Fit to be Thai'd — Idaho woman wins grand prize at National Chicken Cooking Contest

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Eagle, Idaho, woman took home $100,000 by showing that chicken is, indeed, fit to be Thai'd.

In last Friday's National Chicken Cooking Contest, Michelle Anderson pounded chicken breasts into thin wrappers for a coconut-rice mixture and served them with a spicy salad. Her Thai-Inspired Stuffed Chicken Breast and Slaw was judged by a panel of food editors as the grand-prize winner in the contest, which features a finalist from every state.

"In every round of judging, it was right close to the top," said Karin Welzel, food editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, who was one of the judges.

Many finalists seemed to pick up on the Thai theme this year, with Thai-Quitos and Thai Chicken Lemon Wraps as other contenders. The fourth-place winner, Susan Cortesi of Northbook, Ill., also used a Thai-flavored slaw for her Chicken Paillards With Asian Salad.

To make the paillards, she pounded the chicken breasts until they were flat and thin.

"Lime and cilantro growers are going to have a really wonderful year," said Nancy Dell'Aria of Woman's Day magazine, who chaired the panel of media judges, when she noted some of the frequently used ingredients in finalists' dishes. (Four of the five winning recipes used lime juice; three used cilantro.)

Other trends among finalists' dishes: pairing chicken with fruit, especially mangoes; and cross-cultural themes, such as Chinese five-spice powder mixed with Southern-style ingredients such as bacon and sweet potatoes.

Many finalists gave their chicken a crunchy coating. Utah contestant Erin Mylroie of St. George used diced almonds, panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and chipotle chili powder. Anderson used peanuts and black-and-white sesame seeds, and Susan Scarborough of Fernandina Beach, Fla., used pecans in her third-place dish, Pecan Chicken Sticks With Collard Couscous. Other finalists crusted their chicken with plaintains, pumpkin seeds, cornflakes and macadamia nuts.

This was Mylroie's second appearance at the chicken contest. Two years ago, she took fifth place. Although she didn't make it into this year's winner's circle, Mylroie was philosophical.

"I am never disappointed, because I never go into it expecting to win," said Mylroie, who has also been a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off and the National Beef Cook-Off.