Champagne Mimosa Vinegar from Chapparal Gardens

Photo from Petit Amuse.
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Product Description:

Most versatile of the Chaparral bunch, this vinegar is light with citrus notes.  It’s perfect for any type of salad, marinade, or sauce.

I received this sample bottle of vinegar in my November Petit Amuse sampler box.  You can subscribe to Petit Amuse here.

What I Think:

Happy New Year!

And what better way to ring in the new year than with some Champagne?  Well, since I am not much of a drinker, I think I’d prefer to go with this Champagne Vinegar from Chaparral Gardens, thank you!

For the purposes of this review, I used this vinegar as a salad dressing for a basic green salad of romaine lettuce, cucumber, radish and carrots.  I didn’t add any oil, nor did I add any extra spices – just Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

And really, I didn’t need any more than that to have a very enjoyable salad!  I think that’s what I like best about this vinegar, is that I can enjoy a salad without the extra fat and calories that oil would add.  This has a really lovely taste to it.  I can’t tell you that I’m tasting the difference here that the champagne adds to the vinegar, because, this doesn’t taste like champagne … at least, not to me it doesn’t.  It doesn’t even hint at champagne to me.  What I taste is a crisp, light vinegar taste that tangy, but also a little bit sweet.  I notice the citrus-y notes as described in the above description.

My Final Thoughts:

This is really good.  It’s light and refreshing, and I like it a lot more than I thought I would.  To tell you the truth, I wasn’t all that excited when I received this in my tasting box in November.  Not that I was disappointed, really, but, let’s face it, it’s not as exciting as the other items in the November box.  However, this turned out to be a very exciting way to enjoy a simple salad!

Honey Cinnamon Almonds from Nunes Farms

Product Description:

California-grown almonds are roasted to crunchy perfection, and then seasoned with  a blend of sweet honey, spicy cinnamon, and floral vanilla.

I received these nuts in my December Love with Food box, and they can be purchased on the Love with Food website.

Tea Suggestion:

These almonds make a delightful tea-time snack!  I enjoyed these nuts with a cup of Kyobancha from Tealet!  I thought this was a perfect pairing – the natural nutty tones of the Kyobancha and it’s delicious roasty-toasty flavor complemented the almonds so nicely … allowing the natural goodness of the nut to shine through the sweetness of the honey, the warmth of the cinnamon and the touch of salt.

What I Think:

Yum!

The best part about these is the cinnamon, it gives the sweet, candied nut just enough extra interest to keep it … well, interesting.  After a while, candied nuts – while delicious – end up tasting all the same, and it seems like this time of year almost every one of my tasting boxes has at least one type of candied or flavored nut in them.  I don’t mind this, of course, I enjoy these offerings, and they make a somewhat healthier option versus all the sweet candies and cookies that are also sent in the tasting boxes.

However, it’s nice when I open a pouch of candied almonds like this and find something just a little different about them … and with these, Nunes Farms added a touch of cinnamon (maybe a little bit more than just a touch!) to give them some warmth and spice without making them spicy.  These aren’t an ordinary “spicy-sweet” kind of candied nut, or even just a sweet candied nut.  They are really quite extraordinary!

My Final Thoughts:

Well, first of all, the pouch was too small, because the almonds disappeared too quickly!  (ha!) but, I loved the portion that I received.  These are crunchy, a little salty, sweet from the honey (but not sticky!) and have just a little exciting twist with the cinnamon note.  Really yummy!

Lime Chili flavored Wai Lana Chips

Product Description:

Made from nutrient-rich cassava, these gluten-free chips contain 30% less fat than regular potato chips. With an unforgettable crunch and an abundance of tempting flavors, Wai Lana Chips are a uniquely delicious, all-natural snack.

Tea Suggestion:

For these flavorful (and spicy!) chips, I recommend having something that is easy to gulp should your palate need a bit of quick refreshment after eating a handful of these chips … for that, I recommend iced tea, and preferably a white tea (white tea has natural cooling properties).  Try this Elderberry White Tea from Whispering Pines Tea.  I found the light, crisp taste of the white tea along with the tart berries really complimented the spicy, tangy taste of these chips nicely.

What I Think:

My second of four product samples sent to me by Wai Lana, I decided I’d try these because of the spicy kick and contrast in tastes that the name of the flavor promised.

And these definitely have a bit of a chili kick to them, but I like that it’s not an overwhelming amount of hot chili flavor.  The lime is prominent, and I like the contrast between hot and sour, with just a hint of sweet.

A bold flavored chip.  I don’t really taste much from the cassava with this flavored chip because my taste buds are too preoccupied by the spicy chili flavor and the tart and tangy notes of lime.  The lime seems to be the strongest note here, and that suits me just fine, I like the way it tempers the heat of the chili just enough to keep me munching.

I find the texture of these chips to be really irresistible.  Crunchy, not greasy, and as I’ve described other chips from Wai Lana, very much like the onion ring-like snack chip, only thinner.

My Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed these chips … although, I don’t know that if I were out shopping that this is the flavor I’d pick.  I think I preferred the other two flavors I’ve tried thus far, but I do like this.  I just like the others better.

Gingerbread Boy from Nikki’s Cookies

I had to quickly bite one of his legs off so that he wouldn’t try running away from me while I snapped the photo!

Product Description:

Sweetly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and just a touch of black pepper, these tender cookies are a holiday favorite. Coated with a layer of creamy white chocolate on the back, it’s as if this Gingerbread Boy tried to make a snow angel!

I received one of these Gingerbread Boys in my December Love with Food box, and can be purchased on the Love with Food website.

Tea Suggestion:

With this spicy-sweet, flavorful treat, I wanted a pure blend, rather than something with flavors that might compete with the taste of the cookie.  I grabbed some English Breakfast Tea from Revolution!  It was perfect.  And who says you can’t have cookies for breakfast?

What I Think:

Yummy!

Growing up, gingerbread was really never part of any holiday tradition in my family.  My gramma was a fantastic baker, however, and she’d make all sorts of other cookies, including rolled sugar cookies, and she would cut gingerbread men shapes out of those and we would decorate them as if they were gingerbread men.  Those were good and very memorable, of course, because it was time in my gramma’s kitchen; but, I don’t think I actually ever tried gingerbread until after I was grown!

And I love it!  It’s kind of like a yummy spiced chai – but without the tea – in cookie form!  (forgive me, I tend to relate most things to tea.)  And this is a really delicious gingerbread cookie.

I love the flavor of the gingerbread here – this is what it should taste like!  The ginger is zesty.  I can taste the molasses, and I taste hints of cinnamon and clove.  It is pleasantly spicy, teetering just over the edge of what I’d call a peppery-hot-spice, but there’s enough sweetness from the white chocolate and molasses to this to make it more like a group of contrasting flavors rather than something I’d simply call “spicy.”

My Final Thoughts:

Really yummy!  I like it because I can taste the many flavors within the cookie.  It doesn’t go overboard with the ginger.  Everything is well balanced.  And the white chocolate coating on the back is a nice touch, adding some creaminess to the taste – just that little bit of something extra to make these something better than your average gingerbread boy!

Bourbon Pecan Brownie from Cacao Sweets & Treats

Photo from Knoshbox.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Description:

The perfect balance of fudgey and cake, moist and chewy, these brownies are infused with pure Bourbon Whisky. Hints of Bourbon notes beautifully highlight the bittersweet chocolate flavors. The roasted & salted pecans add a crunch and burst of flavor that can’t be matched.

I received this brownie in my November Knoshbox.

Tea Suggestion:

The flavors in this brownie are really intense … you don’t need a tea with flavors that will attempt to compete here.  Instead, I found something that helped bring out some of the dimension in this tea.  I chose this Unsmoked Lapsang Souchong from Townshend’s Tea.  The hint of smoke from this tea accented the bourbon in a really delicious way, and it also helped reduce some of the cloying qualities of the brownie just a tad.

What I Think:

OK, the first thing that excited me about this brownie … besides the fact that it was a brownie … is the SIZE of the brownie!  It’s HUGE!  Seriously, it is approximately three and a half inches long by two and a half inches wide!  It’s almost an inch thick too!  Thick, rich, fudge-y goodness!

The brownie is indeed fudge-y.  Brownies are usually either cake-like or moistly fudge-y, this brownie is somewhere in between … fudge-y, yes, but there is a certain cake-like texture to this too.   It is deliciously decadent and chocolate-y, and so rich that I could not finish the confection in one sitting.

After consuming approximately one-fourth of the brownie, I started to get that “overly sweet/cloying” kind of feeling from the brownie.  This enormous brownie is best enjoyed over several sittings – or perhaps shared with someone (or a couple of someones!)

I taste a note of Bourbon here, but, it acts to accentuate the sweetness of the chocolate more than serve as a distinct flavor of its own.  Although, I won’t deny that I did feel a little “warm” after I ate it, as if I had just imbibed a wee bit of alcohol (or perhaps indulged in something sinfully chocolate-y).   And the pecans added a nice crunch to the brownie, although I found myself wishing that the pecans had been stirred into the brownie batter rather than just sprinkled on top of the brownies.  That is to say, I wanted more pecans in this brownie.

In addition, the close up photo of these brownies show flakes of what I am guessing is sea salt, I would have liked a little more of that in my brownie … I didn’t see any sea salt flakes atop my brownie.  I think that the extra salt would have helped to cut through some of the sweeter/cloying notes, while helping the flavors to better express themselves.  I got a wee bit of a salty note as I ate the brownie, but, there really wasn’t enough of it to call this a salty/sweet kind of treat.

My Final Thoughts:

I absolutely loved this brownie.  I love that it was so enormous that it was actually two servings rather than one!  It was delicious, I could feel the effects of the Bourbon a few minutes after eating the brownie (seriously, I am having to correct some typos as I may be slightly tipsy after eating this brownie!) and I could also definitely taste the Bourbon but I liked that it wasn’t a strong, protruding flavor that overwhelmed the rich chocolate flavor.  And it is indeed a delicious, dark chocolate-y delight.  More pecans would have made this brownie a “10” … as it is, I’d rate this an 8.5.

Oh Yay! My Knoshbox Arrived Today!

Well, technically, when this published, it will have arrived yesterday.  But on the day that I wrote this review (yesterday) … it arrived today.  Confused yet?  I am, and I’m the one writing it.  I can only imagine how confused the reader must be at this point.

Sorry about that.  It’s just … the arrival of my Knoshbox is one of the highlights of my month … it is, without a doubt, my favorite sampler box that I subscribe to.  The only thing better than getting my Knoshbox in the mail is getting tea in the mail.  Now, if Knoshbox were to do a tea-time theme one month … that would be absolute perfection.

The theme this month, though, is “The Holiday Collection” – and I’m really happy about it too, because the box was filled with delights to appeal to my sweet tooth.  Two treats from Butter + Love:  Gingerbread Mustache Cookies and a Jam Cookie Sampler.  From S’more Bakery, there was a package of “The Pepp” s’mores.  There’s also a chocolate bar from The Ticket Kitchen (that name may sound familiar to anyone who’s read my blog for a while, the Ticket Kitchen makes those amazing hot chocolate on a sticks!) and finally a “Snow Witch” white chocolate brownie from Fat Witch Bakery.

My goodness!  What an amazing bunch of sweet goodness!  My sweet tooth is ready to dive right in!  Please keep watching my blog for individual reviews of each item!

White Wine, Shallot & Cayenne Cracker Snacks from American Vintage Wine Biscuits

Photo from Goodies Company.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Description:

These irresistible wine-infused cracker snacks are like savory shortbread. They’re crisp, flavorful and jazzed up with a trace of white wine, mellow shallot and a hint of cayenne-induced heat. Enjoy them solo, dipped, spread, topped or as a topper!

I received a small sample box of these cookie-ish crackers in my Goodies Box for November. 

Tea Suggestion:

Since these are wine-infused crackers, I decided to grab a wine-inspired tea to enjoy along with them.  It was a fantastic pairing!  I went with this White Tea Riesling from Vintage Tea Works and I loved how well the fruity flavors of the tea played with the savory notes from these crispy, cookie-like crackers.  It was a delicious snack!

What I Think:

These are some of the most unique crackers that I’ve ever tasted … they look more like a shortbread cookie than a cracker, and they do have a similar texture, but, they are not quite as buttery as a typical shortbread cookie.  Nor are they sweet – these are savory!

The first flavor I notice when I bite into one of these crunchy snack crackers is the flavor of the shallot.  It is a sharp onion flavor, a little spicy but also a little sweet.  After eating about three of the crackers, the cayenne really caught up to me, and I could feel the peppery heat on the back of my throat, a heat that spread to the back of my tongue, and slowly crept up to the very tip of my tongue.

I didn’t taste a whole lot of wine flavor in these.  Most of the time, it’s like, if it’s there, it’s really subtle.  And then every once in a while I’ll taste a bite and I can really notice the wine.

My Final Thoughts:

I really liked these!

The back of the sample package of these crackers suggests a list of different foods to eat with these crackers, like cheese, dips, soup or salad … but I ate them on their own with my cup of tea, and found them to be marvelously flavorful just like that.  If pairing these with a food, I would recommend choosing something that had a subtle flavor on its own because the flavor of these crackers/cookies gets intense, and it’s really enjoyable, I think that if I were to choose a strong cheese some of that flavor would be overwhelmed, and I wouldn’t want that!

Holiday Salt Water Taffy from Taffy Town

Product Description:

Whipped to perfection to melt in your mouth, this classic candy is soft, creamy, and airy. These unique confections feature festive flavors, including Spearmint Snowmen, Chocolate Rum Wreaths, Christmas Morning Cinnamon Roll, Egg Nog Bells, and Cran-Raspberry Santas.

I received these taffies as part of my December Love with Food Box, and they can be purchased on the Love with Food website.

Tea Suggestion:

I enjoyed a cup of Vanilla Bean Black Tea from Arbor Teas with these taffies.  I loved the way the vanilla mingled with the flavors from the taffies… it seemed to bring out the flavors even more, and with the peppermint taffy especially, it added such a lovely creaminess to that experience.  Really yummy!

What I Think:

I do love taffy, but, I’m also a little bit picky about the taffy that I’ll buy.  If it’s given to me (or received as part of a box like this), sure, I’ll try it, but, as far as buying taffy … it’s gotta knock my socks off.

And while I’m not getting that knock my socks off kind of feeling from these taffies, they are pretty darned tasty.  I received four pieces of taffy in my December Love with Food box, one piece of each of these:  eggnog (which is adorned with bells on the cellophane wrappers), Chocolate Rum Wreath (wreathes adorn these wrappers), Spearmint (Snowmen wrappers), and a pink taffy that was adorned with Santa on its wrapper.

I am not sure what the pink one was.  The product card that came inside the tasting box suggested that this one might be a cinnamon roll taffy, however, the website suggests that this one could be a Cran-Raspberry Santa taffy.  Seriously, though, it doesn’t taste to me like either of these flavors.  It has a little bit of a cinnamon-like taste, but it is a very sweet cinnamon, almost artificial, and certainly did not taste at all like a cinnamon roll to me.  It also didn’t have a tartness to it that I would expect from a Cran-Raspberry taffy.  It was a very odd tasting taffy, and my least favorite of the four.  It wasn’t bad tasting, it tasted sweet and like taffy, but, it just didn’t have a real identifiable flavor and that is something I expect from taffy.

Here is what I thought of the three that I could easily identify:

Eggnog:  Sweet, tasted like eggnog that had been spiked with a little bit of … something?  I definitely tasted an alcohol-y kind of taste.  Bourbon?  I really like this taffy, not my favorite of the bunch, but certainly yummy.  I like that I didn’t have to try to guess what flavor this was … it simply tasted like a lightly spiked eggnog, and I liked it.

Chocolate Rum Wreath:  The chocolate was a subtle flavor … the rum came through mostly, and the chocolate sort of developed as I chewed on the taffy.  However, I will say that if I were simply given this taffy to eat without knowing what flavor it was, I don’t know that I’d guess “Chocolate Rum” right away.  I might guess it eventually, but, it isn’t a real clear, concise flavor.

Spearmint Snowmen:  This one was my favorite of the four, if for no other reason that it was the one that was the best representation of the flavor it was supposed to be.  Sweet, crisp and minty.  Yummy.  It was clearly, undoubtedly mint!  I think that my daughter would LOVE these taffies, since she is a big fan of mint.  I like mint also, but not quite as much as she does.  If I were able to buy just a package of these taffies, I might consider doing so.  These are great.

My Final Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed the taffies, but that is my sweet tooth talking more than anything.  I can’t say I enjoyed them enough to want to buy them again, but, I wouldn’t refuse them if I were offered them either.  That is to say:  I didn’t hate these, but, I’m not over the moon for them either.  I can take them or leave them.

Passion Fruit Caramels from Amellia Caramels

Photo from Petit Amuse.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Description:

If you love passion fruit, this is the treat for you! The tart, tropical passion fruit truly shines and is complemented but not overshadowed by the smooth caramel and luscious chocolate.

I received a box of these caramels in my November Petit Amuse box and they can be purchased on the Petit Amuse website.

Tea Suggestion:

Given the delectable, intense flavor of the passion fruit in these caramels, I recommend going for a pure tea, rather than one that’s flavored.  No need to obscure the flavors here!  I chose this Pheonix Pearl Black Tea from Zen Tea.  The rich, natural cocoa notes of the tea enhanced the luscious flavor of chocolate in these caramels … and the caramel brought out the natural caramel-y undertones in the tea.  A very synergistic pairing!

What I Think:

Oh my goodness!  These are so good!

Before biting into one of these soft, sweet caramels, I worried that the flavors of caramel and chocolate would overwhelm the flavor of passion fruit, but it doesn’t.  The passion fruit comes through loud and clear!  It is sweet, luscious, and just a wee bit tart.  And it’s that tart note that (surprisingly, at least for me!) makes all the difference with these caramels.  Because as much as I love caramel, I often find it to be just a wee bit cloying, especially when it’s been encased in milk chocolate like these have been.  So, my palate really appreciates a little contrast like sea salt, for example, or in the case of these caramels, the tartness from the passion fruit.

The caramel is a rich, soft and gooey kind of caramel … the kind that sumptuously melts in your mouth rather than a harder caramel that requires some effort to chew it.  Both are very satisfying caramels, but they are different!  The passion fruit tastes very true to the fruit, as if real passion fruit was made to create the chocolate covered caramels, rather than a flavor extract.  And a quick glance over the ingredient list tells me that this is the case.

As I indicated before, the chocolate used here is a milk chocolate, and I think if I were to change anything at all about these chocolates, it would be to change it to a dark chocolate.  I think that the complexity of a dark chocolate would have enhanced these even further.

My Final Thoughts:

So yummy.  I’m really glad that I got to try them.  I still prefer a salted caramel, but, these are really good – and different!   Sometimes it’s nice to change things up a little bit, and these certainly are a delicious surprise for the taste buds.  I think these would make a great gift for the passion fruit aficionado!

Baconery Sampler Pack, Part 2

In my last article about the Baconery Sampler Pack, I talked about the cookies that were in the sampler pack.  Now, I’m going to talk about the “Rest” … the other items that were in the sampler pack:  The  Bacon Brownie, the Maple Bacon Blondie, and the Bacon Marshmallow Bars.

Click on the logo to go to baconery.com

What I Think:

Of these three remaining goodies in the Baconery Sampler Pack, my favorite of the three is definitely the maple bacon blondie, and I can’t tell you how much it pains me – as a chocoholic – to say that.   It almost feels blasphemous.  But, somehow, this dense treat captured the flavor of the bacon perfectly.  I could taste the maple and the salty bacon.  This blondie makes the whole sampler pack worthwhile!  If I ever DO become a repeat customer of the Baconery, the Maple Bacon Blondie is the first thing going into my cart!

The Bacon Brownie was more chocolate-y fudge Brownie than it was bacon.  Every other bite or so, I’d discover some bacon, and it added a chewy texture and certainly some bacon-y taste to the bite, but again, I find myself wanting more from something called “Bacon Brownie.”  Even though I’d get some of that chewy texture, I didn’t get a strong bacon flavor along with it.  I do really like it when I find the bacon, and I love the flavor it adds to the brownie.  I’m just wishing there was more of the bacon flavor.

On the plus side, these brownies are fairly decent sized – they look as though they baked in their own, small individual pan and I like that because it means more of those slightly crispy edges.  The brownies are nice and fudge-y in the middle, but not the dense, moist kind of fudge-y… more like a moist, fudge-y cake-like brownie.  The same is true of the blondies, these were baked in the same, small, individual pan.

The marshmallow treats were more of a chocolate-y marshmallow treat, and less of a bacon-y one.  Sure, it was delicious, but, I think that the flavor of the bacon got a little lost amid the flavor of the marshmallow and the rice cereal and the chocolate.  These three flavors reigned which left very little room for the bacon flavor to shine through.  Again, a tasty treat, but this isn’t going to be one that I’d be willing to pay the hefty price of shipping that Baconery charges to get more.

My Final Thoughts:

I think that my experiences with the ‘rest’ of the Sampler Pack were better than with the cookies, if for no other reason than the fact that these treats tasted fresher than the cookies did, and I absolutely loved the Maple Bacon Blondie.  My favorite treat of them all, and probably redeemed the Sampler Pack somewhat to me.  Next time (if there is a next time!) I will forgo the Sampler all together in favor of a six pack of the blondies.  And I must admit, I am a wee bit tempted by the Bacon Pecan Pie.  Does that sound amazing or what?