Bloggers: Win $2,000 for a sweet potato recipe

This spiffy image of a picketing sweet potato may be your ticket to $2,000. The N.C. Sweet Potato Commission is offering money for the best sweet potato recipe, in the "No More 'Mallows" Blogger Recipe Contest.

To enter, you have to post the picketer and a sweet potato recipe that isn't sweet or topped with marshmallows. "We're talking sweet potato burgers, chili and falafel, not sweet potato pie, muffins and casseroles," according to the commission's announcement.

You have to post the recipe, the picketer and a picture of the recipe on your web site anytime between March 1 and 31, and send an email with a link to sassysweets@lewis-neale.com. Six finalist recipes will be made and judged on taste, originality and the importance of sweet potatoes to the preparation. Winner gets $2,000 and three runnersup get $500 each.

Details: ncsweetpotatoes.com.

One Great . . . mustard sauce recipe with cold seafood

A supermarket near my house has started running Friday afternoon seafood specials. Not cheap, mind you, but I'm willing to spend a few dollars for something really good in the shellfish category.

My husband and I both have strong Florida roots, so it was a shock when we birthed a child who had an absolute aversion to anything encased in a shell. If he didn't look so much like me, I'd think there was a switch at the hospital. I keep thinking he'll come around, but he's grown now and still won't look at a shrimp.

Since he's out of the house at the moment, we've been grabbing the chance to catch up on our seafood. So when I saw a sign announcing a shipment of stone crabs arriving on Friday afternoon, we were ready to snap up enough of them for two.

Here's the trick on stone crabs: You have to serve them cold. If you try to heat them, they may spoil and get an awful ammonia smell. Since they are chilled, you can't dip them in melted butter and lemon, the way you would with most crab. Instead, you need a sauce that works cold and highlights their sweetness.

Enter mustard sauce. It's an adaptation of the dipping sauce served at the famous Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, and it ran many years ago in one of the "Desperation Dinners" books by Alicia Ross and Beverly Mills. It's really simple. In fact, if you ever find yourself at the beach and you need something easy to dress up a shrimp salad or smoked fish -- even chicken salad -- you can almost always make a version from the barest cupboard.

Cold-Seafood Mustard Sauce

Makes 3/4 cup.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Colman's dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon A-1 steak sauce
1 tablespoon cream or half-and-half

Whisk all the ingredients together. Chill for 30 minutes or so if you have time. Serve with cold seafood.

Charlotte farmer's market news this weekend

Spring has got me in the mood; let's hope the lettuce feels the same. But before we give the roundup, I need to mention this:

At the Davidson Farmer's Market, just before the opening bell at 9 a.m., there will be a moment of silence for market founder and supporter Carol Harris Mayes. Carol, 58, died Feb. 12. She was an activist for land conservation and a lively voice in the market world.

The Matthews Community Farmer's Market is still on winter hours, opening from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday. But the list of fresh stuff is growing longer. Besides fresh meats and crafts, manager Pauline Wood expects sellers to have carrots, turnips, beets, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, collards, lettuces (yeah!), green onions, spinach, corn shoots, pecans and herbs. Laughing Owl Farm is skipping both the Matthews and Charlotte regional markets this weekend, though, so eggs might be in short supply.

The Davidson Farmer's Market, behind Summit Coffee in downtown Davidson, is open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Besides the tribute to Carol, this week also brings Breakfast of Champions, a sampling of hot dogs, brats, sausage and beer, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Tickets are $10, but only 60 are available. They go on sale at 9 a.m. at the DFM booth.

Ree-hah: "Pioneer Woman" Ree Drummond cookbook giveaway

She's the blogger's dream come true: Starting with her blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drummond has become a one-woman cooking industry, with a Food Network show and several books. Now she has a second cookbook of family-pleasing recipes from the ranch.

"The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier" isn't on sale until March 13, but I have an early copy and I'm willing to share. It's got the same format as the original: Step-by-step photos, lots of pictures of her kids and ranch life, and simple ingredients and techniques.

I'm giving away one copy of "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" on Observer Food Page on Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com/ObserverFood and post a comment with your name. Deadline: 9 a.m. March 1.

Heads up on beer news in Charlotte and beyond

Keep an eye out for the man on the left. That would be Guiness master brewer Fergal Murray, and he will be making the rounds of pubs in Charlotte on March 1, as part of his nationwide tour in advance of St. Patrick's Day on March 17. His representative can't reveal which pubs he will be visiting, but he should be easy to spot: Listen for an Irish accent and watch for the Guiness glass in his hand. The plan is for him to "mingle," according to his representative.

Elsewhere in beer news: Watch for May 14-20, American Craft Beer Week. The Brewers Association is hoping to repeat last year's feat of having brewing events in all 50 states, including brewery tours, special beer releases and food and beer pairing dinners. So far, the calendar doesn't show anything yet for North Carolina, but with all the brewheads around here, surely something will come up. Keep an eye on the calendar at www.craftbeer.com.

It's not just craft beers, but there is one event already on the books that week: The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival is 2-6 p.m. May 12 at Symphony Park in SouthPark. Tickets range from $25 to $45 and include samples, tastings and music. Details: www.beerandbourbon.com.

Need something sooner than May? The 2012 edition of the Beertopia Beer Festival is on for 2-6 p.m. March 10 in the parking lot behind the Grapevine, 1012 Market St. in Fort Mill. That's 5 miles south of Charlotte off I-77, exit 85 (Baxter Village). VIP tickets have already sold out, and regular admission has sold out early in the past. To get a ticket now, go to www.mygrapevine.com. $1 from each ticket is donated to Pints for Prostates.

And finally, Charlotte Craft Beer Week is March 16-25 (yes, that's more than a week, but we won't quibble -- they're already hard enough to find through Google, so changing the name to Charlotte Craft Beer Fortnight would just make it worse). It starts March 16 at the Visulite, with the Brawley's Beverage Black & Blue Show and continues all over town, including Freak Fest at Common Market SouthEnd on March 22. Details: Charlottecraftbeerweek.org.

Two great spaghetti sauces for crowds

My column Wednesday is on cooking spaghetti sauce for a couple of hundred people for my church's annual spaghetti supper, a fundraiser for our youth group.

Just in case you happen to need a really large amount of spaghetti sauce -- 18 gallons or so, although that's just an approximate -- here are the recipes for both the meat sauce and the vegetable sauce. I inherited the meat sauce recipe from the last volunteer sauce cooker; I made up the vegetable sauce a couple of years ago when we added it at the last minute.

It helps if you have access to industrial equipment, such as a large steam-kettle cooker.

Large-Batch Spaghetti Sauce

60 pounds ground beef (6 10-lb rolls, fine-grind)

About 30 pounds diced onions

5 to 10 pounds sliced mushrooms

About 5 pounds diced green pepper

Vegetable or olive oil

About 3 cups minced garlic

2 quarts beef broth

6 (6-lb, 9-oz) cans diced tomatoes, drained (save juice in case sauce gets too thick)

2 (6-lb., 9-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes

2 bottles dry red wine, such as Malbec, Cabernet or Sangiovese

About 1/4 cup dried oregano

About a dozen bay leaves

1 (1-pound) box corn starch

Salt and sugar to taste

Open rolls of beef and place in an industrial cooker with heat on medium. Begin breaking up meat and turning constantly to brown it.

Saute onions, mushrooms and green peppers in skillets with a little vegetable oil to soften. Add vegetables to meat as it browns. Stir in minced garlic (start with 1 cup and add more as needed.)

When meat is completely brown and vegetables have been added, add beef broth, diced and crushed tomatoes, wine, oregano and bay leaves.

Stir continuously with flat paddle, making sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the cooker to keep sauce from sticking and burning. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady simmer.

Sprinkle in cornstarch slowly, stirring constantly so it doesn’t clump. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Cook 1 to 2 hours longer, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and let sauce cool about 30 minutes.

Divide sauce up among large hotel pans, cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill until time to reheat for service.

Large-Batch Vegetable Sauce

5 to 10 pounds onions, peeled and diced

About 2 pounds green pepper, cored, seeded and diced

About 3 to 4 pounds carrots, scraped and diced

About 5 pounds sliced mushrooms

Vegetable or olive oil

About 1 cup minced garlic

2 (6-lb., 9-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes

1 to 2 large cans tomato sauce

Dried basil, oregano and parsley to taste

Salt, sugar to taste

Saute onions, green pepper, carrots and mushrooms until slightly softened and combine in pot.

Add garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Cook about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cool briefly, place in hotel pans, cover tightly with plastic wrap, label and chill. Reheat before serving.

IACP nomination for Peter Reinhart

How do you identify Peter Reinhart: Johnson & Wales instructor, pizza and bread-baking expert, local-food scene supporter, soon to be author of a new book on gluten-free baking?

OK, add one more: Reinhart's blog, Pizza Quest, got a nomination from the International Association of Culinary Professionals on Thursday afternoon. (And yes, that's Peter wearing one of his James Beard medals -- he's won a couple of those for his books.)

If you know Peter, you know that his eyes get a special glow whenever pizza is the subject. His blog includes pizza explorations all over the country, webisodes, cooking lessons and pretty anything pizza-related.

IACP is one of several culinary organizations that give awards for food writing in various forms (the James Beard Foundation nominations are announced in March; the Association of Food Journalists awards are announced in the fall).

The IACP awards include book and food-writing awards; blogs are under the category New Media & Broadcast. Also nominatied in the blog category: Cheryl Sternman Rule for 5 Second Rule, and Tom Hirschfeld for Bona Fide Farm Food.

Winners are announced in April. For a complete list of nominations, go to www.iacp.com.