Product Review: Pitaya Plus (Dragon Fruit Juice)

Wow, how long has it been since I've done a real review? Long enough to distract you all from the fact that I haven't posted the thing I said I would? Doesn't help when I mention it... er, anyway I didn't get to make it. But hopefully I will soon. In the meantime, Pitaya Plus! It's dragon fruit juice. They sent me a case (a case!) of samples to review.

I'm not getting paid, blah blah, disclaim, etc.

So, how is it? Well, it's good. It's not too sweet (which I think is a plus) and doesn't have a very strong flavor, but it does taste good and has a nice, slightly thick texture. A hint of coconut from the coconut water, but hardly overpowering. It makes claims of an antioxidant and fiber bearing nature, but unfortunately I don't really know anything about that kind of thing. I put a link to their website up top and I'm sure they would be delighted to tell you all about it. Heh.

I drank one bottle, to see what it was like and what I should do with it. I immediately thought it would be perfect for a vinaigrette. Some shallots, tarragon, rice wine vinegar so as not to overpower the flavor, awesome. But when I went to make it I realized I had drank it all. Turns out I really enjoy it in the morning and I enjoyed it more frequently than I thought I had... Whoops. So, once I can find it in the store I'm going to make that vinaigrette and it's going to be great. In the meantime I guess I'll just say that I liked this stuff a lot. Apparently. Heh.

Chocolate Chip Muffins and A Light Review

Ok, the muffins are really secondary to this post. It's really about the early birthday present my girlfriend got me. See, she had noticed that I was a little upset about the lighting in our new apartment. I'm not sure what tipped her off, but it was probably the big holes in the walls I put there with my head. Or possibly the palpable miasma of fury that filled the apartment whenever I would try to take pictures of anything less photogenic than a cookie. Or maybe we discussed it like rational adults and decided that seeing as how we were good and did our taxes early this year we should each get something nice. It was probably at least one of those. Heh.

I got her a laptop for her birthday (not particularly early) and she got me a Lowel Ego light for mine (very early). So to test it out I made muffins. I figured I would start slow, with something nice and easy. It's a good light, I like it. It works well, although the pics still do need a little adjustment with some software. But not as much as before and the pictures come out much sharper. Which is nice seeing how "dull/unsharp" is second only to the cop-out "composition" in reasons that certain food photo websites reject so much of my stuff. Heh.

So, if you're looking for a light, it's pretty good and not too expensive. You do have to assemble it yourself which was kind of a pain and that says something since I love putting stuff together.

I'm afraid I don't have a recipe for the muffins, I kind of cobbled them together from several different recipes, to use what I had on hand. They were all right, but not so good that I'm going to try to recreate them. I just wanted something easy to take pictures of.

So all you food photographers out there, what kind of light do you use? Natural? Artificial? If so, what kind?

Product Review: Nature's Pride Bread

It's been some time since I've done a review, hasn't it? Of course, it's been some time since I've gotten any free stuff to review. Heh. But then the delightful folks over at Foodbuzz offered to send me some Nature's Pride bread and since I love bread (and free stuff) I said yes. I was expecting coupons, like you get for a lot of these offers, but I actually got two loaves in the mail! How awesome is that? They sent me a 100% whole wheat and a 12 grain. Here's a shot of the 12 grain I've already eaten the other loaf so you don't get to see that one. So. I haven't tried the 12 grain yet, but the whole wheat is really good. Soft, but not squishy and with a good, deep flavor. To take it for a test run I made one of my favorite sandwiches: Turkey, salami, honey mustard and cheese (sharp cheddar this time). I tossed some lettuce on there too, since we had some. The bread stood up to the strong flavors just fine, without being distracting and didn't instantly adsorb all the honey mustard and get soggy. Which is good. Final verdict? I would totally buy this, as long as it's not ridiculously expensive.

Product Review: Pace Salsa and a Giveaway!

Whew, things have been crazy here. I've barely been able to do any blog stuff (on mine or anyone elses), but I did want to put this up and get the giveaway started. First off, the review. Now aside from pasta sauce I'm not really a tomato fan. I never get them on burgers, sandwiches or such and I pick them out of salad. But I've recently been getting into salsa since my girlfriend is a fan. The problem is, most of the bottled ones don't really thrill me. I'll eat them but... meh. I've been wanting to make my own, it's on The List, but a lot of things have taken preference over it. So I've been kind of stuck in bland salsa purgatory. Then Pace offered to send me some Pineapple Mango Chipotle Salsa. Intriguing. Here's the mostly empty bottle. I really liked this stuff. Sweet and smokey, with just a bit of heat, I found it very different from the salsa my girlfriend buys. It went great with chips, but stood up quite well to other strong flavors when I put it in a casserole. Which is what I did with most of it. I'll post the whole recipe later this week, when I have a bit more time to do it up right, but here's a shot of it for now. The color is a bit weird, but you get the idea. It had shredded beef, rice, salsa, tortillas and tons of cheese. It was wicked good. But I'm sure you're all wondering about the giveaway.

Pace has offered to send one of you guys two salsas (one specialty and one regular picante), a recipe guide and a coupon for a free 16oz jar of salsa. But, I'm going to make you work for it, no random number generators on this one (although, to be fair I'm not going to give it away to anyone who knows me in the non-virtual world). I want to know your favorite salsa or salsa related recipe (although there's no need for exact measurements and such, just a general outline to make me drool or if the recipe is online just stick a link to it in your comment) and I want a story about it. That's right, a story. It doesn't have to be long (or true, heh), but I can't afford cable and I want some free entertainment. Why don't we run it to... Sunday the 12th at 6pm EST. So talk to me kids. Talk to me about salsa.

Product Review: POM Wonderful Juice

I had never had any kind of pomegranate stuff before trying this juice. It's just one of those things that never really happened. So when the POM folks offered to send me some I was pretty excited, I like new things. Plus I had heard such good stuff about it all over the blogs. So it arrived and cracked one open to try it out. It was... sweet. And tart. Hm.

I was expecting a little more... something. I'm not sure what. But it was still good and I figured I could do something with it. In fact, I've done two things. One was the lamb shanks I posted about the other day. In fact the half Merlot/half pomegranate juice base was really, really good all by itself. Heh. But the juice went really well with the other flavors in the dish, which was nice. The other thing I did was some beef teriyaki. This was just 3/4 cup pomegranate juice, 1/4 cup soy sauce, a couple cloves of garlic, some ginger, a little sugar and salt and pepper. I kept it very simple to try to showcase the juice and they came out quite well. The sweet/tart juice and salty soy sauce complimented each other nicely. I'm going to work on that recipe a bit, I think it has a lot of promise.

So, POM Wonderful juice. Frankly, I wouldn't buy it to drink on it's own (although apparently it's quite good for you). But I would definitely buy it to use in all kinds of things. In fact, I'm almost out of the bottles they sent me and I don't think I have enough to make what I already have plans for. So I'm probably going to be getting more soon because now I have ideas that I need it for. So that was their plan all along...

Product Review: Green Valley Pecans

Just a quickie today kids. Pecans. They're in the, oh... top five best nuts to mix with chocolate. So when I got a sample from Green Valley Pecan Co. I figured something chocolate had to be done. So I made those chocolate pecan cookies that I posted about yesterday. But how were they just by themselves? Well to test that I ate a handful. They were quite good. Were they significantly better than the kind I get at the store whose name I can't remember? Not really, but if their prices were the same I would pick the Green Valley ones. And not just because they sent me free samples. Heh.

Product Review: Napa Valley Bistro Tomato Sauce

Ok, first off: I've never been a jarred sauce fan. I sometimes use the little cans of tomato sauce in recipes, but I don't think that really counts since it doesn't really have seasoning to speak of. And I don't think they are really meant to be used as is on stuff... at least I hope not. I usually find the stuff that you're supposed to use as is either too bland, too sweet or a combination of the two (or some other horrid infraction). Plus I really enjoy making tomato sauce, so why would I buy it? Well, for convenience I suppose. But I never did. Then Napa Valley Bistro wants to send me some free samples. It's been years since I've had a jarred sauce, so I figure what the hell. Plus if all their claims are true, it's probably at least palatable. So how was it? It was surprisingly good. It's not how I would season it, but if I wanted sauce seasoned how I do it why would I bother to buy it? It had a very strong flavor, you could really taste the garlic, tomatoes and wine, but it wasn't boozy. It claims to be made with fresh herbs and I totally believe it. It didn't taste anything like the jarred sauces I have had before. Here's what I did with it.

My girlfriend wanted a meat sauce, so I browned up some hamburger and just dumped the jar of sauce into the pan to heat up. I made some ziti and portioned her out some. I didn't really want just a bowl full of pasta. I wanted baked ziti. This isn't the way I normally make baked ziti (which I've made some changes too, I need to update that post), but it's a fine method. I just mixed up some sauce and pasta, covered it with mozzarella, sprinkled on some parm and baked it at 450 till it was nice and brown. Since the sauce had such a strong flavor I wanted to see how it hold up to all that cheese. It held up just fine. It was even better the second day.But would I actually pay money for it? Yeah, I think I would. I could see having a jar of this in the pantry for nights when I don't have the time or inclination to make sauce myself.

Product Review: Amazing Tastes, Burgers

Amazing Taste seasoning packets have been all over the food blog world for a while now. For those of you who don't know, Amazing Taste packs claim to season and tenderize and mostly come in protein specific blends. Like beef, chicken, pork, etc. I got some samples a while back and recently tried out the one for burgers. I didn't do anything fancy with them, just mixed a heaping half tablespoon of seasoning into a pound of beef. Then I fried them in a steel pan. A little cheese, some spinach, some mayo. They were good. I liked how the seasoning wasn't overwhelming but complimented the meat. The packet proclaims it's a delicate blend of onion and garlic and I'd say that's about right. I didn't notice any particular tenderizing going on, but I cook my burgers well done. I would be a little nervous if a powder, used in such a small amount, made them tender. Final verdict: for 99 cents, you can't go wrong if you want a quickie seasoning for your burgers. The flavor is good and the price is right. I plan on using more of the different types and I will post about it as I do. I have a plan for the poultry one...

Broiled Strip Steak with Compound Butter and a Chardonnay Review

First the steak. Yeah. These were really good. I made the compound butter with some of those frozen herbs and some Dijon mustard. Then I plopped some on the steaks while they rested, tented with foil. I also sauteed up some broccoli and peppers in a little olive oil and herbs.Good times folks. And since it contains almost all the major food groups it's good for you. I promise.

Now the wine. April's wine of the month over at Bakespace was chardonnay (I got to pick it! Excitement!). This is one I grabbed when I couldn't find what I had wanted. And then the last time I was at the packy I found the one I had been looking for originally. Of course. So I'll review that at a later date, it was wicked good. But here's the one I did drink.

Name: Forest Glen
Price: 10.99
Year: 2005

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Nothing on the bottle.
Review:I couldn't get a good smell since my entire apartment smelled strongly of garlic from the pasta I made with it. A bit dry, tart, medium oakiness and not just fruity but grapey. A slightly sour note at the very end, but that might be the bottle. The flavors stick around, but the mouth feel doesn't.
Would you buy again?: Probably not, it was good but there are other chards I like much more.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: It went well with pasta in a white wine/cream/chicken broth sauce, broccoli, Italian sausage, spinach and peppers. Of course, I made the sauce with the wine, so that probably helped. I don't have that recipe up, but this one is similar and I bet would be good with it too. Stuff with a white sauce, chicken pot pie, mellow cheese like mozzarella? Yes. White pizza? Totally.

Pan Seared Chuck Steak with an Easy Corn Side Dish and Product Review: Country Bobs All Purpose Sauce

All right, first the steak. No real recipe for this I'm afraid (apparently that's going to be a theme for Saturdays, along with reviews), it's really just a method. But here's what you need:

Steak (let's say 1 lb)
2 cups or so frozen corn
1/2 cup or so diced frozen peppers
1 tbl fresh herbs of your choice (or however much you want/need to season your steak)
salt and pepper

All we're going to do is sear the steak then plop the frozen veggies into the hot, fondy pan. Then you stir the veggies around till they are cooked how you like and that's that. So I guess there's the recipe... but here're the details.

First, steak. I used a chuck steak. Normally not the best for pan searing, but I'm not a steak snob and I don't really mind if it's not perfect. Plus it has a great, strong beefy flavor. And it's what I had. So I rubbed it with herbs. I used some salt and pepper and the grilling spices from Daregal. The spices in that blend are thyme, rosemary, savory and parsley, they went really well with the steak and the corn. Once the steak was ready I pulled it off to rest and tossed the peppers into the pan, then the corn. The water that the frozen veggies put out deglazed the pan (although a splash of red wine wouldn't have hurt, heh heh) and then they got coated with the meaty, herby, salty and peppery flavors. Stir them around, let the liquid simmer off and that's that. Well, unless you don't think it's rich enough and want to put a pat of butter on there. That never hurts. So there it is: pan seared chuck steak with corn and peppers. One pan, two dishes, dinner is done.

Now the review. I recently got a couple bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce to try out and I figured that this was a great time to do it. So I dipped my steak in and gave it a shot. The verdict? It's ok. It's like a cross between A-1 and a bottled barbecue sauce. Sweet, but it still has that steak sauce flavor. I enjoyed it well enough, I'll use what I have, but I won't seek it out when these bottles are gone.

Product Review: Daregal Frozen Herbs

So, I've mentioned these frozen herbs several time already. I used them in my spaghetti al amatraciana and I've also used them in a couple things I haven't posted about yet. But I will, some of them came out particularly well. But here is my final verdict on the herbs: they are awesome. The next best thing to having an herb garden. The taste isn't quite as good as never frozen fresh herbs, but the fact that they keep for months and still taste almost as good as fresh stuff is the best. I have a terrible time using up the big boxes of fresh herbs before they go bad and this is the perfect solution.I wouldn't suggest trying to make pesto with them, you would need several containers, but for the normal seasoning of stuff they are great.

Here's their website, it tells you where you can buy them and if they aren't available near you, they deliver. The prices are pretty good, especially when you factor in the fact that you won't have to chop or clean any of the herbs. Not to mention that you should be able to use them all before they go bad. That way you don't have to feel bad throwing out that nasty, wet, half rotted old basil that you really meant to do something with but it got stuffed into the back of the fridge for a couple weeks and now... now it's just one more thing that needs to be cleaned up.

Oh, I forgot to mention what herbs they have. They have basil, oregano, dill, cilantro, Italian parsley, the Original Blend (which is basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme), the Grilling Blend (thyme, rosemary, savory and parsley) and the Italian Blend (parsley, red onion, oregano, basil and thyme). I've used and enjoyed all of them except for the dill, I need to get some Greek yogurt so I can make some tzatziki. Or maybe I could put some on potatoes...

Pizza Weirdness and a Wine Review: Chardonnay

Ok, first the weirdness. Look at this: This is the pizza I made for my girlfriend when I made my hamburger one. I made it just like normal. Sauce (that's browned Italian sausage and peppers in it), cheese, oven. And this... mutant is what came out. It's like some kind of alien pizza, from a world where instead of just round, pizza is spherical. Or maybe a Lovecraftian idol, hidden in an arctic shrine somewhere, guarded jealously by hordes of villagers that have been twisted by it's magic into half-walrus, half human monstrosities, lumbering around on their flipper feet and calling out mustachy warnings to anyone foolish enough to draw near! Er... excuse me. Well, no matter why it happened (although if anyone knows, I'm curious) it was good. And fortunately my girlfriend likes crispy dough bubbles. Heh.

Here's the wine review. Now I'm going to say something I said over at the Bakespace wine club. The whole "New Look, Same Taste!!1!" crap annoys me. I'm not sure why, but it does. And seeing it on wine kind of tweeked me out. But I gave it a shot because I've had good luck with Australian wines lately and had something else by Black Swan that was really good. Like this one was.

Name: Black Swan Chardonnay
Price: 7.99
Year: 2006

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Nothing.
Review: Smooth and rich, particularly for a white. A fruity taste that lingers, very slightly oaky. Clingy texture (round?), a great balance of sweet and dry, not too much of either. This was really good and for 8 bucks, you can't beat it.
Would you buy again?: Definitely.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I would drink this with pretty much anything. Seriously. Roast chicken, anything with a cider glaze, a lemony souvlaki and hummus spring to mind. But I haven't actually tried any of them with it, so I don't really know. I should get some more. For research purposes.

Wine Review: Pinot Noir

Here's a Bakespace wine review for you guys.

Name: Coastal Estates Pinot Noir
Price: 11.99
Year: 2007

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Elegant and silky, our Pinot Noir expresses aromas and flavors of ripe cherries, plums and spices. Smoky oak nuances weave through the soft, fruity flavors and linger on the finish. This versatile, medium-bodied wine complements wild mushroom soup, roast turkey, grilled lamb, pork or whatever excites your taste buds.
Review:Very rich smell, earth and berries mostly. It is very smooth, with a light body (medium body my ass) and taste. Much lighter than I thought it would be, just a little fruity. Slightly tannic/dry finish. I didn't notice it expressing aromas or weaving nuances, but that might just be my unsophisticated palate. Heh.
Would you buy again?: Maybe, but only for something specific. Not to just drink.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I'm not sure what I would pair it with. I could easily see drinking it with turkey. It went well with black pepper, so maybe a pepper crusted steak or something like that. Although it would be fairly easy to overpower this wine, so you might want to be careful with really strong flavors.

A Burger, an Award and a Wine Review: Muscat

Ok, first the burger. This is a food blog after all. I made this for lunch the other day, it was really simple and wicked good. Sometimes, if I get my hands on large quantities of ground beef, I make patties and freeze them. That way I can whip up burgers easily for, say, lunch. But I minimally season them, that way they are more versatile. The only seasoning in the burger itself is salt, I sometimes add pepper too but I've found I actually like it better at the end so it's more fresh tasting. Anyway, it had a little mayo, spinach, fresh ground black pepper and some mozzarella. It was on a good sesame bun that I toasted, then put the cheese on the bottom and melted it under the broiler. Good stuff.

Now the award. Tamilyn from Butter My Kitchen has given me the Honest Scrap Award. Thanks Tamilyn! If you folks haven't, you should go check out her blog. She makes some good stuff. Plus it has a great name. Heh.

Now, I'm supposed to list ten honest things about myself and then pass it along. So... ten honest things, huh? Hm, all right. Bear in mind, they'll be honest, but that doesn't mean they won't be totally random.

1: I play a lot of video games. I like old school Nintendo RPGs the most.
2: I've never had spaghetti squash. At least, not that I know of.
3: I've seen every Friday the 13th movie ever made. The first one is a classic, the rest are just hilarious.
4: I love Legos. My dream job would be designing and testing new sets. I don't know if that job actually exists, but hey.
5: While I'm dreaming, I want a giraffe too. They are just so cool.
6: Since we're talking about animals, I like wildlife documentaries. I like them enough that I actually own a couple boxed sets of Nature.
7: I don't watch much TV at all. I watch cooking shows and documentaries on PBS and sometimes the Simpsons and Family Guy. Although I haven't been pleased with the last couple seasons of the Simpsons or this one of FG. But that could be a post by itself...
8: I hate movie remakes, especially if the first one was really good.
9: I'm terrible at finishing things.
10:

I'm going to pass it along to:
Reeni, from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice. She's has a great blog and makes all kinds of mad good stuff. She also has a cat who I want some of the honest things to be about. Hint hint. Heh.
Next, Emily over at Sugar Plum. She's a superstar, having been on Ultimate Recipe Showdown on Food Network. But she doesn't let it go to her head, she's still whipping up tasty stuff to share with everyone. Virtually share, unfortunately.
Last but not least, Karen at Karen Cooks. Bacon wrapped venison tenderloin. Yeah. That's enough by itself, but she also takes great pictures.

Now the wine review. I liked this one and am going to be getting more soon to do something cool with. I'm still a little vague on the details, but it's going to involve berries.

Name:Red Electra
Price:11.99
Year: 2006

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Red Electra is easy (only 5% alcohol). It's a party wine with a zippy taste. Like a handful of freshly picked summer berries, it is sweet, succulent, luscious and lively. Red Electra is fun.
Review: Despite the fact that the maker's intro sounds like it was translated into English from Japanese, it's one of the most accurate intros I've come across. It smells like lavender and fruit and tastes like strawberries and honey. Where was this wine when I was a teenager? It's almost like a wine cooler, but better. Very sweet, but not as cloying as the Riesling I had. It's got this weird slightly fizzy thing that I'm not sure if I like or not. My girlfriend actually liked it, mostly because it's practically soda.
Would you buy again?: Yes, I have plans for it.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: Dessert. Things with berries like shortcakes, tarts or cobbler (whew, there's a post screaming for new pictures). Anything with a strong vanilla taste would go well, like yellow cake or rice pudding. I think coffee cake would be good too. It went well with Dove milk chocolate, but wasn't spectacular. I would go for fruit and berries (maybe melon? I'm not a big melon fan.) over chocolate with it.

Beer Post: Chimay Première

This is just a quickie for any of you who like beer. Chimay makes some great trappist ales. I like both of the ones I've had, the red (Première) and the blue (Grande Réserve). I like the blue a bit more, it's darker, richer and a bit bitter. And a bit more expensive. But the red is also very good, just a bit lighter in taste, color and alcohol content. Plus it's also what I happened to buy most recently. They go great with anything grilled or seared like burgers, steaks or sausages, but are also light enough (in flavor, they run 7-10% alcohol) to have with chicken or pork. So go out and get a bottle or two, if you like beer chances are you will like this.

Wine Review: Shiraz

I was going to do an updated post about chocolate chip banana bread today, but I'm tired and don't really feel like writing it up at the moment. Tomorrow I will, I promise. So today what you are going to get is a teaser pic and a Bakespace wine review. First, the pic:
Mmmmm, chocolate chip banana bread. Now, the review:

Name:Pensacal
Price: 6.99
Year: 2004

Short intro from the wine maker about the wine: Nope, nothing on the bottle. Didn't bother looking on the net.
Review: I smell cherries quite strongly, with an herbal smell underneath. Hmm, a bland, timid entry, possibly suitable for patients recovering from surgery. Heh. Seriously though, the taste is flat, no richness at all, with a very clean finish. Not much to it at all really, much more scent than taste. I honestly can't pick out a single flavor. So that's why this was in the discount bin. How sad.
Would you buy again?: Nope.
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I made a red sauce with it that turned out good. I deglazed the pan with about a cup and reduced it to 1/4 or so, which brought out the closest thing to flavor I got from it. I ate Chinese food with it and all of it completely overpowered the wine.

I'm a Winner!

At least according to Jenny over at Picky Palate. No really! I have proof: See! Heh. I won a contest she was running and got a pound of English toffee from English Toffee Anytime. Thanks Jenny and ETA! This stuff was wicked good. I'm not a candy making kind of guy, it's a bit too fussy for me, so I only ever buy it. But I love English toffee and this was probably the best I've ever had. I mean look at this stuff. Nice thick layers of chocolate, almonds on top and in the toffee itself. Good times. Now it is a little pricey, I'm really glad I got some for free because right now I wouldn't be able to justify buying any. But damn man, this stuff is good. If I did have money, I would buy more. I got the milk chocolate almond kind, but they also do a dark chocolate one and a white chocolate one. So if you have a sweet tooth and a couple extra bucks I say grab some of this stuff, if you like toffee you will love it. I'll leave you guys with a nice close up. Enjoy.