Pillsbury Bake-Off finals will feature 3 cooks from Utah

Talk about a "million-dollar baby."

Stephanie Lau-Chen is one of the 100 finalists scheduled to cook for the million-dollar grand prize at the Pillsbury Bake-Off on March 21. But she's due with her second child on March 25, so traveling from her home in Mountain View, Calif., to the contest in Orlando is a problem.

She was about three months into her pregnancy when Pillsbury called — "So I was already kind of committed," said Lau-Chen in a telephone interview from her home.

"The airlines won't let you on the plane after your eighth month, so I can't fly unless I've already had the baby," she said.

Her first child was born four days early. If the baby makes a healthy arrival in time for her to hop a plane to the contest, she'll leave the newborn with her husband for those two days. But, she won't jeopardize the baby's health for the contest.

"We talked about the possibility of inducing labor, but right now I'm more inclined to gamble," she said. "If luck has it that the baby comes early, I will just try to go to Orlando and power through it. It won't be easy, but my recipe only takes about 15 minutes to prepare, so it's not like I'll be on my feet for three hours."

Lau-Chen and her husband considered driving to Orlando, "But the thought of giving birth on the side of the road somewhere is not appealing to me."

If the baby's delivery means sitting out the contest, that's still a good outcome, she said. "The baby is my priority."

If Lau-Chen is sidelined, that gives a slightly greater chance to one of the three Utah finalists — Holly Young of Bountiful, Heidi Vawdrey of Riverton and Erin Renouf Mylroie of St. George.

If Mylroie's name sounds familiar, that's because last year she took home $5,000 from The National Beef Cook-Off, and $1,000 from the National Chicken Cooking Contest. When she was a finalist in the 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off, she vowed she would be back. Mylroie, 35, teaches Spanish part-time at Dixie State College and has two young children. This year she'll be cooking Breakfast Biscuit Cups with Green Chile Salsa.

"I submitted several recipes and did the best I could with the Pillsbury products to develop something delicious, visually appealing and somewhat innovative," Mylroie said. "I feel fortunate to have been chosen, especially for a second consecutive opportunity."