The 49th Pillsbury Bake-off

Melissa Jollands,

age 48, Hudsonville, Michigan

Your recipe is called the Dublin Cheeseboardstuffed Appetizer Bread. What is that?

On our 25th anniversary, my husband and I went to Ireland. The first thing we ate was a cheese board with meats and cheese and fruits. I took the idea and stuffed it into Pillsbury French Bread.

You could use only eight ingredients, so I put nuts on top for crunch, apricot and arugula to sort of decorate the board, and a side serving of jam. That left me with two meats and two cheeses, though honestly, I’m not a huge cheese eater.

A cheese-board expert who doesn’t like cheese? Nope. If I’m going to eat any cheese, it’s goat cheese. I’m not a recipe follower either.

You don’t follow recipes? How did you end up in this contest?

Just like some people are good with their hands, I know what flavors to throw in. It drives my kids crazy: “Mom, how do I make this?” And I just go, “Uh, well this is what goes in, but that’s all I can tell you.”

Does the restaurant in Dublin know they inspired a Bake-off winner?

We haven’t been able to get back yet but are hoping to go next spring. They might not even know what the Pillsbury Bake-off is over there! Pillsbury awarded Jollands the $50,000 grand prize live on the Food Network. Her appetizer beat out recipes in the breakfast, dinner, and dessert categories.