Recipes for success
To borrow the old lottery slogan: “You have to play to win.”
Carly Terensky of Cross Creek Township is proof of that.
Earlier this year, her homemade, pierogi-inspired casserole featuring the canned meat product, SPAM, won the top prize in the youth division of the Great American SPAM Championship, earning her the title of “Kid Chef of the Year.”
And to think Carly never even ate SPAM before cooking up her “SPAMASHED Potato Pierogi Casserole” for last year’s Washington County Fair judges, who proclaimed her the winner in the youth category.
“I didn’t even know what SPAM was,” she said in an interview in April, after getting word that she had won the national award.
Her recipe had been forwarded for judging at the national competition in Minnesota, where it was deemed the hands-down favorite in a field of entries ranging from mini-maple SPAM donuts, SPAM meatloaf and Hawaiian SPAM bread pudding.
Hormel Foods – the maker of SPAM – and the Blue Ribbon Group have been holding the food championship since 1990. The adult and child SPAM cookoffs are held at nearly 70 state and county fairs throughout the United States. Winning dishes at the local level advance to the national contest.
Carly’s recipe was tweaked a bit by the Hormel folks, who swapped her homemade spuds for ready-made Country Crock potatoes and reduced the amount of butter.
The victor’s spoils featured a $2,000 prize – not too shabby for a little cooking ingenuity and some canned ham.
As the reigning champion, Carly won’t be permitted to compete in this year’s Spam contest, but who knows? Washington County could produce another SPAM champ at this year’s fair, which runs from Aug. 10 to 17.
Get cooking, would-be blue-ribbon winners: The registration deadline for the local SPAM competition and others, including the Fleischmann’s Yeast Best Baking and the Family Favorites Recipe contests, is July 19.
Three top prizes of $125, $50 and $25 will be awarded for the best baked good featuring Fleischmann’s yeast. And a $125 prize will be presented for the best “Dessert Pizza” with a homemade crust. For each entry nationwide between July and October, ACH Food Companies will donate $10 to the No Kid Hungry Campaign on behalf of the contestants and Fleischmann’s Yeast brand.
Judges of the Family Favorites Recipe Contest are looking for any delicious dish that incorporates Bisquick baking mix as an ingredient. Up for grabs: three top prizes of $100, $50 and $25.
For contest rules and entry information, visit the Washington County Fair website at www.Washingtonfair.org, and click on the 2013 Premium Book.