Still Away From Home and the Riunite Chili Cook-Off

After getting home from the Extended Stay America cook-off things have still been quite busy and exciting! I was asked to go to Charlotte, NC to demo my recipe and talk a little bit about the contest. The flight was a little bumpy, but I made it and I felt like I did a good job once I got there. I get nervous every time before being on camera, but this time it felt a little more natural and the host was very nice, which always helps! 

Here's the link to the segment if you'd like to watch:
 Charlotte News Segment
The interview was very early in the morning, and I went straight from the news station to the airport to fly directly to Dallas to participate as a finalist in the Riunite Chili Cook-off!

I probably looked like a crazy person hopping out of a cab with all of my luggage at the tailgate site to throw on an apron and start cooking!

There were 5 competitors for our region and we all made our chili for the judges in the hopes of winning a spot in the final cook-off in San Diego! The winner of the final cook-off will win Super Bowl tickets and a game day prize pack, so I don't think I need to tell you how hopeful Louis is that I win this one!

Riunite put on a great tailgating event with a catered BBQ lunch, free flowing wine and the most awesome glasses to ever exist. Can we just discuss for a moment how much I love these glasses? I wonder if it would be ok to wear them in carpool line?

Part of the finalist prize was two tickets to the Saints vs Cowboys game

The Saints were an embarrassment and ended up losing 17 to 38

Lucky for me, I did much better than my team and my Chili Al Pastor with Pineapple Cilantro Relish beat out the others! I made my version of tacos al pastor in a bowl and I was glad to know the judges liked it as much as I did! I am so excited to go back to San Diego in November, wish me luck!

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving bright and early to head to the New York Wine and Food Festival! We have reservations at Le Bernardin and The Skylark to keep us busy when we're not enjoying the walls of food, drinks and celebrity chefs at the NYWFF!

 
I am not packed, my house is a mess and I have 18 loads of laundry to do but I made a point to get something shiny to take with me on the trip.
Priorities y'all

 and this happened.....OMG!!!
I still giggle like a 5 year old when I see posts like this