My Dear N.C. State Fair,

The season of my love is finally here, although the fond memories never left. October brings you back to the Raleigh fairgrounds, where my heart and stomach can once again be filled with your guilty pleasures for eleven whole days. This year I want to make it official and declare my deep fried love to you.

Oh fair one, the mere thought of you awakens my senses. The sweet scent of your funnel cakes and roasted corn waft through my mind, igniting my appetite for you; and even when you smell like a farm animal, my love remains. Your screams echo from the rides in the sky, reminding me of the thrills you bring to town—no number of tickets could put a price on my love for you. At night you light up my eyes with your colorful fireworks display, shining down on the sea of people who travel near and far to be with you.

(Last year, one of us even had a wedding photo shoot at the fairgrounds!)

If food is the way to a person’s heart, then I must be love sick (or is that a sugar high?). Your inventive menu of fried delights fills cravings I never knew I had, arousing my taste buds and leaving me more satisfied with each bite. At every turn your tasty temptations taunt me, making me want to get my hands on your turkey legs and take a bite out of your country ham biscuits. You are the candy apple of my eye, and I could just eat you up.

Like a pig race you run through my mind, and every fall I put all my money on you. I'd spend my last dime to win you a giant stuffed gorilla at the ring toss and a Thanksgiving bird at the turkey shoot. When I'm out of money I'll stand in line to get your free hush puppies and samples of the state's best products.

N.C. State Fair, you complete me (and my daily calorie allowance). Year after year, it keeps getting better and I want to grow old and fat with you. Last year I introduced you to my closest family and friends and they’ve given us their blessings. This year I hope you will honor my love letter to you and accept me as the ambassador to your deep fried ways.

Love,

P.S. Why would we make great ambassadors? Because we have the passion, the appetite and the experience to showcase the state fair in all of its glory. It would be an honor to have this opportunity to cover the fair (and our home state of N.C.) with a sense of humor, curiosity and pride.

We know the fair is about more than food—it's a showcase of the state's culture, commerce, tradition, and spirit. GWG is ready, and more than willing, to share new and familiar experiences with those who will visit the fair for the first time as well as the regulars.

We look forward to the new memories this year's fair will bring as well as the renewed sense of love we feel with each visit.

A Top Notch Meal with Top Chefs

It's not often the GWG venture to Raleigh, but when we do, you know it's for good reason. Last night we made the trek out to Poole's Diner to have dinner with two former Top Chef contestants, Kenny Gilbert and Erika Davis, and other local food bloggers, eatRaleigh and DurhamFoodie. It was a fantastic night filled with enjoyable conversation and scrumptious food.

The two chefs and their crew had just flown in from Florida for their appearances at the Southern Ideal Home Show this weekend. We enjoyed the chance to talk to them about their experiences on the show as well as their current food endeavors.

Chef Gilbert appeared on season seven of Top Chef and is currently the executive chef at Nippers Beach Grille in Jacksonville, Florida. We were told his Mac & Cheese Mondays are legendary and we'd love to make it down to see just how much cheesy goodness these GWG can stomach in one evening.

Chef Davis was a contestant on the first season of Top Chef Just Desserts and is now working as the executive pastry chef at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Erika's tales about life behind the camera didn't spark our interest in being on a realty tv competition—let's just say it's long days with little rest.

We all met up at Poole's Diner, which if you've never been, you've probably at least heard about it as it gets a lot of attention from the food community. Formerly opened as Poole's Pie Shop back in 1945, you can still catch a glimpse of the old diner under the modernized décor. The menu changes based on what is available locally and seasonally and includes the types of dishes you might see served up on Top Chef.

Heirloom Tomatoes with Marinated White Acre Peas, Cornbread and Basil

The menu is handwritten on chalkboards which is a nice touch but can be a bit frustrating if your eyes aren't great or you are in a large group. We shared the liver paté and pimento cheese appetizers among the table and then GWG split the Heirloom Tomato Salad and a side of creamy Mac & Cheese for our main course (there actually ended up being at least four orders of Mac & Cheese at the table, if that says anything).

Mac & Cheese

To end on a sweet note we ordered a couple of desserts—the Brown Butter Pears with almond crumble and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Mousse and Ginger Anglaise. Although the menu is a bit more upscale than most places we visit, it still felt accessible and we enjoyed all of our dishes.

Brown Butter Seckle Pears with Pastry Cream, Beet Gel, Almond Crumble & Stevia

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Mousse and Ginger Anglaise

The Southern Ideal Home Show is going on this weekend at the Raleigh Fairgrounds, and the chefs will be making appearances both days. We were given an idea of the menus they will be offering up during their demonstrations, and believe us, you want to get there and try it for yourself!

Friday, September 23:

1:00 pm
Top Chefs Duo "Heat Up" Cooking Stage — Savory meets Sweet!
Presented By: Chef Erika Davis & Chef Kenny Gilbert

5:00 pm
Chef Kenny "The Beast" Gilbert — Fan Favorite Temps Your Taste Buds!
Presented by: Chef Kenny Gilbert

Saturday, September 24:

11:00 am
Top Chefs Duo "Heat Up" Cooking Stage — Savory meets Sweet!
Presented by: Chef Erika Davis & Chef Kenny Gilbert

3:00 pm
Just Desserts...Sweet Treat!
Presented By: Chef Erika Davis

Get Fit - Outdoor Ice Skating

Inspired by the recent wintery weather, the GWG decided to try ice skating as a fun and festive physical activity. We’d heard about Winterfest in Raleigh—an outdoor natural ice rink located in City Plaza—and made the trip to check it out.

The location in the middle of downtown Raleigh provides a nice backdrop and is convenient to local shops and restaurants—however, the rink is surrounded by construction on two sides. Let us also warn you, this is no Rockefeller Center—we were both surprised by the small size of the skating area.

We arrived around lunchtime and joined a small crowd of families enjoying a leisurely ride around the rink—a couple of people challenged each other to races while others were still working on their balance. Pop music playing over speakers added to the enjoyment as we circled the rink for about an hour.

Because of the small size of the rink and its patchy condition, it was a little hard to get our speed up but we did start to warm up after several laps. Using an online calorie calculator, we estimate that based on our size we each burned about 250-300 calories.

Once we’d had our fill of going around in circles, we decided to warm up and headed across the street to Starbucks. Keeping with our new healthy theme, we each selected lighter beverages—one a tall Skinny Vanilla Latte (90 calories) and the other a grande Chai Tea Latte (240 calories). It may have cancelled out our exercise, but it was a nice way to wrap up our chilly afternoon activity.

If you’d like to try out Raleigh’s own outdoor ice skating rink, this season’s schedule ends after this weekend. The cost is $8.00 per person and includes skate rental.

A Fair to Remember

For the Girls with Guts, food is more than a meal. It is woven into most of our relationships and experiences. This year, the N.C. State Fair was a great example of how food plays a large role in our lives.

The state fair has been a tradition for GWG for two years. Even before we were blogging, we were attending the fair together and trying all the fun fair foods. This year, the state fair dictated when one of us would be married and the annual fair visits were planned as pre-wedding and post-wedding festivities.

To kick off the wedding weekend, the GWG, along with 22+ others, traveled to the fair on Thursday, October 21. The group was made up of friends and family, first-time fair-goers and seasoned veterans. It even included some who flew in from California and were picked up from the airport en route.

We must admit that it was slightly difficult to accommodate such a large group (especially on canned food night) but it was fun sharing things like: the Krispy Kreme Burger, Fried Candy Bars, Ham Biscuits, Fried Mac-n-Cheese, Fried Mashed Potato Bites, Fried Pumpkin Pie, Fried Banana Pudding, Fried Cheese, Fried Fish Sandwich, Turkey Legs, Koolickles, Specialty Cupcakes, Pineapple Lemonade, and Sweet Tea.

Friday and Saturday of course included the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner (at P.F. Chang’s), and the wedding (with the reception at The Weathervane at A Southern Season) but then Sunday, it was back to the fair for the bride and groom; this time in a wedding dress and tux, with a photographer. The fair has also been a tradition throughout the bride and groom’s courtship, so it seemed natural to use such a fun event to “Celebrate What’s Great”--the start of a new life together. Oh and just so you don’t freak out…the dress was only $100!

Some of the best pictures include one in front of the Cary United Methodist Church eating the amazing ham biscuits, sharing a bite of hot fried cheese and letting the cheese string from one person to the other, eating a fried candy bar from each end, playing in the fun houses, sitting on the carousel horses, and riding on the Ferris wheel. There were lots of funny looks from other fair-goers, but it was totally worth it.

One of the best things about food is that it can make memories. This year, the NC State Fair provided great memories during a great weekend for a lot of great people.