Posted by Clinton News, MS on June 12, 2008 at 08:19:58:
Cook dishes up home-grown hit
By Ruth Ingram
Clinton resident Deb Patterson slices and dices Mississippi-grown vegetables and spices including tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro, placing them in a food processor to make a savory salsa. She sautees fresh Mississippi-produced chicken tenders in the salsa, wrapping the mixture in flour tortillas as part of her sour cream chicken enchilada recipe. She will cook the dish Saturday as a competitor in "The Next Great Mississippi Homegrown Recipe Contest" at the Mississippi Farmers Market in Jackson.
Deb Patterson was listening to the car radio when she heard the commercial again.
"They kept saying, 'Enter your recipe at mississippihomegrown. com,' " the Clinton resident remembered. "I thought, 'Hmmm....'
"My son kept saying that I needed to enter my recipe," Patterson remembered. "I said, 'Which one?' He said, 'You need to do the enchiladas.' "
So on the eve of the June 1 deadline to enter a recipe in the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce's "The Next Great Mississippi Homegrown Recipe Contest," Patterson did just that.
"And then, they called me," she said.
She's one of nine state residents who, on Saturday, will gather at the Mississippi Farmers Market on High Street and cook their winning recipe in the style of the Food Network's hit show, "Iron Chef America."
Contestants will show off their cooking skills from some of their favorite recipes in the categories of appetizer, casserole and dessert, said Paige Manning, a communications and policy for the Agriculture Department.
At least 25 percent of their ingredients must be Mississippi-grown fruits and vegetables.
That's an easy one for Patterson, whose sour cream chicken enchiladas include Sanderson Farms chicken tenders, Luvel whole milk, sweet onions from Lucedale, and other veggies including tomatoes and cilantro that are locally grown.
The cheese and butter she'll be using are produced at Mississippi State University. "I have friends who go back and forth from Starkville, and they're going to bring it to me," Patterson said.
She's looking forward to the experience - and it will be just that. "We have to bring everything with us that we will use to cook, even water," she said.
"Everything" also includes all ingredients, cooking utensils, pots, pans, dish rags and such. The competition provides a stove, a microwave and a countertop.
Competitors have an hour; Patterson's recipe takes 45 minutes.
"I cook it, and the judges won't be watching me," Patterson said. "I'll present a plate to them, and they will taste it."
Each contestant is allowed to bring a helper, but unlike the hands-on "staff" of Iron Chef contestants, the helper can only hand items to the cook.
Patterson's son, Chris Patterson, has worked as an executive chef. He's a bit too qualified to be her helper, his mom said; early this week, she was mulling just who she will bring.
Her family will be in the contest bleachers. "They can cheer for me," Patterson said.
Her recipe has evolved over the years, with son Chris "telling me how to make the salsa," she said. "He's the cooking from scratch person."
When Chris and her late daughter Tracy were children, Patterson said, she let each have a night during the week when they cooked. Tracy, as a 6-year-old, liked to concoct a dish using flour tortillas and a can of white chicken breast.
"Whatever they cooked, we ate," Patterson remembered.
She developed her recipe, and it became a favorite dish that she brought to her children's schools. "They'd tell me, 'Bring those enchiladas,' " she said.
The contest runs 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Manning said. There will be music from the local band SweetWater Jade, complimentary Blue Bell ice cream and Milo's iced tea, caricature drawing by Bob Pennebaker and entertainment for the kids, she said.
And, the winner might nab a prize or two, with sponsors including Cowboy Maloney, Viking, Mississippi Magazine, Magnolia Pewter and M&W Furniture Gallery.
Patterson said she's not in the contest to compete tooth and nail. It's an honor to be asked to take part, and it will be fun, she said.
"They did ask me to bring my recipe, because they are going to make a cookbook," Patterson said.