Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

The posted RECIPE is an Award WINNER and officially named Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho.  It’s not a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail silly — Duly advised, but it reminds me of one.  Either way, it may be the best I’ve had.  It’s fresh tasting, flavorful and super easy to make.

Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho

3 ripe Tomatoes, cored and cut into large cubes [I seeded them]

1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into large cubes [I didn’t seed it; used an English Cucumber]

1/2 Green, Yellow or Orange Pepper (or tricolor combo), diced [I used half a Green, half an Orange]

1/2 Shallot, or 1 Tablespoon Red Onion, diced [Shallot]

1/2 cup Scallions, chopped

Juice of 1 Lime

1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T. Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 t. Tabasco [or other hot pepper sauce, like Red Rooster, which I now like better–use 1 T.]

1/2 cup V-8 Juice [buy one small bottle at a liquor store; grocery stores only sell it by the case!]

Lemon Pepper to taste

Seasoned Salt to taste

Instructions

Combine all Soup ingredients in blender until well blended (ingredients will retain some pulp, which is great).  Pour into chilled bowls and garnish as desired.  Makes 1/2 gallon–6 appetizer servings or 3 main dish servings.  Tastes better if you make it the night before.

Garnish (with one or more)

1/2 lb. chilled, cooked Shrimp [buy the fresh $10 Shrimp tray from Costco; scarf the leftovers with the Cocktail Sauce]

1 chilled, sliced Avocado

1 T. fresh Cilantro, chopped

Follow and vary the RECIPE to your taste — Above [brackets] indicate specifics by Arlene T., 2011 Best Appetizer Winner.  She agreed to share all on Nibbles of Tidbits and we thank her.

I recently made the same for a Holiday Party and everyone loved it well chilled in a cup.

It’s fun to WIN things.  I happily know it.  That might not sound humble, but I truly am.  Just sayin’ I’ve been fortunate to experience many wins (and loss).  It’s life.  Okay, too deep — It’s only about (2) Tickets to the OC Fair New Year’s Eve Block Party.  Do YOU want them?

How to WIN them — Do (1) of these things: LIKE Nibbles of Tidbits on Facebook, Leave a COMMENT on this post, Follow @FoodBlog on Twitter with a Tweet or send an E-Mail to soup4you@hotmail.com.  We’ll track all and draw a name on Christmas Day.  Tickets will be sent out or delivered the next day, December 26th.  You may enter once a day.  Good luck!

Photos in this post are from the OC Fair’s Pre-Party Event, a taste of the OC Fair New Year’s Eve Block Party happening December 31, 2011 — We went last year and had a blast.

The Garlic Scapes guy handing out Deep Fried Artichoke Hearts with a Garlic Dipping Sauce.

Fried Spinach with Parmesan and Bacon from Bacon Mania.

Garlic Sliders from Garlic Scapes, one of our favorite Gourmet Food Trucks of the evening.

Bleu Slaw and “Offensive” Baked Beans (that’s what they call ’em) were from Short Stop BBQ.

Pre-Party glimpse of Gourmet Food Trucks — All to be at the big event on New Year’s Eve.

Everything we ate was excellent and the menus were sophisticated — Impressive and rich.

The Garlic Artichoke Dip and Chips are pictured above, and below are the mentioned samples.

We prefer the Artichoke Dip to the Hearts — It had loads of flavor and the Chips were delicate.

The Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs from Piaggio were two for $5 and couldn’t have been better.  And I got lucky this night too, by winning a Tornado Potato after spinning the pre-party wheel.

Your (2) Tickets to the OC Fair New Year’s Eve Block Party are waiting under this tree.  Remember to enter once a day to WIN ’em, starting now by liking Nibbles of Tidbits on Facebook or by leaving a COMMENT here or by following @FoodBlog on Twitter with a Tweet or by sending an E-mail to soup4you@hotmail.com.  I hope to see you New Year’s Eve.

Voted the Best Appetizer at our Christmas Par-Tay was this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail.  Recipe coming soon to this blog you see now — We be kickin’ it at this moment on a sunny Saturday.

Congrats Arlene (second from right) and thanks to Cost Plus for making it extra special.

Dave’s Million Dollar Sauce Contest — The odds of winning are better than the lottery.  Do you have a special Sauce, Salsa, Dip or Spread that you make?  Why not enter here for a chance to win a million?!  Check out the rules and submit your recipe on or before December 31, 2011.  Good luck!  With such a prize, we’re contemplating a few saucy ideas too.  Pictured is our favorite Cocktail Sauce first had in Amsterdam.

After the Irvine Spectrum, the Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive Event drives on.

As reported, I was one of five Food Blogger Judges at Cadillac’s Irvine stop.

As one lucky Judge, I got to taste the dishes prepared by Mary Sue Milliken and Yvon Goetz.

The event’s sponsors also include Share Our Strength, Bon Appétit and Epicurious.

Samples were delivered to the first two rows of the audience — Get to the next event early.

Halfway through Mary Sue’s sample the Judges were informed they’re to receive larger samples than the audience.  Wow, okay.  I quickly finished the small sample of Ceviche to prepare for the larger sample.  Happiness, because it was perfectly tangy and spicy.

And then tried Chef Yvon Goetz dish, Chili Lime Rubbed Hawaiian Mahi Mahi (above). 

Both dishes were impressive and the Mad Hungry Woman wrote more about ’em here.

Voting — Three of five Judges voted for Chef Yvon Goetz dish and two voted for Mary Sue’s.

Beautiful, fresh ingredients were used by both.

And the winner of this challenge was Chef Yvon Goetz.

I voted for Mary Sue’s Ceviche — It received the popular (audience) vote.  No losers here.

I like taking photos of other bloggers taking photos of FOOD.

Before, during and after the competition, some test drove Cadillacs — Love the Escalade.

What a terrific, well run event — Check the schedule to see if it’s heading towards you.

Can I just travel the country judging food competitions?  Thanks for the taste.

The Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive Event made a stop at the Irvine Spectrum.

Chef Mary Sue Milliken went head-to-head with local Chef Yvon Goetz of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar.  Both prepared Fish and I luckily got to judge one of the competitions.

Guess who won?  One won the Judge’s vote and the other won the popular/audience vote.

All was nicely done as shown in this Guess Who Report — Back to Cadillac after we mack.

This weekend the Cadillac Culinary Test Drive Challenge will be happening at the Irvine Spectrum Center.  Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill Restaurant & Truck (among other accolades) will be competing against local famous Chef Yvon Goetz of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar.  I hope to be there on Saturday (or Sunday) to help JUDGE one of the six presentations / challenges and possibly test drive an Escalade.  Good luck to both Chefs — See you there.

Aetna wants you to join their Healthy Food Fight — FOOD Competitions are taking place at County Fairs and Festivals across the states.  Aetna is actively in search of the most nutritious and best tasting recipe.  All officially got cooking at the Los Angeles County Fair last week. 

Semi-finalists (48) in LA, Dallas, Atlanta and Philadelphia prepared/will prepare their recipe LIVE to hopefully be chosen “the one” to represent their city at the final competition that’ll take place in New York in December. Anyway, look it up, I don’t need to know all that.  I’m interested because my childhood friend, Denise Davidson Coulombe was a Semi-finalist.

Denise is the one prominently featured throughout and she made Turkey Vegetable Soup.

She chose an apron, was assigned a stove top, collected her ingredients and got cooking.

Judges and LA County Fair goers stopped by to watch and ask questions.

Presentation to the Judges…

More Semi-finalists presenting dishes to the Judges and Bloggers — All did a great job.

Check out the Aetna Healthy Food Fight website to view Semi-finalists’ recipes.

Denise did famously, but another was picked to represent LA — The Aetna crew will resurface at the Texas State Fair October 15 – 16, 2011.  After our healthy competition was over, we shared Pink’s Chili Cheese Fries and a Chuckwagon Beef Brisket Sandwich, and did some wine tasting to celebrate healthiness and D’s win.  Her family is proud.  Cheers and congrats!

All wasn’t exactly pretty, but it sure was sweet.

Attended the Los Angeles Luxury CHOCOLATE SALON at the Pasadena Center Ballroom.

Chocolate combined with almost anything — One darling was the Chocolate Wine.  Yes it did.

I was on the Salon Awards Tasting Panel and one favorite, Ciel tied for Best in Salon.

And David Bacco Chocolatier (above) with a Balsamic Reduction is Top Artisan Chocolatier.

We had fun trying the heat variations crafted by the Monterey Chocolate Company.

French Macarons, who isn’t loving them these days?!  Cutting ’em up just didn’t seem right.

We needed more and larger samples in most cases — A true test you know.

As told I mainly anticipated the unique flavor combinations to be had and most were spot on.

And the above Ciel Gift Box would be a fantasy to receive.  It also tied for Gold.

The Official Results are linked here — Gold, Silver and Bronze for all categories.

The Chocolates were sweet, but the space was too small and the lines were too long.

Jer’s Chocolates — I’m not a big Peanut Butter and Chocolate fan, but Jer’s is special.  The people behind it are nice and Jerry happens to be my Dad’s and Bro-in-law’s name.  Go Jer’sss!

Remember the Tequila?  Well, the Chocolate Salon was interesting.  Thank you TasteTV, etc.

Mako Shark, Thresher Shark or Los Angeles County Fair Shark?  They do tricks.  Do you bite?

Opted for a Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog and many more bites.

Smokin’ Meats.

BBQ and Beer.

Sizing up the LA Culinary Arts Competition to see how it compares to the OC.

This Cake is correct and dedicated to all my long time friends — Blessed yes I am.

More Culinary Arts Competition Results — Cakes and Ribbons.

Table Setting Competition Results — I love the Covered Wagon idea.

Moving Dinosaurs — I wonder if they were good BBQ’d by the cavemen.

And Pre-Pulled Pork, Bacon, Carnitas, Chops, Rinds, you get the picture.

Remember all relates to FOOD here, and MILK, one of the best drinks in the world.

Learn how it’s made at the LA Fair aka Pomona Fair.

And had to find the Chuckwagon, the best BBQ Brisket at the OC Fair.

Terri’s Berries is at the LA Fair too, along with much, much, much more — Lots to do and EAT.

Though they taste good, the pictured Chocolates won’t be featured at the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon this Sunday, as they’re way too basic — It’s for that reason I’m most excited to be on the Salon Awards Tasting Panel.  I want to try the unique, daring and unusual.

To simplify, I get to eat and drink all the Chocolate and Wine I want, then vote for the ones I like best.  Cool or what!?!  I’m ready to pick up the Judges Panel Ticket and get tasting. 🙂

Fancy Smancy or Schmancy who cares, it’s not really a word anyway — This story is most likely played, but it’s still September so the floor is mine.  Available this month only is the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger at Hof’s Hut.  Have you read about it yet?  You can here.

This is our first time purchasing it at the restaurant after having it at the photo shoot.

It was cool to see my name on the menus and table tents as Winner of the Burger Contest.

It’s a splendid tasting Burger too — Hof’s Hut does a great job with it.

Try it before September 30th.

I once lived in the LBC, Belmont Shore to be exact, walking distance from a Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery, now a Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, a new favorite, and I worked across the street from the view above.  Will always have a special place for Long Beach, near most of the remaining Hof’s.  Read about the Burger Contest — Long Beach Post quotes me. 

HH’s 60th Anniversary promotions — Grateful the FSSB Won!

I didn’t order the hit on table tent inserts at Hof’s Hut, but appreciate having one with my name on it.  For the record, my parent’s friends actually asked if they could take it.  I should’ve photographed it instead of scanned it — It’s hard to read, despite its wannabe size progression.  Only 15 more days to get the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger at Hof’s Hut.  Still celebrating…

I’m excited to be a part of The Official Chocolate Salon Awards Tasting Panel at the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon taking place September 25, 2011 at the Pasadena Center Ballroom.  I get to EAT ALL THE CHOCOLATE I WANT and vote for my favorites — Now that’s a good time!  And YOU CAN TOO if you buy a ticket.  They’re reasonably priced.  The event is a must for Local Chocolate Lovers.  Discover, savor and taste products from some of the Finest Chocolatiers and Wineries in Southern California.  Show highlights include Premium Chocolate Tasting, Artisan Chocolate Demonstrations, Chef and Author Discussions, and Wine and Beverage Tasting.  All is being presented by Taste TV.  Hope to see you there.

We loved the fresh intense flavors of the Grilled Pineapple and Blueberry Lime Popcicles sold by Front Porch Pops, a small stand amongst several popular Gourmet Food Trucks.

We also tried the Mini Pops Sampler of Lemon, Mango, Strawberry Lemonade and Watermelon.

Surprisingly the Tangy Lemon Cream Pop (white one) was our favorite — TASTE-Tee!

It’s happiness on a stick, Front Porch Pops says — To me it’s sweet, handmade refresh-ness.  I once made unconventional Peaches & Cream Popcicles that tasted pretty good.

Popular contenders of The Great Food Truck Race were also present this Thursday in Irvine.

We really liked this Pulled Pork Taco from The Lime Truck too.  Menus vary.

A BIG THANKS to Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery on this official day — The availability of the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger.  I can’t wait to have it as good as YOU make it!

It seems the number of Gourmet Food Trucks has grown exponentially and several were at the OC Foodie Fest — Previously noted, we were lucky enough to taste and judge many of them.

The Savory Judges consisted of me, the Pig, the guys from Food Beast and Ryan of Foodoofus.

Various media sources were photographing all.

As you can see, we were pretty busy eating.

It was a little tricky keeping track of all the food coming our way, but we managed.

And completed our score forms after each new Slider, Taco, Pizza, Hot Dog, Sandwich, etc.

Eating and scoring — Separate Judges were assigned to the Desserts.

You see it, we ate it.

One favorite was the Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Gazpacho from The Lime Truck.

We were excited to finally try The Lime Truck and it delivered.  As many know they’re currently one of the top contenders on The Great Food Truck Race.  They put forth a lot of personality and impressive food.  Didn’t make it to the Skyy Vodka VIP Lounge — Too busy eating, judging and drinking a lot of water.  It was a hot Summer day at Angel Stadium.

Tables filled with hand delivered food described by proud Gourmet Food Trucks.

Kind Bars happened to have a booth at the event — Yeah they’re a fave!

Its representatives were cute and kind too.

Didn’t try their food, but liked the back of the Flavor Rush Truck.

We enjoyed the OC Foodie Fest at Angel Stadium though wish the trucks were on the field.

Last year it was held at the Honda Center — Read about it here.

Swing down next year.

I always want to JUDGE a FOOD Contest, I think — Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.  Today I helped judge food from endless Gourmet Food Trucks at the OC Foodie Fest.

It happened at Angel Stadium and one favorite was the Oki Slider from Ranchan Ramen.

Shown here is just the tip of the iceberg — Truck after truck, after truck, after truck delivered their respective goods for the Judges to sample.  We were stuffed.  More about ALL post digestion.  Though full, wish we had to-go boxes for all we tried.  Most was above average.

Do you know where to find 100 Gourmet Food Trucks, an Angels Baseball Skill Camp, a Budweiser Beer Garden, a SOCO Certified Farmer’s Market, Free Snack Giveaways, Live Entertainment, Cooking and Eating Competitions, an Import Car Show, Shopping and a Skyy Vodka VIP Lounge???  All can be found in one place this Saturday, August 27th at the 2011 OC Foodie Fest taking place at Angel Stadium from Noon – 6PM.  Hope to see you there.

Be sure to mark your calendar to try the Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery 60th Anniversary Burger scheduled to be available this September.  It’s called the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger and it is damn tasty, if I do say so myself — It’s so tasty in fact, I won a fancy smancy (aka schmancy) Jenn-Air BBQ Grill (below) for creating it.  Thank you Hof’s Hut and Happy Anniversary to such a fine establishment.  See you soon…

This weekend we highly recommend VIP Rib Village at the Orange County BBQ Bonanza.

Tender Ribs can be found within Fountain Valley Sports Park August 18th – 21st.

The VIP Rib Village experience includes all you can eat Ribs, Sides, Drinks and Desserts.

Check out The Big 6 National BBQ Cookers to learn more about the Ribs.

Entrance to unlimited Ribs and more.

Of course we tried them all several times.

Just one tasty option from Cowboys

Going back for another plate of everything.

Endless sides above, if you bother — We were diggin’ the bottomless Ribs, Beer and Wine.

There are plenty of tables with umbrellas in VIP Rib Village.

Different bands will be playing throughout the weekend — We enjoyed Grand Junction.

Some were dancing.

Others were eating.

We narrowed down our favorite Ribs to three, then tried them again — TBA.

As noted, VIP Rib Village includes all you can eat Dessert too — The cost for all is $100.  Why not make a day of it?  Enjoy excellent Ribs, good music, dancing and Drinks on a Summer eve.

He’s just sayin’…

More Ribs and Dessert in the Village.

Go in — It’s a messy, fun, flavorsome time.

Tennessee Q ended up being our favorite this kick-off evening.

And Johnson’s was a close runner-up.

You don’t have to spend $100 to try the Ribs — Event INFO is posted here.

The 2011 OC Fair went out with a munch, a moo and an oink and set a record breaking attendance of 1,400,280 attendees. The OC Fair saw a 21 percent increase over last year’s highest attendance record of 1,154,969, it surpassed on Day 20.

“My belief is the 2011 edition of the Fair establishes that the OC Fair has perfected the formula for staging a successful fair,” said Dr. Steven Beazley, OC Fair & Event Center President & CEO. “That formula will now be applied to educate and entertain our community for years to come.”

Fairgoers took the theme “Let’s Eat!” seriously and consumed 10,000 Mexican Funnel Cakes, 3,000 chocolate-covered corn dogs, 125,000 balls of Deep-Fried Kool-Aid, 10,000 slices of deep-fried avocado, 2,000 deep-fried frog’s legs and 75,000 colossal turkey legs.

The top five attended concerts in the Pacific Amphitheatre, in order of attendance, were Big Time Rush/Avery, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Weezer, Blake Shelton and Bob Dylan. Overall, there were nine sold-out concerts in the Fair’s premiere entertainment venue.

In the Action Sports Arena, the top most thrilling events, in order of attendance, were: Orange Crush Demolition Derby, Motorhome Madness Demolition Derby and X-treme Freestyle Moto-X.

The top shows in The Hangar were Sweet & Tender Hooligans (tribute to Morrissey and The Smiths); Moonwalker (THE Reflection of Michael Jackson); Journey Unauthorized; Which One’s Pink?; and Dead Man’s Party (The Oingo Boingo Tribute).

More fun numbers for the 2011 OC Fair:

• 1,000 12-inch-high Jumbo Mexican Funnel Cakes were eaten and only four Fairgoers met the challenge to consume one by themself.
• 284,982 visitors bared the cold visit into the Ice Museum and more than 350 300-pound blocks of ice were used to create its contents.
• More than 20,733 people were the ultimate Fairgoer as holders of their own Super Pass (season pass) compared to 11,100 in 2010.
• 32,439 people took advantage of the free Opening Hour on July 15 compared to 25,461 in 2011.
• 3,668 exhibitors submitted 12,697 entries which received 4,195 award ribbons and won more than $30,065 in cash awards.
• A total of 540 livestock exhibitors presented 3,190 animals, received 2,170 ribbons and were rewarded $30,065 in cash awards.
• For the four “We Care Wednesday” community donation drives, 81,267 generous Fairgoers donated 85,000 pounds of food, 62,736 children’s books, 100,000 pieces of clothing and 100,000 new school supplies.
• Born into the Centennial Farm family this year were two piglets and four goats.

The 2011 OC Fair, themed LET’S EAT!, was July 15 – August 14 and featured 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, action sports and fun, as well as the popular Super Pass (season pass), Pacific Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. The Fair was open Wednesday-Sunday. The 2011 OC Fair was voted the Best Fair in Southern California by Los Angeles Times’ readers and the 2010 OC Fair was ranked the eighth highest attended fair in the U.S. by Venues Today magazine.

Note:  The above is an official Press Release received from the OC Fair Communications Department.  And ‘record wins’ pertains to the two 1st Place Ribbons and one 3rd Place Ribbon I received this year entering the Culinary Arts Competition — See you in 2012.  Results and ribbons from previous years are pictured here.