What Are Your Favorite and Least Favorite New Products After Trying Them?

[jackieblue]

I am curious to see what you liked/didn't when you actually saw the products and handled them.

:thumbup: Here are my hits:

I was SO pleasantly surprised when I saw the martini glasses in person and held them. They are *so* nice. I never would have thought I'd like them as much as I do. And they are quite large for martini glasses...I'll bet they hold at least twice as much as mine. I can't wait to give them (with the shaker) as a gift.

I liked the insulated quality of the shaker a lot. In my glass shaker, the ice inside melts really fast. I am guessing this will be better although i haven't used it.

Anyone who has read any of my posts knows I love the plates. :blushing:

The shears won me over when I handled them in person, and I wanted the prep bowls so I ordered package C.

The recipe cards and appetizer cookbook are great.

I was excited about the quality of the cookie press. I liked the metal discs. I have never made pressed cookies, but I can't wait.

The digital thermometer looked awesome. I don't own it, but handling it made me want to sometime in the future.


:thumbdown: These missed for me:

The measuring cups. I hope I am wrong, but they seem like they will get really scratched up and look schlocky rather quickly.

The cookie sheet. Scratches way too easily. Couldn't they have textured it or put a different finish or something?

The magnet. FAB idea, needs work on the execution. Wish it held to textured surfaces.

Ice bucket. Another awesome idea, but it's kind of awkward execution-wise and I am not yet convinced it's worth the $$.

Stainless colanders seem to me like they would be an absolute nightmare to clean, but I don't know this firsthand.

Love the look of the beaded handles, but I find them way too impractical.

What are your thoughts now that you have some of the products or have seen them at your cluster meeting??

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Hmmm, I LOVE the measuring cups. They are made of the same material as the Easy Read Cups, and those have held up just fine.

To me - a cookie sheet is a cookie sheet, so I don't really care if it gets scratched. As long as it performs well, I don't care about the cosmetics...I think I'll judge this one based on performance.

Love the conversions magnet,
love the SS colanders (they wash up great in the dishwasher),
and although I don't think I'll have much use for the new beaded stuff, I have lots of customers who love the pieces from last year, so I know they'll love these too.

The only two things I'm not really thrilled with are the new Appetizers Cookbook (I tried to love it, really, but the recipes just don't grab me, they are mostly expensive and time consuming to make) and the Mesh strainer thing....you know, the one that looks exactly like the one we already have, only a little smaller? Not feeling the love for that....


My 2 cup prep bowls are already screaming for 2 more sets to keep them company,
and I love the new serrated knife.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Weekday Dinners Done cards,
and the Thai Peanut Sauce.

Happy to see that they took the best of the old white shears, and the newer black shears - and made a perfect pair!

I am really excited about the cookie press! I've played with it, but haven't actually made cookies yet.

The digital thermometer is awesome!

Really like the plates and platter. Hope it's a host/guest special for November or December.

 

[baychef]

We thought a pair of tongs to match the ice bucket would have been good. Then we looked to see if there was a place to hang a pair if they came up with them and there isn't.

Not thrilled with the Appetizer or More Latin cookbooks. Just not many recipes in these appeal to me. I feel people in my area will not be overly interested but they will be packed in my kit none the less.

Love the new Weeknight Dinners -Done! But wish there were 4 weeks.

Not the most exciting line I have seen but feel it fits with entertaining at home and the economy. Most of the recipes I have tried are wonderful!!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

We thought a pair of tongs to match the ice bucket would have been good. Then we looked to see if there was a place to hang a pair if they came up with them and there isn't.

Not thrilled with the Appetizer or More Latin cookbooks. Just not many recipes in these appeal to me. I feel people in my area will not be overly interested but they will be packed in my kit none the less.

Love the new Weeknight Dinners -Done! But wish there were 4 weeks.

Not the most exciting line I have seen but feel it fits with entertaining at home and the economy. Most of the recipes I have tried are wonderful!!!

Ann - my AD asked about that in the Product Room. There were tongs, but the product development people felt that they were sub-standard, and sent them back. Instead of delaying the release of the Ice Bucket, the tongs will just be coming out at a later date.

 

[jackieblue]

Love the new Weeknight Dinners -Done! But wish there were 4 weeks.

That would have been amazing!

 

[kewaters]

we asked at NC about why there weren't tongs with the ice bucket and Snow Lisa said it's because they didn't pass their quality testing and still needed some final testing and modifications before they rolled them out.

LOVE the weeknight dinners. I hope they come out with a volume II of these. I really think people are going to love these.

I don't have any of the metalware, but I got the cooki sheet, and from just holding it I like the weight and the curved sides. We'll see how I like it when I make a batch of cookies.

I wasn't excited about the serveware. To me they just aren't practical for most entertaining. But, maybe that's just me.

I also felt like most of the new items were small items, in terms of size. It just seems like a bunch of small items and not any bigger items. Maybe that's just me b/c I'm not into teh Stainless cookware.

But, it was fun to see all the new products they came out with and I can't wait to use them!

 

[baychef]

Ann - my AD asked about that in the Product Room. There were tongs, but the product development people felt that they were sub-standard, and sent them back. Instead of delaying the release of the Ice Bucket, the tongs will just be coming out at a later date.

Interesting! I wish share that with my team! We were thinking that tongs would be a great "follow up" item. Glad they didn't delay it! That is never fun!

And...
"But, it was fun to see all the new products they came out with and I can't wait to use them!"

I agree!! I ALWAYS have fun using them!!! And I never refuse to receive my free products from the Fed Ex man!!!

 

[cewcooks]

Oh I love the Barware, the glasses do look really nice last night I made lemon drop martini's and it was a little more than 2 drinks! I have not used the ice bucket yet but I love how it looks and the weekly dinners recipe cards are nice as well.

 

[scavallero]

Just used the cookie press for the first time. I had never tried the old one so I can't compare. The new one is very easy to use: stand it up on the cookie sheet and turn the knob a quarter turn (easy), lift and do it again. For my first time using it, they all looked uniform in shape and cooked evenly. Love the new cookie sheet. Baked uniformly and cookies slid right off onto cooling rack, no sticking. The recipe that came with the cookie press was delicious, I added the tiny candy balls. Some of our sweet sprinkles would be delicious too. This seems like a fast and easy way to make a large number of cookies quickly.

 

[BlessedWifeMommy]

Just used the cookie press for the first time. I had never tried the old one so I can't compare. The new one is very easy to use: stand it up on the cookie sheet and turn the knob a quarter turn (easy), lift and do it again. For my first time using it, they all looked uniform in shape and cooked evenly. Love the new cookie sheet. Baked uniformly and cookies slid right off onto cooling rack, no sticking. The recipe that came with the cookie press was delicious, I added the tiny candy balls. Some of our sweet sprinkles would be delicious too. This seems like a fast and easy way to make a large number of cookies quickly.

Thanks for the review, I just got it, and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Don't worry about never using the old one! You saved yourself lots of frustration!

 

[BlessedWifeMommy]

Personally the only disappointment is the serving pieces. The plastic beads look & feel really cheap.

 

[Shawnna]

I'm not crazy about the bead serving pieces either. I wish they would give us some practical serving pieces...something you could use every day. The old SS serving pieces were nice but a little pricey for every day use...and the rubber strip came off of them when I washed them.

 

[DeeDee616]

a recipe came with the cookie press? How did i miss that? I swear i read the use and care card all the way thru (guess not lol)

 

[PCJenni]

I like the beaded pieces, I think they look and feel expensive.

 

[Fluffy215]

The only thing I did not like is the guard to the cheese plane. It is not secure and keeps falling off everytime I pick it up. I think I might have to contact HO on that one because it's not like that on any of the other ones. I do like the Stainless Colanders however they are a pain to wash by hand because of the X on the bottom. I am sure in the dishwasher it's going to be great but I don't have one other than my DH LOL

 

[Melissa78]

I cannot bake cookies worth a hoot. They all turn into hockey pucks upon cooling nor do they ever rise (so picture paper thin hockey pucks) HOWEVER either dumb luck or its the pan but I did use my new cookie sheets last weekend for choc chip cookies and although they didn't rise a ton (didn't expect, these were the break apart kind from the groc store) they came out gooey and stayed soft. First time ever! I'll credit the pan since its the same user.

 

[ChefPaulaB]

Hmmm, I LOVE the measuring cups. They are made of the same material as the Easy Read Cups, and those have held up just fine.

To me - a cookie sheet is a cookie sheet, so I don't really care if it gets scratched. As long as it performs well, I don't care about the cosmetics...I think I'll judge this one based on performance.

Love the conversions magnet,
love the SS colanders (they wash up great in the dishwasher),
and although I don't think I'll have much use for the new beaded stuff, I have lots of customers who love the pieces from last year, so I know they'll love these too.

The only two things I'm not really thrilled with are the new Appetizers Cookbook (I tried to love it, really, but the recipes just don't grab me, they are mostly expensive and time consuming to make) and the Mesh strainer thing....you know, the one that looks exactly like the one we already have, only a little smaller? Not feeling the love for that....


My 2 cup prep bowls are already screaming for 2 more sets to keep them company,
and I love the new serrated knife.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Weekday Dinners Done cards,
and the Thai Peanut Sauce.

Happy to see that they took the best of the old white shears, and the newer black shears - and made a perfect pair!

I am really excited about the cookie press! I've played with it, but haven't actually made cookies yet.

The digital thermometer is awesome!

Really like the plates and platter. Hope it's a host/guest special for November or December.

Glad to see it's not just me... I was excited about the appetizer cookbook, until I saw it and the recipes are a little fancy for our tastes, wasn't thrilled with the Latin one either, but I can't say that I've ever made anything from the first Latin one either...

 

[wadesgirl]

Love the new kitchen shears - so glad they got rid of the old ones!
I like more of the recipes from the new Latin cookbook than I thought I would, not really impressed with the appetizer cookbook.
Love the cookie press. It was really easy to use. I'm taking it this weekend to make cookies with my neice and nephew.
Love the colandar set although I have not used it yet.
I've seen the ice bucket in action, ice lasts forever and it doesn't condensate so no water ring on your table. Don't think I'll ever get one for myself - or the shaker or martini glasses for that matter.
I like the new beaded stuff but the only one I would use in my kitchen is the cake server.

 

[pampcheflisa]

It's so hard to know what our customers will think as hits or misses. And, I guess it's pretty regional too. I know I will sell a lot of the Latin cookbook, regardless of what I think about it, because of the region I live in.
Personally, I am most excited about the prep bowls, the measuring cups, and the cookie press and sheet.
I also like the beaded stuff, but like wadesgirl, I peronally will only use the cake server.