Category Archives: Festival

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

Texas Steak Cookoff, 2012-05-19

The third weekend in May is probably one of my favorite weekends. It is Texas Steak Cookoff weekend after all! When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter if the Texas heat picks up (like in 2010) or a huge thunderstorm moves in (like in 2011) or if the weather is just about perfect (in 2012) – we leave stuffed, exhausted and smelling like a grill. I love it.

This year I had the privileged of being asked to judge the hors d’oeuvres. I was actually given a choice and had chosen to judge the hors d’oeuvres. Believe me it wasn’t an easy decision. Steak or hors d’oeuvres, you really can’t go wrong either way. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I had never judged a food competition. All I knew was I was going to leave downright full and hoping I would still have room for a steak a few hours later. Priorities I tell ya!

We started off the day early – I wanted to make sure I got there on time. We left the DFW area around 8am and were in Hico by 9:45am. Perfect. As soon as we opened the doors for the car, we could smell that wonderful, wonderful scent. Smoke. Charcoal. Grills. Since I was early, it gave me some time to walk around and check out the scene. 102 competitors this year. It seems like every year there’s a few more entries. That’s what we like to see folks!

The way this works is for $25 you receive a wristband and a ticket. The wristband entitles you to walk around and soak up all the hors d’oeuvres your stomach can handle. The ticket comes in handy around 5pm when you can turn it in and have a steak cooked by the Backyard Chef of your choice. Walk around all day, chat with the chef’s, have a couple cold ones. Makes for a great Texas afternoon. Even pirates love the cookoff.

At 10:45am, I made my way to the Midland Hotel where the judging would take place. I was hungry and ready to get this underway. The judging is set up with three tables of five judges. The entries start to stream in in white Styrofoam containers. Each container is labeled with a number and we judge on taste and appearance on a scale of 1-5. I had (and still don’t) no idea which chef submitted the appetizers. Heck I still don’t even know what some of the hors d’oeuvres were. It doesn’t sound hard but the more items you taste, the harder it gets. And did I mention it’s really quick? So quick as soon as you’re done one, you’re onto the next. I ended up judging around 27-28 hors d’oeuvres (1/3 of the submissions) in what felt like 20 minutes. Believe me, as nice as it is that these tasty treats are brought to you, the judging is quick and it isn’t easy. Once the first round of judging was complete, round two began where the top scoring entries were rejudged to decide the winners (with a smaller group of judges). At the end of the first round, I not only a belly full of food but also a plate full of food. I only took a bite of each entry and I wasn’t about to let the rest of it go to waste. I soon gained a lot of attention walking around with some friends being approached by others saying “Where’d you get that plate?!”

Now, I bet you would like to know what I tried. Once I was looking at my “leftovers” it took me a second to try to process what I just ate. During the judging, one of the other judges at my table made a comment about how she heard that a team was making meatballs from calf fries then stated that she was interested to know what everything was after we were done judging. That’s right – we had no idea what anything was. After that comment, I pretty much said I was good not knowing on this one, haha. Our group had tried out two large meatballs. (If you don’t know what calf fries are – they’re bull testicles.) I’m a “Yankee”. I wasn’t raised eating jalapenos in my dinner but since I was judging I sure as heck wasn’t going to turn them away. I made sure to try everything that was included in the hors d’oeuves. Now, I have this new appreciation for these green peppers with a kick. They’re pretty tasty.

Some of the items I got to try (and I’m really taking a stab at this here):

Grilled avocado stuffed with crab meat (?) topped with a spicy ranch. (Fantastic!)
Tortilla filled with pulled pork (?) and a BBQ (possible bean) mix. (Delicious)
Meatball with a cheese stuffed jalapeno in the middle topped with some kind of sauce.
The biggest piece of shrimp I quite possibly have ever seen with stuffed jalapeno wrapped in bacon.
Cucumber (the middle was cut out) stuffed with a citrus blend. (Super fresh tasting)
There was some kind of a salad dip that I think had scallops, add some avocado and tortilla chips. (Great summer dip/salad.)
Spiral tortilla sandwich with a sweet jam (this was pretty good too).
Pronghorn antelope (I only know this because it was written on the box).
Olive, cherry tomato and (oh there was a third component on that toothpick) with a sauce that not only looked great but was delicious when they blended all together.
A few variations of stuffed jalapenos.
In the picture, there is a cup of dip. I have no idea what this is but it was good.
Soft taco filled with brisket and it had a great kick to it!

If you recognize anything on this plate, let me know and I will add it to the list. If I happened to mention one of the above that you submitted, please send me a recipe, haha! (I’m serious.)

The “Backyard Chefs” cook all afternoon. It’s pretty important to just keep walking up and down the streets and checking them out if you want some food. Here are some of the items we came across:

On a side note, I don’t know who found this cooler but I LOVED it!

So once our bellies got full, well there’s other things to do. There’s live entertainment pretty much all afternoon. This year Shades of Gray and Mack Abernathy and the Pocket Ranger Band’s played.

There’s a Wine Tasting Event (which I would love to try next year although I saw a couple people stumbling out.), local businesses are open (antique shops, Texas furniture that if only I was rich I could fill an entire home), craft tents and a kids petting zoo.

This isn’t an event just for adults. We’ve had friends come last year and this year who have brought their 1-2 year old and their 6-7 year old. It’s enjoyable for everyone. Every year there is also a raffle that you enter with your ticket. This years prizes were a grill, Rangers tickets and gift certificates for local stores. There’s something for everyone.

Now – for the main event.

THE STEAKS!

Once 5pm rolls around you basically pick your “Backyard Chef” tent that you would like to cook your steak. That’s right, pick any one of the competitors, tell ’em how you would like your steak cooked and they’ll give it to you in a few minutes.

Once you have your steak, head on over to another tent where you will get a hot baked potato, salad and a drink (soda/water).

There’s tents set up with tables to have a seat and eat. We had our steaks cooked at “Son of a Motherless Goat”. Yes, that was their team name. I laughed when they told me. The name is greatness and so was the steak. It was cooked perfectly and tasted phenomenal. Out of our group, three of us had our steaks cooked by Son of a Motherless Goat and one of the steaks didn’t even make it past the sides line before it was gone. It was that good! I’m not sure where Son they were from but if they’re near the DFW area and are grilling out – let us know we’ll be happy to stop by!

Now the only thing missing to this great day/feast is some ice cream!
(Note: I later learned Blue Bell was there giving away some ice cream! I sure missed out. Great sponsorship!)

My only regret is that we didn’t stay until the very end to find out who won. I can’t complain – I had rode down with some friends but I’m definitely interested in finding out who the winners are (and plan on staying until the end next year). You can view all of the winners, here.

Here’s some advice if you plan on attending:

Bring comfortable shoes and walk around and talk with the chefs. They love feeding you and talking with you! Keep making the rounds.
Bring an empty belly.
Bring sunscreen.
Beverages – we brought a cooler. Keep some water (or a beverage of your choice) on hand. It is Texas in May after all. It can get hot.
If a plastic knife doesn’t do it for ya – bring you’re own steak knife (or use your fingers).

Finally, a huge key point I would like to make. Hico is located in the Hill Country and is by far one of the prettiest areas in Texas. Make sure to look out the windows and enjoy the scenery on your drive. Soak it up.

As always, this year’s cookoff was awesome. I’m hoping I didn’t miss anything in this post. Thank you Sherry for reaching out and asking if I would love to judge. It was a great experience and if you ever need another judge, I would be happy to do it (and know a few other people who wouldn’t mind either). We like food. 🙂Related PostsHico, TX
Texas Steak Cookoff 2010
Texas Steak Cookoff 2011
Texas Steak Cookoff 2013
Texas Steak Cookoff Wine Festival 2013

Heritage Syrup Festival, 2010

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Every year on the second Sunday in November, you can head on over to Henderson, TX for the annual Heritage Syrup Festival. Being from Vermont, I grew up with Maple Syrup all around me for my entire life. Heck, I still need to have at least a half gallon in my fridge at all times. When I moved to Texas I had heard they had their own type of “syrup” down here but I wanted to know more. I had to know more. So I did what I do best, I went to explore.

I set out to the trip to East Texas last fall, for the 2010 Heritage Syrup Festival. I really didn’t know what to expect but I knew I had to check out as much as I could. The drive out to Henderson was great. First, for me to get out of the “city” is perfect. I can’t wait to get into that crisp fall air. Less is more folks! The even takes place in two areas of town, in Downtown Henderson and the Depot Museum Grounds. First up for me was Downtown.

Downtown you will find a ton of food. Pretty much any food imaginable, mexican, turkey legs, BBQ (we’re in Texas of course they have BBQ) and of course the fair food. I stuck with the corn dog and it was delicious. There was also craft tents, live bands (there’s more than one stage), square dancing, the Humane Society was there showing their available dogs (they were there to tempt me) and my favorite the antique car show. I love them! Thanks to my dad and my entire dad’s side of the family, I have grown to love the antique cars and down here I can’t seem to find a good show. BUT I sure did in Henderson. Here are a few of my favorites.

I LOVE this truck!

This is a 1927 Model T Ford. I know this because my dad drove me to Prom in one. Check out the crank in the front and the top comes down so its a convertible. Pretty awesome!

I took this one because frankly it looked expensive. I know its a Jaguar. It is expensive.

If I ever drive the Scenic California coast route – I want to do it in one of these.

Below is a painting off one of the buildings in downtown Henderson. Beautiful!

Now let’s not forget, I was here for a sugar festival. The sugar in Texas is derived from sugarcane. If you want to see what it looks like, see below. It’s much different than my maple syrup and there are different variations. There were a few samples but the best way to describe it is that it’s like corn syrup (the lighter versions) and molasses (the dark versions). Now, I’m a fan of molasses so I find nothing wrong with it but when I asked what it’s used for, I was mostly told for cooking (like pecan pies) and the lighter, the sweeter, you can put on pancakes.

Now, when you head over the the Depot, it’s where the fun really begins.

Keep in mind, all of the following showed demonstrations throughout the day.

It was really, really interesting.

First off, Sons of the Confederates. Yes, they are still kicking it down here.

I was going to remind him the Union won, but he had this long gun so I just walked away. It was pretty interesting though. They had their uniforms, cannons and muskets. I have a friend from home who probably would’ve loved this who does reenactments for the Union army.

Next up was the hunter / trader. They had set up an area where they showed what his living area would be like, with his skins, makeshift tent and how he took care of himself.

The following is how they make the sugarcane syrup.

First, you can see them feeding the sugarcane thru this machine.

The machine is actually being “operated” by the mule. The mule moves in slow circles, as he moves the grinder inside this machine is pulling thru the sugarcane and pretty much pulling all the “liquid” out of the branches. I’m not sure the technical terms for all of this so bare with me here. The liquid is then drained into the blue jug.

Once they have enough of this base liquid from the sugarcane they boil it down, much like maple syrup. I tried to ask someone how many gallons of the liquid needed to make a gallon of the syrup, they didn’t know. Nor when I mentioned Vermont, they didn’t really seem to care about maple syrup. Just for the record, 40 gallons of sap makes one gallon of the sweet stuff. Alrighty folks, moving along.

I found a few other folks who were doing demonstrations.

This man is a woodcarver and he made beautiful pieces. Here he was making a cane. He also had some children’s toys – I bought a whistle.

His neighbor was spinning wool into yarn. For some reason this always looked fun to me.

This man was making rope. I’ve never seen this so I found it pretty interesting. What he did was he took 3-5 pieces of twine / thin rope and locked them into place on each side of the machine. You can kind of see this below. On the farther end, the three ropes are brought together, On the closer end, they are farther apart on the piece with the handle. He then had this kid in the maroon hat, turn the handle which wove the three pieces of twine together to form a stronger piece of rope. Who knew.