ANDREAS - The chili was so good they ran out early at the chili cook-off Saturday at the Galen Glen Winery.
Kathy Matson, tasting room manager for the winery, wasn't sure if this would be the case when she woke up the morning of the event. Matson, who lives in Carbon County, about 14 miles away from the winery, saw snow when she looked out her window in the morning and thought it might affect attendence.
Despite the snowy weather, Matson said the event "was really successful."
"We had a much larger turnout than we ever expected," she said.
Though the exact number of attendees wasn't known, Matson said, "I know we had at least 120 people taste chili."
Sara Troxell, winemaker, said the event will be held again next year.
At the cook-off, attendees were able to vote on their favorite recipes. Todd Keller, Kutztown, entered the winning chili recipe. Matson didn't say how many people picked his recipe over the other entries, but said Keller's chili ran out before the others.
There were five other contestants who entered the cook-off from Jim Thorpe, Tamaqua, Lehigton, Northampton and Albrightsville.
Julie A. Hamilton, Northampton, was the second-place winner. Shelly Babinchak, Tamaqua, won third place.
Keller received a bottle of Cellar Red Wine and two tasting glasses as his prize, Hamilton was awarded a bottle of Cellar Red Wine and Babinchak received two Galen Glen tasting glasses.
Keller's winning recipe will be available to sample again for free at the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 18 and 12 to 5 p.m. Oct. 19 at the winery. Additional wine tasting is also available for a small fee during the October event.
Todd's Tex-Mex Chili recipe
The Galen Glen Winery 2014 chili cook-off winner
Ingredients:
· 8 dried ancho chilies, chopped, stemmed and seeded
· 1 cup water
· 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
· 3 pounds hot Italian sausage, casings removed
· 3 pounds ground beef
· 1 white onion, diced
· 1 red onion, diced
· 1 sweet onion, diced
· 1 cup diced celery
· 1 cup diced carrots
· 10 garlic cloves, sliced
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon black pepper
· 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
· 1 cup Galen Glen Stone Cellar Chambourcin
· 4 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
· 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
· 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
· 1 tablespoon chili powder
· 2 teaspoons ground cumin
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
· 1/2 cup honey
· 1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, drained
Directions:
· In a small bowl, soak chilies in water and vinegar for 30 minutes. Then puree in a blender or food processor until very smooth, about 5 minutes, set aside.
· Place sausage and ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly browned. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
· In a large pot heat 3-4 tablespoons of the meat drippings over medium heat. Saute the white onion, red onion, sweet onion, celery, carrots and garlic until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tomato paste and allow to carmelize. Pour in wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom. Stir in cooked meat, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce. Season with chili powder, cumin and parsley.
· Bring to a boil then stir in blended chilies mixture and honey. Carefully mix in the pinto beans without breaking them. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Stir and scrape the bottom every 30 minutes.