Winners

When The Baltimore Sun inaugurated its Peeps Recipe Contest this year, it was a way to acknowledge the unstoppable force that has become the Peep. [See photos of all Peeps recipe contest entries here .] Once, the marshmallow treat was mere Easter candy. Those days are over. Peeps are cultural touchstones with fan clubs, a clothing line and even a store devoted to them at National Harbor. They've inspired people to make sculptures and videos, and even to write books and songs.

A Harford County farmer has been honored as a state winner in the 2012 National Corn Yield Contest, sponsored annually by the National Corn Growers Association. Harrison Rigdon, of Jarrettsville, placed first in the state in the A No-Till/Strip Till Non-Irrigated Class with a yield of 268.9818 bushels per acre. The hybrid used in the winning field was Pioneer P1395XR. Rigdon was one of 421 state winners nationwide. The 2012 contest had 8,263 entries from 46 states. Of the state winners, 18 growers - three from each of six classes - were named national winners, representing 13 states.

Laurel Park Bullet Catcher follows more traditional path, reaches winners' circle Bullet Catcher, who made local and national headlines Jan. 11 after escaping from the Laurel Park backside and taking a 1.6-mile journey on nearby roads, won his first race in nearly two years with an impressive performance in Friday's eighth race, a $40,000 allowance. Jerry Robb Jeremy Rose Abel Castellano Abel Castellano The 4-year-old gelding broke alertly then tracked the pace to the 16th marker before he surged ahead to win by 21/2 lengths in 1 minute, 4.71 seconds for the 51/2-furlong distance.

The plaque hangs on the wall of the doctor's office, proof of its worth to Greg Brouse, 1981 grand-prize winner of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete award. "My kids can't believe I was either a scholar or an athlete," said Brouse, who is now an oncologist in Monroe, N.C. "I think that, quietly, they make fun of me, but at the same time, they'd like to do the same for themselves. " Brouse, who starred at Centennial, turned 50 this month.

Norman Asbjornson ran down front-runner Eighttofasttocatch to win the $125,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park. The 5-year-old, who was sent to post at 6-1 under Jeremy Rose for trainer Carlos Mancilla, earned his first stakes victory. Norman Asbjornson hinted at his potential in his previous start when he was elevated to second in the John B. Campbell Stakes last month after he was fouled by Service for Ten in the final furlong. Mancilla is filling in for trainer Chris Grove, who is serving a suspension.

You don't have to be a serious fan to know the NFL Films look and sound. Stunning shots of overcast skies hanging low over packed stadiums are accompanied by tympanies rumbling and choral voices soaring as a perfect spiral sails in slow motion through the lights down into the heavenward-stretched hands of an airborne receiver. And that lyricism is juxtaposed with the most in-your-face mud, blood, grime and grit, hand-held close-ups you will ever see on a screen. Sometimes it feels as if you are in the middle of the mayhem on the field.

On Friday, "Top Chef All-Stars" winner Richard Blais joins Henry Hong and John Shields on the 1 p.m. hour of Midday with Dan Rodricks (WYPR, 88.1) to discuss recipes and cooking tips that help home chefs step up their game in the kitchen. Blais is the author of "Try This at Home: Recipes From My Head to Your Plate," which has been lavished with praise-filled blurbs from the likes of Andrew Zimmern ("Richard has created a book that I wish I had written - a book that will inspire not only professionals to look at food technique and flavor in a different way, but that any casual cook can work out of each and every day. ")

After a two-year detour to New York City, the ceremony to announce the winner of the nation's most lucrative undergraduate literary award, the Sophie Kerr Prize, will be held in Baltimore this year. The decision marks the second time in three years that Washington College officials have moved the event, which was a staple of commencement on the school's Chestertown campus for the competition's first 43 years. The event was so successful in New York the past two years that chapters of the college's alumni association around the country put in bids to host future announcements, Washington College President Mitchell Reiss said.

Peeps Bourguignonne? How about Peeps Benedict? The Baltimore Sun is having a Peeps recipe contest. Contest details are here . But basically, we're asking you to creatively work Peeps into a dish. Recipes can be sweet or savory. Creativity is key.   Entries must include a recipe, a high-resolution photo of the dish and contact information. Send them to jill.rosen@baltsun.com by March 18. Winners will receive generous prize packages from the people who make Peeps , the Bethlehem, Pa.-based Just Born, Inc. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood  

Love them or hate them, Peeps are popping. Fluffy little sugar-coated marshmallow critters, around since the 1950s, are no longer merely an Easter-basket staple. They're cultural touchstones, with fan clubs, a clothing line and even a store devoted to them at National Harbor. Now we want to see how you can use them as an ingredient. Enter our Baltimore Sun Peeps recipe contest by devising a way to creatively incorporate Peeps into a dish. Recipes can be a sweet, but we'd love to see some savories.