Some of my favorite foodie friends and I decided what a better way to say goodbye to summer than to hold a salsa contest.

With, salsa you need some kind of vehicle to hold the salsa and some way to taste it properly. Yes, tortilla chips are a fabulous vehicle however so are tacos. I made pineapple-mango salsa and also a traditional fresh tomato salsa. I just knew that a shrimp taco would compliment the spicy, tropical flavor of pineapple mango salsa and the smoked chicken would be great with both of them.

While smoking the chickens, I got the idea to smoke the shrimp too and what a great decision that was.

This is my new favorite way to eat shrimp.

Of course, when we cook we make plenty to share so we made two birds and two pounds of shrimp.All of the salsas entered were excellent and I was a bit worried that mine would not be good enough for a win. But after all the votes were tallied my pineapple mango took 3rd place. Second place was a very spicy salsa and third was a smokey layered salsa.

More important was the fun and fellowship that food creates. It is a common bond that brings us all together.