Buncombe County residents continue to shine at the 2022 N.C. Mountain State Fair cooking competitions. Susie Zuerner placed first in the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Beef Council’s Classic Comfort Food competition. Liam Robertson took first place in the North Carolina Egg Association’s Coffee Cake recipe contest.
The Classic Comfort Food competition encouraged competitors to take comfort in all their favorite classic beef dishes, such as meatloaf, stroganoff and meatballs. Each recipe had to contain at least 3 ounces of beef and were judged on taste, creativity and appearance.
Zuerner took first place and earned $200 for her Denver Ragu. Sharon Gates placed second and earned $150 for her Smokin’ Good Cheeseburgers. Martin Gates placed third and earned $100 for his Beefy Stuffed Peppers. Honorable Mention went to Connie Pegg for her Meatloaf Mashed Potato Pie. All winners are Buncombe County residents.
The Coffee Cake Recipe Contest encouraged participants to show how eggs can make a coffee cake “egg-strordinary.” All recipes had to contain at least three eggs and were judged on creativity, taste, ease of preparation and appearance. Robertson placed first and earned $200 for his Blueberry Tart Coffee Cake. Zuerner placed second and earned $150 for her Peach Coffee Cake. Connie Pegg placed third and earned $100 for her Sweet Potato Bacon Maple Crumb Coffee Cake. All winners are from Buncombe County.
Following are the winning beef and egg recipes:
Blueberry Tart Coffee Cake
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup melted butter (salted)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Cake Mix
- ¼ cup melted butter (salted)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 NC eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 NC egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Icing:
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch pan with parchment paper and coat with a non-stick spray.
Crumb topping: In a bowl, combine melted butter, flour, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
Cake mix: In a different bowl, whisk together butter, oil and sugar. Then add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and zest. Mix together. Then add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until mixed. Stir in blueberries, without breaking, and set aside.
Filling: In a different bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and lemon zest until fluffy.
Assemble: Spread half of cake batter into bottom of prepared pan. Spread filling in the center. Top with remaining cake batter and spread evenly. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly. Bake for 70 minutes.
Icing: Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Let cake cool to room temperature and drizzle glaze over top.
Garnish: (optional) Add fresh blueberries or lemon for garnish.
Denver Ragu
- 1.5 pounds Denver cut steak
- 2 small sweet onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pint sliced baby Bella mushrooms
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 small bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- 1 cup beef broth or stock
- 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 12-ounce can roasted garlic diced tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 8 ounces Fettuccini pasta
- Parsley to garnish
In a large saucepan (10-inches or more), drizzle the bottom of the pan with olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Pat dry Denver cut steaks with paper towel and season them with salt and pepper. Once oil begins to lightly smoke place steaks in pan and sear all four sides. While meat is searing, coarsely chop onions and mince garlic. Remove meat from pan. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and caramelize. Return steaks to onion mixture and pour red wine over all to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, bay leaves and thyme. Add beef broth and stir. Cover and simmer three hours, basting occasionally. About 15 minutes before serving cook pasta and drain. Add parsley then salt and pepper to pasta, drizzle with olive oil. Place pasta in a serving bowl and place steaks on top of pasta. Remove bay leaves from sauce. Spoon over sauce from skillet and serve.
