Hi Friends!

Do you remember this song...“Make new friends…but keee-eep the old….one is Silver… and the other Gold”?

I had quite a dilemma this week. Spotlight! Goodness gracious! We all know that this is so much more than the recipes! I LOVE reading your posts and THEN checking out your dishes. It gives me delicious insight. So for this Spotlight, first…an addendum to a favorite childhood song: “Make new friends, but keep the old…one is silver and the other gold…so much talent, and stories to be told…this week I’m going to break the Spotlight mold!” 

I’m featuring two people!

If you haven’t checked it out, scroll down…the Facing a Fear posts are HILARIOUS!  Rich Swanson shared a past fear of….radishes, of all things.  Loved the post and thought I’d check out his recipes. (Rich, Doll, would you kindly fill in your profile? Pictures?)  The recipe for Pimlico Potato Pie is absolutely intriguing and I want to make it!  That’s an excellent example of an Anything Goes effort.  I mean…EVERYONE knows that bacon, butter and cheese makes everything better….but radishes? Who knew? I’m looking forward to trying this one out!  This recipe is a very cool discovery. Congratulations, new Friend and very well done!

As far as the Spotlight in the Gold category, this week…it’s my Josee Lanzi .  She’s contributed to the success of this site in every imaginable way.  Great cook, great recipes, great spirit!  Supportive, enthusiastic and really has the love…and her Potato Cakes & Creamy Chicken Sandwich is an interesting twist on favorite ingredients. Clever. That would be a great game day item (hey, Josee…so would that Loaded Sausage & Pepper Sub!). Thank you for your tireless contributions, Chicky!

Enjoy the spotlight, my silver and gold friends...and I can't wait to hear who KC announces as our next dessert winner later in the day!

All The Best,

Sheila

Friends,

A dish that reflects you should have no limits! You can pull ideas from any culture, use any theme, and the ingredients are to be your special combination. Anything goes, because we want you to fully express yourself. Other than our 10-ingredient max you are free to show us your range! 

How’s it going for you? 

Did you find that “sky’s the limit” was anything but? I have to tell you, I had a tough time. A very tough time. Asking to present something that represented me? Geez!  So I had to sit with it for a while and think. 

What would I want to have someone know about me through an Anything Goes dish? The answer I came up with was the piece about humor, fellowship …the sunny side up. One thing’s for sure, anytime I’m making that “CatchaMan” New Philly Cheesesteak, there’s laughter, good humor, family and friends and someone is pushing themselves to the limit!!! (Not us!  LOL…the ball players we’re comfortably watching on TV!)

Think of the times that are special to you, and think of the dish that is core to that experience.  As you craft your amazing recipes, it might be something totally off the wall! Bring it, because this is the week, Friends, that Anything Goes!  (LOL…sounds hokey…but seriously! Go for it!)

All my best!

Sheila

Hello again and happy Wednesday to you all!

I am over the moon with excitement about today’s winning recipe. It combines two of my favorite ingredients: Philadelphia Cream Cheese and chocolate. And look at that photo...guaranteed to make you drool.

So, who is today’s winner? 

Not so fast; I want you to guess. Who joined the RWOP Community on March 28th and has been an active member ever since, submitted 16 recipes, has four beautiful daughters, sews, fixes things, can even remodel a bathroom including the tiling and has an amazingly positive attitude in spite of living with daily pain?

Have you figured it out yet?

It is with great pleasure and pride that I get to announce Donna aka Dgoil is today’s winner for her amazing Philly Mint Chocolate Cheesecake recipe! Let me be the first to say Congratulations Donna, and YES, YOU CAN COOK!  We are all so proud of you Donna and lucky to have you as a long standing and important member of the RWOP family!  Enjoy your win and the $500.

Now I’m off to buy the ingredients to make Donna’s Philly Mint Chocolate Cheesecake!  I’ll see you all tomorrow, same time (ish!), but definitely same place.

Until then, keep those great entree recipes coming in for your chance to be in the winner’s circle with Donna!

Big Hugs,

KC

Hello Everyone!

It’s Tuesday afternoon and we all know what that means: Announcing our second “Anything Goes” Dessert winner!

Charlene Chambers, your Raspberry Cream Tart is our second dessert winner! Way to go Charlene!

You’ve made quite an impression here with the Real Women of Philadelphia since you joined on 
July 29th. I just happen to have made one of this member’s desserts myself; no it wasn’t the winning dessert but it sure was a big hit when I took her Nutty Cookie Cheese Bars to share with my hair stylist! I’m looking forward to trying your Raspberry Cream Tart and judging from the recipe I can 
understand why it is a favorite of both your family and friends. Lucky them to have you in the kitchen! 
Charlene, we look forward to getting to know you better!

I still have to figure out what I’m making for dinner tonight so I’m headed over to check out all the new 
recipe submissions for “Anything Goes” Entree Week. I promise that I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon 
with more great news!

Big Hugs until tomorrow!

KC

Friends,

Crab meat used to scare me. Well…maybe not scare, since I sure ate plenty of it, every time it was on the menu at a restaurant. But…intimidate. Yes, that’s it.  Intimidate. For the longest time, I wouldn’t make a crab dish at home. Silly, right? It's one of the easiest things to work with! For some reason, though, I didn’t think I could pull it off.  Didn’t think I could make a great, simple…crab cake! 

This is hilarious now, because once I got over it, I use crab as my go to when I want to pull out all the stops. Crab Meat has always symbolized something special …and when used, folks love it.

Specifically, my new Philly Cheese Steak. Yes, I use great meat, but it’s the crab meat & the cream cheese that kicks the game up and makes it special. That is my regular contribution to game-day parties…so if I’m invited over, you know what you’re having! I graciously thank the folks that get that crab to us in those convenient tins and tubs! It takes a lot of work to get to that meat and it takes a light touch and careful handling to keep those precious lumps intact! Thank you - your efforts are appreciated!

So, how about you?  Is there something, as you’ve traveled your culinary path that used to give you the “kitchen cold feet”, but now is one of your signature elements? Or do you have a food “quirk”, and you still can’t eat or use something in your dishes?  Better yet, is there something that mere mortals find daunting (like gooey duck!), that you use expertly? I think its stories like these that give such interesting peeks into our personalities! 

I smile as I write this, because you’ve already proven to be such a lively bunch - and I can’t wait to hear your stories!

All my best!

Sheila

Hello Everyone,

It’s great to be back with you, I have missed our on line conversations and reading all your fantastic dessert recipes! But, I know what you really have been waiting for all day: The first “Anything Goes” Dessert Category winner, right? 

Okay. So what combines fresh ripe peaches, (definitely one of my favorites) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, (another top favorite) lime juice, bread, eggs, sugar and (naturally) butter?

Give up?  Well, here’s another hint - it’s someone who obviously loves to cook.

I am so proud to announce that our very first $500 Dessert winner is, drum roll please….

Luvs2cook...with the dreamiest “Peachy Creamy French Toast Dessert” on the planet! 

Described as a “retro cobbler” with an “elegant presentation” this dessert certainly has started off our dessert winners with a bang! Congratulations luvs2cook! A well deserved win for a newer member of this incredible community. Let’s all welcome luvs2bake and maybe, just maybe we’ll find out who they are. Hint, hint....

I’ll be back tomorrow to announce another $500 winner - I just love announcing the winners! 

Can’t wait to be back with you. In the mean time, keep your recipe submissions coming in to Sheila for this week’s entree challenge.

Big Hugs!

KC

Friends,
 
This has been an amazing few weeks! Your dishes absolutely display your creativity and your wit…and they truly reflect the love! 

You’ve put your heart in this, and WE SEE IT. But the best thing? The laughs!  Every time I write “LOL”, I LOL for real! There are some of you that should maybe try a stand-up comedian/cook kinda thing - I’ve looked over your profiles and through the encounters and the lessons life will bring, you’ve answered with humor and sharp wit! And we’ve had some fun on the posts, too, with some downright hilarious comments.

So keep ‘em coming, Loves!
 
With that spirit in mind, this week couldn’t have a more appropriate theme: Anything Goes!
 
The interactions, the funny back and forth’s, the GREAT personalities of the members of this community remind me of Game Day! Personally, I love Super Bowl parties, fight parties, play offs! And I love the fun and the laughter that goes with getting folks together, old friends, new friends, the game…it just gels!  My dish this week honors that occasion. It’s one for a casual setting, and it is a perfect Game Day treat when Anything Goes!

Your dish can be a casual one or an elegant one.  Ingredients – regular or rare!  As long as you’re:
 
1) Using 10 Recipe items or less (remember salt, pepper, water & cooking spray to coat a pan are listed in the steps, but do not count toward the ingredient limit)

2) Using at least 2 ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
 
The sky is the limit!
 
As always, my dears…I’m excited for you and I am cheering you on!
 
All my best!

Sheila

Hey All!

OK, group...I am just dying to know where in the world is the weirdest place you have ever prepared a meal or how about the strangest utensils you have had to use.

I used to be a Girl Scout and I have never been more proud of all the good campfire lessons Mrs. Wood (our fearless troop leader) taught us in cooking. She had us making a "Bunsen burner" which was our final task in completing the outdoor cooking badge. So, we filled tuna cans with cardboard spirals and wax. Then we were to put an empty fluted cafeteria sized can over the top to be the pedestal. But the problem was we were impatient 5th graders and proceeded to cook pancakes on top of the can rather than listen to instructions and use our mess kit frying pan.

Well, that my friends, was extreme!

Since that time, I have become the MacGyver of the kitchen. In our boat I am able to prepare amazing meals with just a crock-pot, microwave, George Foreman grill and an electric skillet. The only thing missing is an oven, but you would be amazed at all the yummy desserts than can be cooked in the crock-pot!

So, right now I want to hear all of your extreme cooking experiences. I LOVE a funny story of a meal going horribly wrong all the way to you saving the day with a sterno can and a dream! 

Being a good cook does not require a kitchen filled with stainless steel appliances but just someone with some creativity and confidence! Anyone can cook! Just ask Mrs. Wood and Troop 31!

(That's me in the brownie uniform with my Mom and sisters, Sunday and Molly!)

I’ll be reading these all weekend, so start commenting and let’s get this rolling!

Have a great weekend, and Rock On!

Caryn

Hey Guys and Gals!

Here's just a quick vid I made with my bestest girlfriends at lunch yesterday. I wanted to make a bunch of your extra yummy appetizers and share them with my gals as a tribute to all of your hard work this week.

Enjoy!

Caryn

Hi Friends!!!
 
Wow! I don't know what I'm happier about! The fact that I didn't spill the beans about who our Entree winners were, or that....

Debi Wood is our final first round entree recipe winner!!!

Her Georgia-Fried Chicken and Sunshine Sauce caught my eye, too. The mix of pecans, chicken...and the bright, beautiful sauce! What's great is that this is such an easy dish, but one that will impress on any occasion! I gotta tell you though, it's that sauce!  I'm thinking maybe...double the recipe...just to be on the safe side!  I think it'll go with just about anything!

To all my Entree winners, for YOU...I braved that unforgiving florescent light in my kitchen, once again, to tape a quick congratulatory video! It is a thank you, for not only your recipe contribution to this amazing project, but a thank you to each and everyone of you for contributing to the spirit of this community!

You are what we are all about. Keep spreadin' a little love!

All My Best,

Sheila