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The Aloha Roll took First Place at the state fair.

Forty-five finalists from across the state of Virginia came to the State Fair in Richmond this month in the hopes that their angel food cake creation would win the Virginia Egg Council-sponsored Best Angel Food Cake Dessert Contest.

Here are the three top place winners, along with a description of their dessert from the egg council:

First Place - Aloha Roll by Vince Dobyns of Hampton:  This flavorful angel cake is rolled, filled and garnished with so many wonderful Hawaiian flavors, it’s easy to see how it got it’s name AND how it won the 2009 competition. It is so colorful, it’ll easily be the focus at a dessert buffet and will totally shine, when served during the Christmas holidays.

Second Place - Berry Citrus Punch Bowl Cake by Deanna Persinger of Raphine: This fabulous trifle is so impressive – great flavor, gorgeous, and so creative – a real winner!

Third Place - Matthew's Key Lime Angel Food Cake by Matthew Kelly of Crewe: This cake is just amazing – it packs such a powerful Key lime punch it takes you instantly to the tropics. The Key lime extract is the secret and it’s not available in everyday groceries. Check for it on-line at www.faeries finest.com.or other online sources. You won’t be sorry you went to the trouble to get it.

Read on to see the recipes for these winning cakes:

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A gingerbread "Cockaigne?"

Dad called me last night to ask a food question; it's not an uncommon occurrence for either of us to ring up the other and talk food. I usually buzz him because he's a great, experienced cook, and he usually calls me because he lives in the Bath County boondocks with dial-up and can't Google the answer.

Last night's question: "What does the cooking term 'Cockaigne' mean?"

The answer wasn't in the food Bible, "Food Lover's Companion." And once I wrote it down (because you can imagine the array of unfortunate mispronunciations) and stared at it, it looked really familiar. I was sure I'd seen it within the past few days - In "Joy of Cooking," it turns out.

The word is sprinkled liberally throughout "Joy," appearing at the end of various recipe names, such as Almond Torte Cockaigne or Fruit Cake Cockaigne. So I Googled it for Dad, my cell phone crunched between my ear and shoulder. Oddly, the first hit was "A great place for winter fun." Then Wikipedia, with "a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease."

Where were the official food and cooking sources? Merriam-Webster dictionary defined "Cockaigne" as a 13th century invention, indeed a magical land of wonderment and riches. And the word itself, some believe, derives from "cake."

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News in the restaurant world:

* From Jenny Boone's Retail column this Sunday: Judge's Chambers, the healthy little downtown eatery in the former peanut shop on Jefferson Street, is expanding. Owner Waqar Malik, who was a partner in The Isaac's Mediterranean restaurant when it first opened, is apparently doing well in his new venture. Considering that I've just started a weight loss challenge, I may be heading to the Judge's Chambers for lunch more often.

* Signs spotted around town: El Rancho Viejo to go in the former Fast Freddy's location at 4th and Main in Salem. Peppers on Apperson Drive is no longer open? That sub shop has been there for a pretty long time. Looks like an Italian or International restaurant may be taking its place. More info on that to come.

* Finally, a request from a blog reader. John Garland wrote in to say that he owns the building that houses the Downtown Roanoke Sports Club. The building will be turned into a multi-purpose space that will include a grocery store, which I've said could be a boon to downtown residents and workers alike. Garland wants your input. Here's his note. Feel free to drop comments in response:

I am the owner of the Downtown Sports Club building (16 West Church) and would love to have additional input on what people would like to see in our building. The current plan is a second floor fitness center and first floor upscale grocery/convenience store, pharmacy, stalls for retail and light food service, coffee/smoothie bar and vendor carts, along with the Chiropractor that is currently there.

A few facts from the Virginia Farm Bureau to get your mind going today:

* Between 1987 and 2007, Virginia lost 797, 906 acres of farmland. Here's the breakdown, which will show you a sharp increase in loss over the years:

• 79,325 acres between 1987 and 1992;
• 68,785 acres between 1992 and 1997;
• 128,796 acres between 1997 and 2002; and
• 521,000 acres between 2002 and 2007.

Where did it all go, you might be asking? Nationally, almost 9 million acres were developed between 1997 and 2001. That's 46 percent from forestland, 20 percent from cropland and 16 percent from pastureland.

* Net farm income is forecast to be $54 billion in 2009, down $33.2 billion or 38 percent from the preliminary estimate of $87.2 billion for 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Now, lots and lots of factors besides development play a role in these figures. The average farmer in Virginia is 55 to 60 years old, and local food proponents worry that young folks are not replacing the retired farmers at a fast enough rate. There is hope, though: the local food movement. I believe that over the next 5 years or so, we will begin to see an injection of young blood into this field.

Thoughts?

Macado's wrap tastes better than it looks in this pic.

My best friend growing up, Samantha, used to order the exact same thing at almost any restaurant we visited together: a club sandwich. Of course, some restaurants didn't have a club sandwich on the menu, but you could bet money that if they did, Sam was going to order it. My editor and friend Kathy is the same way about french fries and Caesar salads. I'm pretty sure she has tried the Caesar salad and french fries at every restaurant in and around Roanoke. Those are just her go-to orders.

Over time, I have come to realize that everyone has a go-to order. My husband's is an Italian sub. It starts as a personal preference and often morphs into a quest to find the VERY BEST club sandwich, Caesar salad or Italian sub in town. I'm pretty sure that Kathy could tell me, were she not in Oregon right now, where she goes to get her favorite Caesar salad. I believe hub's favorite Italian is actually a version of the Italian at Brambleton Deli called the B.D. Special.

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Chroniclebooks.com

I absolutely adore the title of this new book by Anita Chu, "Field Guide to Candy." I can't help but picture someone with the binoculars out, spying on a marzipan pear perched on a tree branch. Or a herd of gum drops slowly making their way across an empty field. Or a school of Swedish fish flitting in clear waters.

OK, so I spent way too much time as a kid flipping through the Audubon guides to plants, trees, birds and insects. Candy is oh-so-much tastier than insects, so flipping through this field guide to candy is even more delightful. And it's out just in time, folks. Because what better time of year for accurately identifying and making candy than the holiday season?

I know I'm probably freaking out those of you who hate any mention of Christmas before Halloween. Or before Thanksgiving, for that matter. I'm usually like that myself, but I just can't help but get excited about the cooking possibilities. Just the other night I read "About fudge" in "Joy of Cooking." Getting my mind in the right place.

I want to share a recipe from "Field Guide to Candy," but since it is a little early for winter holiday ideas, how about a recipe that'll be perfect for fall: candy apples! I know my co-worker and author of the Happy Wag blog, Nona Nelson, will appreciate this one. She was just craving candy apples the other day.

Chu offers up some great tips about candy making in this book. I'm not very adept at candy making, so I may invest in a candy thermometer. But she says if you don't have a candy thermometer, you can use the old-fashioned "cold water method," which involves dropping a drop of your hot sugar syrup into a bowl of cold water. What happens next determines the stage of your candy. Read on:

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Okay, I'm cheating a little. This stew takes about 6 hours in the slow cooker, but it really only takes about 15 minutes to throw it together, I promise! I tried out this dish yesterday for dinner last night. With some Sister Schubert's dinner rolls, it made for a perfect meal on a dreary fall day.

I used a recipe from the little cookbook that came with the big Crock Pot my father gave me for Christmas last year. Technically it is called Wild Mushroom Beef Stew, but I was feeling cheap at the grocery store and bought regular white mushrooms instead of shiitakes.

I would make a few changes next time, but they are very small ones. Here's the recipe, with my edits.

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Two items of breaking news on the food scene this afternoon:

* Ukrop's grocery store in Roanoke, which has been struggling for the past few months, has announced it will close in late October. For more info, go here.

* The historic Olde Liberty Station Restaurant in Bedford was damaged by fire today. Here's a breaking news brief by reporter Rex Bowman.

Keep your browser on www.roanoke.com for updates to these stories, and look in tomorrow's paper for the full stories.

Just a quick note this morning to tell you about two great food and drink deals I recently stumbled across in my social flutterings:

1. TGIFridays has one of the best happy hours I've found in Roanoke recently. Every weekday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., all of their appetizers are half price and they have some extremely affordable drink specials. I think domestic drafts are $2, and they have mixed drink specials, too. We had some Jack Daniels chicken strips for about $5 and a three-for-all sampler for about $6.50.

2. Awful Arthur's in downtown Roanoke has a new bar menu that's available during happy hour and after kitchen hours. It offers some great deals on their appetizers - most are about $4.95. This includes a slider sampler that comes with two sliders (your choice of crab cake, burger or tuna) and a pile of fries. You can get two crab cakes, two burgers, or any combination of the three. Howard and I recently shared this appetizer and found it to be delicious and filling. Great value for the money.

If you know of any other great deals, please share them!

Lindsey Nair/The Roanoke Times

I'm still looking for your tips and suggestions for roasting the perfect chicken. Response has been limited, which makes me wonder if folks already know how to roast chicken and think this topic is too basic? Or perhaps it's just the opposite and everyone is sitting back, waiting for someone else to offer up the best recipe.

Meanwhile, one of the best things about roasting a chicken at home (or buying a roasted chicken, for that matter) is the endless possibilities for the leftovers. My husband has always claimed to love turkey Tetrazzini, but the only time I've ever seen him eat it is when it's out of a Stouffer's box. How sad is that? I decided to make him real Tetrazzini, except with chicken instead of turkey.

As you can see from the photo, it turned out looking pretty good! And boy, did it taste good! We are still working our way through that giant pan, but it's a job I can live with. I'll share the recipe below.

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