Salsa Sombrero

Last December, Food2 (a baby sister site to Food Network) was holding a competition. The winner would get a trip for two to New York and a chance to see the Food Network kitchens, a year's worth of Food Network magazine, and lunch with Kelsey Nixon. I've wanted to meet Kelsey so bad and with my competitive nature, I got cookin! They wanted your best "party appetizer" and you had to include the recipe, photo, and short description. With the final idea and suggestions from my oldest sister and title input from my family, this is what I submitted:

Salsa Sombrero!

Bruschetta is my ultimate favorite appetizer, but I wanted to do something a bit different. This is my version of a Mexican bruschetta! There is crunch from the homemade tortilla chip, paired with the sweetness of the salsa and zing of the lime, and topped with the salty cheese. I think they look like colorful Mexican hats, and this perfect party will make the taster want to dance! Try to save some for the guests!

1 tomato-diced
½ onion-diced
1 jalapeno-diced
1 clove garlic-minced
1 can (15 oz.) corn
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 package corn tortillas

juice of two limes
zest of 1 lime
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp cilantro-chopped
1 ½ tsp honey
salt, to taste

Combine vinaigrette and pour onto salsa. Let sit for flavors to combine.
Cut tortillas into 2 ½- 3 inch circles. Place tortilla circles in a pan filled with oil to fry. Cook a few minutes, flipping once, until slightly golden brown. Place on paper towel and sprinkle with some coarse salt.

Assemble right before service. Place salsa on top of chip and garnish with fresh cilantro and some crumbled cotija cheese (or feta if cotija is not available). You can also double stack—place salsa on one tortilla and then another tortilla on top, with salsa and then the cheese and cilantro sprig for garnish.
***here's the site on Food2 where it was posted

I thought I did a real nice job. I even worked real real hard on trying to get good pictures with my point and shoot camera. About a week or two later, I was in the Drexel library and they have a shelf full of magazines. I happened to glance over and this is what I saw:
My heart started racing and I nervously thought, "no way!!! I...won?!!" thinking that it was MY appetizer on the cover page of this foodie magazine. Upon further inspection, however, it was some other appetizer competition sponsored by that magazine and they were featuring the winner. Her recipe was incredibly similar, but she had tilapia on top as well. I thought it was so funny and so random. Don't they look real similar??
Anywho, the end of the story is that I did not win the Food2 competition, but i WILL go meet Kelsey Nixon on my own before we leave the East Coast. and i really love food competitions.