Wisconsin State Fair Food

It has been a very long time since I went to the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. This annual August event draws people from all over Wisconsin and upper Illinois. There were the usual rides and midway attractions and of course the barns full of all kinds of animals. What I did not expect was the sheer volume of food available everywhere I turned. From the traditional carnival options to home grown Wisconsin specialties. The most notable being the Cream Puff, which of course was as far away from the entrance as you could get. So for your viewing pleasure is a photo tour of just a sampling of the food stands I encountered on my way from the entrance of the fair to the location to buy the famous Wisconsin State Fair Cream Puff.

Enjoy, more after the break…

Memorial Day weekend has special meaning in Madison, Wisconsin.  For the last several years, it has marked the weekend for Bratfest, the biggest Bratwurst-eating orgy in the World!  Thousands gather to buy bags of brats at bargain prices.  And that’s not all, there are major celebrities on hand, as shown below:

Yes, the Johnsonville Brat Truck and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is about as big as it gets in these parts.

This year a major World Record was set in the number of bratwurst consumed (191,712).  Here’s are some interesting facts from last year – when a record was not set!

There are MANY, MANY photos below. 

Every now and then I get the hankering to enter a recipe contest.  It doesn’t happen very often, mind you, but I’ll point out that according to the Wisconsin State Journal, I have the best potato salad in the kingdom of Madison… even if they didn’t understand what it meant when I called for a chiffonade of basil.  Heh. 

That honor won me top billing in a potato salad story along with a cookbook.  Clearly, I won’t get rich off of recipe contests. 

At any rate, Cuisine Capers was sent a press release about the latest recipe contest hosted on the FoodNetwork.com, featuring Bobby Flay and Columbia Crest wine.  While I haven’t decided if I’ll enter it, I’ll pass along the info for those how might be interested:

COLUMBIA CREST WINERY AND FOOD NETWORK STAR BOBBY FLAY PRESENT THE “FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON” RECIPE CONTEST

Acclaimed Washington State Winery to Sponsor Contest on FoodNetwork.com with World-Renowned Chef

Paterson, Wash. (January 24, 2008) – Columbia Crest Winery, in conjunction with Chef Bobby Flay, today announced the upcoming launch of the “Flayvors of Washington” recipe contest. The month-long contest, which launches April 15, 2008, will be hosted on the Food Network Web site. The contest is part of a partnership between the Washington-based winery and Flay that highlights the unexpected rewards of dining with Columbia Crest Grand Estates wines.

The “Flayvors of Washington” contest challenges food and wine lovers throughout the United States to create and submit an original recipe inspired by Columbia Crest wines and utilizing ingredients from Washington state. As one of the leading agricultural producers, the state offers an abundance of flavorful and fresh ingredients from which to draw culinary inspiration. The entries will be reviewed and the top-10 recipes will be narrowed to a selection of five finalists by Columbia Crest Winemaker Ray Einberger and Seattle Times restaurant critic and local NPR food commentator Nancy Leson. Flay and Food Network Executive Chef Robert Bleifer will then judge the top-five recipes and select a first-, second- and third-place winner.

“As a chef, I understand how pairing the right wine and food can enhance the overall dining experience,” said Flay. “I use regional ingredients in my cooking, so I’m eager to see what recipes and pairings people will create using the flavors of Washington.”

The winner of the contest will enjoy a trip to New York City, where he/she will have the opportunity to cook his/her winning dish with Flay and then enjoy a special dinner at one of his restaurants, featuring wine pairings from Columbia Crest.

“We encourage fans of Bobby Flay and Columbia Crest, as well as anyone who is passionate about food and wine, to explore all the delicious and inspiring flavors Washington state offers,” said Miles Johnson, senior product manager for Columbia Crest.

In May 2007, Columbia Crest and Flay announced their partnership to demonstrate how simple it is to have a great food and wine experience, everyday. In addition to the contest, the partnership includes a Columbia Crest Grand Estates print advertising campaign starring Flay, as well as holiday and spring menus created by Flay to be featured on the Columbia Crest Web site, and wine pairings that he will develop exclusively for the winery.

The contest will begin on April 15, 2008, and all entries must be received by midnight on May 31, 2008. To submit an entry or find out more about the “Flayvors of Washington” contest, please visit www.foodnetwork.com/columbiacrest beginning April 15.

About Columbia Crest

In 2008, Columbia Crest Winery celebrates 25 years of winemaking in Washington state. Columbia Crest has grown from a small winery in a relatively unknown wine region to one of the most significant wineries in the United States and a major force behind Washington state’s emergence as a world-class wine region. In 2007, the Grand Estates Merlot was selected from a field of 15,000 90+ rated wines as one of the “Top 100 Wines of the World” by Wine Spectator, marking the 14th “Top 100” placement for Columbia Crest in the past nine years. More information about the winery can be found at columbia-crest.com.

About Bobby Flay

Chef Bobby Flay’s critically acclaimed restaurants include New York’s Bar Americain; Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City; and three outposts of his famed Mesa Grill in New York, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and The Cove Atlantis in the Bahamas. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Flay also shares his enthusiasm for food through his cookbooks, most recently The Mesa Grill Cookbook, and a variety of national programs on the Food Network including the Emmy-winning “Boy Meets Grill.” Flay regularly informs audiences about seasonal, fresh dishes and ingredients as a food correspondent for “The Early Show” on CBS.

The Madison Food and Wine Show took place this weekend.  An annual event, this show features food, wine, demonstrations, exhibits, and other food and beverage related items.  Perhaps one of the more entertaining aspects of this show is the Dueling Chef Competition.

Chefs representing Madison Originals restaurants compete ala Iron Chef for the title of Madison’s Culinary Conqueror.  A full double kitchen is set up on the exhibit hall floor, with tables and bleachers in place for spectators.  Five heats and a final battle make up the competition.

This year I was asked to be a judge for the competition, and I have to say, it was a blast.  I was representing one of our other websites, Madison Dining Online.  For those of you unfamiliar with Madison Dining Online, it’s a local area restaurant guide with listings, reviews, and a blog.  It gets hundreds of thousands of hits a year, and has been in existance for 11 years, focusing on the Madison area dining scene.  So when I was asked to participate as a judge in the Dueling Chef Competition, I didn’t hesitate to agree!

The competition is emceed by two of the areas top restaurant owners,  Patrick O’Halloran from Lombardino’s and The Old Fashioned, and Robert Von Rutenburg from Nautigals, Mariners Inn and Captain Bills, seen in this picture with Chef Charles Lazzareschi of Ovations.  These are some of the best restaurants that you can find in Madison.

I judged a semi-final heat between Charles Lazzareschi of Ovations and Angelo Cattaneo of The Blue Marlin.  The crowd gathered early, and all the audience seats were full to capacity.  It was standing room only as I took my seat at the judges table.

The unveiling of the secret ingredient to be used was dramatically delayed by the fact that it was stuck in traffic.  You see, it was coming from Whole Foods, and there was a UW football game that had let out shortly before the heat was to start.  And so the duel was delayed somewhat by the ensuing traffic jam.  Once it worked it’s way through the traffic, the platters were unveiled to reveal some pretty spectacular cuts of veal.This was a relief.  My greatest fear was not that the secret ingredient would be something I disliked.  Instead, I was certain that it was going to be bananas.  I am frightfully allergic to bananas, and I wasn’t sure how I would have dealt with that as the battle theme.  Thankfully, I did not need to find out.

The competition itself went by very fast, with the chefs and their sous chefs working quickly to prepare two dishes featuring the veal in a mere 30 minutes.

In the end, four truly wonderful dishes were prepared, seen below. The judges were surprisingly aligned in their assessments, and though scores were not compared during the competition, the final points were identical from all of the celebrity judges at the table. The Blue Marlin team took the heat and moved on to the finals, to be held today.

For those of you frantically searching Google to figure out if there is a Brat Fest this weekend (don’t try to hide… I can see you – Yeah, you… I’m talking to you!)…

Alas, no, there is no Brat Fest this Labor Day. Ever since they moved to to the Aliant Center grounds they seem to have cut back to only holding this event on Memorial Day weekend.

I don’t know about what you guys think, but moving the event really ruined it, in my opinion.

Alas, the brat-consuming record was not broken this Labor Day weekend at Brat Fest.

The goal: 200,000 Bratwurst
The reality: 162,234 Bratwurst

But don’t despair! This still beat the previous Labor Day record by 39,000 brats. And really, if you consider that The Taste of Madison and a home UW Football game was going on over the weekend, I think Madison did ok in their great bratwurst quest.

Besides, the World Records always seem to be set over Memorial Day, when, after a long winter, Madisonians come out of hibernation to indulge in some of the first grilled brats of the year.

That’s when we really pack ‘em away.

And no, I am not referring to the abnormally cold weather that we are having. It’s the Great Taste of the Midwest tomorrow! More than 100 breweries, offering a total of more than 400 beers to taste!

I’ll be taking a camera and posting some pictures.

And tonight we’re celebrating tomato season by going to the world class L’Etoile restaurant. This is the top restaurant in Madison, WI, bar none!

All in all, a pretty gluttonous weekend!