FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, OCT. 23, 2008

Raleigh resident awarded first place
in N.C. Pecan Association recipe contest at State Fair

RALEIGH – Felice Bogus of Raleigh earned first place Wednesday at the annual N.C. Pecan Association recipe contest at the N.C. State Fair. She was awarded $100 and a blue ribbon for her Wild Rice Strudel Forestierre recipe. 

Jackie Wilder of Raleigh won second place and $75 for her Oatmeal Pecan Coffee Cake and Lisa Raschke of Raleigh took home $50 and third place for her Savory Pecan Cheesecakes.  The winning recipe follows:

Wild Rice Strudel Forestierre

• 2 2/3 cups chicken broth
• ¾ ounce dried porcini mushrooms    
• 1 1/3 cup wild rice blend
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• ½ teaspoon, dried thyme
• 2 cups sliced assorted wild mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, shiitake, etc.)
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
• 16 sheets phyllo dough
• ¼ pound unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup toasted pecans, very finely chopped
  

Bring broth to a boil.  Remove from heat and add porcinis. Cover and let stand until soft, about 10 minutes.  Drain, reserving broth.  Chop porcinis and set aside.  Return broth to a boil and add wild rice. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let rest covered for 10 minutes.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, shallot, garlic, thyme and reserved porcinis.  Saute until onion and shallots begin to soften, about four minutes.  Add wild mushrooms and saute until tender, about five minutes.  Add balsamic vinegar and cook until almost evaporated.  Mix together rice, mushroom mixture and 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let cool completely.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place two sheets of phyllo on work surface and brush top sheet with melted butter.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans.  Place two more sheets on top and brush top sheet with butter.  Spoon ¼ cup of cooled filling on dough, leaving a one to two inch border all around.  Fold short ends of dough over filling.  Fold one long end about one inch over filling and gently roll into log.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling.  Place strudels seam-side down on baking sheet and cut several vents in top.   Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool on pan.  Serve warm with optional Roasted Red Pepper Coulis.

Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, optional

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken broth

For Roasted Red Pepper Coulis:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute onion until tender, about two minutes.  Add roasted peppers and cook to heart through, about four minutes.  Deglaze with wine and reduce until almost evaporated.  Add broth and simmer to reduce by half.  Puree in blender until very smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature.

-mbr, 1-

Oatmeal Pecan Coffee Cake
Second Place: Jackie Wilder of Raleigh

 Cake

• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 ¼ cups boiling water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ½ cups biscuit mix
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Mix oatmeal and water, let cool.  Cream eggs, sugar and oil; add vanilla.  Add cooled oatmeal to egg mixture and mix well.  Add Biscuit mix and chopped pecans to oatmeal/egg mixture.  Do not over mix.  Pour into a greased 9 X 13 cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Topping

• ½ cup melted butter
• 1-cup sugar
• 1-cup pecans
• 1 egg
• 1-cup coconut
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Mix topping ingredients together.  Pour over cooked cake and broil until brown, about 2-3 minutes.

Savory Pecan Cheesecakes
Third Place: Lisa Raschke, Raleigh

Crust:

• ¼ cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 cup North Carolina pecans
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4-teaspoon salt
• 1/4-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Topping:

• ½ cup North Carolina Pecans
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4-teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 5 ounces soft goat cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus additional chives for garnish
• 1 teaspoon finely diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease 12 mini muffin tin molds. 

For the crust:
In a medium bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, ground North Carolina pecans, butter, sugar, 1/4-teaspoon salt, and 1/4-teaspoon pepper and stir until thoroughly combined. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of the pecan mixture into each mold and press down into the bottom of the molds.  Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, until they are just golden brown and you can smell the pecans.

For the topping:
In a bowl whisk together honey, melted butter, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir in pecans and toss to coat well. Spread nuts on a cookie sheet and roast in middle of oven 10 minutes.

For the filling:
Beat the cream cheese and goat cheese until fluffy. Add the egg, chives, red pepper, and the remaining 1/4-teaspoon salt and 1/4-teaspoon pepper. Divide the mixture between the molds and smooth the tops. Bake until puffed, about 15 minutes. Let the cheesecakes cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold. Garnish with spiced pecans and chives.

Serves 6-8

Serve and enjoy!

Carolina Clay Cake
Honorable Mention: Madison Owen of Raleigh

North Carolina’s version of the Mississippi Mud Cake.  This cake was inspired by sweet potato casseroles; sweet potato cake laced with pecan pralines and a marshmallow topping.

Cake

• 1 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1-cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 30 oz. canned sweet potatoes, drained
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cloves

Praline

• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup toasted chopped pecans

Topping

• 1 bag of miniature marshmallows
• ½ cup toasted chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan.  Combine praline ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Cook five minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Pour hot mixture into bottom of pan, set aside.  Beat sugar and oil until combined.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add sweet potatoes and vanilla.  In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  Add to wet mixture slowly.  Beat just until incorporated.  Pour on top of pecan mixture in pan.  Bake for 45 minutes (or until the top of the cake springs back).  Turn oven on broil and take cake out of oven.  Place marshmallows on top of hot cake and broil until browned.  Sprinkle pecans over marshmallows.  Cool for 30 minutes and then slice.