POT OF DOUGH; VALLEY RESIDENT HEADS TO FLORIDA TO COMPETE FOR $1 MILLION PILLSBURY BAKE-OFF PRIZE : BY NATALIE HAUGHTON DAILY NEWS FOOD EDITOR.

Excitement and nervousness is building in Gail Singer's home in Tarzana. As a finalist in the 38th Pillsbury Quick and Easy Bake-Off Contest on Saturday, she will be winging her way to Orlando, Fla., for a whirlwind weekend.

Monday is the biggest day. That's when she will compete with 99 other finalists (12 are Californians, 17 are men) from around the country for the $1 million top prize. She'll have five hours and three opportunities to prepare her 30-minute main dish in a marathon cooking session in her own mini-kitchen at the contest site. (Pillsbury's rules don't allow her to reveal any more about the dish, but Singer's full recipe will be printed in next week's Food section.)

Singer will be provided with the ingredients to prepare her dish up to three times, if she chooses, and will select one to show the panel of judges and another for photography and display.

Although Singer, a real estate agent in Woodland Hills, dreams of winning $1 million, she noted that ``to me it is like I've already won (she won an expenses-paid trip to Orlando to compete). It is exciting that I was chosen - that somebody recognized my talents. I still have to pinch myself.''

Singer said she didn't believe it when she found out in December that one of the six recipes (four desserts, one appetizer and one main dish) she submitted to Pillsbury had been selected for the bake-off. ``I almost dropped the phone,'' she said. In fact, she thought maybe one of her friends who knew she had entered the contest was playing a practical joke on her.

She was so leery of the caller giving her the good news that she asked for a number to call at Pillsbury to verify the news. However, by the end of the conversation, because of the details the caller revealed, Singer figured that it was no joke.

Winners will be announced during a nationally televised program, broadcast locally at 10 a.m. Tuesday on KCBS (Channel 2) and hosted by game-show host Alex Trebek, after which she and her husband, Rick, who is accompanying her to Orlando, will return home.

Singer is not a newcomer to the recipe contest scene. She had submitted recipes to three previous Bake-Offs, but this is her first time as a finalist. She believes that the main dish recipe taking her to the contest is a good one, but she favored some of her desserts, which is her specialty.

A few years back, she won an honorable mention in a Green Giant Fast and Healthy Rush Hour contest, and a year ago she won first place in the Calabasas pumpkin cook-off with her Pumpkin Mousse Cheesecake. It was a thrill, she said.

Singer enjoys the challenge of creating recipes and using ingredients and leftovers to come up with new dishes. She gleans ideas from a variety of sources - including newspaper food sections, food magazines, cookbooks, the food network and restaurants. Her cooking philosophy boils down to using fresh foods in combination with prepared foods (such as puff pastry dough). ``I like simple dishes,'' she pointed out, adding that ``flavor and presentation are most important.'' Singer enjoys entertaining friends once a month and cooks four nights a week for her husband, a meat-and-potatoes guy who likes homemade bread. Singer's favorite dessert is a caramel-nut tart with a chocolate topping.

Singer, a Chicago native who moved to Southern California 21 years ago, began cooking in her teen-age years in self-defense. ``My mother was not a particularly good cook, but my two grandmothers (one was Austrian, the other German) were, and that's where I picked up my love of baking.'' Singer continued cooking when she went away to college. If Singer were 20 years old now, she said, she'd seriously consider a career in cooking - and working in a test kitchen - her dream job.

Singer, the mother of two grown children and considered a good cook by family members and friends, has been practice-cooking and presenting her Bake-Off recipe, which she developed especially for the contest, weekly since she found out she was a finalist.

``It's luck that Pillsbury picked one of my recipes,'' said Singer.

Singer offers the following advice to anyone planning to enter recipe contests: ``Follow the instructions, and make the recipes as simple as possible. Also, go for something that has universal appeal. Years ago, I would submit complicated things that no one would probably make.''

Meanwhile, Singer shares some of her favorite recipes.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO-CRUSTED SALMON

1/4 cup (about 8 pieces) marinated sun-dried tomatoes (removed from marinade)

4 large garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 cup mild goat cheese

1 1/2 pounds fillet of salmon (cut into 4 pieces of equal thickness)

1 cup marinara sauce

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated fresh tortellini

Fresh spinach leaves for garnish

Grease or spray (with cooking spray) a foil-lined baking pan that will accommodate the salmon fillets.

Finely chop tomatoes and mix with garlic and goat cheese.

Arrange salmon fillets on baking pan, skin side down. Spread cheese mixture evenly on top of salmon.

Bake on top shelf of preheated 450-degree oven 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce and prepare tortellini according to package instructions.

To serve, pour marinara sauce over surface of a platter. Top with salmon fillets. Garnish with fresh spinach leaves. Skewer cooked tortellini on wooden fondue sticks and place alongside salmon. Makes 4 servings.

SOUTHWESTERN SHRIMP SCAMPI 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

5 large cloves garlic, pressed

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 pound large raw shrimp (should weigh 1 pound after being cleaned and shelled)

1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup crushed tortilla chips

In a microwave-safe dish, melt butter with garlic in microwave oven on high power 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice, cayenne pepper and cilantro.

Combine butter mixture with shrimp, corn and beans. Turn mixture into a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle with tortilla chips.

Bake in preheated 425-degree oven 20 to 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

COCONUT BARS

2 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Grease bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking pan.

For crust, combine 2 1/4 cups flour and powdered sugar. Cut in 1 cup butter until dough forms. Press into bottom of prepared pan.

Bake in preheated 325-degree oven 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

For topping, combine brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon flour with a whisk. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons butter, melted. Sprinkle coconut evenly over crust. Pour topping evenly over coconut. Bake an additional 45 minutes. Cool, cut into bars.

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Photo: (Color) Gail Singer holds her salmon dish at her home in Tarzana.

David Sprague/Daily News