Toblerone

Toblerone.

A very old chocolate maker, created over 100 years ago in Switzerland (now owned by a US based company).  Well known, but at least for me, not entirely commonplace, although I first encountered the brand many years ago, when I participated in selling them as a school fundraiser.

I've somehow never reviewed it before, so when I recently received a bar as a gift, I was mostly excited to have something new to review (and try).

I liked it, pleasantly surprised by it, really.  I think I had written it off in my mind as just a school fundraiser chocolate, and not actually quality.

Distinctive Packaging.

Toblerone is unique in that it comes in a distinctive form factor, the entire bar is triangular, with triangle shaped peaks, which you can easily break off.

Distinctive Shape.

Bar sizes are done by peaks - e.g. a mini is 3 peaks, the largest bars are 12 peaks.
While they do make a number of varieties now, including white chocolate, filled versions, and more, the standard formula is not just plain milk chocolate, but rather milk chocolate with honey, almonds, and nougat.

Swiss Milk Chocolate with Honey and Almond Nougat.

I'm sure I tried other varieties back in the day, but on this occasion, I had just the classic.

The milk chocolate was smooth, creamy, and the style I do like.  The bits of nougat and almond added pleasant texture.  The honey was a good sweet accent.

Overall, it just came together quite well.  Creamy, smooth, sweeter than average milk chocolate due to the honey, a bit of texture.  Seems like a winning combo to me, and I gladly polished off the bar over the course of a few mornings alongside my coffee.

Read More...

Waitrose Desserts

Waitrose is a popular chain of grocery stores in the UK, with a slew of regular full size stores, plus a convenience store brand dubbed "Little Waitrose".

I ventured into a Waitrose during my trip to London, just to do my favorite kind of tourism: grocery shopping!  No, really, I love checking out what products are unique to different countries, and being around "regular" people.  It is my version of going to see an attraction, just with no entrance fee, and the entire place is basically a gift shop!

I joke, but only kinda.  I really love this part of my travel experience.  I can't say that the British grocery stores were all that interesting, but I did pick up a few special dessert items to share with my family over the holidays.

Heston from Waitrose Spiced Shortcrust Mince Pies Lemon.

"Zesty mince pies made with spiced shortcrust pastry, richly fruited mincemeat, lemon curd and a zesty all butter crumble topping." 

When I was in London in November, I got a tiny bit obsessed with mincemeat pies.  Really, it was because the previous year I was in Sydney in December and really liked the mincemeat pies served at the Sheraton on the Park in the Executive Lounge, and then didn't encounter mincemeat again until I was in London right before the holidays.  And mincemeat was everywhere there.

I had a few traditional versions whilst in London, but, I didn't really like them.  Meh to the pastry, meh to the filling.  But I knew I do like some mincemeat, so when I saw that the nearby grocery store, Waitrose, had partnered with Heston Blumenthal to come out with a fancy shelf-stable mince pie ... I had to get a package.  (Waitrose is just a chain of British supermarkets, fairly generic.  Heston is a 3 Michelin star chef.  I was fascinating to see the partnership).

I brought them home to the US, eager to try them, and share them, with my family.

Packaging.

The pies came 4 to a package, individual sized, but once you opened the package, they were all exposed, so, you kinda had to use all 4 at once.  Instructions were clear that you shouldn't ever reheat them once baked, which I found a bit odd.

The pies removed fairly easily from the packaging, but were a bit fragile as I moved them onto a baking tray, losing some of their crumble top along the way.

Oven Ready.

The directions were to bake them at 180°C for 10-12 minutes (given in Celsius of course, which lead to a fun discussion on temperature conversions where I learned that most of my family really has no concept of other temperature scales) in an oven.

Easy enough.

Cooked!

After 11 minutes I pulled them out.  The pies were piping hot after 11 minutes, and we needed to let them cool a tiny bit before digging in.

The top had changed, the white powder gone, the color deeper, and, more of the mincemeat layer exposed.  While it looks a bit too dark, it really wasn't burnt.

Insides.

I knew this wasn't going to be a traditional pie, but, I was still a bit surprised by the composition.

The crust on the bottom and side was a spiced dark crust, more like a gingerbread than a traditional shortbread.  I didn't quite care for it, it was fairly dry, and not as buttery as a shortbread would be.  The idea of a spiced crust with mincemeat is a good one, I just didn't particularly like the texture nor dryness.

On top of that was the mincemeat layer, which turned out to be perhaps the thinest layer of the whole thing.  There was certainly more crust and more crumble than mincemeat.  What was there was fine, but, really, I only had several raisins/currants/sultanas, and about two spoonfuls of flavored sweet goo.  It was really quite sweet, and lacked the depth I was hoping for, no citrus elements nor spicing in the mincemeat itself.  But really, just not much of it, and it didn't have any chew to it from a more generous fruit filling.

On top of that was the lemon curd, obviously not normally part of mincemeat pie, but, the lemon was a good match for the mincemeat, as orange flavors normally are.  I don't care for lemon though, so, I wished it was anything but.  And the lemon layer too was sweet.  Too sweet.

Finally, the crumble, a blond crumble, good little bits, topped with powdered sugar (yup, more sweet), fine, but not particularly good.

We all agreed it was far too sweet on its own, and tried to cut the sweet somehow. My mom and grandmother added whipped cream.  And more whipped cream.  And more whipped cream.  Basically, they kept getting more to go with every bite, because, you really needed to cut every bite.  I thought the whipped cream was still too sweet with it (it was sweetened whipped cream), but moved on to ice cream, which worked better (and gave me the hot and cold combo I like). But still, you shouldn't need to do this.  We also all agreed perhaps it would be good for breakfast with a cup of black coffee to cut the sweet.

The size was decent for one person, not huge, but a bit more than I really wanted.  My mom commented that she really would have been happy with half, that a full one, particularly when this sweet, was just too much.

Overall, this just didn't quite add up for me, but it had some fantastic thought behind it.  Spiced crust and mincemeat is good.  Mincemeat and citrus curd is good.  Adding a crumble on top of a mincemeat pie sounds great.  But ... this just came out too dry and way too sweet.

 Christmas pudding with Remy Martin champagne cognac.

"Richly fruited Christmas pudding with Remy Martin Fine champagne cognac cream and pecans."

Next up, I had an aged Christmas pudding, loaded with Remy Martin.

Let me back up and say that I didn't entirely know what Christmas pudding really was.  Just like mincemeat, we don't exactly celebrate with Christmas pudding in the US.  I had a vague understanding that it was much like fruitcake?

The internet tells me that they are similar, but very different.  Both have some of the same ingredients, some kind of alcohol (usually brandy), flour, sugar, dried fruits (usually sultanas, raisins, currants, cherries, and mixed citrus peel), sometimes nuts ... but fruitcake is baked, and Christmas pudding is steamed.  Christmas pudding uses suet rather than butter, and is often flambéd at serving time.  They both do best with aging.

This was already 12 month "matured" (which, I guess is a good thing).

Packaging.

My Christmas pudding was intended to serve 4 (but, given how rich it is, could easily serve 6-8), and came wrapped in red foil.

The instructions recommended steaming it for an hour, but microwave instructions are provided as well.

I usually do *not* microwave things, but, I was trying it alone, so I wanted to just carve out one portion and heat it, as the instructions were incredibly explicit about not reheating any of it.  They also cautioned many times not to heat too much, else the sugars, fruit, and alcohol could ignite.

So, the microwave is where I headed, with just one portion.

Christmas Pudding: Inside.

"Made with plump vine fruit, cream, pecan nuts and a generous splash of Fine Champagne Cognac, and matured for a year to develop a rich, rounded flavour."

Of course I tried a bite at room temperature.

I was pretty fascinated.  It reminded me a lot of fruitcake, loaded up with dried fruits, every type of raisin-like thing you could imagine (sultanas, Chilean flame raisins, currants, regular raisins ...), cherries, and citrus peel, which all added up to give quite a bit of chew, and some crunch from both almonds and pecans.  But it was slightly crumbly too.  A fairly unique texture.

It was also crazy sweet.  In addition to the fruit, it had added "glucose-fructose syrup" and sugar.  I found it cloying, even moreso once heated.  And yes, it was boozy.

I first heated a bit and spread it with Fortum & Mason Spiced Christmas Rum Butter (omg, so good, review coming soon), but, although the rum butter accented the booze and melted in beautifully, this didn't really do it for me.  Still just too much sweet and booze.

I didn't have clotted cream nor custard available, so I opted to try vanilla ice cream (it was ok, definitely tempered the sweet a bit, and hot pudding and cold ice cream was nice), and I tried whipped cream (also helped cut the sweet a bit), but neither left me thinking I had found the ideal pairing.

I think the pudding really would be better with custard.

Read More...

Catering by Andrew

Catering by Andrew.  Not a retail storefront, only for restaurants, hotels, food service, and events.  I know catering, in general, is not just randomly accessible to you.  But maybe you need to plan an event in the Boston area?

And, uh, maybe you need a Kosher caterer?  If so, check out Catering by Andrew. 

I don't know much about the company, besides that they offer a large range of dishes, from breakfast buffets to lunch boxes to elaborate dinners with appetizers to desserts to challah and other baked goods.

I also don't know who Andrew is.   But I was shocked by how good some of the dishes were - the Caesar salad remains a favorite, the chocolate mousse is to die for, and I had no idea that ready-to-eat seafood dishes could be so successful.  I highly recommend.

Salads

Catering by Andrew makes a decent selection of salads, ranging from mixed greens based, to egg or tuna salad, to seasonal offerings like beets with oranges or mustard tarragon green beans.  I've tried a number of them, and ... spoiler: I adore this Caesar salad.

Spinach Salad.

"Baby spinach salad,  goat cheese, cranberries, spiced pecans, tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette."

This sounded great to me, minus the goat cheese.  I planned to just eat everything else, since I like all the other ingredients.  And, I was very curious what the "spiced pecans" were like.

It turned out to be far less exciting than it sounded.  The pecans seemed ... well, not spiced?  Really, just plain pecans.

The baby spinach was fresh and crisp, the cherry tomatoes ripe enough, the dried cranberries not too hard, but, none of these are particularly exciting ingredients.

The balsamic vinaigrette was a bit too balsamic-y for my taste.

Overall, not for me, but not a bad salad.

Garden Salad / Balsamic Vinaigrette.

"Mixed greens with crisp garden veggies and a house made balsamic vinaigrette." 

The garden salad was fine.  Fresh vegetables (mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, radish, tomatoes), all crisp, nothing wilty.  The dressing was fine, fairly standard balsamic vinaigrette.

A very boring salad to me, but, they did it fine.

Caesar Salad.

"Classic caesar salad with crunchy garlic croutons." 

"Crunchy croutons" this did not have.  The croutons were soggy.  Really soggy.  I discarded them immediately both times I tried this salad.  They were always very mushy, likely due to the packaging.

But everything else about the salad was great.  The base was fresh romaine hearts plus just the right amount of radicchio to add some color and more complex flavor, but not too much bitterness.  The greens were fresh and crisp, although I did find a bit of brown lettuce in my second salad, but overall, a nice base.

But this salad was all about the dressing.

The dressing was incredible.  So flavorful.  Creamy.  Real anchovy.  Really fantastic.  The ingredients are fairly standard Caesar (mayo, garlic, anchovy, mustard powder, Worcestershire, lemon juice, sugar), and there actually isn't any cheese in it, but, somehow it is just ridiculously good.

Yes, somehow, just the greens and dressing were enough for me to be happy, a real testament to that dressing, as normally I'm all for jazzing up salads much more.

Caesar - my way!

But of course sometimes I do jazz it up a tiny bit.  I throw out the croutons every time, because they really are soggy every single time, but one time, I added a little Frank's red sauce to my dressing.  The dressing was good, but, I love Frank's, and though this might be extra fun.

And it was.  It wasn't necessary, but, it did give me a slightly different spin on the salad.

I could also imagine throwing on any sort of additional crunchy item (corn nuts? sesame sticks) and perhaps some marinated tomatoes, but, really, just the greens and dressing really is enough.

Entrees

Entrees change out weekly, and variety is such that I won't even attempt to enumerate.  There are plentiful seafood options, which I nearly always go for, along with an impressive vegetarian line up, and TONS of chicken.  Most meals come with simple sides, usually roasted herbed potatoes or rice and a seasonal veggie.  I've been impressed by many of the seafoods.

Pretzel Crusted Salmon with Cider Glaze / Vegetable Medley / Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.

This one was my pick.  I like seafood, and the description sounded great (pretzel crust!).

It likely would have been good fresh.  The pretzel crust was a fun concept, adding texture and saltiness, and I did really quite like it, except that it was soggy.  The salmon was fully cooked, so not my style, but a huge piece, and quality, not fishy.

The seasonal (summer) veggies on the side (cauliflower, summer squash, zucchini, bell peppers) were seasoned but pretty boring, same with the roast potatoes.

Quinoa Stuffed Grilled Rolled Eggplant / Vegetable Medley /  Herbed Basmati Rice.

This  vegetarian selection was for a friend, but I tried a few bites.

The marinara sauce was flavorful and went well with the eggplant.  The eggplant was nicely cooked, but I think this is another item that really would have been better fresh, as it was fairly soggy.   The filling was fine, but would have been much better if made cheesy.  Just quinoa and veg was too boring for me, even when smothered in yummy sauce.  They also make a Eggplant Rollatini with Ricotta, which I'd rather try.

The veggies on side (summer squash, zucchini, bell peppers) were the same as the previous dishes, although no cauliflower here, kinda eh, same with the rice (and why serve rice on the side with a quinoa stuffed dish anyway?).

Thai Fish Cakes with Mango Salsa / Steamed Basmati Rice / Steamed Green Beans. (December 2019).

Another one I selected, and this one was a real winner!  I *really* liked it.

The fish cakes were cod based, with very little filler - some celery I think maybe (there was a bit of crunch), but mostly, these were just cod, panko, herbs, and mayo.  Two decent sized cakes, quite thick.  They were not a crispy style though, again, since pre-made and fully cooked, so if you wanted a crispy fish cake, this would be disappointing.  But for a softer style, I kinda even liked the bite I had cold.  Yup, cold and mushy fish cake ... it worked.   

I did scrape off the mango salsa and put the fish cakes into a panini press to grill them up, which worked quite well, forming a crusty layer.  Yes, they were better this way.  They were ... delicious this way in fact.

The mango salsa was tasty, sort of like a mango chutney, with chunks of mango, tomatoes, and onions, sweet yet savory, slightly acidic.  Quite flavorful, a good condiment.  I wouldn't really call it "thai" though, no thai chilies, no heat, but it was very good, and went well with the fish cakes.

I gave the rice to my father who had run out of rice with his Indian takeout, so I can't evaluate that.  The green beans were simple but nicely cooked, not too mushy, they tasted fresh and vibrant.

Overall, a nice dish, I'd get it again.

[ No Photo ]

Scrod Florentine.

This was really shockingly good, the first item I tried from Catering by Andrew in fact.  I can't say I had high hopes for a pre-cooked seafood item, but, it was great.

The fish was scrod, mild and tender, not at all fishy.  The standard Boston fish of choice, and it was good.  I loved the filling, and it was quite generously stuffed.

I don't have a photo, as I didn't intend to review Catering by Andrew, but, this dish is what inspired me to do so.  Really quite good, and an insanely huge serving.

Desserts

Always my favorite category of food items, Catering by Andrew produces a nice line up of desserts.  Spoiler: I LOVED some of them.

Chocolate Mousse.

This. Was. Incredible.

It is no secret that I have a sweet tooth and love my desserts, and especially puddings, but, I also tend to be a snob about them.

This was so good that no snobbery was warranted.

Very fluffy, very rich, very good chocolate mousse.  It had only a dollop of whipped cream, but, it didn't really need it.  I liked the chocolate garnish too.

Very, very good and I'd gladly devour another one of these on the spot.  They also make a chocolate mousse cake, and a chocolate cream pie, both of which I'd love to try.  And a lemon mousse and a pomegranate mousse, both of which I immediately wanted to try.

Lemon Mousse.

Since the chocolate mousse was so good, I was happy to try another one, even though I don't generally like lemon desserts.

The lemon curd at the base was as expected, eh, lemon curd.  I figured I could just skip that.

The majority of the pot was a fluffy light mousse that I would have loved … if it was not lemon.  While not lemon curd, it was lemon flavored, and just wasn't for me.  But the texture was amazing.

I did adore the fluffy non dairy whipping topping on the very top.  A unique flavor and texture, whatever it is made of (HFCS is the first ingredient ...), it works for me!

I think the chocolate mousse, with more of this non-dairy topping, would be amazing.

Assorted Mini Pastries: Chocolate Roulade / Apple Pie / Cake.

Next I went for a little dessert trio.

I started with the chocolate covered one, which looked like a swiss cake roll.  They call it a chocolate roulade, much fancier.

The chocolate shell on the outside reminded me instantly of Little Debbie.  The chocolate cake inside was eh however, kinda dry, not very chocolate flavored.  The cream filling was fine.  About the same quality level as a packaged junk food counterpart, no better nor worse.  Sometimes what you want.  My second favorite.

The roulade is also made in lemon and a seasonal variety.

The mini apple pie was the worst of the bunch.  The crust was soft, mushy, and seemed almost like a gluten-free item, if you know what I mean.  Not good.  The cubes of spiced apples were fine.

Apple pie is also available full size, as are blueberry and chocolate cream versions.

Cake: Inside.

Catering by andrew makes a large range of cakes, including crowd pleasing chocolate mousse, or local favorite Boston Creme, all available in multiple sizes.

Inside this one was two layers of cake, one plain, one chocolate colored, and a thin layer of caramel.  The cakes were both dry and fairly flavorless, the caramel was nice but not nearly enough of it.  The sweet coating was the best part.

This was the best of the trio of mini desserts, but it wasn't actually very good.

[ No Photo ]

Apple Strudel.

The apple strudel was also not very successful.

The pastry was not flaky.  The apples were too crispy.  It wasn't well spiced.  Not good.

Read More...