Cooking Up a Storm

It's been embarrassingly long since I've sat down to blog, but I have very good reasons, I promise!

 I have been so blessed lately, and I'd love to share a small glimpse of my food adventures and what I've been up to lately.

 

First up, is quite possibly the biggest and best. At least in the world of competitive cooking, that is. The day after my birthday I found out that I made it as a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake Off and am looking forward to leaving, in just a little over a week, to meet this guy

haha!! Yes, I finally, after 7 years of trying am going to cook for a chance to win $1 million!

To say I'm excited wouldn't even begin to describe it. At all.

Here is what I'll be making:

Cashew Chicken Twists with Spicy Orange Sauce

Then I got news that I was a finalist in the Mushroom Council's Swap it or Top It Contest 

for my “The Big Easy” Mushroom Muffaletta Burger

I was lucky enough to get enough votes to win First Place!!

The prize was a $1000 Williams Sonoma gift card, a ton of Mushroom Recipe Books and an "adopt a classroom" Fruits and Veggies Matter kit for my son's classroom!

 

 

Next on the list is the Minnesota Wild Rice

The "Get Wild with Wild Rice" contest

It got wild, alright and it was a race the entire time! I wasn't able to pull through and win, but I placed as a finalist and got a hat, t-shirt, assorted recipe booklets and 3 pounds of Wild Rice for my

Tex-Mex Spinach, Chicken, & Wild Rice Casserole  

I also entered a fun little snack for the "One Ingredient Can Change Everything Recipe Contest" put on by Grapes of California and placed 3rd!

My PB & Pretzel Snack Sticks with Grapes won me a $100 Visa giftcard and a signed book from Ellie Kreiger!

 

And last, but certainly not least- a BIG win!

A week ago Louis and I got to go to the NY Wine and Food Festival - I still am surprised I won and was given such an amazing opportunity from Colavita, Food and Wine Magazine and al Fresco

I entered my Smoked Andouille and Date Jam Flatbread and I'm thrilled they liked it as much as I do!

 

A trip to NY (somewhere we've never been before), a few nights in a beautiful boutique hotel, tickets to the NY Wine and Food Festival, a Colavita Sampler Tote and an al fresco “bag o’ loot” plus one year of al fresco all-natural chicken sausages!!

 We wandered through walls and walls and walls of wine, spirits and gourmet samplings all day long. We watched Iron Chef Morimoto break down a tuna that weighed more than I do in about 5 minutes.

I got to meet Rachel Ray, someone I've followed and loved for years, and get a book signed by her 

 And here are the two girls from Colavita that helped make our trip so successful

 

Seriously almost too good to be true!

New York was a dream and I'm hoping that Vegas will be just as thrilling!