Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

When was the last time you had a picnic?  We mustn’t forget the simple enjoyment of a picnic.  It seems Americans don’t take enough pleasure in them.  While traveling through many parts of Europe, you’ll see people having picnics everywhere and often.  It’s a great thing.

We’re inspired to have more picnics and Cost Plus World Market, a favorite destination for unique and imported food items can make it happen on a moment’s notice.  It has everything one could need for a picnic.  We prepared for this one by getting ALL shown from Cost Plus, including the insulated picnic basket that transported the Salami, Cracked Pepper Smoked Salmon, Bruschetta, Roasted Artichoke Hearts, Pepper Jack Cheese, Assorted Crackers, Almonds, Pickles, Olives, Wine and Cookies.

This day it was too windy to show you it was too windy — Meaning, we couldn’t back up for a wide photo, since all hands were necessary to hold down the light stuff during the wind gusts.  It was (kinda) funny, until it blew over our Chardonnay, and it was a bit scary thinking the Smoked Salmon could possibly land on us, but ultimately it was a lot of fun.

We had this picnic in Temecula, near Pechanga Resort & Casino, where we took our Grandma to see her favorite singer, Engelbert Humperdinck.  Prior to the concert, we laughed eating the Orange Chocolate Rolled Wafers — They are sooooo darn good and fodder for immature jokes that transcend generations, Groucho Marx impersonations and more.

Looking out through the pink dots, I used to feel so uninspired… cause you make me feel like [wanting] a natural Yogurt — The semi-related song popped in my head and couldn’t resist, since I actually was somehow inspired by the pink dots, natural Yogurt and fresh toppings at Cherry on Top.  As you may or may not know, we’ve been sampling various Frozen Yogurt shops all around town and just tried Cherry on Top.

We’re fans of the tart flavors and really liked their Original Tart and Blueberry Pomegranate.  We were hoping to try the Lychee Tart (sometimes available), as we’re currently hooked on Lychee’s taste, but it wasn’t being offered at the Huntington Beach location this day.

Each Yogurt shop we’ve tried has almost been better than the previous and we especially like the self serve options.  All have offered truly fresh fruit, along with a wonderland of colorful toppings that look equally good.  Although the topping selection is great, most are wasted on me, since I still can’t get past the simple Granola, Blueberry, Mango and sliced Almond combination.  We’ll go to Cherry on Top again.

09/13/10 Update:  For convenience, Cherry on Top will be opening the first drive-thru store of its kind — A first for any leading Frozen Yogurt company.  It’ll open in Culver City in September.  Check their website for more information.

A friend brought over Bettheny’s Skinnygirl Margarita for the three hour Bachelorette finale.  Although we’d been into the show throughout the season, we were a little bored at the end.  We’re not really fans of Ali, like Roberto and love Chris L.  The best thing Ali did on the show was let Chris go early, so to spare his feelings a bit.  Bravo for that!  Chris needs to be the next Bachelor.  We wish Ali and Roberto well, but the best part of the finale was the Skinnygirl Margarita.  We didn’t have expectations one way or another and were pleasantly surprised by its fresh Lime flavor — It wasn’t too sweet and it’s nice and stiff tasting.  We served it on the rocks with a squeeze of Lime and will buy it again.  And it does work, we’re skinny girls. 😉

Nibbles of Tidbits loves a good Ice Cream Party, especially if it includes Häagen-Dazs.  We’re amazed by the unique and tasty flavors they keep coming up with.  We gave big thumbs up to the Haägen-Dazs FIVE series at our last tasting party and loved the Passion Fruit and Brown Sugar, and today we happily tried a few of their latest and Limited Edition flavors.  As long as they keep coming up with them, we’ll keep tryin’ them.  So far the pleasure is ours.

For this sampling round we tried (pictured above l – r) Häagen-Dazs’ Peach Low Fat Frozen Yogurt, their new Five Ice Cream flavor Lemon, and several of their Limited Edition flavors including Peanut Butter Brittle, Bananas Foster, Dark Chocolate Mint and Almond Amaretto Crunch— A varied combination of what’s new with Häagen-Dazs.

Seven of us dug in, then weighed in (verbally, whew).  All were first impressed with the fun flavor selection and then wowed by the actual flavors.  In particular, the Lemon Five has an amazing natural taste — It’s my favorite with the Bananas Foster as a close runner-up.  The rest of the gang was knocked over by the Dark Chocolate Mint, three picked it as a favorite, one chose the Almond Amaretto Crunch, another picked the Lemon, and one vote was cast for the Bananas Foster — We appreciate Häagen-Dazs’ progressive creations and unfailing high quality.

So many Chips, so little time — Well, we actually have the time, but can only eat so many Chips.  We thought it would be fun to sample a cross-section of the vast Chip selection offered at Cost Plus World Market.  Although they have much more than you see here, we ultimately decided to try (7) Bags of Chips and (4) Salsas for our Chip Invasion Taste-Off.

Seven of us gathered for the festivities to determine our favorites — To learn more about the Chips, hover your cursor over the pictured plates below to match ’em up with the Chip Bags above.  It’s always good to see what’s in a bag before you buy it.

The variety we selected appears to be a good representation of Chip types and brands.  Some are produced especially for Cost Plus World Market, and others you’ve seen there and at other popular markets (i.e., Kettle Chips).

The same applies to our Salsa selection — The (2) on the left below are specially made for Cost Plus World Market and the other (2) can be purchased there and elsewhere.  And the Salsa verdict is… All were good and enjoyed for their comparative uniqueness.  In other words, the pictured Salsas would be a terrific combination for a party.  One was spicy (Chipotle), one was mild (Roasted Tomato), one was cheesy (Chili Con Queso) and one was chunky (Corn, Black Bean & Red Pepper).  All were picked as a favorite by one or another, with the most votes cast for the Frontera Chipotle and Cost Plus World Market Chili Con Queso.

With respect to the Chips, the verdict was all over the board.  The favorites were the Gaytan Baked Cheese Puff, Sweet & Spicy Tortilla Chips with Flaxseed and the Death Valley Chipotle Chips.  We really don’t think the Spinach & Artichoke Chips taste like Spinach and Artichoke, but they’re a good dipping Chip for any Salsa.  The favored combo seemed to be the Veggie Tortilla Chips (due to their neutral flavor) dipped in the Chipotle Salsa.  It’s all good.

Note: Nibbles of Tidbits loves Cost Plus World Market — Check back to learn about our future Candy Taste-Off, our picnic inspired by Cost Plus products and more.  We have a lot of great ideas, because they have so much cool stuff!

Playing “Quarters” probably isn’t the most mature way of handling the receipt of a (12) pack of Blue Moon Belgian White, Belgian-Style Wheat Ale, but it was 4th of July weekend and we were ready to have some fun.  And it appears that I was the only one who hadn’t tried it before.  When I told others (friends, co-workers and family) about the brew, all already knew about it.  They knew (and I now know) that it’s made with Orange Peel and Coriander, then garnished with an Orange Slice.  Where have I been, especially since I seek out everything Orange flavored?!

And no, we really didn’t play Quarters with this tall glass on a leather surface, as they’re not the most ideal conditions for the game, ha.  We just tested it out without success.  After that, we enjoyed the Blue Moon in a semi-mature fashion. 🙂

The consensus is… We hope to have this amazing brew more than once in a Blue Moon.  We’re not standing alone without a dream in our heart.  Okay, that’s enough of the song and word play — It’s time to go get more Beer.  This is a good one!

A Food Blogger who suffers from occasional heartburn is not a good thing.  Well, it happens and over the past (10) years or so I’ve tried many over the counter medicines to help remedy the situation.  It’s why I agreed to try Zegerid OTC, one of the newer related medications to the market.  I also found their offered tips (below) to be helpful and thus wanted to share them with you here.  Dr. Michael Rahmin, a Gastroenterologist at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey recommends the following TIPS for a healthier, happier BBQ season:

· Don’t Overdo It.  Smaller, more frequent meals help optimize the digestive process.  Eating big portions can put more pressure on your stomach and lead to heartburn.  Remember that the next BBQ is probably around the corner so be reasonable about portion sizes.

· Watch Out for Triggers.  If you are prone to heartburn, be cautious when considering certain foods that are known to cause problems, including caffeinated drinks, alcohol, chocolate and spicy, fatty foods.  Barbecue alternatives to consider include lower-fat dogs instead of traditional beef hot dogs, or make your burgers withlean ground turkey.  With the right condiments it’s hard to tell the difference.  Since all stomachs are not created equal, also be aware of your own personal triggers and try to cut back or at least avoid them late in the evening.

· Let Gravity Help.  Although that hammock may be calling your name, keep away after a big meal.  To help your food digest properly, stay in an upright position rather than lying down after you eat.  The natural force of gravity helps with the digestive process.

· Keep your Medicine Cabinet Stocked.  If you are a frequent heartburn sufferer, try an over-the-counter (OTC) medication like Zegerid OTCTM, an OTC proton pump inhibitor (PPI).  PPIs work by deactivating acid-producing pumps in the stomach, offering 24-hour relief of frequent heartburn with one dose per day.  For more information and tips to avoid heartburn, visit http://www.zegeridotc.com/.

Review NOTE:  I tried this product for a month.  It appears to work well, but I’m unable to say if it’s better than all the other OTC heartburn medications out there.  We certainly appreciate the opportunity to try it and will be adding it to our repertoire of digestive remedies.  Although I only suffer from occasional heartburn, Zegerid OTC is indicated for frequent heartburn sufferers with issues 2 or more times a week.

Nibbles of Tidbits highly recommends Substituting Ingredients, The A to Z Kitchen Reference, by Becky Sue Epstein.  We’ve only had it a few days and already love it.  It’s clear and concise, easy to use, and so far it includes everything we’ve ever wanted to find a substitution for.  Wish we had this book years ago — We had marked several ingredient substitution pages in certain cookbooks, but it’s nice to have all the information (and more) in one crisp book.

We’re HAPPY to have this necessary book as an important part of our cookbook collection.

Cost Plus is so worldly.  It’s been one of my favorite stores for over 20 years.  I recently took a trip to England, Australia, Thailand, India, Italy, Japan, Sweden, China and a few other stops along the way at Cost Plus World Market.  Did you know that it’s a food lover’s paradise?  It truly is!  Many travel far and wide for the Wine deals at Cost Plus, which are impressive alone, but you’ve got to check out the large food section.  It offers hundreds of sought after treats from all around the world.  If you’re looking for something in particular and haven’t found it elsewhere, give Cost Plus a call.  If they don’t have it and there’s a demand, they may consider offering it in the future — They strive to satisfy their customer’s needs.

Since there is so much FOOD to try and report about at Cost Plus, Nibbles of Tidbits will be posting a series of articles highlighting many of them.  We’ll be calling it our Cost Plus World Series.  For starters, we are planning a Chip Taste-Off, whereas we’ll be sampling several of the numerous bags of Chips available.  After that, we’ll be going on a Gourmet Picnic bringing only Cost Plus goodies (it can easily be done), and then we’ll be touring several regions for dinner, etc.  The possibilities are literally endless.

Note:  The first honorable mention goes to Nyakers Gingersnap Cookies from Sweden (above).  They’re Sweden’s Best Cookie and Cost Plus built a facility to have them made especially for you.  They are phenomenally crispy, thin and tasty.  We’re hooked.  Be sure to follow our Cost Plus World Series to learn a lot more.

As a Tastemaker for Foodbuzz, we got to try the newest SoyJoy Baked Whole Soy & Fruit Bar.  It’s Blueberry, one of our favorite flavors — Good start.  And we generally appreciate a tasty and healthy breakfast bar.  It was our first time (4 of us) trying a SoyJoy product.  Unwrapped we all like how they look — Baked, fruity, easy to eat and toasted.  After that we dueled over their taste.  Two liked their flavor and texture and the other two found them a little too dense to finish and more bland than anticipated.  Overall, no one here considers them bad, one might buy them, and Holly the Dog was hoping to catch a bite.  Thanks SoyJoy and Foodbuzz.  It’s always fun to try new high quality products.

* Bars have 0 Grams Trans Fat, No Hydrogenated Oils, 140 Calories, B Vitamins, etc.  Go to SoyJoy for the rest.

The post title is inspired by The Naked Gun, since we love Leslie Nielsen, and by our recent numerous Cheese & Wine parties.  Here we finally summarize our favorites and the consensus is unanimous.  For our slew of parties, we purchased (6) different Cheeses from Trader Joe’s.  They have an excellent selection.  Before the first party, we tested the Cheese to spare guests from potential scary flavors, which is highly recommended and turned out to be necessary, since we quickly ruled out the TJ Morbier (France).  It tasted awful, thus we replaced it with another.  It’s a better party when all tastes good.

And the winners are… (1) Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (Italy), (2) Blue Catello (France), (3) Italian Truffle Cheese (Italy), (4) Gouda Cheese With Olive Oil (USA), (5) Kiwi Swiss Cheese (New Zealand), and (6) Smoked Cheese (Holland).  All are Cow’s Milk Cheeses.  The first three listed are definitely worth buying again — Everyone particularly loved the Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (back row right).  And the Italian Truffle Cheese deserves a special mention too, as it includes actual Truffle pieces throughout (front row left).

Our final Cheese & Wine Par-tay included a few Mezzetta products that went well with the Cheese and other accompaniments.  We dipped Olive Bread in the Pesto Sauce and the Roasted Red Peppers and Pepperoncinis were a compliment to all.  Thanks Mezzetta — We’ve enjoyed many of your fine products over the years and the arrival of the (3) above surely came at the right time.  We liked the Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio had with all, but have no elaboration on ’em.  They sufficed.

Note: What makes a Party a Par-tay is your own personal Wine opener.  Thanks T.

Not sure if you can tell from this photo, but a big chunk is taken out of the bottom of this package.  It inverts about an inch and a half.  We already know that we’re paying more for less these days — But to me, this type of shrinking package is sneaky.  I don’t respect it.  These Licorice Pastels are from BevMo.  And they’re not that great tasting either, since they’re soft not crunchy.

Inspired by the Cheese & Charcuterie we saw at SideDoor in Corona Del Mar, we’re testing Cheese to select the best for a Cheese Tasting Party I’ll be hosting.  The goal is to make our platter as special as theirs.  We learned the importance of preliminary testing by quickly ruling out the TJ Morbier from France, Cheese #1 (Above).  It was awful.  I don’t like having to write this because it’s not appetizing, but it smelled and tasted like stinky feet — Not good!  I definitely wouldn’t want to serve it to guests, as it could be a turn off from the rest.

I ultimately decided on 5 – 6 Cheeses from Trader Joe’s and can’t wait to plate them with Calabrese Salami and Black & Green Olive Bread, with a complimentary selection of fresh Pears, dried Montmorency Cherries, Pecans, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Red Grapes, Mustard, Club Crackers, Pita Chips, etc.  Check back to see how our Cheese & Charcuterie measures up to the platters at SideDoor.

As far as packaged Hot Dogs go, Hebrew National is our current favorite.  We recently bought a pack and made some funny dogs. 🙂 Above Octopus Hot Dogs dodge a wave of Chili and Mustard — They’re crispy, tasty and cute, and should technically be in the Chili/Mustard water instead of the invisible sand, ha.  And below (l-r) we made a Chili Cheese Dog, a Deluxe Dog (Mustard, Tomatoes, Dill Relish & Onion), a Francheesey (inspired by Katella Deli’s menu), and a Kraut and Mustard Dog.

And mustn’t forget the Mummy Dogs below, made from Bread Dough that’s stretched and rolled around each Hot Dog like a Mummy, then baked in the oven.  Hebrew National Hot Dogs are always good well done and kids especially love to eat ’em in the form of an Octopus or Mummy.

Hebrew National reports to have no fillers or by-products, nor artificial colors or flavors, and are made with premium cuts of Kosher Beef.  We’ve enjoyed them for years and provide fun ways of doing so above.

We’re already liking this Cookbook and haven’t made a recipe yet.  We’ll be heading to one of our local Framers’ Markets soon — It’s in Corona Del Mar at PCH/Marguerite and will be reported about on Examiner.com. 

We look forward to sampling several recipes from this Southern Living Cookbook and will report about all here.  We’ve got to see what looks best at the local Farmers’ Market and take it from there.  Until then, we think these Lime Ice Cubes (above) are worth mentioning.  They’re so simple to make and memorable at a party, brunch, BBQ or just for fun.  Kids like ’em too.

* Nibbles of Tidbits is happy to be trying this Cookbook — Check back for future reports.

During Bertolli’s Taste & Tweet, we tried the Lemon Herb Shrimp & Penne.  We were impressed with the consistency and Lemony flavor of the Sauce and its ease of preparation.  All is happening right now — See link above for more details or click here for instant access.

* We paired our meal with Gnarly Head Pinot Grigio.  It went well with this Bertolli meal and will be reported about separately.

Stay tuned tomorrow on ABC starting at 9PM (Pacific) and on Twitter for Bertolli’s Taste & Tweet Sunday Night Dinner Party.  Nibbles of Tidbits will be virtually dining with other VIP Bloggers via #BertolliItaly — We’re on Twitter as FoodBlog and our Tweets (aka Chirps) are RSS’d below.  Our participatory selection for this fun event is Bertolli’s Lemon Herb Shrimp & Penne paired with Gnarly Head Pinot Grigio.  We can’t wait to try all during Desperate Housewives, when the Into the Heart of Italy episodes premiere.  Learn more @ www.IntotheHeartofItaly.com.

* Come back tomorrow to see how the above cooked up and click here for previous Bertolli product reviews.

In addition to having a freelance writing career, I’ve been a Litigation Paralegal for several years — And I’ve always gotten a big kick out of walking around the law office with my Coffee in this cup. 🙂 Fortunately I’m not abused by too many hours anymore, so the main point of this post is my excitement over Coffee that stays warm.  Yeah!  I no longer have to keep reheating it in the microwave.  This so-called Candle Warmer is working fabulously as a Coffee Warmer.  Although I cannot vow for its complete safety for this purpose, it’s been working well for me for 30+ days.  Use at your own risk.

*The identical looking product that’s sold as a Coffee Warmer usually sells for $12.99 – $14.99, and the pictured product sold as a Candle Warmer was only $5.00.

Special K just added a couple new products to their repertoire.  Over the years I’ve enjoyed many boxes of Special K’s Original Cereal, thus opted-in to try their latest products as a Tastemaker for Foodbuzz.  This day four of us gathered together to sample Special K’s Fruit Crisps and Low-Fat Granola.  We reached a consensus regarding one of Special K’s new products and were divided with respect to the other — Our assessment is noted below.

Immediately we ALL fell in love with the Blueberry Fruit Crisps.  They are indeed crispy, light and slightly sweet as reported.  Each pouch of (2) is only 100 calories, which makes for a great health conscious snack.  We’d all buy them next time.  They also come in Strawberry.  And with respect to the Low-Fat Granola we were divided — Two think it’s terrific, one is on the fence and another didn’t care for its after-taste.  Personally I’m a bigger fan of their Original, Cinnamon Pecan, Blueberry and Red Berries Cereals.  Overall, Special K makes a lot of tasty products and we appreciate the opportunity to try their latest.

For Christmas I received the Waring Pro Cool Touch Deep Fryer.  I didn’t really need one, as it means I’ll be eating more fried food, but what the heck — It’ll be fun to have when I need it.  Since counter space is rationed in an apartment, it will have to be stored away.  And before putting it out of sight, which usually turns into out of mind, I fried up a storm.

My first frying experience started with the use of (3) different Oils — I purchased a large bottle of Canola Oil thinking it would be enough to fill the fryer to the maximum level, but it didn’t even make it to the minimum level.  I then added what was left of another Canola Oil bottle, and then what was left of some Peanut Oil and still didn’t have enough Oil to get frying.  Yikes, all I had left was Olive Oil.  I had to add it, since I didn’t want to run to the store and had already prepared a Donut Batter, as Donuts were at the top of the frying list.  I was afraid the Olive Oil would adversely flavor the Donuts, but am happy to report that the ratio used wasn’t noticeable at all.  Whew!

I made an Easy Donut Hole Recipe that I found online.  I highly recommend the recipe for its flavor, but the consistency of my batter was such that I couldn’t form the Donuts into holes, nor anything else for that matter.  It was too runny to make Donut Holes and too thick for Funnel Cake.  Although the final product didn’t resemble either, it tasted great — Just like a Churro or Funnel Cake.  But for the life of me, I wasn’t able to make a Donut that didn’t look like an alien or internal or sexual organ, as pictured. 🙂 Fortunately the Powdered Sugar slightly masked the crazy shapes.

I then went on to make French Fries, Croutons, Blue Corn Tortilla Chips and Onion Rings.  All turned out well, except for the French Fries.  I used the wrong type of Potato, a Long White, whereas I should have used a Russet.  Another mistake was that the Potato was chilled, since I’d pulled it out of the fridge.  Not good — The nicely cut French Fries had so much potential, but didn’t crisp up. 🙁

The Onion Rings tasted great, but were a bit greasy, as you can see in the photo (below).  The batter was a simple combination of Flour, Beer and Salt, which I’d use again.

Overall, the addition of Olive Oil to the mix didn’t negatively impact the flavor of the sweet nor savory fried items, but to be on the safe side, I’d recommend that you be sure to have (2) large bottles of the same Oil on-hand before getting started.  It takes a lot of Oil to fry.  And once you’ve poured it all into the fryer, you might as well get use out of it.  That’s what I’m doing until I’m all fried out and ready to store it away.  And I’m now ready for that, since my apartment currently smells like a fast food joint, an unfavorable side effect.  It’s time to clean things up, light a few aroma candles, open the windows, turn on the fans and have a Salad.

Note:  I’m happy with the quality of this product.  The Waring Pro Cool Touch Deep Fryer (WPF100B Series) appears to work well and many of its parts are dishwasher safe.

During the holiday season, it’s good to have products on-hand that will help create an instant party.  It’s reported that a handful of Mezzetta products and little advance preparation can create the ultimate 20-Minute Mezzetta Miracle Party.  I succumbed to the challenge by creating the above hot and cold appetizer platter.  With Mezzetta’s Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes, Garlic Stuffed Olives and Artichoke Hearts (l-r) — I made a Hot Artichoke Dip with the addition of Sour Cream, Mayo, Parmesan Cheese and Chopped Jalapenos, and a quick cold Goat Cheese and Sun-Ripened Dried Tomato Dip using just that, then served all with Garlic Stuffed Olives, Crackers and Pita Chips.  The swift combination was appreciated by pop-in guests and took about 25 minutes to prepare, baking time included.  I’ve enjoyed Mezzetta’s products for years and always have ’em in the pantry for a spontaneous party like this one.

My favorite part of the Cook Or Be Cooked Wii Game is watching Susie Fogelson gag and Mory Thomas fall back on his chair in disgust of most of the dishes we prepared, HA — We cracked up at that.  We actually wanted more and were disappointed that we didn’t see additional ways of showing dislike.  I know that’s not the object of the game, but it’s entertaining.  We wanted them to run out of the room, fall on the floor, or alternately gag and fall back.  Their reactions are a bit redundant, until you get better at the game.

The graphics and likenesses are well done — It’s a little confusing at first, but once you figure out how to go back and forth between the different dish preparations, it’s more interesting.  Wii Cook Or Be Cooked is fun, but we had a better time playing Wii Air Hockey, Skee Ball, Darts, Bowling, Basketball and Shuffleboard the same day.  We were (6) on an RV vacation when we tried Cook Or Be Cooked.  BBQ’ing on the beach in between our Wii game competition was a great time.  We cooked and got cooked by the Food Network this weekend and look forward to doing it again.

Have you tried Mr. Yoshida’s Original Gourmet marinade?  I’m not generally a big Teriyaki fan, but the variation made my Mr. Yoshida won me over.  Haven’t tried it on Beef yet, but it’s made Chicken breasts, thighs, wings and legs juicy and flavorful.  I  usually marinate the Chicken pieces overnight, then place ’em in the Ronco Rotisserie and forget about it, before the timer reminds.  Not much effort is required and the combination always turns out tender and tasty.  We appreciate having both products.  For additional recipes using Mr. Yoshida’s marinades, click here.  Enjoy!