What Do You Like to Take to a Cookout/Picnic?

[pctharper]

We're having a big cookout this weekend at my in-laws and I need a WOW recipe to make for two reasons. One-I always feel like I need to impress them, and two-I was hoping to feature a product that would make someone think 'i need that'! We eat lunch and dinner there. My one cousin cooks burgers, hot dogs, and chicken on the girll.

What do you like to make and what do you serve it in?

 

[Sheila]

What I've taken in the past: brownie's made in the mini muffin pan, press the top with the tart shaper & then add a star of peanut butter with the Easy Accent Decorator. I put a PC towel on the (now retired) woven tray and lay them all out!Cupcakes go over well too. Here are some Halloween cupcakes on the same woven tray:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/183724_191496720870907_190756324278280_587606_1834594_n.jpgI've also done chocolate cakes in the Silicone Floral Cupcake Pan. I laid 24 of those out on the large bamboo platter, then sprinkled the tops with powdered sugar.I've also taken the largest collapsible bowl and had a few people ask about it too.The cool & serve square tray would probably go over well.If you have the BBQ tools & mitt, you could take those for the cooks to use! And the grill tray and/or basket. Hubby took the grill basket once to do shrimp on the grill at a company event. The other guys LOVED it!Salsa (you can tell them how easy it was to make in the Manual Food Processor.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I found a really great potato salad recipe a few years ago and I take it in a Chillzane bowl. Not much help there, is there?I'd suggest a salad out of one of the cookbooks - there are some wonderful ideas in the cookbooks!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I found a really great potato salad recipe a few years ago and I take it in a Chillzane bowl. Not much help there, is there?

I'd suggest a salad out of one of the cookbooks - there are some wonderful ideas in the cookbooks!

I agree!

The Strawberry Spinach Salad always gets rave reviews when I take it to a cookout/picnic - but there are some other really great salads too. I like to take a salad, because it seems that there are usually all kinds of desserts, and chips, and things like that, and I like to know there is something there that's somewhat healthy to help fill up on.

Then, I also take my recipe for grain-free/refined sugar-free brownies - again so my son and I have a dessert we can eat...although, they get gobbled up by everyone else too. Kids love brownies!

 

[BethCooks4U]

I'd do a mango salsa and cut up fruit in the cool & serve. Add a dip made with the coconut lime sauce. My DH always signs me up for fruit salad. Funny thing is my fruit salad is just cut up fruit. I don't add anything to it and I always get rave reviews. lol. But now I just put it all in the cool & serve so I can show that instead of a bowl. Then the mango salsa just to be able to say how I made it. Oh, and a bamboo bowl of cinnamon crackers along with it.

 

[babywings76]

I'd do a mango salsa and cut up fruit in the cool & serve. Add a dip made with the coconut lime sauce. My DH always signs me up for fruit salad. Funny thing is my fruit salad is just cut up fruit. I don't add anything to it and I always get rave reviews. lol. But now I just put it all in the cool & serve so I can show that instead of a bowl. Then the mango salsa just to be able to say how I made it. Oh, and a bamboo bowl of cinnamon crackers along with it.

Have you ever noticed that when people buy fruit trays from the store, they never are as fresh and sweet as when you buy and cut up your own? That's always been my observation anyway. So I think it speaks volumes for people needing to get our cutting tools and such to make this something they can do quickly and will taste much better and be cheaper than a something pre-made at the store. It's definitely easier to pick something up at the store, but our way definitely has a much better response from people who eat it.

 

[Bren706]

I'd do a mango salsa and cut up fruit in the cool & serve. Add a dip made with the coconut lime sauce. My DH always signs me up for fruit salad. Funny thing is my fruit salad is just cut up fruit. I don't add anything to it and I always get rave reviews. lol. But now I just put it all in the cool & serve so I can show that instead of a bowl. Then the mango salsa just to be able to say how I made it. Oh, and a bamboo bowl of cinnamon crackers along with it.

Same here.

I usually take some sort of salad or fruit bowl in the collapsible bowls, or serve something up in the cool & serve tray. (deviled eggs are great for it as well)

 

[vanscootin]

What I've taken in the past: brownie's made in the mini muffin pan, press the top with the tart shaper & then add a star of peanut butter with the Easy Accent Decorator. I put a PC towel on the (now retired) woven tray and lay them all out!

Cupcakes go over well too. Here are some Halloween cupcakes on the same woven tray:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/183724_191496720870907_190756324278280_587606_1834594_n.jpg

I've also done chocolate cakes in the Silicone Floral Cupcake Pan. I laid 24 of those out on the large bamboo platter, then sprinkled the tops with powdered sugar.
QUOTE]

Sheila, what tip do you use to make your cupcakes look like that... I can't get my frosting to look pretty on ANYTHING!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Probably the Easy Accident Decorator.

 

[vanscootin]

Probably the Easy Accident Decorator.

Well I gathered that.... But even with it I'm lacking in cupcake decorating skills... you should have seen the frosting fiasco for my hubby's birthday cupcakes... FAIL!

 

[catlwilles]

Take a trifle! There's some really easy recipes and they are always a "Wow" and feed a lot of people.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Probably the Easy Accident Decorator.

Well I gathered that.... But even with it I'm lacking in cupcake decorating skills... you should have seen the frosting fiasco for my hubby's birthday cupcakes... FAIL!

We interrupt this thread for this completely unimportant mini-hijack: The EAD crack was an obscure reference to a couple of old threads around here that kept a lot of us in stitches - especially those who tried using the Ultimate Slice and Bleed.Go to google.com and put in this search criteron: easy accident decorator site:chefsuccess.com then check out some of the threads.This ends the mini

. We now return you to the regularly scheduled thread, already in progress.

 

[minjoe_bri]

I thought something must be up with the word accident instead of accent...hehehe..