Food fare we saw but…

…among this list are the other food items we saw available but just could not fit into our little bellies:

Apple Chips
Apple Dumplings
Apple Fritters
Apple Pie
Baklava
BBQ Chicken and Ribs
Buffalo Shrimp
Burritos
Candied Apples
Calzones
Chicken Tenders with Fries
Cookies
Corn Dogs
Cotton Candy
Country Biscuit with Gravy
Doughnuts
Elephant Ears (fried dough)
Fajitas
Falafel
Fried Apple Cobbler
Fried Crab
Fried Ice Cream
Fried Pickles
Fried Moon Pie
Fried Onion Rings
Fried Oysters
Fried PB&J
Fried Pork Rinds
Fried Potatoes (many shapes and sizes)
Fried Shrimp
Fried Strawberry Cobbler
Fried Twinkies
Fried Vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Mushrooms)
Frozen Bananas dipped in chocolate
Frozen Pineapple on a stick, chocolate or cherry dipped
Fudge
Funnel Cakes
Grape Leaves
Ginger Bread
Gyros
Ham Biscuit with Butter
Hamburgers
Hot Dogs and Foot Long Dogs Hot
Fudge Cake with Ice Cream
Hummus
Hushpuppies
Ice Cream
Kettle Corn
Lemonade
Muffins
Onion Mum
Peanuts, Fresh Roasted and Salted
Pita Sandwiches
Pizza
Polish Sausage with Onions and Peppers Sandwich
Popcorn
Potato Chips, Fresh Fried
Nachos
Quesadillas
Roasted Almonds
Shrimp Tempura
Smoothies
Snow Cones
Sweet Potato Fries
Tabouleh
Tacos
Tator Tots
Taffy
Turkey Leg, Smoked
Wedgies

Gluten free food fare

For those who have an allergy to gluten there has been an effort to highlight the offerings that omit wheat or gluten based preparations from their food offerings. The Gluten Free Raleigh blog offers this list from fair vendors who promote their gluten free foods.

Foodie fair events

Bobby Flay Poster	Bobby Flay put on a cooking demonstration at Dorton Arena on Monday, October 20, 2008 and I am sure it was an all out throw down event. His show is being promoted on the N.C. State Fair blog spot as a backyard paradise where Bobby will be using North Carolina products and grilling the night away.
The News & Observer’s staff writer Andrea Weigl interviewed Bobby Flay just before his appearance on Monday night at Dorton Arena and do you know that his personal preference for grilling is charcoal. Yes! I love grilling on charcoal because gas just does not give food that smoke and grilled flavor.

State fair competitions

The fair boasts a wide range from the General Exhibits Division in Agronomy, Flower Show, and also includes Bees and Honey, and a Wine Competition too with only tastings and no wine bottle sales due to it being a “family” fair. Other divisions that are found at most state fairs includes the Livestock Division, Poultry & Rabbits Division, Special Exhibits, and of course the Family & Consumer Science Division which encompasses the Culinary Department and Special Cooking Contests.

The Culinary Department competitions included a total of $8,209 in awarded premiums for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners in entries ranging from the two broad categories of Food Preservation Products, and then the Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and Candies. The Food Preservation Products category items are judged on color, liquid, appearance, size uniformity, packing, and jar fill. This category includes but not limited to both canned and dried fruit competitions such as Apples, Apple Sauce, Figs, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Single Fruits and Mixed Fruits. Vegetables include but are not limited to Asparagus, Beans, Corn, Okra, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Soup, Spaghetti Sauce, and Tomatoes. The competition also has entries for preserves, jams, jelly’s, juices, syrups, conserves, marmalades, butters, pickles, relishes, chutneys, salsas and sauces. There is also a junior category for entries from those who are age 19 and under.

The Breads, Cakes, Cookies, and Candies category is judged on appearance, texture, crumb, and flavor. This category starts with the breads and includes such items as yeast raised breads including white, wheat or rye, sourdough bread, corn bread, rolls, muffins, coffee cake, quickbread, biscuits, cheese straws, and scones. The cake section is sub-divided into 1. Tube, Sheet or Loaf cakes and includes items such as angel food, fruit, pound, flavored pound, chocolate, fruit tube, and sheet cake. 2. Layer Cakes and includes chocolate, coconut, spice, yellow, white, fruit flavored and other. Cookies includes drop chocolate, oatmeal, ice box or rolled, shaped and pressed, bar or sheet, filled or sandwich, brownies, and biscotti-type. Candy includes fudge, divinity, mints, peanut brittle, hand dipped, and other. Then there is the Decorated Cake competition that includes wedding, shaped, novelty, or other both in professional and non-professional competitions.

The N.C. State Fair also hosts over a dozen Special Cooking Contests and here are some of the winners from this year’s competitions. Tiffany Wolfe of Fuquay-Varina, NC won the N.C. State Fair Cooking Contest with her S’more on a Stick recipe. Some of the other individual competitions and winners (see links for winners and recipes) include Sandra Bass from Dunn, NC who won the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association also sponsors a Pea-Nutty Vegetarian Main Dish Recipe Contest that is judged on taste, flavor, creativity, family appeal and ease of preparation. The winner of this contest gets a $200 first prize. Gail Fuller from Raleigh, NC won the House-Autry Mills in Your Oven Casserole Recipe Contest, with a $250 first prize. There is also a Stick with Canola Oil Fry at the Fair Contest with a $200 1^st place prize, and Gail Fuller from Raleigh, NC also won the Make It With Malt-O-Meal Recipe Contest with a $100 1^st place prize, Gail Fuller from Raleigh, NC also won the Fleischmann’s Yeast “Bake for the Cure” Baking Contest with a $1000 1^st place award and with a $10 contribution for each entry going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. And Amanda Boury of Youngsville, NC won first place for the N.C. Apple Associations Apple Recipe Contest

 Sights around the fair  

Kitchen Craft ~ Display, Demonstrations and Product Sales

Frying Funnel Cakes

Hog Races ~ a well attended event every few hours each day

Fudge Stand

Waterfall attracted many folks throughout the day

Smoking Turkey Legs

Rides along the Midway

Ice Cream Maker

Lots of charcoal and trucks for storage

Other on-line N.C. State Fair resources

News and Observer: Fried fair fare: mac & cheese, pecan pie

News and Observer: What we love about the fair…and what could make it better

N.C. State University: Serving Up Fare at the Fair

N.C. State Fair: N.C. State Fair – Take Time For A Great Time

Deep Fried: @ The N.C. State Fair: Deep Fried @ The N.C. State Fair