Interview With the Contest's Judges (better known as Eaters and Foodies Plus Photo Contest Results

Gollum: Guys, help! The photo contest just ended, and I can't pick a winner.

Dr. Big, Bandwidth, and Mister enter the room and gather beside the computer.

Mister: Grrr. (Translation: You got a problem, girlie.)

Dr. Big: Yeah, see what you mean. (Points to a photo.) Hey, can you cook that tomorrow?

Bandwidth: This contest isn't going to be like a knock-off ofTastespotting or Foodgawker, is it? Because they know what they're doing and we're, like, foodies, not photographers or real judges.

Dr. Big: We're definitely foodies.

Gollum: I thought our tastebuds could be the guide. Kinda like--does it make you want to eat all the chocolate chip ice cream and then say the freezer went on the blink?

Dr. Big: So that's why our freezer is empty?

Bandwidth: I helped. (Shrugs). The contest entries made me hungry, too.

Dr. Big: We've got to pick one.

Gollum: But how?

Bandwidth: Maybe you should let Mister have a vote.

Dr. Big: But he's a . . . Yorkie.

Gollum: He's a foodie, too. And a great judge.

Bandwidth: I don't know about you, but the judge is my eyes and stomach.

Gollum: My idea of a great foodie picture is the delicousness factor: when it makes my mouth water, when I can taste the flavors and I'm enveloped by imaginary, but delicious smells.

Dr. Big: Personally, I don't think you can go by a photo, not 100%.

Mister: Woof-woof! (Translation: Human beans are too funny.)

Deciding on these photographs was harder than trying to diet with a coconut cake in the house. Harder than trying not to eat one more Jelly Belly. Harder than ignoring peanut butter fudge when you've sworn off sugar. Forever. But I promised I'd post the results, and Gollum keeps her word.

First Prize

Sidewalk Shoes.
We love this because it seems to tell a story: a morning in the garden followed by an afternoon of canning. I can almost hear the music of Ball jars as they boil in the pan. Bandy liked how the jars are go on and on with the beautiful bokeh, a term I can't pronounce but hope to understand eventually, along with aperture.

I never could do math. And cameras do have numbers to figure out, sadly.
Congratulations, Sidewalk Shoes!

(Note from Bandwidth to Mom: Here's my favorite article about Understanding Depth of Field. )


Because it was just too darn hard to pick one or two, there are three runners up.

Hoosier Homemade
All of us loved these cookies. They are beautiful and look delicous.
If I had one, first, I would nibble around the edges, licking the icing slowly. Finally, I would put the top of the "hat" into my mouth and wait for it to melt. Heaven!

Mimi's Kitchen
We loved these cookies, too. I would lick off the icing leaves and flowers, then I'd go after the pink stuff. Bandy says he could eat a dozen. I am so inspired by cooks who can handle icing (though I haven't been near it in a month, not since my pastry bag misfired and green icing ended up on the ceiling). These cookies are adorable.

Cuisine Kathleen
Though I really loved Kathleen's giant cupcake and ended up eating half a box of Vanilla Wafers smeared with peanut butter, I adore these cherries. I love how they aren't all the same color and the little drops of water are flat out appetizing. I put cherries at the top of my grocery list.



Honorable Mention:

Live Love Laugh.

A dreamy lattice crust in a dreamy lattice pie pan.


The Project Table.

Dr. Big can't get through the day without Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. This cake would be a dream come true for him.


The Charm of Home.

Can't you just imagine sitting down to this table with your sweetheart?

Shellbelle's Tiki Hut.
This potato salad is high art--and not because I am a Southerner. It makes my mouth water. I can taste the tang of mustard and the sweet flecks of relish. I want to take this bowl and go sit in a quiet room and eat and eat and eat.



My Romantic Home

This tart made me long for berries and a homemade crust.

Gazebo House.
I love anything with polka dots and Gibson china, but the soup and bread look like pure comfort food.

Butterflies and Mudpies.
Dr. Big, please can we go to the Dairy Queen? I'm swooning.

At Home in the Hills.
Coconut cake is king and queen at our house. It's a cake with its own kingdom. I love the lace napkin and pearls. But I want a huge slice of this cake, and I want to eat it slowly.

Country Cookin.
Cranberries, cheesecake, and chocolate. Hello, beautiful.

Bramasole to Yearn for the Sun.
A festive Easter egg takes center stage on a gorgeous white plate. It reminds me when I was a small girl, running up and down the aisles at my father's dime store, looking for eggs my daddy had hidden for me and my brother.

Con-tain-it.

You had me at hello. This photo made me crave "Q."

5 Minutes Just for Me
A reminder to stop and look at nature.

Nancy's Daily Dish

Soup and transferware? Need I say more?

The hearty aroma came straight out of the photo and made me long to curl up in a window with a book and a cup of soup.l

Two Hot Potatoes.
This was just beautiful.

Cooking and Baking.
I could make a meal out of these stuffed peppers.

Bit of Butter

Mmmmm, just one bite.

First Prize: a Cuisinart sorbet/ice cream machine.

Runners Up (not honorable mention): Le Creuset prep bowls

Please email your address and we'll ship your prize.

A new photo contest started at midnight, April 2nd, and ends Thursday, April 15th at midnight (when another photo contest will begin).

The rules are a little different--well, not different but BIGGER. This time the subject isn't just food but includes house and garden photographs (tablescapes, vignettes, landscapes, flowers).

2 galleries await your beautiful submissions:

1. Foodie Friday -- this is for food photographs

2. Design Gallery -- design, tablescapes, vignettes, gardening, flowers, nature

You can submit as many photos as you want in either gallery. Beneath each entry, just leave the comment, "Photo Contest Entry." Please add your blog link and any photo tips--it's easy to visit and blog hop that way.

The first prize will be a picnic basket for two:

Runners up (not honorable mentions) will win tablecloth weights . . .

or . . .
the wee Le Creuset cups.

A million heartfelt thanks to everyone for cooking, tweaking the recipes, photographing, and uploading the photos to the gallery. I love y'all.I'm already excited about the entries for the 2nd contest, and I've got a bag of gingersnaps to quell hunger pains.

XX00