My January Petit Amuse Box is here!

Well … actually, it arrived a couple of days ago.  It had been mis-routed, the postal carrier delivered it to the wrong house … fortunately, I have honest neighbors and they brought me the box. 

If you’re interested in receiving a box of gourmet samples delivered to your door every month, learn more here.

This month’s box brought me samples of four different products:  a pouch of Original Granola from Oat Cuisine, two items from La Vigne Organics – Dried Persimmon Slices and Kumquat Fruit Leather, and a Porky Pop from Black Pig Bacon.  (As in a bacon lollipop!  Yes!)

I’ve previously reviewed the Kumquat Fruit Leather, so I won’t review that one again, but I did enjoy it so I’m looking forward to enjoying it again.  As for the rest of these goodies, I can’t wait to get started!

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!

Passion Fruit Caramels from Amellia Caramels

Photo from Petit Amuse.
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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!

My December Petit Amuse Sample Box has Arrived!

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I love how quick the Petit Amuse box arrives every month.  Just yesterday, I started to “realize” that it’s December and my mind began to wonder to what my sampler boxes might deliver this month, and already my box from Petit Amuse is here!  (and, I might sheepishly add that I’ve not even reviewed all the products that I received in last month’s box!)

You can subscribe to the Petit Amuse Sampler Box here.

Interested in subscribing? Click on the pic to go to the Petit Amuse website and subscribe!

This month’s box has only three products, but every one of them elicited some excitement from me.  The first is a jar of crystalized honey from Champlain Valley Apiaries.  I do love honey, and while I tend to prefer raw honey, and not researching this particular honey beyond what is provided to me on this month’s product card, I don’t see that it is raw … then again, I do not see that it isn’t.  I will have to research more about it before I sample it to learn more about it.

The second item was exciting because I’ve actually had this particular product in a previous Foodzie box … and it was incredibly awesome.  I still think about this Pistachio and Almond Nougat from Va De Bon Coeur (and my apologies, as I did not know it was spelled like that!  I thought it was all one word when I wrote the review last year.)  This Nougat rocks and is one of the most memorable treats I’ve ever had in a tasting box … and I’m very happy to have it again!

Finally, the third item is CHOCOLATE!  And not just any chocolate, but chocolate truffles!  Everyday Truffles from Coco Zen to be precise.  There are few sweets that make me happier than chocolate and I am already loving this chocolate, if for no other reason than the name and the packaging (a cute little tin!  I love tins!)

So needless to say, I’m really excited about each of these products.  Please watch my blog for in-depth reviews of each … except for the nougat which I won’t be reviewing since I already have!

Coconut Chili Macadamias from Oren’s Kitchen

Photo from Petit Amuse.
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Oren’s Kitchen nuts are high quality, farm-fresh, and uniquely seasoned to create gourmet treats. Their elegance is perfect for dinner parties but their delicious taste will keep you snacking.

The coconut chili macadamia nuts have the perfect balance of salty, sweet, crunchy, and spicy. Fresh macadamia nuts are paired with generous amounts of coconut, a hint of honey, and red chili for a hot kick at the end.

I received a pouch of this snack mix in my November Petit Amuse Sampler Box, and is available for purchase from Petit Amuse.

Tea Suggestion:

OK… so this spicy-spicy-SPICY sweet salty snack packs a real punch of flavor, so I wouldn’t recommend choosing something that will detract from that, instead, I would recommend ICED TEA because you will want to refresh your palate!   I chose this tea:  RadioactiviTEA Southern Boy Teas from 52Teas mostly because it was the iced tea that I had already prepared in the fridge, but I think any unflavored iced tea will do when it comes to refreshing the palate, but what I really liked about this selection is that while it is a good, strong tea, it’s not overly sweet nor does it offer flavors that either get lost or interfere with the distinct flavors of this nut mix.

What I Think:

This stuff is good … but be warned, it’s got some KICK to it!  I’m not even sure what to call this … it’s not just nuts, because there are big chunks of coconut in there too … maybe a trail mix of some sort?  But I don’t know if you’d want to take this out on a trail, only because you wouldn’t want to be too far from a source of liquid refreshment – this trail mix bites back!

Its a mix of toasted macadamia nuts and toasted coconut flakes that have been coated with honey and then tossed with red chili flakes!   The result is a deliciously crunchy, spicy-sweet-salty mix that burns so good, with a flavor that is positively addictive!  Seriously, once you get started eating this, it’s hard to stop.  It’s so yummy!

The macadamia nuts are sweet, crunchy, salty and delicious.  The coconut adds a slightly chewy texture to the mix, as well as it’s own distinctive sweet flavor.  The honey adds a touch more sweetness and I’m happy to say there isn’t a sticky texture from the honey here.  And of course, the red chili adds some serious heat!  It’s a great exploration of contrasting flavors and textures.

My Final Thoughts:

If you’re one who has a sensitive palate to the spicy side of food, this is not a product I’d recommend purchasing.   But, if you’re someone who – like me – LOVES indulging in snacks that explode with contrasting spicy and sweet flavors – YOU MUST TRY THIS!

Goats Milk Original Caramel Sauce from Fat Toad Farm

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

Product Description:

This is not just your run-of-the-mill caramel sauce. This is cajeta – a Mexican specialty made from caramelized, reduced goat’s milk. Compared to standard caramel sauce, this is more savory with a slight tang. Even though we usually just eat this out of the jar with a spoon, it would make a delicious sauce for baked desserts, fresh fruit (mmm…apples!), ice cream, coffee drinks, and even mild cheeses.

I received a jar of this caramel in October’s Petit Amuse Sampler box, and this caramel can be purchased online at Petit Amuse.

What I Think:

For the purposes of this review, I drizzled some of the caramel over a sliced apple.  Then… I licked the spoon.  Mmm!

I think I’ve mentioned my love for caramel once or twice on this blog.  And I’ve been hearing about Fat Toad Farm’s caramels for a while, on various gourmet food sites and such, and I’ve been wanting to try it for a long time now!  So I was thrilled when Petit Amuse included it in the October box!

This stuff is awesome.  It is not quite as sweet as other caramel sauces I’ve tried, this has a somewhat savory edge to it that I find compelling.  Oh, that’s not to say it’s not sweet … it certainly is.  It’s caramel!  But because of the goat’s milk, it has a tangy quality to it.  This doesn’t taste like caramelized sugar sauce … this is smooth and creamy and rich … with a distinctive savory tone, a tangy note and maybe even a hint of smokiness to it.

My Final Thoughts:

This is so much tastier than anything found on the grocery store shelf.  You can taste the goat’s milk and that really makes all the difference in the world.  I love that while it is sweet, it doesn’t taste sickeningly sweet … you can eat it by the spoonful!   So, so, so YUM!

My November Petit Amuse Sample Box has Arrived!

Let me start out by saying I am very pleased with how quickly the Petit Amuse boxes are being sent out.  I received this box on November 6, and my experience over the past couple of years when it comes to tasting boxes is that the boxes haven’t even been sent out yet on the 6th of the month!  I am used to packages not being sent out until the middle of the month … and here it is the 6th of the month and I already have my box!  Hurray for that!

The boxes are getting smaller than the first couple of Petit Amuse boxes, but, I’m OK with that.  These are sample boxes, and so I was really surprised with the size of the boxes that I was receiving the first couple of times.  Especially for the price – the Petit Amuse monthly sample box is only $10!  Certainly affordable, and it offers a great opportunity to taste some spectacular gourmet food products.

You can subscribe to Petit Amuse here.

This month, I’ll be sampling products from Oren’s Kitchen (Coconut Chili Macadamias … oh yum!), Amella (Passion Fruit Caramels … another YUM!), Chaparral Gardens (Champagne Mimosa Vinegar), and Botanical Bakery (Fennel Pollen Shortbread Cookies).

I’ve already tasted and reviewed the Fennel Pollen Shortbread Cookies, BUT I certainly am not disappointed to find them in this month’s sample box because I love these cookies!  I loved them so much the first time I tried them (they were in my July 2011 Foodzie tasting box) that I ordered more from Botanical Bakery after I tried them.  They are absolutely delicious – I’m glad that I’ll have some to devour during a future tea time!

Another great box from Petit Amuse, I look forward to sampling each of these goodies!

Fruit + Nut Press from Grace & I

Picture from Petit Amuse.
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Product Description:

These fruit + nut presses from Grace & I are elegant, delicious, and utterly unique. They are gorgeous (pictures do not do justice) and add a gourmet statement to any cheese board or fruit tray. Wow dinner party guests or surprise the foodie in your life who’s seen/eaten everything. They even come with their own wooden board for extra charm. Sweetest of the presses, the fig + nut, is one of their best sellers.

This product is available on Petit Amuse.

Tea Suggestion:

This fruity, nutty snack is something that seems like it would go very nicely with wine, so I selected a tea that is wine-infused to enjoy with this it.  This Wild Monkey Marsala seemed like the perfect fit:  the cinnamon notes of the tea really enhanced both the fruit and nut flavors, and while this tea doesn’t offer a strong “wine-y” taste, the dimension of flavor in the tea really seems to accent the Fruit & Nut Press very well.

What I Think:

This Fruit & Nut Press from Grace & I was part of this month’s Petit Amuse sampler box, and at first glance, I thought that this was a fruitcake of some sort.

But it isn’t!  Instead, it is dried figs, hazelnuts & almonds that have been pressed together into a square, cake-like form, looking very much like a dense fruitcake that’s loaded with fruit and nuts!  But there’s no cake in this, no pastry, just fruit and nuts!  Just the very best part of a fruitcake, all compressed into a square (for the sampler box, we actually received a smaller, rectangular slice of the Fruit & Nut press).

I love the delicious fig taste of this Fruit & Nut Press, and I’m also really enjoying the variety of textures within it.  The fig is soft yet chewy, and then every once in a while, I reach the solid crunch of a nut.  It’s really quite delightful to eat.

My Final Thoughts:

As I nibble on this delicious snack, I can’t help but think how perfect this would be served on a cheese platter at one of those fancy New Year’s Eve parties that my father and step-mother used to host.  It is sweet, nutty, fruity, and tart, with barely there touches of saltiness all in one bite.  It would offer such a pleasant contrast to the sharpness of a good cheddar or a Bleu cheese.  It would also be great to serve along with finger sandwiches during tea time!

Just browsing through the Petit Amuse website, I probably would not have thought of putting something called a “Fruit & Nut Press” in my shopping cart, at least, not until having tried it!  But I love that the sampler subscription lets me do just that – try some of the yummy items that are offered at Petit Amuse, all for a very reasonable $10 per month!

Rutland Rye Crackers from Castleton Crackers

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

Product Description:

Unlike most crackers, Castleton crackers are not just vehicles for other foods but are flavorful and hearty enough to be standalone snacks. They come in large cracker sheets that you break, which adds a nice rustic quality but are sophisticated enough to present at a dinner party. With the addition of caraway, sesame and poppy seeds, this rye cracker has not only a strong rye flavor but also pleasant nuttiness. It would be stellar with cream cheese and lox or for snacking on its own.

These Castleton Crackers are available from Petit Amuse.

Tea Suggestion:

With such a hearty texture and tasty rye flavor, I wanted something that would complement the cracker without overwhelming it.  I chose this 2012 Margarets Hope 2nd Flush Darjeeling from Darjeeling Tea Lovers.  The delicious muscatel notes of the tea seemed to accent the unique complexity of the cracker, while something about the buttery taste of the cracker and the astringency of the tea just seemed to really go together perfectly.

What I Think:

Having already tried the Windham Wheat crackers from Castleton, I was pretty confident that I’d probably enjoy these crackers, even though rye crackers are not usually something I tend to reach for when shopping for crackers.  I usually prefer wheat (and I like the rice crackers too!).  It’s not that I dislike rye, I actually quite like rye bread, I just never really considered rye crackers.

But now that they’re sitting in front of me and I’m devouring the small sampler package that was part of my Petit Amuse box for October, I’m asking myself WHY have I never really considered rye crackers?  I really am enjoying these.

I love the caraway seeds and the flavor they add to the cracker.  They are slightly anise-y, adding a hint of licorice-y flavor to the cracker, while the poppy seeds add a nice crunch and the sesame seeds add a nice, nutty flavor to the cracker.  These crackers are even better than rye bread, and I daresay that I like these better than the Windham Wheat!  They have that same buttery, delicious quality of the Windham Wheat crackers, but, with more texture!

My Final Thoughts:

I like these crackers a lot.  I am considering making these a permanent staple in my pantry.

Butter & Garlic Croutons from Olivia’s Croutons

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

Product Description:

Crunchy and buttery with a healthy dose of garlic, these croutons taste like they are fresh out of the oven.

These Butter & Garlic Croutons are available at Petit Amuse.

What I Think:

I received a sampling of these croutons in my Petit Amuse box for October.  The little sample pouch holds six croutons, just enough to determine whether they are something you’re going to want to get a full-size package.  Since there were only six croutons in the package, I decided to snack on them as they were, rather than toss them on top of a salad or float them in a bowl of soup.

And the verdict?  They’re pretty good.  They’re really crunchy, and very buttery.  And heavily seasoned with garlic.  As in GARLIC-Y!  Seriously, don’t plan on kissing anyone after eating these croutons!

I happen to love garlic, so I find the flavor of these croutons to be very appealing.  I love the buttery taste of them, and I love the strong taste of garlic.  I think they’d taste great in a tomato soup or on top of an ordinary salad – these croutons would really liven it up.

My Final Thoughts:

Because the garlic is so strong, I don’t think I would actually buy a full-sized package of these croutons for me and my family, because I’m the only one in the household who really loves garlic.  My husband likes it alright as long as it’s moderate … and I know he would think that these are way too garlic-y.  And truth be told, he uses more croutons than I do as I generally prefer my salads without croutons (I prefer nuts of some sort).   Good, but not something that would appeal to my entire family.