What New Foods Have You Tried?: Like It? Hate It? Share Here!

[DeLurker]

22 minutes ago, Lisin said:

The whole "birthday cake" flavor thing has been bugging me for some time because to me, classic "birthday cake" is yellow cake with chocolate icing. 

Done up like a bunny!

[scriggle]

3 hours ago, Lisin said:

I completely agree with this. The whole "birthday cake" flavor thing has been bugging me for some time because to me, classic "birthday cake" is yellow cake with chocolate icing. 

My classic birthday cake is an Italian rum cake with two layers of pastry cream, one vanilla and one chocolate, with toasted sliced almonds coating the sides.

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, scriggle said:

My classic birthday cake is an Italian rum cake with two layers of pastry cream, one vanilla and one chocolate, with toasted sliced almonds coating the sides.

That sounds good, although I always have chocolate cake for my birthday. If you can fit in more than one kind of chocolate, that's even better. My mother knows to always have some kind of chocolate dessert for any holiday if I'm going to be there. (Of course, it's not like she doesn't want chocolate herself.)

[harrie]

7 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Done up like a bunny!

That cake is the bane of my existence! I made it for years, but the crumbs in the frosting from cutting the ears drove me crazy. That and despite my best efforts the ears always come out at least a little lopsided.  Bunny cake and I have a love/hate relationship. 

[callie lee 29]

1 hour ago, harrie said:

That cake is the bane of my existence! I made it for years, but the crumbs in the frosting from cutting the ears drove me crazy. That and despite my best efforts the ears always come out at least a little lopsided.  Bunny cake and I have a love/hate relationship. 

I always do a thin layer of frosting on the cake first, refrigerate it, and then frost. It seeks in the crumbs. Sometimes I thin the frosting a little with milk if it's too thick to spread as thin of a layer as I need.

 

My birthday cake is write cake with pink frosting, not flavored. My birthday was a few days ago and I now have two cakes from friends! Good thing simple carbs and sugar are some of my favorite things!

[annzeepark914]

My idea of birthday cake is devil's food cake with vanilla buttercream frosting...the simple things in life are quite nice!

[DeLurker]

Pour yourself a healthy glass of rum and then make a cake?

[JTMacc99]

Since my son was born, his birthday falling a week before mine and therefore the house has had it's fill of standard birthday cake, my birthday cake has been carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  

[harrie]

13 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

I always do a thin layer of frosting on the cake first, refrigerate it, and then frost. It seeks in the crumbs. Sometimes I thin the frosting a little with milk if it's too thick to spread as thin of a layer as I need.

 

My birthday cake is write cake with pink frosting, not flavored. My birthday was a few days ago and I now have two cakes from friends! Good thing simple carbs and sugar are some of my favorite things!

A belated happy birthday, Callie Lee!  And thanks for the frosting tip -- if I'm feeling especially brave, I may take one more shot at the bunny cake. 

[Quof]

1 hour ago, harrie said:

thanks for the frosting tip

It's actually called a Crumb Coat for that very reason.

[scriggle]

15 hours ago, forumfish said:

I love chocolate cake, especially my mom's Texas Cocoa Cake (also called Texas Sheet Cake). I'm allergic to pecans, so she leaves them out, and she adds a bit of cinnamon to the cake batter (some recipes do, but many don't). My last birthday was #50, so I was feeling a little nostalgic -- I baked a pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting (from a mix). It's a cake my grandfather and I both loved, and his birthday was a couple of weeks before mine.

That sounds divine! Mind sharing the recipe?

Sorry, no recipe. That's something my mother always bought from an Italian bakery.

[Spunkygal]

The other day, a technician in my dentist's office and I were talking about how we have palates that crave salty rather than sweet. She told me about pickle pops and sent one home with me (it wasn't frozen). I had never heard of this. So I popped it in the freezer when I got home and had it today. Wow, that was a strong pickle flavor. I like pickles but doubt I would buy a package of pops. It was almost too much, even for me. Has anyone ever heard of these? I have heard of using pickle juice in slaws and dressings, but not freezer pops!! 

Edited September 11, 2016 by Spunkygal
Because slams are not slaws.

[GreekGeek]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

The other day, a technician in my dentist's office and I were talking about how we have palates that crave salty rather than sweet. She told me about pickle pops and sent one home with me (it wasn't frozen). I had never heard of this. So I popped it in the freezer when I got home and had it today. Wow, that was a strong pickle flavor. I like pickles but doubt I would buy a package of pops. It was almost too much, even for me. Has anyone ever heard of these? I have heard of using pickle juice in slaws and dressings, but not freezer pops!! 

Your post triggered a memory of Alton Brown's Serious Eats where he showed how to make "Koolickles," in which sour pickles are marinated in Kool-Aid for a week in the refrigerator. They sounded and looked icky to me, but I don't like pickles in general much. If you like salty rather than sweet, they may not be to your taste either, but here's the link if you're curious: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/04/how-to-make-koolickles-kool-aid-pickles-memphis-tennessee.html

[Spunkygal]

8 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Your post triggered a memory of Alton Brown's Serious Eats where he showed how to make "Koolickles," in which sour pickles are marinated in Kool-Aid for a week in the refrigerator. They sounded and looked icky to me, but I don't like pickles in general much. If you like salty rather than sweet, they may not be to your taste either, but here's the link if you're curious: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/04/how-to-make-koolickles-kool-aid-pickles-memphis-tennessee.html

What a coincidence! The Kitchen just had Koolickles on the most recent episode and I can't wrap my head around it. It was so funny. Usually when one of the hosts presents something, there is a chorus of oohs and aahs from the others as they eat it. Marcella took a bite of a koolickle and she could not control the look on her face. And I imagine that's how I would feel too! She did not like it one bit. Pickle pops are dill pickle juice in those skinny plastic freezer pop pouches and the dill/brine taste is ramped up to the max.

[jenh526]

Paqui Hatch Chile Harvest tortilla chips. OMG. My sister-in-law brought these to a lunch where I had made chicken enchiladas, and the four of us went through the entire bag. Ironically, I can't get these in my own state where they actually grow and harvest the green chile. :(

[Qoass]

I have several "favorite" candy bars and this weekend I got to add another:  Snickers Crisper.  It's like they scraped the top half of a Snickers and stuck it to a Nestle Crunch bar only way better.  I thought it was going to taste like a Rice Crispy treat but oh, my, yum...  And the fun size is not too big, not too small and 100 calories.

[larapu2000]

I love the new Chobani Passionfruit flavor.  I've only seen it at 1 of the 4 local grocery stores I frequent, but it's worth the effort.  

I agree that quinoa sucks the worst in terms of the whole grain options out there.  Farro and barley are infinitely superior, in my opinion, in both taste and texture.  

This is an excellent recipe using farro!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/zucchini-farro-cakes

[mansonlamps]

Quinoa is my favorite of the grains!  I like the nut flavor and the texture.  Shows there is something for everyone.

[DeLurker]

@Qoass - I tried the Snicker Crispy based on your comments - I was underwhelmed by the size and hoped it would be more like your description.  

I bought a regular size, but it was 2 squares instead of "normal".  And the peanuts seem to have been replaced with packing peanuts (although sweetened ones).  

Wasn't bad, but didn't match up to my idea of s Snickers based on regular and almond snickers.  If they called it some other name it would be more suitable IMHO.

[MargeGunderson]

5 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Wasn't bad, but didn't match up to my idea of s Snickers based on regular and almond snickers.  If they called it some other name it would be more suitable IMHO.

Oh, you had to mention almond Snickers. My favorite, and I can only find the snack size in their own bag (instead of a mix) at Halloween. I'm low-carbing it these days, so none for me. It also means I'm missing out on the snack-sized Whatchamacallit. I hate low carb. 

[annzeepark914]

Mild banana pepper rings in a sandwich.  I'd never had them before (except in salads) but a delivery order of a steak/cheese panini had them in a little cup and I put them in the sandwich.  Eureka!  So I bought a jar (Mt. Olive brand) and have been putting them in sandwiches ever since (even grilled cheese...that was nice!)

[Spunkygal]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Mild banana pepper rings in a sandwich.  I'd never had them before (except in salads) but a delivery order of a steak/cheese panini had them in a little cup and I put them in the sandwich.  Eureka!  So I bought a jar (Mt. Olive brand) and have been putting them in sandwiches ever since (even grilled cheese...that was nice!)

Yes, love them on sandwiches!  At Jersey Mikes I always get them on my sammies. The deli at my Kroger grocery store dices them and puts them in their pimiento and cheese mixture, which also includes a blend of yellow and white cheddar. Helps to cut through the richness of the two cheeses, although I am a cheeseaholic. 

[Qoass]

Sorry, @DeLurker.  You should skip my house this Halloween.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/10/2016 at 7:19 PM, Spunkygal said:

She told me about pickle pops and sent one home with me (it wasn't frozen). I had never heard of this. So I popped it in the freezer when I got home and had it today. Wow, that was a strong pickle flavor. I like pickles but doubt I would buy a package of pops. It was almost too much, even for me. Has anyone ever heard of these? I have heard of using pickle juice in slaws and dressings, but not freezer pops!! 

Not freezer pops, but when a friend of mine was little and went to the show, she said the kids would all buy a cup of pickle juice over ice.  Personally, I think that was just inventive marketing on the part of the theater owner to sell what he'd normally throw away because...yuck.

 

On 8/23/2016 at 1:13 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Well, I can't eat most European chocolates..too strong/bitter.  Only Euro milk chocolates are ok for me.  

 

On 8/24/2016 at 1:20 AM, Petunia13 said:

Ha ^ that won't let me put my reply to you. Ritter Sport and Kinder have some good milky smooth chocolates that still taste of that quality you find in Germany. You can get them in the us at the euro section of certain grocery and inexpensive. 

Target also sells Ritter milk chocolate. 

I also don't like strong chocolate, and my favorite is from Switzerland:  Cailler milk chocolate.  I first got it there 30 years ago, and it was grocery store chocolate.  Very smooth and sweet.  Then I found out they sold it at Macy's in NYC, where I'd stock up when there, but they stopped many years ago, so I've gone without.  But then I had a friend who went to Switzerland last year and I had her bring some back.  It was just as good as I'd remembered.

But at the same time, I was hitting some Canadian Walmarts in Montreal and Quebec City (and maybe Toronto--I can't remember for sure), where I saw they had a Great Value (Walmart brand) milk chocolate for $1 for a 100-gram bar (about 3 ounces--about twice the size of a regular candy bar in the U.S.).  Dirt cheap, so I gave it a shot and it was really good.

So I did a blind taste test among Ritter, Cailler, and Great Value.  When I tasted the Ritter near the others, I definitely didn't like it as much as the others.  Much better than anything else readily available, but I try not to eat indulgent things if I don't absolutely love them.

What was very surprising was that it was pretty much a tie between the Cailler and the Great Value.  The GV does say "product of Switzerland" on the label, but still...I'm shocked.

But of course the Great Value is available only in Canadian Walmarts, and I can confirm only ones in Montreal and Quebec.  I found it on the Walmart Canada website, although they don't ship to addresses outside Canada.  But here's what it looks like:

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/great-value-milk-chocolate-bar/6000192235381

And, hello!  It turns out Cailler started selling on Amazon in the U.S. late last year.  The story I read says they're positioning themselves as a high-end chocolate, but I think that might be just new marketing because my friend didn't balk at the cost of bringing me a bunch of it, and I know it was cheap when I bought it there myself, and not grossly expensive at Macy's.  It's owned by Nestle.

And they're pricing it like a high-end chocolate:  $17.95 for a 100-gram bar, but that includes free shipping to the U.S. from Germany. 

https://www.amazon.com/Cailler-880094-CAILLER-MILK-100G/dp/B004W0Z3ZQ/

When I was trying to decide whether to bug my friend to bring me some, I found other sites to order it from in Europe, but the shipping was so high I decided to bug my friend. 

I'm bummed.  I had 10 bars of the Great Value and 5 of of the Cailler, and I'm down to one of each (I'd actually forgotten about them).  I was all excited to see the GV on the Walmart website, and to find out Cailler was available on Amazon.  But the devil is in the details.  But if you're in Canada or know somebody there who'll ship them or you, at $1/bar, it's definitely worth a try.

[Mittengirl]

The dark chocolates that Aldi's sells are very good, especially their Moser Roth brand dark chocolate with orange and almond.  

[Athena]

I made Chocolate thread for us to discuss brands and severity. I think we should move discussion over there and I do have comments about my favourite brands.

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

I made Chocolate thread for us to discuss brands and severity. I think we should move discussion over there and I do have comments about my favourite brands.

I'm scared.  People who are chocolate snobs connoisseurs can really look own on those of us who like our chocolate light and sweet.

[chessiegal]

I was at Whole Foods today and they had samples of cheddar cheese with cranberry. I like cheddar cheese and cranberries, but that was just vile. I might have been tempted to buy it. Then they had pumpkin flavored cream cheese. I'm not a big fan of pumpkin, but I gave it a try - just no. When I got to the pumpkin flavored goat cheese, I passed.

[DeLurker]

You are much braver than me.

[spiderpig]

On 9/17/2016 at 10:19 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Mild banana pepper rings in a sandwich.  I'd never had them before (except in salads) but a delivery order of a steak/cheese panini had them in a little cup and I put them in the sandwich.  Eureka!  So I bought a jar (Mt. Olive brand) and have been putting them in sandwiches ever since (even grilled cheese...that was nice!)

Yessssss!  Mr. pig's Sunday night special (during wall-to-wall sports on TV) is Campbell's Tomato Soup (red and white Andy Warhol can - no substitutions), along with banana pepper rings between two slices of Swiss on grocery-store-style bread and toasted on our Cuisinart Pannini Press.  Sometimes I add a thin slice of applewood smoked ham for variety. 

[annzeepark914]

Hey spiderpig--your husband's Sunday night special sounds delicious!  I love grilled cheese sammies using Swiss or Emmenthaler.  And good old Campbell's tomato soup is still tasty all these years away from our childhood days.  Mr. p914 loves it and he dunks his grilled cheese sandwich in it.  I like the Barefoot Contessa's idea of cutting up the grilled cheese sandwich into little squares and using them as "croutons" in the soup--something different for a change.  Didn't care for her tomato soup, though, as I had to add too many herbs and spices in it to make it just right (so, back to Campbells!)

[EllieH]

Someone put a box of Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Twinkies in our breakroom at work yesterday, naturally I needed to try one.  While it had a nice pumpkin spice smell on opening the package, I'd describe it overall as fairly tasteless, with a slick, chemically mouthfeel afterwards.  Its been a couple of years since I've had a normal Twinkie, and my memory of them is more of a spongy cake, whereas this one was more dense.

[JTMacc99]

Good to know @EllieH. That'll keep me from buying a box of them when they go to half price.

BTW, nice Texans logo. I have a cousin who worked for them for a long time before he took a job with the Jets. I always rooted for them to do well while he was there.

For lunch today we went to a new (to me) Italian joint. I got the mushroom pizza, which was a combination of portobello mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, and was hit with a little truffle oil and a good balsamic vinegar.  I liked it. A nice combination that isn't typical for me on pizza.

Edited November 3, 2016 by JTMacc99

[auntlada]

I went to a dinner tonight and had a slice of acorn squash that had been cooked with butter and brown sugar, and it was really, really good. I might have to make some for Thanksgiving.

[BooksRule]

Quote

Someone put a box of Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Twinkies in our breakroom at work yesterday, naturally I needed to try one.

I saw the ones with the peppermint filling at Wal Mart but didn't get the urge to buy any.

[Bastet]

Quote

I went to a dinner tonight and had a slice of acorn squash that had been cooked with butter and brown sugar, and it was really, really good. I might have to make some for Thanksgiving.

I love acorn squash.  I'm more a summer squash than winter squash fan - I like virtually all of the former, while some of the latter are too sweet for me to eat more than a bit of.  But I love to roast acorn squash or make soup with it.

[spiderpig]

On 11/2/2016 at 11:54 AM, annzeepark914 said:

Hey spiderpig--your husband's Sunday night special sounds delicious!  I love grilled cheese sammies using Swiss or Emmenthaler.  And good old Campbell's tomato soup is still tasty all these years away from our childhood days.  Mr. p914 loves it and he dunks his grilled cheese sandwich in it.  I like the Barefoot Contessa's idea of cutting up the grilled cheese sandwich into little squares and using them as "croutons" in the soup--something different for a change.  Didn't care for her tomato soup, though, as I had to add too many herbs and spices in it to make it just right (so, back to Campbells!)

Hi annzeepark914!  When I was a little kid, not feeling good back in the early days of fire, our mother used to cut up peanut butter toast into little squares she called "bird bites".  To this day I associate it with being sick (as in not wanting to go to school)  - but only in a good way.  Since Mr. pig has frozen in time at the age of 9, he'd no doubt love your cheese bird bites in his official Campbell's Tomato Soup.  (He dunks too.)

[Qoass]

I tried a Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cup and it was... strange.  The chocolate didn't taste like chocolate and the color of the interior was something not found in nature.

[Mittengirl]

I just finished the last piece of my first, and last, Share Pack of Butterfinger cups.  The chocolate is weird and melty and the so-called peanut butter filling is like no peanut butter I have ever had before.  

According to the label it contains paprika extract color and annatto & paprika extract color.  No artificial colors, though.

Do yourself a favor and stick to Reese's.  I have a King Size Reese's Cup stuffed with Reese's Pieces that I am saving for tomorrow.  It is bound to be better than the Butterfinger cup.

[spiderpig]

Quail. Even though a little guy is on our city seal, we'd never had one on a dinner plate until several months ago. We gave a couple a rub and put them on the smoker and they were delish, accompanied by rustic veggies in balsamic sauce.

It's still hard to look at the perky little dudes sitting on our patio fence, though.

[DeLurker]

Not a new food, but over the summer I got croissants from The Fresh Market.  They were really really good.

Sadly, since returning from my Mom's (where I was this summer), there are no Fresh Market's here and all the other stores suffer by comparison.  I can go to a couple of good bakeries for them, but they are way pricier and my wallet cinches up.

[MargeGunderson]

On 11/30/2016 at 9:38 AM, DeLurker said:

Not a new food, but over the summer I got croissants from The Fresh Market.  They were really really good.

Sadly, since returning from my Mom's (where I was this summer), there are no Fresh Market's here and all the other stores suffer by comparison.  I can go to a couple of good bakeries for them, but they are way pricier and my wallet cinches up.

We got a Fresh Market a few years ago and I love it. My favorite item? Duke's Mayonnaise. It's the absolute best, and FM is the only place around here (suburban Boston) that sells it. 

[BW Manilowe]

I haven't tried it... Yet. And it might not be as new as I think it is, but recently I've been seeing ads for Cashew Roca--apparently the same thing as Almond Roca, but made with cashews. It comes--at least in the tins--in blue & gold packaging.

Question: Has anybody else been seeing commercials for an Arby's deep fried turkey sandwich? I'm positive that's the product. The ads have been all over at least my local stations lately & they're driving me nuts, for 3 reasons:

1. I never actually see the commercials, only hear them.

2. I can't find a damn thing about the sandwich on the Arby's website or by Googling it.

3. I'd really like to try that sandwich--never had deep fried turkey before, but would love to try it--but I'm a picky eater & need to know if the sandwich is plain or if it has sauces &/or other condiments on it I might not like before somebody buys me 1 (I can't get out very well on my own; especially now we have snow on the ground where I live).

Edited December 17, 2016 by BW Manilowe
To fix a spacing issue.

[biakbiak]

On 12/17/2016 at 3:26 PM, BW Manilowe said:

I haven't tried it... Yet. And it might not be as new as I think it is, but recently I've been seeing ads for Cashew Roca--apparently the same thing as Almond Roca, but made with cashews. It comes--at least in the tins--in blue & gold packaging.

Today they were giving out the Cashew Roca at Costco as samples and I actively didn't like it and I like cashews, I don't know if it's just expectations because they look so much like Almond Roca which I love and have been eating forever. Both my parents liked it bUT didn't really think it tasted that different than the original.

I should have brought one home for my grandmother and let her decide since it's the first candy she ever had, her uncle worked at Brown and Haley but we already have a crazy amount of Almond Roca for Christmas because they are a sock staple in our family.

Edited December 19, 2016 by biakbiak

[NewDigs]

On 12/17/2016 at 6:26 PM, BW Manilowe said:

I haven't tried it... Yet. And it might not be as new as I think it is, but recently I've been seeing ads for Cashew Roca--apparently the same thing as Almond Roca, but made with cashews. It comes--at least in the tins--in blue & gold packaging.

Question: Has anybody else been seeing commercials for an Arby's deep fried turkey sandwich? I'm positive that's the product. The ads have been all over at least my local stations lately & they're driving me nuts, for 3 reasons:

1. I never actually see the commercials, only hear them.

2. I can't find a damn thing about the sandwich on the Arby's website or by Googling it.

3. I'd really like to try that sandwich--never had deep fried turkey before, but would love to try it--but I'm a picky eater & need to know if the sandwich is plain or if it has sauces &/or other condiments on it I might not like before somebody buys me 1 (I can't get out very well on my own; especially now we have snow on the ground where I live).

Are you sure it wasn't a Bojangles' commercial?

Looks like Arby's might have a hit with the venison sandwich they are test marketing.

[BW Manilowe]

18 hours ago, NewDigs said:

Are you sure it wasn't a Bojangles' commercial?

Looks like Arby's might have a hit with the venison sandwich they are test marketing.

Positive it's not a Bojangles commercial. We don't have them locally/in the immediate area, & they're not even something we see "national" commercials for. We get a lot of national commercials for Sonic, which has come & gone from the area twice already, but I've never seen a Bojangles commercial here (among other companies/products). Plus, the commercials (there are multiple versions) have actor Ving Rhames' fairly recognizable voice (he sounds sort of like James Earl Jones) on them--he's their current commercial spokesperson--& he says their current slogan, "Arby's... We have the meats." at the end of them.

I even tried seeing if any of them were posted to YouTube &, so far, they haven't been. I've heard the commercials so often in the last few weeks, I know I can't be dreaming it.

Even though we do have deer hunting here (I'm pretty sure), we never got the venison sandwiches. I think those were only tested in at least parts of Tennessee, & maybe Texas.

Edited December 21, 2016 by BW Manilowe
To add a comment.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

Even though we do have deer hunting here (I'm pretty sure), we never got the venison sandwiches. I think those were only tested in at least parts of Tennessee, & maybe Texas.

The article states where it was test marketed Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. 

[Mittengirl]

They test marketed them here in Michigan.  People were lined up outside waiting on the first day they were sold.    I was told they were quite good.

[biakbiak]

I tend to not buy prepared dips because they tend to be fairly easy to make from scratch I snack a lot and if they are in the house I will eat it and I never buy dips from COSTCO because they tend to come in vats but I am visiting my parents and they gave this artichoke and jalapeño dip from Costco that is absolutely sensational. I am definitely going to attempt a version when I get home.

[JTMacc99]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I snack a lot and if they are in the house I will eat it and I never buy dips from COSTCO because they tend to come in vats

Hee! This made me laugh because it's right in line with the way I've been thinking of late.

1. If it's not in the fridge, I can't eat it.

2. If I have a giant amount of something in the fridge (such as a vat of dip), I will need to eat it before it goes bad.

 

I've got a big old spiral sliced ham that I'm going to make for Christmas. As far as I can remember, I've never had one before. My parents and then me for the last million years always went with the same kind. As far as I can tell, it's still just a ham.