Posted by Dothan Eagle, AL on November 05, 2008 at 12:16:53:
Peggy Ussery
aussery@dothaneagle.com
Published: November 4, 2008
Apparently, good cooks start young. Ann Fennell began cooking when she was 6. Paxton Peac*ock was 5.
“There were 10 children in our family,” Fennell said. “ ... I remember baking biscuits at 6 years old.”
For 27 years, Fennell has put her culinary skills to work in the National Peanut Festival recipe contest. It’s paid off. Fennell is now a three-time grand prize winner — she won grand prizes in 1996 and 1998 for her candies.
This year, it was her Peanut-Chicken Quiche.
“This is the first year I’ve done it,” Fennell said of the quiche. “I took different recipes and exchanged different items to come up with it. I don’t know how many times I cooked it — it was good every time because it was eaten.”
There were 199 entries in this year’s National Peanut Festival recipe contest. Ten-year-old Paxton Peac*ock of Wicksburg won the student grand prize for his Paxton’s PB Cheesecake. He also won first place awards in pies and candy categories.
“He fixes breakfast for me at least two to three times a week,” his mother, Sue Pea*cock, said.
Paxton said he prefers cooking pies and cakes. He loves changing out ingredients in recipes, and he enjoys cooking for his family. He spent a month working on his recipe, which didn’t go too smoothly at first.
“I couldn’t get it just perfect, so my mom and dad didn’t want them,” Paxton said of some of his early attempts. “I tried to give them to the pigs, but the pigs wouldn’t eat them. So, I gave them to the cows.”
Fennell would have liked 30 consecutive years of entering the contest, but the rules changed last year. Her grand prize win this year prevents her from entering in 2009. Fennell is already wondering what she’ll do this time next year.
But, that’s OK, she said. “It’s been worth it,” Fennell said. “I’ve totally enjoyed it.”
Peanut-Chicken Quiche
Ingredients for crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
One-half cup cocktail peanuts, chopped
One-half teaspoon salt
One-fourth teaspoon paprika
One-third cup peanut oil
Ingredients for filling:
1 cup sour cream
One-half cup chicken broth
One-fourth cup mayonnaise
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
One-half cup shredded cheddar cheese
One-fourth cup fresh onion, minced
One-fourth teaspoon dried dillweed
3 drops hot sauce
One-fourth cup cocktail peanuts, chopped
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Combine flour, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, one-half cup chopped cocktail peanuts, salt and paprika. Stir well and add peanut oil. Press on bottom and along sides of a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool completely (about 15 minutes).
Mix sour cream, broth,mayonnaise and eggs. Stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in chicken, one-half cup cheese, onion, dillweed and hot sauce. Pour into cooled crust and put peanuts on top. Bake for 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and serve.
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