County Fair Cooks

8/7/13 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

County Fair food

 A few years ago I picked up a “County Fair Cookbook” by Stallworth and Kennedy. I expected to find Blue Ribbon recipes. Instead, I discovered that the book was more about the people behind the recipes than it was about award winning food. The recipes are from different regions with interesting tidbits about their servers.

Next week I’ll talk more about county fairs—including our own W.O.E. Heritage Fair. But today I’m going to fill up this space with a wide variety of recipes from the states of Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Oregon. The recipes are interesting and so are the people that submitted them. For-instance, did you know that the famous artist Grandma Moses was also a prize winning cook?

We’ll start with Loretta Greene in the far northeastern state of Maine. Loretta’s vintage kitchen is one of the biggest draws in the Farm Museum at Fryeburg, Maine’s Fair. She comes from a farm family and cooks on a wood stove at home because it’s practical and enjoyable. At the Fair, she also cooks on a wood stove but in a big way. One year she gave out 7,240 samples of beans, rice pudding and apple crisp! That didn’t count the peanut brittle, biscuits and johnnycakes that were also available for tasting.

INDIAN PUDDING

6 cups whole milk

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup molasses

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Heat 4 cups of milk until scalding or until little bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Add the cornmeal slowly, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Stir in molasses and salt; remove pot from heat. Pour into 9x13x2-inch Pyrex or earthenware baking dish. Pour on the cold milk; no need to stir it. Bake 3 hours. Serve 4-6, warm or cold with whipped cream.

Grandma Moses (1860-1961) represents the Mid-Atlantic. Born in New York, she is one of the most celebrated painters of her era and was also a good cook. At fairs, she won blue ribbons for her jams and jellies but none for her paintings! The Bennington Vermont Museum has many of her recipes. The following was written in her journal. If you are game to try making macaroons, here’s her recipe.

GRANDMA MOSES’ MACAROONS

Whites of 9 eggs, beaten to a froth

1 lb blanched almonds, pounded

1/2 lb sugar

Nutmeg and mace to your taste

To be baked 1 hour on paper

Preheat oven to 325° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the blanched almonds and sugar and blend with 1/2 teaspoon each of freshly grated nutmeg and pounded mace. Fold in the egg whites. Place the mixture in a pastry bag and squeeze out small drops about 1-inch across, placed 2 inches apart on the paper. Bake 30 min. When cool, dampen the underside of the paper with a moist cloth and remove the cookies.

Down South, in Kentucky, Jeanne Kemper is known as the “Pie Queen.” She and her husband run a dairy farm but also grow tobacco. “We’d be down and so would a lot of other people without it. Milk prices are way low…and tobacco pays the bills.” One year she baked 15 pies to take to the State Fair but miscalculated and was a day late! She said they sure had a freezer full of pies. I used to serve a variation of this pie in our restaurant. The pecans and chocolate chips float to the top of the creamy filling.

KENTUCKY BOURBON PECAN PIE

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon (or vanilla)

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Gradually beat in the melted butter and corn syrup. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and bourbon (vanilla). Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake 40-50 min. until the filling is almost set. Serves 6, warm or cold with whipped cream.

Mary Silvers represents the Payne County Fair in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Her potato salad recipe with a cooked dressing is reminiscent of the ones that I grew up eating with my Missouri family.

MARY SILVERS’ POTATO SALAD

The Boiled Dressing:

4 eggs, well beaten

1/2-1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon mustard

The Salad:

10 medium potatoes, boiled, cooled and peeled

4 hard boiled eggs

1/2 cup chopped (red) onion

3 good-sized sweet pickles, chopped

Small jar diced pimiento

1 teaspoon celery salt (or more) to taste

Make the dressing: Place all ingredients in a saucepan and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until the dressing has thickened. Cool slightly.

Make the salad: Cube the potatoes and dice the hard-boiled eggs. Combine in a bowl with remainder of ingredients. Pour the dressing over and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Serves 8.

Finally, from Oregon and the Tillamook County Fair we have Mildred Davy’s tasty surprise recipe.

CHEDDAR CHEESE PUFFS SURPRISE

2 cups grated sharp Tillamook or other cheddar

1 stick butter at room temperature

1 cup sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

48 small green stuffed olives, well drained

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Blend the grated cheese and butter. Stir in dry ingredients. Mold 1 teaspoon of the mixture around each olive. Chill the puffs until firm. Arrange on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 15 min. or until browned. Makes 48 puffs.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal!

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes

 that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.