News-Herald (Perkasie, PA)

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there for guest judges

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It appears that I am now the go-to guy when it comes to fennel and dogs in tutus.

That’s right, twice last week I was asked to pass judgment on both. And I don’t even know what one of them is.

Fortunatel­y, I have friends who realize I like to have fun, especially if eating and JRRfinJ DURunG DUH LnYROYHG.

My friend Marge Jacoby of Brandywine Senior Living at Dresher Estates kicked the week off by asking me to be a judge at the “Iron Chef: Best of the Best at Brandywine” cook-off at Dresher Estates.

Chefs at all the Brandywine senior living facilities in the area were to square off in head-to-head cooking competitio­ns, with the winning chef’s recipe to be featured in the organizati­on’s end-of-the-year cookbook.

Chef Issiah of Dresher Estates in Dresher was to take on Chef Daniel from Senior Suites in East Norriton and I was among the judges, a distinguis­hed panel I might add that had every intention of taking it more seriously than I had planned to. Hey, if I’m judging food, then I’m there to eat.

In fact, one of the other judges was actually a chef himself, and he even wore KLV RIfiFLDO FKHI’V ZKLWH FRDW to the competitio­n, which PDGH KLP ORRN YHUy RIfiFLDO DnG PRUH TuDOLfiHG WKDn PH.

While sizing up the other judges during the pregame festivitie­s — which included cheering sections of seniors, some armed with cowbells — I determined that The Real Chef planned to ask more pertinent questions than what I had planned, among which was, “Are those authentic Ginzu knives you guys are using?”

Once the competitio­n started, the two chefs were given 45 minutes to prepare a dish that had to include the following items: chicken breast, Brussels sprouts, coconut milk and fennel.

Fennel? What in tarnation is fennel? I’ve done a lot of eating in my life and I’ve never heard of fennel. Fortunatel­y, The Blonde Accountant knows her way around the kitchen, so I hurried and texted her for an answer.

Me: “What’s fennel?” I typed into the cell phone. TBA: “Herb.” Me: “Herb who?” (See, I never miss an opportunit­y to go for the cheap laugh, even in my text messages.)

Fennel (Latin name: Foeniculum vulgare; Mike’s Made Up Latin Name for It: Bigyuckinu­s Nothankyou­ius) is indeed a “highly aromatic DnG flDYRUIuO KHUE with culinary and medicinal purposes,” according to the InterWebs.

It did not look or sound very appetizing at all and I had every intention of not offending my pizza-and-cheeseburg­ersensitiv­e palate by tasting any part of the meal that had touched the fennel.

But everything was good (Senior Suites defeated Dresher Estates), the chefs were masterful and the seniors were enthusiast­ic with their cheering, although I think the person who thought it was a good idea to give cowbells to a bunch of rowdy seniors cheering for fennel should seriously rethink that decision prior to the next cook-off.

The next event at where it appeared that my opinion actually mattered came a few days later at Warminster Community Park during the 14th annual “Paws 4 Life Dog Walk” in support of Gilda’s Club Delaware Valley, the local chapter of Gilda’s Club, which was founded in memory of the late Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner, who believed nobody should go through cancer alone before succumbing herself to the disease at age 43.

My pal Craig Peters is on the organizati­on’s board and asked me to judge the doggie contests, which included “Best Costume,” “Longest Ears,” “Longest Tail,” “Best Owner Lookalike” and “Sloppiest Kisser,” among others.

7KH RnOy TuDOLfiFDW­LRn , needed to be a judge in this competitio­n was that I once owned a dog. And I was reOLHYHG WR finG RuW WKDW WKH “Sloppiest Kisser” portion of the contest did not require the dogs to give sloppy kisses to the judges but to their owners.

Of course, food was also included in this event, and even though I was not asked to judge the eats, I did give high marks to the two hotdogs with sauerkraut and mustard that I had for brunch, followed immediatel­y by the FKRFRODWH FUHDP-fiOOHG GRnuW that I had for dessert. There’s nothing quite like sauerkraut and donuts at 10:30 a.m.

The wise decision that the Gilda’s Club folks made not to serve fennel to the dog contest judges was surpassed only by the group’s equallywis­e decision not to give the dog owners cowbells to shake in my ear during the competitio­n.

The event was well-organized and lots of fun and was for a good cause. In addition, I love dogs, so I scratched a lot of ears during the festivitie­s.

Of course, I could not in good conscience support any dog that was wearing a tutu in any of the categories because I think it’s a safe bet that even the girl dogs think tutus look pretty silly on all dogs. Look into the face of any dog wearing a tutu and tell me the dog is on board with that fashion statement. You put a tutu on a dog in a contest that I’m judging and I’m automatica­lly not voting for that poor pooch.

Now ask your dog to go fetch a piece of fennel and , PLJKW finG WKDW MuVW Iunny enough to award that canine a blue ribbon.

Mike Morsch is executive editor of Montgomery Media and author of the book, “Dancing in My Underwear: The Soundtrack of My Life.” He can be reached by calling 215542-0200, ext. 415 or by email at msquared35@yahoo.com. This column can also be found at www.montgomery­news.com.

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