Silhouette

Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Lifestyles

Media Credit: Adam Shrimplin Judy Stewart What's your chili secret? 1. Cook it slow and for a long time at a medium temperature. 3. I usually cook it off and on so the flavors can meld and allow the meat to get tender.

Media Credit: Adam Shrimplin Chili cook-off: Tessy Thyuttathil, educational adviser for talent search, and Judy Whitehill, social science instructor, watch Cathy McKinley, director of human resources pour a cup full of her Mexican Chile for Hector Martinez, Director of the Adult Learning Center. The first Chili cook-off took place in the Student and Community Services building February 9. Judy Stewart won the cook-off with her chili.

The Employment Development Committee sponsored a chili cook-off on Feb. 9, where contestants Judy Whitehill, Tessy Thykkuttathil, Judy Stewart, and Cathy McKinley were voted on for the favored chili. There were a total of four contestants each with their own recipe and flavor.

"This was the first year of the chili cook-off and we're trying to make it an annual thing," Stewart, academic building secretary, said.

McKinley, human resource director, said that the chili cook-off was a way to bring employees together on a social level rather than the usual formal work level.

Contestants would offer their chili to a voter who then voted by writing the name of the contestant on a slip of paper.

Stewart, who has been making chili all her life, said that it was a frequent food in her home.

"I grew up in Texas, so it was one of the things we had a lot," Stewart said.

Stewart said she learned her 'Texas Chili' from her mother and added her own unique flavors.

"It was my mom's recipe," Stewart said. "I just added to it. The unusual spices I used were cinnamon and cocoa."

Whitehill, director of social sciences, who has been making chili for 30 years, made her chili by combining recipes she found from the Internet.

"I made the chili from scratch and normally I don't do that," Whitehill said. "One thing I changed about the recipe is that I added fresh jalapeños."

Thykkuttathil, education adviser for talent search, modified a recipe that she learned from a friend.

"Anna Worden, a friend of mine, taught me the recipe I made," Thykkuttathil said. "I just tweaked it."

The unusual ingredients that she added to her 'White Chili' were garlic, cumin and milk.

"I didn't like the tomato taste it had so I changed it," Thykkuttathil said. "I make this chili for people who can't handle spicy food."

McKinley also learned her 'New Mexico Chile' from a friend.

"I learned my recipe from an old friend in New Mexico," McKinley said. "I usually add extra red chili, but I didn't want it too be hot."

Although only four contestants participated in the cook-off, Stewart hopes the event will attract more employees to participate in the future.

"Originally we hoped for 15-20 people," Stewart said. "It's open to any and all employees."

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