What would you do with a minimum of 1 pound of any cut of American lamb and a two-hour turnaround time?

That question was put to the test May 4 by contestants ranging in age from 6 to 63 and armed with their appliance of choice to do battle.

At one end of the row of tables set up in Building 3 at the Howard County fairgrounds stood 6 year-old Laura Dutton, of Frederick, as she stirred the contents of the electric skillet on the table in front of her.

At the other end, 60-something Beth Campbell, of Silver Spring, cut up vegetables and chatted with onlookers and fellow contestant Jean Redmond, of Pennsylvania.

The six Sunday morning chefs were finalists in the 25th Maryland Grand Lamb Cook-Off, one of many signature events held during the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

Jan Derry, of Greenbelt, produced the contest this year and explaineda few things were different.

"In the past ovens and ranges were provided but because of health department regulations they are not allowed this year," Derry said. She added the adults and children are judged in separate classes.

Table space and a 110 volt electric outlet were provided. The contestants brought whatever else was needed to create their culinary dishes, in most cases an electric skillet or a slow cooker.

Tabletop magic

Campbell, who finished in second-place last year, worked on her Warm Moroccan Potato Lamb Salad while she weighed the importance of the contest.

"I do it to promote lamb, most people don't like it but once they try it they change their minds," she said. She also noted another rule change this year -- no samples to the audience.

Standing next to her, Redmond was busy combining the ground lamb and herbs for her Spicy Lamb Sausage recipe. A first-place winner a few years ago with a Cajun Lamb dish, she raises her own lambs.

"I always know my recipes are good because I know how the animal was raised, what it was fed," Redmond said.

The littlest cook-off chef, Dutton, was ,accompanied by her mom, Charlotte, who pulled double duty as her assistant.

"She (Laura) loves to cook and has some very ambitious plans for this contest," Charlotte Dutton said. The home-schooled first-grader intently separated her mound of ground lamb, around the skillet, the first step in her Lamby-Joes recipes. Occasionally she would glanced up to explain to onlookers that "this is the hardest part."

The taste test

Joan Lewis Kennedy, director of government affairs for Howard County, was one of the judges. Kathy Fitzgerald, a Montgomery County homemaker, was the other. Both women were happy to be tasting the results of all the hard work going on before them.

"I like to experiment with food so this is a joy for me, Fitzgerald said.

All entries are judged on flavor (40 points), appearance (20 points), originality (30 points) and ease of preparation (10 points), according to the festival catalog.

The Blackberry Herb Lamb took first place and netted Bowman $150.

"The meat was very tender and the fruit and seasonings permeated the dish giving it a lot of flavor," Kennedy said.

Redmond's Spicy Lamb Sausage won her second place honors and $125. In the junior division, Laura Dutton's Lamby-Joes netted her first place and $100. Detolla-Cole's Awesome Lamb Burgers took second place.

Here are the winning recipes, for you to try on your own taste testers at home.

Blackberry Herb Lamb (Vickilynn Bowman)

Ingredients in order of use

2 -1/2 lb. American Lamb, slice into 1/4-inch fillets

1-1/2 c. blackberry wine

1 can beef consomm

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