Originally, I was scheduled to work Monday night from 7 pm to 7 am on Tuesday in Martinsville. The contest Monday had check-in from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm and open judging starting at 4 pm. I could probably make it to work by 7 pm but it would be cutting it really close.
My other option was to trade shifts and work the same shift from Sunday night to Monday morning. That meant I'd be competing out at the fairgrounds on Monday with little to no sleep (I know, what else is new...) vs. competing out at the fairgrounds all day Monday then going to an overnight shift at work already tired (again, what else is new). I ended up deciding to work Sunday night.
In this contest you can make any type of food item. It has to contain at least 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and must make 4 or more servings. Burton's sponsors the contest but you don't have to use their brand in your recipe. I remembered from last year though that Patrick Burton can tell whether you used their maple syrup or not by tasting the recipe. Plus, Burton's makes a bourbon barrel aged maple syrup that I'm absolutely hooked on. I decided to use their product. Dishes are judged as follows:
40% Taste and Flavor
25% Creativity and Originality
25% Texture and Consistency
10% Appearance and Presentation
I also remembered from last year that many people, myself included, had a hard time making the maple flavor stand out in their dish. The Burtons really wanted to be able to taste the maple, not just have it as an ingredient. Way back when I registered for this contest I was going to make Maple Walnut Fudge. Anyhoos, remember, that didn't turn out too well. Next I thought of making a Maple Walnut Pie. But that sounded too plain. Not original enough. What should I make?
Remember these?
The Beer and Bacon S'mores from the Beer and Bacon Classic. They were my favorite things that night. I decided to make Maple Bacon S'mores. So, instead of a beer flavored marshmallow, I'd make a maple flavored marshmallow. Roll it in bacon bits. Leave off the chocolate because it will overpower everything. Instead of serving it on a stick, make some maple shortbread cookies to sandwich the whole concoction. Voila!
Maple Bacon S'mores
I made homemade marshmallows for the first time in my life on Saturday night. Live and learn right? Let's add homemade marshmallows to the list of things the Fair has taught me to make. They had to set up overnight but they looked like real marshmallows in the morning. Just like magic. Who'd a thunk you could make marshmallows at home?
Sunday morning I made my shortbread cookies and cooked a TON of bacon. Then, I decided to make one practice s'more. I just wanted to make sure my vision would work. I wanted to make the rest of the s'mores for presentation on Monday morning because I was a little afraid making them a day ahead would make the shortbread soggy. I had a whole container of bacon, cooked perfectly crisp and chopped up into little bits, next to me out by the grill. I toasted the maple marshmallow and went to dredge it in the bacon... and promptly knocked the whole container to the ground, dumping bacon bits everywhere. Belle thought she'd gone to heaven. I thought I might cry.
I went to Meijer AGAIN for more bacon.
I got done cooking my new batch of bacon and then it was time to go to work.
Monday morning I got home by 7:30 am and slept til 10 am. Made my s'mores and got all my plates and props together for presentation, then it was off to the Fair again. I left WAY early because I was still scarred from Saturday. This time I had no problem getting in so I was in the building by 1 pm. Since turn in wasn't til 2:30 pm I finally had some time to look around the fairgrounds.
I love just looking at stuff at the fair. As a little kid, I wanted to grow up to be a farmer. The romance of self-sufficiency. I made it over to the Glass Barn clear on the other side of the fairgrounds. They have a green screen set up there this year where you can take a picture of yourself in a postcard. There were four different options. I wanted all of them. I know... I am eight. This is what I ended up with...
I'm getting another one if I get back there this week!
After that, I made my way to the 4H Exhibit Hall. Again, I love looking at it all. Some of the 4H-ers have amazing creativity. Looking at their stuff can give you a lot of ideas. I was still in the 4H building when it started pouring down rain. It was a little after 2pm. I had until 3:30 pm to turn in my entry but decided I should start making my way back to Home and Family Arts. I ran from overhangs to tents until I made it to the covered bridge. I stayed there until 2:45. The rain seemed to be lessening a bit so I decided to go for it and left the covered bridge. I got halfway to the Ag/Hort Building when the skies opened up. I got soaked. I ran into the Ag/Hort Building but then decided I really didn't have time to hang out there and ran back out in the rain to get to the Home and Family Arts Building, arriving looking like a drowned rat.
I got my dish plated. I ran into Robin in the Prep Room. She told me I was going to win and reminded me to take a photo of my dish before I turned it in.
Maple Bacon S'mores - ready for presentation
After that, I still had another half hour to kill so I went upstairs and took pictures of my crochet items.
It then occurred to me that it was almost 4 pm and I was starving. I hadn't eaten because I was too busy getting everything ready and then I was too busy looking at things once I got here... and now I didn't have time to get anything before the judging started.
I found a seat next to Rebecca and Robin came and sat next to me on the other side. Behind me were Darl and Mary Alice, Phyllis, Marjorie, and Christine's sister who's name I can never remember. Everyone was talking about the Cheese Ball Contest that had been held on Sunday... in depth discussions about everyone's cheese balls... I was ready to chew my arm off.
Finally the judging starts. Sure enough, Patrick Burton was on the stage. This time he brought his daughter Kelly to help judge. Notes to self - the man doesn't like sweet potatoes. Also continues to say that chocolate overpowers the maple syrup. And, he likes it when you soak all your stuff (i.e. bacon, nuts, etc.) in maple syrup overnight before you cook with it. The man knows his food. He likes moist dense things too.
He really liked the maple apple blond brownies that Phyllis made. He also liked the maple banana bundt cake that Robin made. It had homemade maple candies in it with a maple cream cheese glaze decorated with maple soaked nuts. Robin won last year with almost the same identical cake. The only difference this year was that she used bananas instead of apples. They got to my dish and I started getting WAY nervous. Would they like it? Was it too far out there? The first words out of Kelly's mouth were "Wow!" I still couldn't tell if she just said that because it was so different and she didn't know what to say vs. she really liked it. I got about the same reaction from Patrick.
As far as the judging criteria, I thought by now that I'd have a top score for Creativity and Originality as well as Appearance and Presentation. But really, what matters is the taste. Did they like it or was it too weird? There were several dishes with sweet potatoes and apples. Couple cakes, cookies, granola. Rebecca made a pie. A lot of things with bacon in it. Mine was a little bit outside the box. Was it too far out there?
The Burton's then went behind the curtain to deliberate. Mary Alice looked at me and said, "Honey, I think you won." When Mary Alice says something like that, suddenly you start to think you might win. This is the woman who brought 27 pies to the Fair one year. She's been a featured guest on The View (the ABC talk show) and in a Midwest Living cookbook. Seriously.
Great video about her last year
For all my non-fair friends who think I can bake and I win everything... I have nothing on some of these women. I'm a little kid...
Time to announce the winners. They brought out 4 dishes. Mine was one of them.
Phyllis got Honorable Mention.
Marjorie got Third with her Maple Bourbon Shrimp.
Robin got Second.
I won!
Me and Patrick Burton
Robin and Me
We took photos and then dug into each other's food. I tried Marjorie's shrimp. Yummy! Phyllis's brownies. Heaven. Robin's cake. Fabulous. I got a huge piece of her cake, enough to bring home with me and hide from my kids (I told you I was eight!)
I am SO SO Happy!! Plus, Patrick Burton gave me another bottle of Bourbon Maple Syrup to take home. Yup, he's got me totally hooked.
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