It's All About the Beef

After running the Chicago Half Marathon on September 9, I stayed in Chicago for the National Beef Cook-Off and Food Media Seminar on September 11-12. In fact, I felt like I never stopped running (until I got back to Denver and went for a bike ride on Saturday!). It was a great week for beef. Food editors and cook-off contestants from across the country gathered in one giant celebration of beef hosted by celebrity chef Guy Fieri, host of "Guy's Big Bite" and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on TV's Food Network.

Meeting Guy, with his bleached blond hair, goatee, skateboarder shorts and signature sunglasses perpetually perched on the back of his head, I was impressed with how "down-to-earth" he is. Perhaps its because his mom was a "California Cowbelle" (now known as the California Cattlewomen)...and he is a beef lover.

[Above: Guy chatting with Mary Bartz, director of food communications for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association; Below: hamming it up with Shenoa French of the Beef Demonstration Center].

In fact, beef was one of the first meals Guy ever cooked for his family. As he told the story at the National Beef Cook-Off Gala Awards banquet, one day, after complaining about the meal his mom had prepared (apparently he's not a big fan of eggplant parmesan), she told him that if he didn't like it he could fix his own dinner. So the next night he picked up two thick, juicy ribeyes on the way home from school and pan fried them with a combination of spices he found in the cupboard...and the rest is history!

The National Beef Cook-Off was a great way to showcase the versatility and convenience of beef as contestants competed in four new categories: New Dynamic Beef Dishes, Nuevo Latino, Kids in the Kitchen and "Small Plates, Big Tastes" Grilled for Everyday Entertaining. [At left: several of the beef dishes on display at the Cook-Off].

The theme of the entire week can best be summed up as follows: Beef is a great-tasting, versatile, and convenient way to add lean, nutrient-rich protein to a healthy diet.

This year's winner, Christine Riccitelli, took home the $50,000 "Best of Beef" grand prize for her "Nuevo Chipotle Beef Butternut Squash Boats" [At left: Christine celebrates with one of her two sons, who flew to Chicago for the awards banquet]. Christine is a big believer in the benefits of beef, often reminding her "hiking" girlfriends they would have to eat more than six chicken breasts to get the Vitamin B12 and Zinc in a serving of beef and almost three breasts to get the same amount of Iron. Ounce for ounce, chicken just doesn't stack up!

Bottom-line: Beef is the king of proteins. Beef is rich in nutrients, tastes great, and is quick and easy to prepare. Beef. Pick some up on your next trip to the grocery store. Your family will thank you. Beef. It's what's for dinner!

Daren

Ode to Bernie

Last night at dinner with Team ZIP, as we shared stories from the Half Marathon, I realized I had left out the most painful and parts in yesterday's post. So here's the rest of the stories...

Running with Bucky through the crowded field of runners -- over 12,000 in all -- we got lots of comments on our "Beef It's What's For Dinner" running jerseys. Most were supportive, but we do run into an occasional vegan at these types of events...there's one in every crowd. Somewhere around mile three I ran past a guy who then shouted: "BEEF? I'M A VEGETARIAN!" So Bucky, who was right behind me, passsed him and said, "that's too bad, you could be running faster!" I think Andy Rooney got it right when he said, "Vegetarian is an old indian word for 'lousy hunter.'"

After everyone finished the race and we reveled in our accomplishment (the best part of running a half marathon is sitting around afterwards be thankful that it's over!), Leslie and I headed off to catch a cab back to our hotel to get cleaned up and find someplace to eat lunch and watch the Chiefs game. Of course, about 10,000 other people had the same idea. Two hours later, after walking several miles, calling every cab company in Chicago, and waiting for a commuter train that never came, we hitched a ride with a native Chicagoan named Bernie.

[At left, Bucky and I congratulate each other after starting and ending the race together]

I found Bernie loading a bike onto his car and asked if he could help us get back into downtown where we could catch a cab. But Bernie, who is preparing to celebrate the Jewish High Holy Days, insisted on taking us all the way to our hotel on the North side of the Loop. He explained that one of the lessons of High Holy Days is to be kind to strangers because the Jews were once strangers in a strange land. One thing is for sure, Bernie was a godsend, rescuing Leslie and I from our temporary purgatory!

Meanwhile, Michaele, Shenoa, JoDee, Deanne, Caroline and Bucky headed to Hot Chocolate for brunch. Unshowered and still wearing their Beef jerseys, the group enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing meal while Leslie and I traipsed around, sweating, tired and in pain (even Leslie was hurting after walking for miles in a thin pair of fashionable flip flops). But as we got back to our hotel, got cleaned up and headed to ESPN Zone, their problems began.

[At left: The Great Unwashed]

After dropping off JoDee and Bucky, Michaele and Shenoa headed to O'Hare to drop Deanne off for her flight back to Denver. Unfortunately nobody told them I-90 was down to one lane (even though construction crews weren't working on Sunday!). So a quick trip to the airport turned into a two-hour crawl through Chicago traffic. Anyway, Deanne missed her original flight but caught a later one. Did I mention that she still had not showered?

And speaking of the great unwashed, JoDee headed out to a sportsbar with her friend Shilpa after changing clothes...but not showering. Apparently she passed Shilpa's sniff test and was deemed good to go. Perhaps it had something to do with Shilpa's desire to get to the bar and watch her Patriot's beat the Jets!

And finally, after returning to their bachelorette pad in Lincoln Park, Shenoa, Michaele and Caroline were able to catch a quick nap, get cleaned up and meet Bucky and I for dinner at Rockit. It had been a long day for everyone, but we decided to make it even longer and headed to Howl At the Moon, home of "The World's Greatest Rock-n-Roll Dueling Piano Show."

Now we're off to dinner at Quartino...too many great restaurants here and too little time!

Daren

Team Zip Conquers the Chicago Half

It's a beautiful September day in Chicago. The sun is shining in a beautiful blue sky. And Team ZIP shone brightly this morning in our first official team outing -- the Chicago Half Marathon. Eight beef lovers began the run at 8:30 a.m. this morning and eight of us finished the 13.1-mile course along Chicago's famous Lake Shore Drive. Congratulations to Shenoa French, Michaele Musel, JoDee George, Jessica Gordon, Bucky Gwartney, Caroline Junkin and Deanne Beard! And thanks to my wife, Leslie, who served as Team ZIP official photographer and cheerleader for the event.

Bucky (at left, shirtless) and I (at left in my new Team ZIP jersey) began the run together and finished together one hour and 56 minutes later -- 4 minutes under my goal of two hours! It was a personal best for me (by almost 13 minutes!), but not for Bucky, who's personal best (1:46) came earlier this year in the Sandhills Half Marathon in Valentine, Nebraska -- his first! Bucky and I have both run three half marathons in our lifetimes...all this summer! We both felt good about our average pace of 8:44/mile (according to my new Forerunner 305 wrist-mounted GPS navigator).

JoDee, Shenoa and Michaele (at left) started together and finished within a few minutes of each other. This was Shenoa and Michaele's first half marathon. Both trained hard and were glad when it was all over! Shenoa's friend and formerr swimming coach, Deanne, ran a strong race -- her third half marathon this summer.

[At left: Caroline cruises along mid-way through the race; Below left: Jessica catches her breath moments after crossing the finish line]

I was proud of everyone on the team. We all finshed the race while spreading the word that beef gives you ZIP -- zinc, iron and protein -- the stuff your body needs to strenghten and sustain you through a 13.1-mile run!

We'll continue spreading that message this week during the National Beef Cook-Off in Chicago. Stay tuned for pictures from the Cook-Off later this week!

Daren