Tough cookie

The blue-ribbon aspirations of dozens of home cooks rest squarely on the taste buds of Helen Samsel.

It’s a big responsibility. Some of the entrants in the baking contests at the 2007 Spokane County Interstate Fair have spent all year perfecting their recipes, testing batch after batch of cookies, bars, breads and cakes on friends and family, all in the hopes of coming home with a coveted blue ribbon.

And whether they can call their creation a blue-ribbon winner is up to Samsel, and the other women like her, who spend hours sizing up the entries.

But Samsel is fit for the challenge. The 82-year-old former home economist and nutritionist from Spokane has been judging recipes at the fair since 1953.

“Experience,” she says. “I’ve been at this for a long time.”

So, just what does she expect from a prize-winning dish?

“We look for the appearance; we eat with our eyes. I smell everything. Then you taste. Then you go from there. Is it a pleasant taste? Does one thing outbalance the other? Is it original? Would a family like it?”

Those are the things Kathy White keeps in mind when dreaming up fair-worthy recipes. White, 53, from Spokane, has entered her baked goods at the annual event for some 15 years, and she has won several times.

“The first couple of times I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll never win anything,’ ” she says. “And I didn’t win anything.”

Then, she came up with a rich, fudgy chocolate cake in the Nestle-sponsored contest (which no longer runs) at the fair.

Her husband passed along the good news that she had won a blue ribbon.

“The first time I won I thought my husband was making a practical joke, and I didn’t believe him,” White says. White took third place this year in the Make it With Malt-O-Meal contest for her Crispy Rice Peanut Butter Bars. (She wins $25 in cereal coupons and a blue ribbon, of course).

Penny Westfall, 43, of Medical Lake is another frequent entrant who has earned so many blue ribbons she’s lost count. “Every year I usually place in something,” Westfall says.

“It’s just the excitement of seeing your name down there if you win something,” she says. “Hey, I accomplished something that’s no small feat.”

She has won the Spam competition and had a huge hit last year with her Apricot Ladder Loaf. Her favorite creation has been a buttermilk cake with coconut, pecans and cream cheese frosting.

She takes time to make sure the finished product catches the judge’s eye. This year, she adorned a pie crust with tiny cut-outs of apples. (This one, though, was not a winner – at least to Samsel – who took a taste and said, “Of all the work, it’s really blah.”)

Even after all these years, Westfall says she can’t figure out the judges or the secrets of her success (or failure). Sometime she makes something she thinks is a sure winner and it flops. Other times she comes up with something she’s not wild about, and the judges love it.

Either way, she says, “There’s a lot of love put into it.”

In fact, at Westfall’s house, the quest for a blue ribbon is a family affair. Her husband, James, and one of her two grown daughters also submit recipes for consideration.

“We look forward to it all year long,” Penny Westfall says.

But this year it was James, not his wife, who took home top honors in at least one of the categories. His Apricot Tea Cakes (see recipe below) entered in the fair’s Make It with Malt-O-Meal contest make Samsel light up like a kid in a candy shop.

“Mmmm,” she says, taking a bite and passing some to her assistants. “I share.”

Despite all the moaning over the fact that nobody cooks at home anymore, that everybody’s rushing through drive-throughs and buying pre-cooked chicken from the supermarket, fair recipe contest organizers say they’re actually seeing an increase in entries, says Beth Betcher, senior publicity coordinator with the Blue Ribbon Group, the Minnesota-based company that oversees such contests at fairs around the country.

“A lot of it is the blue ribbon,” Betcher says. “It’s the glory of winning. This is some stiff competition these fairs have. And you have the seasoned cooks and bakers, now they’re passing the tradition on to their kids. And you have the new entrants coming in trying to wipe out the older people.”

But some cooks are better than others, of course. And if you’re a judge at the fair, you have to take the good with the bad.

That’s why Samsel, after so many years of experience, gives everything a good sniff before putting anything in her mouth. If it smells funny, she doesn’t eat it. And in all the years the only truly horrible thing she’s tasted has been some brittle made with rancid peanuts, she says.

Last Friday, in an exhibit hall fragrant baked goods, surrounded by folding tables stacked high with wrapped cookies, breads and other creations, judge Kathy Skomer of the Spokane Valley, the cake and dessert coordinator for Yoke’s Fresh Market, appraised the decorated cakes.

“I always try to say really nice things to start with,” Skomer says, writing comments on a contestant’s card.

Then, she spies a chocolate cake decorated in a forest theme. “Is that real broccoli?” she asks. Yes, she discovers looking more closely at the “trees.” Yes, that’s real broccoli on the chocolate cake.

Then she comes to a child’s decorated plate of cupcakes. She takes a bite and winces.

“I think it’s rancid,” she says.

But a kid took the time to make each one look so pretty. And, at least, it got one young person in the kitchen baking, she says.

So, she writes “cute use of marshmallows.”

But there was no blue ribbon for those cupcakes.

Here are just a few of the award-winning recipes from the 2007 Spokane County Interstate Fair:

Apricot Tea Cakes

James Westfall of Medical Lake, first place, Spokane County Interstate Fair, Make It With Malt-O-Meal Contest

Crust:

3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening

3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

1 1/4 cups apricot jam

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups Malt-O-Meal Honey and Oat Blenders Cereal (hand crushed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For crust, cream shortening and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in flour. Press mixture evenly into bottom of an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. For topping, spread jam over hot crust. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, until mixture is stiff and glossy. Fold in 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup pecans and hand-crushed cereal. Spread mixture over jam. Sprinkle remaining coconut and pecans over top. Bake 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into circles or bars. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 1 dozen cookies

Approximate nutrition per serving: 480 calories, 24 grams fat (6 grams saturated, 43 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 65 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 46 milligrams sodium.

Overnight Butterhorns

Virginia Warren of Spokane, first place, Spokane County Interstate Fair, Fleischmann’s Yeast “Bake For the Cure” Contest

1 cup milk, warmed

1/4 ounce Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 beaten eggs

Frosting:

1/3 cup butter

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons evaporated milk

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Set aside until yeast is active. Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening as if for pie crust. (Using fork with long tines, cut shortening into flour until it resembles cornmeal.) Add sugar, then milk-yeast mixture, vanilla and beaten eggs to flour mixture and mix well. Scrape out onto lightly flowered board, turn over a few times and form mixture into ball. Return to mixing bowl, cover and store in cool place overnight.

In the morning, divide dough into four equal parts. Roll each part separately into a circle about 8-inch in diameter. Cut into six pie-shaped pieces and roll up, beginning with wide end. Form into crescent shape roll and let rise on cookie sheet until double in bulk.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

To make the frosting, beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and evaporated milk until smooth.

Top butterhorns with butter cream frosting and toasted, sliced almonds, if desired. These rolls are delicious even without toppings.

Yield: 24 rolls

Approximate nutrition per serving: 228 calories, 9.7 grams fat (3.4 grams saturated, 40 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrate, 25 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 87 milligrams sodium.

Turtle Pie

Karen Terpak of Spokane Valley, first place, Spokane Interstate Fair, Ghirardelli Chocolate Championship

Crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasting pecans is optional)

Caramel Filling:

2 cups (12 ounces) caramel pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup Ghirardelli white chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasting pecans is optional)

To make the crust: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, sugar and cocoa, blend until smooth. Add the flour and stir to blend. Finally, add the nuts. The mixture will be dry.

Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until it’s set. (The dark color makes it hard to tell, but it’s done when you can just begin to smell the chocolate.) Remove the crust from the oven and set it aside to cool.

For the filling: In a medium saucepan, set over low heat, stir together the caramel, heavy cream and white chocolate until they’re melted and smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and set it aside to firm while making the glaze.

To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup over low heat, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the filling and sprinkle with the pecans. Refrigerate the pie for 1 hour or more before serving. It’s best served chilled but not cold; remove the pie from the refrigerator about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 520 calories, 32 grams fat (17 grams saturated, 54 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 56 grams carbohydrate, 52 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 273 milligrams sodium.

Sweet and Savory Spam Ladder Loaf

James Westfall of Medical Lake, first place, Spokane County Interstate Fair, Great American Spam Championship

2 loaves frozen bread dough (thawed)

2 cups apricot-pineapple preserves

1 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 (12-ounce) can Spam, diced into small cubes

Butter to brush (optional)

Thaw frozen bread dough; roll each loaf into a 12-inch square. Place on greased baking sheets. In a mixing bowl, combine apricot-pineapple preserves, raisins and walnuts, fold in Spam. Dividing half of the filling for each ladder loaf; spread each square down the center with a 3-inch strip of filling. Snip edges toward the center into 3-inch strips that are 1-inch wide. Fold strips over filling, alternating from side to side. Cover let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Brush with melted butter (optional).

Yield: 2 Spam Ladder Loaves

Approximate nutrition per 2.4-ounce serving: 200 calories, 6.8 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrate, 7.8 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 339 milligrams sodium.

Spam-N-Tater Melt

Elizabeth Hess of Spokane Valley, first place, Spokane County Interstate Fair, Kids/Great American Spam Championship

3 cups hot mashed potatoes

1 (12-ounce) can Spam, sliced

3 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Spread mashed potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of a 7-by-11-inch casserole dish. Layer Spam slices over the mashed potatoes.

Cover with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and Spam is hot.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 566 calories, 44 grams fat (17 grams saturated, 69 percent fat calories), 25 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, 113 milligrams cholesterol, 2.4 grams dietary fiber, 1,609 milligrams sodium.