Are your fingers ready CCC?  It’s time for you to be the judge and VOTE in the “Amazing Doable Dinners” category of the 2013 Pillsbury Bake-off!!

I am proud to say that 23 out of the 60 semi-finalists are from CCC!  That’s over 38% of those up for voting.  Let’s get every single one of them into the finals in VEGAS!

The Pillsbury Bake-Off^® Contest Opens Online Voting to the Public

America’s votes will determine who competes for the $1 million grand prize

WHAT:                 Public voting for the freshly redesigned 46^th Pillsbury Bake-Off^® Contest is now open. America is invited to vote online at www.BakeOff.com to send the 33 best recipes competing in the Amazing Doable Dinners category to the finals to vie for $1 million in dough.

WHO:                    The 60 creative home cooks behind the recipes now competing online in the Amazing Doable Dinners category are a varied group of women and men, more specifically:

• The 60 semifinalists hail from 22 different states
• California has the most semifinalists of any state (10); Texas is next with eight semifinalists
• The group is made up of two men and 58 women
• The age range is 21 to 65 years
• 21 have been finalists in previous Bake-Off^® Contests
• The shortest recipe preparation time is 15 minutes

WHEN:                 Online voting for the Amazing Doable Dinners category is open on www.BakeOff.com now through Thursday, March 28, 2013. Online voting will determine which 100 finalists will compete at the Bake-Off^® Contest finals, November 10 – 12, 2013 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The next contest category, Simple Sweets and Starters, will begin accepting original recipe submissions online at www.BakeOff.com starting Thursday, April 4, 2013.

WHY:                    For the first time in the 64-year history of the nation’s premier cooking competition, the public will determine which 100 recipes will compete in the Bake-Off^® Contest finals this November. The Pillsbury Bake-Off^® Contest is one of the most iconic competitions in the U.S. It originated in 1949, with the first competition at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. New this year, to encourage simpler, original recipes, submissions were limited to seven or fewer ingredients and must take no more than 30 minutes to prepare, not including baking or cooling time. For more information, go to www.BakeOff.com.

Cooking Contest Central Members:  Below is a complete list of CCC members who are up for voting in this round.  Take a look and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!  (I posted in the same order as listed on the Bake-Off site.)

1)  Lauren Wyler:  Cashew Chicken Twists with Spicy Orange Sauce

2)  Denise Pounds:  Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sesame Crescent Noodles

3)  Elizabeth Bennett:  Turkey and Cauliflower Open Faced Sandwiches

4)  Donna Beck:  Ham and Creamy Sriracha Pizza

 5)  Cindy Tobeck:  Chicken and Veggie Pesto Pastries

6)  Lori Falce:  Blonde French Dip Sandwiches

7)  Deborah Biggs:  Mole Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches

 8)  Nadine Clark:  Chicken Caprese Focaccia

9)  Sandi Sheppard:  Spicy and Sweet Jamaican Jerk Roll Up

10)  Nicole Pickett:  Thai Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce

11) Wendi Wallerstein:  Naan Greek Pizza

12)  Veronica Callaghan:  Chicken Blue Cheese Crostata with Spicy Tart Cherry Sauce

13)  Cathy Topper:  Italian Sausage and Pasta in Basil Cream Sauce

14)  Debbie Reid:  Sweet Pulled Pork Pizza

15)  Terri Crandall:  Creamy Green Chile Chicken Pizza

16)  Naylet LaRochelle:  Turkey and Pear Sandwiches with Spicy Orange Marmalade

17)  Karen Harris:  Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream

18)  Jen Beckman:  Asian Chicken Steam Buns over Vegetables

19)  Angie Pieropoulos:  Thai Chicken Burgers

20)  Stephanie Bright:  Green Goddess Chicken Wellington

21)  Helen Fields:  Honey and Bacon Brussels Sprouts Pizza

22)  Julie Merriman:  Pastrami Melt on Crusty Pretzel Rolls

23)  Kim Van Dunk:  Meatball and Breadstick Sub Skewers