Febuary 25th was declared French's Cook Off Day by Major Bloomberg
Suellen Calhoun of Des Moines, Iowa, the Grand Champion of French’s First Ever National Cook-Off,organized by marketing firm The Bender Hammerling Group (BHG) http://www.bhgpr.com/, had the winning dish of Onion Polenta with Spicy Tomato Avocado Salad. David Rosengarten of Food Network fame was the guest of honor and event MC. He joined an esteemed judging panel onsite that included Jackie Plant of Woman’s Day magazine, Heather Meininger, founder of the popular mommy blog, MommiesNetwork.org, Aileen Gallagher, Senior Editor of the esteemed food blog GrubStreet, Chandra Turner, executive editor of Parents magazine, Pat Mullooly of Newsday Kids and Janet Andreas, the Culinary Manager of the French’s Test Kitchen. In addition to Carolyn, the French’s judging panel selected three other contestants for advancement. One additional contestant was named the “People’s Choice” candidate, winning the popular online vote by consumers nationwide. The top five finalists are: Carolyn Beal of Lutz, FL with her French’s Party Pinwheels; Heather Beedle of Curlew, WA with her Irresistible BBQ Turkey; Suellen Calhoun of Des Moines, IA with her Onion Polenta and Spiced Tomato Avocado Salad; Mary Lund of Circle Pines, MN with her Stoplight Sausage Stuffed Peppers; and Erin Renouf Mylroie (“People’s Choice” candidate) of Santa Clara, with her recipe for Cheery-Cheery Chicken with Crispy Onion Grits.
Below are Suellens, Carolyn’s, Erin's, Heather’, Mary’s recipes. In addition, to view all the delicious recipes that have been submitted go to www.frenchsfoods.com and check out a host of offerings that are sure to liven up your weekday meals!