Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Brownies (Trader Joe’s)

I do this for you. All of you gluten-free junkies and freaks have a friend in the business. I could go out there and fuel up on delicious wheat filled products and stuff myself full of pastry as you drool at my screen wishing you could enjoy it as much as I did. Alas, you cannot and the food industry makes feeble attempts at re-creating dishes normally packed with gluten to cater to your needs. These wheat free concoctions have about a 20% success ratio, and if a restaurant had this rate of failure, there’s no way that I would ever go back. But, again, I do this for you. When I picked up Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Brownies I knew exactly the chance I was taking, and if the tone of this blog has steered you anywhere. You know exactly how this went:

First off, I toyed with the idea of picking these up. The price tag wasn’t astronomical, but for two brownies it was a little steep. Then I thought about the fact that you could probably throw chocolate into just about anything and I would like it enough to justify paying that much for 2 brownies. So, I took it home and ripped open the first of the two individually wrapped brownies. I set it on a plate and warmed it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds. These instructions aren’t on the packaging, so don’t go looking for them. This is just how I prefer my brownies. I took the chocolate chip square out, and snagged my first bite. It crumbled in my hand. I grabbed the biggest piece that I could and popped it into my mouth. The dry bits on the outside flaked in my mouth like bits of chocolate flavored chalk. Moisture followed, but it wasn’t the thick velvety texture that I was used to out of a brownie. But, this wasn’t really a brownie. It was fake attempt at one, and failed.

I’d leave this one on the shelf. There are plenty of other gluten-free goodies to choose from, and unfortunately this one is among the 80% of wheat-less items that fail miserably. There are just some things that aren’t meant to be gluten-free. Brownies aren’t one of them. So, FORK the fool who tries to push one off on me.

Dark Chocolate Covered Triple Ginger Cookies (Trader Joe’s)

Trader Joe’s is at it again, and just in time for the holiday season.  Doing what they do best, they took one of your favorite cookies, and dipped that sugar filled treat into rich dark chocolate.  The triple ginger variety gets the dip this time in what is sure to be an instant classic lining the plates of every holiday party.  Since this is the season of ginger for me, and I have been pimping out my blog with just about every imaginable ginger product in sight, I had to scoop this one up off the shelf and give it a try.  Here’s how it went:

The first thing that caught my eye was the holiday packaging.  Trader Joe’s graphic design team has really been focusing lately on their boxes, creating something that you’d be proud to stuff in a stocking or wrap in a gift basket.  It’s a small sleeve of 15 cookies weighing 6 ounces and presented in a long sleeve.  I unwrapped the box and removed the plastic wrap.  I took a small sample size of 3 cookies (which is a serving size @ 170 calories per).  I bit into the first one, biting through a crisp ginger cookie with a rich artfully crafted dark chocolate dip.  The sweet, bitter dark chocolate hits first, and finishes with ginger cookie crumbling around the small chunks of candied ginger, filling your mouth with the spice of this chewy candy.  I could imagine this being great with eggnog to wash it all down.  It gave me the holiday cheer, and I polished off the remaining two cookies being careful not to dive back into the package as I just might deplete the rest of my stock.

Dark Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Hearts (ALDI)

Some people love the jolly Christmas that blares overhead at your local grocery store, and there are those that loathe it.  I fall into the category of the latter.  I can’t get out of a place fast enough, gathering all of my groceries as fast as I can in an attempt to escape the noise pollution that this seasonal barrage of jingles will surely bring.  However, as much as I hate to admit it, this strategy works, and when presented with these monotonous songs, I find myself craving the one concoction that’s synonymous with the season.  Gingerbread.  Deliciously spiced gingerbread anything, and there is one place every year I find something new and exciting from this line that brings me into ALDI to grab off of their shelves.  This year, it was their Dark Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Hearts that I whisked away and dragged home to add a little holiday spirit to my diet.  Here’s what I thought of them:

As per the usual, ALDI presented me with a low cost option and these sweet, heart-shaped treats were a steal at $1.99.  This was my first go at these guys, and I really didn’t know what to expect.  Would they be hard or soft.  One thing I was sure of, was that they were bound to be delicious either way, and the part that excited me the most about these cookies, was that apricot filling that would be mixing with the rich dark chocolate and the spiced gingerbread.  I tore into the bag, and grabbed the first one.  I sank my teeth in, revealing an incredibly fluffy cookie filled with small amount of apricot filling.  The ratios were just about perfect, and the tangy preserves gave an nice balance to the bitter chocolate and the spicy gingerbread as they danced around on my palate.  I reached in the bag, pulling out a few more and laid them on a plate setting the rest aside so I wouldn’t devour the whole bag in one sitting.  They were FORKing addictive, and quickly became one of my new holiday favorites.

These little hearts will surely make their way into yours.  Not only will your friends love the texture and flavor, but you’ll leave them impressed by their cute shape.  They’re great to bring over to a holiday party, or just to have around to entertain guests during the holiday season.  No Christmas party would be complete without these Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Hearts.  So, get into ALDI and throw these delicious cookies in your cart.  At that tiny price tag, why the FORK not?

Benton’s Eggnog Cookies (Aldi)

Yeah, so I may have already posted about these cookies, and how much I love the Trader Joe’s version a whole bunch.  Well, forget what I said.  I know they’ll have these at TJ’s, but it looks like this is actually where they begin.  I believe these little soft cookies are cheaper at Aldi, and if you can tell the difference between the two, I won’t believe you.  These are my second favorite holiday cookies on the shelves.  You may already know the best, and if you don’t, I’m going to save that one for later.

Let’s talk about the taste.  There is not a lack in their eggnog flavor, with an incredibly soft texture that lightly crumble in your mouth.  This cookie deserves some cool milk to wash it down, as the flavors complement each other perfectly.  And, as far as looks go, this cookie is beautifully drizzled with white chocolate that also adds a little extra sweetness to this excellent cookie.  So, give me a better eggnog cookie.  I FORKing dare you.  Although, this may be a matter of taste and due to opinion, you’ll be wrong.

The Rustic Goat (Downtown)

Nothing excites me more than the opening of a new restaurant.  It’s not just because of the new dishes that I’ll be able to try, but, having an eye for art and architecture, the brand new interior that will lay before me.  Before I settle into my seat at a brand new joint, I’ll wander around, taking in all that the place has to offer.  So, when I heard that a place was opening its doors in my neighborhood on Washington Ave., I had to see what was all going on.  Excited to peer into this fresh interior, I made my way in there for lunch as we all know I was really there for the food.  Here’s how it went:

I rolled up to the west corner of Washington and Jefferson where some new loft construction had recently taken place.  The area I was in seemed hardly suitable for a restaurant.  Looking up, I spotted the sign for The Rustic Goat.  The building it is in was freshly painted in a golden yellow and the entrance maintained most of its antique frame.  I entered into the waiting area and was greeted by a server who was ready to direct me to my table.  However, I was a little distracted and in awe.  The exact thing that I most anticipated about a new restaurant venture was strewn before me.  The first thing I spotted was the giant stainless steel microphone sitting on a raised white cog shaped stage in the center of the room.  Comfy white couches lined the far wall and touched of green, yellow, and orange danced along the windows, cascading their light across the floor.  The kitchen was open, revealing two chefs busily preparing for the lunch service with shiny, new appliances behind them.  This place looked magnificent, and I could spend the rest of the day trying to describe it to you.  But, alas, this is a food blog and as I sat there staring in awe, my stomach grumbled and returned me to reality.  I turned to the server and asked if I could sit at the bar.

Seated, but still taking awkward moments to look around, I asked my server if I could speak to the chef.  She obliged and the Executive Chef, Lee, arrived and I told him that I was looking for his best, letting him know that I was planning on writing it up (I’m not the type to surprise anyone).  We went over the american fusion with a southern twist menu, and we settled on the Braised Beef Short Rib.  After a few minutes I was presented, surprisingly  with their version of shrimp and grits, which on presentation and smell alone was great.  Two plump, juicy shrimp sat upon a golden mound of stone ground plantation raised grits.  A light brown rue, called a creole shrimp sauce, was spooned over the top of that and dressed with scallions and andouille.  I sank my fork into this southern classic and sampled some of the grits.  The texture was spot on, and the grits were perfectly cooked.  The second bite consisted of all of the elements and they all sang in harmony with sweet notes from the shrimp and corn, and the salt and spice from the sausage.  Finishing it all off was the beautiful velvety sauce that tied it all together.  Lee had made an excellent choice by bringing me this dish, as it’s easily my favorite shrimp and grits in Saint Louis, so far.

Extremely pleased by my first dish, I anxiously awaited the next.  My short ribs were ready, and presented to me with the same meticulous attention to presentation that the shrimp and grits had undergone.  A beautifully braised piece of beef short rib was surrounded by a chayote slaw and golden brown hush puppies.  Having never tried chayote, a Brazilian squash, I grabbed a bite of that to begin with.  It was cool, and crisp with the flavor of celery seed rounding off every bite.  I wanted to keep eating it, but realized that I had other item on my plate to tackle.  Moving on to the short rib I attempted to separate a bite from the bone, but the beef didn’t budge.  This was a little disconcerting as a perfectly braised short rib should fall off the bone in breathtakingly tender form.  After a little work I separated beef from bone and cut off my first slice, swirling it in the carolina bbq sauce on the plate.  The meat wasn’t as tender as I had hoped and the sauce lacked a bit in flavor.    It was good, but I’ve had my fair share of phenomenal short ribs in my time, and with a little work it could be better.  The hush puppy was the last item on my plate, and I divided it in half exposing the fluffy yellow center.  I popped a half in my mouth and was greeted by the crunch of the fried cornmeal crust, the cake like texture of the center, and the heat of jalapeno.  Overall, the dish was good with the sides taking a bit of the spotlight from the short rib itself.

As if I hadn’t already been treated well enough, a chocolate layer cake was presented to me.  This cake was a layer of chocolate cake, Kahlua buttercream, flourless chocolate ganache, passion fruit lemon curd, and another layer of cake.  It was dressed with a fresh sliced strawberry, a caramel whipped with goat cheese, and homemade whipped cream.  All of this was made in house by their pastry chef.  The cake was rich and decadent with zips of passion fruit adding a little bite.  The caramel was my favorite part, and, after I was done eating cake, continued to dip my finger in it to get every last drop of the sweet and tangy sauce.

I was impressed by the food, service, and especially the ambiance that the Rustic Goat had to offer.  I’ll be back to take a stab at some of their other menu items as there was only so much damage I could do in one sitting.  I highly suggest you grab some friends or a date and make your way to the Rustic Goat.  If you bring them on a Friday or Saturday, you’ll be greeted by music as performers take the cog shaped stage and sing into that beautiful microphone which is the centerpiece of the space.  Feel free to stay a while after dinner and listen, drinking down spirits from their fully stocked bar as the restaurant becomes a lounge for late night festivities.  This is one space you’ll not want to miss the FORK out on.

Pumpkin Cranberry Scone Mix (Trader Joe’s)

Trader Joe’s went hard on pumpkin items this year and added to their baking line up a scone mix that will surely be steadily stockpiled in the carts of all pumpkin patrons.  I’ll be marking this freshly added product down on my list of loves, while starting my morning off with this twist on a British classic.  As soon as I woke up the next morning after my purchase, the oven was heating, the ingredients laid out, and anticipation was mounting.  Here’s how it all went down:

It all starts by tossing the mix in to a large bowl, melting down a stick of butter, measuring out 3/4 cup of whole milk, and cracking an egg into the bowl followed by the previously mentioned ingredients.  As you’ll notice in the image above I added some dark chocolate chips for a little extra flavor (you’ll want abou 1/4 cup of these), making them reminiscent of my favorite chocolate chip pumpkin cookies Mom used to bake.  Now, pre-heat the oven to 375 and mix all the ingredients until the dry mix has disappeared leaving a thick dough.  There should be a little butter residue remaining in the dish you used to melt it in.  Using your fingers, grease up a large cookie sheet and cover the surface. 

Place large spoonfuls of the dough about an inch apart (two fingers) and pop those pumpkin scones into the oven.  After about 12-15 minutes your kitchen will be filled with wonderful pumpkin aroma, and those scones ready to exit the oven.

My batch was able to yield 8 large scones. At $3.29 for the mix, when all was said and done each one of those delicious pastries came down to about 50 cents a pop. I highly suggest picking this pumpkin scone mix up and wrestling with your imagination and add to this colorful canvas whatever your heart desires. And, please, let me know what the FORK U added to your masterful mix.

Avocado health benefits

Avocado health benefits.

I absolutely had to share this one in my Heathy Habits category.  Did you know you can also use avocados to make pudding?  When I was going raw and needed some sweets, this is the recipe that I turned to: (Food Processor recommended):

• 1 fully ripe avocado
• 1/2 banana
• 8 pitted fresh dates
• 3 tbsp. Raw Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 tbsp. Raw Agave Nectar
• pinch of  sea salt, cinnamon, and cayenne to taste

1. Prep all your fruits (peel, pit, and chop),toss into the food processor, and blend to a chunky puree.
2. Add water slowly and continue blending to achieve desired consistency.
3. While still blending, add agave and cocoa
4. Finally, add salt, cinnamon, and cayenne to taste.  If you don’t like a little bit of heat in your pudding, leave out the cayenne.  But, trust me, there’s a reason they add a little heat to chocolate in Mexico.