The Pillsbury Grand National Recipe and Baking contest was first held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, in December 13, 1949, well before I was even married. So collecting these little cookbooks has been a challenge. Here you see the first ones, with #2 missing. I have not found that one. I finally found #1 and paid a hefty price for it at an antiques show. I have collected through 36 with these still missing: 9, 10, 11, 12, 35, and 2 as mentioned. I bought many titled classics and I don't know how that figures into the bake off realm and then they started speciality ones and it got so confusing I ended up with many I did not want. You can see from the stack how many I have, yet not all that I want to finish a collection through 36. I am not sure that they are still doing these wonderful little booklets, but 36 is my limit.
Water Rising Twists won the very first prize of $50,000 captured by Mrs. R. Smithfield. I have to say, they don't look that great and she had them raise in a towel with 75 degree water poured over the towel/dough to let rise. You let it stand until the dough rises to the top of the water in about 30 to 45 minutes. (They would have to give me $50,000 to work out this recipe.)
Inside the first winner's booklet (1949) was a wedding punch recipe from an old newspaper that I thought I might try. About thirty-five years ago I used to serve a champagne punch at parties and it was so delicious and very sneaky. Before you knew it, you were having a really good time. I lost that recipe, but this one seems a bit like the lost one, yet a little more complex considering the fruit steps. If it is just for Easter, you might want to cut this recipe in half...but with our family coming, it might just be enough. LOL
Gala Wedding Punch called Hacienda Wedding Punch
6 oranges
6 lemons
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
2 quarts pineapple or orange juice or just mix the two, half of one, half of the other
2 cups lemon juice
2 bottles white dinner wine
2 bottles champagne
2 bottles sparkling water
Peel oranges and lemons. Cut peel in thin strips, add sugar, water, syrup and salt. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.(This is just the making of a simple syrup as we know it now.) Lower heat, simmer 15 minutes. Cover and cool. Remove peel. Add cold flavored syrup to fruit juices and the white wine. Pour over ice in a large punch bowl. Let stand about 1/2 hour stirring once or twice. Just before guest arrive add well-chilled champagne and sparkling water. 80 servings.
This one is missing from my collection.
In the Second Pillsbury Baking contest (not yet referred to as a “Bake-Off) was also held in New York City. (In 1957 the competition left New York for the first time and headed for Los Angeles. Since then, Bake-Off contests have been held in Washington, D.C. Florida, Texas and California.) The 1st Prize Winner in that Second Grand National Contest was Mrs. Peter Wuebel of Redwood City, California for her Orange-Kiss-Me Cake. Her first prize was $25,000.
