Category Archives: Music

10th Annual Texas Steak Cookoff

For the past few years, I have been finding myself in the same place on the third Saturday in May – Hico, Texas. The Texas Steak Cookoff and Wine Festival has to be one of the best events that I’ve had the chance of attending and definitely one of my favorites. This year was no exception and it may have been my favorite yet! It’s affordable, family friendly and an all day affair that won’t be leaving you hungry (at any point during the day).

For the Steak Cookoff:
For $25, you will receive a bracelet which will allow you to enjoy appetizers and the steak dinner in the afternoon (ribeye steak, beans, baked potato, dessert and a drink) cooked to your perfection by the team of your choice. You’re belly will thank you for this day!

Now for the details!
The day started out with an opening ceremony. Yes, that’s Nolan Ryan himself. The Steak Cookoff is co-sponsored by Nolan Ryan Beef and Kroger. Mr. Nolan Ryan took the opportunity to come down to Hico that morning to kick off the event. If there’s a soul in Texas who doesn’t like this man, they’ve probably been kicked out by now. It was great having him at the event!

The Cookoff doesn’t mess around and the grills are hot bright and early. Rolling into town, you can smell the grills. It’s amazing. 11am kicks off the hors d’oeuvres competition. The backyard chefs submit a recipe of their own to the judges. I had the opporunity to judge at last years event and some of the items are absolutely mind blowing and belly filling. I only wish that I had the recipes to some of these items. Don’t be mistaken, these hors d’oeuvres are not just for the judges, the chefs are cooking all day for folks. Walk around, sample some food and spend time with friends (and make some new ones). Here’s a few of the hor d’oeuvres that we checked out this year.

I will say – the ritz crackers I had seen at the previous cookoffs and they are so delicious and have a bit of a kick (for this Yankee, jalepeno’s sure are growing on me). Ritz crackers with peanut butter, honey and a slice of jalapeno – killer!

Hors d’oeuvres Competition Winners:
1st Place: Steak Your Claim
2nd Place: J, L & M Cooker
3rd Place: Heavy Smokers

The shrimp (above) was cooked by the backyard chefs (below). I think these fellas were my favorite group of the day and I’m not quite sure how they sported their attire all day in the heat. Regardless, their food sure was good. They even left the recipe out for the shrimp (which I should’ve grabbed). Tasty, Tasty.

There’s entertainment throughout the day for the entire family. Local businesses are open, vendors are set up within town and four bands played throughout the day. There were even two wine tents.

If that’s not enough, just walk around and visit with some of the backyard chefs. They have grills of all shapes and sizes. Check them out, see what they’re cooking and just enjoy the day! Even their team names are pretty interesting. It’s serious business y’all!

This was homemade bourbon or moonshine. I’m not sure. I didn’t try any… I was headed to the wine tent.

These chefs – I’m naming them the party chefs. This is where it was all happening. Music, TV, dancing and cooking. Keeping busy all day long! They also ended up winning an award for being the best in show. They earned it!

The judging for the steaks begins around 1pm and the top 30 chefs are announced around 4pm. Shortly thereafter, be prepared. To receive your steak, pick one tent and get in line as they will cook it to your liking!

The cookoff had a different set up this year and I felt that it made all the difference. I really think that this is why I enjoyed this year the best compared to the past few years. With over 100 teams participating, the chefs were situated along a few separate streets and seemed to have a little more room. The temperature in May isn’t cool and breezy, it’s warm if not hot. With the new arrangement, it was incredibly easy to maneuver but the fact that they were a little more spread out definitely helped with how hot and crowded it felt in the area.

Time for the steak! I chose to have my steak cooked at the Beef Bro chefs. I usually go by luck of the draw and this year, I didn’t go wrong. My steak was cooked to my perfection and it was pretty darn delicious!

After you’ve received and indulged in your steak dinner, it’s not over. It’s time to announce the winners. Something I haven’t mentioned is with your ticket to the cookoff, you also receive a raffle entry which is drawn at the end of the day. This year, the raffle prizes included signed Nolan Ryan memorabelia and multiple $500 gift certificates to use within Hico (if you’ve seen some of the stores in town – it’s good shopping)!

Here are this years Top 10 Hands:
(The top 5 hands received prizes between $500 and $2,500.)

1st Place: Daddy Brad’s Meat Shack
2nd Place: Pirates of the Prime Ribean
3rd Place: J, L & M
4th Place: Smokin’ Down in Texas
5th Place: J & J Cookers
6th Place: North Dallas Grill Billies
7th Place: Carne Knowledge
8th Place: Smokin’ Natives
9th Place: Wild Hanlon BBQ
10th Place: Beast Feast

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to the town of Hico for allowing me to check out this years event! If you had a chance to attend this year, I’d love to hear your feedback and I’m sure I will see you there again next year!

If you haven’t been to the Texas Steak Cookoff and Wine Festival – be sure to check it out next year (3rd Saturday in May).

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, however I did receive free admission to the event in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Texas Tuesday link up with Amanda from Princess of the Panhandle and Crystal from Masons Mama. This is a chance for any blogger to participate in a post on the greatness of Texas! There’s so much to explore!

Get Your Tickets – The Best Food Event of the Year

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Steak and Wine. Texas Hill Country. Small, Texas town. Surround yourself with friends, family and great people at this event. This is one that you won’t want to miss and I promise when you go home you’ll say to yourself, I can’t wait to go back next year.

Next Saturday, May 18th, the annual Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico, Texas is taking place. Here is your reminder and a few details about this great event!

Steak Cookoff

This year Nolan Ryan is opening up the event! That’s right – NOLAN RYAN!
Opening Ceremony 12pm
The Mayor, Mike James (Chairman of the Event), National Anthem, visit with the Longhorn and the sponsors (Kroger, Nolan Ryan and the Chairman of Nolan Ryan Meats) will officiate the ribbon cutting.
For $25, you will receive a bracelet which will allow you to enjoy appetizers and the steak dinner in the afternoon (ribeye steak, salad, baked potato and a drink) cooked to your perfection by the team of your choice. You’re belly will thank you for this day!
106 teams competing!
Winners announced at 7pm. Prizes for top five teams ranging from $500 – $2,500.

Live music includes four bands from 10am to 7pm.

Take Part in the Wine Tasting…

$20 Admission
11am – 5pm
Receive a commemorative glass.
Two tents this year includes 13 wineries from the great state of Texas.
Glass / Bottle purchases available.

PBR Rodeo

$20 Admission
Begins at 7:30pm – Will last around three hours.
Cody Ohl, legendary roper from Hico, Texas and one of the highest nationwide earners is assisting in putting on this event.
Will be held in the park area near town (within walking distance from the cookoff and wine tents).
Beer and BBQ will be served.

Need a Place to Stay?
Check out Stephenville and Glen Rose – multiple hotels / lodging options.

Need More Info…
Check out my previous experience. If this doesn’t convince you, I’m not sure what will!
Texas Steak Cookoff 2012
Texas Steak Cookoff 2011
Texas Steak Cookoff 2010

Buy Your Tickets Today
I’ll be there! If you’re headed there, let me know!

The Tumbleweeds and The Lumineers

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A little over a year ago, I came across a band that my friend had posted on Facebook. Immediately, I fell in love, looked up their tour dates and purchased tickets. Just like that. It turned out to be one of the best, most intimate, special moment, making history shows I have attended. (You can read about it, here.) The band – The Lumineers.

Surely, you’ve heard their music by now as they played on a commercial for a while and have been on a couple tv shows not to mention all over the radio. Regardless, their fan base has grown immensely. Just two weeks ago, I received an email from my concert buddy saying they were in town. Again – didn’t even hesitate buying tickets. I was excited except for the fact that since we were a little behind on finding out – our tickets were way in the back and high up. We’re usually front and center of the stage kind of people. (It was a little odd to be that far away to say the least.)

I’m going to apologize for the lack of pictures, the venue doesn’t approve of cameras and quite frankly – you wouldn’t want to see them from our view. At the same time, I think sometimes when we’re attending something, we have a tendency to have a camera stuck in front of our face and we really don’t enjoy it as much as we should. I’m incredibly guilty of this so it was really nice to just sit back and ENJOY.

First thing is first – openers: Sam Doores and The Tumbleweeds

I’m going to make a general public service announcement here. If you are planning a festival, Americana show, country show, bluegrass show… these guys NEED to be included. It’s a necessity. Don’t let them pass you by because a few years down the road you’re really going to kick yourself in the arse.
Yea – I said it. You will. Trust me.

A blend of Southern railway, blues, American, bluegrass all mixed together, these young men hail for New Orleans. They are authentic and vintage. If sights do anything for you, you would think they came right of the 70’s and old time country music from way back in the day and teleported to our era. The entire show, you will find yourself picking out inspirations in their music. There’s many, many. Absolutely amazing but I’ll let you judge for yourself.

The Headliners – The Lumineers

This is a really special moment for me and where the love of music comes full circle. On June 1st, 2012, I attended a show for the Lumineers at the Prophet Bar in Dallas. Small venue. History really. Their first sold out show. Their first encouraged encore request. It was intimate, it was personable. You could tell that they absolutely loved playing and did it strictly for the love of the art. Their lyrics touch you, speak to you and you become lost in the moment. I knew what I had experienced as soon as I left and knew I would never experience again. Truly special.

Fast forward ten month, I was right. This band has blown up in a short matter of time and I couldn’t be happier for them. It was absolutely amazing thinking back to that small venue less than a year ago and seeing thousands of people completely immersed in their music, and them just a short time later. More so, the fact that their show was the same, just on a much larger scale. They are headliners, supporting their opening acts, asking fans to put down their phones and cameras and to just “enjoy the moment” with them. They even came into the crowd and played a couple songs and went back on stage to finish their encore. I literally get goosebumps when they start playing, even more so when Neyla sings. They are truly a great example of succeeding in the music industry and staying true to yourselves and your fans.

The Lumineers played a majority of songs from their last album as well as some new songs for their next. If last night is any indication of what their new album will sound like, it’ll be wicked amazing!

(Video found on YouTube from last night’s show.)

(And here is my favorite!)

If you haven’t already – I highly encourage you to check them out. If you don’t, it’ll probably kick you in the arse later on too!