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

Chocri: Gigi's Sour Cherry Spice Bar

Today is a sad day for me on many levels...

First, as you read this, I am either on a plane heading home from New York City, or at an airport trying to get home from New York. (I hate leaving the city -- anyone there want to hire me?) And second, this is the last of my Chocri stash. I loved both of the previous bars I created to an insane degree (read those reviews here and here), and while I take credit for the combinations that I put together, it is really all about the truly great chocolate and ingredients Chocri makes the bar with.



As with my other Chocri reviews, I will be rating the bar based on said ingredients rather than the overall flavor of them bar. After all, the ingredients could be great, but since I chose the combination, I couldn't fault Chocri if the mixture I picked doesn't work very well.

Sour Cherry Spice was inspired by my love of all things sour. It contains sour cherries and orange pepper, and is made with dark chocolate.



The sour cherries are great! Large, plump and tart. They're just a little salty and that is always a good thing.

The orange pepper is pretty mild. While I could taste both the citrus and the pepper, neither was assertive enough to stand up and say "Hey, I am just as lovable as the Persian Bar!"



Props again to Crocri for the dark chocolate. It's 64%, and has a great snap and a smooth melt. There's a very coffeelike finish. It's good enough that I would be happy to eat it naked...wait, that came out wrong. I meant plain.



Overall I loved the chocolate, loved the cherries. The orange pepper wasn't bad, but it didn't blow me away the way some of the other ingredients have.

I love the whole concept of Chocri, and being able to make a bar with exactly what I want in it is a lot of fun for me. I have literally thought up dozens of bars since I came up with the three I have reviewed. Maybe if I am lucky, I will get some for Valentines day!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

Make your own by visiting Createmychocolate.com.

Chocri Custom Bar: "Gigi's Dream Lemon Bar"

It's the day after Christmas, and we all know what that feels like. All the buildup, all the excitement (all the stress!) is over for another year. And we are now left wondering just how good we have to be to make the "Nice" list next year. (I don't think I will make it there in this lifetime.) There has to be something to brighten up the day...

And there is! How about a custom made candy bar?!

About a month ago, I got an email from the German chocolate makers, Chocri. Chocri has been creating custom bars in Europe for a while, and is now expanding into the United States market. (The official U.S. launch date is January 5th, 2010.) And they offered me the opportunity to create my own bars, with my choice of ingredients. BOOOOYAH! Was I psyched? You better believe it!

For the base chocolate you can choose between milk, dark, or white. Then you can add up to five additional items -- and there are over 80 toppings to choose from! I kid you not when I say I spent over an hour designing my bars. And you even get to name your bar if you want to.



I am going to rate this a little differently than I normally would. Because I selected the flavors that went into the bar, I can't really base the rating on the final taste (for good or for bad) of the bar as a whole. After all, the individual ingredients could be great on their own -- but what if I chose a combination that turned out not to work very well? I certainly couldn't ding Chocri for my own poor decision. Therefore, I am going to base the rating, as much as possible, upon the individual ingredients by themselves.



I named this bar Gigi's Dream Lemon Bar. And I included ingredients I have always wanted to have combined in one chocolate lemon bar. Those ingredients were:

* Dark chocolate
* Lemon Chocolate Drops
* Multicolored Pepper
* Organic Cane Sugar
* Real Gold Flakes

Now how could that possibly go wrong? It couldn't, and it didn't!



The dark chocolate is a 64% cacao. It has a fantastic snap and is super smooth. It's got a nice coffee flavor.

The lemon chocolate drops are made of white chocolate, flavored with lemon. Yes, we all know how I feel about white chocolate -- but in this case, the lemon taste is really zesty and just makes for a rich citrus burst of flavor.

The multicolored pepper consists of small whole peppercorns (green, black, red). I really like peppercorns mixed with the lemon. They add just a little heat, but they don't overwhelm the bar.

The organic cane sugar: Very good. None of that all-too-common HFCS nonsense; this is real, old school sugar. You can taste the difference. And the grains of sugar on the top of the bar look pretty nice.

The gold flakes -- well, I just think they're cool, and I wanted this bar to look spiffy. Silly perhaps, but hey, it's my bar! And yes, it is perfectly safe to ingest gold in small amounts. (Surely you've seen at least one of the several popular liqueurs with gold flakes floating in them.)



All of the ingredients on their own were of excellent quality. The quantities were generous, but not one of the flavors overpowered the others. It was obvious to me that the good folks in Germany who actually combine the ingredients you choose have an excellent sense of proportion.

If I do say so myself, I designed a pretty good bar! The pepper adds spice, the cane sugar keeps the dark chocolate and the pepper from being too bitter...but at the same time there is not enough sugar that it gets too sweet. (Again, they nailed the proportions perfectly!) And the lemon drops add a fun, bright flavor to the bar. So yeah, it really did turn out to be my dream lemon bar. (OK, I would have liked some candied lemon zest...but Chocri said that they are still in the process of adding that to the options.)

When you receive your chocolates, you'll notice that the packaging is very simple, very Spartan in appearance (see the first picture). It does what it has to do, namely protect the chocolate it contains, and that's it. It looks nothing like the fancy, artistic packaging that high-end chocolates often come in...but do not be deceived by appearances! After all, even diamonds come out of hard lumps of rock and coal...and believe me, these basic, functional boxes contain some true diamonds of the chocolate world.

Remember the U.S. site: CreateMyChocolate.com launches on Jan 5th, 2010. Once it's up, you can create your own bar. And if you like your custom bar so much that you want to reorder the same one later on, just keep the code that will be printed on the label -- that way, you don't need to remember all the specific ingredients you chose. (If you want to try a bar exactly like I made it, you can use the Reorder option -- which is shown directly below the choices of base chocolate -- and use code: ijoaq7)

Y'know what? Chocolate really doesn't come any more fun than this!


PURCHASED FROM:

Sample From Company

Lake Champlain Dark Spicy Aztec Bar

My last trip to New York City was sadly not the foodie hunting trip that my visits normally are. (There was a lot of family stuff going on, and while I am sad I didn't get to find lots of good things to review, I am glad I was there for them.) But when I was leaving, I hit a couple kiosks at LaGuardia airport and actually found a few good things.



One of those things was this Lake Champlain Dark Spicy Aztec bar. I had read several reviews Cybele wrote on Candy Blog (read her review of the bar here) and thought they sounded great -- but I had never seen them "in the wild." Gotta love the United Airlines terminal!

Anyway, the Aztec bar is made up of a 55% dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, vanilla, cinnamon AND pumpkin seeds! I love pumpkin seeds, and you don't see them used in candy all that often. The bar is made up of six molded bite-sized squares. It also has a high gloss and fantastic snap.



The pepper stands out right away. Between the cayenne and the cinnamon, there is enough heat to cause a little burn. As a chilihead, I chase the heat, and for me it was just a little baby burn. (I admit it -- I can practically drink Sriracha sauce -- or my fave that other L.A. locals might know, the red sauce from King Taco.) If you are more sensitive to heat and spice, be warned that it might be a bit much for you. I love how the spice perfectly balances the dark chocolate. The dark chocolate has a smooth melt, and just enough sweetness that it keeps the heat in check.

My favorite part, though, is the pumpkin seeds. They add texture and crunch. And it's a pleasant change to get that from something that isn't a nut, or even crispy rice. They are a little earthy and salty...which plays well with the spice.

I really loved this bar. On top of tasting and looking great, it's also all natural and organic. That means I can eat more of it, right?



PURCHASED FROM:
Some random store in the United Airlines terminal at New York City's LaGuardia Airport...but you can also order direct from the company or find local retailers by visiting Lake Champlain Chocolates directly.

Archer Farms Chocolate Drizzle Snack Mix

Something about cereal snack mixes make me think about parties my parents may (or may not) have thrown back in the 70's, where the adults stayed upstairs, and the kids were banished to the basement, where all they had to entertain themselves with was a TV that only got four (yes, four!) channels, some old toys, games missing pieces, and snacks consisting of bad frozen pizza and a big bowl of stale cereal with whatever Mom felt like tossing into it...

It's OK, we worked through most of the bad memories in therapy. Really, we did. Anyway...



The Chocolate Drizzle mix features roasted peanuts, pretzels, and Chex-like cereal covered in a chocolate drizzle with sprinkles of cayenne pepper.

I think for me it's the mix of cereal and spice that is what I really don't like about snack mixes. Archer Farms was pretty easy-handed when it came to the pepper. You can definitely tell that it's there, but it doesn't overwhelm. There are other spices including garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lots of salt. But yeyond the salt and the cayenne, I couldn't pick any particular flavor out--it's just sort of a generic spice.



The chocolate drizzle was very liberal mix of white and milk chocolate. It was heavier on the white. Not the greatest chocolate ever, but surprisingly good for a non-candy product.



All of the individual components were fresh and crisp. If you are a fan of snack mixes, I can see where you would really love this one. I, however, am still not a fan. I guess it's just one of those things that no matter how good the product, is I am still not going to like it. With that in mind, I am going to rate it based on the quality of the ingredients and how I think someone who likes snack mix would feel, rather than based on the ingredients and my thoughts on the taste.



PURCHASED FROM:
Target

Paula Deen Handcooked Virginia Peanuts

I was actually in Barnes & Nobles trying not to drop half my check on knitting books and vampire porn (er... romance) when I saw a rather large display of Paula Deen items.

Most of the stack was predictably books (vampire lovin' free) and some kitchen wares, but there was also containers of seasoned peanuts. I figured because this is after all a Paula Deen product, that it would be made with no less then 4 pounds of butter- and how could hot buttered nuts possibly be bad?



Sadly, much like my vampire books there was no hot buttered nuts to be found here either. The nuts are supposed to seasoned with a "house seasoning". A quick glance at the ingredients list reveals that the house seasoning is made with salt, black pepper, onion and garlic.


The salt and pepper granules are large and easy to spot. The peanuts themselves are HUGE! actually they maybe the biggest I have ever seen.

So the taste?
While I know that there is onion and garlic from the label I really didn't taste either of them. The salt and pepper really stand out. I liked the addition of the black pepper. It brings just a little spicy heat- not nearly as much as say a "hot" blend (like Planter's Heat) or a Cajun blend, but it is nice little kick. The salt straddles the Goldilocks line perfectly. It's not too much, but it's not too little.

All things considered there is not really anything special about this nut mix other then it having Paula Deen's name on it. It's a good enough mix that I would get it again, but at the same time I could just as easily add pepper to any other nuts I happen to have handy.



PURCHASED FROM:
Barnes & Noble

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