The Great Meatball Cook-off!

Shortly after we moved here, I was fortunate to be befriended by another Mom at Brenna's dance class. Lori saw me reading scrapbook magazines while we waited for our daughters during class, and we struck up a conversation. It was also nice that her son, Matthew, had to wait for his sister, Stephanie, while Andrew waited for Brenna. The boys became fast friends. Lori invited me to join her scrapbooking friends for one of their monthly get togethers at her friend Jenee's house. We hit it off right away. Since that time (a year and a half ago) we have gotten together for a number of scrap nights, 2 weekend get-aways, and most recently some family get togethers. This was especially nice for Todd, as he often misses out on social opportunities since he is working.

Our first "family" get together was for Memorial Day. Jenee, and her husband Peter, hosted a fantastic cookout. Jenee is a girl after my own heart, and she was snapping away with her camera all day. She was kind enough to get some great pictures of me with the kids and even a few of me and Todd. (I am so rarely in pictures since I am usually the one taking them.) I will post some of those pictures in the next day or two.

During the festivities the topic of a meatball cook-off came up. Seems that one person (whose name will not be mentioned) was talking smack about another person's meatballs. (And no, Todd was not involved in this discussion!) A decision was made to have a meatball cook-off to settle the dispute, and everyone was invited to join in (as a participant or a judge). I was not planning on participating (after all, I bake for fun, not cook!) but Todd convinced me to make Kathy's Porcupine meatballs and enter the competition.

The Cook-off was held on July 11 at Jenee and Peter's house. They went to the 9's decorating the place. From the lights to the music, the candles, and the tablecloths, it was all decked out, Italian style. Wasn't it cute?

Laura and Chuck were here and they joined in as judges. There were six competitors. Nicole had planned out the judging process and had made little flags for each entry. Each person was to place one meatball from each contestant on their plate. Since the judging was blind, the contestant names were not disclosed. They were simply labeled by a colored flag. The judges picked their favorite meatballs and voted by the colored flag.



Even the kids were involved in the judging.


Once all the votes were tallied, the results were read... And Todd was crowned the "Meatball King". There was a second place tie between Jenee and Peter, and third place went to Larry. Here are the prize winners (absent Jenee who was taking the picture). Don't you love Todd's snazzy crown?

We had such a great time! It was such a great group of people. The kids played non-stop, and were very sad when we had to pack up to go home (even though it was 10:00 PM!) Andrew begged me to set up a play-date for him with his new friend Sandro, and Brenna was begging for a sleep-over with Stephanie.

Thanks Jenee and Peter for hosting such a great party. Thanks Nicole for organizing all of the details. And thanks to everyone else for making us all welcome. I feel very fortunate to have made such great friends here in Plymouth!

Perhaps we should do a Bake-Off next???