Recipe contests urge creativity with specific ingredients

By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor

Recipe contests to enter:

• Grilled kalua pig and cheese, anyone? Mr. Food's Hometown Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest sponsored by the American Dairy Association is looking for mouth-watering grilled cheese recipes with local flavor. Grand prize is a trip for two to Canyon Ranch Spa/Berkshires in Lenox, Mass., $500 and a trip to watch the taping of a Mr. Food television segment in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. For complete rules, visit www.ilovecheese.com or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Mr. Food's Hometown Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest, P.O. Box 81319, Chicago, IL 60681. Entry deadline is May 15.
• It's pe-kawns, not peek-ans, according to a "nutty" survey the National Pecan Shellers Association conducted of consumers on their preferred pronunciation of pecan. And if you're a pecan lover, you can enter the "I Can Use Pecans in THAT?" recipe contest with non-dessert/non-candy recipes that use pecans as a key ingredient. A $100 grand prize and $50 runner-up prize will be awarded to consumers 16 years old and older, kids 6 to 15 years old and food professionals/culinary students. Complete contest rules and instructions will be posted at the NPSA Web site: www.ilovepecans.org by April 1, the first day of National Pecan Month. Entry deadline is July 13.
• Kretschmer Wheat Germ "Delicious and Easy" Recipe Contest is in its eighth year and will award a grand prize of $5,000 for a winning recipe that uses at least a half-cup of wheat germ. Contest categories are main dish salads, meatless main dishes and warm-weather desserts. Contest rules may be found at www.kretschmer.com or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Kretschmer Wheat Germ Recipe Contest, P.O. Box 3305, Chicago, IL 60654. Entry deadline is April 30.
• The Family Favorite Potato Salad Contest is looking for potato salad recipes that use pickles Ü dills, sweet, bread and butter, sour, hot peppers, sweet peppers and relish. It's a contest sponsored by Pickle Packers International. Seven winners will be awarded $200, a year's supply of pickles and a pickle pool party pack; winning recipes will be featured in a recipe brochure to be distributed in 2002. For contest rules, visit www.ilovepickles.org or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Recipe Contest, 1209 IH35 South, #207, New Braunfels, TX 78130. Entry deadline is April 30; winning recipes will be announced during International Pickle Week, May 18-28.