It's official - Ann Arbor's own Dion Frischer is one of the finalists in the Pillsbury Bake-Off! She'll prepare her recipe for Dark Chocolate Orange Mousse at the 46th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, to be held in Las Vegas from Nov. 10-12, and be in the running for the $1 million grand prize.

"I am so excited to be one of the 100 finalists going to Las Vegas in November for the actual Bake-Off competition!" she wrote in announcing the big news. She'll be competing in the Simple Sweets and Starters category.

Pillsbury "is 'one of the iconic competitions in the United States,' as the Pillsbury press release phrases it." Dion calls it "the 'granddaddy of recipe contests.'"

Mary Bilyeu - a self-proclaimed Food Floozie (named for her blog, which is taking a summer vacation) - writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.