The Great State.... Fair of Texas, that is!

   Every year right after my birthday my favorite thing happens in Texas. And given it is Texas it of course is done BIG, well, and goes on for 3 weeks. Yes that's right boys and girls I am talking about the wonderful, the fabulous, and infamous State Fair of Texas. 
    A small little back history about this amazing event (yes I am an avid fan... who gets super excited every year about going). The State Fair of Texas actually started in 1886... and lasts 24 days. And when I say its big unless you have been there you have no idea... just a little clue though, its the biggest in the United States. I can attest to this fact at least to some extent because one year I went to the Big E, the East Coasts "State" Fair. Compared to ours those 6 states have nothing on us! It also has the largest ferris wheel in the U.S. Then there is Big Tex... the 52 foot Cowboy that greets fair goers every year since the 1950's. He's probably Dallas' most photographed resident.His genial smile and "Howdy ya'll" just brings a smile to your face and warms your heart. Everyone goes to the fair from Elvis Presley, to Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill, Presidents, Football fans, Texans from near and far. 

Big Tex!

   So why is a self-proclaimed foodie writing in her food blog about the State Fair?  Two words... Fried Everything. Fletcher's Corny Dogs. All through the year I dream about those corny dogs. Hand dipped deliciousness. Fletcher's claims they introduced and popularized them in the late 1930's at the State Fair of Texas though that is up for debate. One little fact I learned today for those of you who have their birthday during those blessed fair weeks.... If you go to the Fletcher's stand on your birthday you get a FREE corny dog!!! Needless to say... I'm a little heartbroken that my birthday is the week before the fair. Regardless, that is the first place I make a beeline for. 

Just look for this!

    The simple pleasure of the fried cornmeal battered, hand-dipped hot dog is a heavenly combination on a slim stick wrapped in white paper. Once you get that little piece of fried deliciousness walk over to the ketchup and mustard stand and figure out which way you wanna go. All mustard? All ketchup? Combination? On the dog itself or on the paper for dipping. Me? The way I go every year is one line of ketchup down the dog followed by one line of mustard... looking for that perfect mix of both... then kinda smearing it together. Very ladylike I'm sure haha but it's the fair! My mom... she likes to put mustard in the paper and dip. Whatever your preference go for it. But don't miss the corny dogs!
   

yes that's me! I was more interested in eating the corny dog to take a picture!

   Every year the fair has a fried food contest in the months before the fair... there are articles about the winners... there are maps to where to get the standout items... It is a big to-do. This year The fried bacon cinnamon roll won most creative... best taste was deep friend jambalaya. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try either of these this year... I have in the past tried winners and standouts such as the deep fried grilled cheese, fried oreos, and fried cookie dough. I'm serious when I say its a friend food extavaganza. Fried beer, alligator, red velvet cupcakes, and this year even samoas. There is one other thing I can't leave the fair without... Funnel Cake. Ok I pretty much can't leave anywhere that has funnel cakes without one. I'm simple when it comes to my cakes. Just give me the powdered sugar and a lot of napkins... though in the end I still end up with powdered sugar all over me, my face, and shirt. Kind of a funny sight I'm sure. If you wanna get all fancy you can add strawberries, peaches, or chocolate even. They seem less portable to me that way, but if you go into The Docks to get them like I do every year you can sit in the nice cool a/c. 

Mom she let me snap a pic before we killed it

   If you come to Texas the last weekend of September til the middle of October... go to the Fair. Not only is it a fried food haven, there's exhibits, a butter sculpture, a petting zoo, cars and even pig races. Its insane. Its big. Its fun! And they have the best corny dogs anywhere!
 

Wednesday Night Experiment

 Wednesday Night Experiment

  It all started with my friend Danielle asking for Chicken n' Dumplins a couple of weeks ago, repeatedly.... What started, you ask? Wednesday night dinners. A new tradition began. Well ok to be fair I attempted to start a weekly dinner months ago but now its at least 2 weeks in the making. So instead of writing about a nice lil restaurant serving delicious food... or terrible... I'm gonna talk about my wonderful filling dinner I cooked this evening. 

    The Menu:

         - Sauteed Squash & Zucchini

         - Spinach Dip (made by Miss Danielle)  and chips

         - Stuffed Chicken Breast aka Kaytucky Chicken

    I was stumped as to what to make for dinner... so what did I do? What any woman nowadays does... Pinterest.com. Lo and Behold, I found this recipe for Kaytucky Chicken from this blog Kayotic Kitchen. I'm not going to list the recipe word for word but I'll give you an overview and pictures :) and if you want to try it just follow this lovely persons link. 

     I started by frying up some bacon, about 3 pieces. Sidenote: since I don't like bacon I don't cook it often... lets just say.. the fire alarm might have gone off. Oops! I chopped up some parsley, I couldn't find the flat leaf like they suggested so I used regular and some chives (or spring onions). Then I put the firm cream cheese in a bowl with with the chives, parsley, and broken up pieces of bacon. After a couple of failed attempts at trying to just mix this together with a fork and spoon... I went for the blender. That worked but was a lil messy so be careful! Once I got my mixed all creamified I got the chicken breasts out washed them off and cut deep slits in the fattest part of them. Do this carefully or you will cut all the way through them.. however if you do make that mistake (like me). Oh! I also added some Tony Chachere's seasoning and some pepper to the cream cheese mix. This is my stuffed product. 

   If you'll notice I had some extra mix (parsley, bacon, and green onions) and put that on top of the mix just for a little extra. In the meantime I had gotten out my frozen puff pastry sheets so they could start thawing out. Now I laid 'em out and flattened them as best I could. I actually ended up connecting the 2 large sheets into one big sheet. After doing this and while my oven was preheating to 400 degrees I took the each chicken breast one by one and placed them on the dough. I took each one and laid it with the cut cream cheese side down, then cut the square around it large enough for the dough to cover the entire chicken breast, the seasoned each one with cracked pepper and salt. I took a beaten egg and brushed the edges of the pastry before folding it over, then also brushed the top afterward to make sure there was an extra glow after it was done cooking. While my finished wrapped product isn't beautiful... it was wrapped. In the picture you'll also see that I had sliced up my zucchini and squash. 

   After pulling the Spinach dip out of the oven I popped these bad boys in for about 30 minutes... They were pretty much done by the time the puff pastry was nice and golden. I would recommend putting them in a greased pan because they were rather difficult to get off of my cookie sheet. While the chicken was cooking I got out a big sautee pan, some butter, and more Tony Chachere's (I LOVE the stuff) and sauteed up my vegetables. Another sidenote: start the zucchini first then add the squash because it cooks a lot faster. Standing in the kitchen waiting the last few minutes for the chicken we started in on the dip... and it was fantastic. Then it was time for the main course! And man did it look fantastic... here's the set up :) 

   Let me just tell you the finished product did not disappoint. Next time I might try it with other greens inside... maybe spinach. After eating, lets just say... the chickens weren't the only things that were stuffed... hahaha. Ok Ok sorry had to go there! If you wanna give it a try and look a fancy for someone its really easy to do... I'd say I did it in about an hour maybe a little more due to distractions. First Pinterest recipe a success! 

   Stay tuned... more Wednesday night dinners will follow... and some friends and I ate at a new spot this past weekend and it rocked our faces off... so I'll definitely be going back and writing a little piece about that.