meet me at the fair!

Today is the big day! Waking early, I rolled out my beautiful dough, sliced apples carefully, measured meticulously and assembled my fifth and final (2010) pie. I surprised myself when I woke with a smile on my face and butterflies in my stomach (silly!) and then, just prior to departure, began to imagine myself dropping the pie right outside the Creative Activities building, or having to put on my breaks really hard and (in slow motion) watching my pie fall to the dirty floor of my car... or worse, getting out of the shower to find I didn't hear the timer and everything was burned to a crisp. Oh dear. I probably should have baked it last night.

The good news is we arrived safe and sound! With plenty of time to spare! I felt curious about how people would be acting in line - competitive? Minnesota nice? Both at the same time! There were all kinds, much to my delight, and everyone was excited about their baking. Some women stepped into line with boxes full of bars and drop cookies and brownies, one even needed a moment of consolation from her husband right before she got in line! Others were like me, smiling, delighted with their single creation and happily chatting with other bakers about their fair experiences. The woman behind me in line made it very clear that she had gotten a blue ribbon her first time in the fair (for muffins made out of cereal??) & told her name to people as if they should know... hehe. I loved it.

As far as the actual pie goes, I kept it pretty much the same as 4G except I did go sans boiled cider. I think it does create a really traditional pie flavor, but I liked keeping it lighter and more of a pastry than a heavy pie. Anyway, I really wish I had more time to experiment - I was changing multiple ingredients each time so it was hard to know what change I liked and what I could do without. Five pies under my belt doesn't seem like much, but this is just my first year after all.

The judging happens today but I won't know the results until I actually go to the fair (they hang the list on the door somewhere on the fairgrounds). Anyway, up above are some pictures of my morning! It really was fun.