It all started about three years ago. I entered the Challenge Butter Heritage Contest and won! I made my delicious appetizer using scallops, lemon and butter that my husband and I would enjoy for special occasions and date nights at home. This is where my journey began! This achievement qualified me for another contest-The World Food Championships! A cooking competition that tests the strength of home cooks as they battle against their peers and professional chefs, quite an intimidating challenge! I decided to compete only days before the event in Vegas took place. Challenge Butter had agreed to sponsor me; I packed my bags, my confidence and skills, and headed off to Vegas!

Looking back, I am glad I did not have too much time to think, or I may have chickened out! The event took place only a few days before Halloween. I had to quickly come up with recipes I thought could win the competition. As I went through my files tasting and testing, I had Trick-or-Treaters coming to my door as I was practiced my recipes. The kids received candy, and the parents received a treat; a taste of my potential entries. Yes, a different way to decide on a recipe, but it did pay off! I took 4th in the completion that year, a huge accomplishment considering this was my first live cook off, and I had such a short time to prepare.

This past year, the stakes became higher. I gained automatic entry by being in the top ten. I choose to be in the “Recipe” division which required me to create impressive pasta dishes all featuring the unforgettable flavor of Challenge Butter. If competing was not nerve racking enough, the competition was being filmed for a six part mini-series! Talking to camera men, hosts and producers while competing added a new twist to the game of competitive cooking.

Once again with the support of Challenge Butter, I created some prize winning recipes. How good did I do? Well you will just have to watch to see! The World Food Championships will begin July 10 on the new F.Y.I. station. My segment, The Recipe episode, will air July 31st, check your local listings for the time.

To celebrate this exciting new show, I would like to share one of my recipes that I made my first year at The World Food Championships. This is my entry in the Side Dish category, Garden Vegetable Skillet Fritters with Avocado Cream. It truly is one of my favorite side dishes; I hope you too will enjoy it! Click here for the recipe that started my competion cooking! Click here for more information about the "Scottsdale Sizzlin Showdown,"and how to enter to compete!