When it was time for the Final Showdown, a willing and eager stranger from a nearby campsite was recruited to make the supreme judgement. His qualification was that he LOVED meatloaf. The suspense built as he tasted, swooned, and ruminated. But Vince's dreams of having his recipe in the next Frannie book under the title "Better than Marcy's Meatloaf" went down in flames when the judge chose Carly's hamloaf. (Technically not a meatloaf by the common understanding, but, hey, I'm not a sore loser.) The winners celebrated and the losers drowned their sorrow by eating the entries--along with mashed potatoes and gravy, brussels sprouts and cauliflower with pine nuts, marinated tomatoes, coleslaw, and melon.
