Are family members and friends always raving about your kitchen creations? If so, find your favorite recipes and send them to the Leader for a chance to win cash prizes.
Leader Publications is holding its annual Holiday Recipe Contest.
Cooks of any age who live in Jefferson County, Eureka and Wildwood are invited to send in their favorite recipes to be entered in five categories: appetizer, soup, salad, side dish and dessert. Readers are welcome to submit a recipe in any or all of the categories, up to a maximum of five entries per reader.
The deadline for submitting recipes is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24.
To be eligible for the contest, entries must include the following information:
■ The submitter’s full name and address.
■ A daytime telephone number.
■ Complete instructions for the recipe.
■ The category in which the recipe is submitted.
■ Any information about where the recipe came from and why it’s special.
Judges will choose the top recipe in each category, and each of those five finalists will win $50 cash. Then, those five recipes will be prepared and served at the Leader Holiday Dinner, set for Friday, Dec. 12, at the Jefferson College Field House in Hillsboro.
Those who attend the dinner will vote for their favorite of the five dishes, and that winner will receive an additional $250.
Recipes that are family favorites, that use ingredients in novel ways or have a history or story attached are preferred. Recipes taken directly from websites or cooking shows will not score well.
Since the dinner’s inception in 2014, it has been a collaboration between the college and Leader Publications and has raised about $55,000 for the Jefferson College Foundation. The money typically is used to send students to culinary competitions.
The winning recipes and as many more as space permits will be published in a Holiday Recipe special section on Nov. 26.
Recipes may be submitted by email at news@myleaderpaper.com; by mail at P.O. Box 159, Festus, 63028; or in person at 503 N. Second St. in Festus.
For those who look forward to the Leader Holiday Dinner every year, tickets are on sale for the Dec. 12 dinner. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
Standard tickets cost $25 per person and include a six-course meal, live music, food demonstrations and a chance to sample and purchase the college culinary department’s infused vinaigrettes.
Tickets that include all of that, plus three drinks (beer or wine) from the Villa Antonio Winery in the Hillsboro area, are available for $45 each. To purchase a ticket, go to bit.ly/Leader-Dinner-2025.
Peggy Scott, Leader Publications publisher, said it is best to purchase tickets early because the dinner sells out pretty quickly. Last year, about 150 dinner guests were able to attend and this year, the event is being moved to the field house to accommodate 200 people.
The college’s culinary students and staff will prepare and serve the dinner, which will include a main dish chosen by the culinary staff and the five winning recipes from the Holiday Recipe Contest. There will be several door prizes.
Last year’s winners were Sherrie Crane of Barnhart for her Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta; Terri Becker of Festus for her Strawberry Feta Salad; Linda Martin of Hillsboro for her Wild Rice Soup; Aubrey Bronskill of Eureka for Holiday Potatoes Romanoff and Betty Gottfried of Cedar Hill for her German Apple Cake. Attendees chose Martin’s soup as the winner of the grand prize.