the great pumpkin

this weekend, i saw the largest pumpkin pie i thought possible.i also ate pumpkin chili and a pumpkin cream elephant ear. i sampled a pumpkintini.

where, you may ask, did i find such a prodigious pumpkin panorama? no where else but the circleville 102nd annual pumpkin show. it is the sixth largest festival in the united states with an annual attendance in four days and nights of over 300,000. also known as "the greatest free show on earth", the pumpkin show features music, crafts, hog calling, the miss pumpkin competition, and food. lots and lots of food. the pumpkin chili and elephant ear were just a small sampling of the myriad of culinary creations offered by the vendors. the chili was flavored sort of like cincinnati chili, but chunkier with meat and beans. it smelled more like pumpkin than it tasted, but did have that cinnamony, spicy fall flavor. the elephant ear was of course delicious. you can never go wrong with fried dough, whipped cream, and sweet pumpkin topping. the pumpkintini (from tootles bar) was absolutely disgusting. it was a mix of vanilla stoli and some unidentified pumpkin liquor. it was the color of mcdonald's orange drink. it was left on the bar because i could not force myself to drink it.

and that large pumpkin pie? small by comparison to the 100th anniversary pie, which was 14 feet across and contained 795 pounds of pumpkin.

i was entirely impressed by the festival and the involvement of the town. other food highlights included cheese on a stick (exactly what it sounds like. deep fried.), birch beer (like root beer and cream soda had a love child), and glorious fried oreos and snickers bars (the origin of obesity in america).

i was inspired by the festival to make some pumpkin donuts. brian was inspired to invent a corndog that also has a layer of cheese. neither venture has yet been accomplished.

yes, the above picture is a manhole cover.