It’s time to search your kitchen for your best recipes.
The Leader is celebrating its Holiday Recipe Contest’s silver anniversary and is asking readers to send in their favorite recipes for the opportunity to win cash prizes.
“This is the 25th year we have asked readers to share their favorite recipes,” Leader publisher Peggy Scott said. “Every year, readers deliver great options. We hope this anniversary year brings a fresh batch of treats for everyone to enjoy.”
The contest is open to home cooks of any age throughout Jefferson County, Eureka and Wildwood.
Recipes may be entered in five categories: appetizer, soup, salad, side dish and dessert. Readers are welcome to submit a recipe in any or all the categories, up to a maximum of five entries per reader. The deadline for submitting recipes is 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3.
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 to win $50 cash. Those five recipes will be prepared and served at the Leader Holiday Dinner, set for Friday, Dec. 1, in the Field House at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. Diners that evening 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 that have a history or story attached are preferred. Recipes taken directly from websites or cooking shows will not score well.
Since its inception in 2014, the dinner, a collaboration between the college and Leader Publications, has raised more than $24,000 for the Jefferson College Foundation. The money typically is used to send students to culinary competitions across the region.
The winning recipes and as many more as space permits will be published in a Holiday Recipe and Gift Guide special section in the Nov. 22 Leader paper.
Recipes may be submitted by email at news@leaderpublications.biz; by mail at P.O. Box 159, Festus, 63028; or in person at 503 N. Second in Festus.
Tickets for the dinner are now on sale at bit.ly/Leader-Dinner-2023.