A SPAM Championship? Yep, Enter Your Recipe at County Fair

Are you a creative cook? Show your skills at the Cuyahoga County Fair by entering one of the culinary contests.

Deadline to enter is Friday, July 27.

The contests are judged at the fairgrounds. For complete contest details, contact the Cuyahoga County Fair entry office at 440-243-0090 or visit the contest section of www.cuyfair.com.    

The cooking contests are:

• SPAM Championship: Make your favorite SPAM recipe of all time and make history! Celebrate 75 years of the SPAM brand with your entry into the Great American SPAM Championship. Focus on taste, originality and presentation and use 10 ingredients or less. Any recipe for any meal occasion is welcome.

Entrants compete for prizes (up to $150 for first place), blue ribbons and a shot at the grand prize. Two categories welcome both adults and youth. Prizes go to the top three recipes in both categories. All first-place recipes advance to national judging (conducted by Hormel Foods Test Kitchens after the 2012 fair season ends). One National Grand SPAM Champion in the adult category wins an all expense paid trip for two to the 2013 SPAM JAM Waikiki Festival (with accommodations at the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort Hotel) valued at $3,000.

In addition, one National SPAM Kid Chef of the Year wins a $2,000 cash prize.

Try this blue ribbon winning SPAM Breakfast Pizza to get your creativity cooking. Contest judged on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

• Bake Your Best Sandwich Bread for Big Prizes at the Fair: Celebrate the 250^th Birthday of the Sandwich in 2012 with your best-ever sandwich bread. The Fleischmann’s Yeast “Sensational Sandwich Bread Contest” awards $400 in prizes to home bakers, plus $2,000 in national grand prizes.

The bread “makes the sandwich” so bake your best and use any type of Fleischmann’s Yeast. Think loaves of bread, burger buns, bagels, biscuits and more. Make a sub, BLT, Reuben or even a PB&J! Flavor variety is encouraged, plus sandwich breads can be any shape or style.

Need help getting started? Bake these Angel Biscuits for a breakfast sandwich and let them help spark your own idea. Contestants have a shot at six prizes: 1st ($150), 2nd ($100) 3rd ($75), and three honorable mentions ($25 each). Sandwich breads are judged on bread flavor, bread texture, sandwich filling, appearance and creativity. Contestants of all ages are welcome. From all 1st place winning recipes, ACH Test Kitchens will pick one grand prize winning recipe from each of two regions: Northern and Central. National grand prizes will be awarded in January 2013. Contest Judged on Thursday, August 9 at 7:30p.