#5 Salisbury Steak Festival - Salisbury, MO - June 13, 2009

#5 Salisbury Steak Festival - Salisbury, MO - June 13th, 2009

Who doesn't like a good ole Tractor Pull? I'll be honest I didn't know much about a tractor pull until I spoke with a one-armed man who gave me the low down. If you click on the picture you might be able to see the "White Mule" on the sled, which is a weight that automatically rises along the sled as the pull moves on. Eventually the weight slides so far up that it pushes the sled into the ground, and beats even the best John Deere, Farmall, or Massey (yes they are all tractor brands). The winner dragged the sled clear on out of the pit.

















The Salisbury Steak Supper. As you can see, the line was around the block. The plus: You get a salisbury steak, baked potato, cole slaw, iced tea, and even a roll served by the mayor himself all for just $5. The minus: It was a little better than the TV dinners I've had, but was tasty for essentially being a slice of meatloaf with mushroom gravy.















The town of Salisbury is a progressive city, as evidenced by them presenting a Little Mr. Salisbury as well. Now I've noticed that being 6-2 and brown brings a lot of looks, and people know I'm from out of town. I just don't think that Nate joining me on this festival in a matching powder blue shirt really decreased the points and stares.



Video of the Week. This is awesome. Welcome everyone to the Matt Barber Experience. I don't know why he was hired for a festival, but I would like to shake the person's hand who did. I don't know if you can make out the little light show projector he has on stage since there was nothing to project on and it was sunny. Apparently he is on an "international" tour so we were lucky to have caught him. Do yourself a favor and check out the Matt Barber Experience online.




This ended up being an extremely solid festival, and a special thanks to Joyce for suggesting it. I wasn't sure salisbury (pronounced Sauls-bury) steak would be worth a 3 hour drive, but I made a commitment and I stood by it. It was even better having some company for this festival, as Nate ventured out to this festival (although he had the KC Strip instead of the Salisbury Steak). I'm not sure what's wrong with that kid. We arrived into Salisbury just as the local members of the chamber were giving speeches. The mayor introduced his predecessor, an 81 one year old firecracker, who proceeded to delay the parade in order to sing a very emotional version of "God Bless America". I have video but thought it was inappropriate for this forum, maybe I'll post it in an outtakes post on an off week. The parade was extremely organized, no long gaps, and was completely assembled and ready to go the second the Mayor cut the ribbon. This, by the way, is quite rare when it comes to parades. The parade included a Little Mr. for the first time that I've seen, antique cars, and a very long line of antique tractors.

We quickly made our way to the fair where there were 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, horseshoe contests, and even people selling locally raised beef. We decided the tractor pull was the best bet. I learned that acceleration control is pivotal to a good pull, and apparently you can't go too fast or you will be disqualified. The better pullers also utilized some body control and adjusted their weight in order to add more torque to the rear tires for traction. All these years, and I didn't even know how hard it was to pull weight with a tractor.

Ahh the Steak. As I mentioned the steak wasn't a life changing experience, but as I'm learning the food is mostly second fiddle to the people you meet at these festivals. We talked to an older couple during supper where she explained some Salisbury history. She told us a man named Lucius Salisbury had founded the city in 1867. I asked whether the steak was named after the person because he created it, or the town because that is where it was first-made. I don't think she understood the question because she responded. "My kids asked me why they called the 5k run in the morning the stampede". She laughed and said, "Cattle, cows, stampede!". I still don't get it. According to the in-ter-net Dr. James Salisbury studied diet and nutrition and advised people to eat beef chased by cups of hot water. He came up with the original chopped beef version in the late 19th century. It became popular when US soldiers in WWI didn't want to use the Germanic rooted "hamburger" (salisbury steak is a glorified burger). So this one's up in the air. http://dictionary1.classic.reference.com/help/faq/language/e28.html

The Matt Barber experience was something else. We saw a keyboard being set up, we saw the light being set up, and we were still unprepared for the dreamy whirlwind of Matt Barber. I was expecting your standard cover band, maybe even some Southern Rock. What I was not expecting was a version of the Wedding Singer Dan Band at the Salisbury Steak Festival.

It was a great trip, and even better having some company. I also wanted to make mention that the Semco plant laid off 25 people on Friday (a significant amount in a town of 1,700), but the city of Salisbury still put on one great festival. Salisbury Steak Festival was a great time, even though I didn't get to ride a tractor. These festivals remind me of simpler times in my life, and as the ex-mayor says, "Don't forget to look up every now and then at Ol' Glory".

(EDIT: This may be the most appropriate place to showcase a crochet sad salisbury steak, it is funny and beautiful).

#4 Horseradish Festival, Collinsville, IL, June 7, 2009

Horseradish Festival - Collinsville, IL - June 7, 2009



A giant floating horseradish welcomes everyone to the festival.






















I entered the Horseradish Festival amateur recipe contest. On the right is my entry, a horseradish infused cold shrimp with a honey/horseradish sauce (The recipe is posted on the left side of the web page). The judging was intense.



I somehow managed to win 1st place, and the blue ribbon. I received a medal and even a $100 savings bond (valued at $50). I am now the reigning 2009 International Horseradish Festival Recipe Contest winner and no one can ever take that away. I guess it could be compared to winning the World Series.







Surprisingly there weren't many horseradish themed food items at the fair, but I was able to find some horseradish ice cream. I think it could have been better, but it tasted like someone dumped a jar of prepared horseradish into vanilla ice cream. For it essentially being spicy ice cream, it was more than palpable and strangely addictive








Video of the week. If "Under the Boardwalk" by the Drifters doesn't make you want to go out to a festival yourself, then I don't know what will.

The International Horseradish Festival is exactly what a food festival should be. If you're wondering why there is a horseradish festival in Collinsville, IL, apparently 80% of the horseradish consumed in the nation is grown in Collinsville, IL! At least that is what the emcee said in between band sets. (Edit: According to the in-ter-net that number is closer to 67%, but still strange and impressive).

Although the recipe contest was definitely the highlight for me (I am now 1-0 in recipe contests), there was also a horseradish root toss, root golf, root sacking, and of course Little Ms. Horseradish. I was surprised there weren't more horseradish related food items, but that didn't matter after I had my gyro (Sadly, I did put this in their suggestion box).

In fact, I might set up a booth next year and sell my now award winning horseradish shrimp. This recipe was a classic example of my ability to over-think things. I made at least 6 different versions, submitted 3 different recipes (including 1 day of), and went through a pound of shrimp in trials (not a horrible problem). There were four other entries in the recipe contest, and they shared their recipes with me including: 1) Horseradish Deviled Eggs, 2) Horseradish infused Dill Pickles, 3) Horseradish and Shrimp Gazpacho, and 4) Horseradish salad (described as all types of salad combined). Deviled eggs came in second and the dill pickles took 3rd. The application called for 10 portions for 10 judges, but there were only 3 judges so I had plenty to share with the crowd (yes there was a crowd gathered to watch). In fact all 3 judges came back for seconds after the awards ceremony, even though one told me that she didn't care for shrimp. I will try to post the blue ribbon recipe here on Wednesday, and maybe make it a weekly addition.

I also competed in the root toss and threw a horseradish root (underhanded only) 42 feet, but found out the leader was well over 60. I was also disappointed to find out that the root sacking competition (to see who can stuff more horseradish root into a burlap sack) was restricted for kids 12 and under. I also had video of an interpretive dance from Heavenly Rhythms Dance Team, but felt too creepy to post it.

I am so glad to have gone to this festival after yesterday's debacle. It's just so refreshing to have some good old-fashioned wholesome fun outdoors and away from home. It's something I really need right now, and am truly enjoying. I'm also finding that I'm doing things I've never done before at these festivals, and that may be the best part of all. Now all that's left today is to figure out whether to hang my framed medal at home or in the office.

(UPDATE: Here is the official press release in the St. Louis Post Dispatch of the winners)