Fair food: Little pizzas are the judges’ choice


Little Pizzas

1 lb bacon, fried, crumbled

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1 medium onion cooked in bacon grease

Rye party bread

Mix bacon, cheeses and onion together until well blended. Spread on rye party bread and bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Recipe makes 34 servings.

Spicy Herb & Cheese Frittatas

1 c shredded pepper jack cheese

1 c shredded colby

1 c crumbled feta

1 c jalapeno rings, drained

10 eggs, beaten

1/4 c chopped fresh basil (or 2 t dried)

Salt & pepper

Grease 8-inch oven-proof pan. Scatter jalapenos across bottom. Cover with cheeses. Beat eggs, herbs, salt and pepper and pour over cheese. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheit or until set. Let cool for 10 minutes.

SPRINGFIELD — Paul Thibeault thinks it may have been the bacon.

That’s the ingredient the 12-year-old cook said probably got his little pizzas awarded the blue ribbon at the Clark County Fair’s Dish of the Day youth contest Sunday, July 25.

The concept is simple — little pizzas on bread — that won over the judges in the competition that had nine entries this year.

Thibeault has made the pizzas before for a party, he said, and decided it would be a good entry for the contest.

The second place winner was Patty Thiede’s superbly easy fudge; third place was Ellen Thiede’s Red Sea apple boats; fourth went to Brianna Taylor’s butterscotch bars and fifth place went to Lizzie Holland’s watermelon cookies.

The cheese category included more seasoned cooks, including a first place winner who doesn’t always sample her entries before she competes.

Blue ribbon winner Kara Francis said laughingly that she gets teased about not trying her own creations.

“I’m a very picky eater,” she explained. “I don’t always like trying different things.”

But she loves to cook, which is why she’s entered Dish of the Day competitions for several years.

Her spicy herb and cheese frittatas made it to the top out of 17 total entries.

The dish included basil from Francis’ own garden and jalapeno peppers.

Stuart Young, one of the cheese judges, said the judges had to break three times while adding up points to choose a winner.

“We were really thrilled with the variety of cheese,” he said.

The other cheese winners included Patt Howard’s cheddar cheese fruit ball for second place; Emily Wells’ Italian stuffed shells for third; Linda Graham’s ham and swiss on rye cheesecakes taking fourth and Julie Ayers’ three cheese stuffed shells in fifth place.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0374 or boutten@coxohio.com.

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