What Crowdpleasing Recipes Do You Know?

Growing up in Western Canada in the 80’s meant that everyone had & cooked from the Best of Bridge Cookbooks, and a recipe from one of their cookbooks that still is on heavy rotation in our house is Whiplash Chicken: http://www.cowboycountrytv.com/recipes/whiplashchicken2.html
It can be scaled up to feed a crowd (provided there are no peanut allergies), and is excellent over rice with some cilantro sprinkled on top with a side of warm Naan bread.

One recipe that I’ve discovered recently that nobody can get enough of is Cowboy Candy: https://www.thechunkychef.com/candied-jalapenos/
It’s sort of like a pepper jelly but with pieces of jalapeno. Seriously, serve it with crackers and Boursin cheese – it’s like crack.

Beef rendang, a coconutty, caramelized Malaysian stew. Always a surprising dish for non-Malaysians (a great conversation starter) and a source of comfort to fellow countryfolk. I think you and your team had emailed me asking for my family’s recipe a few years ago, Joanna, after I’d commented about my blended family’s Christmas tradition of multicultural dinner. I think I forgot to reply and may have accidentally deleted the email. I’m so sorry! Let me know if you ever want that recipe.

P.s. My go-to dessert is a frankensteined cake recipe that I improvised one time after dreaming of poached pears but also sticky toffee pudding: caramelized pear butter cake. It’s a mixture of a few recipes I found and produces a gooey, golden pudding sort of thing that bubbles around the edges. It looks very homely, but my goodness does it disappear quickly.

These Anzac biscuits literally one a fair prize for my friend’s sister and by complete coincidence is identical to the recipe I grew up using https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.mamamia.com.au/best-anzac-biscuit-recipe-known-humankind-fact/amp/

Sticky Date Pudding with this super easy incredible sauce! Discovered this goodness during my time living in Melbourne, Australia and have shared the recipe a ton with friends here in California ☺️ This recipe can use gluten free flour and dairy free thickened cream!

Sticky Date Pudding

200gm PItted dates, chopped
1 1/4 C Water
1 tspn bicarb soda
60 gm Butter, softened
3/4 C Caster sugar
2 eggs
1 C S.R. Flour
75gm (3 rows) Cadbury dark cooking chocolate, grated
SAUCE
1 C thickened cream
1 C firmly packed Brown Sugar
200gm Butter

Method:
Preheat Oven to 180 Celsius
Place dates in water and in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat, stir in the soda, and stand for 5 minutes. Puree until smooth.

Cream teh butter and caster sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well.

Fold into the flour, then the pureed dates, followed by the chocolate.

Pour the mixture into a greased lined 21 cm round pan ( or six to eight molds/muffin tray) Bake for 55 mins or 25 if in individual.

While that’s cooking, prepare the sauce by placing the cream, brown sugar and butter in a saucepan. Sir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 mins.

Remove the pudding from the oven and stand for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a baking tray.
Pour over enough sauce to cover the top of the pudding. Put any unused puddings into zip locks or cling wrap and freeze for future use. However, the sauce doesn’t keep well, so use it up on icecream or baked bananas! Too good to waste. :)

I think it is important to note (and has been Mis-credited twice now in this site), that the strawberry cake recipe is actually a Martha Stewart recipe that Deb “slightly” (not at all) adapted. Don’t get me wrong, I love Smitten Kitchen, but a few of the most popular recipes on her site are mis-credited to herself (by others)

I make this for every get together and it never fails to get comments on how good it is.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/salmon-asparagus-orzo-salad/

My family loves Oreo truffles-
1 package regular-stuf Oreos (the website lists the amount of cookies, but we just use one regular sized package)
8 ounces cream cheese
Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Crush Oreos in a food processor into fine crumbs. Mix Oreo crumbs with cream cheese. Roll into 1 inch balls (if too soft, put in refrigerator until firm enough to roll). Coat balls in melted chocolate (I like semi-sweet but you can use any kind) and sprinkle a few extra crumbs on top if you want. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens. Store in the refrigerator.
https://www.snackworks.com/recipe/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx

We also love Knorr’s Spinach Dip Recipe (on the back of the Vegetable Recipe Mix package). Double the amount of spinach (2 packages instead of one). Its just the mix, sour cream, mayonnaise and spinach. So good! Even better in a carved out bread bowl with small slices of fresh rye bread!

Artichoke dip! Get 2 blocks of cream cheese, 2 cans of artichoke hearts, a container of finely grated parmesan cheese, and a few pickled jalapeños – can adjust based on heat preference. Blend or even chop – just be sure to mix well. Add some jalapeños on top and bake at 350 for 45 mins or until browned. It is THE BEST.

Also slow roasted cherry tomatoes with goat cheese and sliced baguette. I always think I will have leftovers and NEVER do.

This maple pudding cake is scandalously easy and is the coziest dessert.
https://bitebymichelle.com/2014/04/16/maple-pudding-easter-cake/

I love this post and can’t wait to make these recipes!

Just wanted to give a shout out to Jo’s developer. I’m sure it’s tough work and we all work to live, not the other way around. I appreciate all the love that gets shared on this site and hope it can be extended to the wonderful people who work to keep us coming back for more on CoJ. Your work is beautifully and invisibly executed at least 99% of the time which is a much higher percentage than I could claim.

I make a lovely eggplant shepherds pie. Works with beef, lamb, or vegetarian. I suspect it would work with chicken too—just have not tried that. And what is nice is if I am in charge of a meal with a large family gathering—most of it can be prepped ahead and just assembled at the end. And it works with regular potatoes or sweet potatoes on top. So flexible and so easy (with the instapot). Love it.

TTSTTF is going to be my new favorite saying. 😂

My recipe would be my mashed potatoes. They’re not fancy, but everyone who tries them says they’re the best mashed potatoes they’ve eaten. The key is putting in lots of sour cream and mashing them while the potatoes are still very hot — that gives you the best texture! And mash for at least five minutes to get them really smooth. I also put in a little milk right at the start, plus lots of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and butter. But they key for getting the best flavor is the sour cream! They are not healthy. But they are all kind of delicious.

I say this with a lot of love. Two and a half months after your site redesign and people still can’t load more than a page of comments properly on their browsers? For a business that is built, in part, around reader engagement in the comment section? I hope RoAndCo or whoever did this bit of the redesign is offering you a serious discount on the contract!

Jamie Oliver Harissa Chicken Tray Bake – very easy and looks fancy! Leftovers make a great a quesadilla or taco filling
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/harissa-chicken-traybake/

NYTimes Chicken Schwarma – We made this all summer long (we grilled the chicken) and served with Tzatziki Sauce and Pita bread -so good!
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017161-oven-roasted-chicken-shawarma

Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake! Sounds fancy but the easiest recipe. 5 dry ingredients mixed with 5 wet ingredients and bake! I prefer mine in a cast iron skillet. The result is crispy like cornbread on outside but so moist and yummy on the inside!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/food52.com/recipes/26709-maialino-s-olive-oil-cake/amp

I always make this for company and get asked for the embarrassingly easy recipe. Three ingredients: whole milk ricotta, lemon zest, fresh chopped rosemary. Mix together measurements based on your preference, add salt, top with olive oil and bake for about 20-30 minutes until brown on top. So GOOD! Serve with bagel chips, pita chips or baguette slices.

This is legit the best chocolate cake:
https://addapinch.com/the-best-chocolate-cake-recipe-ever/
Sometimes I use tea instead of coffee. I ALWAYS spring for Dutch cocoa and if I’m feeling really fancy I sub the buttermilk for regular milk with a dash of raspberry vinegar. It never fails to please and the bonus is it doesn’t require any creaming or folding. All in a bowl. In the oven. DELISH!

We live in a small town of 18k and we used to do a supper club with about 50 folks and we’d rotate who was hosting. I was feeling fancy one month so I brought sticky toffee pudding with whiskey whipped cream (which was a first for me) and my husband now requests that I bring it to ALL parties. “Are you making THE cake?” he asks every single time. It’s truly delicious though. I think I got the recipe from smitten kitchen or Bon appetit.

The spelt and apple muffin recipe that Jenny shared on CoJ 1 or 2 years ago are always a huge hit every time I make them. I’ve never had to bother finding a tin big enough to store leftovers in since they never are around for more than a few hours after baking. And this recipe makes the best Christmas cookies ever, no competition: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chocolate-chunk-pumpkin-seed-cookies/amp

Coffee Velvets while opening gifts on Christmas morning. Bourbon and coffee ice cream in the blender. Served in a wine glass.

Followed by an easy overnight egg & sausage casserole moved from the fridge to the oven and ready to eat an hour later.

Claire Saffitz’s apple walnut upside-down cake: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/apple-walnut-upside-down-cake I am not the best baker and there are many steps in this recipe but let me tell you, it is worth it – the most delicious and not too sweet.

Samin Nosrat’s buttermilk roast chicken (on NYT cooking).
Smitten Kitchen’s oven-braised beef with tomatoes and garlic: https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/02/oven-braised-beef-with-tomatoes-and-garlic/

I make the chicken and my husband makes this beef recipe. Both taste far more complex than they are. Incredible.