Dixon Siblings Win Solano Co. 4-H Chili Cook-Off

By Kathy Keatley Garvey:

SOLANO COUNTY, CA – A sibling team from the Dixon Ridge 4-H Club won the 2018 Solano County 4-H Chili Cookoff with a recipe titled “4-H Green and White Chili” recipe, featuring pork shoulder and pork sausage and four different varieties of peppers. The event, featuring five teams, took place at the Pena Adobe Middle School during the Solano County 4-H Project Skills Day.

The members of the Dixon championship chili team--Maritzia Partida Cisneros, Miguel Partida Cisneros, Moncerrat “Monce” Torres Cisneros and Rudolfo “Rudy” Radillo Cisneros-- used four different peppers: pasilla, Anaheim, serrano and green bell pepper to flavor and spice the white (pork) chili.

The siblings competed last year as the “Mean Green Machines,” wearing their official green and white 4-H uniforms and hats. This year they chose the same recipe but adjusted its heat. This year they also donned different 4-H attire along with white chef hats, inscribed with their names.

The Dixon Ridge team competed against Team Delta of the Rio Vista 4-H Club, which prepared “Chili-licious”; Hillbilly Chili Team from Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, “Hillbilly Chili”; Lil’ Peppers Team from the Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, “Chicken Enchilada Chili” (the team won last year’s competition); and Team Minecraft of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, Vallejo, which prepared “Ruby Redstone Chili.”

They answered questions from the evaluators and served them samples. John Vasquez Jr. of Vacaville, member of the Solano County Board of Supervisors, judged the chili contest with Vacaville police officers Jeremy Johnson, Shawn Windham and Steve Moore. Windham is also the president of the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees.

The evaluators all described the chili dishes as delicious, said coordinator Kelli Mummert, a community leader in the Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville.

"The Chili Cook Off is a great hands-on opportunity for youth to build confidence and spark their creativity," said Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H Program representative. " Chili team members build food preparation skills, learn food and kitchen safety, and use math and science concepts, as they develop their chili recipes."

The winning team received a $15 Cold Stone Creamery gift. Each participant received a certificate.

“I would have to say that I was extremely impressed with all of the teams and their entries in the contest,” said Windham. “While there was one clear winner of the contest, every one of the teams made a very good chili and showed that they have a strong ability to work together as a team collaboratively and that they have very strong cooking skills.”

“I think all of the teams showed maturity and had a great presentation for their chili,” Windham said. “They were each very enthusiastic about their creation. I found all of the chilis to be very good and I thought the teams did an excellent job of representing 4-H. I was also very pleased we were able to host the event at one of our VUSD schools.”

Windham added: “ I will be honest in that I wasn’t sure what to expect because I haven’t been involved with the chili contest before. However, I was very pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed each of the teams’ creations and the ability to talk with the kids about how they came up with the recipes for their chili. It is a lot of fun and I hope to get an invite again next year!”

Said Vasquez: "I believe this year’s winning chili had all the qualities that a winning chili should have: flavor, aroma, texture, color and presentation. I enjoyed having three police officers from the Vacaville PD this year as judges. Their skills in remembering in great detail made the job of judging much easier, as we refer back to our notes on each one of the entries. I’ve had the honor of attending as a judge and as a presenter of awards on both Project Skills Day and the 4-H Achievement Night for 16 years. Over the years, Shelli (his wife) and I have watched young 4-H’ers grow to become young impressive adults and that has been rewarding to us.”

The chili-cookoff participants:

• Hillbilly Chili Team, Tremont 4-H Club: Alaina Austin, Isabel Martinez, Trinity Road and Sara Yates
• Lil’ Peppers Team, Pleasants Valley: Jessie Means, Maya Farris, Naomi Lipary and Maliyah Desmarais
• Team Minecraft Team, Sherwood Forest: Darren Stephens, Celeste Harrison, Julietta Wnholds and Hanna Stephens
• Team Delta, Rio Vista: Olivia Stone, Anuheua Rivas, Maddie Baughman and Sofia Gutierrez

The winning recipe, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday:

• 4-H Green and White Chili
  
• Dixon Ridge 4-H Club
• 2 pounds pork shoulder cut in ½-inch chunks
• 2 pounds ground pork sausage
• Olive oil (as needed to brown meat)
• Two 28-ounce cans green enchilada sauce
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 of each pepper diced: pasilla, Anaheim, serrano and green bell pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tomatillos, diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• Water, approximately 1 cup
• Cornstarch for thickening if needed
• Seasonings to taste: chicken bouillon, black pepper, garlic salt and cumin
• Directions: In a large stock pot, brown pork in the olive oil. Add the ground sausage and continue cooking over high heat until meat is browned (about 30 minutes). Add the water and seasonings. Cook an additional 30 minutes. Add green enchilada sauce. Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes. While mixture is simmering, coarsely chop the onions, mince the garlic, dice the peppers and tomatillos and chop the cilantro. Add these to the pot and continue cooking until the pork is tender (about 30 to 45 minutes). Check flavor and adjust seasonings to taste. If needed, thicken with the cornstarch.

The Dixon Ridge, Tremont, Pleasants Valley, Rio Vista and Sherwood Forest 4-H Clubs are among the 12 clubs in Solano County. The others are Maine Prairie 4-H, Roving Clovers 4-H, both of Dixon; Elmira 4-H, Vaca Valley 4-H, both of the Vacaville area; Westwind 4-H and Suisun Valley 4-H, both of Fairfield-Suisun; and Travis Air Force Base 4-H Club from Travis.

The Solano County 4-H Youth Development Program is part of the UC Cooperative Extension Program. The four H’s stands for head, heart, health and hands, with the motto “Make the Best Better.” 4-H is open to all youths ages 5 to 19. In age-appropriate projects, they learn skills through hands-on learning in projects ranging from arts and crafts, computers and leadership to dog care, poultry, rabbits and woodworking. They develop skills they would otherwise not attain at home or in public or private schools.

For more information, contact Solano County 4-H Program representative Valerie Williams at vawilliams@ucanr.edu or link to http://solano4h.ucanr.edu/Get_Involved/.

PHOTOS:

1. The championship Dixon Ridge 4-H Club Chili Team includes (from left) siblings Moncerral “Monce” Torres Cisneros, Maritzia Partida Cisneros, Rudolfo “Rudy” Radillio Cisneros, and Miguel Partida Cisneros. They made “4-H Green and White Chili.”

2. Sherwood Forest 4-H’ers, Vallejo, get ready to serve the judges. From left are Vacaville police officer Jeremy Johnson; John Vasquez Jr., Solano County Board of Supervisors; and Vacaville police officers Shawn Windham and Steve Moore. Windham is also president of the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees.

3. Pleasants Valley 4-H’ers of Vacaville--(from left) Maliyah Desmarais, Maya Farris, Naomi Lipary and Jessie Means-- answer questions from Solano County Board of Supervisor John Vasquez Jr. (front left) and police officer Steve Moore.

4. Vacaville police officer Shawn Windham, president of the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees, evaluating the chili of Pleasants Valley 4-H team (from left) Maliyah Desmarais, Maya Farris, Naomi Lipary and Jessie Means.

5. This Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, chili team dressed as hillbillies, made “Hillbilly Chili" for the Solano County 4-H Chili Cookoff. From left are Alaina Austin, Trinity Roach, Isabel Martinez and Sara Yates.

(Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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