Get Ready For The Dutch Oven Cook-off

Mountain Mail reports

Come to cook, come see how Dutch Oven cooking is done, come to eat, listen to music, or just visit with the happy crowd at the Southwest New Mexico 8th Annual Dutch Oven Cook-Off on Saturday, Mar. 27, in Glenwood.
Organizers say each year the event “just gets bigger and better, and 2010 promises to be the most fun yet.”
The Cook-Off will be held again at the Glenwood Community Park on Cat Walk Road in Glenwood.
The Dutch Oven Cook-Off was first started in 2003 by Wendy Peralta, owner of the Glenwood Trading Post. This event is reminiscent of the old days when members of small communities would gather for shared food and “visiting.”
Both experienced and amateur Dutch Oven cooks are invited to participate. Cooking categories are single pot or three pots - Main Dish, Bread, Dessert. Cooks can enter on their own, or as a team. Entry fee is $15 for Single Pot, $ 30 for Three Pots.
Cooks set up their camp and start their fires at 7:30 am. Some entrants bring cowboy-camp setups, teepees and tents, and one entry even drives a mule-drawn chuck wagon to camp.
Dutch Oven food will be available in the park before the public tasting. Craft vendors are welcome at $25 per space.
Cooking time is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., during which time spectators always enjoy going from camp to camp, seeing “what’s cookin’,” and getting to know the cooks.
At about 2 p.m., Dutch Oven cooks bring their pots to the pavilion, where multitudes of folks show up to purchase Taster Plates ($5 for adults, $3 for children under 12), and the eating begins. Each Dutch Oven cook will put a spoonful of their dish on each plate, and there are usually about 30 to 40 different dishes on the buffet line.
Proceeds benefit the Glenwood Community Park.
Those interested in entering as a Dutch Oven Cook this year, please contact the Event organizers:
Leah Jones in Glenwood at 539-2800 or email gilaleahjones @gmail.com
Mickey Lemon in Silver City at 388-2840 or email mlemon @signalpeak.net
Linda Locklar in Silver City at 388-1503 or email lindamanyponies@hotmail.com.

Mountain Mail file photo by John Larson.

Get Ready For The Dutch Oven Cook-off