Banana Split Festival in Wilmington, Ohio - June 7th & 8th, 2013

Banana Split Festival in Wilmington, Ohio -   June 7th & 8th, 2013

We would like to thank everyone who attended the 2012 festival making it a huge success!

Mark Your Calendar - The 2013 Festival is set for
June 7th & 8th!


Join us at the nation's only Banana Split Festival in Wilmington, Ohio.  This June is our 19th year.  Enjoy free concerts, continuous entertainment, a cruise-in of classic cars, crafts and collectibles, games, rides, unique food and, of course, Banana Splits!
Address
J.W. Denver Williams Memorial Park
1326 Fife Avenue

Wilmington, Ohio 45177

Phone Number(s)
Local Number: (937) 382-1965
Toll-Free: (877) 428-4748
Hours
Friday: 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday: 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Special Hours:

Website(s)
Additional Information
Admission
FREE

Events Dates:
6/7/2013 - 6/8/2013

Parking
FREE


We will not back down from our claim! Ohio Reigns Supreme When It Comes To The Banana Split!


The original Hazard's Restaurant, pictured here in 1907 with a "Banana Split" advertisement above the counter.

It's become a major topic of debate in two neighboring states - Ohio and Pennsylvania - and it's all over food. It may sound silly, but to Wilmington, Ohio it's an issue worth fighting for, if only figuratively. food in question is the all-American banana split, and the debate itself over who first "invented" this well-know ice cream dessert.

After nearly a century of hearing how the banana split received its birth, the people of Wilmington went so far as to preserve the claim, that they created a festival in its name. Ever increasing exposure for the festival brought Latrobe, Pennsylvania's claim to surface several years ago. Their claim boasts of its creation three years prior to Wilmington's, but it's a claim Wilmington refuses to accept.

The people of Wilmington stand by their claim and even brought the family of the dessert's creator, Ernest Hazard, to the Banana Split Festival several years ago to recognize his role in influencing Americana. Hazard's grandson and daughter shared in this historical event.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN
In downtown Wilmington, there used to be a restaurant called Hazard's. The proprietor of the restaurant was Ernest Hazard.
Like most merchants in Wilmington today he wanted to find a way to attract the students of Wilmington College to come to his restaurant.

It was a very blustery winter in 1907, so business was slow and the employees didn't have a whole lot of work to do. So Hazard  decided that a good way to get some business was to create a new dish that was so unique everyone would want to try it. So he offered to furnish unlimited ingredients to the employees and have a contest to see who could come up with the most unusual dish.

Surprisingly enough, the winner of the contest was Ernest Hazard. He took a long dessert dish, arranged a peeled banana and three scoops of ice cream in it, and added a shot of chocolate syrup, a little strawberry jam, and a few bits of pineapple. On top of this, he sprinkled some ground nuts, and garnished his invention with a mountain of whipped cream and two red cherries on its peak.

After winning the contest Hazard faced another dilemma. What would he name the dish? Some help was needed with this aspect of public relations, so Hazard enlisted the opinion of his cousin, Clifton Hazard, for the job.

Hazard made the concoction for Clifton and asked him to take a taste test. He then told him that he had an idea in mind for the name, a banana split. Upon hearing that, Clifton told him that he didn't think that the name was one that would help him get any extra publicity. He didn't think that anyone would ever walk in and ask for something called a banana split.

There are those who might dispute Wilmington's claim, but nevertheless, thousands of people will flock to Wilmington to sample an old-fashioned banana split during the second weekend in June.  They'll also hear the story that has endured the years of how Hazard created the first banana split.

Festival goers will still enjoy the many food booths and craft and collectible booths promoting the 50s and 60s, a classic car cruise in, games for the entire family, and free entertainment. But the highlight for most will be the "build your own" banana split booth.


http://www.bananasplitfestival.com/default.htm

Adobo - Filipino Cuisine

Adobo is the name of a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat or seafood marinated in a sauce of vinegar and garlic, browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade.

Although it has a name taken from the Spanish, the cooking method is indigenous to the Philippines. When the Spanish conquered the Philippines in the late 16th century and early 17th century, they encountered an indigenous cooking process which involved stewing with vinegar, which they then referred to as adobo, which is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade. Dishes prepared in this manner eventually came to be known by this name, with the original term for the dish now lost to history.

While the adobo dish and cooking process in Filipino cuisine and the general description adobo in Spanish cuisine share similar characteristics, they refer to different things with different cultural roots. While the Philippine adobo dish can be considered adobo in the Spanish sense—a marinated dish—the Philippine usage is much more specific. Typically, pork or chicken, or a combination of both, is slowly cooked in vinegar, crushed garlic, bay leaf, black peppercorns, and soy sauce then often browned in the oven or pan-fried afterward to get the desirable crisped edges.

Adobo has been called the quintessential Philippine stew, served with rice both at daily meals and at feasts. It is commonly packed for Filipino mountaineers and travelers because it keeps well without refrigeration. Its relatively long shelf-life is due to one of its primary ingredients, vinegar, which inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Outside of the home-cooked dish, the essence of adobo has been developed commercially and adapted to other foods. A number of successful local Philippine snack products usually mark their items "adobo flavored." This assortment includes, but is not limited to nuts, chips, noodle soups, and corn crackers.

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Ingredients

          o 1 (3 1/2 lb) whole chickens ( one whole chicken or just legs and thighs )
          o 2 cinnamon sticks
          o 3 tablespoons peppercorns ( can adjust if desired)
          o 6 garlic cloves, crushed ( adjust to taste )
          o 2 bay leaves
          o 1 cup soy sauce
          o 1 cup distilled white vinegar or 1 cup rice vinegar or 1 cup coconut vinegar
          o 3/4 cup white sugar
          o 2 cups water

Directions

   1. Place the liquid ingredients in a pot, starting with about half the amount of sugar. Taste and adjust the seasonings, the vinegar flavor will lessen during cooking, but if it is too sweet or too tart it's easier to adjust the sugar now than trying to adjust the other flavors at the end of the cooking to your preference.
   2. Add the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves and chicken. If you don't want the seasonings in the final dish you can wrap them up in cheesecloth, but usually they're all left loose. Pack the chicken fairly tightly in the pot and if the chicken is not covered in liquid add water, often I add about 2 cups of water. The water can also help make the flavor less intense if the vinegar is too strong.
   3. Simmer on medium low for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. I often leave it until the chicken is pretty much falling off the bones. Add water if you would like to thin out the sauce during cooking. This can also be done in a slow cooker that you start in the morning and leave on low for 6 hours. The meat will fall off the bone, but that just makes it easier to get at it all!
   4. Serve over rice with the sauce. One other addition, though not traditional is red pepper flakes (about 1 tsp) to the seasonings.