Arrow-right Camera
Subscribe now

Cooking To Win With Big Cooking Contests Looming Ahead, Several Successful Chefs Offer Tips On How To Score Well

Merri Lou Dobler Correspondent

The chase is on. Cooks are working fast and furious, fine-tuning their dream recipes in kitchens across America.

The big cheese of all cooking contests, the Pillsbury Bake-Off, is gearing up for its 37th celebration of the best recipes in the country.

And with the Oct. 16 postmark deadline rapidly approaching, competitive cooks are busy preparing what they hope will be the winning entries.

They do it for the prestige, the selfsatisfaction, the friendships with fellow contestants. And there is the small, teensy-weensy matter of prize money.

It is, ahem, a million dollars for the top recipe - not $5,000, not $25,000, but a record $1 million grand prize. Additional prizes total $79,000.

“It’s the Cadillac of cooking contests,” says Spokane’s Fran Rogers, 67. She’s been a Pillsbury finalist twice, in 1980 and 1988, and is hoping to again win one of the 100 expense-paid trips to Dallas for the finals in February.

While Rogers won’t reveal her entry, she says: “You have to have a twist to it, not something mundane and normal. It has to be something a little bit different.”

Hope Clopton of Harrison, Idaho, a Bake-Off finalist in 1968, says there’s more to contests than just sending in your favorite recipe.

“Keep it simple, very attractive to look at, and get a catchy name,” advises Clopton, 74, whose apple crisp earned her a trip to Atlanta.

She entered the Bake-Off following her mother’s death. “She always urged me to enter,” Clopton says. “I felt, I’ll do this for my mom.”

Jan Robison of Spokane swears she can’t make Jell-O, but in 1990 she was both a Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist and a second-place finisher in the National Beef Cook-Off, for which she won $3,000.

Her cooking style could best be described as creative. Robison’s mother once gave her an apron that says: “I made it up.”

“My mom is a really good cook, but she has to follow recipes,” says Robison, 38. “I’ve always made things up. I hate to follow recipes.”

Robison’s inspiration for her Beef Cook-Off recipe, Crunchy Oriental Beef Salad, was a won ton salad she had in an airport on her way back from the Bake-Off finals.

Her job as a real estate agent, combined with raising four children, makes time to cook a precious commodity. This time around, Robison is aiming for Pillsbury’s 30-Minute Main Dishes category. “I’m going to come up with a soup or maybe a stir-fry,” she says.

Other Bake-Off categories include Special Side Dishes and Simple Breads, Quick Treats and Snacks, and Special Occasion Desserts.

Because of the categories, Spokane’s Dorothy Drake thinks the secret for this year is recipes that are “real simple and real fast.”

A frequent cooking contest entrant who’s never been a Pillsbury finalist, Drake, 60, is entering in Special Occasion Desserts. She’s interested in making a luxurious dessert, more elegant and time-consuming. But, she says, “something tells me it’ll probably be something with very few ingredients, and very fast.”

Through the old Albertson’s supermarket “Queen For A Day,” essay contest in the 1960s, Drake met fellow entrant Betty Noel. They’ve been “contesting friends” ever since.

“It’s kind of a club,” says Noel, 71, who’s entered hundreds of cooking contests and loves talking about them. “Some of your best friends you meet at contests, and that’s probably the most fun.”

She was a national Bake-Off finalist five times between 1967 and 1978 (which disqualifies her from entering again, under more recent rules setting a limit of three trips to the finals). Daughter Roberta was a finalist in 1966, at age 12, with her Spellbinders peanut and coconut cookie recipe, and daughter Rita was a finalist in 1974 and 1975.

Noel would spend hours in the kitchen putting recipes together, then trying them out on her children. Fortunately, she says, when her girls were growing up they had lots of boyfriends who came over after school and ate up the day’s concoctions.

Her contest entries typically start with personal favorites that are adjusted to meet the rules. “You have to know how to get (judges’) attention,” she says. “You have to know how to make a recipe look good on paper, how to make it look like it’s fun to put together, and it’s got to be interesting.”

Noel, who most recently represented Washington in the National Chicken Cooking Contest in April, says contesting is hard work. She used to enter about two dozen contests a year, and placed about one out of every four entries.

“Most people just think, ‘Oh, my, you’re lucky,”’ Noel says. “But the harder we work, the luckier we get.”

Bacon and Swiss Potato Pie

From Jan Robison, Spokane, finalist in the 1990 Pillsbury Bake-Off.

1 cup chopped onions

2 teaspoons margarine or butter

3 eggs

1 cup Hungry Jack Mashed Potato Flakes

1 cup water

2/3 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt, if desired

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon pepper

12-ounce package (about 14 slices) bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

10 ounces (2-1/2 cups) shredded Swiss cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh or freeze-dried chives

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10-inch pie pan or 8-inch (2-quart) square baking dish.

In small skillet, cook onions in margarine for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat eggs. Add potato flakes, water, milk, salt, paprika, pepper, bacon, cheese and cooked onions; blend well. Spread into greased pie pan. Sprinkle with chives.

Bake for 38-43 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 280 calories, 18 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 19 grams fat (61 percent fat calories), 124 milligrams cholesterol, 370 milligrams sodium.

Spellbinders

From Roberta Noel, Spokane, finalist in the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off.

1-1/2 cups Pillsbury Best Flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup soft butter

1 egg

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup salted Spanish peanuts

1/2 cup finely crushed cornflake crumbs

Combine flour, baking powder and soda. Gradually add sugar to butter in mixing bowl, creaming until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well.

Gradually add dry ingredients, blending well after each addition. Stir in rolled oats, coconut, peanuts and cornflake crumbs. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets; flatten slightly with bottom of glass dipped in additional crushed corn flakes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Drizzle with icing.

Icing: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2-cup measuring pitcher. Add 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon hot water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat until consistency of a glaze. If necessary, thin with a few drops hot water.

Glory-Fried Green Tomatoes

From Betty Noel, Spokane, one of 50winners in the 1994 Spice Islands recipe contest.

4 medium-sized green tomatoes

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

2/3 cup wheat snack crackers, crushed

1/2 teaspoon cracked Java black pepper

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dill seed

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup water

1 envelope powdered mushroom gravy mix

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Slice tomatoes about 1/3-inch thick. Break egg into small shallow dish. Add the water and beat with a fork.

In a separate shallow dish, combine cracker crumbs with seasonings. Dip tomato slices in beaten egg, then coat with crumbs.

Heat butter in a large skillet until foamy. Fry tomato slices 7 to 10 minutes on each side, until crispy golden brown outside and tender inside. Remove to warmed serving platter.

Add water to skillet; sprinkle with mushroom gravy mix and remaining teaspoon curry powder. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Spoon over tomatoes and serve at once.

Yield: 4 servings.

Crunchy Oriental Beef Salad

From Jan Robison, Spokane, first-place winner in the 1990 Washington State Beef Cook-Off.

1-1/2 pounds beef flank steak

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons dry sherry

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1 3-ounce package instant Oriental noodles, beef-flavored

1 head (about 3/4 pound) iceberg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 cup thinly sliced celery (2 ribs)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 green onions (including tops), sliced

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in a 350-degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned

Ginger dressing (see below)

Cut beef, across the grain, into thin 1-inch-long strips and place in shallow container.

Combine water, sherry, vinegar, oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic powder, beef granules and beef flavor packet from instant noodles; mix well and pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or overnight to marinate.

Stir-fry beef and marinade in hot skillet over medium-high heat 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and refrigerate beef 30 to 45 minutes or until cool.

In large salad bowl, combine lettuce, cabbage, celery, noodles broken into 1/2-inch pieces, almonds, green onions and sesame seeds. Add beef and ginger dressing; toss to mix.

Yield: 6 servings.

Ginger Dressing: Combine 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; whisk to blend. Makes about 1/2 cup.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: More recipe competitions While time is short, entry blanks for the Pillsbury Bake-Off still are available at many grocery stores. Entries must be postmarked by Oct. 16, and received by Oct. 20. Here are some other upcoming recipe contests where competitive cooks can test their talents: Quaker Oatmeal “Bake It Better With Oats” Recipe Contest: Categories: Cookies, Muffins/Breads and Just For Kids. Grand prize: $10,000. Entry deadline: Oct. 31. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Quaker Contest Rules, P.O. Box 1370, Barrington, IL 60011. National Pork Producers Council “Taste What’s Next” Recipe Contest: For recipes using fresh pork. Grand prize: $1,500. Entry deadline: Nov. 30. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Taste What’s Next Recipe Contest, NPPC, P.O. Box 10383, Des Moines, IA 50036. Eagle Brand “Signature Desserts” Recipe Competition: For recipes using Eagle Brand Low Fat or Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk. Two winners will each receive $1,000 and have their picture and recipe printed on Eagle cans. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Eagle Brand “Signature Desserts” Competition, Suite 1500, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601.

This sidebar appeared with the story: More recipe competitions While time is short, entry blanks for the Pillsbury Bake-Off still are available at many grocery stores. Entries must be postmarked by Oct. 16, and received by Oct. 20. Here are some other upcoming recipe contests where competitive cooks can test their talents: Quaker Oatmeal “Bake It Better With Oats” Recipe Contest: Categories: Cookies, Muffins/Breads and Just For Kids. Grand prize: $10,000. Entry deadline: Oct. 31. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Quaker Contest Rules, P.O. Box 1370, Barrington, IL 60011. National Pork Producers Council “Taste What’s Next” Recipe Contest: For recipes using fresh pork. Grand prize: $1,500. Entry deadline: Nov. 30. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Taste What’s Next Recipe Contest, NPPC, P.O. Box 10383, Des Moines, IA 50036. Eagle Brand “Signature Desserts” Recipe Competition: For recipes using Eagle Brand Low Fat or Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk. Two winners will each receive $1,000 and have their picture and recipe printed on Eagle cans. For information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Eagle Brand “Signature Desserts” Competition, Suite 1500, One East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601.