We finally decided on a Team Name and I finished the shirts the night before:
I loaded up my Jeep and headed over to pick up my friend Jennifer. Our team was downsized considerably when people were told that we had to be out there at 8:00 am. It was just as well because the Jeep was full!
We drove around Fair Park lost for about 20 minutes. For those of you unfamiliar with the Fair Park area (like myself), it can be quite confusing. There are street names inside the park but not any "official/legal" street names that will show up on the handy dandy iPhone (not that it isn't a stellar product - RIP Steve Jobs). We spotted some golf carts and figured this was where we needed to be. (The rules said officials would be driving around in golf carts to check on us periodically). I snapped a picture of one such cart. Honestly I'm not quite sure what these ladies were thinking. I guess they got tired of crocheting scarves and decided to keep their golf cart warm???
Anyway, we found a spot and it was set up time! My friend bought this huge umbrella type thing to shield us from the sun. Problem one: It calls for stakes to be put in the ground to hold it down. We were in a parking lot. No going to work...
This was her bright idea - Tying 1000 knots to hold it down. This became problematic when it was time to break everything down and after 6+ beers...
I can't complain too much because her knots did the job. The guys next to us were pretty cool. They let me borrow their automatic lighter, like 10 times. My dumbass brought matches and the wind was not cooperating. They also shared a margarita with me at some point during the day. It was pretty good.
My competition...
OK so the deal with the Chili: I was trying to make CASI Chili. CASI stands for Chili Appreciation Society International, Inc. One of the rules is no fillers. Specifically it says: "NO FILLERS IN CHILI - Beans, macaroni, rice, hominy, or other similar ingredients are not permitted." So in reading this rule, I assume that things like onion and tomato are alright and had such items in my ingredient list. I put the onions in my pot first thing to get them cooking. This chick comes over, takes one look at my pot and the following conversation takes place:
Chick: "I guess you're not making CASI chili."
Me: "Actually, I am."
Chick: "You can't have those onions in there..."
Me: "I read the rules and it said no beans or macaroni. I didn't see anything about onions."
Chick: "Well, let me get one of the other officials to take a look and we'll just see..."
She goes to get one of the other officials who proceeds to tell me that although I don't have anything "illegal" in my pot, the onions must be rendered down to no bigger than my meat or else I won't score very high. The chick gives me a smug look. I thought to myself, OK, its like that. I see how you people are.
A neighbor two tents down tells me (after my chili is done, of course) that to win at CASI chili you have to have only meat, tomato sauce and spices. That's NOT how I read the rulebook but whatever....
So this was the final product - my friend and I thought it was pretty tasty. Do you see any MF-ing onions in there???
Another guy came over during the cooking process to ask me why I thought my chili was a winner. My response: "Because I'm BADASS, that's why." I stand behind this statement and my chili. Although next year, I'll play by THEIR rules and leave the onions out.
Anyway, we had fun and drank a lot so that's all that mattered. Here's my friend and our neighbors before they announced the results. These guys named their team for a buddy of theirs who had passed away. Very nice.
The Judging area. Looks very official with that table lying on the ground, huh? (I swear I'm not bitter.)
So at the end of the day we walked away with a Participation Ribbon, Two tickets to the Fair, a Parking Pass and some badass chili cooked by yours truly. Not bad if you ask me. Plus, there's always next year!
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