MONTGOMERY, AL - Community leaders in four Alabama cities will sample local barbecue sauces and send regional winners to the "BBQ Sauce-Off" championship on May 18 in Birmingham.

The regional competitions will begin May 4 in downtown Montgomery at the Southern Makers Festival and in Mobile at the Market on the Square.  The following Saturday competitions will be held in Decatur at the Decatur/Morgan County Farmers Market and in Tuscaloosa at the Tuscaloosa River Market.

Alabama Tourism Department's Brian Jones said the Sauce-Off is a follow up to the popular BBQ Bracket contest on Facebook that state tourism did last month. "We had more than 81,000 votes cast on our Alabama Food Facebook page with Jim ‘N Nick's ending up as our state winner. The BBQ Bracket was like a hit movie and the Sauce-Off is our sequel," Jones said.

HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Approximately 50 runners, walkers and bicyclers took part in the Wallace State Healthy Campus Initiative’s 5K Run and Fun Bike Ride benefiting United Way of Cullman on April 21.

According to Cynthia Newman, member of the Healthy Campus Initiative committee and one of the event’s organizers, the event raised $400 for United Way.

Winners in the 5K were Nathan Graves (1st place male – 19:35) of Cullman and Hannah Sharp (1st place female – 32:43) of Red Bay. 

Adults and children participating in the Fun Bike Event traveled the newly designated 2-mile route around campus.

The event is the latest in the college’s Healthy Campus Initiative, which this spring is encouraging students, faculty, and staff to bring an extra set of wheels to campus.

For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.

White chocolate mixed berry bread pudding

Chef Jared Danks, the program director for the Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts programs at Culinard in Birmingham, makes a white chocolate mixed berry bread pudding.

Ingredients

4 oz. berries

1 oz unsalter butter (melted)

12 oz white bread (day-old)

1 qt heavy cream

5 oz (3 ea) eggs

13 oz granulated sugar

1/2 fl oz vanilla extract

4 oz white chocolate

Directions

Use the portion of the butter to thoroughly coat a 2-inch (5 cm) deep hotel pan. Reserve the remaining butter.

Tear the bread into chunks and place in a large bowl. Pour the cream over the bread and set aside until soft.

Beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and thick. Add the vanilla, the remaining melted butter and the berries.