PO‘IPU — Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich was peanut butter and banana, said Lenore Klass of Po‘ipu. “There is something about peanut butter and bananas,” Klass said. “Since Elvis liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches, that was enough to get me
PO‘IPU — Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich was peanut butter and banana, said Lenore Klass of Po‘ipu.
“There is something about peanut butter and bananas,” Klass said. “Since Elvis liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches, that was enough to get me started.”
Klass was announced as a finalist in the 44th Annual Pillsbury Bake Off and will be winging to Orlando, Florida to create her Banana-Peanut Butter Cream Tart before judges, an audience, and television, April 12-13.
At stake is $1 million which one of the 100 finalists will receive.
Klass is a finalist in the Sweet Treats category, one of four categories home cooks competed in. There are 25 finalists in the category and as a finalist, Klass said her trip and accomodations to the Florida Bake Off is already taken care of. Additionally, she said she was awarded a G.E. Profile microwave oven and an additional $125 stipend.
Finalists represent 36 different states, including Alaska and Hawai‘i, and the District of Columbia, states a release from Pillsbury. Four of those finalists will be competing in their home state of Florida, and Klass is the only one from Hawai‘i.
“This is quite a group of talented home cooks,” said Jann Atkins, Pillsbury Bake-Off Kitchens Manager. “They entered their new recipes that are certainly creative and delicious, but also very approachable and simple. It will be exciting to see which one takes the top prize.”
Lenore described her recipe as not difficult.
“There’s no cooking involved, except the crust,” she said from her Po‘ipu kitchen which was one of the motivating reasons for them purchasing the home. “You do need to keep the crust in the refrigerator because if it’s not cool enough, it’ll get tough.”
In the Bake-Off Web site, Lenore’s recipe had 90 percent of its viewers saying they would repeat the recipe.
Lenore said each of the winners in the four categories are eligible to win a complete G.E. Profile kitchen, and one winner from the 100 home cooks will win the $1 million.
“She was in a field of about 80,000 recipe entries,” said Bob Klass, Lenore’s husband. “To finish in the Top 100 in a field that big is a testiment to how good of a cook she is. If for some reason she doesn’t win the million dollars, there are other sponsor awards she can win.”
This is further testified by Lenore being a ribbon winner at the annual Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair where her baked goods have nailed numerous ribbons over the years and several of her award-winning recipes appear in the cookbook inspired by the fair’s Best in Show. That cookbook is available for purchase at the Family Community Education office in the state building.
Laurie Pepitone of Coyne Public Relations said Lenore often shares her baked goods with friends, but after tasting this tart, her husband asked her not to give any away.
Pepitone described the tart as “wonderfully creamy and light,” with the apple bananas grown in her front yard providing just the kick needed to anchor the dish.
“I don’t know about the bananas in Florida,” Lenore said. “We’re out of Apple Bananas now, so this morning I went to Big Save to look for some, but they were all too green.”
She said she’s made the recipe about a dozen times since she submitted the entry and has learned several things, including the need to refrigerate the pie crust to prevent it from getting tough, and just how long to beat the whipped cream without overbeating.
“If it moves, it’s not done,” Lenore said. “When you move the bowl, it needs to be firm. That’s when it’s done. This is something I learned from making the recipe.”
She attests her love for cooking from spending summers in Wyoming with her Aunty Bessie, getting up at 5 a.m. to learn the secrets behind aunt’s sour cream cookies.
Those cookies had to be rolled and baked in the cool of the morning.
Lenore said she was inspired to enter the Pillsbury Bake-Off while doing some network recipes, and Bob, whom she describes as her “computer guru,” found the Pillsbury Web site.
“Why not?” Lenore said. “I’ve always heard about the Pillsbury contest, but this is the first time I’ve entered it, and I can’t believe I made it this far. There are contestants who have been entering the contest for years who have not made it this far.”
Bob said they plan to leave for Orlando on April 10 before Lenore becomes involved in the final Bake-Off.
“We’ll let you know how we do,” he said.
For more information, visit www.pillsbury.com/bakeoff.
