August 2002 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Regina Flynn

I found a really neat way of storing fresh ginger that has worked very well for me. First, purchase a new terra cotta flowerpot. Fill the pot with play sand. Put the pot in a 250-degree oven for about a half hour to sterilize it. Cool. Submerge pieces of ginger into the sand and store in your pantry. The ginger stays fresh and wonderful for weeks and weeks!

Regina Flynn

Prize:

• Cooking tips: Bobby Flay’s Mango BBQ Sauce

August 2002 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Cecil Brackett

We had planned a gathering of the families from our little country church in East Tampa, Fla. We had decided to go to a park, about 20 miles from the church. Our church was supplying the chickens and a whole dressed hog. The rest of us were supplying the covered dish vegetable portions, desserts and drinks.

I borrowed a cooker from a friend of mine. Now this cooker was mounted on a small trailer. It had a fire box on the front for smoking, and a fire box under the grilling grates. It had prep rails of oak mounted from the front over the smoker firebox all the way around the cooking pit area. It was large enough to cook 1-2 whole dressed hogs plus about 10 chickens at a time.

I took the cooker to my buddy's home, our resident chef, you know the one who knows everything about grilling out, on Friday night. He was going to tow the cooker early Saturday morning, bring the charcoal, and the meat, and have everything cooked by the time everybody arrived at noon. On Saturday morning I went early to pick up some of the members that didn't drive anymore and their covered dishes'. I had a crew cab pickup with a short bed. The food went into the bed and the people in the crew cab. And, away we went.

So far so good. Here's the good part, the start of the disaster. Our chef was running late, so he loaded the fire box under the grill, then he loaded the fire box in the front to save time. Not only did he load charcoal, he also loaded some aged oak split logs. Just before he left his driveway he lit the fire boxes, closed the lids and headed for the interstate. The trip was about 15 miles on the interstate at 55MPH, then another 5 miles to the picnic grounds with speeds upto 45MPH.

I arrived early with my group to set up the tables and help cook. When we got there the cooker was not there. When the chef pulled up, the entire cooker was smoking, including the trailer, not to mention the somewhat bright red glow coming off both fire boxes and the one chimney. There were no longer any prep rails on the cooker, they had burned off. The black stove paint on the outside of the cooker was gone, now it was a kind of a rust color. Someone said, "Wow, with it that hot it won't take long to cook dinner!" I said, "Where's the meat bro.?"

He didn't have to answer, his look told all! You see, he added the meat on the grills just before he left also. The term crispy critter brings a whole new meaning now days. We also learned not to put covered dishes' with food in the back of a pick up, traveling down the interstate, in Florida. One lemon meringue pie was shall we say a work of sand art, not to mention, the vegetables and sand creations.

One family saved the day, they brought bologna, bread, and chips. Others brought vegetables, and deserts in their trunks, and the sodas were OK to.

Cecil Brackett

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters: Bobby Flay's Peanut Smoked Chile BBQ Sauce

Previous Winners

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