Recipe Challenge

If you have the time and inclination, there is no better gift than a homemade one, preferably one the recipient can devour. For our holiday episode, we exchanged recipes for foods you can make and package to give to your loved ones, friends or as delightful host gifts this season. How could we choose between everything bagel seasoning or the blue cheese log with pistachio dukkah and honey? (spoiler: we couldn't) Links for the episode: America's Test Kitchen Food Gifts by Elle Simone Scott Everything Bagel Seasoning - Cooking with Ayeh Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures See you in January 2026 for Pantry Staples Meals!

It's the end of October and Halloween is coming up fast. Hopefully you've made the most of the season with visits to orchards, pumpkin patches and, yes, Octoberfests! This month we challenged ourselves to create some traditional Octoberfest treats: German Apfelkuchen and Austrian  kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancake). Find out which treat made us raise up our beer steins and say, "Prost!" Links for the episode: The worldwide cocoa crisis German Apfelkuchen from International Desserts Blog Austrian Torn Fluffy Pancake from Smitten Kitchen Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures Next up: our holiday episode featuring food gifts!

Can you make restaurant-worthy food at home? The internet sure thinks so! This month we take on the takeout fakeout challenge and make recipes that taste like restaurant faves: the Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion and Cheesecake Factory's avocado egg rolls. It's a lot of hot oil, people! Which fried app earns the prize and which one caused a big ol' mess? Plus, Restoration Hardware has a restaurant? Links for the episode: The Rooftop Restaurant at RH Minneapolis Copycat Cheesecake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls from Mashed Blooming Onion from AllRecipes Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures See you in October for Octoberfest treats!

Sure, you can churn ice cream in your fancy churning machine. Or you can use a hand mixer or a blender, put it in a loaf pan, and call it a day. This month we exchanged recipes for no-churn ice cream for less fuss during the hottest weeks of summer. Which flavor won the contest: salted caramel coconut or maple walnut? Plus, the new foods at this year's MN State Fair. Links for the episode: Food news: New Foods at the MN State Fair Uncrustaburger Vermont's Maple Creemee No Churn Salted Caramel-Coconut Ice Cream No Churn Maple Walnut Ice Cream Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures See you in September for Takeout Fakeout!

Bisquick, a baking mix sold by General Mills under its Betty Crocker brand, hit store shelves in 1931. While it was first promoted as a fast and easy way to make biscuits, it wasn't long before it was being used to make any number of baked good and recipes, like pancakes, cookies, and impossible pies. What's an impossible pie? Listen to this latest episode to find out as we put Peppered Bacon Hash Brown Pie up against Impossible Blue Cheese Club Sandwich Pie. Links for the episode: Food news: What would you choose for your last meal? Peppered Bacon Hash Brown Pie Betty Crocker Impossible Pie recipe index Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures Next month's theme: No-churn ice cream

It's Rebecca's birthday month and we celebrated by making Jell-O shots! One recipe is for a minty mojito shot and the other a festive piña colada , complete with cherry on top. But when one doesn't set, does the other one win the match? PLUS: BuzzBallz take over the world and a follow-up to last episode's better-than-sex cake... Are you ready for better-than-sex-with-Nixon cake?? Links for the episode: Piña Colada Jello Shots from Johany Torres Mojito Shots from Hello, Jell-o! by Victoria Belanger What’s behind BuzzBallz – Gen Z’s favourite alcopop? Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures Next month's theme: Bisquick

Can a cake be better than sex? Can it be better than anything? Even Robert Redford? Based on the thousands of online recipes (and variations) for Better-Than-Sex Cake, the answer is yes! This month, we exchanged recipes for this popular poke cake—one for the "classic" version and the other for a peanut butter variation—to find out which cake/syrup/pudding/whipped cream combination got our pulses racing. And what does all this have to do with Watergate Salad and Richard Nixon? Links for the episode: Is It Really Better Than Sex? Cake Better-Than-Anything Peanut Butter Cake Next-Best-Thing-to-Robert Redford Dessert Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures Next month's theme: Jello Shots

In anticipation of a trip to Texas, Rebecca chose Tex-Mex for this month's theme. What exactly is Tex-Mex? Well, it's not Texas’ version of Mexican food. Instead, it's a cuisine derived from the traditional ranch cooking of South Texas back when Texas and Mexico were a part of the same colony. In this episode, we put Marcela Valladolid's chicken enchiladas up against Josef Centeno’s carne guisada. Which dish will have us running when the dinner bell rings? Links for the episode: FREE CONE DAY, APRIL 8 Marcela Valladolid's Chicken Enchiladas Josef Centeno's Carne Guisada Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen Bar Amá "World's Best Queso" Our Instagram, @recipechallengepod E-mail us: [email protected] For more amazing food content on Instagram: @frostedfeatures Next month's theme: Better-Than-Sex Cake

Après-ski refers to social activity after a day's skiing. What this really means is eating, drinking, and talking smart while wearing snow pants and a colorful sweater. In this episode, we traded recipes for hot-tails worthy of skiing spots like Aspen, Park City, and Stowe. Our booze of choice was rum, but do we like it hot and buttered or creamy and chocolatey? Links for the episode: The Ultimate Après-ski Guide The Best Après-Ski Towns in America Hot Buttered Rum RumChata Hot Chocolate Get yourself some RumChata! To see photos of our hot-tails, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

It's 2025, it's January, and it's cold. Time for some hot soup. In this episode, we put Ina Garten's Creamy Tomato Bisque up against Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup from Bon Appetit. Are we living in a post-saffron world? What kind of white wine do you use for cooking? We discuss all this and reveal which soup warmed not just our stomachs but also our hearts. Links for the episode: Ina Garten's Creamy Tomato Bisque Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup Be Ready When Luck Happens by Ina Garten Grilling claws for shredding meat To see photos of our soups and to share your opinion on saffron, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

Are you headed to a holiday cookie exchange or swap this season? What cookies are you going to bring? We tried out two cookie recipes to see which one is most exchange worthy—Soft Gingerbread with Maple Glaze or Pistachio Pinecones. Which one could we not stop eating? Links for the episode: Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Glaze Pistachio Pinecones When in doubt, go Peanut Butter Blossoms To see photos of our cookies and to share what you're bringing to your cookie exchange this year, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

Charcuterie, cheese, and butter boards got nothin' on the Halloween treat board! This month, we each chose a scary movie and constructed a treat board to go with it for a maximized Halloween experience. Required: three kinds of candy, a baked good (sweet or savory), a fruit, and a cheese. Best of all, we both won just for embracing The Spirit of Halloween. Listen to find out which movies and treats we chose. Links for the episode: Rebecca's board: Gummy eyeballz Devil's Food Cookies Perfect chocolate pudding from Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck Chocolate-covered peanuts Dark chocolate and white chocolate Kit Kats Candied pecans Petit Boo Brie Hammond's Caramel Pumpkin Marshmallows Katie's board: Fruit Spiders Buttered Popcorn Sugar Cookies Reese’s Take 5 Kit Kat Gummy spiders Ellsworth Creamery smoked cheddar To see photos of our treat boards, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

It's September and time to say goodbye to summer fruits—the berries! the peaches! the cherries!—and embrace fall. This episode our challenge was apples as after-school snacks. We both looked for healthy options... with mixed results on taste. But which one comes closest to being a winner? Grab a bag of cacao nibs and listen. Links for the episode: Healthy Caramel Apple Salad from Snacking in Sneakers Apple Salsa from Astonishing Apples by Joan Donatelle Podcast episode: Bea Ojakangas, From Finnish Food To Pizza Rolls Kale Salad with Gouda, Honeycrisp & Walnuts from Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck To see photos of our apple snacks, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

We're back and ready to talk fair food! This month we celebrate the Minnesota State Fair (second largest state fair in the U.S. behind Texas). It's the Great Minnesota Get Together AND the Great Minnesota Eat Together. We each selected a food you can buy at the fair and found recipes to duplicate them at home. One of us went classic and one went brand new for 2024. Which treat gets the blue ribbon? Links from the episode: Fried Pickles w/ Ranch Dipping Sauce New MN State Fair food: PB Bacon Cakes Martha Stewart's Bacon Pancakes Homemade In the Kitchen Peanut Butter Whipped Cream To see photos of our MN State Fair dupes, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

It's full-on summer and that means more meals eaten al fresco. And while you may want to grab some takeout and head lakeside, sometimes it's fun to make your own picnic. This episode, we went head-to-head with some delicious sandwich recipes you could make for an outdoor dining experience. Will we be putting the burrata caprese or the chicken salad in our picnic basket this summer? Savor this episode - we're on summer break and will be back in August! Links from the episode: Burrata Caprese Sandwich with Cherry Tomato Confit from Bread Bake Beyond Green Goddess Chicken Salad Sandwich from New York Times Cooking Consider a picnic backpack Cuisinart 14-Cup 50th Anniversary Edition Food Processor Oofos recovery slides (Not a sponsor! We just like them!) To see photos of these amazing sandwiches, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

Happy birthday to YOU! Happy birthday to ME! Whenever your birthday happens to fall, you may want to celebrate with a delicious homemade cake. In honor of Rebecca's birthday month, we each made a cake - one is a traditional yellow cake/chocolate frosting and the other is a Dairy Queen dupe ice cream cake. Which one takes the cake challenge? Links from the episode: King Arthur Baking Co. Classic Birthday Cake Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake King Arthur Baking School To see photos of our gorgeous birthday cakes, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

This month we honored our first listener request! We each chose a honey-forward dessert, but instead of sweet treats we got dryness and gumminess. Oh my. Which is the lesser of two evils? Find out in this episode + flashback to last month's cottage cheese episode with some cottage cheese ice cream. Links from the episode: Cottage cheese ice cream Gingerbee Cookies (scroll all the way down the page) The Imploding Honey Custard Cake To see photos of our honey-infused desserts, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

Love it or despise it, cottage cheese is back, baby! In this challenge, a TikTok cottage cheese recipe goes curd-to-curd with an old school cottage cheese salad. Or is it dip? Find out which one was a more satisfying snack. And we got our first-ever request for a challenge and it's a sweet one! Links from the episode: Healthy Viral TikTok Cottage Cheese Queso Recipe Nixon's last White House lunch lainiecooks cottage cheese ice cream Cottage cheese ice cream (multiple mix-in ideas!) 10 Viral Cottage Cheese Recipes for Boost of Protein To see photos of our cottage cheese concoctions and to get the recipe for Cottage Cheese-Cucumber Cooler, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

'Tis the season for Grammys, BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Oscars. For this challenge, we exchanged recipes for cocktails to serve at your next awards show viewing party. One of us tried to bring the glitz and shimmer while the other uncovered the Official Cocktail of Summer 2024. Find out if we greenlit the Gold Rush or the Starlight just in time for the 96th Academy Awards. Links from the episode: Sparkly Gold Rush cocktail recipe Starlight cocktail recipe Follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

For our first challenge of 2024 we exchanged recipes from celebrity cookbooks. One of us went high and the other went low. Find out whether pasta casserole from The Tucci Cookbook by Stanley Tucci (friend of the pod) (not really) or Barry's (Greg Brady) Showstopper Zucchini and Swiss Pie from Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook earned a repeat cook. Links from the episode: The Tucci Cookbook by Stanley Tucci, 2012 Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy Alice's Brady Bunch Cookbook, 1994 To see a photo of The Hairy Chef, follow us on Instagram: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

Hey, it's Sweater Weather time! Are you feeling cozy, indoorsy and maybe a bit tired? How about a starchy dish that matches the vibe? This month, we exchanged recipes that each bring out that hygge feeling: Rutabaga Casserole and Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding. They both filled our stomachs, but which one captured our hearts and minds? Old business from episode 1: Watergate Salad Makes a Comeback Notes from episode 2: Scandia, Minnesota Elim Lutheran Church: A Brief History What a carved rutabaga looks like Adapted version of Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding by Joanne Change (original recipe calls for 8 slices of white crusty bread, this recipe uses croissants, we used challah) Pastry Love: A Baker's Journal of Favorite Recipes by Joanne Chang Recipe for Rutabaga Casserole: 1 large rutabaga 16 soda crackers 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 1 stick of butter, melted salt and pepper, to taste Cook rutabaga until done and mash. Crush soda crackers. Mix all ingredients and put in greased 8-inch round casserole dish (or similar). Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Serves 6. "Even if you don't like rutabagas, you'll like this dish!!" Submitted by Beverly Pratt, Elim140th Anniversary Recipe Book, 1994 You can find us on Instagram here: @recipechallengepod Want to talk recipes or have suggestions for future themes? Email us: [email protected]

For our debut episode, Rebecca picked the theme "70s Dinner Party" and we both independently chose salads (mind meld!). But, oh, how very different these two salads are! One very sweet and one very savory. But in the end it all came down to texture. History of Watergate Salad Watergate Salad recipe Avocado Ring Salad with Homemade Mayo is from the Better Homes and Gardens Blender Cookbook, 1971