Dutch Oven Cook Off - Jefferson County Conservation Board

SPRING INTO SUMMER
Dutch Oven Cook Off
Jefferson County Park, Fairfield, IA
JUNE 21, 2014
Our 7th annual Spring Into Summer Dutch Oven Cook
Off, which could also be known as “The Year of the Cicada”, was a success! The partially overcast skies for
much of the morning and a light breeze made the day
more tolerable...though that was probably small consolation for the teams, all of whom were sweating over
hot coals. Nineteen teams competed, five more than last
year although not as big as our largest year in 2012
with twenty teams.
Along with the usual challenges that come with competition the cooks had to contend with the constant buzzing
of hundreds of 17-year cicadas (below left). Although
not as loud as they had been the week before the noise
was enough that several teams sought out ear plugs!
Volunteer Moni Hayne (below), who just happens to be
an entomologist, was on hand to educate us on the
three species of cicadas that could be found singing
from the tree tops, crawling
up our legs, and using us a
landing pads. Fortunately,
none of the critters ended up
in the food...at least not that
we know of!
Above left: The Dare to be Different
Team from Waterloo gathers around the
Dutch oven to check the progress of their
dessert entry.
This Year’s Teams
Dare to be Different
Dare to be Different was new to the cook off this year. Team
leader Woody Woods (right) traveled down from Waterloo, and
brought along his wife, son, and two grandchildren. This threegeneration team competed as novices though they obviously knew
their way around cast iron. One of the volunteers said she was
told the “secret ingredient” in their Pigs in a Beef Blanket dish but
that she couldn’t reveal it! She added: “it was delicious”.
Below: Chef Seth Woods helps grandma Maxine.
Below right: McKenna and Donald work on the main dish recipe.
O
ne of the things I enjoy when I come to the Dutch
Oven cook-off is seeing family members working
together ~ I know they are making memories that they and
their children will cherish ~ and will give them something to
talk about in years to come. Ever one is so !iendly and
seems so happy to share their delicious dishes.
Karen Crossland, taste tester
Page 2
This Year’s Teams
The Bakers
Old Spice
Jeremiah Baker (left) and his brother Josh (right),
stand alongside their grandparents Ruth & Steve
Baker. This is the first year the brothers competed
as well-seasoned and came in 3rd place in the Main
Dish category with their brisket. With their plaid
shirts and camouflage suspenders they could have
come in 1st in fashion!
Ruth Baker said to me when I saw her: “One of these
things is not like the other!!” referring to her lack of
plaid. It didn’t throw off her cooking though, her and
husband Steve placed in both Bread and Side Dish.
Black Pot Cookers
Dick and Sharon Mullin from Cedar Rapids. A
visitor to the event said: “It was delightful talking to Sharon and Dick.” She learned from
Sharon “that the cook off is more than just
cooking, it’s social. It’s visiting year after year
with other contestants.”
Page 3
This Year’s Teams
Kickin’ Kast-Iron Kweens
Left: Kickin’ Sarah Cottingham and Marlyn Hoksbergen are
both black belts in taekwondo. Marlyn is a 4th degree black
belt and Sarah is a 2nd degree. Perhaps we need to have a
“black apron” category for Dutch oven cooking since the Kweens
placed in every category this year including 3rd place in the
Bread division with this Chocolate Almond Loaf.
Locust Grove Regulators
Right: Chuck and Lois Shreves accept their 2nd
Place winnings in the Main Dish novice division for
their Chicken and Sausage Creole. This was the
first year of competition for Chuck but third for Lois.
They cooked in memory of Lois’ brother Fred who
passed away earlier this year. Fred had assisted
Lois in her first two visits to the cook off.
I
think we were all ver spoiled by the cooks as
many had a lot of ex'ense in their dishes and
they were so ver good. Bev Nelson, taste tester
You People
Left: Dennis Laughlin relaxes while Michelle
Shock puts the finishing touch on their Dulce de
Leche Cookie Bar. The first few years that Dennis and Michelle competed here they were
known as the M.A.D. Cookers. But there’s nothing crazy about these two...they’ve got their
teamwork and timing down. They placed in
each category this year including 1st for this
dessert.
Page 4
This Year’s Teams
Country Cooks
It was Alex Hausner (right) who wanted to compete in the
cook off so dad Steve and mom Chris (below) came along.
Alex competed as a novice in the main dish division, where he
won first place for his chicken in barbeque sauce and Steve
competed as well-seasoned in the side dish. Chris worked as
their sous chef.
M & W Cookers
Experienced Dutch oven cooks Mike and Wanda
Anderson were one of the eight teams that competed in all four categories. Their dessert rolls proved
to be quite a hit with cook off visitor Cathy Matt
who said she loved “the flaky pastries. Hard to understand how they can bake a light, crispy pastry in
a Dutch oven. The lady with the strawberry and
blueberry croissants let me come back for seconds
and thirds. More is always better”.
Page 5
Jen
Phil
This Year’s Teams
Dutch Oven Golfer
This is the first year that 15-year old Olivia Hammel has competed
as a well-seasoned cook. When the cook off first started seven
years ago she assisted mom and dad of team Packer Backers. Then
with their help she competed as a novice tor two years. This year she
was confident enough to compete in three of the four well-seasoned
categories. As her team name implies, she’s an avid golfer.
Packer Backers
S
everal folks commented about how
f*ll they were, which, they said,
seemed amazing !om only a small cup
of samples!
Moni Hay/e, volunteer
You can have no doubt as
to what football team
Dennis and Jennifer Hammel love! It’s in their team
name, it’s written on their
canopy and Dennis’ shirt
and apron. They were
disappointed this year
not to have Chicago
Bears fan Mark Harrington to harass and hope
that Mark will be back to
compete next year.
Cooking With-Their-Spoons
Not only did Rosie Witherspoon and Mary Adam have to prepare to compete in each category but they also had to pack up
and bring along with them a variety of inventory from Rosie’s At
Home store. While this makes extra work for them, competitors
and the visiting public appreciate the opportunity to purchase
the latest cooking-related utensils and gadgets.
This Year’s Teams
Dutch Oven Divas, Too
Cousins Ellie (left) and Sophie
(right) Stever have been eating
their Grandma Gay Chapman’s
Dutch oven meals for years. This
year they thought they’d like to
try their hands at competing.
With grandma helping with the
heavy pots and coals, each girl
took a novice category. Ellie
made a black forest cake and
Sophie made chicken and
dumplings.
O
ne of the things that impressed me the most was the number of young people who par0icipated, especially the girl
who had the chef ’s hat and apron.
Rust Eber0, Van Buren Register
Cast Iron Adventures
Left: Greg Jacobs (behind the mask) with wife Karen
made up C.I.A. (no wonder he’s in disguise!). Greg and
Karen are from Mundelein, IL and traveled farther than
any other competitor—about 300 miles (one way) — to
take part in this event. Below: Karen and Greg (without
the mask), along with other competitors, met at 9:00 a.m.
for the Cook’s meeting.
This Year’s Teams
Clueless
Three generations of Groenendyks competed at this
year’s cook-off...each as a separate team! Ron
(left, sharing a cook table with grandson Nathan)
and Judy (below) formed team Clueless. Ron and
Judy and other members of the Iowa Prairie Rose
Cookers Dutch Oven Society are currently preparing to host the National Dutch Oven Gathering coming up in September in Monticello, IA.
Clueless Junior
With a little help from his grandparents 10 year old Nathan
Groenendyk (left) competed as a
novice. He placed in both the
dessert and main dish, winning
1st place for his Pour Pie. His
dad is Matt of We Have a Clue.
We Have a Clue
E
ver year I am so impressed
with the food that I tell people about it. At the same time, I am
hoping they won’t come because I
don’t want to share!
Dena Mor5issey, taste tester
Matt Groenedyk’s partner from
last year moved to California so
he invited co-worker Bob Keller
to be on his team. Bob is best
known for barbeque. Their partnership produced one of the
most talked about Main Dishes.
When their Braised Pork Belly
was brought to the judges
table the size of it had judge
Gloria Countryman exclaiming
“Holy Cow!” Judge Diana Flynn
corrected her saying: “No…Holy
Sow!” A taste tester said that it
was so good “...my eyes rolled
back in my head!”
This Year’s Teams
Southwest Iowa Boys
Left: Gordon Crawford and Harold Auten met each
other through their work with the boy scouts. Gordon
says it is Harold who comes up with the crazy combinations of food (thus the chili pepper found in the frosting
of their dessert...it won second place!). Here they are
bringing their Modified Kings Hawaiian Sweet Bread
Rolls to the judges’ table. Knowing Harold’s creative
streak makes one wonder what “modified” means?!
T
here is a wonderf*l a:it*de among the cooks, and
each team is there to present the best food possible.
The at<osphere is g5eat because all of you are there to have
f*n, to share your ex'er0ise, and to lear/ !om each other no
ma:er the outcome of the cook off. The food was excellent,
presentation of the food was beautif*l, and we both walked
away f*ll! We look for>ard to seeing you in 2015.
Phil & Gloria Count5 <an, judges
Ducks Unlimited, Cedar Creek Chapter
Cooking With Attitude
Carly and big sister Marina (left) made up
half of Cooking With Attitude. Below: Mom
Michelle and dad Ron Rupprecht, along with
their daughters, placed in the Dessert category with a delicious Almond Cookie.
I
just loved the way people would spot me carr ing a finished dish back !om the judges
tent. I would hear a lot of, "Aaahhhs." I would
soon have a line following me to be first in line to
get a y*mmy bite. Phyllis Freeman, volunteer
Judges’ Area
As the food came into the judges’ area, the judges began to work their
way around the table checking out the appearance and presentation of
the dishes. Are they visually appealing? Is the aroma pleasing? Then
the head judge and her assistant began the task of cutting or scooping
out a representative piece of the dish and dividing it for the judges to
taste. During our first cook off seven years ago we had several competitors complain that they didn’t feel that their dish had been properly sampled—the Dutch oven returned to them after judging with very little removed from it. We took that complaint to heart and brought in Diane
Drummond. She’s a retired family and consumer science teacher who
has judged at dozens of county fairs in southeast Iowa. She makes sure
that each pot is properly sampled.
The judges then move around the table and taste each dish. How well
did the cook execute the recipe? Is it over done or under done? Too
moist or too dry? Or is it cooked just right? How’s the texture? How
about taste? Does it have good flavor? Is it well-seasoned? Judges
have the option of awarding a dish a bonus point if they felt that the recipe was exceptional or if they felt that it was a more difficult recipe to
prepare (i.e. a scratch cake over a box cake).
Above: The beauty of desserts at the judges’ table.
Below: Head judge Diane Drummond cuts a piece from
a dessert and divides in into pieces for the judges.
Once all dishes from the category are judged, the judges hand in their
forms to the head judge and her assistant, who tally the scores. If there
is a tie, then the head judge and her assistant will use their results to
break that tie. It is the only time their results come into play. They are
the only two who know the winners prior to the awards ceremony.
One of the perks of being a sponsor for the Spring Into Summer Dutch
Oven Cook Off is that they get the opportunity to be a judge for the
event. Not all of them are available or interested in doing so but there
are always individuals ready and willing to fill in for them! This year’s
judges were: Diane Drummond (head judge), Gloria Countryman
(assistant to the head judge and Ducks Unlimited representative), Phil
Tierre Chickering
Phil Countryman
Rod Nelson
Kathy Winkelman
Diana Flynn
Volunteer Moni Hayne
Page 10
Judges’ Decision
Countryman (Ducks Unlimited representative-2nd year as a judge), Kathy Winkelman (Community 1st Credit Union representative-2nd year as a judge), Rod Nelson
(Live Wire Electric-1st year as a judge), Tierre Chickering (2nd year as a judgeshe’s a Dutch oven cook herself), Diana Flynn (6th year as a judge).
The judges had the tough job of tasting fifty-three dishes and, after much deliberation, the winners were selected. Dishes were judged on appearance and presentation, execution of recipe, and taste.
The Jefferson County
Conservation staff would like
to thank the many people
who made the Dutch Oven
Cook Off possible:
Sponsors:
Duck’s Unlimited
Community 1st Credit Union,
Preferred Auto Sales,
State Farm (Shawn McCarty)
Edward Jones (Brian Olson,
John Stever, Connie Boyer)
Live Wire Electric
Dessert (Well-seasoned)
1st: Dulce de Leche Cookie Bar (You People)
2nd: Raspberry-Blackberry Pound Cake (Southwest Iowa Boys)
3rd: Triple Berry Upside-Down Cake (Kickin’ Kast-Iron Kweens)
4th: Almond (Cooking With Attitude)
Judges:
Diane Drummond, Gloria Countryman, Diana Flynn, Phil Countryman, Kathy Winkelman,
Tierre Chickering, Rod Nelson
Dessert (Novice)
1st: Pour Pie (Clueless Junior)
2nd: Black Forest Cake (Dutch Oven Divas, Too)
3rd: Death by Chocolate (Locust Grove Regulators)
Side Dish:
1st: Soda Pineapple Beans (Packer Backers)
2nd: Sweet Potato/Apple Hash (Kast-Iron Kweens)
3rd: Best Ever Baked Corn (Old Spice)
4th: Hash Brown Casserole (You People)
Main Dish (Well-seasoned):
1st: Braised Pork Belly (We Have A Clue)
2nd: Spanish Paella (Kickin’ Kast-Iron Kweens)
3rd: Baker’s Best Brisket (The Bakers)
4th: Turkey Tenderloin (You People)
Volunteers:
Meg Earsley, Twilla Luke, Esther
Urban, Jean Dorothy, Phyllis
Freeman (above), Twila Keller,
Moni Hayne, Trenton Nelson,
Lalita Martin, Denise Venteicher.
Main Dish (Novice):
1st: Chicken & Barbeque Sauce (Country Cooks)
2nd: Chicken & Sausage Creole (L.G. Regulators)
3rd: Tater Tot Hot Dish (Clueless Junior)
Bread:
1st: Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter (Old Spice)
2nd: Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls (You People)
3rd: Chocolate Almond Loaf (Kast-Iron Kweens)
4th: Modified Kings Hawaiian Sweet Bread Rolls
(Southwest Iowa Boys)
The Rough Riders 4-H Club for
selling beverages.
Double Dose for the music.
Jill Dahlstrom of Yummy’s for the
gift certificates
And to our nineteen teams.
My apologies to anyone I may
have overlooked.
Gloria Countryman
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More Photos
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More Photos
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MISSION STATEMENT:
Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in Jefferson County by acquiring, developing and managing public
areas so that its citizens will have opportunities for quality outdoor recreation experiences, and to cultivate
good land stewardship through natural history and environmental education activities.
J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y C O N S E R VAT I O N
JCCB Staff
Dennis Lewiston,
Director
Shawn Morrissey,
Operations Manager
Bob Leazer, Park &
Trail Technician
Ron Meyers, Park Host
Therese Cummiskey,
Naturalist
Save the date for next year’s
Spring Into Summer
Dutch Oven Cook Off
Saturday, May 30rd, 2015
Board Members
Wayne Atwood
Terri Diers
Cory Klehm
Gene Parker
Kathy Tollenaere
To Contact Us:
Phone:
641-472-4421
E-mail:
therese@jeffersoncountyconservation.com
Looking a bit like prisoners behind bars, these individuals are
watching the food come into the judges’ area...and waiting for
it to be returned to the competitors for taste testing!