Local girl wins national Spam competition
Carly Terensky showcases her nationally acclaimed “Spamashed” Potato Pierogi Casserole in her house in Cross Creek Township. After winning the competition at the Washington County Fair in August, she was recently informed by Hormel her recipe had won the national competition.
“Spamashed” Potato Pierogi Casserole
Sixth-grader Carly Terensky of Cross Creek Township recently beat out children from all over the United States to become the undisputed champion of Spam.
Her homemade, pierogi-inspired delicacy wowed the judges of the Great American Spam Championship, a national competition that seeks out unique takes on one of America’s most recognizable canned-meat products.
“When I found out I won, I couldn’t stop jumping up and down,” said Terensky, 11, who attends Avella schools. “I was really happy.”
Hormel Foods has been teaming up with the Blue Ribbon Group to hold the championship since 1990. Blue Ribbon sponsors adult and child Spam cook-offs at nearly 70 state and county fairs throughout the United States. Winning dishes advance to a national competition, where they are pitted against each other based on taste, originality and presentation.
This year, Terensky was named the National Kid Chef of the Year with her entry, a “Spamashed Potato Pierogi Casserole.” Using a pierogi lasagna recipe her mother used at home as a template, she spiced it up with a chopped and sautéed can of Spam.
Terensky said she’s a recent convert to the salty pork product.
“I didn’t really try Spam before the contest,” Terensky said. “I didn’t even know what Spam was.”
Terensky’s recipe was sent to the taste-testers at the national competition in Minnesota after she won the children’s category at the Washington County Fair in August. Experts recreated and tasted Spam-incorporated recipes such as mini-maple Spam donuts, Hawaiian Spam bread pudding and Spam meatloaf. Her recipe was chosen from among two dozen children’s entries.
Last summer, as Terensky prepared her dish for entry into the fair, she wasn’t afraid to experiment. As with many great inventions, she tasted her share of failure before finally finding success.
“First we tried to roll them up,” Terensky said. “It wasn’t working – they kept falling apart, so, I just rolled it on out into a lasagna.”
After it was chosen as the national winner, culinary experts at Hormel further tweaked the recipe before including it in their digital cookbook.
“We used a lot more butter,” said Carly’s mother, Lori Terensky. “It was good at the time, but after it sits it doesn’t look as appetizing. But the change doesn’t affect the taste at all.”
In addition to reduced butter, Hormel also substituted Country Crock potatoes, a refrigerated brand of mashed potatoes made by the company, for the homemade potatoes the family originally used.
In exchange for the right to use her recipe, Hormel awarded Carly a $2,000 prize. Although most of it is going into a savings account that will eventually pay for her college education, Terensky donated $125 to the American Heart Association through a fundraiser at her school.
As last year’s returning champion, Carly won’t be able to compete in the 2013 Washington County Fair Spam cook-off. Luckily, in addition to entering last year’s young Spam chef event, she also placed in woodworking, “microwave magic,” apple pie and “crayon creation” categories and competed in rifle, tie-dye and art competitions. The active youngster also participates in gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, 4-H and the Girl Scouts.
Terensky said she wasn’t much of a cook before deciding to enter the Spam competition, but since being crowned as the Kid Chef of the Year she has relished any opportunity to share her award-winning dish.
“I made it for Easter,” Terensky said. “It was one of the first things to go. Even my cousin tried it – and she doesn’t eat anything!”
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Carly Terensky’s famous SPAMASHED™ Potato Pierogi Casserole:
2 (24-ounce) tubs Hormel™ Country Crock® Homestyle mashed potatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 (12-ounce) can SPAM® Classic, diced and sautéed
1 small onion, diced and divided
1/3 cup melted butter, divided
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Heat potatoes according to package directions. Spoon hot potatoes into large bowl. Add cheese, sour cream, 3/4 of SPAM® Classic and onion; mix well. Spread 2 tablespoons butter into bottom of dish. Place 3 lasagna sheets in single layer over butter. Spoon 1/3 of potato mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Pour remaining butter over the potatoes. Sprinkle with reserved SPAM® Classic. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until hot. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 12.
Source: Spam Blue Ribbon website (www.spam.com/recipes/blue-ribbon-recipes)