When It's Chicken-Cookin' Time in Alabama

Image Gallery And the winners are, from left, Sally Sibthorpe, second place; Susan Scarborough, third place; Michelle Anderson, first place; Susan Cortesi, fourth place; and Jennifer White, fifth place. Wagner International Photos/www.NYCPhoto.com

Thai-Inspired Stuffed Chicken Breast and Slaw
Warm Chicken Black Bean Salad with Mango Dressing
Pecan Chicken Sticks with Collard Couscous
Chicken Paillards with Asian Salad
Zesty Ginger Beer BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

If you’ve ever wondered how to get out of the same-old same old with chicken, look no further than the National Chicken Cooking Contest. Ethnic and regional influences were evident at the 47th of these bi-annual contests, held this spring in Birmingham, Alabama. Fifty-one contestants – from the 50 states and Washington, D.C. – vied for a top prize of $100,000.

Thai-Inspired Stuffed Chicken Breast and Slaw, the Idaho entry, prepared by Michelle Anderson of Eagle, was the judges’ top choice. “The dish looked spectacular and tasted delicious. We knew it was a contender from the first bite,” says Nancy Dell’Aria, food editor of Woman’s Day and chairman of the judging panel.

The recipe combined boneless chicken breasts with jasmine rice and a Thai-style slaw (for another slaw recipe that might work well with this, see Comfort Foods, Page 22), along with shredded coconut, coconut milk, Thai chili sauce and peanuts.

“I especially enjoy Thai cuisine and wanted to create a recipe inspired by the flavors found in Thai cooking,” Anderson says.

The other winners are Sally Sibthorpe of Shelby Township, Michigan, who won second place for her Warm Chicken Black Bean Salad with Mango Dressing; Susan Scarborough of Fernandina Beach, Florida, took third place with Pecan Chicken Sticks with Collard Couscous; Susan Cortesi of Northbrook, Illinois, was in fourth place with Chicken Paillards with Asian Salad; and the youngest contestant, 23-year-old Jennifer White of Columbus, Ohio, added fifth-place to her résumé with Zesty Ginger Beer BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches.

The contest’s sponsors, the National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, received thousands of original chicken recipes, from which they selected the top 51 recipes.

While the location for the bi-annual contest changes – rotating through chicken-producing states and members of the council – the concept doesn’t. Each contestant has her or his own small cooking area with range and work space, and contestants have three hours to prepare their special dish twice, once for the judges and once for display. The judges then taste and discuss, judging each dish on taste, appearance, simplicity and overall appeal.

First place winner Michelle Anderson of Eagle, Idaho, says she has been fortunate to have many good cooks in her life to inspire her.