Bacon Wrapped, Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

The State Fair is over, school has started and it's already getting cooler. I'm going to reminisce though a bit with one of my favorite foods from the State Fair this year. I won't list everything I had this year, wait, sure I will: cheese curds, pina-colada, beef tongue taco, fried eggplant taco, chocolate chip cookies, puff pastry sausage, stuffed jalapenos, foot-long corn dog, mini donuts, poutine, red velvet funnel cake, fried green beans, strawberry smoothie and onion rings! Whew. Now, don't go thinking that was all in one visit. It was two. :)

Cheese Pretzel Bites with Jalapeño Honey Mustard

Just in time for the Superbowl, here's the perfect snack. Did you know, there are a few key criteria for determining the perfect Superbowl snack?

• Handheld
• Dippable
• Contains cheese and/or bacon

It took me a long time to develop that list and I think it's pretty conclusive.  I was pretty upset though when I typed this up and it put the little squiggly line under dippable, indicating that it was spelled wrong. How in the world is that not a word, especially since it was a key criteria? Anyway, I'm going with it.

Jalapeno, Sage and Orange Roasted Turkey

Are you ready for the main course? I'm not done with my Thanksgiving series quite yet but I know that people are starting to research how they want to cook their bird this year so I thought I better get this out there.

Last year, I researched a lot about cooking turkey and I ended up merging three different recipes and methods from some of my favorite people; Alton Brown, Martha Stewart and Bobby Flay. I'm sure if they ever got in a room together they would have come up with this on their own, but I went ahead and did it for them anyway. The end result is a turkey that's brined and then cooked with an herb rub that not only flavors the meat but makes some of the best gravy I have ever had. I've made it three times now and each time it's juicy and flavorful and just different enough to be fun and give people something different to try.

Cornmeal Jalapeno Ebelskivers

When I was younger I used to get to spend some time each summer with my grandparents in Wyoming. One of the things I remember each year was when my Grandma would make these little puffed pancakes that were so amazing. I don't remember having or seeing them anywhere else so they were always a special treat from Grandma each year.

Ebelskiver's come from Denmark and are made in a pan that has 7-9 round indentations that you place the batter in and then flip halfway through cooking. What you get is a small round puffed pancake that can be sweet or savory and filled with any number of fillings. If you choose to fill them, you put about a tablespoon of batter in the pan, add your filling and then place about another tablespoon over that.