Pepper Party 2014

The thing about the pepper party is that it gets bigger every year and it is about so much more than the peppers, of course. Corinne has a plaque with the winners names engraved on it, and for the uninitiated the party was started years ago by Jeff.

He won that first contest with his entry. I also placed that year...with the peppers he stuffed for me without telling anyone.

He most likely would be working on about ten straight by now because he was the king of the stuffed pepper. But we all try.

And we've all got way better at it.

But it's not just about the pepper as the above photo shows.

My nieces and nephews beat the heck out of me, and I was laughing pretty much all the way through, but Johnny made a leap at me and I felt my legs wobble.

He's getting big and strong.

And you know who saved me?

Yep...my beautiful wife...she chased all the kids away and stood in front of me, daring a kid to come near. They all backed off.

But back to the contest.

I stuffed my peppers with lobster meat and four different types of cheese.

They were good.

I didn't rank in the top five.

Chucky won with a pepper stuffed with bacon, lettuce and tomatoes. I had a few before the tray was empty.

It was a well-deserved top finish.

Carolyn and Dave finished second with poppers that I thought were awesome. Every single time Rocco walked by me he had a popper.

"How many have you had?" I asked him.

"Seven," he answered.

Yet the pepper party is an awesome family event and the words on the plaque that Corinne dedicated to Dad and Jeff's memory are worth the trip to their comfortable home.

And besides...my name is already on the plaque.

I won with Jeff's recipe that was in the book.

I plan on winning next year with a new creation...

...but there are about 40 other people plotting their next move.

Thanks to Corinne for a great day.