, far away on the Frio River. There were campers grilling dinner after a long day on the cool river. One of these campers had a huge steak marinated in some special sauce and it was sizzling away on the fire. There were several campers that brought their dogs to this weekend of outdoor fun and games. Apparently one of the dogs snatched this steak and ran off with it. Alas our poor friend was going to go hungry this evening and I could not let that happen. So I asked if he liked hot/spicy food. He said of course I do, why what do you have? I said Habenaro and Mango marinated chicken breasts. He replied are you sure there is enough? I said of course there are plenty; you can have two if you like. He did have two and enjoyed them immensely. In fact after the second bite he timidly asked "So do you make chili?" I said "of course any native Texan worth their salt makes their own chili." I refuse to eat the stuff out of a can as that is sacrilege. At that point he invited me to participate in the Hardeman's House of Hellfire Chili cook-off a few months into the future. I put the date in my blackberry and the rest as they say is history.
I went to cook in my first chili cook-off with no expectations. I brought a little table, a couple of collapsible camp chairs, the camping cook-stove and my biggest gumbo/chili pot and one medium cooler for chili ingredients, snacks and one big cooler for sodas, waters and beers. I had a few friends join me in this all day competition. The set up was at 10:00am and cooking started at noon, judging at 6:00 or so, winners announced at 9:00. The rules are all chili is made onsite and there are absolutely No Beans anywhere near the cook-off period. Ok to be fair I made a small pot of re-fried beans to use in the "OMG that's too hot emergency". A good cook knows that if something is too hot/spicy a spoonful of beans will lower the white hot heat felt on your tongue. Being Texas it was already hot outside (101 degrees) and standing over a 4 gallon pot of bubbling hot chili was very very hot. I tried the ice cold beer infusion method of cooling but it only worked a little bit. We are now considering the baby pool filled with water and a few bags of ice for the cook's immersion therapy in between stirring the chili.
There were lots of music and some UT football and lots of chatting with friends on this day. After the judges took the bowls to be judged, all the attendees got to taste the contenders. If they like your chili they can vote by placing a dollar in your doghouse. The owner of the doghouse with the most money wins the People's Choice category. Wait, did I forget to mention this cook-off is held every year to raise money for The Blue Dog Rescue? Blue Dog is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, as they save so many dogs that need forever homes. Each year they bring a few dogs to the cook-off and they bring a book with all of the dogs that need to be adopted. To attend the cook-off you only need to bring a donation for Blue Dog Rescue: bags of dog food, food bowls, leashes, collars, toys, treats, dog-beds, or plain cold hard cash.
This all day and well into the night event is more fun than most folks can stand. It is a kid friendly event, but the late night portion after the judging may be too late for the little ones. During the day the children have a big silver AirStream full of games and videos all to themselves. At night the lights in the trees illuminate the musicians and the cooks cleaning up their mobile kitchens and then relaxing under the trees with a cold one while the judges do their thing. The last three years we have been lucky enough to have local food critic Rob Balon as our celebrity judge.
In my first year competing "Betina's Radioactive Amazon Red Chili" took second place, and won the People's Choice Award. It has been three years now that I have been cooking in this competition and every year I have won the People's Choice Award. I could not have done it without the support of my friends that keep me hydrated and entertained during this arduous and did I mention hot cook-off. So here's a big shout out Thank you to Laura Coe, Colleen OHeren and Terri Sheets. These girls are the best friends a girl could have. Every year Colleen brings the big blue shade, Terri brings the killer Mexican margaritas and Laura brings the tunes and plenty of beer. Thank you and hugs to all my friends and remember Blue Dog Rescue needs your donations 365 days a year!
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