Recipe junkie takes on Pillsbury challenge

ROYAL CITY — When Susie Littlewood, 41, was notified she is a finalist in the 44th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, she couldn’t believe it.

She was so surprised, she cried tears of joy in her Royal City home when she found out.

“I was just as shocked as everybody,” Littlewood said.

She created a dish she calls Caramelized Red-Onion Feta Burgers. Littlewood isn’t allowed to reveal what the recipe is due to the competition rules but confirms everyone who tries it, loves it.

She learned about the competition after reading a blog comment online. Littlewood began testing appetizer recipes for the competition.

One night she was watching the Food Network program “Chopped” when she found her inspiration. One of the TV chefs competing on the show used red onions in a recipe and Littlewood’s imagination took over. She thought the red onions would go great on a burger.

She started by making certain components of the recipe before making the entire recipe.

The rules in the Pillsbury competition require contestants use at least two products from Pillsbury or their sponsors. She used Pillsbury Grand Biscuits and Smucker’s Grape Jelly.

An unexpected sinus infection put the recipe on hold, she said. Eventually the April deadline to submit the recipe came and she needed to enter what she had even though she never made the entire recipe all together.

She went online, entered her recipe and forgot about it.

Littlewood forgot about the competition until she was watching the Food Network again. She was watching the previous Pillsbury competition Bake-Off Contest on television and it sparked her memory. She became curious and visited the Pillsbury Web site to look for information about when finalists would be notified.

Competitors were to be notified around Sept. 1.

That day she checked her caller ID after she came home from work to see if she might have missed any phone calls.

“I see General Mills called three times,” Littlewood gushed. “I promptly had a heart attack.”

When she was able to get in touch with someone involved with the competition, she had to answer several questions to ensure she was eligible for the competition before she was told she is a finalist.

“Five minutes into the conversation, she finally told me,” she explained. “I promptly started crying. I was so excited.”

Littlewood recalled how her daughters told her they never saw her jump up and down before that unforgettable phone call.

Since, she’s had to make a video recording of herself preparing her star recipe and had her picture taken for promotional purposes.

After she got the phone call, she finally made the recipe in its entirety.

Her kids love it, she said.

“I’ve been making it a lot lately,” Littlewood said. “They’re my Guinea pigs.”

She said it seems everyone who tries it, likes it.

“It’s quite a tasty twist on a regular burger,” she added.

“It’s been pretty exciting,” she said.

One of the most exciting parts is her chance to win $1 million if her recipe comes out on top in the competition.

“I’m just so thrilled about it all,” Littlewood said. “It’s really like the coolest thing that could happen to a girl like me.”

She explained her friend told her the bake-off is like competing to be Miss America.

“I can’t even hardly think about it,” she said about what she would spend the money on if she won.

She said she would pay off bills and take her daughters on a Disney cruise.

“It would just go so far,” she added.

Littlewood’s fame will continue on too.

Her recipe will be published in a pre-bake-off paper back cookbook. After the bake-off it is published in a hardback cook book along with the other finalist recipes. It will feature a biography about her with her recipe.