Warm weather and sunshine drew large crowds to the Washington Cherry Festival over the weekend, but what really heated up the four-day event was the new Cherry Cookery Contest.
Cooks and bakers of all ages conjured up everything from cherry pie to cherry-stuffed blackened chicken.
“We worried about whether we’d have enough entries because we’ve never done this before,” said Patty Schlink, chairwoman of the cooking contest. “But I’m very pleased — a little overwhelmed and unorganized, but overall, it’s going really well.”
Schlink said she was hoping for about 30 entries and was pleasantly surprised that more than 50 people dropped off dishes Saturday at Lori’s Kitchen Store on the Washington Square, one of the sponsors for the new event.
Grade-school kids new to the kitchen as well as seasoned chefs who have been cooking for decades concocted cherry-themed recipes or added cherries to recipes they already had in an effort to please the judges’ taste buds and take home an array of prizes.
“I’m seeing a little bit of everything,” said Lori Peifer, co-owner of Lori’s Kitchen Store, as she looked at a counter full of cherry cakes, cherry cookies, cherry bread, even cherry steak and cherry chicken salad.
Shannon Riese of Washington took home the grand prize, a $150 gift certificate to Lori’s Kitchen Store, for her cherry salsa, though she admitted she decided to enter the contest only hours before the drop-off time.
“A friend of mine said I should enter because I make good regular salsa,” she said. “It was a last-minute thing. I think at 10 a.m. I decided to enter.”
After replacing tomatoes with cherries in her recipe, Riese was ready to compete, though she said she did not have high expectations.
“It tasted weird to me,” she said. “I was surprised I won.”
Lisa Dixon of Washington, who won first place in the adult category, made Cherry-O Beef Tenderloin, replacing the recipe’s white wine and pineapple with cherry wine and fresh cherries.
Each dish was judged on taste, texture, appearance and originality. Six judges — three for the adult category and three for the kids and juniors categories — tasted and critiqued all the dishes and even set aside their favorites for later.
But they did admit to getting tired of cherries.
“Have you ever gotten sick doing one of these before?” judge Angie Pacotti-Long, a pastry chef at Lori’s Kitchen Store, asked fellow judge Eric Shangraw, after they had tasted about a dozen cherry-themed dishes.
“Occasionally,” said Shangraw, host of “You Gotta Eat” on WEEK News 25, who is no newcomer to judging cooking contests.
Schlink said the Cherry Cookery Contest made the Cherry Festival complete. She borrowed ideas from the Morton Pumpkin Festival to bring the contest to fruition.
Sarah Beth Anderson, 12, of Washington won the children’s division for her Cherry-Brownie Trifle Dessert. She changed a recipe she had made before to include cherries.
“It was one of my favorite desserts,” she said. “I added cherries and put in white chocolate pudding instead of chocolate pudding.”
“I was really happy I won. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Winning Recipes
Cherry Salsa
By Shannon Riese, grand prize winner
Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh cherries
1/2 to 1 habanero (your preference)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons onion
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red crushed pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Chop cherries (stems and pits removed) in a mini chopper, but make sure you don't chop them too finely. Set cherries aside in a separate bowl. Finely chop cilantro, garlic and onion and add to cherries. Finely chop habanero and add to bowl with cherries. Finally, add the last seven ingredients and mix everything together. Let chill in the refrigerator for about four hours. Serve with tortilla chips.
Cherry-O-Tenderloin
By Lisa Dixon, first place in the adult division
Ingredients:
4 8-ounce filets or one whole loin
1 1/2 cups of fresh cherries, pitted and cut into halves
2 portobello mushroom caps, diced
1/3 cup of fresh parsley, diced
1/4 cup of green onions, diced
1 cup of cherry beer
1 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic
Directions:
Butterfly individual steaks or loin. Mix all the ingredients and 1/2 cup of cherry beer. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes. Take half of the mixture and stuff inside the meat, but be careful not to stuff too much, because you need to be able to close up the meat. After closing up the meat, sprinkle a little of the mixture and juices over the meat. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes. Grill the meat at 375 degrees. Cook as long as desired. I cook mine about 30 to 55 minutes. Cut and enjoy.
Cherry Nut Cookies
By Valerie Wetterauer, first place in the juniors division
Ingredients:
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of flower
2 cups of oatmeal
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon milk
2 cups of coconut
1 cup of dried cherries
1 cup of pecans (optional)
white chocolate (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with sugars. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Cherry-Brownie Trifle Dessert
By Sarah Beth Anderson, first place in children's division
Ingredients:
1 brownie mix for 9-by-13-inch pan
2 3.5-ounce packages of instant white chocolate pudding
3 cups of milk
1 12-ounce tub of Cool Whip
2 cans of cherry pie filling
1 chocolate candy bar
Directions:
Bake brownies according to directions. Cool completely and break into bite-size pieces. Mix pudding and milk. Let it set until thickened. Using a trifle bowl or individual serving dishes, layer ingredients in this order: brownie pieces, white chocolate pudding, cherry pie filling and cool whip. Repeat layers as desired. Top with chocolate curls from candy bar.
