It’s that time of year again when the air starts to get cooler and the leaves begin to turn and the NC State Fair is just around the corner.  One of the things I love about the fair is all the food and I’m not just talking about the foot long hotdogs and French fries.  I’m talking about the Special Cooking Contests that are held every year in the Education Building.  We have 12 this year: 6 featuring North Carolina commodities and 6 that are sponsored by National companies.  If you think you can create an award winning recipe and want to win some cash, check out this year’s contests at: www.ncstatefair.org

See you at the Fair!

• 4 medium red skin potatoes
  
• ½ each red, orange and purple pepper (or you can substitute yellow)
  
• 1 medium zucchini
  
• 1 cup shredded carrots
  
• ½ sweet onion
  
• 1 ½ cup shredded Fontina cheese or an Italian Cheese Blend
  
• ¼ cup melted butter
  
•  1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad dressing and seasoning mix

Preheat over to 400.  Thinly slice all the vegetables in a bowl.  Pour the melted butter over veggies and add the dry ranch dressing and mix well.  Pour into a greased 13X9-baking dish.  Bake covered for 30 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle cheese over veggies and broil until melted and brown.

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 cups peeled and diced North Carolina apples
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream
  

Mix flour, brown sugar, curry powder, cheddar cheese and bacon together in a small bowl. Add diced apples and mix together. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix self-rising flour, melted butter and sour cream to make a batter. Combine the two mixtures gently and drop 1-2 teaspoons batter into un-greased mini muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 48 Apple Bacon Bites.

• 1 eight-ounce package of white chocolate chips, melted
• 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 1 cup Malt-o-Meal crispy rice cereal
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (any flavor), melted

Toast pecans in 350-degree oven for about five minutes.  Melt chips in a bowl over boiling water.  Add pecans, dried cranberries and crispy rice cereal to melted chips and stir until evenly coated.  Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. The mixture will not stick together very well until cooled.  Cool about 15 minutes in refrigerator.  Melt ¼ cup chocolate chips over boiling water and drizzle over each cluster. Makes about 24 clusters.

• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt or powder
• 1 ½ cups chopped cabbage
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1- 40 ounce can of sweet potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) okra, optional
• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans drained
• 1 cup apple juice
• 3 cups tomato juice