Kosher Connection: Temple members warm up to a chili competition.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Lisa J. Huriash

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A Western saddle hangs over a rail and the aroma of barbecued chicken and hot dogs (kosher ones, of course) fill the air.

Here at Temple Sinai in Hollywood, Fla., members are dressed in denim jeans and red bandanas. They are ready to square off for what they hope will become an annual event: a men's kosher chili cook-off.

The contestants from Hollywood include Steve Platt, with his recipe containing 22 ingredients; Michael Dunn, with his no-bean-but-heavy-on-the-beer chili; and Richard Gelber, with the concoction he and his wife created driving to the competition.

So, what's Jewish about chili?

Nothing, really.

"There must have been a Jewish cowboy somewhere," Platt quips.

Rabbi Randall Konigsburg, who approves the ingredients for each dish before the competition, says the project shows that many favorite foods can be kosher.

"The idea of Kashrut [kosher laws] is...

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