Peanut Butter & Co: The Heat Is On Peanut Butter

One of the upsides of having a food review blog is that friends will often come up with items that they want to see me review. And one of the downsides of having a food review blog is that friends will often come up with items that they want to see me review. No, that's not a typo: that is the double-edged sword that is my life.

Seriously! Sometimes my friends come up with stuff that makes me wonder if they are trying to turn me into their own personal Andrew Zimmern (even the ones who have no idea who Andrew Zimmern is). I believe they see some outrageous items and think to themselves, "Oho, there is just no way Gigi would ever turn down the chance to review a choice delicacy like dill pickle flavored, chocolate covered, durian stuffed Madagascar hissing cockroaches!" (OK, to be fair, I made that up...and if such a product exists, I am happy in my ignorance of it and ask only that it A: Not be brought to my attention, and B: That I not be offered samples.) My whole point is that sometimes I feel like people give me things based on an elementary school gross-out dare.

My sister-from-another-mother, however, is an exception to that rule. Net and I are so physically similar that you could in fact mistake us for sisters -- well, first cousins at the very least -- and she always finds the greatest snack stuff for me to try. (She is completely to blame for my obsession with Herr's Puff'n Corn.) So when she said she had something new for me I was very excited.

And she did not disappoint!

I have been wanting to go to the Peanut Butter & Co shop since I saw them on the Food Network at least ten years ago. Really, how could a peanut butter lover not want to go to a shop that completely revolves around peanut butter? Well, despite many visits to my beloved New York City I have not made it to the shop once. Then, like magic, the company's peanut butter started turning up in stores...and I still somehow never got my hands on any. Net, however, did -- and when she saw a jar of The Heat Is On flavor she picked it up for me. (For the record, she swears by their Dark Chocolate Dream.)

The Heat Is On, as you may have guessed, is a spicy peanut butter -- and lest you doubt that it's spicy, the monkey on the label is holding a little pitchfork. Monkeys would not lie to us.

Even before opening the jar, you can tell that there is going to be a lot going on flavorwise, just by looking at the peanut butter. It's darker than your normal peanut butter; the color being more of a burnt orange than a tan. The butter is also studded with various dots and flecks of spices.

When you open the jar the scent is that of strongly roasted peanuts. You can tell there's an extra something going on, but it's hard to pin down exactly what else it is that you're smelling besides the nuts.



According to the label you don't have to stir the peanut butter, but I did notice some oily buildup on the top -- and I thought that the texture was a bit better for giving it a swirl. The texture is smooth but very thick, though not thick in the sticky manner of any of the mass market brands of choice. There is a slight graininess (though it is not chunky) that I think comes from a combination of the spices and the actual peanuts themselves. I really liked the texture.

The taste -- forgetting the spices for just a second and concentrating on the base -- reminded me of super fresh, just-roasted peanuts. Slightly salty and completely missing the sweetness that my favorite mass market brand has.

Now for the spices! It's going to be hard to go back to plain peanut butter after having spicy (and I may not, actually). The heat is just enough to give you a kick and warm your mouth up, but not enough to have people who aren't as big a fan of heat as I am searching for something to cool off with. On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of heat for people who are not chiliheads, I would put it at about a 5 or 6 if you are really sensitive.

The spicing is a mix of chili powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and paprika. (And while it's not listed on the label, I have to wonder if there's not a pinch of garlic in there as well.) To be really lazy, the easiest way I can describe the flavor is to tell you to imagine a peanut butter made with a bag of those "hot" flavored peanuts found at gas stations and mini marts. As someone who has been known to snarf those bags down embarrassingly fast, it stands to reason that I'd love a peanut butter version.

What can I say? I just loved this peanut butter. I have been eating it straight from the jar, but I know it would make great sandwiches or sauces/dressings. Heck, I want to try to make cookies with it! No, I'm not kidding. It's really that damned good.

Thank you, Netters!



PURCHASED FROM:
Gift from my friend

PRICE:
$6.00 on the company website

CALORIES:
190 calories per 2 tbsp

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Gluten free, certified vegan, HFCS free. Contains peanuts (duh)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
ilovepeanutbutter.com

Too Haute Cowgirls: Chili Con Chocolate Popcorn

Edited on 11/11/10 to add:
This is actually a re-run review of sorts. My original photo's were what could best be described as "melty" looking thanks to the shipping company. The kindly little ladies of Too Haute Cowgirls were nice enough to send along new samples so thanks to them I was able to redo the photo's and give this popcorn the food porn justice it deserves!

I have to admit that as soon as I hear or see the words "Chili Con" anything, I immediately think of my favorite episode of South Park, Scott Tenorman Must Die, in which Cartman invites his arch nemesis (for that episode, at least) to a "Chili Con Carnival" that has a rather disturbing, but classic Cartman ending.



Given the episode's outcome, I should maybe be more wary than I am of trying anything marked "Chili Con (insert random food)." But we all know I am a little twisted myself, so in reality it only made the product seem more awesome to me.



Too Haute Cowgirls' Chili Con Chocolate is made up of caramel coated popcorn that's been covered in dark chocolate, mixed with pecans, and then everything is covered in a special chili coating. And I think we all know once you put the words "chili" and "chocolate" together, I am there.

So, we know I love the idea of this popcorn...but did I love the popcorn itself?

It's definitely an unusual mix. First, I have to give Too Haute Cowgirls props: this popcorn actually does pack some serious heat. I am frequently disappointed by the lack of heat in supposedly "hot" products. But this one really does bring it.

Just as with their Fluer de Sel Popcorn, the actual corn itself is light and fluffy. The caramel is sweet and buttery. The chocolate coating is thick enough to completely enrobe the popcorn, but not so thick that it forms a hard crust (which is good).



The nuts are whole pecans, and they were crunchy and fresh. They are also covered in chocolate, but are caramel free.



The spice blend that covers everything does indeed bring the heat it promises to the table. I am not sure what is in the chili blend, but for the most part it really compliments the popcorn, the caramel, the chocolate and the nuts. The only thing that sort of got me is that some bites seemed to have a lot of cumin flavor to them (I don't know for sure that the mix actually contains cumin, but most chili blends do). I didn't care for the cumin taste with the chocolate and the caramel. But I loved the pieces that were all chocolate and heat.

This is an interesting mix that's well worth rustlin' up.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

PRICE:
Sample from company

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains nuts.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
toohautecowgirls.com

Sahale Snacks: Barbeque Almonds with Mild Chipotle & Ranch

Nut mixes are just awesome. They are crunchy, they are salty, and they go well with beer. And if you are really tasteless, they have an entire set of built in dirty jokes (not that I would ever tell such jokes, of course).

Today was a nut mix kinda day, so I reached into my stash and grabbed this bag of Sahale Snacks Barbecue Almonds with Mild Chipotle + Ranch.



You know, I have a love for all things hot and spicy. And I do in fact like chipotle peppers. But -- much as with jalapeño a few years back (and to be fair, chipotles are in fact smoked, dried jalapeños) -- chipotle has become one of those trendy, hipster food flavors. And since it's had it's heyday, maybe it's time to do something fresh and stop using it as the go-to "hot" ingredient in everything. The only thing that could make this any more whitebread and predictable would be if they paired it with ranch flavor...

...Oh, wait!

Don't get me wrong: I know this sounds pretty harsh. And yes, I do like ranch dressing (though not to the point of those who practically drink it with dinner). It's just that the two flavors are at this point predictable, and honestly boring. No, it does not mean this can't be a good mix -- it just means that it's going to have to work extra hard to impress me. Maybe if it did some hard core parkour, that would help. (And dammit, that has had its heyday too!) C'mon, Sahale, bring it on!



The smell of the nuts...who doesn't like to smell nuts? (Insert snickering of thirteen-year-old boys here) It's sort of a spicy, oily smell, not bad. The nuts themselves are whole, which is always good, and they are completely encrusted in the spice mixture.

The nuts are very crunchy. Gotta love that! The taste is mostly smokey, with a teeny bit of heat. I can't say I actually tasted the ranch at all -- at least not in that full-on "where's the lettuce," super-strong, powdered flavor sort of way that most ranch items end up with.

Same with the chipotle. There's a bit of heat, but there's not much flavor that's really identifiable as chipotle.



So what did it taste like? Honestly, it tastes like they'd opened up some of those foil flavor envelopes that come inside Ramen packages -- any Ramen flavor -- and rolled the almonds in that. I'll admit that doesn't sound very good, but it does have an interesting, salty addictiveness. It reminded me a lot of Cratz snacks, actually.

It's hard to rate this snack, because while I don't think it tasted anything like the flavors it's supposed to, it actually does taste fairly good. Since I can only in good conscience rate based on what the product is supposed to be, that is how I will do it -- but I did like them more than the actual number reflects.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

CALORIES:
140 calories per 1/4 cup.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains nuts. Processed at a factory that also processes peanuts.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
sahalesnacks.com

Trader Joe's Chile Relleno

One of the better things about living in Southern California is the fact that, at any given time, good -- and sometimes great -- Mexican food is plentiful, cheap, and often located within minutes of wherever you may happen to be. And yes, if the jones is strong enough, I will happily brave the sometimes close to an hour wait for a fix of one of my favorites: King Taco.

Because of that, it is seldom that I look for frozen or ready-made Mexican items. But we all know I am a sucker for trying things in the name of "well, I could try it for a review." Yeah, that phrase comes up a minimum of once a day.

Tonight's trip to Trader Joe's was no exception. I already had dinner planned. But sitting seductively in the frozen food bin were boxed, frozen chile rellenos...

Hmmm...well, if it's for a review....



If you have never had a chile relleno, it is a poblano pepper that has been grilled and then stuffed with a variety of fillings, be it cheese, meat, etc. Then the pepper is dipped in an simple batter and fried until golden brown. It's occasionally served bare, but almost always it's topped with either red or green salsa (I like both, but am partial to green). I've noticed that in restaurants here in SoCal, and in the southwestern U.S. generally, the stuffing is almost always simply cheese or a cheese blend. But when I was living in Georgia, the restaurant version was nearly always stuffed with meat; whereas the cheese version I prefer was referred to on the menu as a "chile poblano." I don't know why that is -- but if you are in the Deep South and you want one with cheese rather than meat, be sure to read that menu (unlike me, who ordered blindly and got surprised).

The Trader Joe's version is covered in a red salsa and sprinkled with a little bit of cheese. It was also free of the batter that I would otherwise be expecting. Considering that the battered versions are fried and this one is to be baked (or microwaved), that was probably a smart move.



The poblano pepper itself tasted fresh and had a nice "grilled" flavor to it. Not spicy hot in the least -- but poblanos are not hot as a rule. It was perhaps a little crunchier than what I am used to, but not so much that it bothered me.

The cheese is plentiful. It's stringy. It's also dense in parts. There's not really much flavor to it; more kinda salty than anything else. It reminded me of the cheese in Trader Joe's Paneer Tikka Masala, only not so solid.

The salsa topping was excellent. It has a very fresh, zesty tomato taste. There's a little cilantro and onion.

Is this chile relleno as good as one that I could get just by walking down the street? Obviously not...but for a frozen version, this is quite tasty.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

PRICE:
$2.49

CALORIES:
350 calories per serving.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Labeled as vegetarian.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
traderjoes.com

Sahale Snacks: Sing Buri Cashews

I love nut mixes. So it's always a treat when I find a mix that is a little out of the ordinary. Don't get me wrong -- I am a big fan of things as simple as "hot" style peanuts, but it is nice to get something special now and then.



Sahale Snacks actually offers several interesting mixes, and they were nice enough to send samples for me to opine on. I decided to start with the Sing Buri Cashews. In addition to the cashews, this mix also has pineapple, lemongrass, mild Chinese chili, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Sounds more exotic than simply "hot," doesn't it?

Each whole cashew is decently sized. Not the biggest cashews I have ever seen, but they are big enough. They are nicely coated in spices and sesame seeds. The smell is nutty and slightly sweet. As mentioned, there are also peanuts in the mix -- but surprisingly few of them. Not that I am complaining, because that means you're getting more cashews.



So how does it taste?

The easiest way to describe it is to say that they taste like cashews that have been lightly glazed in sweetened Sriracha sauce (you know, the one with the rooster on the label), but not quite as hot as that would probably be. It also tastes like there's a little ginger, though that might actually be the lemongrass. The sesame seeds add some texture and hint of nutty flavor.

The pineapple bits actually convey the heat of the chili more than the nuts do. The pineapple is sweet; little dried diced chunks that are also covered in spices and sesame.

I was hoping that these were going to be some seriously hot little cashews. They are not. Even chili wimps can eat them without fear. But despite the fact that the chili is not the heat packer I was hoping for, the nuts are in fact quite tasty. I also found myself digging through for the pineapple bits... and before I knew it, the bag was almost empty.

That's how you know you have a good snack -- when you just keep nibbling until there is nothing left.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company.

CALORIES:
130 calories per 1/4 cup.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
All natural, trans fat free. Contains peanuts, wheat and soy.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
sahalesnacks.com

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Wedges

What first caught my eye about this candy was the packaging.



I love pretty much any little tin/canister, and I have been known to buy things just to reuse the container. Isn't it still recycling if you sometimes didn't want the original contents? Besides, being the friend to the environment that I am, the other thing that caught my eye about this candy was that it also features ancho and chipotle chilis and Korintiji cinnamon. With that combination, the chocolate could have been wrapped in sweaty old socks and I would still be wanting to try it.



The chocolates themselves are just as cute as the packaging. There are two layers of wedge-shaped pieces. Each piece is roughly 2 inches long and about half an inch thick.



The chocolate is a 70% dark. The melt is not what I would call chalky, but it is not completely smooth either. It's rich with coffee notes and is just dark enough that the bitter edge comes through, but without making you wish you'd gone for something sweeter instead.

What I really liked about the wedges is that there is no mistaking that the spices are there. The cinnamon is the one that really stands out in terms of flavor, but there actually is a subtle and lingering mild heat. I tried to pick out the individual flavors of the chilis or the cinnamon, but to be honest, after several wedges I really couldn't.

While these wedges were really great to snack on, what I really want to do with them is try them melted over ice cream cream -- or used as an ice cream mix-in!



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Vosges Red Fire Bar

Sometimes on a cold December night you want something to snuggle up with and keep you warm. Clive Owen would of course be my go-to for this, but he's unavailable. Something about a restraining order- I dunno...
Anyway, since Clive is MIA I had to find something else. Once again leave it to the good people at Vosges to come to my rescue.

I had on hand one of Vosges Red Fire bars. It's a dark chocolate bar with chipotle chillies and ceylon cinnamon. I had the smaller bar on hand- it's actually the perfect size for a testing bar or a single serving. It's thin and very glossy. There is a great snap to the bar.

The chocolate is a relatively mild 55% dark. I know this makes me a wimp but in my old age I seem to be preferring my dark chocolate around that rage. It's just sweet enough to take off the too biter edge and milky enough that it melts smoothly.

Between the cinnamon and the chillies the cinnamon is the stronger flavor. It's woodsy and has a spicy warmth. The chillies give the bar a subtle heat. You don't taste it so much as feel it. It's a nice heat going down your throat.

Vosges also makes a chip version of this chocolate and I would love to make a batch of cookies with them.

PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Frey Hot Chilli Pepper Bar

Yay! another chocolate/chili bar!
Once again I am dipping into my stash and today I dug out the Hot Chilli Frey bar. Much like with the New Tree bars I have been a fan of all the Frey bars I have tried- and I love the chocolate/chilli combo.

This bar is a 55% dark chocolate.
When you sniff the bar there is no mistaking that there is chilli in the bar-it's almost a Jalapeno like smell. The interesting thing with the flavor is that while you do taste a mild chilli flavor- and that flavor is like biting into an actual chilli pepper rather then say, powered chilli. You get the heat of the chilli without a really intense pepper flavor. I am one of those chilli heads who LOVES the burn. There are little pieces of chilli pepper through out the bar.

The chocolate is nice. Not too intense or bitter. It has a coffee type quality to it. Great snap. On it's own it might have been a little boring but pair with the chilli it was a nice combination.

All in all I liked the bar. It is defintly the kind of bar you nibble on here and rather then a bar you eat in one sitting, but it is good. I would love to see the chilli paired with a deep milk chocolate. I think the sweet and the heat together would be killer.

PURCHASED FROM:
Target

Chuao Chocolatier ChocoPod- Spicy Maya

At this point I think we all know I clearly have a love of spicy chocolate...
It's not as if I have done a lot to hide that fact or even remotely deny it.
No, instead I am always on the hunt for something new and fiery. Maybe even something that will make smoke come out my mouth and little flames appear in my pupils (Hey I have seen it happen on Itchy & Scratchy more then once!).

Today's venture on my odysseys to burn all of the taste buds off my tongue is Chuao Chocolatier's Spicy Maya Choco Pod.

First I like the whole pod delivery system. It's a cute little 11 gram serving shaped like a cacao pod:


The Spicy Maya is a 60% dark chocolate that has pasilla chile, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Smelling it is like smelling a solid version of Abuelita. It's vaguely smokey, peppery and mostly cinnamon and is a smell I happen to love.

Biting into the bar it has a nice snap and the quality of the chocolate comes right out, it's not the creamiest bar (c'mon it is 60%) but it's sweet and manages to be not too biter.

In terms of the heat, the strongest flavor to me was the cinnamon and that leads to the last notes being the cayenne. I personally didn't get a very strong sense of the pasilla chile. If you allow the bar to slowly melt on your tongue you will get the a gentle version of the burn we chiliheads crave (how I do love the burn!)

All around I really liked this bar. I didn't get that "Arrooooga!!" moment I have been searching for but I did get a spicy treat

PURCHASED FROM:
Vons Supermarket

Casa De Dulce Watermelon Sucker with Chili

With all the some what useless knowledge I have running through my head I admittedly know very little about Mexican candy.
To say I am even moderately knowledgeable on the subject would be like saying Taco Bell is the epitome of Mexican cuisine.
What I do know is that the bulk of Mexican sweets seem to be some take on a combination of fruit, salt and chili and they are also a lot more accepting of Mocklate then the rest of North American is.

I opted to skip the mocklate and try one of these watermelon/chili lollipop-type candies. It sounded like an interesting combination and the portion is reasonably small- because I am brave but not that brave.

Reading the label I got a little worried because the candy appeared to contain absolutely no watermelon, it does list "natural flavors" but there is no clue as to what those flavors may be. I mean if you want to be picky morning breath is a natural flavor too- doesn't mean I want to taste it.

The first thing you taste is the outer layer of the chili powder. It reminded me of sawdust flavored chili. Next, the salt hits you. The salt is kind of nice because it almost takes your mind off the sawdust. If you can get through the outer layers the core in the center does have a watermelon flavor. It's sort of Jolly Ranchers-esque. The problem is that to get to that you have to make it through the sawdust like chili. I think watermelon and chili could be an interesting combination, I just don't think this version even came close to doing it justice.

Can anyone out there suggest some Mexican candy that shouldn't be missed?

PURCHASED FROM:
Stater Brothers Market

Lindt Creation 70% Cherry & Chili

The shout out for this review goes out to Sugerhog.Net
Last month she reviewed the Lindt Creation Cherry & Chili bar and I had to try one for myself.

The bar is made up of 70% dark chocolate that sandwiches a layer of a mousse type filling and a cherry/chili jelly. The chocolate it's self is bitter and acidic. It is also on the chalky side. I could deal with the bitterness. I am a fan of dark chocolate but all three aspects together and it is just not pleasant.

The bars saving grace however is the cherry chili jelly. That stuff is out of this world! It's sour without being overly bitter and there is the tiniest bit of heat from the chili. Please someone do an ice cream with this jelly as the swirl! I am not out right admitting that I separated the chocolate slabs and licked out the jelly... but it could have happened.

If they had done this bar with say a deep milk chocolate in place of the dark chocolate it could have been an outstanding bar. As is it is worth tasting for the Jelly alone.

Now how do I get me some of that jelly...
PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Mickey's Chocolate Factory Spicy Peanut Brittle

Yesterday I took my first visit to Disneyland in 4 long years...

Sadly, since it was a spur of the moment trip and I had not budgeted for it- and in that four year span a single days park admission had soared up to $91.00 for a park hopper pass (the hell?!) I ended up just walking around Downtown Disney which is an admission free area with tons of shops and restaurants and is a fun place in it's own right.

One of the shops is a cute candy shop called Marceline's Confectionery. Out of all the many treats in the shop one of the things that caught my eye was spicy peanut brittle.

The brittle it's self is practically worth the price of park admission. It's buttery and sweet without being sticky. It tastes EXACTLY like a solid version of a Payday bar.

The added kick comes from the peanut. While not as spicy as say, Planter's Heat or the hot Lay's nuts, the peanuts still have a nice mild pepper kick. There is just enough heat to take the sweet edge off the candy but not so much that someone who is less of a pepper head would feel blown away by the spice.

I really should have gotten two bags because this was just great!


PURCHASED FROM:
Marceline's Confectionery
Downtown Disney, Anaheim. California

Hachez Cocoa D'Arriba- Mango Chilli

When I saw this bar at Cost Plus I HAD to have it. I have loved every "chili" bar I have come across...
Until now- to no fault of the chili.

The bar is a very dark 77% cocoa (although the wrapper calls it "mild dark chocolate"). I think in my old age I am becoming a wuss, I just don't like my chocolate that bitter. But if you do you will LOVE this bar.

The bar does have a great smell to it. The scent of the mango is light and fruity and combined with the chili and the dark chocolate there is a woodsy spice. If this were a candle I would love to have one.

Because the cocoa content is so high there is more of a dense, chalky mouth feel then a smooth melt. As much as you smell the mango there is barely a trace of the flavor. I thought that was a good thing because if the mango had been to strong it would have been over powering. What comes through first is the bitterness of the chocolate followed by the heat of the chili. There is absolutely no doubt that there is chili in this bar. The fire lasts a satisfyingly long time. I liked that part a lot. The chocolate was just so bitter that it had an aftertaste that is best described as bad, burnt diner coffee. If only the chocolate had been just a little sweeter I would have loved this bar.

Well worth a try though if you like extra dark chocolate.

PURCHASED FROM:
Cost Plus World Market