Taste these terrific
‘On the Road’
Contest Winners
Food for Thought: What this world needs is a vegetarian mosquito.
Great local cooks brought
their best recipes to com-
petitions on our cookbook
introduction tour.
By Catherine Cassidy
Editor in Chief
Creamy Clam Chowder
❧ PREP: 15 min.
❧ COOK: 30 min.
At our Pittsburgh competition, Lori
Kimble’s satisfying chowder took top
honors. “This is perhaps the easiest
recipe for clam chowder that I have
ever made,” says Lori, from McDonald, Pennsylvania. “Served with sourdough bread, it’s especially delicious.”
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
3/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each)
condensed cream of potato soup,
undiluted
3 cans (6-1/2 ounces each) minced
clams
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 quart half-and-half cream
To launch our big new The Taste of Prize-winner Anna Jean Allen (right, with
Home Cookbook, I recently visited book- Catherine Cassidy) entered her Buttermilk
stores nationwide on a promotional trip. Lo- Cake with Caramel Icing in the contest at
cal recipe contests were part of the fun at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky. You can find the recipe below.
several of my stops.
Just as we do in Taste of Home magazine,
we invited cooks in the area to bring in their best recipes for a friendly, informal
competition. Tasting all these goodies—and personally meeting the contestants—
was a highlight of my travels! Here are the top five prize-winners. Plus, you’ll find
20 more finalists at
www.tasteofhome.com/plus. I hope you enjoy trying them as
much as I did!
In a large saucepan, saute the onion, carrots
and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the
potato soup and two cans of undrained
clams. Drain and discard juice from remaining can of clams; add clams to soup.
Combine cornstarch and a small amount
of cream until smooth; stir into soup. Add the
remaining cream. Bring to a boil; cook and
stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Yield:
9 servings (about 2 quarts).
Jean, who is one of our field editors.
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
ICING:
Buttermilk Cake
With Caramel Icing
❧ PREP: 35 min.
1/4 cup butter, cubed
❧ BAKE: 45 min. + cooling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Anna Jean Allen of West Liberty, Kentucky brought a fabulous cake to the
Lexington contest. So moist and tender,
it melts in your mouth! “It’s been a favorite cake recipe of my family since
the 1970s and goes over really well at
church potluck meals,” says Anna
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine
flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well
after each addition (batter will be thick).
Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. flut-
