Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

How about a Pepsi Donut Bacon Dog?  You can get one at the Orange County Fair now through August 14, 2016.  It’s a Hot Dog that’s wrapped in Bacon and served on a Donut topped with a Pepsi Glaze.  We had the opportunity to try it and other new food options at this year’s OC Fair.

We attended a “Media VIP Food Party” to taste “Interesting & New Foods at the 2016 OC Fair.”

The Bacon Cheddar Brat Burger is pictured above and found at Tasti Burger on Livestock Lane.

Yes, there are healthy options at the OC Fair — My favorite is the Shrimp Pineapple Bowl found at Pineapple Express in the Main Mall area.  They also offer a Teriyaki Chicken Pineapple Bowl.

And you’ve heard of Chicken Charlie right?  Of Chicken Charlie’s?  He’s pictured above and always serves something interesting — One of his menu items this year is a Chicken in a Waffle on a Stick.  It’s a Waffle with pieces of Fried Chicken cooked into it and it comes with Maple Syrup.

Pink’s Hot Dogs is a booth I frequent every OC Fair, but it’s because of their Chili Cheese Fries, another one of my favorites.  Aside from that, they’re offering a couple of new Hot Dogs this year, like The Lord of the Rings Dog, a Hot Dog served with Onion Rings wrapped around it.

Dominic (pictured above) of Biggy’s and Fair Fix & Fried A Fair, both located in the Main Carnival area, tops himself this year with the Bacon Wrapped Pork Belly Dog, Deep Fried Butter, Deep Fried Nutella and more.  Stop by and say “Hi.”  All the food vendors we met are friendly.

A drum roll for the Pickle Fries — I love Pickle Fries, especially since my name is Pickles Freis.  My husband nicknamed me Pickles and my last name is Freis.  Thus I’m Pickles Freis.  And these are good Pickles and the Batter is thin and crunchy too.  Pickles Freis very much likes these Pickle Fries.

Tasti Chips with Parmesan Cheese from Tasti Chips, located on Livestock Lane is pictured above. We had the Jalapeno Cheddar Tasti Chips after seeing The Offspring concert last week.

I love the Orange County Fair — There’s so much to do and see.

Though you can’t eat these flowers, I must post at least one, and Matt capturing them.

The baby pigs below were only 4 days old when they were photographed here.  They grow fast.

As always, I will be entering the culinary competitions happening at the end of July and in August. I’m working on a couple ideas and hope to claim the first place ribbon I have my head through below.  I tested one of my recipes and it turned out well, but I will report the judge’s results.

See you at the OC Fair — Too bad it’s not all year long.

What, no Blue Ribbon?  It’s Second Place for my Watermelon Jellies (above) — Orange, Grapefruit and Lemon/Lime Jellies previously won First Place Ribbons, a division win in Confections, and were close to Best in Show.  Last year my Strawberry Stars Jellies earned a Blue Ribbon too.  Each flavor is carefully made with 100% real fruit.  Collectively all have been dubbed Shelly’s Jellies.  I make them because they’re one of my favorite Candies.  I’ve always liked Jelly Candies and can’t believe I can actually make them, and better than any I’ve purchased.  I’m grateful for that and for any win at the fabulous Orange County Fair.

This year we tried the Deep Fried Lobster on a stick with Pineapple — Not bad, but not cheap.

We’re back tomorrow for more FOOD and Fruit Sculptures — The OC Fair ends this week.

See what’s cooking at the OC Fair this year: Featuring 23 Days of Iconic Fair food, Celebrity Chefs, Craft Beer & Culinary Competitions and Exhibits — The 2014 OC Fair is cooking up a delicious summer for Fairgoers. From July 11 to August 10, 2014, the OC Fair is serving up summer fun, along with culinary events and new Fair food that are definitely worth the trip.

• Chicken Charlie is introducing the new-for-2014 Deep-Fried Doritos and Deep-Fried Chicken Skin in addition to his classic favorite fried treats of Oreos, cookie dough and Twinkies.
• Bacon A-Fair is introducing Bacon-Wrapped Jack Daniels, a unique churro concoction with a little whiskey kick at the end (non-alcoholic). Also, a deep-fried bacon-wrapped turkey leg!
• Biggy’s Meat Market is bringing gluten-free options this summer with GF hamburger buns, fries & a newly gluten-free The Big Rib.
• Texas Donuts is putting a twist on its popular giant donuts with new flavors like Cherry Pop Rocks, Banana Chocolate Cream and Peanut Butter Cup. Also new this year, a Latin twist with the new deep-fried Gansito.
• OC Fair Foodies, the OC Fair’s food-themed costumed characters, are back this summer. Join Olivia Orange, Cotton Candy Carl, Arturo Churro, Cornelius Corn and Ice Cream Scoop as they delight Fairgoers.
• $2 Taste of Fair Food, held every Friday from Noon-4 p.m., offers Fairgoers the chance to taste Fair food for $2 per item. Fun-sized samples include funnel cake, tri-tip, lemonade, cinnamon rolls, corn dogs, tacos, gelato, cotton candy and more.
• OC Brew Hee Haw, a craft beer roundup, is July 11-13 and will bring some of the best local craft beers to OC Fairgoers for five sessions of beer tastings, demonstrations and exhibits. Visit ocbrewheehaw.com for details and tickets.
• Celebrity Chefs will bring their colorful cooking skills to The Hangar stage on three Thursdays. Scheduled appearances, include Carla Hall, co-host ABC’s lifestyle series “The Chew” (July 17, 4 p.m.); Roy Choi, founder of the famous Korean taco truck, Kogi BBQ (July 24, 4 p.m.); and Kelsey Nixon, host of her own show, “Kelsey’s Essentials” on the Cooking Channel (July 31, 4p.m.) Free with Fair admission and autograph sessions will follow each appearance. Presented by Vons.
• Chef Challenge will put talented culinary professionals in competition against each other with a themed cook-off every Friday at 7 p.m.: July 18 (Earth), July 25 (Water), August 1 (Air) and August 8 (Fire). Free with Fair admission.
• Special Culinary Contests include Eating Smart Starts Here (July 19), Hot! Hot! Hot! Chili, Wings or Salsa (July 26), OC Cupcake Classic (August 2) and Fairtastic Food (August 9). Registration is the Wednesday before each contest. For a complete list, visit ocfair.com/competitions.
• Daily Culinary Demonstrations can be enjoyed for free in the OC Promenade throughout the run of Fair. The Bakeology exhibit will highlight the wondrous things a baker can create from just butter, flour, eggs and sugar with daily demonstrations by Blackmarket Bakery chefs. Chef Ray Duey will carve works of art out of fruits and vegetables. Master Food Preserver Ernest Miller will teach Fairgoers how to preserve fresh vegetables, sauces and more. Artist Shaile Socher will create delicate edible sugar art and Cake Decorator Greggy Soriano (July 11-27 only) will make cake go from bland to grand.
• Award-Winning Wines are available by the taste or glass in the Wine Courtyard throughout the Fair, and on weekends wine-lovers can learn more about the various varietals during the Orange County Wine Society’s Wine Seminars (most require an additional fee).
• Centennial Farm, the OC Fair & Event Center’s year-round, three-acre demonstration farm is complete with crops, livestock and the Millennium Barn. Fairgoers can check out educational exhibits, agricultural organizations and the fruit and vegetable competitions.

The 2014 OC Fair, themed Summer Starts Here, is July 11 – August 10 and will bring 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, action sports and fun, as well as the Super Pass, Toyota Summer Concert Series at the Pacific Amphitheatre and events in The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. The Fair is open Wednesday-Sunday. Concert tickets, action sports reserved seats, single-day general admission and the popular Super Pass are available for purchase online at ocfair.com or from the on-site Box Office. Free parking and shuttle service are available on Saturdays and Sundays from the Experian parking structure located off the Bristol St. exit of the 405 freeway.   The OC Fair & Event Center is located off the 405 and 55 freeways at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. For more information, please visit ocfair.com.

Credits:  Photos were taken during previous visits to the Orange County Fair and text is republished from the OC Fair & Event Center Communications Department.

The Orange County Fair starts in just a couple days.  Come & Get It is the theme and today was delivery day — Delivery of culinary, baked goods, confections and sugar arts for the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair.  My entries were dropped off at the very last minute.  It’s also judgment day, when all is tasted and ribbons are assigned.

This year my entries included the pictured… Strawberry Stars (in Confections, Jellies), a Tangerine Cream Cheesecake topped with Candied Tangerine Slices (in Cheesecakes, Fruit Flavored and/or Fruit Topped) and Coconut Pineapple Scones (in Bread, Scones or Biscuits).  I didn’t get to try my Cheesecake, but it looked good with the Candied Tangerine Slices.

The Scones were way too big, but tasted good — They were drizzled with a Pineapple Glaze.

OC Fair peeps taking in the goodies (below) for you to come and get it (or see it) soon.

I hope to win a ribbon, or two, or three — See you at the Orange County Fair.

Post Update (07/13/13):  I won a First Place (Blue) Ribbon for the Strawberry Stars only and may be featured in the Orange County Register this weekend.  I was interviewed by a reporter and one of the paper’s photographers took my photo.  We shall see…

Opening Day at the Orange County Fair with family (below).

If you don’t enter, you can’t win.  Why not enter?  Anyone can win a Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair.  The deadline for competition entries is fast approaching.  Do you know how to enter?  Do you know what to do after you enter?  If not, this post may help.

First, enter (most competitions) online — The OC Fair’s website can get you on the way.

Go to the OC Fair Competitions’ page to learn ‘How to Enter an OC Fair Competition’.

When you’re ready to enter, visit the OC Fair & Event Center On-line Entries page (below).

Entrants are called Exhibitors, thus register as such before entering a competition.

Choose Department (Culinary Arts in this instance), then Division and Class for each entry.

Each entry costs $5.00 and one ticket to the OC Fair is presented on delivery day.

After online entry, note delivery date and time and have all goods ready — Learn more here.

On delivery day you’ll drive onto the fairgrounds, while all is being assembled for opening day.

Culinary Arts Competition entries are generally submitted at the Exhibit Promenade (above).

All entries must have a list of ingredients on an index card attached, as shown above.

Pictured herein are previously submitted entries and a was-gonna-be entry mishap below.

The above was going to be Tangerine Dream Bars (similar to Lemon Bars), but it didn’t set.

Fortunately most past entries have turned out well — It’s what’s hoped for on delivery day.

Above shows what YOUR entry/submission should look like, and below shows what it could look like when checking the competition results displayed on opening day at the OC Fair.

It’s exciting to see how well you did or didn’t do — You can’t win ’em all.

Entering a competition at any Fair makes all more fun.

June 10th, 2013 is the last day to enter the Culinary Arts Competition (excluding Special Culinary Contests) online — See the Culinary Arts Competition Guidelines for all specifics.

Guidelines are available for all OC Fair Competitions.

Come & Get It is the theme of this year’s Orange County Fair.

Good luck to all!

Competitions & Contests Announced for 2013 OC Fair

Think you  bake one delicious apple pie, brew the best beer or have an uncanny knack for  making crafts? Enter [YOUR] 2013 OC Fair competitive entries for an opportunity to earn an award and have your winning entry on display for more than one million Fairgoers from July 12th – August 11th. The 2013 OC Fair invites locals to put their skills and knowledge to the test and sign up to compete in the many competitions and contests being offered this year.

Categories and divisions available this year include:

• Culinary/Wine/Beer: Baked Goods & Confections, Preserved Foods, Sugar Arts, Food Blog Posts, Table Setting Designs, Homemade Beers, Commercial Wines & Home Wines
• Crafts & Hobbies: Collections, Fiber Arts, Hand Crafts & Hobbies, Jewelry Arts
• Visual Arts: Woodworking, Photography & Non-Traditional Prints, Sculpture, Painting, Graphics, Ceramics, Student Video Festival
• Garden & Floral: Fruit & Vegetable, Cut Flowers, Container Plants, Floral Arrangements, Floral Design Contest
• Livestock: Market Shows (Orange County 4-H and FFA only): Beef, Calves, Swine, Sheep, Goats, Rabbits, Broilers, and Turkeys, Breeding Shows: Dairy Goats, Pygmy Goats, Open Angora Goats, Cavies, Poultry, Rabbits, Youth Breeding Sheep, Youth Egg Laying Contest, Educational Posters & Contest
• Youth: Collections, Culinary, Garden & Floral, Fiber Arts, Youth Fine Arts, Hobby & Craft, Jewelry Arts, Photography

The OC Fair competitive entries require online registration in advance and the deadlines for entry registrations are as follows:

• April 26 – Commercial Wine
• May 3 – Homemade Beer
• May 18 – Home Wine
• June 1 – Crafts & Hobbies, Visual Arts, Youth (Fiber  Arts, Collections, Hand Crafts & Hobbies, Jewelry Arts)
• June 7 – Livestock
• June 10 – Culinary Arts Baked Goods & Confections, Preserved Foods, Sugar Arts, Table  Design

Entry registration deadlines for Garden & Floral competitions vary, visit ocfair.com/competitions for the list of dates. Entry registration for all competitions is currently being accepted online at ocfair.com/competitions. For participants who need help with an online entry, the OC Fair has scheduled “Help Days” from May 29 – May 31, Wednesday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the OC Fair & Event Center Administration Building.

In addition to the traditional competitions, the OC Fair is also hosting Special Culinary Arts Contests for amateur cooks and bakers to show off their skills. Most contests are only open to adults 18 and older. Each contest will be judged and awarded live at the Fair. The entry registration forms and contest details are available online at ocfair.com/competitions in the Culinary Arts Guide under the “Culinary/Wine/Beer” section. Entry forms are due the Wednesday before each contest:

• Get Baking Cookie Contest – July 20 (Also open to ages 5-18) (Register by July 17)
• Hot! Hot! Hot! Chili, Wings or Salsa Contest – July 27 (Register by July 24)
• OC Cupcake Classic – August 3 (Also open to youth ages 5-18) (Register by July 31)
• Salad Daze Contest – August 10 (Register by August 7)

The 2013 OC Fair, themed Come & Get It, is July 12th – August 11th and brings 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, action sports and fun, as well as the Toyota Summer Concert Series at the Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. The Fair is open Wednesday – Sunday. Concert tickets, action sports reserved seats and single-day general admission are available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com or from the on-site Box Office. The popular Super Pass, which offers the passholder 23 days of admission, is available for purchase online at ocfair.com from the onsite Box Office.

The OC Fair & Event Center is located off the 405 and 55 freeways at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. For more information, visit ocfair.com, become a fan at Facebook.com/OCFair and/or follow them at twitter.com/ocfair.

Note:  Press Release is from the OC Fair & Event Center and Photo Credit is here.

Awe, Home Sweet Home, I end up where I wanted to be, with a Division Win in anything.

At the Orange County Fair in receipt of a Certificate of Recognition for my Confections Entry (Fruit Bursts aka Shelly’s Jellies) in the Culinary Arts Competition.  Thank you very much!

2012 Awards (center) and entries are linked — A hard act to follow in 2013, but will try. 🙂

My Orange Zest Cheesecake with a Milk Chocolate Ganache recently won a 2nd Place Ribbon at the Orange County Fair.  I plan to submit its recipe for the 2012 Orange County Fair Cookbook and will subsequently link to it here.  Until then, stay tuned for snapshots of our recent OC Fair Foodie Tour.  We found several healthy options in addition to the indulgent.

In a sea of Chocolate Confections, my Pink Grapefruit, Orange and Lemon-Lime Fruit Bursts stood out.  They were just awarded Best in Show in Confections at the Orange County Fair.

My Roasted Peach Scones received an Honorable Mention — I’ll take it.  Thanks!

And my Orange Zest Cheesecake with a Chocolate Ganache received a Second Place Ribbon.

I’m thrilled with the results and will soon be reporting more about OC Fair food.

There are more entries than ever at the Orange County Fair this year.

I’m told there are over a thousand entries in the Culinary Arts Competition alone.

Since there’s only one Culinary Arts show this year, the competition will be stiffer than usual.

In previous years there had been two shows, which generally cut the competition in half.

Pictured here are my 2012 entries — An Orange Zest Cheesecake with a Milk Chocolate Ganache, Roasted Peach Scones and Grapefruit, Orange and Lemon-Lime Fruit Bursts.  All have been submitted for judging.  The OF Fair officially opens tomorrow with the results of all.

The entry submission lines were longer this year, but efficient — See you at the Fair.

NOW is the window of time to enter a Competition at the Orange County Fair.

Did you know it costs less to enter a Fair Competition than it does to get in the Fair?

When you enter a Competition, you receive a Fair admission ticket — Enter here.

Do your Tomatoes look better than previous winners (above)?  If so, enter the Garden & Floral Competition.  Have you taken a dazzling photograph or do you paint?  Yes?  Enter the Visual Arts Competition.  Or view the complete list — There has to be a Competition for you.

Bottle Beer or Wine, can Jams or Pickles, or bake?  Enter the Tasty Creations Competition.

More Competition INFO can be read here and the specifics regarding all Culinary Competitions are linked here.  Enter most contests in May and June, and Single Day Contests (in person competitions, shown below) now or after the Fair opens.  See schedule here.  Good luck!

Don’t miss the sign up deadline(s) — You might just win.

It’s an exciting year at the Orange County Fair — More Culinary Arts Competition ribbons won.

In the 2nd Show, I happily accept another First Place Ribbon for my Snickerdoodle Scones and a Third Place Ribbon for my Blackberry Mascarpone Cheesecake.  And still delighted about the First Place Ribbon received for Blondies prepared for the 1st Show — I feel lucky.

Didn’t win anything in the Blog Post Competition on display above, but maybe next year.

Our Guest Blogger, Bonnie won a Second Place Ribbon for her professional table design.

And thought the above was adorable — Entered in the Crafts & Hobbies Competition is a mini replica of the Table Design Competition.  It’s rightly a First Place and Division winner.  Congratulations Donna!  The OC Fair is happening now through August 14, 2011.

Yeah!

It started with our favorite Beef Brisket Sandwich at the Chuck Wagon — We love it!

Admission and parking was FREE from Noon – 1PM.

It was the busiest opening day we’ve seen.

The results of the Culinary Arts Competition (1st Show) are in and my Blondies won a First Place Ribbon.  Cool!  It made up for non-placement of my Fancy White Chocolate Flags.

$2 Samplings are available every Friday between Noon – 4PM.

We had a sampling of the Australian Battered Potatoes — One was plenty good.

Waiting for Ribs.

Centennial Farm.

Tomato varieties for future reference.

The above table was entered in the Amateur Table Setting Competition.  We found it a crack up.  While most try to create something fancy or beautiful, this individual produced something (probably) more realistic and definitely comical with a Cat Food can vase and leftover Subway Sandwich napkins for to-go Pizza and basic Beer.  Brilliant but no ribbon.

Faces at the OC Fair — Cows, Goats, Pigs, Chickens and ours.  Chef Niece Bailee of Kids in the Kitchen also won a First Place Ribbon for her painting pointed out by my lovely Mom, Pamela.

The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 15th and the Culinary Arts Competition entries were due today.  It’s now baked, done and delivered and out of our hands.  The Judges are deliberating and ribbons are being awarded.  Will there be one waiting for me?  We will see.

I like driving on the fairgrounds when it’s not open — It’s like a ride. 😉

For the first show I made Blondies and a Confection, Fancy White Chocolate Flags — Ribbon winning recipes shall be linked and posted.  The results are publicized on opening day.

You may NOW enter the Culinary Arts Competition happening at the 2011 Orange County Fair.  You have from today until June 1, 2011 to enter online.  Each adult entry is $5, and if under 18 the entry fee is $3 — As a win-win incentive, an OC Fair ticket is provided with each entry.  It pays to enter the contests at the Fair, since it costs a little more to get in.  See you there!

The Orange County Fair’s Culinary Arts Competition (2nd Show) submissions are due tomorrow and will be on display starting Wednesday, August 4th.  Most 1st Show submissions will be removed from the display cases and replaced with the 2nd Show entries.  Those entering (and all Fair patrons) will be able to see the placement results beginning Wednesday and will be viewable throughout the duration of the Fair.

We’ll be entering Tangerine Coconut Muffins and an Orange Pound Cake.  Pictured are the practice (fine-tuning) results of our Muffins and a Banana Bread Pudding that was going to be entered into the Retro Baker Regatta Competition, if it hadn’t turned out too dry.  FYI: It’s not too late to enter a couple of the Single Day Special Culinary Competitions — Learn more about them here and good luck to all!

Update 08/03/10:  Actual ‘Orange Sparkle Pound Cake’ entry in 2nd Show (pictured below).

It’s not too late to sign-up for a few of the Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competitions — The specifics and more Fair information can be found here.  Today the ‘Art of the Tart & Pie Competition‘ went down with Pies galore, and tomorrow the ‘Chili, Wings & Salsa Challenge‘ happens with an expected 50 entries. 

These live judged culinary competitions happen each weekend during the Fair and start at 1PM on the Promenade Stage — It’s fun to enter and watch.

And it’s tough to choose a winner, but the Judges take it seriously.  Today there were winners in (4) categories, One-Crust, Two-Crust, Sugar-Free and Savory (or something like that).  We captured one of the winners in the Sugar-Free category and luckily got to try her entry pictured below.  She picked its juicy Blackberries by hand, what a treat for us.

Note:  We appreciate the improvements made to the Culinary Arts Program this year.  From the displays, to the stage and general organization, all went up a notch, not that we had any complaints before — It all looks terrific.

More funny at my expense — The Orange County Fair Competition Results are now in.  My entry is the only one above without a Ribbon.  Oh well, can’t win ’em all.  And today I shot more video than photos, but most times when I thought I pressed record, I stopped the video (and vice versa), thus lamely captured our walking and talking most of the day, instead of the interesting, yummy stuff, haha.  Duh!  In defense, it was difficult to see the ‘REC’ light in the bright sunshine and I unfortunately got it backwards along the way.  It won’t happen again.  Gotta laugh though, which is easy since we’ll be going back soon.

Happily others we know did well in the OC Fair Competitions.  Hover over the above photos to learn more about each — And get to the Fair to see the results of all competitions.  Congratulations to ALL winners!

The above dish truly represents ‘The Bad‘ and ‘The Funny‘ about this blog.  The Tangerine Dream Bars (wannabe) was going to be an entry in the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair, but it didn’t happen.  I was gonna cover the top with Powdered Sugar, but unfortunately there’s no masking the soupy, unset middle. 🙁 I’m not exactly sure what went wrong here, since it turned out good last time.  Wouldn’t you know it — Two hours before submission time I discovered it looked like this.  Oh well, good thing my other entry was delicious and successfully submitted.  The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 16th.  The results will be posted opening day.

Our only entry in the Culinary Arts Competition (1st Show) is the Chocolate Layered Surprise.  It’s formed with alternating layers of Milk Chocolate, Waffle Cone, Dried Cherries and Pecans, then cut in squares and drizzled with White Chocolate.  We’ll be submitting (2) additional entries in August for the 2nd Show.

We’re fine tuning recipes to enter into the Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition this year.  Entries are due by May 26, 2010.  You can ENTER HERE.  Other than the photos, we’re not tellin’ more about what we’re working on.  And no, they’re not Lemon Bars above.  It is a competition afterall.

To read about past Culinary Arts Competitions and more, click HERE.

You can now enter one or more of the competitions happening at the Orange County Fair this year.  The 2010 OC Fair doesn’t start until July, but competition sign-up has begun.  Last year we luckily won several ribbons in the Culinary Arts Competition and this year we hope to do the same.  And I’ve talked my Mom into entering the Table Setting Competition — She’s always set fun and beautiful tables over the years, including the one above.  Online entry forms are due by May 26, 2010.  Good luck!

My final contest entry of Scones in the Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition awarded me a Third Place Ribbon.  I submitted Lemon Zest Scones with a Pomegranate Glaze.  They were good, but I really wanted a bite of the First Place Scones.  And the pictured Chocolate Loaf won the division.  Stop by the Orange County Fair, near the Promenade Stage to view all Second Show entries. 

Related Links:

• Fine tuning our Scone Recipe
• Single Day Pie Competition
• Culinary Arts Results at the OC Fair
• Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice
• Excellent Scone Recipe