What Are Your Favorite Recipes from the Latest Season's Best Cookbook?

[Debunny]

I was just wondering what New recipes you ladies have tried and liked from the new Seasons Best? Is there any that any of you have tried and NOT liked? I know alot of you like the Potstickers but I was just not impressed with the water chestnuts in them. Yesterday I got my Family Skillet so of course had to "bake" in it...lol I tried the Molten Chocolate Skillet Brownie and all I can say is OMG!!! It is AWESOME!. I am taking the rest of it to a friends work today for a treat for them. If I leave it in my house I WILL eat it and I SOOOO do not need it...LOL. I swear I have gained like 10 pounds since starting selling PC...I feel like I need to walk 10 miles now after eating some of it last night..lol

 

[BethCooks4U]

I made the Molten Chocolate Skillet Brownie last night too as a trial because a host wants it for her party Monday night. OMG!! It is to die for! I'm in trouble because my husband and sons can all resist chocolate but I can't.

I have made Touchdown Taco Dip MANY times (double it and use refried beans instead of the bean dip and put it in either the unglazed deep dish baker or the minibaker) and it is always requested when we are watching a big football game at our house! It's also a GREAT starter recipe. The next recipe I will try from the new SB is one of the Phyllo recipes. Oh, yes, and I will try the Coconut Shrimp Cakes. I hate coconut but you all say how good it is even if you hate coconut so I will try.

I have also made the Hearty Meat Sauce and the Pasta Roll-Ups and Chili Bread Bowls from the new Inspirations Cookbook. All a great hit! I have made the Berries 'N Stars recipe in that book before and it is awesome! I can't wait to try the Mocha Cappuccino Cake!

I have to say the "create-a-Party Dip and the create-a-Flavor and the create-a-Cookie and create-a-Quiche" recipes are an awesome idea!!

 

[Debunny]

WOW Beth, you have been a busy cook! LOL That Brownie is sooooo good isnt it? I have the shrimp to try the Coconut Shrimp cakes and also have the ingredients to try the Mole Chicken pizza. trying to decide which to try first though. But I want to get the stuff to make the touchdown taco dip. I think that will go over really well.

 

[BethCooks4U]

WOW Beth, you have been a busy cook! LOL That Brownie is sooooo good isnt it? I have the shrimp to try the Coconut Shrimp cakes and also have the ingredients to try the Mole Chicken pizza. trying to decide which to try first though. But I want to get the stuff to make the touchdown taco dip. I think that will go over really well.

TDTD is probably my most requested recipe! Men love it and it's great for fall shows!

 

[Chef Kearns]

Not in SBFrom the new cookbook I made the Chili Rellenos Chicken (it's in the Cooking for Two section) and that was fabulous.

Quick tip: do not use Doritos as your tortilla chips. They are too salty, just buy the generic.

I have 5 in my family so I just doubled the recipe. I think the Lime mixture you dip the chicken in would be an awesome marinate and would probably bring more flavor to the dish if you could prepare it and put the chicken in there for a few hours or even tenderize it a little with the meat tenderizer to make sure the flavor permeates the entire chicken breast. Fabulous!!

 

[noradawn]

I'm in the process of trying out recipes for my next season of shows. Today I made the Italian Pasta Stir-Fry, and it was amazingly tasty! I really want to use it as a show recipe, but I will have to get a hot plate and the stir-fry skillet first, so I want to make a little more money to justify it. But it is YUMMY!--Try it!

I have also made Mediterranean Hummus Squares (used my own homemade hummus), Easy Artichoke Pizza, and Warm Apple Almond Pastry. It was all great!

 

[swhitton]

We tried a few of the recipes from the new Season's Best at our Cluster Meeting this week - They were all pretty good, but some were a little more difficult than others and recommendations from the consultants who made them were to definitely work with them at home first. All of the recipes came in under $15 for ingredients.

The Family-Size Baked Burrito was delicious. The consultant said it was easy to make and would be a definite hit for a show.

The Mediterranean Hummus Squares were good. Suggested that you would want to prep a lot of the toppings ahead of time so that would not take to long.

Mole Chicken Pizza was also very good. However, the consultant who made this suggested having the sauce prepared ahead of time (especially the chocolate, peanut butter and barbecue sauce) due to the way it looked as it was being made (she said is was not pretty and she refused to try it!?!)

Phyllo Cheesecake Tart - This was delicious. My director who made this said she had quite a time with the Phyllo dough - trying to get the edges to stand up pretty like in the book. Suggestions were made by others to maybe try making it in the deep dish pie plate.

Chocolate Banana Phyllo Bundles - These were good, extremely sweet. It was not suggested to make at show as i does not use that many tools for the amount of time it takes. The majority of the time spent on this recipe is rolling the bananas and this does not show any tools. However if you prepared ahead as a second recipe would be ok as you can show the SA's for serving it. The other problem the consultant had who made it was that the chocolate did run out of the wraps in the oven and she caught it just in time before it ran off the stone. She suggested doing these in a bar pan instead of on the round stone to prevent the chocolate running off the stone.

These are just what we found at our meeting.
Sharon

 

[pamperedbecky]

At our cluster meeting on Monday, each of us brought one of the new recipes and we talked about how easy it was, if it's a good show recipe, what kinds of products it showed, etc. Everything was really good! One of the diretors even roasted a turkey in the new pan and there were a couple types of stuffing. The Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing was awesome! I think I may make that for Thanksgiving this year. The Molten Lava Brownie Cake was wonderful. I made the Raspberry Dream Cheesecake which was delicious and quite easy! The Green Chile Frittata was good, but I doubt I'd really make that alot for my family anyway. It's probably a good show recipe. The crab cakes were good too.

I've made the baked potstickers and liked those. I like Asian food, so the taste was right up my alley. I have a chocolate themed party coming up so I'll definitely do the Molten Lava Cake. Yum!!

 

[PamperedGinger]

I've made all 3 of the new Celebration shows.

I think they are all great for kitchen shows. The ONLY thing that might be fussy are the crepes cracking as you trim them before cooking them.

I LOVED both new Mexican recipes...Family Burrito and Green Chili Fritata. I didn't think I'd like the fritata, but I did. I did add fewer onions than it called for.

 

[Chef Kearns]

Mousse CrepesGinger,

Did you use balls of foil for making your crepes as suggested or did you try something different? I am with some of the other posters in that the foil really seems like a waste, even though you can recycle it. I was really surprised as I watched the demo at conference.

Anyway...let me know. Some people said they had success with the Prep Bowls, but at conference they said not to do that because it would shatter the bowls. It was also suggested to use the Mini-Fluted pan upside down, but the Test Kitchen lady said that the edges would touch and not get sufficiently browned.

Thanks.

 

[chefbilyeu]

I've made just a few of the new recipes. I've had the Touchdown Taco Dip before, and like everyone else has said, it's a big hit!

From the Stoneware Inspirations book...
I've had the Crab Rangoon Dip. I don't even like Crab Rangoon, but this tasted GREAT! Was a big hit at our Cluster meeting!

The Cheeseburger Stuffed Calzone was a big hit last season (Fall/Winter 2004, I believe?). I make this at my Jimmy Buffet shows, and everyone likes it. Just remember to keep your dough in the refrigerator until you need it--gets too sticky otherwise, and hard to unroll.

The Florentine Stuffed Chicken Breasts were yummy. They aren't a great recipe for shows, as they are pretty involved, but tasted delicious! I made them with roasted asparagus...my husband loved it all.

I've also made the Italian Meat Loaves. I doubled the recipe and made one large meatloaf on the Stoneware Bar Pan. Tasted good, but more like a big meatball then meatloaf.

As for the Celebration show recipes, I've made the Chocolate-Banana Phyllo Bundles twice. The first time, the chocolate did ooze out the side. The second time, I didn't have that problem because I spread out the bananas more and made them bigger. The only problem I have with this recipe is how RICH it is! It's very sweet...even though it only calls for a Tablespoon of the chocolate, that's more than enough! Also, not good the next day, just FYI...

We made the Potstickers at our last cluster meeting, and used eggroll wrappers instead, cutting them into fours. They are cheaper that way. We left the dough out too long, so it got dried out, but we just watered it down, and tried again. The only thing I didn't like was how they were more soft/soggy than crispy. I will try spraying them with more oil next time.

Just my two cents...

 

[Debunny]

I tried the Mole Chicken Pizza tonight. It was pretty good, though i wasnt too fond of the sauce. A little too sweet IMO to be with the chicken. But the toppings were great! And Sharon, the sauce does look really gross when you are making it..LOL I am definitely going to try the TTD this weekend though. I will have to remember that about the Chilies Rellenos Chicken because that looks really tasty. So does the Cheeseburger Stuffed Calzone, though it looks like it will taste like the chesseburger ring; which we already love.

 

[janel kelly]

I made the upside down lasagna from the new stonware inspirations cookbook and it was very good. I doubt I would make this at my shows because it takes an hour to bake but it is a great recipe to make for your family- a great alternative to lasagna!

I've also made the chilis rellenos the other night and I made them with doritos. I thought they were great. I guess it depends on your preference which chips you use.

 

[PampMomof3]

Which stoneware should I use?

I have made Touchdown Taco Dip MANY times (double it and use refried beans instead of the bean dip and put it in either the unglazed deep dish baker or the minibaker) and it is always requested when we are watching a big football game at our house! It's also a GREAT starter recipe.

Hey everyone! Beth, you said to make this dip in the unglazed deep dish baker and wonder why? Is it smaller than the glazed baker? I am going to make it in about an hour and am wanting to know if I should make it in the glazed deep dish (I don't have the unglazed one) or the glazed mini-baker. I am going to double the recipe so someone please tell me what to do! This is the first time I'm making it and I'm bringing it to a party where there is LOTS of money. I want to get some oohs and ahhs and maybe collect some orders. Please let me know!!!

 

[BethCooks4U]

Hey everyone! Beth, you said to make this dip in the unglazed deep dish baker and wonder why? Is it smaller than the glazed baker? I am going to make it in about an hour and am wanting to know if I should make it in the glazed deep dish (I don't have the unglazed one) or the glazed mini-baker. I am going to double the recipe so someone please tell me what to do! This is the first time I'm making it and I'm bringing it to a party where there is LOTS of money. I want to get some oohs and ahhs and maybe collect some orders. Please let me know!!!

The original recipe called for the unglazed deep dish baker which is smaller than the glazed version. If you have the minibaker use that. If you are doing it in the glazed deep dish baker I would at least triple it. The recipe in the f/w 05 seasons best is said to be made in the small oval baker which is a 2 cup capacity. Minibaker holds 4 cups, classic dd baker 6 cups and the glazed dd baker is 8 cups.

Hope this was in time and helps!

 

[chefbilyeu]

I make my Touchdown Taco Dip in the Glazed Deep Dish Baker, and it's just as good, I think. I used the recipe from the F/W '05, and it was yummy!

Just my two cents!

 

[Nell's-a-Cookin']

Not sure about the green chile frittataI made the green chile frittata tonight for supper. We liked it alright, and I made it because I thought I'd like it for my September shows (wanting to do the Ole! theme as September is Mexico's Independence Day Month). Anyways, it was okay, but I don't know that it would be a big hit for shows. I had my sister come by and get a plate and she agreed, while it is good, thought there would be many people that would not like it. I was dissappointed in it b/c it looks impressive in the skillet and used a lot of tools, but want people to LOVE the food so they'll want a party too. So now I'm going to try the family sized burrito. The Mole Chicken Pizza looks scary to me as I am used to making mole and such the family way (married into a Mexican family..... and make Chicken Mole for our church's fundraiser with 200 pounds of Chicken). I will try it though, Mole, as well as other Mexican food is made MANY different ways!

I made the molten skillet brownie - yes it is good - but definately needs ice cream!!!!!!!

 

[Debunny]

I made two things yesterday. I made the sizzling shrimp cakes and the touchdown taco dip. I liked the shrimp cakes ok, but did not make a dip for them and really felt like they needed something. I took some to my friends house for her to try and she said the same thign. They were just ok, nothing she would go out of her way to prepare. And that it needed something, but I do not like curry and didnt have any of the mustard for the other sauce. But now the dip on the other hand was a big hit. We loved it! DH went back for more and my friend loved it too. Said she will have to make it now. So far, out of all the new recipes that I have made the only ones that have went over really well are the brownie skillet cake and now the TTD. Maybe we all are just too plain around here...lol Alot just had odd stuff in them that we noramlly would not eat. Like the weird Mole sauce, or water chest nuts and jalepeno jelly for the potstickers. I guess to each his own though. Great thing about this business is that you canf ix what you want to.

 

[Happy Mom]

Recipes for Margarita partyI am having my first home show in Sept. The host, my friend, wants to do fajitas. I know I can use the slice and grate, the knife, cutting board, chopper, garlic press. All of those are lower cost items. I only have the super starter kit, but I did buy the Essentials set in white and have the PC stoneware rec. baker (which I love).

What other recipes, besides a salsa, can I do to complement the margaritas and show for the great PC products? Would a Mexican pizza work? I have those items in the SS kit.

 

[pamperedbecky]

I made two things yesterday. I made the sizzling shrimp cakes and the touchdown taco dip. I liked the shrimp cakes ok, but did not make a dip for them and really felt like they needed something. I took some to my friends house for her to try and she said the same thign. They were just ok, nothing she would go out of her way to prepare. And that it needed something, but I do not like curry and didnt have any of the mustard for the other sauce. But now the dip on the other hand was a big hit. We loved it! DH went back for more and my friend loved it too. Said she will have to make it now. So far, out of all the new recipes that I have made the only ones that have went over really well are the brownie skillet cake and now the TTD. Maybe we all are just too plain around here...lol Alot just had odd stuff in them that we noramlly would not eat. Like the weird Mole sauce, or water chest nuts and jalepeno jelly for the potstickers. I guess to each his own though. Great thing about this business is that you canf ix what you want to.

We all brought prepared new recipes to our last cluster meeting. The consultant who made the Shrimp Cakes made her own sauce with it because she also didn't have those obscure ingredients needed for the sauce in the recipe. I think she just mixed mayonnaise and mustard and put some hot sauce/Tabasco sauce in it. I like spicy stuff, so I probably would do a little more hot sauce, but this was a good yummy alternative to the one in the recipe.

 

[ChefSandyK]

Mini-muffin pan

Ginger,

Did you use balls of foil for making your crepes as suggested or did you try something different? I am with some of the other posters in that the foil really seems like a waste, even though you can recycle it. I was really surprised as I watched the demo at conference.

Anyway...let me know. Some people said they had success with the Prep Bowls, but at conference they said not to do that because it would shatter the bowls. It was also suggested to use the Mini-Fluted pan upside down, but the Test Kitchen lady said that the edges would touch and not get sufficiently browned.

Thanks.

I am doing this using cinnamon-sugar wontons baked in the mini-muffin pan. I figure I can sell guests on both the pan and buying the large package of wonton wrappers if I can give them an starter recipe (pot stickers, etc) and a dessert, too. Plus, the crepes are a bit expensive, for some people.

Sandy

 

[Cindycooks]

Margarita PartyAll of these recipes are great. I made the Mexican Fiesta Pizza alot this summer and I love it because you can pre-bake the crust when you get to the host house while you are setting up! That way, when the guests arrive, all you have to do is demo the toppings. Its great for a quick show and a big hit. The Margaritas are awesome (but potent!) and a good way to show off the Quick Stir Pitcher, if you have one. Enjoy & good luck with your show!

 

[Happy Mom]

Cindy,

I do have that pitcher. The Taco Dip sounds yummy,too so I will wait to see how many people RSVP the party.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[ChefSandyK]

Velvety Chocolate TrufflesI made this last night with my son. What a blast! He had a great time and the candies come out delicious. I thinking I'll do a "The Gift of Chocolate" theme with this recipe and tell people they can make them as homemade gifts to bring to holiday parties. By my estimate, I'll demo over $200 in products...not bad. My only question is whether they need to be stored in the fridge or not...I'm keeping them in there just in case, but I'm not sure it's needed.

Sandy

 

[kitchenqueen]

Too many favorites!I have alot of "favorite" PC recipes so it's hard to just mention a few but I did try out some of the new recipes out of SB fall/winter 2005 and there are some really good ones in there. And I agree, the taco dip is fantastic. Big dips like that are always a hit at gatherings so I will be making that more often. I used to make a 7-layered dip all the time, but that can get expensive, espedcially when everyone asks that you bring it everytime!

I made the Baked Potsickers lastnight but with chicken, cheese and sour cream instead of the asian type filling and they turned out delicious! Everyone thought they were fantastic! My husband and I were really getting creative with the shaping the wontons! My husband tried to make a bird - I you could tell what it was supposed to be, but he didn't quite get there ! They were really fun to make! We served them with salsa and guacomole.

I also made the family sized burrito a few night ago for dinner and that was fun too. I added mexican rice to ours and avacado on top along with pico de gallo before I served it. It turned out really nice! When we do mexican food, we like go all out so that's why I added more to it.

I love PC recipes because you can play around with them and thry still turn out nicely.

 

[ChefNic]

From the NEW Stoneware Inspirations cookbook I have made the Mocha Cappuccino Cake --last night, and it was DELISH!! My husband came home from work, it was sitting on the counter, he was instantly impressed!! Before even tasting it... then he tasted it, and my whole family was full of "mmmm" and "oooo"...I think this would be a great demo...make the cake ahead of time at home, bring it to the hosts house...no baking at her house for that recipe! The hardest part was cutting the cake in halve - I used the toothpick suggestion.
I have also made the Spicey Oven-Fried Cod Fillets - loved it! Used a different fish (tilapia I think) -the sauce was great!

The Mediterranean Orzo Salad - my husband is from Istanbul... he brother was here visiting when I made this - (along with Greek Turkey Burgers in Main Dishes cookbook) - they LOVED the whole meal!! That means a lot from a couple of Mediterranean boys!

Also, I made the Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake - another great one! My husband loves when I make PC recipes...

My 10 year old daughter once asked if a non-PC recipe was PC...when I said no...she said " I thought so" I said "why?" she said "because if it were PC, it would taste better"...!!!

I'm thinking about the Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie as the dessert for a Mexican theme - maybe with the Family Size Burrito.

What recipes are you all pairing together for shows??