Happy Bipartisan Halloween

I found these bipartisan Halloween decorations at my neighbor's house last evening. Debbie Arnow and her mom, Pat Eldridge, carved the faces of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain in the pumpkins a few days ago. The two pumpkins will be on display at the Arnow's house when kids trick-or-treat tonight.

Debbie and Pat did a great job. Pat told me that the McCain pumpkin was pretty hard because it had a lot of detail. She also said that because there were a lot of small lines involved in McCain's likeness, that pumpkin was starting to cave.

By the way, there are only four days left until Election Day.

Tomorrow: Theme Day

Poland BBQ King

After two days of Code Blue, we're back to the BBQ:

The Poland BBQ Kings photograph me as I photograph them while they hand out BBQ during the Jack Daniels Championship Invitational BBQ last Saturday.  Team Poland was one of 18 international teams to compete in the championship.  

The highest-placing international team was Barbecue Symphony from Estonia.  They placed 19th overall.  World Barbecue Team from Switzerland won the Home Cooking from the Homeland category (international recipes).  We had some of the Swiss team's entry and liked it a lot.  We also tasted a bit of both Poland and Estonia's entries.

Not just anyone can compete in "The Jack."  In order to be eligible to compete, American teams must have won one or more of the following:

* * * a state championship that has 25+ participants

* * * a championship in an event with 50+ participants

* * * a championship in a world event such as Memphis in May or the American Royal

Tomorrow:  Happy Halloween

Code Blue II

As I mentioned yesterday, the Titans declared "CODE BLUE" for Monday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts. Even the city of Nashville participated, flooding the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge in blue during the game. I took this photo from the same place where I shot yesterday's photo. I just turned 90 degrees to my right to get this shot. I'm standing a little northwest of the bridge.

I took the following photo from a spot southwest of the bridge. Because of street closures, I couldn't get too close. If you look closely at the center of the photo, you can see some of the crowd in the stadium as well as Ghost Dance, the sculpture I've shown you here and here. To see my original post on the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge, click here.

Code Blue!

I know I was going to show you more of the Jack Daniels BBQ Championship, but I have to delay that two days because Monday Night Football was back in Nashville tonight as the Titans took on the Colts at LP Field before 70,000 fans. The team declared the night CODE BLUE, and asked all fans in attendance to wear Titan Blue to the game. In addition, some of downtown was bathed in blue for the game.

CODE BLUE worked! The Titans, at 7-0, are the only unbeaten football team.

We didn't go to the game, but we drove downtown after the kickoff so I could shoot the crowd and downtown. We were on the west bank of the Cumberland River looking east through the southern end zone of the field.

Team Ida Q

One of the team members for Team Ida Q, a barbecue company from Boise, Idaho, carries the team's brisket entry to the judges' tent.  They had their smoker (below right) custom-built to their specifications.  They were nice enough to let us sample their brisket, and I have to say it was good.  Unfortunately, they didn't win that category, but we liked their brisket the best of those we tasted.  They told me that they use applewood, and I thought it gave the meat a great flavor.

"Of those you tasted?" you ask.  Yes!  The interesting thing is that once the competitors send their entries in a particular category to the judges' tent, they hand out samples to the crowd.  We arrived midday, and most of the competitors were handing out generous samples of pork shoulder.  Unfortunately, if you don't have a bowl/plate of your own, you get your sample in your hand.  We ended up tasting a little BBQ from a number of international competitors, including ones fro Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Poland, Puerto Rico and Estonia.  

Even though we really had just a little from each of those places, I am pretty sick of BBQ right now. . . .Actually, I haven't been able to eat meat since yesterday afternoon, and I don't think I will for the next few days.  It's not that it wasn't good, mind you.  It was just BBQ overkill.  

I can't imagine judging one of these competitions.  There were 66 competitors from the States and 18 international ones.  There were EIGHT categories (chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, chef's choice, sauce, home cooking and dessert), and judges were on duty from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm.

Tomorrow:  Not everyone gets to compete in the Jack Daniels BBQ Championship.

BBQ- It's Off The Hook!

This weekend was the 20th annual Jack Daniels International Invitational Barbecue Championship, and one of the judges was Food Network star Guy Fieri (above right).  The outgoing Fieri, who has four shows on Food Network (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives . . . Guy's Big Bite . . . Ultimate Recipe Showdown . . . Guy Off The Hook), is known for his sunglasses, knee-length shorts, flip-flops and spiked hair.  His catch phrase is "Off the Hook," which is what he pronounced the BBQ at the championship today.

Held in Lynchburg, the BBQ Championship is one of the most prestigious BBQ championships in the world, and 80 international teams participate in the two-day event.  Lynchburg (population 361 people) welcomes over 25,000 visitors who amble through the booths and watch the competitors prepare their meat for the judges.  Over the next several days, I'll show you a bit more of the BBQ and tell you a little more about it.

Turkey Legs, Anyone?

At the Webb School Arts and Craft Festival last weekend, the Bell Buckle Fire Department was selling turkey legs ($7 each or two for $12).  We saw a bunch of people munching on turkey legs as they sat and rested on hay bales (or the ground) or as they walked around the town.  Until recently, I had not seen turkey legs offered at any venue, but they must be a popular item these days as I've seen them at several craft shows and fairs recently.  Personally, I'm not wild about the legs on a roasted turkey, so I don't think I'd eat one that was smoked over a pit.

Speaking of Cuties

"There is no psychiatrist in the world

like a puppy licking your face."

~ Bern Williams

Thanks to my son, Jason, for providing this photo of Uno, the baby Beagle.  Uno, the only puppy in his litter (hence his name), was about one month old when this photo was taken Monday.

Canine Model

This littler pomeranian was modeling a visor for one of the vendors at the Webb School Craft Fair in Bell Buckle Saturday.  What a cutie! 

You Scream. I Scream. We All Scream for Ice Cream

In one of the shops on Main Street in Bell Buckle, you'll find a wonderful, old-fashioned soda parlor/ice cream shop.

Anyone for a double-dip, chocolate cone?