Pillsbury: Best of the Bake-off Cookbook: 350 Recipes from Ameria's Favorite Cooking Contest (Paperback)

by Pillsbury Company (Author) "It's now popular to think of the United States not so much as a melting pot but as a giant tossed salad, since its components-the..." (more)
Key Phrases: cooled baked shell, desired drizzling consistency, white vanilla chips, Nutrition Per Serving, High Altitude-Above, California Bake-Off (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
For almost half a century, the Pillsbury bake-off has celebrated American home cooking. Media coverage generated by the contest's million-dollar prize has given this event the aura of an Olympics for the home chef. Some may quibble that winning recipes rely on prepackaged convenience foods to the exclusion of fresh, natural produce; but whatever purists contend, this compendium of winning bake-off entries persuasively illuminates an increasing diversity in American home cooking. Ten years ago it would have been improbable that a peppery Indian appetizer would be a Pillsbury prize winner, but one inventive cook's use of refrigerator roll dough to duplicate samosas accomplished just that. Other recipes further document the mainstreaming of pasta and of Mexican dishes in the 1980s and 1990s. Today's nutrition consciousness has appended a fat and sodium analysis to each recipe, but a profusion of cakes, pies, and cookies mark this book as anything but calorie obsessive. Mark Knoblauch

Product Description
The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contests began the tradition of bringing great dishes to the American table. Nearly fifty years, thirty-seven contests, and thousands of recipes later, the Bake-Off® Contest has grown to become the most beloved and anticipated cooking contest in the world. PILLSBURY: BEST OF THE BAKE-OFF® COOKBOOK: 350 Recipes from America's Favorite Cooking Contest celebrates this amazing competition and the thousands of contestants who have participated in it over the years.

PILLSBURY: BEST OF THE BAKE-OFF® COOKBOOK shares all of the ingredients that go into the contest itself: prize-winning recipes, exciting culinary talent, and inspirational stories from the contestants themselves. These components, combined with more than 120 full-color photographs, 100 sidebars featuring helpful cooking tips, anecdotes about the contest, and ten profiles of previous contest winners including this year's million dollar winner, Kurt Wait make the book a true reflection of the Bake-Off® Contest.

With nine chapters ranging from Soups, Salads and Sandwiches to Coffee Cakes, Cookies and Bars, PILLSBURY: BEST OF THE BAKE-OFF® COOKBOOK includes 350 of the grand-prize recipes (chosen from more than 3,500) from each of the thirty-seven contests -- the most comprehensive collection of prize-winning recipes ever published. "The special thing about the Bake-Off® recipes is that they are a reflection of how Americans are living and eating," says Pillsbury. "These are not recipes created by a master chef, or the thoughts of a single company, but are the accumulated wisdom and experience of thousands of cooks who live real lives."

The "best of the best" recipes, gathered from cooks around the country, reveal a true sense of Americana. "The Bake-Off® Contest is an American institution. It is an achievement of national stature, accomplished by real, average Americans who have won in an absolutely upright, thorough, and principled contest," says Pillsbury. The million dollar recipe from the 1996 Bake-Off® Contest, Macadamia Fudge Torte, is included as well as hundreds of other mouthwatering winning recipes, savory and sweet, that range from Cookie Dough Brownies and Choco-Nut Sweet Treats to Savory Mashed Potato Pie and Southwest Tortellini Chowder.

The cooking contest's splendid history is almost as appealing as the recipes themselves. From learning the rules, understanding the judging process, and making long-lasting friendships to entering the hall to "When the Saints Go Marching In," and, finally, awaiting the announcement of the winner, we learn everything there is to know about this cooking contest, and we share with the contestants their emotions and the fond memories they have of being a prize winner at the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517705745
• ISBN-13: 978-0517705742
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #459,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Innovative Recipes; Delicious Results!, December 26, 2003

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pillsbury: Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook: 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

Over the years I have often turned to Pillsbury Bake-Off recipes for innovative appetizers, meals and desserts. I was happily surprised to discover that this cookbook, of over 350 award-winning recipes from the Bake-Off contests, had been published. I bought it recently and have not been disappointed.

It is true that many of the recipes call for prepackaged or convenience foods. However, the time saved in preparation and the wonderful tasting results prove that, sometimes, the ends justify the means.

Some of my favorites include: Corn and Pumpkin Soup with Jalapeno Pesto, White Chile with Salsa Verde, Creamy Spinach and Tortellini; Grilled Chicken and Mango Corn Salad, Crafty Crescent Lasagna, Salsa Couscous Chicken, California Casserole, Chewy Peanut Brownie Bars, Lemon Meringue Dessert Squares...and I could go on and on.

The photographs are beautiful and illustrate the finished product, as well as provide some attractive serving ideas. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. "Best Of The Bake-Off" also provides a hands-on history of the evolution of American cooking over the last 50+ years, with short spotlight stories about many of the Bake-Off winners. This fun and easy-to-use cookbook is, in and of itself, a real prize-winner!!
JANA

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Cookbook, May 16, 2000

By	Cynthia A. Cariens "nubbinator" (Manassas, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This cookbook has delicious recipes that are simple to follow and do not require outrageous or hard to find ingredients. I have made probably 20 to 30 of the recipes from the front of the book to the back and every single one (how many cookbooks can you say that about?) have turned out good enough for guests. My friends and I have started calling this book "The Good Book". The Banana Crunch Cake is so good, my family eats the whole thing in one sitting!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun book with a few gems, June 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pillsbury: Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook: 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I like this book. Whether you will too depends on what kind of cook you are.

From my point of view (though many think differently) the weakness of this book is the large proportion of recipes based on processed foods. Of the 366 recipes in the book, 57 of them call for Pillsbury crescent rolls or refrigerated biscuits - especially unappealing because of the hydrogenated oils. Almost every soup recipe is made with canned goods and most of the entrees call for packaged foods. Of 46 cake recipes, 26 are based on packaged mixes. The desserts also tend to be quite sweet.

However, there are a number of good, from scratch recipes included in this collection. The Whole Wheat Raisin Loaf, Ring-a-Ling sweet rolls and the Nutty Graham Picnic Cake are excellent. The Tiramisu-Toffee Torte was also a winner when made with a from-scratch white cake rather than a mix. There are quite a few more interesting recipes I have yet to try.

In sum, if you embrace packaged foods in all their convenient glory, you'll love this book. Even if you don't use convenience products, there's still a lot to like here. Go ahead and give it a try, but don't buy it as your only baking book. However, if you are really a purist, buy another book.