Posted by Azle News, TX on October 25, 2008 at 16:17:12:
Area family fares well in State Fair cooking competition
Since 1886, thousands of folks from neighborhoods all across Texas have waltzed into Dallas’s Fair Park each fall to catch sight of the Texas State Fair exhibits, ride the rides and sample the cuisine.
A lot of traditions have been made during these years.
• Big Tex, the fair’s iconic 52-foot-tall mascot, has been greeting visitors since1952.
• The auto show became an annual destination at the end of World War II.
• The first hot dog was speared, dipped in corn batter and deep-fat-fried into a crispy golden brown corndog in 1942.
And for the past four years, the mom/daughter/son team of Helen Fields, Jodi Thompson, 14-year-old Andrew and 11-year-old Emily Thompson have been winning ribbons for their specialty cuisine.
Fields, who lives in Springtown, won $100 and the first place ribbon this year with her “Spiced Pumpkin Soup,” in the “Make It With Cereal” contest.
Fields’ daughter Jodi lives in Azle where she home-schools her son Andrew and daughter Emily. This year Jodi won $200 and the blue ribbon with her “Deep Fried Rosemary Scallops” in the “Stick With Canola Oil, Fry it for the Fair” competition.
As for the youngest cooks in the family, Andrew took first place in the Youth Cake Competition with his “Peachy-Keen Pound Cake (the secret ingredient is Peach Fresca).
Emily won third in the Children’s Candy Contest with her chocolate fudge, which uses vanilla marshmallows.
Jodi said the kids decide what to cook, do their own shopping and their own cooking.
“All I do is pay for the groceries and type up their recipes,” she said.
Helen and Jodi have shared their award-winning recipes for Spiced Pumpkin Soup and Deep Fried Rosemary Scallops here so that you can judge them for yourselves.
SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP
by Helen Fields
Crouton Ingredients:
2-teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon Caribbean jerk seasoning
1/2-cup Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters cereal.
Soup Ingredients:
2-tablespoons salted butter
3/4-cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-cup Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toaster Cereal, fine crumbs
1/2-teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
2-cups pumpkin puree (canned, fresh or combination)
3-cups chicken broth
1/2-teaspoon curry powder
1/4-teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1-teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
1/2-teaspoon Caribbean jerk seasoning
1/8-teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4-cup unsweetened coconut milk
Preheat oven to 225° F.
Prepare croutons by stirring together the olive oil, salt, jerk seasoning and cereal in a small bowl.
Smooth into a single layer in a small baking dish and put it in oven.
Bake one hour stirring about every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and spread on paper towel to cool; blot excess oil.
Prepare the soup by putting the butter, onion, garlic, cermedium saucepan. Cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes over medium heat or until onions are tender and slightly caramelized.
Add to the onions, pumpkin, chicken broth, curry powder, nutmeg, ginger, jerk seasoning, red pepper and coconut milk. Bring ingredients to a boil, lower the heat cover the saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaf and carefully process small amounts of soup in blender or food processor until smooth.
Ladle soup into serving bowls and serve with croutons. Makes approximately six servings.
DEEP FRIED ROSEMARY
SCALLOPS
by Jodi Thompson
4-cups Canola Oil, for frying
8-fresh rosemary twigs, approximately 8-inches long
1/2-cup orange juice
1/4-cup soy sauce
1-tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
32 bay scallops
8 slices thick sliced bacon
8 small potatoes, steamed
Heat Canola Oil in deep fryer to 375° F.
In a shallow pan, whisk together orange juice, soy sauce and ginger. Place bay scallops in mixture for a maximum of five minutes on each side. Discard used marinade.
Soak rosemary twigs in water for 10 minutes.
Strip leaves from bottom two-thirds of the rosemary twigs. If necessary, sharpen ends to help facilitate skewering.
On each rosemary twig, thread one slice of bacon, four marinated scallops and one potato. Deep fry for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes each.
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