FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
William Troxell
717-694-3596
[email protected]
VEGETABLE RECIPE CONTEST
STATEWIDE COOK-OFF SET FOR AUGUST 5
The eighth annual Pennsylvania “Simply Delicious, Simply Nutritious” Vegetable Recipe Contest statewide Cook-Off will be held on Friday, August 5, 2011, at the Olewine Center for Culinary Arts at Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg. Finalists will compete for $100 prizes in four categories.
The contest is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing and Research Program in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
The Cook-Off is part of the Vegetable Marketing and Research Program’s celebration of August as Pennsylvania Produce Month. The state’s 4,300 vegetable growers produce over 200,000 tons of vegetables on 55,000 acres of land and August is the peak of the harvest.
A panel of four judges reviewed 66 written recipe entries from 30 contestants across the state. They selected four finalist recipes in each of the following four categories: Snap Beans/Lima Beans/Peas, Beet/Carrots/Turnips, Sweet Corn and Broccoli/Cabbage/Cauliflower. Recipes were chosen on the basis of creativity, nutrition/healthfulness, ease of preparation, and overall appeal. The contestants will prepare their finalist recipes for the judges to evaluate at the Cook-Off. The following recipes and contestants were chosen:
Broccoli/Cabbage/Cauliflower
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Smoked Turkey and Orzo Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
Oriental Cabbage Salad – Kathy Rohrbaugh, Shrewsbury
African (Ethiopian) Cabbage Stew – B.J. Reed, Chambersburg
Fruited and Curried Cole Slaw – Frances Dietz, York
Snap Beans/Lima Beans/Peas
Shauna’s Super Summer Salad – Shauna Yorty, Lebanon
Snap Beans with Pancetta and Roasted Garlic – Deb Lyon, Bangor
Snap Bean Salad – Mary Ann Deeble, Tamaqua
Pittsburgh Peas and Noodles – Jennifer Bornes, Mechanicsburg
Sweet Corn
Three Sisters Succotash – Kathy Rohrbaugh, Shrewsbury
Spicy Corn Salsa – Bonnie Mortimer, Mount Pleasant
Healthy Fettuccini Alfredo – Deb Lyon, Bangor
Colorful Corn Chowder – Kenneth Ward, Hulmesville
Beets/Carrots/Turnips
Roasted Beet and Candied Walnut Salad – Frances Dietz, York
My Yarden Salad – Shauna Yorty, Lebanon
Red Beet, Barley and Mozzarella Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
Orange-Maple Roasted Carrots – Becky Frey, Lebanon
Judges will choose a first place winner in each of the four categories, who will receive a $100 prize. George Greig, Secretary of Agriculture, is scheduled to present the first place awards at 12:30 p.m. The other three finalists in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate to the farm market of their choice in the state.
Recipe entries had to contain as a major ingredient at least one of the vegetables in the category title. Recipes had to be created or modified by the contestant or a member of the contestant’s family.
Media coverage of the state-wide Cook-Off on August 5, 2011, is welcome and encouraged. Judging will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a different category being judged every 30 minutes thereafter. Unfortunately, the facilities do not allow attendance by the general public.
The Olewine Center for Culinary Arts is located in the Ted C. Lick Wildwood Conference Center at Gate 4 to the campus of the Harrisburg Area Community College on Industrial Road in Harrisburg.