For Immediate Release
July 31, 2012
William Troxell
717-694-3596
[email protected]
Vegetable Recipe Contest Cook-Off Set for August 3
The ninth annual Pennsylvania “Simply Delicious, Simply Nutritious” Vegetable Recipe Contest statewide Cook-Off will be held on Friday, August 3, 2012, 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. The Cook-Off is part of the 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 82 written recipe entries from 40 contestants across the state. They selected four finalist recipes in each of the following four categories:
Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplant, Melons/Cucumbers, Summer Squash/Zucchini and Winter Squash/Pumpkins. 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:
Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplant
Garden Gate Chunky Greek Salad – Mary Ellen Miller, Orwigsburg
Chipotle BLT Bouquets – Kathy Rohrbaugh, Stewartstown
Tangy Tomato Strawberry Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
Fish Poached in Tomatoes – Karen Parish, Fleetwood
Melons/Cucumbers
Asian Cucumber Salad – Frances Dietz, York
Key Lime Grilled Shrimp over Melon & Pineapple Salsa – Kathy Rohrbaugh
Zesty Melon and Shrimp Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
Tomato-Watermelon Salad – Marilyn Goldfarb, Boalsburg
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Vegan Zucchini and Cashew Nut Casserole – Elen Wennell, Mechanicsburg
Zucchini and Chickpea Salad – Frances Dietz, York
Zucchini Chocolate Cake – Nora Porter, Chambersburg
Zucchini Pie – Shelly Teska, Youngsville
Winter Squash/Pumpkins
Squash, Roasted Peppers and Potatoes Chunky Mash – B. J. Reed, Chambersburg
Stove Top Butternut Casserole – Pearl Ward, Hulmville
Butternutty Hummus – Elysa Boffo, Camp Hill
“Snappy” Pumpkin Custard Cups – Teresa DeVono, Red Lion
The judges for the 2012 Contest are:
Martha Ebersole, trained judge with the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs
Libby Mills, registered dietitian, lifestyle coach, author, speaker
Autumn Patti, chef instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College
Brian Peffley, pastry arts instructor at Lebanon County Career and Technology Center
Judges will choose a first place winner in each of the four categories, who will receive a $100 prize. Michael Pechart, Executive Deputy 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 3, 2012, 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.