The frosting was flying this week at the N.C. State Fair's first on-the-spot cookie decorating contest for kids.

The contest, officially dubbed the Kids Kookie Dekorating Kontest, was divided into four age categories over the course of four days to accomodate varying skill levels of kids aged 4-12.

Every decorator received a ribbon for participating and got to take their giant cookie home, but there were more material prizes at stake, too.

The blue ribbon winner in each contest received $15, the red ribbon winner received $10 and the white ribbon winner received $7. The first place winner also got a cake decorating kit from Michaels arts and craft store, which sponsored the contest along with Sam's Club and Garner TV and Appliance.

Each kid was armed with a giant cookie and an ample supply of colorful frostings and sprinkles. There were no rules, just a 20-minute time limit. Liberal sampling of frosting while decorating was allowed.

One of the more talked-about new items at this year's fair is the deep fried Samoa (or Caramel deLite) Girl Scout cookie.

My assessment was that it was a little too rich and it didn't have a very distinctive taste. I won't ever be tempted to try another one.

But I don't trust myself, so I got a a random fairgoer to give a second opinion.

Stacy Somers, a western North Carolina native visiting from California, said in her first bite, she didn't taste any of the cookie. In the second bite, she tasted chocolate and "some kind of spice."

"It's not bad, but I wouldn't buy it," she said.

One of the N.C. State Fair mainstays, the Charcoal Hearth booth across from the Waterfall at Dorton Arena, will be closed today due to a death in the family.

The booth, which sells burgers, fries and ribeye steak sandwiches, is operated by the Fuller family.

In the window of the booth, the Fuller family pasted the obituary of family matriarch Martha Anne Senter Fuller of Fuquay-Varina, who died on Wednesday. Along with the obituary was a sign that said, "Loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend. She will be missed."

The Charcoal Hearth booth will back in business Saturday morning.

The 2012 N.C. State Fair starts tomorrow (gates open at 3 p.m.) and there's some new stuff you need to know, from new food and rides to changes for taking the bus.

The fair runs October 11-21.

Several of us will be posting here a lot during the fair, so check back often.

Also, the N&O has a booth at the fair near Dorton Arena and Kiddieland, and from Friday October 12 to Friday October 19, several N&O reporters will be on hand at different times to chat with you.  I'll be there Monday from noon to 2 and food writer Andrea Weigl will be there Wednesday from noon to 2. Coupon guru Amy Dunn will be there every day. But we'll also have Andy Curliss, Joe Neff, John Drescher, Andrew Carter and many others. Full schedule. Come say hello!

And be sure to follow us on Twitter at @brookecain. I'll also post from Instagram under the same name. Andrea Weigl is @andreaweigl and Amy Dunn is @AmyGDunn.

Elizabeth Caldwell of Zebulon won 7 blue ribbons in this year's N.C. State Fair cooking competitions, along with 2 red ribbons and 1 white. (See list of entries below). She was kind enough to share two of her blue ribbon recipes with us here.

The first is a pound cake recipe handed down from her mother. This year is the first time she entered the recipe. The second is a "Baby Ruth" candy recipe she entered this year for the third time. "Baby Ruth" won nothing the first year, 3rd place the second year, and 1st place this year.

Click below for recipes.

Reports that Steph's Strawberries at the N.C. State Fair might be wrapping up their last year have been greatly exaggerated. Or least not totally approved by all members of management.

Arnold Emmons, one half of the Arnold and Stephani Emmons of Person County who run Steph's Strawberries, posted a comment on this blog earlier in the week indicating the couple might be looking at their last year at the fair. The problem is, Arnold hadn't really discussed that with Stephani.

When I asked Stephani this morning about the possibility of this being their last year, she had no idea what I was talking about. I explained the blog item and she summoned her husband. Arnold grinned sheepishly and said, "I said 'maybe' didn't I?"

Stephani said they've had their stand at the fair for 28 years and plan to be back next year, selling homemande strawberry shortcakes, bloomin' onions, chocolate covered bacon, and Frito pies. Their stand is across from the Village of Yesteryear, beside the 4-H Children's Barnyard. They usually have a giant inflatable strawberry atop their stand, but their motor is busted today.

If you do stop by and get a shortcake (they are delicious), be advised that they have a little bit of a story behind them this week. Stephani said they ran out of shortcakes so she stopped by the North Point Kroger near the Eno River State Park Tuesday night to buy more flour, and was robbed at knife point leaving the store. Stephani wasn't hurt, but the stand had to close down on Wednesday so they could get all their locks changed and take care of some other business.

We have the recipes for the winners in Friday's "Live Well with Lean Beef" contest at the N.C. State Fair. All entries had to include eat least 3 oz of beef. The contest was sponsored by the N.C. Cattlemen's Beef Council.

The winning recipes were Healthy Skirt Steak over Farro Salad; Vegetable Stuffed Beef Rolls; and Cajun Stuffed Beef with Kale, Potatoes, and Apricot Sauce.

Below are the winning recipes from the Pecan Recipe at the N.C. State Fair. The contest took place on Thursday. Winning recipes were Cheesy Pecan Cranberry Crisps; Pecan, Sausage and Squash Crumble Pie; Pecan Pimento Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels, and Pecan Cranberry Casserole.

The competition was sponsored by the N.C. Pecan Association

Here are the winners in the Tar Heel Pork Challenge at the N.C. State Fair. The winning recipes were Roast Pork with Bacon Jam Glaze, a Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Grits Appetizer, a Fall Pork Casserole, Sizzlin’ Sicilian Stuffed Pork. The contest was sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council.

If you can't win a State Fair Apple Recipe Contest with something called "Caramel Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Rolls," you might need to hang it up. No problem for Mary Boury of Knightdale. She scored bigtime with the judges on that one and brought home the first place prize. Check out her recipe and other winners below.