Columbus Dispatch 2024 Tailgate Treats recipe contest seeks central Ohio's pregame heroes
Ohio weather gets a well-deserved bad rap, but we do one season right around here. Between our extended periods of oppressive humidity and chilly grayness, we get a good two or three months of crisp air, bright sunshine, beautiful colors and pumpkin spice.
And football and tailgating.
So let the countdown to fall begin. The calendar might say it begins Sept. 22 this year, but we know the season starts with the first kickoff. As of today, there are 28 days until Ohio's first high-school football game of the season in Dayton. We've got 37 days to go until the Buckeyes open against the University of Akron at Ohio Stadium and we've got 45 days until kickoff for the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.
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And you've got 25 days to submit your recipes for the 2024 Tailgate Treats Contest sponsored by The Columbus Dispatch.
Do your fellow tailgaters demand that you bring the chili or the pulled pork season after season because no one makes it as good as yours? Are you the go-to potato-salad person?
Or are you the reigning champ of desserts among your tailgating friends? Are your brownies the best? Have you bucked tradition with a unique take on buckeyes?
It's time you share that recipe with the world and get the credit you deserve.
We're looking for original recipes for tailgate treats in both savory and sweet categories. That means your recipe should never have been published before, nor should it have been submitted in any other contest. The deadline for entry is midnight on Aug. 19, and the email address to send them (along with your complete name and contact information) is tailgatetreat@dispatch.com.
The judges — Columbus Monthly food and drink editor Linda Baird, Carla Epler of Schmidt's Sausage Haus, Huntington Park's executive chef Kayla Newman and me — will select five finalists in each category.
The finalists will be invited to bring their dishes to the 2024 Central Ohio Fall Home Show on Sept. 7 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds' Bricker Building, and a winner in each category will be chosen based on taste, appearance and creativity.
The sweet and savory champions each will be awarded a $100 Lowe's gift card. Second-place winners each will receive a $50 Lowe's gift card. All finalists will receive two admission tickets to the 2025 Central Ohio Spring Home & Garden Show.
Professional chefs, caterers and anyone else who qualifies as a food professional are not eligible to enter, nor is anyone younger than 18, Dispatch employees and their relatives or home-show sponsors or exhibitors and their families.
When you send your recipe, make sure to specify the number of servings it will make and list all the ingredients in common U.S. weights or measurements. Include step-by-step preparation instructions and cooking times, if applicable, as well as the type of cookware used and the exact dimensions or size.
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Make sure you tell us, too, whether it's in the savory or sweet category. Given the availability of pickle lemonade and bubble-gum deviled eggs at this year's Ohio State Fair, it's hard to tell these days.
Ohio's skills and talents aren't just displayed between two end zones each fall. It's time we honor those who shine before the game starts.
Heroes don't always wear shoulder pads, you know. Sometimes they arrive carrying a Crock-Pot.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: It's time to enter the Columbus Dispatch Tailgate Treats recipe contest
