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Sunday, Jul. 15, 2007

Festival features my cookbook, corn

I will be signing copies of my cookbook, Flavors of Kentucky, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Sweet Corn Festival at Evans Orchard and Cider Mill in Georgetown. For more information go to www.evansorchard.com

She made up a winner

Jan’a Prater of Lexington, encouraged by husband Steven and son Christian to “make it up” and put her spin on a pie recipe, won the Fourth of July Great American Pie Contest with Mabeline’s famous triple-berry pie.

“Steven teases me about the not-so-ordinary dishes and homemade desserts I create. While he occasionally calls me Mabeline, he often jokingly calls my creations, ‘made-up,’” Prater said.

“Together, we spend a lot of time in and outside of our kitchen, baking, cooking or grilling. We just enjoy creating something yummy out of a few delicious yet simple ingredients from our pantry. Many of our creations are either special requests from family, friends, church members or co-workers,” she said.

Other winners of the pie contest were: Kathleen Fox, second place, apple strudel pie; Loretta Howard, third place, house lemon pecan pie; and Mindy Hillard, prettiest pie, strawberry-blueberry pie. Missy’s Pies won the professional category with Missy’s pear berry pie.

Here’s Prater’s winning recipe. Other recipes are at Kentucky.com.

Mabeline’s famous triple-berry pie

Crust: (for a double-crust 9-inch pie) 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 3¼4 teaspoon salt 2¼3 cup Crisco, or solid shortening About 1¼3 cup ice-cold water

Filling: 2 quarts fresh blackberries 2 cups fresh blueberries 2 cups fresh raspberries 1¼3 cup all-purpose flour 1¼2 stick butter 2 cups white sugar 1¼2 cup brown sugar Pinch of salt 1 cup cold water Zest of 1 lemon Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To make crust: In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or two knives until the shortening pieces are the size of small peas. Divide crust mixture in half. For each crust, make a well in the center of flour-shortening mixture; slowly add water. With a fork, quickly mix to form dough into a ball. Roll out pastry on a well-floured surface, and place in a pie plate.

To make filling: Rinse berries under cold water and drain well. In a large bowl, mix together flour, butter, white and brown sugars, and salt. Combine berries and water with flour-sugar mixture. Toss lightly; set aside for about 15 minutes.

Put berry mixture in a large, buttered, 5-quart heavy pot. Bring to a gentle boil, on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cook filling for about 20 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Stirring occasionally. Remove filling from heat; add lemon zest. Cool slightly.

Carefully pour filling into unbaked crust. Cover filling with top crust. Crimp edges with buttered fingers and cut slits in top crust with knife. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Out of the wild

Please pass the elk, buffalo, wild turkey and quail. A Kentucky Wild Game Night buffet will be served from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 4 at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton. Tickets are $19.95 for adults and $9.95 for ages 12 and younger. Displays and speakers include the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, wild turkey and quail foundations, Jenny Wiley State Resort Park and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. For information, call 1-866-462-8853.

If you like corn …

Akielo Temple No. 128 Daughters of the Nile is holding its annual all-you-can-eat corn boil Aug. 3 at Oleika Shrine Center, 326 Southland Drive. Hours are 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for ages 10 and younger. The menu also includes ham, green beans, coleslaw, corn bread, beverage and dessert. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Reach Sharon Thompson at (859) 231-3321 or 1-800-950-6397 Ext. 3321.