State Fair Fun

Here’s a little-known fact: Early corn-dog purveyor Ed Waldmire, Jr., wanted to call his corn-dog stand “The Crusty Cur”….his wife convinced him to change the name to “Cozy Pup.”  Like most other American fried-food-on-a-stick, batter-fried weiner wands have state fair connections. Vaudeville actors Carl and Neil Fletcher abandoned their Dallas song-and-dance act tent show in 1938 when the Texas State Fair offered them the chance to operate a food booth. The two had read about a man in the Oaklawn neighborhood of Dallas who was baking corn-battered hotdogs in molds, and the idea intrigued them, so the brothers set out to improve on the product. They perfected their batter-dipped and fried corn dog in time for the 1942 Texas State Fair. Continue Reading…

This is the corn relish recipe that has won self-professed “ribbon slut” Barb Schaller eight blue ribbons at the Minnesota State Fair. (Those, and a mock marriage proposal from Garrison Keillor.) Crunchy, colorful and easy to make (well…mostly easy–cutting all of the corn off the cobs takes a little practice), the relish cooks up in 30 minutes flat. Follow Ball canning instructions to can, or, store finished relish in refrigerator.

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