The Beginning: An Avid Attempt to Track a Foodie's Process

I don't know that I would call myself a true foodie.  I feel that a real "foodie" is someone who is more or less obsessed with food - and not just food in general, but tastes, textures, palates, aromas, every aspect of food.  In general, I am not like that.  I'm perfectly content getting home at night and throwing Pizza Rolls in the microwave and calling it dinner.  In fact, I hardly ever cook for myself, like *really* cook.  Since I moved to Des Moines in January I think I can say I've actually cooked three times - once was an Indian Chicken (in which I discovered how great cumin and fennel seed are), a filet of tilapia and pork chops.

But now, summer's here...

And it's a whole different ball game.

For anyone who has known me for a while or lived with me in the summer in Iowa, you know that the once-peaceful kitchen quickly turns into a madhouse.  To this day I don't think Allison can forgive me for what I did to our apartment.  I don't think she or the kitchen every fully recovered.  Here's some imagery to illustrate why: pots and pans are strewn across the countertops, which are generally covered with flour from something or another, ingredients are set out waiting to play their part in the debauchery, towels are tossed around, rags are getting worn down from scrubbing and the floor is no doubt far from clean.

And what is the reason for all this chaos?  Three words:

Iowa State Fair.

More specifically, the Food Department of the Iowa State Fair.

Anyone who is lucky enough to work with me or be involved in a production with me knows that this is the time of year when baked goods start showing up unexpectedly in search of taste testers (which are not hard to come by) to try dishes that may potentially make the ranks for me enter them in the Fair.  So far I've only tried one - Potato Chip White Chocolate Cookies - and they didn't turn out so great. They looked a lot better than they tasted.  But hey, that's what trial runs are for.

Which reminds me, this year is going to be a LANDMARK for me with my Fair food.  For the first time ever, I have my OWN kitchen.  As in, no one else needs to use it or yell at me for it being too messy.  This has never happened before.  Also, I am gainfully employed in a full-time job, which means that unlike my high school and college years where I was making pocket change off of waitressing part-time, I can afford to buy decent ingredients and buy them more than once so that I can actually try recipes before entering them.  Before, I was hardly able to do that because I simply couldn't afford to make things more than once.  I am so grateful for where I am at right now, and that it just so happens to lend itself delightfully to my Fair antics :)

Most people don't understand how the State Fair food competition works, so I will try to describe it as best I can.  What it is NOT is merely "bringing a pie" or "bringing a cake" and see if you get a ribbon.  The reaction I get when I tell people I bake for the Fair is "Oh!  Are you gonna make cookies?"  And when I hear that, I have to laugh a little bit.

Remember, the Iowa State Fair Food Department is the largest in the country, boasting 244 divisions made up of 881 classes.  Each division is sponsored by a company or person/people, and they can make the division specific to anything they want.  Within that division, you can have one or multiple classes.  For example, one of the bigger divisions is Midwest Living Cookies (sponsored by, of course, Midwest Living).  Within this division there are 57 classes, each for a specific type of cookie ranging from Peanut Butter Bars to Gingersnaps to Macaroons to Scandinavian.  Only a handful of divisions have so many classes for specific types of food, but it gives you an idea of how particular the classes can be.  Not to mention that there are 13 other divisions dedicated to cookies as well, ranging from Pumpkin Patch cookies to Newman's Raisin Cookies.  Some sponsors, like Newman's, require a proof of purchase to prove that you used THEIR product in your entry, otherwise you cannot enter.

To further illustrate how unique each division is, there are ones like "Desserts with Mrs. Clark's Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing," "Create Your Best Dessert with Ultra Grain Flour, "  "Healthy Beef Appetizers," "Edible Wedding Decorations," "Nostalgic Comfort Food," "Good For You Zucchini Cake," and "Scones With A Twist."  Hopefuly these help to show how entering food in the Fair is more than just "making some cookies."  On top of that, each division's sponsor decides how the entries will be judged.  Generally they are based on at least Taste and Appearance/Presentation, but can also include things like Creativity, Best Use of Product, Uniqueness or Texture.

It's because of those latter components that I generally search for recipes that stand out in some way.  When I told a co-worker of mine the other day that I was going to practice baking, she said, "Are you gonna make us some blondies?!"  Umm...well, no. I've always felt that recipes including unique flavors or more difficult/interesting processes are the ones that are going to stick in the judges' heads.  Then again, simplicity can also win as well, so it's really up to your own judgment.

I've spent the last few days searching the internet for such recipes.  So far I've come up with a few I'd like to try:

Potato-Rosemary-Garlic Bread
Ultimate Man Bread (Jalapeno/Cheddar/Bacon Bread)
Honey Beer Bread
Chipotle Sweet Potato Skillet Biscuits
Ginger-Glazed Mahi Mahi
Italian Venison Meat Pie
Porcini Rosemary-Crusted Lamb

I'm trying to focus on particular types of food at a time this year.  For example, you can tell I'm focusing on breads and meats right now.  Later on I'll focus more on candy (which I'm still not quite very good at, but enjoy doing anyway), cakes (I have a Chocolate-Berry Entremet I'm DYING to make!), among others.

When I tell people about all these things I want to try they always ask, "OMG how many things are you going to take?!"  I'll put it this way - I'm going to order 40 tags.  Doesn't mean I will use all of them.  And just because I try something or say I want to try it doesn't mean it'll end up going to the Fair.  Generally, I end up with around 25 dishes going to the Fair, which I guess is still quite a bit when you think about the Fair being only 11 days long (13 days for the Food).

I probably could have split all of this up into separate entries as opposed to one huge long post, but oh well.  It's there now.  I'm going to try to keep up with this - my past blogging efforts have failed miserably.  BUT, this is something I care a lot about and that I can update on with some frequency.

So, if you're curious to know what happens throughout the summer as a Fair Food competitor embarks on her quest for the coveted Blue Ribbon, keep checking back!