That is awesome!

You were so smart to cook two of each - very impressive.

Pics please?

Anita

Woo hoo!!! Major congratulations!

Now then, do you have a place in your kitchen to frame & display those ribbons? (Maybe along with the checks or cash that you won?) :D

Yay, yay, YAY! Congratulations. The best thing in all is learning to get the crust right. A 'prize' you'll appreciate for a long time.

Congrats!!!

I too went through similar torture. I won Ametuer Chef of the Year (from the Today show) in Washington many decades ago for my cheesecake recipe (Pumpkin). It was widely written about and my fifteen mins of fame actually lasted almost a month (since it was fall and the holidays were coming on) with media calls for the recipe. It was a hoot...but then I moved to Alaska and my friends here said "Ametuer chef Smateur chef" you're nothing if you don't win a blue ribbon in the state fair.

I entered two cakes and took a blue ribbon and a red one and I also received the huge sum of some $11.00 for the prizes. I called and they said I didn't have to come out, they'd mail me my prize. They sent the check....but not my ribbons LOL I wanted the stupid ribbons not the eleven bucks heh heh

I framed the check :o) I may even hang it in the kitchen LOL

It's a hoot to bake for the fair...but did you visit a week after it's sat out on display? Yucky!!!

Hey, congrats Ichick on your win! Gosh, I hope I get the ribbons. They wanted to know if I wanted the pies back after the fair. Are you kidding? They are sitting there for 14 days! Major yuck! They "donate" them to charity afterwards. By that time, they are growing fur. I would hate to be the charity!

Sorry, no pictures. I never thought I would win anything so I didn't take any. We are going to the fair on Sat or Sun so I may take some pictures then.

I saw a kitchen in a glossy magazine where the owner had framed and hung all of the ribbons he had won on one wall. Looked great! I think y'all are on to a new decorating trend here! Congrats for a job well done. (Pie crusts can be made from scratch? I thought only Pillsbury made pie crusts? LOL)

OK, I can't be the only person with traumatic childhood memories of the anticipation of having delicious homemade pie and then the devastating realization that it was mincemeat or raisin - ewww. Thank goodness my therapist could squeeze me in as this has opened the floodgates, Christmas pudding? It didn't look or taste like any pudding I had ever seen. Kidding aside congratulation I find pie crust to be very trying and my only success has been using lard rather than shortening or butter (is that gross?) I salute you. Don't spend all the money in one place, spread the wealth around.

Congratulations!!!
Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

My friends have always told me that I should enter some cooking contest; my view is that any cooking compared to theirs would be better (hheehehehe), but my cooking is not neccessarily great...
we'll see...maybe someday I'll take the plunge and enter a contest... you never know...

Congratulations! That's so great.

But $1??? How can anyone give $1 for a prize? Why even bother? Now the ribbon, THAT'S priceless! I suggest you get yourself a couple of shadow boxes and frame your $1 and $7 prizes along with the ribbons and proudly display them in your new kitchen!

I think you two should post your prize winning recipes for us.

And I think ribbons are awesome!

Good for both of you!!! mustbnuts, you were up against some pretty big obstacles too - no recipe, new oven, never made a crust. Congratulations!

Wow! That's awesome. We have famous bakers on the list! Congrats to both of you.

Yay!!! Congratulations!!!

Only one question: "Raisin Wives Contest"? Is that a typo? Or is that really the name, and if so can I insert a snarky comment here?

how could you post this without telling us your pie recipe??? Ichic-- i want the pumpkin cheesecake recipe also!!!

LC

You know nuts...it must be the raisins that kick the pie/cake over the top. The pumpkin won the lower prize for me at the fair, and the rum raisin took top honors. Perhaps because they were drunk raisins :)

Anyhoo, here's my recipe (the rum raisin one isn't on my computer and will have to wait until we unpack):

Ok here's the recipe: (Truffles was the name of my business when I made cheesecakes full time)

Truffles Pumpkin Cheesecake

Soften your cream cheese and prepare a 10 inch springform pan by coating it lightly with butter. Set aside and begin mixing the cheesecake. It is essential that you soften the cream cheese or youll have a very lumpy cheesecake.

Nut Crust

1 ¼ cup Walnuts, finely chopped
¼ cup Dried Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
2 Tbsp. Butter, Melted
Sprinkle Nutmeg
Sprinkle Cinnamon

In a small bowl, mix walnuts, bread crumbs, sugar, and a dash of both spices; drizzle with butter and mix until ingredients are moistened. Press into the bottom of your prepared 10 inch springform pan.

Preheat oven to 350o while you mix the batter. If you live in a dry climate, insert a baking pan into your oven at this point on the bottom shelf, filled with approximately one inch of water. This will help keep the cake from cracking as it bakes. Keep the pan full and remember to leave the oven closed during the baking process as much as possible.

Cheesecake

4 8-oz Packages Cream Cheese, softened
¾ cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
5 Eggs
2 cups Pumpkin, (16oz can or freshly cooked)
2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp. Brandy flavoring
¼ cup Flour

In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugars and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. In a small bowl, mix pumpkin, flour, spice and brandy flavoring until well blended. Add to cream cheese mixture. When well blended, pour over crust and bake in your preheated oven (350o) for one hour and twenty minutes, (1 hour, 20 minutes) or until center appears set. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes, then move to refrigerator to complete cooling. Best if left overnight for the flavors to blend and cake to chill completely.

To serve, remove the sides of springform by running a sharp knife around the edge of the pan. Carefully slide cake from base to your serving platter (The cake is sticky, so be sure to loosen it from the base with a thin spatula or cake tool before attempting to slide it off. You may wish to cook the cake on parchment paper, this leaves you the option of just sliding the paper onto your serving platter and cutting from there). (In this case, you do not butter the base of the pan, just the sides, slip in a rounded circle of parchment paper and press the crust on top of the paper).

We served this cake at the restaurant with freshly whipped cream, sweetened with sugar and vanilla to taste. For a gourmet treat, add a bit of dark rum to the whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. This compliments the cake perfectly!

Enjoy!!!

mustbnuts - Congratulations, I think a good pie crust is one of the simplest and yet trickiest things to make.
igloochic - A pumpkin cheesecake was the first restaurant dessert special I ever made. Your recipe looks great, I'm going to have to try it out.

Congrats Mustbnuts you raisin wife you!! lets see the recipes!
Igloo congrats to you too but I think I said that eons ago. Haven't tried it yet, not baking any goodies a my house you know. But I have safely archived it.

Congratulations! It is no easy feat winning those ribbons:) But what's up with the $1 prize?! I'd rather get a $1 Lotto ticket instead of the loonie:)

I used to think that everyone, umm, bought frozen pastry shells. My DB's mother is bringing pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner at our house and she was bemused at how shocked I was to learn that she made the pastry herself.

Having now admitted to my complete lack in baking skills, I've cut and pasted Igloochic's pumpkin cheesecake recipe for inspiration. I LOVE pumpkin pie and I love cheesecake but I've never eaten the two together:)

Clax, pumpking cheesecake is one of my absolute favs. You will definately have to try it. It is delicious! IChick, I will be cutting and pasting and trying your award winning recipe.

Raisin wives! Yup. That is what was posted. I live in the raisin capital of the universe. When I first moved here, they said they grew raisins. I said, grapes. They said, no raisins. I gave up after that. We supply about 1/3 of all the food for the US, within the borders of our county. BIG ag area. Lots of stone fruit, melons, nuts, grapes, raisins and wine! Not to mention turkeys, chickens, eggs, beef and milk.

Recipes--BTW, although I submitted this pie crust recipe and this is the one I made (it is easy), I have moved on and have another favorite one that is far better than this one.

Makes three pie crusts

1 ½ Cups Crisco (regular, not butter flavored)
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Egg
5 Tablespoons cold water
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 Teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about three or four minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add up to five tablespoons ice cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form three even sized balls of dough and place each into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. If needed immediately, put in freezer for 1520 minutes to chill.

When ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from freezer and thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way to the end. Sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough if it gets sticky. If the dough is sticking to the counter top, use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it is about ½ inch larger than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter onto the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge. Pie crust is ready to bake or fill.

Coconut Oatmeal Pie

Heat oven to 350 degrees

2 Eggs
1 Cup sugar
¾ Cup oats
¾ Cup corn syrup
¾ Cup plus 1 tablespoon melted butter
1 Cup coconut
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Pinch salt
1 9" unbaked pie shell
Chocolate (optional)

Beat eggs and sugar until thick (3 minutes). Add salt, syrup, butter and vanilla. Stir in coconut, oatmeal. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. If desired, drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the pie. Best served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Auntie Floras Raisin Pie (This truly was my Aunt Flora's recipe)

Heat oven to 425 degrees

2 Cups raisins (I like to use the flame seedless raisins)
2 Cups water
½ Cup white or brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
½ Cup finely chopped nuts
2 Teaspoons grated lemon peel (Meyer lemons are great)
34 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Cup pineapple pieces (cut to small bite size)
Sugar and cinnamon sprinkle (if desired)

Heat raisins in water to boiling and cook five minutes. Stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir into raisin mixture.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat.

Stir in nuts, pineapple, lemon peel and juice. Pour hot filling into pastry lined pie pan. Cover with top crust. Make slits in the top crust (or can do a lattice crust). Seal and flute. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture if desired. Place on cookie sheet to catch any spills!

Cover edge with 23 inches of foil. Remove foil last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 3040 minutes at 425 degrees until brown and juice begins to bubble. Best served warm.

Hopefully, the board police won't remove this! Enjoy!