The Friends of the East Greenwich Free Library will host a special event ?Let?s Get Cooking! Tastes and Tales of RI Bake-off Champions? on Saturday February 21st at 1pm. Join us for an afternoon full of tasty recipes and stories from RI women who enter cooking contests and win! Mary Jo Fletcher LaRocco of North Kingstown and Valerie Szlatenyi of Wakefield will share their adventures as competitive cooking winners. Mary Jo was a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-off last year and competed in Las Vegas for a prize of one million dollars with her Sausage Apple and Brie Stromboli entry. To view the receipe online visit: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/sausage-apple-and-brie-stromboli/d5cfbb8c-c896-4d3f-a8db-1cc61db32fb4 . Mary Jo has also competed in the Hood New England Dairy Contest several times, and was a $10K winner in 2012. She enjoys sharing her culinary talents with others, including students at the High Road School inside the Goodwill Industries facility in Providence. Valerie has won many cooking contests over the years, including the Beringer Great Steak and Seafood Challenge in 2013, where her winning recipe was Sweet Heat Beef Satay and Shrimp with Avocado Chile Dipping Sauce. Her recipe can be viewed here: http://www.greatsteakchallenge.com/2013-finalist-recipes/sweet-heat-beef-satay-and-shrimp-with-avocado-chile-dipping-sauce/. Valerie also competed in The Martha White Muffin Mix Challenge, Hood's New England Dairy Cook-Off and in 2010 she was a finalist in the Gorton's Cooking Contest. She was also a finalist in the Sutter Home Winery?s ?Build a Better Burger? Contest in California, where her Ocean State Swordfish Burgers, adorned with tangy apple tartar sauce, won the ?People?s Choice Award?. In addition to hearing their appetizing tales, we?ll also have savory samples of their work after the presentation. Please call 884-9510 for more information.
