After we were happily settled in Tucson, I read in the paper that there would be a “Menudo” contest for the Hispanic community in a popular outdoor area on the south side of Tucson. There would be Mariachi music, and chefs from the most popular Mexican restaurants would judge the entries and pick the winners. The two types of menudo are red and white.

Menudo is a very popular dish that consists of tripe and hominy. It is customary to serve it on weekends after a night of heavy drinking. It is suppose to settle the stomach and help the drinker get over his hangover.

I wanted to join in because I love mariachi music and it would give me a chance to make some new friends and to chat with them in Spanish.

Each contestant was supposed to prepare either a white or a red menudo and bring it to the contest site in a crock pot so it could be kept hot for the judges and the public to taste. Small samples were taken to the judges in unmarked containers. They would then decide the best red and the best white menudo and award the prizes.

Of course as everybody knows, there is no such thing as “Chinese Menudo,” so I thought I would invent one. The two required ingredients of menudo are tripe and hominy. I really wanted to go to the party, because Latinos always have fun. We could enjoy the music, eat lots of good food and maybe even a little dancing.

I bought the tripe and hominy, then added Chinese sausage, shrimp, shitake mushrooms, and chestnuts. I cooked it slowly in good red wine, soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. It was delicious!

When we arrived at our destination, the party was in full swing. Balloons and streamers decorated the patio, and the beautiful music brought me back memories of our tours in Latin America. There were long tables on each side of the patio, one for the white menudo and the other for the red. The ladies in charge could not quite decide where my menudo belonged, but they finally placed it with the red. Mine was neither white nor red but brown in color and much thicker then the others, almost like a stew.

There must have been more than fifty contestants, plus lots of others who came to see the spectacle and join in the fun. We sat with some lovely people at a table and made a number of new friends.

A cart was wheeled out and samples were taken to the judges, who were sequestered in a separate area. They would mingle with the contestants and join in the fun only after the winners had been chosen and the prizes given. In the meantime people were singing and dancing and having a great time as Latinos know how to do so well.

Everybody was getting hungry and wondering why the judging was taking so long. Finally, the judges came out and one went to the microphone. He apologized for the delay, but announced that one particular menudo had completely stumped them. In order to take care of it they had created a third category, “The Most Original Menudo.” He announced the winners of the red and white menudos, pinned blue ribbons on them and awarded each several prizes, to loud applause. Then, after a big drum roll he announced that Chi Newman was the winner of the “Most Original Menudo.” There were six chefs who did the judging, so I got invitations to each restaurant. We were even encouraged to bring two guests!

Then participants and guests began to try the various menudos for themselves. I don’t mean to brag, but my husband, Dick, manning the crock pot, soon had nothing left to ladle out. My crock pot was bone dry, while many others were still half full. Many came up to me wanting the recipe, but there really wasn’t one. I just improvised as I went about preparing it.

What a delightful afternoon we spent there, speaking Spanish, and making new friends. It only made me more convinced that we had chosen wisely when we decided to live in beautiful Tucson.

The next morning I went to “Westward Look” to play tennis and the pro was sitting in the patio reading the newspaper. Right on the front page was a large photo of Dick, standing behind my crock pot. What a riot; it just made me laugh out loud!

Chi Newman