Were you at the big 2019 Moxie Recipe contest at Lisbon High School last Friday? If not, you missed out on a no-holds-barred tribute to cooking imagination and Moxie like no other.

The popular festival event was enthusiastically chaired by Lisa Ward, with Lewiston’s Dawn Hartill serving as mistress of ceremonies, and the contest judges being Claudia Williams (daughter of baseball great and Moxie promoter Ted Williams), Dustin Bonk (WGME’s meteorologist and news reporter), and yours truly (Sun Journal and Forecaster/Coastal Journal food columnist).

Participants included past winners, folks from away (including a former Bowdoin College graduate) and an adorable 11-year-old Moxie aficionado. And having the sparkling “Duchess of Moxie,” a.k.a. festival Curator Julie-Ann Baumer, in our midst was akin to sipping a refreshing Moxie float with a cherry on top.

Contestants ignored the calories and went for the gusto with a true devil-may-care attitude. In other words, they went all in — Moxie style. Bacon fat, butter, cream cheese, sugar, ladyfingers, chocolate and even smashed cupcakes mingled with Lisbon’s hometown soft drink in a melding of flavors that sent the judges swooning all the way to Moxie nirvana.

The decidedly different entries included waffle cookies, layered dessert bars, chocolate cake, tiramisu and gluten-free cheesecake. There were wings and meatballs slathered with sauce and even old-fashioned popcorn balls. All entries had one thing in common of course: the “Maine” ingredient — Moxie.

Curtis Murphy of Lisbon ran away with first place in the appetizer category with his spicy-sweet Moxie chicken wings, always a hit. A winner two years ago, Murphy returned with a new and improved recipe with just enough kick that comes from combining Moxie with heat.

Reigning champion in the main dish category, Brian Lovering from New Gloucester, again took the gold with his buffalo chicken balls. This five-time winner proved that “the secret’s in the sauce” with his meatball recipe. Lisbon’s adopted son blended hot sauce with Moxie reduction, obtained by slowly boiling down Moxie soda until it becomes a rich, dark syrup with a concentration of Moxie flavor. The heat in the sauce is then calmed down with melted butter. This contest would not be the same without this Moxie devotee on the scene.

Steve DiDomenico and Don Pinnelle have never entered a cooking competition, nor did they do a practice run for their entry. When Pinnelle made the drive from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, with his Moxie cheesecake in tow, and DiDomenico high-tailed it from Nashua, New Hampshire, with his Moxified cheesecake topping, the two friends had no idea they would come away with a coveted prize.

When the judges (as well as onlookers who paid $5 a ticket to have the opportunity to taste and have a say) gave them top marks for their creation, the newbies were totally nonplussed. Pinnelle, who makes cheesecakes regularly for family and friends, said, “Doing this was like driving a race car that’s never been on the track.”

When creating the recipe, Pinnelle had delved even further into Moxie madness by adding a quarter-ounce of gentian root extract*, the ingredient that gives the soda its bitter medicinal taste, to the creamy cheesecake filling. The result was a delicious New York-style cheesecake with just the right amount of peppy. The friends are already scheming on their 2020 entry.

Another top contender in the dessert category stole the show when it was pronounced the Crowd Favorite. Because there was a tie for first place in the dessert category for Crowd Favorite between the Moxie cheesecake mentioned above and an entry called Moxiemisu, Ben Barry, the owner of Chummy’s Midtown Diner, cast the deciding vote for Moxiemisu. (Ben’s whole family voted.)

The award-winning dessert was a tiramisu with a Maine twist, created by Terry Sherman of Sabattus and Linda Douglass of Lisbon. The ladies took the competition seriously by experimenting all winter, tweaking their recipe seven times before they got it the way they wanted it.

Douglass responded to the win by saying, “We’re already working on what we want to make for next year’s competition!”

And with that, the 2019 Moxie Recipe Contest wrapped up. But you could be the next winner. In the meantime, there’s a new Moxie cookbook in the works, so start preparing for 2020!

Karen Schneider, a writer and editor, has been a regular contributor to the Lewiston Sun Journal for over 22 years. Contact her at iwrite33@comcast.net with your ideas and comments.

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