Intense, Bold Flavors Take Top Honors in the 21st Annual Winning Taste Recipe Contest(R)

PITTSBURG, Texas, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- This year, the 21st Annual Winning Taste Recipe Contest® winners featured intense, bold flavors inspired by Asian, Latin and American cuisines.  The grand prize winning recipe, Sweet Chili Chicken with Asian Vegetable Rice, was entered by Kristine Snyder from Kihei, Hawaii.

A professional harpist, Snyder has always loved to cook and has been entering contests for the past 10 years. She has won several other contests including the National Chicken Cooking Contest, Sutter Home's Build a Better Burger and LG's Life Tastes Good and has been a semi-finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off.

"It's a wonderful challenge and satisfaction to create a recipe that most people will like," said Snyder.  "I became a huge fan of Thai sweet chili sauce after moving to Hawaii. I use it often to coat grilled chicken; but with this recipe I wanted to turn it into a light, healthy main dish."

Snyder and the other winners will share more than $6,500 in cash and prizes.

The other winners were:

• First Place, Buffalo Chicken Turnovers with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, created by Kelly Boe, Whiteland, Indiana. An accountant by trade, Boe uses cooking as an outlet for her creative side.  Cooking was the only badge she received in Girl Scouts.
• Second Place, Lime Grilled Chicken with Roasted Poblano and Grilled Mango Salsa, entered by Greg Fontenot, The Woodlands, Texas.  Fontenot holds a doctorate degree in reproductive physiology.  His favorite cooking experience was meeting Julia Child and having her sign his copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
• Third Place, Savory Chicken Cakes with Creamy Dijon Sauce, submitted by Gidget Gorgone, Mableton, Georgia.  Also an accountant, Gorgone enjoys cooking and baking with her 2-year-old son, who has his own chef's hat and apron.

More than 1,000 cooks from across the country entered their original recipes in five categories:  1) Appetizer/Snack, 2) Main Dish/Entree, 3) Light Eating 4) Grilling and 5) Quick and Easy.  Recipes were judged on taste, originality, ease of preparation and appearance.  The winning recipes and photos are available at www.winningtasterecipe.com.

The Winning Taste Recipe Contest, created to promote and encourage creative cooking with chicken, is celebrating its 21st year as one of the nation's longest-running and most widely recognized chicken-cooking contests.  Pilgrim's Pride Corporation conducts the contest, which has awarded more than $600,000 in cash and merchandise to amateur cooks across the nation.

About Pilgrim's Pride Corporation

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation employs approximately 41,000 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrimspride.com.

2009 Winning Taste Recipe Contest

Grand Prize Winner

Kristine Snyder

Kihei, Hawaii

Sweet Chili Chicken with Asian Vegetable Rice

Servings: 6

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons minced ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup Thai Sweet Chili sauce

Asian Vegetable Rice

1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice

3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2/3 cup grated carrot

2/3 cup diagonally sliced sugar snap peas

1/3 cup diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1. In a large sealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, cilantro, ginger, and garlic. Add chicken and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray foil with nonstick spray.  Remove chicken from marinade and drain; discard marinade.  Place sweet chili sauce in a large bowl, add chicken, and toss to coat.  Place chicken on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  
3. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions, omitting butter or margarine.  While rice is cooking, combine rice vinegar with carrot, snap peas, bell pepper, sesame seeds, and salt.  Stir mixture into freshly cooked rice and adjust seasonings to taste.
4. Slice chicken diagonally and serve over rice.  Sprinkle green onions over top.

SOURCE Pilgrim's Pride Corporation