Blue-ribbon winners

Blue-ribbon winners highlighted chocolate, yeast, Spam and ranch dressing in this year’s Spokane County Interstate Fair for good reason – the contests were sponsored by Ghirardelli, Fleischmann’s, Spam and Hidden Valley.

Their recipes ranged from supereasy Spam wraps to an elaborate, braided apricot bread. Here are the winners from each contest:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Sin Bars

From Shawn T. Lusarreta of Spokane, winner of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Championship at the Spokane County Interstate Fair.

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (11.5 ounce) bag 60 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate chips, divided (reserve 1/3 cup)

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sweetened and shredded coconut

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour the melted butter into a 9-by-13-inch pan. Next, sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the butter in an even layer. Now, as evenly as possible, put the bittersweet chips over the graham cracker layer. (Be sure to reserve 1/3 cup of bittersweet chips.) Continue sprinkling the other two types of chips, the pecans and the coconut over the graham cracker layer. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything. Finally, drizzle the caramel topping over the whole thing.

Bake for 30 minutes in the 325-degree oven until just slightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining bittersweet chocolate chips on top. When they melt, take a fork and run it through the chips to strip it across the bars.

Cool 10 to 15 minutes; then cut into bars.

Yield: 15 to 32 bars

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 32): 247 calories, 13 grams fat (7.5 grams saturated, 46 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrate, 16 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 95 milligrams sodium.

Apricot Ladder Loaf

From Penny Westfall, of Medical Lake, winner of the Fleischmann’s Yeast “Best-Ever Baking” Contest at the Spokane County Interstate Fair. This recipe is made for enjoying with coffee on a cool autumn morning, she says.

1 package Fleishmann’s active dry yeast

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups bread flour

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 cups apricot preserves

Confectioner’s sugar icing or melted butter, optional

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast and 2 cups of the flour. Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt just until warm (115 to 120 degrees), stirring to melt butter. Add to dry mixture, add egg. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat 2 minutes at high speed and then stir in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth. Shape into ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise till double.

Punch down dough, divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 9-inch square. Place on greased baking sheets. In a mixing bowl, combine apricot preserves and pecans, using half the filling for each ladder loaf. Spread each square down the center with a 3-inch strip of filling, snip sides toward the center into 3-inch strips that are 1-inch wide. Fold strips over filling, alternating from side to side. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Drizzle with confectioner’s sugar icing or brush with melted butter, if desired.

Yield: 2 ladder loaves

Approximate nutrition per 2.5-ounce serving: 208 calories, 6 grams fat (1.7 grams saturated, 25 percent fat calories), 3.5 grams protein, 36 grams carbohydrate, 15 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 118 milligrams sodium.

Easy Spam Wraps

From Karin Gilchrist of Spokane, winner of the Great American Spam Championship at the Spokane County Interstate Fair.

8 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons light ranch dressing

4 flour tortillas

7-ounce can Lite Spam, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped lettuce

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

4 tablespoons grated carrots

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup jalapeno pepper jack cheese, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)

Mix cream cheese and ranch dressing together. Spread layer of cream cheese mixture on 4 tortillas. Layer Spam, lettuce, onions, carrots, cheddar cheese, and pepper jack cheese. Leave a half-inch edge free of topping on the outside of tortilla so the wrap will stick together. Carefully wrap tortilla. Seal tortilla edges. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes or eat right away. Cut wraps at an angle in the middle of the tortilla, to see the fillings. Enjoy.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

Grilled Hidden Valley Salmon

From Heidi Larson of Spokane, winner of the Family Friendly Food Contest, Spokane County Interstate Fair.

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1-1 1/2 pounds wild sockeye salmon fillet

1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon

Parsley sprigs, for garnish

Combine ranch dressing seasoning mix, mayonnaise and sour cream in a small bowl and stir. Place salmon fillet skin-side-up on covered, heated and well-greased grill for 3 minutes on medium high. Flip salmon skin-side down and reduce heat to medium. Spread dressing mixture evenly over salmon, then sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Grill 5 to 6 minutes or until thickest part has lost its translucence and flakes with a fork. Remove from heat. Place on a platter and generously garnish with parsley sprigs.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.