Day 1!

As of today, the 45th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is open for entries. I will have until April 18 (one day shy of my birthday) to come up with a recipe good enough to earn me one of the 100 slots at the 2012 Bake-Off. Although winning a million dollars would be quite nice, I just want to be a finalist and have my recipe published.

The Bake-Off is held every two years, and last time, I was working on a recipe - I had even made it once or twice. But halfway through the "entry window", I found out I was pregnant with Lucy, my second child. I stopped working on the recipe for two reasons: 1. morning sickness prevented me from spending a lot of time in the kitchen, and 2: if I made it, I didn't want to take an infant with me to Orlando, or worse, leave her for a few days.

My recipe was/is called "Polka Dot Pull-Aparts". It takes Monkey Bread to the next level, and uses at least two items on the required list of ingredients; in fact, it requires like seven, which is great. The more products you can cram into the recipe, the more they like it, I've heard.

However, people who follow these recipe contests watch for patterns and try to predict outcomes, and it's been noted that the last two winners have been sweet recipes. It might be time for a savory recipe to win this go 'round. But again, I don't necessarily want to win, and they don't want all savory recipes submitted, since one of the categories is "Sweet Treats", but if that's what the Pillsbury people might have on their minds, then it might be wise of me to make note.

There is no limit on the number of recipes you can enter, so maybe I can come up with two or three. This year the ingredient list includes Progresso soups and Muir Glen tomato products - again, a nod to savory things, I think - so I will really have to get creative with that. Isn't everyone going to make some sort of jazzed-up chili? Maybe in a bread bowl? I think I want to stay on the sweet side...

Three months of guessing and baking and tasting and I'm sure lots of blood, sweat and tears!