Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 17

'iffinMana (Gazette Wednesday, March 12, 2003 Page 15 Turn jf1 fi til Into a Fur Family Day fc 'Sea Whether you're Irish 01 not, you've probably noticed thai Si. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest party days of the year. From parades in major cities to get-togethers for friends and family, the holiday can be Oiled with great food, bright colors and fun activities. St Patrick's Day officially celebrates the life of Sl Patrick. The holiday lias grown beyond Ireland and is celebrated in other locations, such as Japan, Singapore and Hussia.

Ask any schoof-agc child and you'll find out the following about Sl Patrick's Day: Its official color: green, representing spring, Ireland and the shamrock; it's said to be good luck to wear green on the holiday. Its official mascot: the leprechaun, an Irish fairy who can reveal a buried pot of gold. Its official emblem: the shamrock. Easy and Fun St. Patrick's Day Sweets Prepare your favorite cupcake recipe or buy a prepared cake mix.

Decorate with white frosting or tint it green using food coloring and add either white or green chocolate candies. A few great ways to sweeten the occasion Decorating the Perfect St Patrick's Day Table Stop by your local party store and pick out the perfect green decorations and tableware. The holiday has become one of food and fun for groups ofallages.To try a few of the ideas here, be sure you have a good supply of green food coloring and stock up on green candies. To create the perfect Sl Patrick's Day drink, dye clear soft drinks such as ginger ale or lemon-lime pop with green food coloring. For a more adult beverage, use the food coloring in beer or wine.

Make a fun St. Patrick's Day breakfast by tinting pancake or waffle batter green with a few drops of food coloring; then bake them into green masterpieces. Create a colorful party dessert with sugar cookies shaped like shamrocks and decorated with icing and green and white candies. Or make cupcakes and dye the batter or icing green with food coloring and use green and white candies to jazz them up some more. Make your own hidden pot of gold by decorating cookies with a pot-of-gold theme using gold candies; wrap Ihe cookies individually, tie them with rainbow-colored ribbons and send the children on a treasure hunt to find them.

You can purchase all the supplies for the ideas at supermarkets and party stores. More St. Patrick's Day recipes and other food news on page 16 A Fun Activity for the Whole Family With a Sweet Reward Make a cookie cutout with a favorite sugar-cookie recipe or buy a prepared sugar-cookie mix. Decorate as a pot of gold or use shamrock-shaped cookie cotters. Chili cook-off winner selected lift the hot sausage from the skillet using a slotted spoon and add it to the large pot, leaving any grease it made in the skillet.

Add alt the other ingredients except the kidney beans. Stir well to blend everything in the pot. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat tn low and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. After it has simmered for one hour, remove from hear and add kidney beans and the juice from the cans. Stir them in and mix well.

The chili can be eaten at this point, but Campbell prefers to cool it overnight either in the refrigerator, or, in the winter, on an enclosed porch or unhealed garage. The next day, before heating, remove any solidified grease that may have formed on the surface. SERVING SUGGESTIONS: As a main course, heat to boiling (only heat what you want to eat; the rest is ready to ladle into freezer containers to have another day), put in bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese and add soda crackers to taste. Campbell also suggest accompanying the chili with corn bread and honey. 'If you can't find ground hot sausage, use links and cut into bile-sized pieces before cooking.

'Hie other four Chili cook-off finalists' chili recipes are on page 16. In the coming weeks, all of the other chili recipes entered into the contest will be published on the Food Page. Glenn L. Campbell of Indiana entered the grand-prize winning chili recipe at the first Indiana Cooks cooking demonstration held Friday in Fisher Auditorium on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus. ALMOST RALPH'S NEXT DAY CHILI (Mild, plus) 1 pounds ground beef (no more than 80 percent lean) 1 to 1 Vi pounds ground hot sausage 2 tablespoon alive oil I large green bell pepper, coarsely chopped 1 large green onion, coarsely chopped 13 cup chill powder 1 tablespoon salt 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice 1 large jar (2 pounds, 13 ounces) smooth spaghetti sauce 1 jar (16 ounces) hot pepper rings (could use mild tf you're a wimp), well drained 4 cans (15 ounces each) dark red kidney beans with all the liquid Use at least a 10-quart pot because this recipe will make about seven quarts of chili.

In a separate skillet, fry the hot sausage umil done. As it cooks, chop it up into bitc-sized pieces. In (he large pot, add the olive oil, chopped green peppers, chopped onion and the ground beef. Cook on medium heat until all the ground beef is brown, stirring regularly and breaking up die ground beef into small pieces. From left: Diane Wagoner, a professor of food and nutrition at Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Bob Yesilonis, Gazette advertising and marketing director; and Glenn Campbell, the grand prize winner of the Indiana Cooks Chili Cook-off Contest.