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

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
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.


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 50th Annv edition (April 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060960838X
• ISBN-13: 978-0609608388
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,419 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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)

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

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

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.