BAKE-OFF TRENDS: QUICK, EASY AND VERY, VERY TASTY.

Byline: - Natalie Haughton, Daily News Food Editor

For the first time since the Pillsbury Bake-Off began in 1949, this year's 38th Bake-Off required that all recipe entries be quick and easy.

All four recipe categories have restrictions on preparation time and/or the number of ingredients, said Marlene Johnson, Pillsbury's director of product communications.

For instance, in the quick snacks and appetizers category, no more than six ingredients (excluding salt, pepper, water and garnishes) were allowed in the savory recipes, while the simple side dish recipes could only take 20 minutes from start to finish, including preparation time.

In the 30-minute main dishes category, recipes had to be prepared and ready to serve in 30 minutes or less. Fast and easy treats required 15 minutes or less active preparation time - baking, cooking and cooling times were not included.

The new name, Pillsbury Quick and Easy Bake-Off Cooking Contest, was arrived at after research about the kinds of recipes consumers desire. By placing time and ingredient restrictions on contest entries, Johnson noted that this year's recipes (ingredients and directions) were 25 percent shorter than in the last contest two years ago.

Johnson also noted the contest drew several new contestants who entered because they felt ``quick and easy'' fits the way they cook. The 100 finalists' biographies once again revealed a diverse group of contestants with different lifestyles and backgrounds - from the 70-year-old to the stay-at-home mom to the business owner - who want to get in and out of the kitchen fast and find quick and easy recipes appealing.

The quick-and-easy label also influenced contest entries. Recipes favored familiar forms and familiar ingredients, noted Johnson, adding that contestants did't appear to want to get too far afield from what they knew. ``We saw twists on familiar ideas - for instance, a Chinese version of the traditional seven-layer salad.'' In addition, Americans seemed to love their food hot - with lots of fiery seasonings. Full-flavored and spicy ingredients such as capers, anchovies, portobello mushrooms, spice blends (five spice powder, jerk seasoning) and salsas are being used more often. The many blends of cheeses - taco, pizza, five-cheese and more - boosted flavor in an easy way as did such flavored cheeses as tomato-basil feta cheese and bold-tasting cheeses such as asiago, gorgonzola and chevre.

Cranberries in all forms, from canned sauce to dried, were prevalent in everything from desserts to main dishes. Contestants were also into white-on-white foods with ingredients like creamy white cheese, white beans and white chocolate.

And consumers like cheesecake in all forms - both sweet and savory.

As for quick cooking methods, consumers prepared foods in mere minutes on the stove top. Or they simply popped the dish into the oven.

Here are some of the other trends noted by Pillsbury in the thousands of entries submitted.

Seasonings ran the gamut from fresh herbs to spicy mustards and flavored vinegars. Once-exotic seasonings like chipotle chiles, guava paste and pumpkin seeds added flavor punch to everyday recipes. Both fresh and dried basil, rosemary and thyme as well as fresh cilantro, continued to be popular.

Mexican has become a melting-pot cuisine that consumers are confidently fusing with other styles of cooking in recipes like these: empanadas with Italian-style filling, Mexican-style lasagna and teriyaki-flavored burritos.

Americans are fine-tuning their appreciation for world cuisines.

What were gourmet ingredients - sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers and black beans - are now so commonplace they are mainstream.

The popularity of Mediterranean cooking was evident in the frequent use of eggplant, Roma tomatoes and couscous.

Cannellini beans, butter beans and chickpeas were simmered in soups. Penne and farfalle are pastas of choice.

Mexican influence was prevalent in many recipes with such seasonings as cayenne, crushed red pepper and cumin.

Other seasonings not seen often in past contests included black sesame seeds, flax seeds and white Worcestershire sauce.

Country-style or down-home cooking grew in popularity, with recipes created around the most basic ingredients: potatoes, corn, peas and rice.

Salads and other side dishes often featured an intriguing ethnic twist, with favorites including Spanish, French, Thai and Caribbean.

The chocolate and peanut butter combination has achieved ``classic'' status.

Consumers looking to cut fat in baked goods used applesauce.

Cream cheese and its upscale Italian cousin, mascarpone, were used in numerous ways, from cheese and fruit pizza to decadent classic cheesecake.

Coffee flavors were again common in recipes.