In advance of their 2009 Que’n For Kids BBQ contest at the Orange County Fairgrounds, Kristie’s Foundation is organizing a BBQ judging class on March 21, 2009 in Anaheim, CA.

Why would you want to take a class for such a thing when you’re already a highly seasoned barbecue expert?  So you can participate in sanctioned BBQ contests and judge contest quality food that you won’t find in a restaurant.

The Kansas City Barbecue Society is the largest competition BBQ organization in the world, and their certified barbecue judges (CBJ’s) are usually accepted at contests sanctioned by other groups. As a trained judge, you’ll typically be chosen over a non-trained person off the street, if the promoter has the option.

You’ll learn the rules of the KCBS, taste many examples of barbecue that demonstrate the good and bad, learn to distinguish legal contest submissions from the illegal, and elevate your knowledge of the art of barbecue.

Register at the QueNForKids website. Part of your registration fee pays for membership in the Kansas City Barbecue Society. If you’re bringing a spouse, ask about the KCBS family membership rate, rather than paying for two individual memberships.

Springtime in So Cal comes early. Even in mid February, strawberries grow in our local fields. Granted, they’re the commercial variety that look better than they taste: bright red chunks of styrofoam meant to  ship well to distant, still-frozen places back East and remind us of the glorious flavorful varieties yet to mature.  These styrofoam strawberries, sweetened and in the proper context, reach glory at the Donut Man of Glendora.

Donut Man goes through a few strawberries.

Donut Man is famous for overstuffed donuts.  Dunkin’ gives you a miserly teaspoon of custard in their pathetic Boston Creams.  Donut Man cranks up the filling machine to 120 psi, impales a donut on the prong, and stomps on the foot pedal until the donut bursts with cream. While it’s the same commercial custard that comes out of a 5 gallon plastic pail as every other shop buys, you get your money’s worth here.

Apple donuts

The Boston Creams and apple and lemon donuts are lovely things, but the specialty of the house are the donuts made with fresh fruit in season. For most of the year, that means strawberry. From early July to September, fresh peach donuts make their too-brief appearance.

Raised, glazed donuts, filleted partially in half, and filled with fresh strawberries glazed in  a red slightly sweet goo, are how they make their bones. These beauties, priced at $2.75 are more expensive than the run of the mill flavors, but one softball sized monster is enough to feed two restrained appetites.

Strawberry donut

Drooling with fruit, glaze and goo.

In a recession, it’s hard to justify expensive food excursions, but a couple bucks for a decadent donut? The hard part was ordering just two. It’s not the money. These delicate fresh fruit treats won’t hold up long enough for me justify a dozen box, or you better believe I would.

Donut Man
915 E Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740
(626) 335-9111
Open 24 / 7

What we call “winter” in Southern California is a few months of partly cloudy sky and the occasional spritz of rain. The rest of the country would call it Spring, and what better way to bring in Spring that a BBQ contest?

So I’m off to Palm Desert to cook at the season-opening Groundhog  BBQ & Chili Cookoff. In addition to International Barbecue Cookers Asssocation (IBCA) sanctioned judging, there will be a People’s Choice contest, where the public buys tickets, and samples BBQ from the contestants. If you’re in the area this weekend, stop by and buy some sample tickets.

It so happens that my team, Four Q BBQ, remains the undefeated People’s Choice Champion of Southern California through 2007 and 2008. We have a big bullseye on our backs, and other championship teams will be out to steal the title away from us. Wish us luck, all!