WTAE Chili Cook-Off

The Sunday night crew made WTAE history last night.  It was the first ever Chili Cook-Off!  Weather Watch 4 meterologist Erin Kienzle, technical director Michelle Benedict and director Rick Watson all made their best recipes.  Erin made her husband’s traditional recipe, Michelle made her family recipe and Rick made an easy Italian chili recipe.  This was such a serious competition, that Rick came in on his day off to participate!  Everyone at work sampled each chili, then gave the chili a score from 1-5 on a secret ballot.  It was a tight race, but we tallied up the points and…MICHELLE WON!  Good competition everyone!  Thank you for allowing me to taste test!

Sampling the Chili courtesy: Cary Toaso

Channel 4 Action News Crew Enjoying The Chili Cook-Off

 

The Winning Chili

Michelle’s Winning Family Chili Recipe

2 tablespoons salad oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic (I use one or two cloves of garlic that I cut up with a knife.)

2 1/2 lb boneless lean beef chunks in 1/2 inch cubes (It comes this way.)

1 12 oz bottle of beer

1 1/2 cups water

1 8 oz can whole tomatoes crushed (You can use two cans if you want)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 4 oz can mild green chilies chopped (undrained) (I usually use two or three of these.)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I use all the green pepper.)

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

 In a large sauce pot, heat oil till hot. Saute onion and garlic. Add half the meat; brown well on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add remaining meat and brown. Return all meat to sauce pot. Add beer, water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies, green pepper, cumin, salt, oregano, paprika, red and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed, for three hours.

 Tips: Leave some of the tomatoes in chunks to give the chili a better texture. The fat in the meat gives the chili a good flavor so don’t use meat that’s too lean and don’t drain the fat after you’ve browned the meat.

 Top with monterey pepper jack cheese

 To extend chili, serve over rice.

 

Jeff Jimerson’s Mic Stolen

…from a beautiful bride that is! Jeff Jimerson’s band, Airborne, performed at my former tennis teammate’s wedding. When the band started playing the song “Don’t Stop Believin’, ” Nikki grabbed the microphone and took over on vocals! Some wedding guests later said, “When the bride gets the mic, you know it’s a good wedding.” I agree! Great wedding Nikki and Paul!

The Bride Steals The Mic From Jeff Jimerson (courtesy: Kristy Borza)

Posing with Jeff Jimerson

Pitt Tennis Alumni

Emily, Kristy & Me

Mr. Borza & Mrs. Mathews

Now here’s some information on Jeff Jimerson. Every Penguins fan knows Jeff because he often sings the national anthem before home games. He fires up the crowd more than any other singer has and he’s considered to be a good luck charm.

Bird in the Newsroom

Courtesy: Joe Heckel

Talk about a major distraction in the WTAE newsroom last week. A wild BIRD was flying around! Our new feathered friend kept flying from one end of the newsoom to the other, as you can see in the video! I was a wimp and refused to get near the little birdie. In two incidents, birds have decided to “relieve” themselves on me. Thepittsburghchannel.com’s Maila was not afraid of the bird. In fact, she kicked off her shoes, picked up a garbage bin and borrowed a producer’s lightweight jacket to try to capture the bird. After about 15 minutes of controlled chaos, the bird flew into the mailbox room. Maila, Rege (our managing editor) and Tom (a producer) teamed up and forced the bird out of an open window. Unfortunately, you cannot see that marvelous display of teamwork on the video.

 

Additional Facebook Info

Here is some additional information about Facebook etiquette in the office. This is an article from careerbuilder.com. And here are the 10 privacy settings every Facebook user should know. Happy Facebooking!

P.S. The new dictionary word of the year is unfriend! Yes, you can now officially use this word in your vocabulary! Here’s the article.

 

 

Facebook Etiquette in the Office

It sure seems like everyone is now on Facebook. Your mom, your young cousins and yes, even your boss. The question is what do you do when your manager sends you a Facebook friend request? Or what about your co-workers? Etiquette experts say it’s best to accept, but make sure to use those privacy settings! There are ways to distinguish your friends from your co-workers on the social networking website. You can then design what each group of people can see on your profile. In other words, you can make sure only your best friends can see your college pictures. To get a better idea of how to use the facebook settings, watch my latest plugged in story. And remember, if worse comes to worst, you can always “unfriend” a Facebook friend!