4 Rochester

The Pillsbury Bake-off contest is on the Food Network this week! I actually watched it in the emergency room on Saturday night and didn't see myself, except for a glimpse of my pink shirt. (I must have been distracted by the guy screaming NOOOOO!!!! NOOOO!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! in another room...

This time of year is nutso for me. A Tae Kwon Do tournament for all the guys in the household last weekend. One son's baseball season is in full swing. The other son's rock band has a big gig tomorrow (his band is the youngest band competing in the Battle of the Bands at the Water Street Music...

It starts almost the second the winner of the Pillsbury Bake-off contest is announced. "A million dollars for ... a PIE with GRANOLA BARS ?" "A million dollars for ... CHICKEN with WAFFLES in the stuffing ?" And the latest... "A million dollars for ... a PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE...

The big day started bright and early, with a buffet breakfast at 6:15 a.m. We lined up in two rows for the Grand March onto the contest floor. Right away, Gloria, the woman in line in front of me, pointed out a logistical problem: we were on the right side of the line, but our ranges (also called an...

If you've been following the 43rd Pillsbury Bake-off contest, by now you know that a peanut butter cookie won the million dollars. And if you were looking for my name among the winners, it wasn't there. But you may not have noticed that the other Rochester area finalist, Vanda, was a category...

I awoke at 4:30 this morning to find that our luggage had arrived! Woo-hoo! Nothing like some clean clothing, hair products and makeup to make someone feel like themselves. So here's Tom & me today, with me pointing to a picture of my recipe on a display. I have loads of stories to share but...

Tonight was the lovely welcoming dinner for the Pillsbury Bakeoff contest. As Tom said, we were dressed more "semi" than "formal" due to our lost luggage. But people were understanding about the luggage predicament. We sat with a nice group of people, all of whom were new to us and...

I made it to Dallas (after a 3-hour delay) to compete in tomorrow's Pillsbury Bake-off contest. Unfortunately, my luggage didn't arrive with me. So I'm due to go to tonight's semiformal welcome dinner in jeans, a casual "Chicago" shirt, and pointy black cowboy-type shoes. And...

I'm not surprised ... my flight to Dallas on American is delayed. I was scheduled to leave at 6:25 a.m., and now they are saying we're leaving at 9:30 due to "mechanical difficulties." Hey, I'd rather be late and have them fix the plane. I said goodbye to my fellow Rochester finalist...

I'm off to Dallas (on American Airlines) very early tomorrow morning. I've gotten lots of calls and emails and comments to wish me luck and I so appreciate them all. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Then, by way of Cookie Madness , who happens to be the 2006 Pillsbury winner, I found a lovely...