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Rise to the occasion
By SHERYL KAY HUNTER'S GREEN -- A genuine coal miner's daughter, Ann Zovko baked her first cake in a coal-heated oven when she was only 8 years old, in Hutchinson, Penn. "My mom had gone off to the hospital to give birth to my younger brother, and I was in charge in the house for about 14 days," said Zovko, a onetime bookkeeper who is now retired in Hunter's Green. "So it was up to me to do the cooking for my dad and my other brother and sister." Sixty-one years later, she is still baking, and her talents have finally been recognized in a major way. Zovko is one of the 100 finalists in the 40th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off, entering her bacon spinach pizza. Things will begin to heat up for Zovko when she joins the other finalists, including Kelly B. Everhart of Seffner, at the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando from Sunday through Wednesday. Each contestant will be expected to recreate his or her recipe for final judging. "They're going to have 100 GE appliance mini kitchens, and they provide all of the ingredients," Zovko said. "My sister was a finalist in 1967, and she was assigned to booth No. 28. I'm assigned to booth no. 28, and my dad's birthday was on the 28th, so I think I'm going to have a real good day." For one thing, the bakeoff will be a radical change in Zovko's routine. She uses much of her culinary energy helping her daughter, who cares for an Alzheimer's patient in her own Hunter's Green home. But there's more to the bakeoff than an expense-paid trip to Orlando. This year's grand prize winner will be awarded a fully furnished General Electric Profile kitchen valued at $5,000, and a cash prize of $1-million. This year there are 90 women and 10 men among the finalists. There also are three other recipe category winners, each receiving $10,000; 12 more winners, each receiving $2,000; and one Innovation Award winner who also receives a GE Profile kitchen. Each of the 100 finalists already has received a new GE Advantium 120 oven, valued at $999. Zovko had hers installed last month. As for the pie, Zovko said she was inspired by an old pizza parlor up North. "I would order these toppings whenever I ate there, but then they sold the place and the new owners couldn't make it as good," she said. "And when we moved down here, no one made it at all." Zovko decided to make it herself, customized it to suit her family, and everyone loved it. In order for the recipe to have been considered by the Pillsbury judges, Zovko's dish had to fall into one of four categories: Luscious and Lighter Main and Side Dishes; Fast and Fabulous Desserts and Treats; Easy Weeknight Meals; or Casual Snacks and Appetizers. She chose the last category for her pizza. Everhart entered a stuffed-biscuit dish called Monte Cristo Folds under the Easy Weeknight Meals category. In addition, the dish had to contain one or more products from a list of pre-approved items. Zovko used the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust, and the Green Giant frozen spinach. When the judges are presented with Zovko's final pizza, they will consider taste, appearance, consumer appeal and creativity. The baking will occur Tuesday, and the decision will be announced in an awards ceremony hosted by entertainer Marie Osmond on Wednesday. "I feel that I am a winner by just being a finalist," said Zovko, alluding to the more than 10,000 people who sent in recipe submissions for the Bake-Off. "It'll be fun just to be there with everybody else cooking." If she wins the million? "I haven't really thought about that," she said. "I guess I could probably use another car, and I'd like to have a room where I could just paint. I guess the rest of it I could share with my family and friends, and the church." - Sheryl Kay can be reached at skreporter@hotmail.com.
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From the Times |
