Time for the L.B.C.D.C. (Lake Bonaparte Columbus Day Cookoff). This "event" has turned into quite the production over the past several years. It started with a boast by a Lake friend that he made better spaghetti sauce than my mom. Did you know she's a full-blooded Italian? :) It grew from that initial "who's got the best spaghetti sauce" contest, to a good-sized crowd, and three categories in which you can enter a dish--appetizers, main dishes, and desserts.
Everyone gathers on my parents' front lawn. You can actually see the lake--it's that white peeking through the tree trunks in the far upper right corner!
The appetizers get put out, and Terri records numbers and recipe names. My dad and I were chosen to add up all the votes for each category. (I asked my aunt to sub for me in the dessert category, since I entered a dish for that.) What fun!
Once all the dishes are ready, people go through the line and try everything. Okay--a little of everything. I was told to take just a little portion. Pace yourself, they told me. I soon figured out why. Once everyone has tasted everything, the voting begins. I voted for the mushroom appetizers; they were superb.
Carolyn, one of the winners from a previous year. The winner of each category gets an apron! And the winner of the "main dish" category gets the chef's hat for a year. It's like Miss America--the chef's hat gets passed to the new winner each year.
After I was almost full on appetizers, I realized what they all meant when they said, Pace yourself! This is my main dish plate--literally one mouthful of every entry (I think there are a few entries left out)!
Then the desserts were brought out. Yes, that is a homemade chocolate cake, with raspberry filling and chocolate ganache. Which one do you think won this category?? (Yep, that one.)
Sampling the desserts...
They used this pumpkin to hold all the votes.
My dad cast his vote for his favorite appetizer.
My cousin Al just couldn't make up his mind which dish he liked best...
At the kids' table, they got to make chili dogs and nachos. They ended with decorating their own cupcakes and frosting their own cookies. Aidan sure looks like he's enjoying the dessert!
Sally used her finger to spread the frosting on her cookie.
Nick's cookie. Yeah, it's boy decorating. :)
Bob Johnston announces 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place in each category.
Passing the chef's hat...
Rick (center) gets to wear the chef's hat this year! He won the main dish category with a Greek (I think) chicken dish. Terry (left) won the dessert with that awesome chocolate cake I described. And my Aunt Bonnie (right) won the appetizer category for her mushrooms! The funny thing is that she told me she had never tried them! She had emailed five friends and asked for their mushroom recipes, and then she combined them all into one.
I had such fun baking and cooking with my mom in her kitchen, plus taking over 100 images of this fun-filled day. I'm already planning on what to make next year, and hinting to my husband that it would be great to go up there in the fall! Of course, next year it's liable to be snowing over Columbus Day weekend...
To see the next post about my Lake Bonaparte getaway, click here.
Previous Lake posts
Part 1 -- Autumn Lake Nature Walk
Part 2 -- Pontoon Panorama
Part 3 -- Saturday Scenes from the Boat
Capturing the moments of life.
Christine
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That sounds like such a fun family get together! What a neat tradition.
ReplyDeleteOh my, that sounds like so much fun. And I love the pictures, looks like everyone had a great time. :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like such a great event! I'll have to suggest that at my husband's family's next gathering!
ReplyDelete