In the week-long cooking contests at the fair, two women stood out as exceptional cooks. Both cook for family and friends. Recipes are tested or not, depending on time and energy. But, they always come out in the top placements.

Kara Francis won the Chicken Wing Cook-off on the first full day of the fair. From there it was full steam ahead. Her husband even commented, he didn’t see how she did it. Sometimes no one saw, as her baking took place late in the evening after the fair was over and her two young sons were in bed. From the wing contest, she went on to win the Any Dessert contest, the Pork contest, place third in the Anything Chocolate contest and fourth in the Cheese contest.

Tina Miller is a quiet person who wields an enormous talent in the kitchen. Before winning the Anything Chocolate contest, Tina placed second in the Soup contest, First place in the Poultry contest, fifth place in the Any Dessert contest, fourth place in the Raspberry contest, second in the Beef contest and fifth in the Cheese contest.

Here are Kara’s and Tina’s first place recipes. Look for these exceptional Clark County cooks next year, they’re sure to be where the ribbons are given out. NOTE: All recipes are shown here as they were written and submitted by participants at competition.

Orange Teriyaki Wings

Kara Francis

  • 1 pkg. chicken wings, trimmed into wings/drums
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • ½ cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 cup orange marmalade
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • Salt/pepper

Let chicken marinade in orange juice/teriyaki sauce mixture. Dump entire contents into pressure cooker and cook on high for 12 minutes. When pressure is released, put wings on baking sheet and broil until browned. Put juices from cooker into saucepan and boil down until thick. [Add marmalade and spices. Blend well. Serve wings with sauce.]


Bacon-Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin

  • 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 ½ pounds)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (regular can be used)
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4-6 slices good-quality bacon
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil (or other neutral high-heat oil)
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the silver skin (silvery white connective tissue from the top of the meat) with a sharp knife. Pat tenderloin dry with paper towels, and set it aside.

Combine the brown sugar, salt, paprika and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub all of the mixture into the pork tenderloin. Wrap the tenderloin with strips of bacon, securing along the sides with toothpicks.

Heat canola oil in a large cast iron skillet, or other oven-proof skillet over medium high heat until sizzling. Add the bacon-wrapped tenderloin and sear. Do not disturb it while it is searing until deep caramel brown about 6-8 minutes. Flip the tenderloin and continue searing until the other side is browned.

Mix the maple syrup and mustard in a small bowl and brush generously over the top of the meat. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until meat reads 140 degrees on probe thermometer, approximately 10 to 14 minutes.

Remove from oven and loosely tent with foil. Rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the meat to finish cooking and for the juices to redistribute into the meat. Remove toothpicks and slice into ¼-1/2 inch pieces for serving.


No Churn Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ice cream base:

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk
  • 7 oz. cream cheese room temperature
  • 2 tsp. vanilla

Blueberry Swirl:

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine berries, sugar and lemon juice in pan over medium high heat. Cook until berries burst and release juices. Use a spoon or spatula to gently smoosh some of the berries to release more juice. Allow berry mixture to simmer a few minutes, until thickened. Remove pan from heat, pour mixture into bowl and stick bowl in the fridge to chill.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Using whisk attachments, slowly add condensed milk and vanilla. Whisk till smooth.

Add heavy cream and whisk until stiff peaks form, this will take time because of the other ingredients. Keep whisking!

Spoon half of the mixture into a standard size loaf pan. Spoon half of the chilled blueberry sauce over the mixture. Cover with remaining whipped cream mixture and top with remaining berry sauce. Use a butter knife to drag/swirl blueberry mixture through the creamed mixture. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, place in freezer for about 6 hours or until ice cream is firm enough to scoop.


Lisa’s Baked Chicken

Tina Miller

  • 1 cup honey
  • Two-thirds cup Dijon mustard
  • ½--1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 6 slices bacon, partially cooked
  • 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Mix honey, mustard and lemon juice together. Reserve ½ cup of this marinade. Place chicken breast in a bowl or zip lock plastic bag. Pour remaining marinade over chicken. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours. Drain and discard marinade off of chicken.

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13-2 inch baking dish. Pour reserved marinade over meat. Top with shredded cheese and bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Chocolate Devils [This recipe comes from Ree Drummond of Food Network, copyright 2015, all rights reserved.] Tina Miller prepared it and won Anything Chocolate Contest.

For complete recipe and How To video, go to www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/reedrummond/chocolatedevils.

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