schuh
04-10-2001, 09:33 PM
Since several of you were so helpful with my bunco night planning, so I thought I'd post reviews.
Asiago dip with crostini: Very good ... the only thing I have to mention is that I wasn't prepared for the color! The sun-dried tomato sprinkles made it a funny brownish color that I thought looked a little unappetizing. Also, my crostini were kind of chewy. Finally, I doubled it which was completely unnecessary -- it's a rich dip and you wouldn't eat tons of it. It's the only thing I made that had a lot left over. But definitely a keeper recipe.
Spinach and artichoke dip: I incorporated the suggestions I found on this board -- all the mozzarella mixed in, more sour cream and less cream cheese, and it disappeared. Quite good.
Toffee dip with apples: I make this a lot and it was a hit again.
And my dessert was...
Tiramisu Anacapri. My comments: First you need a REALLY big, deep bowl -- it makes a ton of filling (which I served to my kids as pudding and they loved). I liked the light consistency of the filling. I really had a hard time finding the appropriate ladyfingers. I found hard ladyfingers (which the woman at the store said are what are used in Italy ... but would be impossible to split lengthwise), and "giant" soft ladyfingers, already split in half lengthwise. Both came in 7-oz packages, so I don't know where CL gets 3-oz packages. Anyway, I ended up using close to two of those 7-oz packages of giant soft ladyfingers, which I'm sure impacted the calorie count of my dessert! Also, I used less than half of the Kahlua liquid -- I don't like things soggy -- and everyone thought I used plenty. The Kahlua flavor was quite pronounced. And I had a beef with the directions in the recipe: it said to layer the ladyfingers, Kahlua mixture, filling, and cocoa, and then repeat layers. It should have said repeat twice to make a total of three layers! I had already filled my bowl to the top, and then realized I had another layer to go (so I just did a bunch of single servings in little bowls). In the end, it made 12 generous servings and my guests all enjoyed it. So that's my long winded way of saying that it's a keeper recipe ... I guess you just have to tinker with it depending on what ladyfingers you can get.
Finally, one of the snacks at the Bunco tables was Pirate's Booty! It's the first time I found it here (gotta love Wegman's) and it was great!
It was funny because I told everyone that I made my recipes from Cooking Light. They would then try something and then say "this isn't from Cooking Light, is it?" As if low-fat food really should taste bad or something.
So in the end, the evening was a success. Thanks to all for their suggestions, and for posting reviews of recipes that are such helpful reference.
Asiago dip with crostini: Very good ... the only thing I have to mention is that I wasn't prepared for the color! The sun-dried tomato sprinkles made it a funny brownish color that I thought looked a little unappetizing. Also, my crostini were kind of chewy. Finally, I doubled it which was completely unnecessary -- it's a rich dip and you wouldn't eat tons of it. It's the only thing I made that had a lot left over. But definitely a keeper recipe.
Spinach and artichoke dip: I incorporated the suggestions I found on this board -- all the mozzarella mixed in, more sour cream and less cream cheese, and it disappeared. Quite good.
Toffee dip with apples: I make this a lot and it was a hit again.
And my dessert was...
Tiramisu Anacapri. My comments: First you need a REALLY big, deep bowl -- it makes a ton of filling (which I served to my kids as pudding and they loved). I liked the light consistency of the filling. I really had a hard time finding the appropriate ladyfingers. I found hard ladyfingers (which the woman at the store said are what are used in Italy ... but would be impossible to split lengthwise), and "giant" soft ladyfingers, already split in half lengthwise. Both came in 7-oz packages, so I don't know where CL gets 3-oz packages. Anyway, I ended up using close to two of those 7-oz packages of giant soft ladyfingers, which I'm sure impacted the calorie count of my dessert! Also, I used less than half of the Kahlua liquid -- I don't like things soggy -- and everyone thought I used plenty. The Kahlua flavor was quite pronounced. And I had a beef with the directions in the recipe: it said to layer the ladyfingers, Kahlua mixture, filling, and cocoa, and then repeat layers. It should have said repeat twice to make a total of three layers! I had already filled my bowl to the top, and then realized I had another layer to go (so I just did a bunch of single servings in little bowls). In the end, it made 12 generous servings and my guests all enjoyed it. So that's my long winded way of saying that it's a keeper recipe ... I guess you just have to tinker with it depending on what ladyfingers you can get.
Finally, one of the snacks at the Bunco tables was Pirate's Booty! It's the first time I found it here (gotta love Wegman's) and it was great!
It was funny because I told everyone that I made my recipes from Cooking Light. They would then try something and then say "this isn't from Cooking Light, is it?" As if low-fat food really should taste bad or something.
So in the end, the evening was a success. Thanks to all for their suggestions, and for posting reviews of recipes that are such helpful reference.