Haagen-Dazs Egg Nog Ice Cream

This is one of those things I am glad only come around once a year

I would be HUGE otherwise!
Egg Nog is just one of those dairy products that I am willing to wrestle with the lactose beast for anytime. I will go as far to say that the flavor Haagen-Dazs has developed is the benchmark that all egg nogs should be judged.
It's rich and custardy without that cheap eggy taste that bad egg nogs can have. The cinnamon and nutmeg are strong but not overbearing and in the case of the ice cream they are in the form of a silky, fluid ribbon that winds through the ice cream.

I could talk about this ice cream all day but suffice to say this is one of the things you should ask Santa for.

Little Debbie Christmas Spice Wreath Cookies

Apologies for the lack of new reviews. Between the holiday and a virus that I can't shake about the only thing I could review was the oh-so pleasant taste of Biaxin I haven't been up to reviewing anything.

Little Debbie is huge in the South. You may have even heard Larry The Cable Guy tell tales of his sisters love affair with Debbie. I personally have a love/hate relationship with her. Some of the products are good in the way that you know they are cheap and horrible but that becomes part of the charm- and some of them are just plain cheap and horrible.

I'm torn on the wreath cookies. The cookies are about the diameter of a soda can and quite thin. Covered in a sugary white icing and sprinkles. The texture is flaky and semi-crispy.
The taste. Uneven. Some of the cookies have an oily after taste to them and some of them taste like they are over loaded with nutmeg. The flavor is most like a spicy gingerbread- well more like spicy gingerbread as imagined by someone that had never actually tasted gingerbread. Personally, there are much better Christmas cookies out there.

Sierra Mist Free Cranberry Splash

You really never do get a second chance to make a first impression

I tried this soda last year and was less then impressed.
I didn't like it then- but I really do like cranberry and lime together so I thought I would give it one more shot.
My exact words then were:
"If you are already a Sierra Mist fan you will probably love this. The watered down, under carbonated flavor you know and love shines right through (I mentioned I don't like Sierra Mist right?) and the cranberry is on the tart side but nice and subtle- if it were Sprite rather then Sierra Mist I would be addicted to the stuff... but it's not and I still think Sierra Mist tastes like Generic Sprite filtered through a used gym sock, so don't be expecting to hear about me buying a second bottle anytime soon. "

And I still feel the same. GUS does a killer dry cranberry and lime soda that the Sierra Mist can only dream of being compared favorably to. Do yourself a favor- go and buy that. You won't be disappointed (which can't be said of this soda)

Frey Cinnamon Coriander Bar

Coriander and chocolate? well why not?

I am sure I have had Frey Chocolate before. I can't remember any in particular but before I started writing about all the candy and assorted goodies I ate well, I had sampled a lot. And how could I have possibly have passed up chocolate that is claimed to be made with love from Switzerland's #1 chocolate maker? I just don't think I could have missed it.

Yes, the Target I picked this bar up at had some regular old Frey bars but what caught my eye was they're holiday offerings. I tried the Cinnamon Coriander bar first.

I have never thought to put coriander and chocolate together. A quick googling of the combo showed me that it is not as rare as I might have thought.

When I opened the large 3.5 oz bar the first thing that hits you is the intense spice smell. The cinnamon is there but what it really reminded me of was Stove Top Stuffing.

Happily it doesn't taste anything like stuffing! (not that I don't like it)
The chocolate it's self is excellent. Rich, milky and smooth. Not too sweet or oily in the least. I would buy the plain milk chocolate bar for those times when I want something mellow and comforting.
The cinnamon is spicy and warm. The coriander really works with the cinnamon and chocolate. I know this will sound weird but as a whole it reminds me of egg nog in a way.

If you are in Target and looking to try something new I would highly recommend this bar (of course if you just want to send me something for Christmas...)

Ghirardelli- Peppermint Bark

Eh, these are no Candy Cane Kisses


The bark is made up of a thin layer of milk chocolate with a layer of white chocolate upon it. The white chocolate has small bits of peppermint candy embedded in it.

The milk chocolate it pretty good. Smooth and milky with a nice melt. The white chocolate... well it's white chocolate. I may have mentioned a time or ten that I am not a fan of white chocolate. It's oily, it doesn't melt easily and to me it always has a funky after taste. The only thing that redeems it in the bark is the peppermints. Yes, once again I am sure bet to be a fan of crunchy peppermint.

Fan's of white chocolate or even those who are indifferent to it will probably love this bark. For me I am going to save my calories for the Candy Cane Kisses.

Edy's Samoa Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream

When I was younger I had wanted to be a Girl Scout really badly- until I found out that they did not in fact bake the cookies or have an endless supply of said cookies. That pretty much killed any desire I had to pull on that rockin' sash and Baret.


But every year when those green glad army's of giggling girls desend on the parking lots of my local Mega Marts and gyms (ok I made that last one up- but think about it. I bet it would be a gold mine!) I have been known to spend an embaressing amount on Samoas and Thin Mints. Oh Samoas! the perfect cookie! Chewy, soft, chocolatly, and the toasted coconut!... hang on a second I need a personal moment................

Ok, I feel better now. Edy's (Dreyers to those of you out west) has a way of combining two of the things I love most, ice cream and Samoas. The ice cream base is a mild caramel that is studded with chunks of Samoa cookie. Honestly all things considered the ice cream it's self isn't all that special. it's not all that rich and is too airy for my tastes. The caramel flavor is on the weaker side but those addicting bits of cookie more then make up for where the ice cream it's self leaves off. Yes, it's that good.

If you love these cookies even a fraction of the way I do you have got to try this ice cream.

Lactaid Egg Nog

Now all I need is some Soco...

I admit it. I am an egg nog freak- no, check that. I am an egg nog SUPER FREAK!
I love the stuff. Spiked or not just as long as it's ice cold.

Unfortunately, lactose and I aren't the best of friends. Oh you have read the reviews you know I make exceptions for ice cream and cheese- However, I just can't handle milk, cream etc when it's drinkable.

I was thrilled when Lactaid came out with the egg nog. It is not as thick or rich as some of the better versions you can buy but the flavor is delicious! just the right amount of nutmeg, a hint of cinnamon.

If Santa leaves me that new Fender I may even share a glass.

Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses

Do you get these if you are on the naughty or the nice list?

When I saw these out last year I avoided them because I had thought they were made with white chocolate. I HATE white chocolate. Reading the label probably would have helped.

These kisses aren't chocolate at all. Much like the confetti kisses or the candy corn kisses they are a white fondant. After finally tasting them I am kicking myself for not paying better attention last year!

You know those generic mint melt-aways that are pastel colored and look like a kisses overweight and out of shape cousin? They are covered in nonpareils? you know like these:

They taste almost exactly like that. They melt smoothly. Have a distinct vanilla quality to the mint. The big differences are that of course the Hershey version is in the classic kiss shape and rather then having nonpareils on the bottom swirled, into the kisses are small bits of candy cane that provide an extra mint kick and crunch. I am going to have to stock up on these before they disappear!

Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips

HMMM Cinnamon...
I wasn't sure what to expect from this chips. For some reason I kept thinking they would be like the Cinnamon Crisps from Taco Bell. I was expecting something heavy and light on the cinnamon and probably greasy to boot.

What I got was a thick and crispy chip that sort of reminded me of a grainier, bigger version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Not greasy in the least. One side of the chip is generously coated in a dusting of cinnamon that is heavy on the cinnamon and light on the sugar.

These are fantastic! crunchy, sweet, just a tad salty . I bet this are great with ice cream or even with hot chocolate.

I know cinnamon covered pita sounds weird but these are so good you should send me a bag as a thank you for the recommendation.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies

Ah, the breakfast from my youth!
No really. Way back when in a galexy far, far away when I would drive the 45 mile trip to Universal Studio's Hollywood- almost always at some godforsaken hour of the morning. I would stop at the local mini-mart for gas and "breakfast"
Breakfast most of the time was a delicious and cheap bag of Grandma's Peanut Butter cookies.

I always thought these cookies were the perfect peanut butter cookie. The peanut butter is rich and peanutty (imagine that) but not overly sweet or oily. The texture is soft yet chewy and has this great sandy, crumbly bite.

I have also yet to come up with anything these cookies are bad with. smoosh ice cream between them- GOOD!. Break them up in ice cream, yogurt- GOOD! pair them with fruit so you don't feel so bad about having cookies for breakfast- probably good but can't say I ever tried it.

These are some good cookies!

IceBreakers Energy Mints

Mints with caffeine?- Sign me up!

I don't remember what caught my eye first, the cute tin or the fact that it was a caffeinated mint. Either way it left me in blue stained tongue happiness.

The mint is about the size of Certs. Actually we are going to keep talking about Certs because the best way to describe the taste would be to tell you that if a tube of Certs and a bottle of Scope had a love child it would be the Energy mint. The mint is way more more on the mouth wash side then crisp peppermint but it is oddly addicting.

While there is caffeine in the mint according to the package it takes 3 mints to get the same amount you would from a half a cup of coffee. As a hard-core caffeine fan (I drink Starbucks quad-lattes, I am pretty bad ass) that isn't enough to get my heart rate up but for those of you who like to actually sleep at night it could be the boost you need... The downside is thanks to the blue speckles (that kids is called freshness) in the mints if you do have more then one of them you WILL end up with a blue tongue.

Hershey Kisses Hot Cocoa Creme- Limited Edition

Hot Chocolate. Just the thoughts of it bring to mind the mental image of frosty cold days spent by a fire

11-9-08
FYI these are back for the 2008 Holiday season!


In my younger days that warm cup with big ass marshmallows melting in it would have been Swiss Miss instant cocoa made in the microwave with milk instead of water. Cursing the fact that I lived in Phoenix and it was 75 degree's in mid-December and the closest I was getting to snow would be scraping the walls of the mini-fridges mini-freezer (whose only real purpose seemed to be growing ice anyway)

Cut to many years later. Today's hot chocolate is almost certainly a Venti Brevy Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. And while it can get cold enough in my neck of the Atlanta 'burbs to ice over and cause frost- if not just the slightest bit of I-Can't_Believe-It's-Not-Snow I am not exactly living out the Cocoa sipping vision that the tart little Swiss Miss would like you to believe in.

No, I need a more modern form of Hot Cocoa to get through the balmy winter. Having tried and been disappointed by frozen hot chocolate (it looked a lot better being sipped by John Cusack in "Serendipity") and since warming up my plain old chocolate milk is just kinda gross I was relived when the good people at Hershey came out with this latest Kiss edition.

I was thinking I was really going to like this kiss. I also thought John Cusack was going to age better. Clearly my judgement has been off lately.

These kisses look exactly like all of they're cousins. The first hint that something is amiss comes with the texture. Remember this is a creme kiss and it has a gritty feel to it. The melt however is satisfyingly fudge like.

The flavor:
I went through about 5 kisses before I realized that what the flavor most reminds me of is to tell you to imagine a kiss size blob of cheap store brand chocolate cake frosting then cover that with salty low quality chocolate.

To be honest I hated these at first- but somewhere around Kiss 7 (I am dedicated folks) I decided that I liked them in that same weird way I like frosting straight from the can. It's kinda gross, it's too sweet and there is nothing but empty calories- but in it's own way it is so bad it's good.

I don't get hot chocolate from it at all but it's not bad of it's own merit.

Besure to check out the ever fabouslas Cybele's Review at Candyblog

Nissan Top Ramen- Oriental flavor

Everyone loves Ramen
I mean really how many other meals can you buy for about a dime? Like just about everyone else I had of course eaten more then my fair share in my poorer days. I actually found myself craving it today- I am sick and that is my official excuse.

Out of all the flavors they make the only one I have ever really liked is the oh-so-politically correctly named "Oriental" I ate two damn bricks and put in more time then a sane person ever should trying to figure out exactly what "Oriental" is supposed to taste like.
The packaging it's self proved completely useless. The photo is just a steaming pile of noodles. The ingredient list shows that if nothing else ramen is full of mystery chemicals with names like bad sci/fi characters. If I had to guess I would say it is most like soy and garlic.

Yeah, it's completely unnatural. It's not hip in the least and there is nothing that stretches the foodie boundaries but sometimes cheap, salty, ramen hits the spot.

And , if you wanna know I am one of those people that let the noodles seep and discard the soup.

Honet Nut Chex

It's a honey of an- oh wrong cereal!

Just with the name alone Honey Nut makes me think of Honey Nut Cheerios. Because of word association alone I was expecting that the Chex would taste like the Cheerios. They are both made by General Mills so it wasn't the craziest thing to assume.

Unlike the Cheerio version the Honey Nut Chex has a much subtler tastes. The honey didn't really taste like honey to me. The Chexs are glossy with sugary glaze but all you get from that is well sugar.
The nut comes off as the lightest trace possible of fake almond.

The cereal does hold it's crunch so long it can compete with Captain Crunch. I personally like my cereal on the soggy side but if you are patient enough it will get there.

Honestly as a cereal I wasn't crazy about it, it's not bad but it's just not bold enough for me. That said I think this would be a great addition to homemade Chex mix!