State Fair Fun Times!

innesota's State Fair marks the end of summer, and given how miserably hot and humid this season's been, I couldn't be more ready for a break. Thankfully, we lucked out with a gorgeous 74 degree, partly cloudy day.



There's too much to see and eat in one trip to the state fair, so we made a list ahead of time for what we wanted to be sure to experience. Food wise, our strategy was to nab one order of each item to share between the five of us. This allowed each of us to taste everything without consuming 3,500 calories and 60 grams of fat in one day.

We started our adventure with a quest to find deep fried pickles, the big hit from last year's Great Minnesota Get Together. Having missed them during an earlier visit to the fair, they were our first stop this time. Here we see a sampler, including original, cajun, and cream-cheese stuffed. Delish!



Next up, Jer wanted to try a Scotch Egg. This delicacy is a boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, deep fried and served on a stick. While the rest of us were initially skeptical, it turns out this was quite the treat, and we all agreed that breakfast could take notes from the Scots.



Following a stop for root beer, we continued the hunt for my idea of novelty, sausage-and-cheese-stuffed jalapenos. A new item this year, these jalapenos were stuffed with white cheddar and sausage, wrapped in bacon, baked, and served on a stick with ranch dressing. We all agreed that these would have been better battered and deep fried.



When Jamie, Ben, Clara, and I were at the fair previously (with Kara, of course!), we discovered deep-fried cheeseburger sliders from Axel's. These were a surprising win, and though we didn't go back this time, they were truly a delicious dig.



Jer got it in his mind early that he wanted a Nut Roll, and wow, what a mouthful it was! The nuts and caramel were indeed tasty, but the filling had us all on nougat overload.



On our way out, we shared the ultimate state fair food, deep fried cheese curds. They're rich, crispy, gooey, and salty. One order would have been plenty for the five of us, but Ben talked me into a second order. Needless to say, not a curd went to waste, though I'm sure they all went to *waist*.



Kara's face says it all as Ben gets her ready for a ride in her Snugli. We had a great time taking in all the gastronomic delights detailed above, as well as the visual delights - the state's largest boar, pygmy goats, enormous horses, rat tails, neck tattoos, and grown out bleach jobs.



Can't wait to do it again next year!