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Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
I want to share with you, I was thrilled when Frigidaire’s Accessories Store recently asked to feature one of my recipes on their website. This store sells home appliances as well as an array of other products that include cooking tools like bakeware, pots and pans, cutlery, and food prep tools. I submitted my recipe for Cherry Jam (my new favorite meal accessory ;) ) and it should be posted soon on the recipe section of their website!
Girard’s Salad Dressings recently contacted me to ask if I would be interested in receiving a few of their salad dressings to try. I happily agreed and they generously sent me three new flavors: Apple Poppyseed, Creamy Balsamic, and Peach Mimosa, as well as their signature Champagne Dressing. So far, I’ve tried the Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette, which I thought was delicious. It’s a nice blend of sweet and savory flavors and the white wine vinegar is a delicately tart addition. I used this dressing in a stone fruit salad I made for canapés, but I also think the stone fruit salad would wonderful served with grilled chicken or fish, stirred into plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey, or scooped up with tortilla chips.
Photo Provided by Girard’s
I used nectarine in my salad because I thought the pretty red skin would be a nice contrasting color to the orange flesh of the fruit. You can use any stone fruit you want, such as plums, cherries, apricots, or peaches (although you might want to peel the fuzzy skin off peaches if you decide to use them).
 Stone Fruit Salad Canapés
(Yield: 4 appetizer-sized servings)
6 thin slices multigrain bread
2 TB canola oil
2 oz Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese if you prefer)
1 TB plus 2 tsp Girard’s Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette
1 tsp honey
1 small nectarine, diced (about 1/2 to 2/3 c diced)
1 TB minced fresh mint
Use a small round biscuit cutter (about 2 inches in diameter) to stamp out 2 circles from each slice of bread; you’ll end up with 12 bread circles. (Don’t throw out the leftover bread – you can turn it into croutons or bread crumbs.) In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add the oil; when the oil is hot, add the bread circles and cook until golden on each side, flipping once (about 3 minutes per side). Remove the bread and let any excess oil drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
In a small bowl, combine the Neufchatel with 1 TB Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette and 1 tsp honey until smooth. In a separate small bowl, stir together the diced nectarine, minced mint, and remaining 2 tsp Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette.
Spread a little of the Neufchatel mixture on top of each piece of bread, then top with the nectarine mixture. Serve immediately.
 Now for the giveaway! Girard’s was kind enough to offer five of my readers the chance to win a Girard’s prize pack. Each prize pack includes the three new flavors: Apple Poppyseed, Creamy Balsamic, and Peach Mimosa, as well as their signature Champagne Dressing (all dressings included in the prize pack are pictured above). (Apologies to my over-seas readers; this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.)
You do not need a blog to participate! You can participate in the following ways (you can do as many as you like; please leave a separate comment for each):
- Leave a comment telling me which dressing you’re most excited to try.
- Add me to your blogroll and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my posts feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my email feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- “Like me” on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
- Link back to this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment letting me know.
This giveaway ends July 24th at 9PM EST. After that I’ll use a random number generator to determine the five winners. Good luck!
Last but not least, on to my announcement! Mike and I are going to New York City for a summer vacation…I haven’t been to NYC in about five years, so I’m pretty excited. I’ll be back in about 10 days!
 Picture of the MET I Took Last Time I Was in NYC
Tags: Appetizers, Canapés, Giveaways, New York City, Recipes, Salad Dressing, Stone Fruit
Posted in Announcements, Giveaways, Product Reviews, Recipes | 71 Comments »
Monday, July 5th, 2010
As you probably can tell, I really enjoy cooking. For me it’s a great creative outlet and means of expression, and when I’ve had a long day at work cooking can also be a great way to relax and unwind. But I’ll admit there are some nights when I’m just too exhausted to even cook. On nights like that, it’s a meal like this paired with a simple salad that I love.
 As part of the Tastemakers program, I recently received a coupon for a package of Buitoni ravioli from Buitoni and Foodbuzz. I love ravioli but Mike on the other hand, not so much. This is why I wanted to make this dish in a way that Mike might still enjoy it. I decided to prepare it the same way I would prepare pierogis – by steaming the pasta in a large skillet with a little butter and water, letting the water cook off, and then letting the pasta crisp up in the butter.
The verdict? Mike (who doesn’t usually like pasta or cheese) said these were pretty good. And I loved them. They were crispy outside, cheesy inside and the sour cream gave them a nice little tang. The flavor from the onion was a fantastic finishing touch.
 Pierogi-Style Ravioli
(Yield: 2 servings)
1 (9 oz) package Buitoni ravioli (I used the Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti flavor)
1 TB each canola oil and butter
1 large spring onion (white and green parts), thinly sliced
2 dollops sour cream (for garnish)
Salt and pepper
Large skillet with a lid
Add the canola oil and butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the pasta, spread it out in a single layer, and season it with a dash of salt and pepper. Add enough water so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered (about 1/2 c water, depending on how big your skillet is). Put the lid on the skillet but leave it ajar so steam can escape; cook until the water is evaporated and the pasta is tender (about 5-7 minutes), flipping once.
Once all the water has evaporated, take the lid off and cook the pasta until golden brown on each side, flipping the pasta once (about 2-3 minutes per side).
Remove the pasta from the skillet, add the onion, and turn the heat down to low. Cook until the onion is just starting to soften (about 2-3 minutes). Serve the pasta topped with the onion and sour cream.
 Beautiful Spring Onions From the Farmers’ Market
Tags: Pasta, Pierogi, Product Reviews, Ravioli, Recipes, Spring Onions
Posted in Product Reviews, Recipes | 39 Comments »
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
Recently the nice people at Good Earth and My Blog Spark sent me a gift pack that included a Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken dry dinner kit, two sets of bamboo flatware, two bamboo dishes, a small bamboo utility board, and a 100% recyclable grocery tote. (Thank you, Good Earth and My Blog Spark!)
 Aren’t the bamboo utensils and dishes cute? I think they’d be perfect for a picnic…
(Photo Provided by Good Earth & My Blog Spark)
The box says the only things you need to add to this kit are chicken, olive oil, water, and milk. I think it should be noted that there is not a significant amount of veggies in it – I recommend adding some to make it a balanced meal. I added a large green and a large red bell pepper (but I think broccoli or asparagus would also be delicious in it) and served it with a side salad.
 Front & Back of the Box
The nutrition stats are decent for being a pre-made dinner kit, but I did think the sodium was a little high (each serving as prepared contains 22% of the recommended daily value). The ingredient list is relatively short and recognizable, which is always good. As a bonus, there are no artificial flavors or preservatives and the pasta is 100% whole grain.
 Nutrition Information
So, now the million dollar question: How did it taste? I thought it was good, but the one thing I didn’t like about the taste was that the cream sauce tasted more like a lemon pepper sauce to me. I really like lemon pepper but I found the flavor in this to be a little strong. I also really like dried tomatoes, but I found their flavor to be a little overpowering as well. If I typically bought dinner kits I would probably buy other varieties of this dinner kit to try. Generally, I don’t buy dinner kits though, only because I think it’s just as fast and convenient to make a meal like this from scratch so I can control exactly what’s going in it and customize it to suit my tastes.
 Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken Dinner Kit, Prepared with Chicken and Bell Peppers & Topped with Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Good Earth and My Blog Spark have provided another complete gift pack for me to give away (it includes a Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken dry dinner kit, two sets of bamboo flatware, two bamboo dishes, a small bamboo utility board, and a 100% recyclable grocery tote). International readers can participate and as always, you don’t need to have a blog to enter!
 Giveaway Prize Pack
(Photo Provided by Good Earth & My Blog Spark)
You can participate in the following ways (you can do as many as you like; please leave a separate comment for each):
- Leave a comment telling me what your favorite recipe for chicken is (or if you don’t eat chicken, tell me your favorite recipe in general).
- Add me to your blogroll and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my posts feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my email feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- “Like me” on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
- Link back to this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment letting me know.
This giveaway ends June 26th at 9PM EST. After that I’ll use a random number generator to determine the winner. Good luck!
Happy Father’s Day to All the Dads!
Tags: Giveaways, Good Earth Products, Product Reviews
Posted in Giveaways, Product Reviews | 92 Comments »
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
I was recently given the opportunity to participate in Cascade’s 24 Hour Challenge by P&G through My Blog Spark. The challenge is this:
1) Bake a blueberry cobbler. Enjoy!
2) Set the empty baking dish out for 24 hours.
3) Without rinsing, put it in the dishwasher with Cascade Complete.
4) Blog about your experience.
 I’m always up for a good challenge in the kitchen so I happily agreed to this one. (Besides, I’ve been looking for a good excuse to make Ina Garten’s Peach and Blueberry Crumbles…as if any excuse is needed, right? ;) ) I’m not posting the recipe here, since I only made three small changes to Ina’s fabulous recipe:
1) Added 2/3 c rolled oats to the crumble topping.
2) Added 1 tsp powdered Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder to the crumble topping.
3) Baked it in a 2.5 quart casserole dish, instead of individual ramekins (consequently, I had to increase the cooking time a bit).
The day after making this I took it to work to share with my coworkers (in hopes of quelling their demands for cupcakes…ever since I made these cupcakes and took them to work, I’ve had a never-ending stream of requests for them…if you haven’t done so yet, make them, they’re that good :) ). Anyway, I reheated the blueberry cobbler in the oven at work, and I have to say I think that oven needs to be recalibrated…it is hot! Long story short, the edges got a little crispy (not burned enough to affect the flavor, luckily), but the pan was another story. The cobbler was badly burned onto the pan so much that it looked like a lost cause.
 Against my compulsive cleaning habits and better judgment, I left the empty baking dish out for 24 hours to follow the rules of the Challenge. No rinsing, no soaking, no wiping, no scrubbing. Then I washed it in the dishwasher using a Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPac. I wasn’t expecting great results (just because the pan was so filthy), but it came completely clean in the dishwasher! I’d call that a huge success.
Now for the giveaway! I have a $25 Walmart gift card to giveaway to one lucky reader (I’ll mail it anywhere in the world, so international readers can participate). As always, you don’t need a blog to enter! To participate, just leave a comment on this post telling me what recipe is the hardest to clean off your cookware. If you want to earn more entries, you can also:
1) Add me to your blogroll.
2) Become an RSS subscriber.
3) Become a fan on Facebook.
Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
This giveaway will end on 5/8 at 9PM EST. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on 5/9. Good luck!
***Please note that P&G provided me with the Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPac Kit, information, and a $25 Walmart gift card to giveaway through My Blog Spark***
Tags: Cascade, Giveaway, Ina Garten, Peach and Blueberry Crumbles, Product Reviews
Posted in Giveaways, Product Reviews | 55 Comments »
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
The other day Mike and I were doing some shopping at a local Arabic market. Mike likes to go for the hot foods served there (and the meats – namely, the lamb), but I like to go and look around. I could literally stay for hours poring over everything if he’d let me. Not to mention that you can usually find spices for a fraction of the price at stores like this!
 As I was looking around, this drink immediately caught my eye. I had never heard of basil seed before, but I liked the way the seeds were suspended mid-liquid. The pretty little basil seed bubbles floating around reminded me of bubble tea, which was one of my favorite indulgences in college (there was a cute little bubble tea shop near my university).
 I got the drink home and couldn’t wait to taste it. The seeds felt like squishy little balls, actually very similar to tapioca balls in bubble tea or even grapes without their skin. The seeds tasted sweet and almost banana-y, and the liquid was thick and syrupy-sweet. I was surprised to find that the drink didn’t taste or smell like basil at all. Overall, it was a little too sweet for me, but I’m glad I tried it and I would drink it again if a sweet tooth called for it.
 If you try this drink I highly recommend 2 things: (1) use a straw to drink it (the little basil bubbles are just better like that ;) ), and (2) add ice (it tastes much better very cold and also as the ice melts it helps to dilute the drink’s super-sweetness).
 The funny thing is that this drink was sold in an Arabic market but it says it was made in Thailand and I’m pretty sure it’s an Asian (not Arabic) drink. Does anyone know anything else about it?
Tags: Arabic Market, Basil Seed Drink with Honey, Product Reviews
Posted in Product Reviews | 36 Comments »
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