What are the top recipes for this season's best dishes?

[ljeffries]

Ok, I had friends over tonight for movie night. I made the Crab Rangood spread/dip--super, super easy and very, very good. I made the Brown Sugar Dijon Brie and it lasted about 10 minutes. Made the Asian Noodle Skillet (for the 3rd time this wee) - and it was just as good as it has been every other time. Finally, I did the brownies - and they were almost all gone when everyone left.

I really think the test kitchen folks did a great job this time with Season's Best this season!!

 

[smspamperedchef]

I TOTALLY agree! I have made more recipes out of the book this week than I usually do all season long! Everything I have tried is scrumptious!!!

 

[katie0128]

I made the Mini Pesto Pizzas for DH to take to work for their regular food day - cut them in 1/2 so he would have 30 to take. He was concerned because the pizzas would only be room temperature and most people wouldn't bother to heat them up... even if you told them to. The first guy that tried them (who is fairly reserved) apparently said, "Holy Sh!t... these are good". When DH went back to get more food (about 30 minutes later), he said the plate was empty and everyone was raving about them! Now if I could only get these idiots that he works with to have a show...

 

[Christ Follower]

oooooh. I can't wait to try the mini pesto pizzas! If they turnout good I'm making them at my next show!

 

[raebates]

I made the Mini Pesto Pizzas for DH to take to work for their regular food day - cut them in 1/2 so he would have 30 to take. He was concerned because the pizzas would only be room temperature and most people wouldn't bother to heat them up... even if you told them to. The first guy that tried them (who is fairly reserved) apparently said, "Holy Sh!t... these are good". When DH went back to get more food (about 30 minutes later), he said the plate was empty and everyone was raving about them! Now if I could only get these idiots that he works with to have a show...

Would your DH be willing to collect orders? You could "pamper the business." He takes something yummy, along with catalogs and order forms. You could even do a mystery host thing by letting them know that one of the people placing an order would wind up with host benefits. Just a thought.

 

[PC_CPR]

Your friends are very lucky to get treated to all that yummy food! I mean, I have occasionally whipped out the Aloha Pizza for friends, and the Molten Lava Choc Cake in the micro, but not a full-course meal like you did! All kidding aside, I must say, those recipes are all fairly quick and easy, too!

 

[heat123]

I have to say these recipes this season are as yummy sounding as last season's! I liked the sounds of almost all of the recipes in the SBCB!

 

[Jilleysue]

Great I can't wait to try all of these this week. My step daughter goes in for surgery on her leg..so while she is laid up and we are all home, time for my guinee pigs on food...LOL.
Can't wait to try the crab rangoon Dip. Lord that is one of my favorites....MMMMM

 

[straitfan]

Crab rangoon dip--do I remember correctly that it goes in the MINI baker? About how many people did that serve? I can't wait to try it, it sounds yummy.

 

[ljeffries]

The crab dip served 8 with about 1/2 cup left over...
Today at our cluster meeting, we had the mini pizzas, crab rangoon dip, warm caramel brownies, the brownie cups, the brunch recipena, jerk chicken nachos, the brie and the minty torte (my made up names of course). There was not one of the recipes that was not good! Of course, some would be harder to do as show recipes than others.

 

[feather18]

Molton Chocolate cake? In the mini cake pan? Man if its in the reg fluted pan, i would love to have that! YUM!! hehe!!

 

[chefruthie]

Molton Chocolate Cake is made in the Rice Cooker in the microwave. It's quite yummy and has a big WOW factor. If you look up rice cooker recipes in the files, it's in there. Enjoy!

Ruthie

 

[finley1991]

Ok, I had friends over tonight for movie night. I made the Crab Rangood spread/dip--super, super easy and very, very good. I made the Brown Sugar Dijon Brie and it lasted about 10 minutes. Made the Asian Noodle Skillet (for the 3rd time this wee) - and it was just as good as it has been every other time. Finally, I did the brownies - and they were almost all gone when everyone left.

I really think the test kitchen folks did a great job this time with Season's Best this season!!

BE SURE TO E-MAIL HO WITH YOUR POSITIVE FEEDBACK! THEY'D LOVE TO HEAR IT!!!!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

The crab ragoon is not a new recipe - it's in one of the cookbooks, just can't remember which one right now.

I made it for a end of year baseball party for my son 2 years ago and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. Back then I wasn't brave enough to say, I'll give it to you when you have your show!

 

[chefruthie]

It's in the Stoneware Inspirations cookbook. It's in the create-a-dip recipes. They changed it for the SB and made it into a microwave recipe. The Chicken Fiesta dip is really good too. I serve that with Tostitos Lime tortilla chips. It never lasts long either!

Ruthie

 

[feather18]

is there a molton cake for the fluted pan? because that would be good, but that is also the product i have!! haha but thanks for the info!!Heather~

 

[JAE]

I have to say that after having the warm nutty caramel brownies tonight, I am not that excited about them. It could be because by the time we ate them they weren't warm any longer and the caramel was sticking to my teeth. Yuck! It was like eating Milk Duds and I don't choose to eat Milk Duds because they stick to the teeth. I thought they were too chewy. I think I'll try less brown sugar and use caramel filled Hershey's Kisses. The mint torte was awesome, and I'm not even a mint fan. The brownie truffle things were great. I loved the dip with the cream cheese, cinnamon sprinkles, cool whip? and chocolate swirled. The mocha skillet cake was okay. I made mini pesto pizzas. They were simple to make and tasted good. I liked the pizza with artichokes and hummus. The blueberry and pine nut salad with chicken was very good (from the 29 minutes ckbk I think). The tangy brie was good. Other things were okay, but I named my favorites.
Needless to say, I was stuffed and I can't get myself calm enough to sleep after all that chocolate. Oh and the raspberry fizz bev was wonderful. Not sure about the other drink with lots of lime (name?). It was a little too Lime-y.

 

[mpkegley]

I made the brownies last night with the caramel kisses and I really loved them! No caramel stuck to your teeth and we did not eat them warm. I was having a dinner for my dad and I wanted everything to be done and ready so they were still good even though they were not just out of the oven. Everyone loved them!

 

[Denarella]

I have to say that after having the warm nutty caramel brownies tonight, I am not that excited about them. It could be because by the time we ate them they weren't warm any longer and the caramel was sticking to my teeth. Yuck! It was like eating Milk Duds and I don't choose to eat Milk Duds because they stick to the teeth. I thought they were too chewy. I think I'll try less brown sugar and use caramel filled Hershey's Kisses. The mint torte was awesome, and I'm not even a mint fan. The brownie truffle things were great. I loved the dip with the cream cheese, cinnamon sprinkles, cool whip? and chocolate swirled. The mocha skillet cake was okay. I made mini pesto pizzas. They were simple to make and tasted good. I liked the pizza with artichokes and hummus. The blueberry and pine nut salad with chicken was very good (from the 29 minutes ckbk I think). The tangy brie was good. Other things were okay, but I named my favorites.
Needless to say, I was stuffed and I can't get myself calm enough to sleep after all that chocolate. Oh and the raspberry fizz bev was wonderful. Not sure about the other drink with lots of lime (name?). It was a little too Lime-y.

I too, made the brownies and I did not like them. The rolo candies have that 'cheap' chocolate taste and they were not very good cold. The chocolate caramel kisses sound devine and think where you could go with that! Im thinking the peanut butter ones would be excellent! Im having my first show for co workers and it will be a chocolate bliss. After reading tons of material on here, Im really thinking about cooking everything ahead of time and just doing some demos of the cookware and a few items and letting them eat. What chocolate dishes do all of you recommend that they will love and I could actually handle as a Rookie?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I have to say that after having the warm nutty caramel brownies tonight, I am not that excited about them. It could be because by the time we ate them they weren't warm any longer and the caramel was sticking to my teeth. Yuck! It was like eating Milk Duds and I don't choose to eat Milk Duds because they stick to the teeth. I thought they were too chewy. I think I'll try less brown sugar and use caramel filled Hershey's Kisses. The mint torte was awesome, and I'm not even a mint fan. The brownie truffle things were great. I loved the dip with the cream cheese, cinnamon sprinkles, cool whip? and chocolate swirled. The mocha skillet cake was okay. I made mini pesto pizzas. They were simple to make and tasted good. I liked the pizza with artichokes and hummus. The blueberry and pine nut salad with chicken was very good (from the 29 minutes ckbk I think). The tangy brie was good. Other things were okay, but I named my favorites.
Needless to say, I was stuffed and I can't get myself calm enough to sleep after all that chocolate. Oh and the raspberry fizz bev was wonderful. Not sure about the other drink with lots of lime (name?). It was a little too Lime-y.

JAE and I were at the same Extended Cluster Meeting where we tried all these things - I think we liked most of the same stuff. Her Mini Pesto Pizzas were awesome! I made the Mediterranean Hummus Pizza - and while I (and JAE) really liked it, I don't think I would demo it - too many people don't like one or more of the ingredients - and it was almost $19 to make - but it does show alot of products! The Mint Torte was extreme chocolate! Very rich, but oh so good! It would feed a ton of people - just because a little goes a long way! The Blueberry Chicken salad was very good - and the lady who made it said it was a good demo recipe too. Oh - and the little avocado/salsa tortilla cup thingys (in the new SB) - I could have eaten the whole tray of those!
The Lemon Lime Fizz was way too limey - but the person who made it said she followed the directions - and next time she would only use 1 lime instead of 2.ETA- I agree w/ JAE about the brownies - I thought they were also gritty, possibly from too much brown sugar. I'm wondering if you make chewy brownies w/o adding extra brown sugar, and then use the Caramel Kisses, if they would be better? Anyway - when eaten beside, and compared to some of the other chocolate treats - they just didn't shine. The ones I liked the best were the Mint Torte, the Brownie Truffle Cups, and the Double Chocolate Cinnamon dip (we had it with apple slices - and it was soooo good!)

 

[minersmix]

Has anyone made the chocolate raspberry trifle yet? I made this and thought it was awful. It ended up in the garbage. My family did not like it either. Not sure if I made it wrong. I had a hard time with the pudding and milk. It seemed to dry and got hard to stir so I started over and used more milk. That should have not bearing on the taste though.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Has anyone made the chocolate raspberry trifle yet? I made this and thought it was awful. It ended up in the garbage. My family did not like it either. Not sure if I made it wrong. I had a hard time with the pudding and milk. It seemed to dry and got hard to stir so I started over and used more milk. That should have not bearing on the taste though.

We had it at the Cluster Meeting last night - it looked pretty - but it wasn't one of my favorites. It didn't seem dry at all though. One of my best friends is having a show in Sept. She is a raspberry/chocolate combo FREAK (!) and has requested that I make it w/ chocolate fudge pudding instead of the white chocolate. After sampling it last night, I think that might be better. Also - the consultant who made it, and another director who say it made at conference, both said that you would have to do a TON of prep work in order to make it a good demo recipe.

 

[Chef Kearns]

At my cluster meeting last night we had a huge spread but because I am a picky eater didn't try everything. I brought the Noodle skillet and thought it was quick easy and delicious.

We had:
Med Hummus squares (didn't try these - big yuck on the Hummus and the Artichokes for me)
Jerk Nachos (very good - a little plain)
Avacado thingies (didn't try these - detest avacado)
Meatballs covered with rice (very dry - definitely need the sauce, which was better than the meatballs)
Cran Rangoon dip (yummy yummy!!)
10-minute pork w/bread to make sandwiches (good)
Pork Salad w/ corn in it (didn't try - don't like cold corn)
Asian Pork Noodle skillet (LOVED it)
Turtle Fudge Skillet cake (always a winner)
Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies (extremely good - not a good show recipe. The girl who made it said it took longer than an hour)

Those are my thoughts. I can't wait to try some more recipes.

 

[DebbieJ]

Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies (extremely good - not a good show recipe. The girl who made it said it took longer than an hour)

Are you kidding me? This is a great show recipe with just a little prep work. They key is getting the brownies in the oven right away and then doing the toppings while it's baking. It shouldn't take an hour to make these.

 

[cookemomstir]

Re: warm nutty caramel brownies:thumbup: I agree! The first time I made the brownies it did take little longer than it should have but i was reading the recipe as i went along. Also I have made these several times and agree to cut back on the brown sugar and even put a little less choc. morsels in the batter and reserve for the melted chocolate on top. I also cut back on the nuts a little to keep them from being so messy (falling off as you eat them).
Last night I tried the Avocado Salsa Cups---------FANTASTIC!!! And soooooo easy to make-I couldnt keep my boyfriend out of the avocado filling, barely made it in the cups, I think it would make a great salsa - just double it.

 

[katie0128]

We had it at the Cluster Meeting last night - it looked pretty - but it wasn't one of my favorites. It didn't seem dry at all though. One of my best friends is having a show in Sept. She is a raspberry/chocolate combo FREAK (!) and has requested that I make it w/ chocolate fudge pudding instead of the white chocolate. After sampling it last night, I think that might be better. Also - the consultant who made it, and another director who say it made at conference, both said that you would have to do a TON of prep work in order to make it a good demo recipe.

I have made the Trifle two times and thought that it would be a GREAT demo recipe. The first time of course took a bit longer, but the second time I was done - start to finish - in less than 40 minutes and that includes the time it took to break an entire box of vanilla wafers in half! If I was doing this for a show, I would either have the host do this ahead of time or have one or two guests do it while I was doing something else. The only thing I would do before the show is mix the pudding and milk. The longer the mixture can set-up in the refrigerator, the thicker it becomes.

Personally, I don't think there is much prep work at all and it is very guest interactive - using food chopper for chocolate chips, making gnoche (I know I didn't spell it correctly, oh well!), actually layering the trifle, stirring the raspberries and jelly. I think it would be SO easy to have "PC novices" basically do the whole demo while just directing them - or use it as a New Consultant recipe!

I'm planning on trying it this weekend with strawberries instead of raspberries... just to see how it tastes!

ETA - just realized that I'm mixing the chocolate recipes in my head - no food chopper for trifle... but still yummy and a really good demo IMHO!

 

[Chef Kearns]

Are you kidding me? This is a great show recipe with just a little prep work. They key is getting the brownies in the oven right away and then doing the toppings while it's baking. It shouldn't take an hour to make these.

I haven't made it yet, I was just going by what she was saying about it. She didn't have good things to say. It looked yummy and was very very good! She had made it with her dad (her director) twice then once by herself for the cluster meeting and it was still just about an hour. Too long in my opinion. Once again, I haven't made it myself to know for sure!:angel:

 

[Denarella]

I have a question. Does anyone find that the blades on their chopper dull? When I made the brownies on Sunday and I was chopping the chocolate morsels, it seemed ridiculously difficult to get them smaller. Is that normal or is it my chopper?

 

[chefann]

My chocolate chips don't like getting small, either. So I use the mini chips instead. The recipe still shows the chopper for the nuts.

 

[Chef Kearns]

One thing we discussed at our meeting last night is tossing the morsels in the freezer as soon as you begin your show (or give them at least 20 minutes in there) then chop them. They will be easier to thoroughly chop and handle.