Trader Joe's Manitaropita

Dear People of Greece: Thank you so much for continuing to create delicious dishes that consist of phyllo dough filled with amazingly good stuff.

I was kind of surprised when I realized that I hadn't reviewed these yet. I have loved the Trader Joe's manitaropita for years, and they are one of my TJ's staples, but somehow they flew under the review radar until now. And we all know how much I like appetizers or finger foods as dinner, so I figured it was high time I wrote about this.



The easiest way to explain what manitaropita is might be to tell you to think of spanakopita...except rather than the puff pastry being filled with spinach and feta cheese, it's filled with mushrooms in a white wine sauce.

Trader Joe's manitaropita needs to be baked in the oven. The package specifically says not to microwave them -- and having done that out of laziness once, I can tell you that the package's admonition is a wise one.



No worries, though, because baking them is as simple as it sounds. Just pre-heat the oven and then toss them in. They only take about 10 minutes to bake. The phyllo dough (and really, does it take much more then phyllo dough to make something good?) rises to golden, flaky happiness. The many paper-thin layers add a nice crunch and interesting texture.



Trader Joe is generous with the mushroom filling -- which is a good thing, as the filling is excellent. The mushrooms are remarkably non-rubbery and have a rich, almost beefy taste.

The mushrooms are done in a white wine sauce. The sauce itself actually has a delicate, lightly herbed taste. If I had to pick out a single spice that stands out, I would have to say it's oregano. Just think of it! Mushrooms, white wine, oregano...all stewed together and encased in flaky phyllo...if the very notion doesn't bring a smile to your face, don't complain to me: complain to a doctor!

This is truly one of my favorite Trader Joe's products. It's satisfying as a meal on its own, and I would also be very pleased to serve them to company as an appetizer.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
80 calories per piece.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Made on equipment shared with eggs and tree nuts, at a facility that processes peanuts, fish and shellfish.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
traderjoes.com

Trader Joe's Spanakopita

"Spanakopita" is yet another word that, as far as I can tell, roughly translates to "OMG, please tell me there's more!" in Greek (also see "John Stamos," below).



OK, now that I have wiped the drool off my chin, let us return to spanakopita.



If you have never had spanakopita before...you are missing out, my friend! Spanakopita is made up of layers of phyllo dough, spinach, feta cheese, onion and butter (lots of butter). Sometimes it's served sort of like lasagna, other times -- as with the Trader Joe's version -- it's cut into little individual servings. I have been lucky enough to have homemade spanakopita that was so good you forgot your own name. And I've had some pretty respectable versions in various Greek diners. (Heads-up to anyone living in or visiting the Atlanta metro area: the Marietta Diner makes a darn good one. A word of advice, though -- you MUST save room for dessert!)

Anyway, is there anything that could possibly be bad combined with phyllo and butter? (Once more, see "John Stamos," below.)



Ummmm...let us once again return to spanakopita. (Not that I have been distracted, of course. The above John Stamos pictures are purely for educational illustration.)



Trader Joe has made their version into cute little triangles. Each triangle is roughly four inches by two. They make for a hearty appetizer, but I personally like to have them for dinner. They need to be baked in a conventional oven (do not microwave!) , but it is well worth the time.

The phyllo is crispy and flaky. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that if you don't have a good broiler, or if you don't baste them with butter or egg wash -- a suggestion the box unfortunately fails to mention -- they don't always brown as well as one might hope.

As for the filling, all of the ingredients are mixed together. The spinach has a nice fresh taste, and it is neither watery nor limp. The cheese is a little creamy, but has that bite that can be expected of good feta. There is a nice, salty tang. I didn't really notice the onion, but the label assures me it's there. And there is enough butter to keep Paula Deen happy.

All told, this one is definitely a winner. For heat-and-eat spanakopita, I can't imagine it getting much better than this.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Cabot Greek Style Yogurt- Chocolate

No I am not obsessed!

OK, I kind of am.
Another day, another Greek yogurt.
Chocolate was today's choice. I tried to get a good photo of the yogurt it's self but my camera was not working with me. It is a beautiful milky cocoa color.

The tanginess that was so overt with the vanilla is just as strong here. Honestly I didn't care for that at first- just like with the vanilla. But it grows on you and you find yourself dipping back into the container as easily as singing along to "Copacabana" at the top of your lungs when you think no one is looking.
The chocolate flavor reminded me of dutch cocoa powder. Had the yogurt not been tangy the chocolate wouldn't have been sweet enough. It would have been like eating melted baking chocolate. But everything balances out for the better.

The peach is still my favorite but all three flavors will work they're way into my cart again.

Cabot Greek Style Yogurt- Peach

There is not enough bandwidth on the entire internet for me to say how great this is!


Really I can't remember having ever had a better yogurt.

Just like with the vanilla the texture and mouth feel is just out of this world. After having yogurt this smooth and creamy I don't know if I will ever be able to go back to regular old yogurt.
The peach flavor is natural, not too sweet with a tangy finish. There are also small bits of peach floating in the yogurt.


Outstanding!

Cabot Greek Style Yogurt- Vanilla flavor

Creamy and tangy!

I was thinking about it after I had eaten the container that I can't recall ever having eaten Greek style yogurt before.
I knew of it of course, being the good foodie I am. Just for one reason or the other I just had not tasted it... Until today.

Lurking on my local Mega-Mart yogurt shelf tucked in amongst the Yoplait and the Fizzix was the Cabot Greek Style yogurt. While they had several fruit flavors I went with Vanilla because I LOVE me some vanilla yogurt.

I would be lying if I said it was love at first spoonful. The yogurt was a creamy white that was studded with vanilla bean. The texture was rich and creamy- it actually reminded me more of sour cream then yogurt (since I also love sour cream that was a highlight for me). It had a great coolness on the tongue.
No, the texture was outstanding it was the taste that took awhile to win me over. At first the prominent flavor is actually kind of tangy. To put it bluntly it reminded me of vinegar and Miracle Whip. You would think that such a fabulous combination would have me swearing off Greek yogurt for life but I liked the mouth feel so much I kept eating (yeah, I don't know why I do some of these thing's either)

A few spoon fulls in the weirdest thing happened- it went from tasting like vinegar salad dressing to a nice balance of sweet and tart. The vanilla starts to come through and when it did it was a pleasant surprise to find it was a natural vanilla taste and not the usual super-sweet fake vanilla you tend to find now-er days. I may have a new addiction!

If you see this on the shelves get some!