Fan Fare finals a home-run derby

By Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Rockies Fan Fare Challenge winner, Monica Langley

Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Rockies Fan Fare Challenge finalists - Cal Fager, left, Denise Retzlaff, Susan Tracey, Monica Langley and Linda Slater - bring their game to Coors Field.

Frito pies. Quesadillas. Sliders. Fruit, popcorn balls or Rice Krispies treats - all colored purple.

About 700 readers stepped onto the mound in our Rockies Fan Fare Challenge, pitching us their ideas for a new concession item to be served during ballgames at Coors Field.

The Challenge was quite a challenge.

First, the Coors Field ARAMARK team, which handles food concessions for the ballpark, eliminated entries that were only tweaks on items already served at the ballpark or that had been tried unsuccessfully in the past, such as churros.

Each entry also was judged on whether the ARAMARK team thought it was something fans would want to eat at the ballpark.

"These ideas are very good," Matthew Danley, executive chef of ARAMARK at Coors Field, said as he studied the recipes. "But I know what will pop. We sell healthy items and wraps and people say, 'That's a good idea,' and then they go buy a hot dog."

The grand-prize entry - to be sold for $6 at the ballpark throughout the season, starting with Friday's Rockies-Mets game - and four runners-up were chosen for originality, ballpark suitability, the Colorado connection and the recipe: Could it be produced quickly and in quantity? Would it have appeal outdoors, whether the weather's hot or cold?

In cases where entries were similar, the team chose based on the recipe's specifics or presentation. And yes, some fans earned smiles for their recipe names: Hot Chicks on the Rockies (chicken quesadillas), Rockies Macho Muffins, Breakfast of Champions (breakfast sandwich). And poor Dinger - everyone wants a piece of him, from Dinger's Dinosaur Eggs to Dinger's Dinosaur Bones.

Before narrowing the field to five, we taste-tested 11 recipes. Here's a look at Nos. 6 through 11: a Cup of Apple, Peach or Cherry Pie, from Kristi Ekern, of Longmont; PieCones, fruit filling in a waffle cone, Irv Zwick, Greenwood Village; Rox in a Box, pizza balls with marinara sauce, Marti Jones, Castle Rock; Rockie Poppers, cream-cheese poppers in won-ton wrap, Janet Schaus, Indian Hills; Rockyana, a chocolate-coated frozen banana, Sally Kurtzman, Denver; and Rockies Home Hummus, Jami Fynboh, Denver.

As for our grand-prize winner and the four runners-up? Turn to 10.

What they won

In addition to having her entry served at Rockies games this season, grand-prize winner Monica Langley received 16 tickets in a catered luxury suite at a Rockies game, a Colorado Rockies/ARAMARK chef's coat with her name, and a cooking utensil engraved with her name and accomplishment; her name will also be engraved on a plaque at Coors Field for the season. The other four finalists each received four tickets in a catered luxury suite, the engraved Colorado Rockies/ARAMARK chef's coat and the engraved cooking utensil.

Our judges

* From the ARAMARK team at Coors Field: Al Wolfe, general manager; Matthew Danley, executive chef; Gene Bollig, director of operations; Jeremy Dildey, director of concessions; and Rik Kiessling, regional executive chef

* Other judges included Albert Valdes, Rockies senior director of food-service operation and development, and Leigh Nyman of the Pathways to Leadership training program with ARAMARK.

* From the Rocky: Food editor Marty Meitus helped narrow the final entries. She was part of the tasting team along with Jay Dedrick, assistant features editor.

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GRAND PRIZE: COLORADO ROCKIES BLUE CHEESE CHIPS

Monica Langley

* Stats: 49, lives in Littleton; originally from Kenne- bunkport, Maine; former lawyer, full-time homemaker; married, no kids; avid cook

* She said it: "If I'm having a Rockies baseball game party, I'm more into cooking the food for the party than I'm into watching the game."

* Home-run recipe: Colorado Rockies Blue Cheese Chips, a Parmesan cheese sauce scooped over kettle-style potato chips and sprinkled with blue cheese and bacon.

* Inspiration: "I saw it on a restaurant menu online and thought it sounded awesome. I had blue cheese in the house and I always have real Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator, so I decided to make the recipe just from the description of the ingredients."

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RUNNER-UP:

SAUSAGE SQUEEZE PLAY

Susan Tracey

* Stats: 50, lives in Lakewood; graduate of Wheat Ridge High School; accountant; married and mother of two sons; finalist in 2007 Maggiano's Best Italian Cook Contest

* She said it: "I love baseball. My younger kid has played competitive baseball since he was 4. My husband coached his team up until he was in high school. My son always had the Rockies on TV and still does, so I became a fan, too. But I like watching my son play better than anyone."

* Home-run recipe: Sausage Squeeze Play, an Italian sausage with green chile strips and provolone cheese, rolled in pizza dough and served with marinara sauce

* Inspiration: "I love Italian food, and I thought this would be a simple change from ballpark food."

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RUNNER-UP: BAKED COLORADO APPLE EMPANADAS

Linda Slater

* Stats: 63, lives in Arvada; hails from a small farm in Victor, Mont.; private counselor; married, two daughters

* She said it: "I really like the Rockies, and I particularly like (Troy) Tulowitzki. He's awfully cute and he's a really good player. We go to the games sometimes, and we watch them at home a lot."

* Home-run recipe: Baked Colorado Apple Empanadas, fresh applesauce wrapped in a cream cheese-butter-flour pastry, baked and served warm with vanilla ice cream

* Inspiration: "My neighbor would bring me pumpkin empanadas. I made some peach and apple ones and tried different kinds of dough."

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RUNNER-UP: ROCKY MOUNTAIN RELLENOS

Cal Fager

* Stats: 62, lives in Arvada; born into a military family; Vietnam veteran; retired vocational rehabilitation specialist with the Veterans Administration, assisting disabled veterans in education and other needs; married, three sons and a daughter

* He said it: "Because of the disability (from a motorcycle accident), I mostly stay home, so I'm a couch fan. But I do watch or listen to the games all the time. After the All-Star break, when the games start to get really exciting, I go to the games."

* Home-run recipe: Rocky Mountain Rellenos, pickled jalapenos and cream cheese wrapped in egg-roll skins and deep-fried, served with sour cream and salsa

* Inspiration: "I love chile rellenos. I had never had one until my wife took me to a Mexican restaurant. I judge all Mexican restaurants now by the chile rellenos. If the chile rellenos are good, I know everything is good."

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RUNNER-UP: ROCKY ROCKET

Denise Retzlaff

* Stats: 54, lives in Greeley; hails from DuBois, Pa.; nurse/project coordinator for Steps to a Healthier Colorado, Weld County; married with kids (a daughter, who's pregnant with twins, a son in the Air Force, a high-school-age son)

* She said it: "I've never been a sports fan per se, but my kids have played Little League. My passion is for health, so anything that gets people moving or eating properly, like baseball - I'm all for it."

* Home-run recipe: Rocky Rocket, a frozen banana, dipped in purple-tinted white chocolate with purple-tinted sugar garnish

* Inspiration: "My job is managing a federal grant to get more fruits and vegetables into the diet. My kids would eat anything on a stick."

• May 22, 2008

  3:22 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  mcgrath1000 writes:

  How does someone that stole a recipe become a winner?! What about originality!!??? She does not deserve to win