Friday, October 29, 2010

Fall Festivities

I've been very busy lately taking part in the Fall festivities. When I was younger and in grade school, fall semester was my favorite semester because we used to get so many days off from school to celebrate the holidays. And it was also the season when we got to eat delicious seasonal holiday foods.

Two weekends ago, I was at the Texas State Fair, the biggest state fair in all of the US, in operation since 1886! Most people go to the fair to see Big Tex, the worlds biggest cowboy--he wears a size 70 boot! He'll greet you and tell you about the day's events and schedule. Others go to ride the Texas Star, the largest Ferris wheel in the entire continent, at a height of 212 ft (64.6m), 21 stories high. You can see an incredible view of the city of Dallas on a clear day and as far away as the Fort Worth city skyline, 45 miles away. It lights up red and white and blue at night. As for me, I went to the Texas State Fair for the food.

As XL points out, the Texas State Fair is "the place for things on a stick and/or deep fried!" And he's right! This is the place where the corny dog made its worldwide debut!

Known as a corn dog outside of Texas, this heavenly creation is a delicious hot dog on a stick, dipped in batter and fried to a brown, crispy bun!



Goes great with mustard or ketchup and even some mayo! For the adventurous, try it with some chili. And those with finer tastes might want to dip it in some Ranch or Thousand Island dressing. Mmmm...delicious!

The Texas State Fair was also the launching pad for another famous treat enjoyed by movie goers and one of the staples of mall food courts, the nachos!

This inspired creation is a combination of crispy nachos chips topped with melted cheese and jalapenos! I like mine simple like that, with maybe a dollop of sour cream and avocado. Other like to pile on the beans and chili and salsa.

With such an illustrious history of serving up such delectable, spectacular fine fair cuisine, you better believe that I was making that pilgrimage to the mecca of deep fried food and tasty things on a stick!

Every year, a competition is held to decide the best food at the fair. Two categories up for grabs this year was the Most Creative and the Best Tasting. I only regret that I wasn't able to attend last year, when the Fried Butter--that's right, Fried Butter!--was chosen as last year's winner.

But this year's top ten finalists were fantastic. Among them was Fried Beer--yes, fried beer!; Fried S'mores Pop Tart; and Fried Club Salad--because all salads taste better when they're fried! Go here for a description the amazing ten finalists. I made sure to sample every one of these delicious treats!

And the Fried Beer won for Most creative. It was creative! Beer in a pretzel dough deep fried! And the beer stays liquid and tastes like beer. Me? I'd rather have my beer cold, but hey, that's some genius creation putting beer in a pretzel!

My favorites were these three:

3. The Deep Fried Frozen Margarita! You need to show proof of age to legally eat this treat! Margarita ingredients are fried in a funnel cake, spritz with lime and served in a salt rimmed margarita glass!

2. The Fried Chocolate! A mini candy bar is stuffed in a brownie, dipped in chocolate cake batter, then deep fried and served with powdered sugar, cherry sauce, and chocolate whipped cream.

1. My favorite and winner of the Tastiest Award: The Texas Fried Frito Pie!


via

XL has an outstanding recipe for making Frito Pie. Learn it! Make it! Love it!

The inspired creators of the Texas Fried Frito Pie took a great dish and transformed it into ambrosia! Food fit for the gods! All the exciting flavors of the Frito pie in a crunchy, deep fried shell! Heaven! Just an amazing taste! That food definitely deserved the top prize.

Sure they had other fun stuff to do at the Texas State Fair, like the shows and exhibitions, seeing all those performers doing fantastic tricks and watching those animals. And yes, they had rides and other carnival/fair games. But me, I stuck to the food map and hunted down those delicious, tasty treats that can only be found during the fair and when the carnival comes to town.

After a weekend of stuffing myself with those morsels, I spent the next weekend just laying on the beach, enjoying the sun for a little while longer before it gets cold. You could say I was recovering from the previous weekend's glutton fest. But I didn't spend all weekend just lazying about the beach.

I actually took time to do some volunteer work for Breast Cancer Awareness. I even got a pink T shirt from the event. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I've posted about this before, and I think that every month, if not every day, should be about Breast Cancer Awareness. So ladies (and gentlemen), take care of those breasts and do your monthly breast self exams, or have a friend help out

On a side note, I'm sure I've mentioned before that when I was younger, I wanted to be a background dancer for Janet Jackson. She had awesome music videos and dance moves back then. Then this cover pic came out and I thought, forget background dancer, I wanna be the guy who holds her boobs for foto shoots! Where do I apply for that job?

Anyway, there's only one big festive event left for October, and it's a big one, one of my faves: Halloween!!!

When I was a child, I loved Halloween, and mostly for the candy! Who doesn't like getting free candy just by dressing up and knocking on someone's door and saying, "Trick or Treat!" And I still like eating the candy! Every weekend this month, I'd buy two bags of candy, only to start eating them before the week is out. Now I've bought four bags and kept them out of sight, so I won't be tempted to eat through them like I did the last four bags of candy.

Nowadays, I look forward to dressing up on Halloween more than eating the candy. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still like eating the candy. But now I have a blast coming up with Halloween costumes. I have a blast making up my own costumes and being inspired by whatever is going on in the world. This year, I had a few choice ones to decide on.

Some friends wanted to go as a group and be vampires. I was excited! Until I found out that they wanted to go as those Twilight vampires, complete with the bushy eyebrows, the hair gel, and possibly glitter, angst, and douche bagginess. No thank you, I'd've much rather gone as a True Blood Vampire, dressed up just like this



It's a great look! Scary, sexy and it promotes Breast Cancer Awareness, by reminding people to do their monthly breast self exams, or get a helping hand (or two) from a friend (or two).

Since my friends still wanted to go dressed up as Twilight vampires, I decided to look for other options. I thought about getting a blond wig, putting on my jean jacket and dressing up as Canada's latest atrocity singing sensation, Justin Bieber!

I even had the dance moves and the lip syncing down.

But then I was watching the news and I had an epiphany! The perfect costume! This year I'm going as a Chilean miner, one of the 33 successfully rescued. I'm going as the one who has the wife and the mistress!

I've got a helmet, and I'm attaching a light on it. I've even got old raggedly clothes and old boots to wear with it. All I need now is the make up to make my face look dirty, like the mine caved in. I even have two friends lined up to dress as the wife and the mistress. It's going to be another fun Halloween.

I suppose fall is still a fun time of year. Truth be told, I still much prefer summer because I get to spend time hiking or being at the beach. But there's a magic and fun that makes the fall festivities a wonderful time. I like it, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the fall festivities, too.

29 comments:

  1. You had me at "Texas Fried Frito Pie!" OMG, that sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. what xl said! i have to confess, i did in fact make xl's recipe and because no one was home I ATE IT BY MYSELF!!!!! i love your costume idea, sugar! last night on dave letterman, he had a kid dressed up as one of the miners, but he was inside the rescue capsule! xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. My colesterol levels just rocketed at your description of the food. But damn I wanted to be there to taste.

    Today, at work we had 'dress down, wear pink' Friday. Bit of a problem finding something pink in my winter wardrobe, but I finally pulled it out of the closet.

    So, do you think I should ask the Infomaniac Bitches to help me with my breast exams? Wrong forum methinks. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your Chilean Miner idea is brilliant. Though if you combine it with Justin Bieber you'd get a Chilled-out Minor. Or maybe not.

    Last year a group of my friends went trick/treating as a gang of bailed-out bankers. And that was pretty scary.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It all sounds so Yummy! Especially tonight, we had our first snowfall.

    I liked Janet too, LaToya looked too much like Michael and it would have been creepy knockin boots with her ;P

    Poor Bieber is really gettin it from all sides. I saw a picture of him with some people I know..he was just here for a concert and his Pa lives here. He is aboot 5'4" and maybe 120lbs with a boner. But you know what, every generation needs to have a Teen Idol and good for him. In a few years when he's robbin 7/11s and firing up his crack pipe with Lindsay Lohan he'll have something to talk about. I want to produce a reality show where he hooks up with Britney Spears in a Big Brother type house full of cameras. The night that she gets her Freak On with this little virgin will be Super Bowl ratings!
    I'm looking for investors..you in?

    ReplyDelete
  6. XL, That Texas Fried Frito Pie was like Mana from Heaven! That was my favorite booth and I spent a lot of time (and money) there! I bought some to take home with me, but I finished them all on the long drive home!

    Savannah, Isn't XL's recipe amazing? That fried Frito pie was so delicious and crunchy!

    Thanks! If I could figure out how to make a rescue capsule, I'd incorporate that into my costume, too! That's hilarious what Dave did!

    Roses, I kept thinking, I'm going to have a heart attack and a stroke before the day is over. But then I thought, but what a way to go! Fair food is a rare treat, one that I try to savor whenever I get the chance! Last year's entries included bacon wrapped fried shrimp! Mmmm.

    I'd be wary of those Infomaniacs when asking them to help with the breast exams...Give them an inch and they'll a mile and go wild!

    Kapi, Ha! Chilled out minor is a great idea! That was great idea going out as bailed out bankers. Halloween is meant to be fun and enjoyed by all.

    Donn, It got cold here, too, down to the 40s for the first time in a while. And it's going to stay in these cool temps in the mornings much more often now.

    Latoya does look freaky, and it doesn't help she had that psychic hotline.

    As much fun as I make of Justin Bieber, I actually like listening to some of his music. He's talented. And I'm pretty sure he is his generation's Justin Timberlake or Usher. He'll be in it for the long haul, and I expect him to reach even higher heights of popularity come next year. He seems to be grounded, and that's important in the entertainment business.

    I wouldn't wish Britney Spears on him. I wouldn't wish Britney Spears on anyone!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Texas for bringing us nachos!

    The rest... well, I don't think I'm the target market. I'll just take your word for it that the other items listed are yummy. :-)

    Your Hallowe'en costume is brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy Hallowe'en honey.

    Hope it was spooktakula!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Donn: We had our first snowfall last night too!

    This was very exciting for me after living in the rainforest for so long.

    Eros: Is there a deep fried fish taco?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Snooze, Thanks. The costume was a big hit. You know, the funny thing about the fair is that there are a lot of healthy foods offered, too. And it's a fair, so you'll see lots of big veggies and fruits winning prizes for being the biggest or tastiest.

    But we go for the creative, unique, crazy delicious deep fried unholy, unnatural, but delicious creations that only make an appearance at the fair! Like the chicken fried bacon!

    Roses, I hope you had a great Halloween, too. I'm off to the store to buy more Halloween candy since they're now on sale and I've eaten the last of the candy yesterday.

    MJ, I didn't see any fish tacos, as my mouth was busy eating warm delicious Frito pie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Big Tex is a little creepy!

    They talked about the Texas State Fair on CBS Sunday Morning once, and showed all of the things they deep-fried. It all made me very hungry, even the deep fried butter! They also had deep fried Coca-Cola. Hmm!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am exhausted and bilious and I am only half way thru the post . I will be back later when the indigestion subsides

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tara, Big Tex used to be Big Santa! Luckily, they've updated his wardrobe from this old pic, so he looks much friendlier.

    It's like everything that's edible gets deep fried at the fair! And part of the fun is going to see what gets deep fried and what comes out tasting better after it's fried! Only at the fair!

    Beast, The Texas State Fair comes but once a year. We try to enjoy the magic and the spread while it lasts...bacon wrapped coconut, buttered shrimp is very hard to find at any other time of the year!

    ReplyDelete
  14. those food combinations are I find as scary as halloween might be not having caught the spooking trick or treating bug down under.... But I suppose its good celebrate both when it only comes around once a year...

    I remember going to the Melbourne show as a kid. I pigged out on so much fairy floss and dagwood dogs I threw up on the way home on the train... Not a pretty sight.

    I've just bundled off 20 tote bags I've made for my Nephews school fete raising money for cancer research...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Princess, When I was younger, I was a very picky eater. But when I got older, I got more adventurous with trying out all types of food, and I revel in the tasty ones that comes but once in a while, like fair and carnival cuisine!

    That is fantastic what you've done for your nephews to help raise money for cancer research! What generous use of your time and talents!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Unbelievable. One can fry nearly anything I think! I thought the Ukrainian "salo" was the top of the (artery)pops, but fried butter goes even further. And this beer-in-prtzel thing is truely amazing. I have to find out ...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mago, That's part of the fun of going to the fair, to see what new foods they come up with! I remember when the fried ice cream made its debut. It was a big success and soon, all the restaurants were offering it on the dessert menu.

    It's really amazing what people will deep fry--and around Thanksgiving in the US, that includes an entire turkey!

    ReplyDelete
  18. "an entire turkey!"

    ???

    I will have to look for this. Is there something as "food art"?

    No - NOT the vegetable orchestra, please!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mago, Yup! Deep fried turkey! It's a twist on the traditional roasted turkey served on the Thanksgiving holiday. It's delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Have your arteries revolted and you're recovering from triple bypass surgery?

    Where have you got to honey?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Maybe they put in an all new pump, its well greased anyway ...

    ReplyDelete
  22. ...Did you have a good Thanks Giving??? Have you put on 3 stone??
    Where are you - it's winter now!
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
  23. I tried corn dogs and churrios when I was in the US. I liked corn dogs.

    I wish we had a true dress up holiday for adults. That could be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Honey, where have you got to?

    Are you okay?

    Sending you the warmest of hugs for these cold Winter days.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Roses, Hello! Been busy with life and work. It's the holiday season where every two weeks, we've some festival/dinner/event to celebrate and work has been crazy! And so much seasonal food to sample!

    All is well. Hope all if fine with you, too!

    Mago, I've been busy with attending a lot of different gatherings where seasonal foods are shared (in extra large portions!). And work is getting hectic...but it's all good.

    Scarlet, I spent Thanksgiving eating at three different places! The first was a brunch where a deep fried turkey was served; the second was around 4pm where a turducken--turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken!--was served; then finally, a traditional roasted turkey dinner at 8pm. I mostly ate the peach cobbler and pecan pie, with a small helping of pumpkin pie!

    CP Corndogs are fantastic!

    This time of year, everyone finds a silly excuse to dress up, whether it's Pilgrims and Indians for Thanksgiving, Elf clothing or Santa hats for Xmas, or just dressing up to the nines for a snazzy New Year's party or a cool costume for a New Year's costume party. I think it's just a way of being silly, to survive the hectic holiday schedules.

    Roses, Thank you! I'm doing fine...just busy. Had to work overtime this weekend. I'm off for the next two days...but until then, I've got some paperwork to catch up on before the year's out. I'm hoping to get back to blogging soon.


    Until then, Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Don't be worryin us like that.

    I was adjusting my belt when I read about your different Thanksgiving dinners. How is it you're not the size of a house?

    Don't work too hard sweetie.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Roses, Thanks. The trick to eating all those large feasts is to stick to the meat! Avoid filler foods like vegetables and bread! And it helps to join in games and other physical, fun activities to burn off that extra energy.

    Beast, Almost. I actually have this weekend off! Hooray!

    MJ, Ha! Seeing Beast here makes me think he actually got some free time away from Cafe C kitchen! Either that or Mr C is on vacation!

    ReplyDelete