It's not too late to enter Ohio State Fair contests
6/19/2005New culinary contests, special culinary days, and traditional culinary competitions will be featured at the Ohio State Fair Aug. 3 to 14 at the fairgrounds in Columbus.
The deadline for Ohio State Fair culinary competitions is tomorrow. And you can still meet the deadline for entering. Thanks to the Internet you can download the Exhibitor Handbook and entry forms; select the culinary contest or competition, fill out the entry form, and provide the appropriate fee and have it postmarked by June 20. Exhibitor information and tags will be sent after July 4, according to coordinator Janet Peoples.
Among the new contests is the "Smile and Say Cheesecake" recipe contest sponsored by the Ohio Poultry Association held on Aug. 5. Four classes of cheesecakes will be judged in the DiSalle Arts and Crafts building: traditional, low carb, any variety, and savory. Each cheesecake must have at least four eggs and all recipes must be homemade and not from a mix.
Pineapple Soy Torte was a winner in the dessert category of the Cooking with Ohio's Soy Foods Contest at the Ohio State Fair last year. (Recipe follows.) This year that contest is held on Aug. 8. Contestants may enter an appetizer, soup, entree or dessert using one of the soy ingredients listed in the handbook.
Other culinary contests include Ghiradelli Chocolate on Aug. 10, Crisco My Favorite Pie on Aug. 7, KC Masterpiece Memorable Meals Contest on Aug. 14, and eight other contests in Division 33 as well as Division 34 Culinary with Cakes, Honey in Baking, Quick Breads, Yeast Breads, and others.
Information: call Janet Peoples at 614-274-3675 or Paula Mayo at 614-644-4040.
Pineapple Soy Torte
2 8-ounce containers soy cream cheese, softened
cup sugar
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 envelope whipped topping mix
cup vanilla-flavored soy milk
20 ladyfingers
Fresh strawberries
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in pineapple. In a medium bowl, beat whipped topping mix and soy milk until topping thickens and forms soft peaks. Fold topping into pineapple mixture. Place ladyfingers around sides and bottom of greased 9-inch springform pan. Spoon filling into pan. Cover; chill 6 hours or overnight. Garnish with strawberries.
Yield: 12 to 14 servings
A winner
Evergreen High School in Metamora was named a silver level winner in the Governor's Buckeye Best Healthy School Awards. The program looks for the progress schools have made in improving school nutrition, increasing opportunities for physical activity, and providing tobacco prevention/cessation programming.
"We have offered fresh fruits every day on the a la carte line and regular lunch line," writes Pat Penrod in an e-mail. She has been the Evergreen High School cafeteria manager for two years. "We offer a choice of fresh strawberries, grapes, pineapple, apples, melon, bananas, along with one or two canned fruit choices. We also offer a small tossed salad as a choice and a salad bar two times a week, and a variety of salad bowl choices (three times a week)."
Also on the menu is homemade beef and noodles, real mashed potatoes, and turkey gravy, homemade mac and cheese. "Our Italian, chicken, and Mexican bars are very popular," Ms. Penrod continues. "This next school year a student will have a choice of the vegetable of the day or a tossed salad on the regular lunch line. Our reimbursable meals have increased dramatically in the last two years."
Hocking Hills
Summer food events are scheduled in the Hocking Hills. The Inn at Cedar Falls at 21190 State Route 374 in Logan holds Friday night Summer Barbecue Patio Parties through Sept. 2. The menu features barbecue baby back ribs and chicken, grilled fish, roasted summer vegetables, side dishes, and desserts at $25 per person Reservations are suggested for the sell-out dinners.
In addition, a Summer Salads & Appetizers cooking class will be at 11 a.m. July 20 with Chef Erik Keller. Cost is $45 per person. Summer Season Wine TasteInns will take place June 24 with a barbecue menu at $50 per person and Sept. 9 with a five-course dinner at $65 per person. For information call 800-65-FALLS.
TasteFest Detroit
The 17th Annual Comerica TasteFest food and music event will be June 30 to July 4 in Detroit's New Center.
Food from 40 restaurants will be featured. Among the new participants this year are Melting Pot (Troy), Lazybones Smokehouse (Roseville), Dona Lola's Latino Seafood Cookin' (Detroit), American Masala (Detroit), Steve's Soul Food (Detroit), and La Shish (Orchard Lake). Encores will include Under the Eagle (Hamtramck), Beans & Cornbread (Southfield), and Tazqeria Mi Pueblo (Detroit).
Lawry's Live! Cooking Caravan will conduct free cooking demonstrations. A Gospel Brunch with Karen Clark Sheard will be at 2 p.m. July 3.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. July 4). Admission is free and includes musical acts. Food tickets are $6 for 10 tickets. For information, visit comericatastefest.com.