Sweet Cornbread Mini-Muffins with a Chile Pepper Kick for #10DaysofTailgate

While jalapeno-topped little bites may look like ghoulish eyeballs, they have nothing to do with Halloween, not this month anyway. During football season these sweet, chile-packed, cornbread appetizers will score extra points for flavor at any tailgate gathering. Pile them in a basket and serve warm, alone or with some whipped honey butter or pepper jelly. Pair them with ribs or wings, or anything slathered with barbecue sauce. Smother them with chili for a heartier nibble. Go ahead, grab one and take a bite; you'll smile and grab another! 
  

The batter is sticky so use your fingers or a small, oiled cookie scoop.

Topped with a jalapeño ring or plain, cornbread mini muffins make tasty snacks and delicious accompaniments to chili and chowder.

The muffins easily size up into larger muffin tins or even jars, perfect to split and cover with Cajun Barbecued Shrimp (think Shrimp and Grits) or with Sausage Gravy or Chili, just hold back on the sugar. On the rare off-side chance that you have some muffins left over, build a savory breakfast strata. 

Another batch baked in canning jars was easy to transport and serve. 

Sweet Cornbread Muffins 
with a Chili Pepper Kick

Yields 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 stick (6 Tablespoons) butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup Poblano pepper, deseeded & diced

2/3 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 cup green onion, diced

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill coarse grind yellow cornmeal (I substituted a 2:1 mix of Bob's Red Mill medium grind cornmeal and Corn Grits aka Polenta)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 Jalapeno rings (Mezzetta’s Deli-Sliced Tamed Jalapeno Peppers)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an two 12-cup mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Wet ingredients: Use a large mixing bowl and stir together the melted butter and sugar. Whisk in the beaten eggs and milk. Add the Poblano chilies, cheese and onion and stir until well mixed.
3. Dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, blending thoroughly.
4. Add the flour mixture to the eggy batter and stir until smooth and well combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared mini-muffin pans, filling each cup about ¾ full. Top each muffin with a Jalapeno ring.
5. Bake on a center rack in the preheated 350 F oven until a toothpick or tester poked into the center of the cornbread comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cornbread rest a few minutes until they pop out of the pan easily. Serve warm, with a little honey on the side... or butter... or better yet, honey butter.   

Note: Bob's Red Mill is a sponsor of #10DaysofTailgate, but I purchased my own cornmeal. I love this company and have used many of their high-quality products in my home kitchen and boat galley for years.

Here's what the rest of the team brought to the table...

Starters

Sweet Cornbread Mini-Muffins with a Chile Pepper Kick by OnTheMove-In the Galley

Pretzel Bites with Hot & Spicy El Diablo Mango Mustard by Making Miracles

Mains
Homemade Honey Mustard Chipotle Chicken Bites by Love and Confections

Beer Cheese Brat Chowder by Cheese Curd In Paradise

Ducky Joes by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Ducky 13 Bean Soup by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

13 Bean Chili by Miss Laura’s Kitchen

Za’atar Spiced Cashews by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Chicken & Potato Stir Fry on the Grill by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

El Diablo Spicy Wood Smoked Pork Butt by CafeTerraBlog
Grilled Lemongrass Lamb by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sides
Grilled Clash of the Seasons Panzanella by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sweets

Boston Lager Cupcakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook

This is it, the very last day of #10DaysofTailgate. Have you checked out the awesome collection of 14 prizes that are available from our generous sponsors? Get with it! Click HERE to go to the sponsor info and enter the giveaway. Don't miss this final opportunity. 

Salads in Jars for #10DaysofTailgate

Unless you are an avid football fan, tailgating is all about the food; rib-sticking dishes like sliders, brats, wings, chili, anything with barbecue sauce. After a few nibbles helpings of these favorites I crave a lighter, healthier bite and head for vegetables... something crunchy beyond the crudités and dip. Toss a penalty flag, call a foul and any eject all soggy, wilted, overdressed salads from your tailgate party. Go with a fresh approach - layered salads in glass jars. You can adapt one of your favorite recipes, experiment with a new recipe, or play around with interesting ingredients just for fun. The secret, if there is one, is in the layering. 

Begin by spooning 2 to 3 generous tablespoons of the salad dressing into squeaky clean containers with lids, like my repurposed 13-ounce jelly jars. Top this with a layer of firm, crunchy vegetable(s) that won't soak up the liquid. Add additional ingredients, pressing each layer firmly as you go to minimize the exposure to air. Leafy greens and fresh herbs work best on top. Note: fill your jars completely; don't leave empty air space on top as I did in some of these photos. Screw on the tops and that's it. The salads are good to go, or chill and hold. 

Salads in jars are quick to prepare once you have your ingredients prepped. Think mise en place. They store well, staying fresh in the fridge for several days, and are easy to stack and transport to any event or even to your work desk. Score! Shake to distribute the dressing and enjoy straight from the jar, or empty the contents into a bowl if you prefer.  

I like to set out a variety of ingredients and build new combinations, change up the dressings, try different herbs and toppings. Go ahead, get creative and play with textures and flavors. 

Greek Salad in a Jar

Build this salad with fresh local produce for an extra flavor boost. Salty feta and licoricey basil really pop this classic.

Salad Ingredients:

Diced hothouse cucumber, green onions or red onions, yellow and orange bell peppers, halved grape tomatoes, diced or crumbled feta cheese, fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley, pitted olives or pine nuts if you like.

Dressing: 
Whisk together 1/2 tsp Gourmet Garden garlic, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 oz red wine vinegar, salt & pepper to taste. Add 4 oz of good olive oil in slow dribbles and keep whisking until emulsified.

,

Minty Orzo Salad in a Jar

Mint and honey balance the slightly bitter bite of kale (or radicchio) in this pasta salad.

Salad Ingredients:

Chopped celery, roasted red peppers, cooked orzo, purple kale or radicchio ribbons, green onions, goat cheese, fresh mint leaves and pecan bits.

Dressing:

Whisk together 1 Tbs honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp dried mint, 2 Tbs white balsamic vinegar, 3 Tbs good olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. 

Here are some other ideas for recipes to adapt to a salad in a jar presentation:

Guacamole Salad

Couscous Sweet & Tart

Italian Pepper Salad

Quinoa Mediterranean Salad

Southwest Corn Salad

(Click here for a further look at mason jar salads at Shockinglydelicious.)

#10DaysofTailgate is approaching its end. Have you checked out the prize packages and entered yet? Click HERE to view our generous sponsors and enter the giveaway. 

Here's what the rest of the team brought to the table today...

Starters

‘Da Bears in ‘Da Blankets by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Jalapeno Popper Deviled Eggs by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Philly Cheese Steak Eggrolls by Cooking In Stilettos

Ketchup & Mustard Glazed Meatballs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Duck Bacon, Pear, Brie Baked Wontons by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Mains
Buffalo Chicken Sliders by girlichef

Chipotle Ranch Chicken Wings by Cheese Curd In Paradise

White Chicken Chili by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Saucy Maple Leaf Duck Sliders by Making Miracles

Three Pepper Burgers by Eliot’s Eats

Chipotle Mustard Pork Chops by The Pajama Chef

Cherry Chipotle Drumsticks by Summer Scraps

Sides

Salads in Jars by OnTheMove-In the Galley

Meaty "Beast Mode" Baked Beans for #10DaysofTailgate

Why "Beast Mode"? Well, if you had to ask, you obviously aren't a Seattle Seahawks fan.

1. Marshawn Terrell Lynch, is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is nicknamed "Beast Mode" for his aggressive running style and penchant for breaking tackles. Wikipedia

Traditional Boston baked beans rely on long, low and slow cooking and the flavors of molasses, brown sugar and dry mustard. Beast Mode baked beans break tradition to feature meat, beef and pork - a lot of pork - aggressively seasoned with an assortment of zesty hot sauces. You will find beans in every forkful, but your taste buds will agree that it's all about the spicy flavors of that saucy, meaty mix.  

Note: Smoked pork hocks or neck bones add a subtle smoky back note, you know it's there... almost. Smoke is a good thing, but salt can be an issue. Smoked meat is typically too salty to play nicely with other ingredients, a result of the brining I think, and boiling it or soaking it overnight can help leach out some of the sodium. Add the smoked pork chunks to a pot of cold water, bring to a rolling boil, drain, rinse and repeat. Cool and pull the meat off the bone before using. Discard any large chunks of fat and shred or cut into small bite-sized pieces. Or skip the smoked pork bones and substitute more cooked, smoky bacon instead.

Do you think of baked beans as just another boring side dish? Time out! Blow the whistle on that action and send in a new play! Beast Mode Baked Beans score points as winning tailgate fare.

Meaty "Beast Mode" Baked Beans

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb pork sausage (Jimmy Dean lite)

½ cup smoked pork meat (boiled & drained to lower the sodium impact)

4-6 strips thick, lean bacon

¼ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup diced celery

1 Tb Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic, or 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 TB vinegar

¼ tsp thyme

1 TB brown sugar

1 TB molasses

1 TB Sriracha*
1 tsp dry mustard (Colman's)
 1 tsp Chipotle Tabasco*

1 tsp Green Tabasco*

1 generous TB lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

2 12-oz cans B&M baked beans

*Notes: 

• Start out light with the hot & spicy seasonings, then crank up the heat to your taste after step 3. 
• Ready to experiment? Try a squirt or two of El Diablo Smokey Chipotle*mustard or an Intensity Academy hot sauce instead of your favorite Tabasco or Sriracha.

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp; drain and set aside to add to the meat mixture later.
2. At the same time, in another large skillet, brown the beef and pork sausage. When no longer pink, add the green pepper, onion, celery and garlic, sauteeing until tender. Drain off any remaining grease.
3. Add all other ingredients except the beans. Simmer 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Taste again. Chop or crumble the cooked bacon and add to the meat mixture. 
4. Turn the beans into a greased 2-quart baking dish, or two smaller casseroles. Spoon the meat mixture evenly over the top.
5. Bake 45 minutes, uncovered, in a 350 degree F. oven. Serve, and enjoy the game.

Note: Gourmet Garden is a sponsor of #10DaysofTailgate, but I purchased my own product. I love this company and have used many of their high-quality products in my home kitchen and boat galley for years.

Remember to enter the #10DaysofTailgate Giveaway here. 

Here's what everyone brought to the table today...

Starters

Cheesy Maple Leaf Farm Duck Bacon Oven Chips by Making Miracles

Mango-Mustard Crock Pot Wings by Curious Cuisiniere

Cheesy Pulled Pork Egg Rollshttp://fromgatetoplate.com/2014/09/25/cheesy-bbq-pulled-pork-egg-rolls-10daysoftailgate/ by From Gate to Plate
Herbed Deviled Eggs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sips
Amaretto Spiced Apple Cider by The Spiffy Cookie

Dips

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Mains

Green and Gold Grilled Chicken (Green Curry and Pineapple) by Cheese Curd In Paradise

Turducken Meatballs by Miss Laura’s Kitchen

Meaty “Beast Mode” Baked Beans by OnTheMove-In the Galley
Chicken Apple Bratwurst Burgers by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Sides

Grilled Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Duck Bacon by The Pajama Chef

IFBC 2014: Day Two

Friends asks "What was it like?", and I struggle for a single, quick answer. So here's a somewhat rambling, lengthier collection of memories and events that stand out from the very long 7:00 am - 9:30 pm Day Two at IFBC2014.

An early breakfast hosted by Noosa Yoghurt brought a crowd into the Westin's 4th floor foyer and Grand Ballroom I. The yogurt plus toppings and muffins tempted many, but I really savored the opportunity to grab a coffee and connect with other bloggers, product reps and vendors. We were a noisy, enthusiastic, sociable group - a large portion of the 440 attendees, from 30 states and provinces, including 5 other countries besides Canada.

Keynote speakers Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, authors of The Flavor Bible and What to Eat with What You Drink, shared their views on the food blogger's mission: Learn, Educate, Entertain,Inspire... and I may have missed one more. Memorable quote: "Being a good writer has to do with living an authentic life." (So, what's a non-authentic life?) They covered current food trends, highlighting the move toward plant-based diets. I can lean in that direction with Meatless Mondays and eating more produce, but as a happy omnivore I'm not ready to forego meat, seafood, dairy and the like. I did add their books to my library reserve list.

The second featured speaker, Todd Coleman, sparked interest and some controversy regarding ethical practices during his presentation on Modern Editorial Photography (and Video): Scrappy Light, Hidden Props and Magic. Coleman's visuals were striking, each illustrating a composition, lighting or prop  decision. I took copious notes here and will play with several of his techniques in future shoots. Memorable opinion: forget about any requirement for natural light and "...use it when it serves the moment."   

Thierry Rautureau, The Chef In The Hat, did a pre-lunch cooking demo that was as entertaining as I had expected. Working with local, seasonal produce he whipped out simple dishes with few ingredients and big flavor.

• Chanterelles sautéed in butter, roasted yellow plums with a touch of harissa, slivered sage and a fluff of arugula all piled atop a crostini slice pan-seared in butter. 
• His quick pickling brine formula (3 water/2 vinegar/1 sugar) plus herbs and spices to brine or dress veggies and fruits. 
• A blend of watermelon pulp, mustard, EVOO and a bit of harissa plus herbs to dress a stack of melon slices and burrata. 

Lunch and the afternoon went by in a blur of more food, more networking, and a time slot lacking any sessions of interest (to me). Time dragged. I drooped. Dropped into a session and daydreamed, half-listening to information I already knew. Departed quietly.

Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write for Food, led my last session of the day. "So, How Did it Taste?" 
covered literary techniques designed to wake up food writing, a very brief seminar on specificity and evocative language. Memorable quote: "Adjectives are the crack of food writers"... they need other tools. Oops! I may never use delicious or tasty again. I added her book to my library reserve list.

Quiet sociability filled the pre-dinner lull, a chance to hang out in the foyer and enjoy longer conversations with interesting people. So interesting that many of us missed the reception in another room. Then came the big food event, A Taste of Seattle & Gourmet Fair, a chance to "Sample a variety of gourmet goods from producers and nibble on cuisine prepared by some of Seattle's best chefs and restaurants!" More comments on this experience in another post.

Gazpacho Shooters with Spicy Shrimp for #10DaysofTailgate

Welcome to ‪#‎10DaysofTailgate‬ hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla! This event runs rom September 20th through September 30th with nearly two dozen bloggers and more than one hundred recipes to inspire you through an entire tailgating season. A huge thank you goes to the event sponsors who have graciously donated prizes for our readers. There are fourteen different prize packages so make sure you enter the rafflecopter HERE and check back throughout the event. Don't forget to follow the hashtag on Twitter too.

It's time for the opening kickoff of this virtual tailgate gathering, so let's get the party rolling!

Tailgating can be a little different here in Seattle where many fans arrive at University of Washington games by boat, and sailgate afloat. Early-season games are often held in sunny 70-80 degree weather, so this chilled Gazpacho Shooter with Spicy Shrimp would be a welcome starter. 

Is this a family-friendly appetizer, a soup, a colorful salad, or an adult beverage with an added shot of vodka? It could be any of the above; the difference is all in the details. Whichever option you choose, gazpacho is deliciously refreshing, a perfect kickoff to warm-weather tailgate parties anywhere.

• To save time, you can prepare the Gazpacho a day ahead and hold it in the fridge; the texture and taste actually improve with an overnight rest. 
• Cook the Spicy Shrimp ahead of time to serve chilled, or grill them just before serving to serve warm. 
• Offer the soup chunky to sip as an easy-to-eat appetizer, with or without a spoon. 
• Or puree all of the ingredients in a blender and pour; add a shot of vodka or tequila to each glass and you have a zesty, Better-Than-A-Bloody-Mary beverage that's colorful and loaded with flavor. 
• Increase the vegetables/decrease the liquid, go light on the blender action and shazam! it's a Gazpacho Salad to serve as a light, healthy option. After all, not everyone yearns for chili, sausage rolls, wings, ribs, pulled pork, loaded nachos, etc. before a game - I do love those traditional tailgate offerings, just not so much in 80+ degree weather. 

Gazpacho Shooters

Yield depends on size of glass - I filled 12 shooter glasses and 6 small bowls with this batch.

Ingredients:
1 TB Gourmet Gardens Garlic in a tube, or 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

generous 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, no crusts

3 cups low-sodium V-8 juice

1 poblano pepper, cut in small dice

1 sweet pepper, red, orange or yellow, cut in small dice

4 large tomatoes; peel, seed and dice  

1/2 large, sweet onion or one bunch of scallions, small dice

1 English cucumber; peel, seed and dice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 TB red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. cumin

1 small jalapeño, seed and dice, OR use Sriracha, Tabasco or other hot sauce (quantity to your taste)

Spicy Shrimp* (recipe follows)

Optional Toppings:

picks or skewers of diced avocado and tiny cherry tomatoes

fresh cilantro, basil or parsley, coarsely chopped

a dollop of salsa

Directions:

1. Combine garlic, bread crumbs, half of the V-8 juice and half of the sweet pepper, tomatoes, onion and cucumber in a food processor or blender and puree. 
2. In a pitcher or bowl, combine the puree with the remaining V-8 juice, diced veggies, oil, vinegar and seasonings. Blend with a spoon; taste and adjust seasonings. Taste again. The soup should be thick, chunky and slightly glossy from the oil. Chill for an hour or two, or overnight. Stir before serving.
3. To serve, pour into a small glass and top with a skewer of Spicy Shrimp. Note: If fresh or frozen shrimp are not available, top with fresh cilantro or parsley, cubed avocado and a cherry tomato, or commercial salsa  (Do not use canned shrimp!! They can be nasty disappointing.) 

Spicy Shrimp

Ingredients:

use large shrimp, at least 1 per shooter glass

salt and pepper

1 Tablespoon olive oil or canola oil

1 Tablespoon butter

ground chipotle pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika (pimenton)

1-2 teaspoons garlic, minced or use Gourmet Gardens Garlic in a tube

Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil and butter in a medium sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add the chipotle pepper, paprika, garlic and hot sauce and cook for a minute or two until fragrant, stirring or swirling the pan occasionally.
2. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook until barely done, just a minute or two on each side until they turn pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan, skewer each with a long pick and add to each serving of Gazpacho.
3. OR make the sauce and keep it warm. Thread the raw shrimp on a double-prong metal skewer and grill on a lightly-oiled barbecue for a minute or two until just cooked through, brushing with sauce frequently while they cook. Serve as above in step 2.

Note: Gourmet Garden is a sponsor of #10DaysofTailgate, but I purchased my own product. I love this company and have used many of their high-quality products in my home kitchen and boat galley for years.

Click below to explore more tempting tailgate food from the #10DaysofTailgate bloggers.

And here's what the team brought to the table...

Starters

Loaded Baked Nacho Supreme by Cheese Curd In Paradise

Baked Blueberry Pork Egg Rolls by The Pajama Chef

Gazpacho Shooters with Spicy Shrimp by OnTheMove-In the Galley

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatball Sliders with BlueCheese Aioli by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventure

Dips

Soft Pretzels and Buffalo Cheese Dip by Things I Make (for Dinner)

Cheesy Bean Dip by Making Miracles

Garden Fresh Salsa by Eliot’s Eats

Pineapple Salsa by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Devilish 7-Layer Dip by Miss Laura’s Kitchen

  

Sips

War Eagle Sangria by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Spicy Strawberry Bourbon Shooters by CafeTerraBlog

Iowa Sunrise by From Gate to Plate

Sides

Deviled Egg Potato Salad by Cooking In Stilettos

Mains

El Diablo’d Lamb Lollipops by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ginger Chicken Kabobs by Summer Scraps

Chili by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Spiced Fig and Garlic Chicken Wings by girlichef

Baked Mac and Cheese  with Bacon Pretzel Topping by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Asian Duck Sliders  by Curious Cuisiniere

Pineapple Chile Lime Wings by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches by Love and Confections

Sweets

Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies by The Spiffy Cookie

Pre-Game Show for #10DaysofTailgate

Welcome to #10DaysofTailgate! Nearly two dozen bloggers with over one hundred recipes are ready to inspire you through an entire tailgating season. Think chicken wings, skewers, sweet nibbles, cocktails and more. The event runs September 20th through September 30th. Are you in? Get ready...get set...

Go! Let's start with a huge - HUGE! - thank you to our event sponsors who have contributed great prizes for a gigantic giveaway. The fourteen - yes, fourteen - different prize packages are detailed in the rafflecopter. The rafflecopter is below and will go live on September 20th. Please check back, if you're reading this before our kick-off.

Our #10DaysofTailgate Sponsors

in alphabetical order with links to their homepages

Bob's Red Mill

El Diablo Hot & Spicy Mustard

FireWire Grilling

Gourmet Garden

Intensity Academy

Maple Leaf Farms

Mr. Bar-B-Q

Not Ketchup

Pick Your Plum

Quirk Books

The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

ThermoWorks

Our #10DaysofTailgate Bloggers

in alphabetical order with links to their homepages

A Day in the Life on the Farm 

A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

CafeTerraBlog

Cheese Curd In Paradise

Cooking In Stilettos

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Curious Cuisiniere

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Eliot's Eats

From Gate to Plate

girlichef

Love and Confections

Making Miracles

Miss Laura's Kitchen

OnTheMove-In the Galley

Sew You Think You Can Cook

Summer Scraps

The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

The Pajama Chef

The Spiffy Cookie

Things I Make (for Dinner)

And...THE giveaway!

Terms & Conditions

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment with What's your favorite tailgate dish? Many more ways to enter in the Rafflecopter widget [below].

This giveaway is open to residents of the United States only, age 18 and older. The #10DaysofTailgate 2014 giveaway runs from Saturday, September 20, 2014 12:00am PT through Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 6:00pm PT. Winners will be randomly chosen and announced on October 1, 2014. Winners will also be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond to the email. If a winner does not respond in that time a new winner will be chosen. For more information, see the full terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget.

Disclaimer: Our generous sponsors are providing the prizes free of charge.  Participating bloggers may have received product related to these brands to use for #10DaysofTailgate. All opinions stated are their own.

Scroll through our fourteen prize packages!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IFBC Seattle 2014 - Anticipation

The International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) opens this week in Seattle, an opportunity to spend 2 1/2 days with over 400 food bloggers. The agenda boasts a multi-strand focus on Food, Writing, and Technology... plus some food and wine tasting and a ton of personal networking opportunities. I can't wait to connect in person with some of the bloggers I only know online.

The Facebook page for IFBC Attendees & Alumni has been incredibly active; alternately entertaining, occasionally cheeky, full of useful "how to make the most of IFBC" tips, and well... interesting. My favorite FB tips so far include: 
     wear stretchy pants so you can sample everything, 
     spit don't swallow when wine tasting,
     bring extra batteries or a charging cord for electronic devices,
     go old school and carry a notebook and pen,
     carry an ample supply of business cards to swap,
     prepare a brief "elevator pitch" to describe your blog
     and be uber sociable, but plan ahead for contacts you care about.

Many attendees are organizing all sorts of pre-conference excursions and tours, runs, food crawls, pub crawls, breakfast meet-ups and casual networking occasions. The warm weather and sunshine this week should encourage our out-of-town visitors to get out and about, enjoying the best of Seattle. Fortunately the slate of featured conference speakers and array of educational sessions sound terrific; interesting enough to keep me focused on happenings inside the Westin. 

Between today and Saturday I need to identify my goals for attending this event. Why am I participating?  Should I focus on food and recipe development, writing topics, or blogging and technology issues? What do I hope to take away from the experience? It's a challenge to be specific.
  
Here's a peek at my tentative agenda for Day 1, a very relaxed start to what is sure to be a terrific, active weekend.    

Friday, September 19
Arrive late-morning and spend some time exploring Seattle's downtown. First stop, visit Penzey's Spices retail store (new to me since I usually order their product online) and then head off to Market Spice, a long-established local favorite. It's a comfortable downhill stroll to Pike Place Market to tour the food stalls, snack and nibble my way through some of the dining spots and shoot a lot of place and people photos.

4:30 - 6:30 PM A Taste of Washington Cookbook Launch and reception. I might need a restorative glass of wine or two after the hike back uphill from the Market to the Westin.

6:30 - 9:00 PM Grand Opening Reception Hosted by Raincoast Crisps, Bristol Bay Sustainable Salmon and Accolade Wines
Register for the conference, visit the Gift Suite, enjoy light bites, wine and meet more bloggers. 

Return home, solidify my game plan for Day 2 and get some rest 'cuz it's going to be a busy day. See for yourself; check out the entire agenda here.


Disclaimer: I am attending the conference on a reduced blogger rate that requires three posts about the conference. Post image provided by IFBC.