The Million-Dollar Chicken Recipe That Oprah Sneered at on National Television
Everyone loves a new recipe. Whether you live alone, with roommates or with a family, it’s always nice to have a new concoction of delicious food to warm up.
It could be homemade cookie recipes or even unique ways to mix up holiday leftovers.
One great place to find new, unique recipes is the Pillsbury Bake-Off, a cooking challenge that began in 1949.
In 1996, the prize for winning this contest was raised to a whopping $1 million. This has since been changed to a prize of $50,000, plus a kitchen makeover.
On May 4, 2006, Oprah Winfrey invited the winner of the 2006 Contest 42 Pillsbury Bake-Off, Anna Ginsberg, to guest star on her famous show to share her $1 million-winning chicken recipe. Her famous recipe is called “chicken and spinach stuffing.”
Ginsberg’s recipe was clearly unique as she laid out the ingredients and steps on the famous talk show as millions of viewers were watching.
Her recipe incorporated multiple flavorful sauces — Worcestershire sauce, peach preserves and maple syrup. It also included spinach, chicken, egg whites, onions, broth and pecans, as well as several different seasonings.
But the most unique ingredient that she utilized alongside her chicken to make her famous stuffing was Pillsbury waffle sticks, which she toasted and then sauteed with the onions, butter, spinach, egg whites and seasonings.
Soon it was time for Oprah to try the million-dollar recipe on-air in front of millions of viewers, with million-dollar-lady Ginsberg standing there watching her first bite.
But as Oprah tasted the meal, she was speechless, until she said the chicken “could use some salt and pepper.”
She first tried the stuffing without the chicken. Then, she added the chicken with the stuffing and said, “Oh it’s good with this, really good!”
Ginsberg handled the embarrassing moment quite well in front of millions, but the moment did not go unnoticed — and certainly was not forgotten — as it recently resurfaced on Twitter:
I often think about the time Oprah did a cooking segment with a woman whose chicken recipe won $1 million, and Oprah’s jaw dropped when she tasted it and realized the lady didn’t even add seasoning pic.twitter.com/rfs7PS1Jc3
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) December 9, 2018
After the video went viral again recently, Oprah addressed her reaction, stating, “The truth for me was that I’m used to having salt and pepper on my chicken. That’s just the truth. That’s what I was thinking. This chicken needs some salt and pepper.”
After the resurfacing of this video, it is clear to see that this woman really did deserve to win the grand prize, as many others have confidently affirmed how delicious the dish really is:
So if you get the chance, try out this delicious chicken recipe to see what you think!
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