Pillsbury: Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook: 50th Anniversary Edition - Hardcover

Pillsbury Company

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 060960838X ISBN 13: 9780609608388

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 2001

Synopsis

For almost fifty years, people have looked to one cooking contest for the most delicious, the most exciting and the most uniquely American recipes this country's home cooks have to offer. The Pillsbury Bake-Off(r) Contest presents the very best of what people are cooking today for their family and friends-for everyday dinners, special occasion desserts and mouthwatering breads. Now, for the very first time, more than 350 of the most sought after prize-winning recipes from this famed cooking contest are gathered in one book, complete with gorgeous color photographs and stories about the people and the inspiration that led to their award-winning recipes.

But the Bake-Off(r) Contest is about more than just baking. . . certainly dessert time has never been the same since the introduction of Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs, Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie and the Tunnel of Fudge Cake, which became a household name in 1966. The Bake-Off(r) is also about wonderful savory dishes, such as Cowboy Steak 'n Veggie Soup, Grilled Chicken and Mango Corn Salad, Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie and the now-famous California Casserole, which captured the Grand Prize in 1956 and won its creator, Margaret Hatheway, a cook's tour abroad, where she introduced this most American of dishes to chefs all across Europe.

Best of the Bake-Off(r) Cookbook is a sweet and savory record of how American cooking has evolved over the years, illustrating how home cooks have captured their ethnic heritages in dishes adapted from their grandparents' countries to modern kitchens and busier times. The stories are as inspiring as the recipes themselves, from 1955 winner Rosemary Sport's prize-a new pink range-which provided her family with the motivation to become proud new homeowners to 1996's Grand Prize-winner, Kurt Wait, a single parent, who with the help of his son developed his $1 million-winning recipe Macadamia Fudge Torte.

Hundreds of the very best recipes are accompanied by enticing color photographs and organized by category: Soups, Sandwiches and Snacks; Main Dishes; Side Dishes and Salads; Breads; Sweet Rolls and Coffee Cakes; Cookies and Bars; Cakes and Tortes; Pies and Tarts; and Other Desserts. Each chapter is filled with personal profiles highlighting the people who created the recipes plus the wonderful and oftentimes humorous behind-the-scenes stories from the Bake-Off(r) Contest events: One contestant accidentally sat on her cake entry; another was notified that she was a lucky contestant via a citizens-band message broadcast by her town's postmistress.

The recipes are sensational, the stories are uplifting. Best of the Bake-Off(r) Cookbook invites you into the kitchens and lives of the many people who over the years have made the Pillsbury Bake-Off(r) Contest the most loved, most respected showplace for this country's home cooks.

About this title

About the Author

Pillsbury publications is the publisher of Pillsbury Classic(r) Cookbooks and Fast and Healthy(r) Magazine and the author of The Pillsbury Complete Book of Baking and Healthy Baking cookbooks.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chocolate Mousse Fantasy Torte
Christina Vidra Maumee, Ohio
Bake-Off(r) Contest 34, 1990 Prize Winner

Create a memory that lingers - an unforgettably fudgy, rich brownie topped with a luscious creamy chocolate mousse layer.

BASE

1 (1 lb. 3.5-oz.) pkg. fudge brownie mix
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules or crystals
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons water
2 eggs

TOPPING
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or crystals
11/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9- or 10-inch springform pan. In large bowl, combine all base ingredients: beat at medium speed 1 minute. Spread batter in greased pan. Bake at 350°F. for 36 to 42 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour. Remove sides of pan; cool completely.

In small saucepan, combine chocolate chips, 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, 1 teaspoon coffee granules, 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons butter. Cook over low heat until mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold warm chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Using pastry tube fitted with decorative tip, pipe topping mixture evenly over cooled base. Or spread topping over base.

Drizzle 1/2 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate over topping. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until topping is set. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 16 servings

High Altitude-Above 3,500 feet:
Decrease butter to 1/3 cup. Bake as directed above.

Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 380; Protein 4g; Carbohydrate 40g; Fat 23g; Sodium 180mg

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 060960838X
• ISBN 13: 9780609608388
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352