ORLANDO, Fla. — Anna Ginsberg of Austin, Texas, won $1 million last week for a recipe that even Popeye could love.
On Wednesday, Ginsberg's Baked Chicken and Spinach Stuffing beat out the 98 other finalists of the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which was held in Orlando. The stay-at-home mom made a stuffing from spinach and frozen waffle sticks and used the accompanying syrup in a glaze for the chicken.
The Bake-Off, a tradition since 1949, offers the largest grand prize of any cooking contest, and thus attracts "tens of thousands" of entries, according to the organizers. Recipes were judged on appearance, appeal, creativity and taste.
As master of ceremonies Joy Behar announced Ginsberg's name and confetti rained down from the rafters, Ginsberg grabbed her head with her hands. "It's like I haven't woken up yet," she said. Then she told her 4-year-old daughter sitting in the audience that she could now buy the jumping toy she'd been wanting.
Ginsberg said she made up the recipe for herself for dinner one night. "I thought it was creative and it tasted so good. I ran upstairs and typed it up."
She told Behar that as a "latch-key" kid growing up, she started cooking on her own at an early age. At first her mom didn't like cleaning up the mess. But as she became less messy and started cooking for the family, her mom didn't mind cleaning up as much.
Ginsberg said she will use the money — $50,000 a year for the next 20 years — for her daughter's college fund and a trip to London. She will also receive a complete set of GE Profile kitchen appliances.
Why use waffles for stuffing? All the recipes had to include at least two qualifying products from General Mills, including Pillsbury, Progresso, Green Giant, Yoplait, Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Progresso and Old El Paso brands. Ginsberg used Green Giant frozen spinach and Pillsbury Dunkables waffle sticks, which come with little cups of syrup.
Three finalists were from Utah. Despite not winning the big bucks, they all said they had a great time staying at the Gaylord Palms Resort and visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom.
"I didn't have $1 million before I came, so this is just a bonus," said Heidi Vawdrey of Riverton. "I'm here for fun."
It may not have seemed that way at first, when her connecting flight to Orlando was delayed 18 hours. She arrived at 4 a.m. Monday morning, catching a few hours of sleep before the Disney excursion. But on Tuesday morning she was calm and smiling while cooking her Chicken Fiesta Salad.
Holly Young of Bountiful said the competition was more casual than she expected. "I thought someone would be bending over me watching me cook and telling me I'm doing it wrong!" said the mother of six. "All the recipes look wonderful, and I really believe it's just a matter of the judges' tastes at this time."
Erin Renouf Mylroie of St. George said this was her last Bake-Off. The rules limit each contestant and immediate family members to competing three times, and this was Mylroie's second time.
"I think I should leave the door open for my daughter, or my mom or my husband. And I have eight sisters and two brothers, one who is an amazing cook."
A part-time humanities professor at Dixie State College, Mylroie said she may not have as much time for contests since she recently became a trustee for a new charter school.
At her first Bake-Off, Mylroie was "the romantic newcomer" and was surprised at the many TV crews and food writers buzzing up and down the contest floor. "But I started to realize that 99 percent of the interviews are the same questions," she said. "This time I decided to milk it for all it's worth. I was just going to come and have a fabulous time."
Both Mylroie and grand-prize winner Ginsberg started entering recipe contests about three years ago, each racking up impressive wins. Mylroie placed in the top five of both the National Beef Cook-Off and National Chicken Cooking Contest, and her Chicken Pesto Club Pizza won a grand prize in last year's Mama Mary's Pizza Creations Recipe Contest.
Mylroie and Ginsberg were both finalists in the 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off and the 2005 Cooking Light Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest. Ginsberg has also been a finalist or winner in contests for California Raisins, USA Rice Federation, Thai Kitchen, Z-Trim and Southern Living.
The nine judges for the Bake-Off were newspaper or magazine food writers, dietitians and cookbook authors. The top winner in each of the Bake-Off's six categories won $10,000, and qualified them for the grand prize. There were several other sponsor awards.
A new Receta Rica (meaning "delicious recipe" in Spanish) offered $10,000 for the best recipe that used Hispanic-inspired flavors, ingredients or techniques. With this incentive, many of the recipes got creative with chiles, salsa and tortillas. Other recipes were take-offs of classics — for instance, Philly Cheese Steak Onion Soup and Chicken Marsala Sandwich. Two different peanut butter and chocolate tarts won in different categories.
All the recipes — plus a video of how to prepare the winning recipe — can be found on Bakeoff.com.
BAKED CHICKEN AND SPINACH STUFFING
9 Pillsbury Dunkables frozen homestyle waffle sticks with 3 syrup cups (from 1-pound, 1.3-ounce box)
2 tablespoons peach preserves
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts (1 pound)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 cups Green Giant frozen cut leaf spinach (from 1-pound bag), thawed, squeezed to drain well
1 tablespoon beaten egg white
1 tablespoon chopped pecans
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate or 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix contents of syrup cups from waffles, the preserves and Worcestershire sauce. Place chicken, skin side up, in pie plate; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon syrup mixture over chicken. Bake uncovered 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast waffle sticks as directed on box. Cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Cut waffles into 3/4-inch cubes and set aside. Spray 1-quart casserole with cooking spray (or use 9-by-5-inch nonstick loaf pan; do not spray).
In 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in waffle pieces and broth, breaking up and moistening waffle pieces. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and sage. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Cool about 5 minutes. Stir in egg white and pecans.
Spoon stuffing into casserole; place in oven with chicken. Bake uncovered 15 to 25 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (170 degrees) and stuffing is thoroughly heated. Serve chicken with stuffing, spooning remaining sauce in pan over chicken. Serves 2..
For Utah's altitude: Bake chicken 25 minutes. After adding stuffing to oven, bake stuffing and chicken 20-30 minutes. — Anna Ginsberg, Austin, Texas
NUTTY CHICKEN DINNER SALAD
1 bag (10 ounces) frozen raspberries
1/2 cup oil and vinegar dressing
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup or real maple syrup
4 cinnamon-flavored crunchy granola bars , finely crushed ( 3/4 cup)
1 egg
1 pound uncooked chicken breast tenders (not breaded)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 10-ounce bag or 2 5-ounce bags mixed baby salad greens
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 slices ( 3/4 to 1 ounce each) Swiss cheese, cut into thin julienne strips
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted or glazed
Spread frozen raspberries on paper towel; let stand to thaw while making dressing and salad. In small bowl, mix vinegar dressing, pecans, brown sugar, mayonnaise and syrup with wire whisk until well blended. Refrigerate until serving time.
Place finely crushed granola bars on paper plate or in pie plate. In shallow bowl or another pie plate, beat egg with fork. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken to beaten egg; stir to coat. Dip each chicken strip lightly into crushed granola bars; add to skillet. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink in center and browned on all sides. Remove from skillet; drain on paper towels.
In large serving bowl, mix salad greens, onion, cheese and thawed raspberries. Toss, adding only enough dressing to evenly coat ingredients. Arrange greens on individual plates. Place chicken evenly over greens. Arrange pecan halves on top. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Serves 4.
For Utah's altitude: Cook chicken over medium-high heat.
Nutrition information per serving: 750 calories; 440 calories from fat; 49 total fat grams; 140 mg cholesterol, 810 mg sodium, 44 grams carbohydrate, 35 grams protein .
Notes: To crush granola bars, unwrap and place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; use rolling pin to finely crush bars.
To toast pecans, bake uncovered in ungreased shallow pan in 350 F oven about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. — Holly Young, Bountiful
CHICKEN FIESTA SALAD
Tortilla Strips:
Vegetable oil for frying
4 corn tortillas
Salad:
16 leaves red or green leaf lettuce (about 1 head)
1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into thin bite-size strips
1 large mango, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 large avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 large plum (Roma) tomatoes, finely chopped
1 15-ounce can black beans
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded pepper Jack cheese
Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 1.25-ounce package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder
2 tablespoons water
Dressing:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and stems
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Dash salt
In 8-inch skillet, heat 1/2 inch oil for frying over medium heat. Cut corn tortillas into 1/4-inch-wide strips with a pizza cutter. Fry strips in batches in hot oil 1 to 2 minutes or until golden and crisp. Place fried tortilla strips on paper towels to drain.
On individual plates, evenly layer lettuce, bell pepper, mango, avocado, tomatoes, beans and cheese.
Lightly spray a 10-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken strips; sprinkle with taco seasoning mix, chipotle chili powder and water. Cook uncovered over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Set aside.
In food processor or blender, process all dressing ingredients until well blended and cilantro is finely chopped. Arrange chicken evenly over salads. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons dressing over each salad. Top each evenly with tortilla strips. Serves 4.
For Utah's altitude: Cook over medium-high heat.
Nutritional information per serving: 880 calories, 420 calories from fat, 47 grams total fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 1,330 mg sodium, 71 grams carbohydrate, 45 grams protein. — Heidi Vawdrey, Riverton
BREAKFAST BISCUIT CUPS WITH GREEN CHILI SALSA
4 slices packaged precooked bacon (from 2.1-ounce package)
2 Pillsbury Extra Large Easy Split Oven Baked frozen biscuits (from 31.8-ounce bag), or 2 Pillsbury Oven Baked frozen Southern style biscuits (from 25-ounce bag)
1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, if desired
1 small tomato, finely chopped ( 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
Sliced cantaloupe, if desired
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two (10-ounce) custard cups or souffle dishes with cooking spray. If necessary, heat bacon in microwave on high 15 seconds or until warm and pliable. Line inner side of each custard cup (not bottom) with two bacon slices, overlapping as necessary.
Gently place frozen biscuit in each cup to fit inside bacon collar. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of green chilies onto each biscuit; place remaining green chilies in small bowl and set aside. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over chilies on each biscuit. Carefully crack 1 egg over cheese on each. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons remaining cheese to cover egg; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place custard cups on cookie sheet; bake 25 to 35 minutes or until biscuits are baked and egg whites are set. Cool in cups 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add tomato, cilantro, onion and lime juice to green chilies in bowl; mix well. Season with salt to taste.
Carefully remove bacon-wrapped biscuits from custard cups; place on individual plates. Spoon green chili salsa over top and around sides. Serve with cantaloupe. Serves 2.
For Utah's altitude: Heat oven to 400 degrees. After cracking the egg over the biscuit and cheese, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes and then sprinkle remaining cheese over eggs. Bake about 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Nutritional information per serving: 580 calories, 310 calories from fat, 35 grams total fat, 260 mg cholesterol, 1,700 mg sodium, 41 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, 26 grams protein. — Erin Renouf Mylroie, St. George
E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com