Friday, June 14, 2013

And the Winner Is...

Sherry Wilson!!!

Sherry Wilson said...
As a southerner, it has to be South Carolina mustard based bbq sauce on pulled pork. 'Cause nothin' beats barbecued PIG!
June 13, 2013 at 7:57 PM
I used Random.org to pull the number, and Sherry has won 2 VIP tickets to Swinetastic for tomorrow, Saturday, June 15. Woo hoo!

Sherry -- be sure to stop by to say hello in you're near the demo stage from 2:15-3:30ish. Drop me an email and we'll coordinate pick-up. :)

Congratulations!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

WIN VIP Tickets to Swinetastic BBQ Fest -- This Saturday!

You read that right BBQ fans -- I'm giving away 2 VIP Tickets to the super awesome, absolutely fantastic, and most definitely messy Swinetastic BBQ Festival being held this weekend at the Frederick Fairgrounds.

You like ribs, right? Saturday features a Backyard BBQ contest where amateur grillers get their ribs on for 8 hours using fresh pork ribs -- yum! And you have the chance to win two tickets. How spectacular is that?

Here's a little info from the Swinetastic folks to give you an idea of what the festival is all about:

"CQue Events is happy to bring to historic Frederick, Maryland a nationally sanctioned BBQ Contest, just like you see on the Food Network and A&E’s BBQ Pitmaster’s. The Great Frederick Fairgrounds will be the setting for this great event. The festival will be a two day event with Saturday's contest being the nationally sanctioned Kansas City BBQ Society event. This event will be held during father’s day weekend, with live music, games, great food and a beer garden!! Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society and the Frederick County Mental Health Association.. Come out and see BBQ teams from all over the country compete for great prizes and trophies.  "

And while you're at it, there will be tons of fun and talented food vendors on site really to ply you with their tasty wares. And music! And a place for the kids to play! And a beer garden! Did I also mention, the weather is supposed to be perfect???? Booyah!!

Now, just because I like to put a little icing on top of an already sweet cake, I'll also be doing a fun demo from 2:30-3:30...on stage! You know I do love an audience, and I'd love to see you there. I'll be demoing two tasty side dishes (I am no pit master and will leave that to the pros!) and will absolutely be having some fun.

So here's what you need to do:
  • Leave a comment on this blog and tell me your favorite BBQ. (Isn't that easy?)
Now the fine print:
  • Comments left on our Facebook page will NOT be counted (sorry!)
  • We'll do a drawing Friday evening at 6p to choose the winner, so have your comment in no later than 5p, 6/14/13.
  • Tickets are good for Saturday only (11a-7p)
  • There is no cash value for these tickets. You get tix to a fun day. So enjoy that. 
  • Don't panic if you don't see your comment right away. I filter them to avoid spam so you don't have to see ads for Viagra and stuff. Don't worry -- I don't judge or edit them, I just hate all that stupid spam.
Leave me a comment, and let's have some BBQ fun this weekend!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

"New" TKS Summer Camp: DESSERT & Diner Delights

Soooooo...I was planning camps this winter and started thinking about diners and how iconic and fun the food is. It's not necessarily super complex, and kids and teens seem to love it, so I pulled together a week-long summer camp based on the theme.

But after a little thought, I started to wonder if we should broaden a bit, and add something the kids & teens are super familiar with, like maybe...DESSERTS!


Desserts are a great way to get kids and teens cooking, because hey, everybody likes desserts. In fact, one of the reasons that I even started cooking was so that I could make all the desserts that my crazy powerful sweet tooth craved. I'd whip up cream puffs and chocolate eclairs because, well, I could.

From there, I became the hot dog queen of Pennsylvania. I could make a hot dog anyway you wanted it. Sliced and placed on middle-school quality apps, bathed in homemade bbq sauce...it didn't matter. I loved hot dogs, so I'd use them anyway I could. And from there, I learned such a wide variety of cooking and balanced things flavor-wise and nutritionally.

Why do I tell you this? 

We've made a change to our Diner Delights camp being held the week of June 24-28 at The Kitchen Studio. Now the camp is called DESSERTS & Diner Delights, and will include a pretty major dessert everyday in camp, developing and honing baking skills in kids ages 8-11 & 12-17. In addition to making a diner-themed meal, we'll be rocking out some pretty serious desserts too, stoking the sweet tooth and with it the desire to learn to cook beyond sugary sweetness. Besides, everyone likes pies, cakes, brownies, and cookies...don't they? You've got to start somewhere, and balancing a meal, then serving a bit o' yum at the end is never a bad thing.

So do me a favor -- tell you favorite young cook that we've got some space for them and we'd love to show them how to cook great food, AND great desserts at The Kitchen Studio this summer. In fact, if they use the code DESSERT, they can even save $20. Just pop on over to our web site right here and get things started.

Thanks, and happy cooking!