I’m sure everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting to hear about the winner of the “Fry it Up in a Pan” Sweepstakes.
First, let me say that I was happy to receive every recipe you all sent–and there were several. I suspect I will make all of them at one time or another. But there were two in particular I thought were the most noteworthy. As such I will arbitrarily decide to make two awards (though I created only one masterpiece today, hence only one is eligible for the “Hero” portion of the award package).
First Prize–and the recipe that’s stewing as I type–is a version of Guinness Beef Stew sent to me by Matt Horgan. Matt is a guy I’ve known from work for some time, and a guy who’s been writing in bits and drabs for some time. We shared a table of contents for an anthology released through the now-defunct Fictionwise. There is probably considerable truth to the idea that his recipe won the prize because, in order to make it, I needed to buy a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout. And … well … did you know these things come in six-packs? Beyond that, I scaled the recipe down a bit, so there just happened to be more left in the bottle as I put the recipe together, hence I had a tiny libation to follow my lunch of leftover pizza.
That’s right, one day as a freelance writer and I’m already drinking.
I blame it all on Matt.
Second First Prize goes to Imp Extraordinaire, Sharon Bass. She sent me a recipe for something she calls “Chicken with Pan Sauces” that sounds totally delish, and includes some directions for making a roux. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but just the sound of the word roux alone is enough to draw my interest. I mean, saying “roux” makes me think of Winnie the Pooh and blustery days, and thinking of blustery days and Winnie the Pooh makes me think of Tigger. An thinking of Tigger is a wonderful thing.
So, winners, per the rules, feel free to drop me notes to tell me what you want. I’ll get to sending them your way pronto. And Matt, I’ll let you (and the world, I suppose) know the results of the Hero portion of this thing sometime later tonight!
I’ll leave you with a few photos:
Me, reading the ingredients:
Me, thinking about real cooking:
The crock pot, stewing away:
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