Cook-offs still offering chance for big bucks

Despite the economic downturn, America's "triple crown" of big-money cook-offs — The Pillsbury Bake-Off, the National Beef Cook-Off and the National Chicken Cooking Contest — are still going strong. And there are many other recipe contests out there to test your cooking creativity and enhance your wallet as well.

The 28th National Beef Cook-Off offers a grand prize of $25,000. The entry deadline is March 31, with finals taking place in Sonoma, Calif., this September. The contest seeks original beef recipes that fit the "Sonoma-style" theme with freshness, flavor, health and convenience in mind. Fifteen finalists go to the finals. Category winners receive $10,000 and runners-up receive $5,000. There's a new "Teens Cooking With Beef Category," so now's the time to get those kids into the kitchen.

Contest rules and entry forms are at www.beefcookoff.org.

The Pillsbury Bake-off opened last month for entries, with a deadline of May 1 and a grand prize of $1 million. Home cooks need to create recipes that use specific products from sponsors that include Pillsbury, General Mills, Hershey, General Mills, J.M. Smucker Co., Eggland's Best, Crisco, Land O'Lakes and Fisher Nuts.

From thousands of entries, 100 finalists will compete in Orlando April 11-13, 2010.

Pillsbury has added a twist: Only 90 finalists will be chosen by the Pillsbury test kitchens. An additional 20 recipes will be posted online. Readers can vote for their favorites to determine the last 10 finalists.

Contest rules and entry forms are at www.bakeoff.com.

And as for the third "jewel" in the triple crown, The National Chicken Cooking Contest has a Utahn as one of its nine finalists. Ruth Kendrick will compete for the grand prize of $50,000 in San Antonio May 2. Her dish is Ginger-Scented Honey Hoisin Chicken Thighs with Sesame.

The NCC has downsized its format. In the past, a contestant from each state won a trip to the contest, and in 2007, the grand prize was $100,000. This year, only the nine regional finalists will advance to the finals, and each state winner received $100.

I've noticed other signs of budget-trimming here and there. For instance, in past years, Pillsbury's category winners received $10,000; now it's $5,000.

But who's complaining? A check for $5,000 can buy an awful lot of groceries.