A Lotta Dough

Who wouldn’t want to win a MILLION DOLLARS?.... That’s what I thought.

I was amazed when I read this article about the Pillsbury Company’s Baking Contest and the lovely woman who won last month. Out of 100 finalists, her peanut butter cookie recipe wowed the judges and she was the happy recipient of the grand prize.

My first reaction when I read this article was, “why on earth have I never done this contest?” And then I remembered, “oh, I don’t like to bake”… well, I would like to rescind that sentiment because for 1 million dollars, I am happy to be a little more flexible about this rule I have made for myself in the cooking department and apply the power of concentration to overcome this personality defect.

(See Link below to Pillsbury’s official website)

http://www.pillsbury.com/BakeOff/Default.aspx?WT.ac=bo_announcement

Since all of us love to cook or we would not be writing or reading this blog, I think we need to put our great cooking skills to work- wouldn’t you like to win big bucks? I can think of a lot of things I’d do with that money including buy a house with a great kitchen to support my cooking habit, go to Lorenza D’Medici’s cooking school at her palazzo in Tuscany, go on one of those week cooking journeys with Joanne Weir, etc.

It looks like the contest has different categories you can enter under. Since the most recent contest just ended, they don’t have the dates or rules posted yet for the next one. But check it out! Read the rules and start thinking about recipes you’ve created that might be possibilities for next year’s contest. What I love about this contest despite the fact that it involves baking (which is very detail oriented), is that it involves creativity and originality by the cook. Many of you have family recipes passed down through the generations or ones you make all the time that friends and family rave about. Now’s the time to get out the spatula and apron and start practicing!

This sort of event conjures up a feeling of a different era, circa 1960’s or 70’s when you think about a baking contest, doesn’t it? But that fact is, cooking is big business these days and what a great way to promote a brand name and public interest in a product. I’m perfectly okay with that because Pillsbury is not only making cooking fun, but they are also sharing the wealth! For some good cookie dough, they’ll give you a lot of dough.