Kitchen duty pays off for county teen
RENFREW — Carri Pakozdi, who has garnered a share of recognition for baking at past Butler Farm Shows, spends some serious time in the kitchen year round.
The soon-to-be high school junior loves to decorate cakes. She pumps out dozens of cookies for school events. And she doesn't mind taking a rotation in preparing her family's dinner.
But when it comes to licking the spatula at the end of the process, look out.
“Those are mine,” she said with a laugh. “And the leftovers in the icing bag gets put on crackers, or I'll eat it right out of the bag.”
Carri doesn't deny she loves sugary items, and she plans to again enter a number of categories at this year's Farm Show, which begins Aug. 4.
She'll probably make chocolate chip cookies, maybe enter some of the specialty baking contests and go head-to-head with her 14-year-old brother Chad in the sugar cookie category.
“For family bragging rights,” Carri said. “My family can be pretty intense.”
Carri said she was inspired to cook by her mother, Donna. There are family photographs of the two making pizza dough together when Carri was only a toddler. Now, Donna, Carri and father Bob take turns making dinner.
“She (Donna) has a full-time job, and by the time she gets home, it's time to eat,” Carri explained of the kitchen sharing, noting that each of the cooks has different skills.
Carri said she got involved with farm show competitions first with 4-H. She's previously entered the safety poster contest and different vegetable competitions. But for the past few years, her entries have been mainly baking and arts and crafts.In addition to baking this year, Carri plans to enter a box she made in wood shop, a carving she made for English class, scarves, photographs and a wall hanging she made of 1,500 yo-yos.The craftwork is mainly done in advance, but the cooking will wait until the show. She'll crack open all fresh ingredients to cook her entries.Some of her recipes are adaptations she got from Internet. Some are passed down from her grandma.Last year she won the PA Preferred Chocolate Cake Contest at the county level with a cake she decorated as a horse. She then got to compete again at the state farm show in Harrisburg in January with a cake decorated for cancer awareness.“Some of those cakes were beautiful, and I was just proud to be there,” she said.Cancer awareness and research has a special place in Carri's heart. Her maternal grandfather, Ray Wetsell, died of pancreatic cancer about a year and a half ago.Now, Carri is planning a career in cancer research.“I'm taking a lot of science classes in school,” she said.She's also involved in Girl Scouts and Butler Relay for Life, cross country, and track and field as well as academic games and competitions.A winning apple pieCody Wood, 14, of Saxonburg says his prize-winning apple pie is Grandma Joyce Martin's recipe.“The apples in the pie are really sweet, but sour at the same time,” says Wood, who will be a freshman at Mars High School. “We do an oatmeal crumble on top of it.”The apple pie is a two-time winner, and Cody plans to bring it back for another round.“Apple is my favorite,” Cody said. “I like it plain.”
