Arancini Bites (ALDI)

Like a good American, I’m a lush for just about anything deep fried.  I couldn’t tell you the last time that I disliked something deep fried and I really don’t imagine there ever being one.  Something about the process of breading and item and tossing it in hot oil, makes it taste delicious.  However, there are some things that I enjoy submerged in oil better than others.  Cheese is quite possibly the best thing to ever get thrown into a deep fryer, and when I spotted some arancini appetizers in the freezer section of ALDI, they had to be mine.  I guiltily threw them into my cart full of healthy fruits and veggies, throwing off any chance of a winter cleanse.  Here’s what I thought of them:

As soon as I arrived home, I was a little curious about these Italian cheese balls.  I really didn’t read too much about about them and they seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place where I had them or what was in them.  Putting this frozen product under my microscope, I discovered that these were balls of rice and fontina cheese, breaded and fried.  It’s the kind of thing that a mozzarella stick lover like me would absolutely enjoy with it’s crisp outer shell and melted cheese center.  I was really starting to crave these, so I filled a deep pan with a 1/2 inch of vegetable oil and set it over medium high heat.  There were only 14 bites in the box, and once the oil was to temperature, all 14 of these bites were going to destroy any chance I had at eating healthy tonight. After about 7 minutes cheese began to ooze from some of the cracks in the deep fried balls, alerting me to the fact that these were finished bathing in hot oil.  I lined a plate with paper towels, spooning the arancini on to it allowing the oil to soak in.  Then, the Italian cheese balls were transferred to a long serving plate and a small bowl of marinara was sat next to the arancini, ready to dip.

A few moments passed as I allowed the deep fried goodies to cool off.  I carefully picked up the warm arancini ball and submerged it into the marinara.  Trying to avoid a severe mouth burn, I took a small bite and was greeted with warm fontina cheese and the subtle texture of rice.  These were much better than mozzarella sticks, and had bumped their cheesy counterpart out of my appetizer agenda.  These little guys were refined and could easily be served with a toothpick.  They weren’t the awful stringy mess that a mozzarella stick presents, and easy to eat as you pop one after another into your mouth.  It wasn’t long after I had these thoughts that all 14 of those bite-sized balls were cleared.  I had to hang my head.  This wasn’t the healthiest choice.  FORK, I guess that cleanse will just have to wait.

Pumpkin Custard (Global Foods)

I just can’t help myself anytime I walk into a grocery store this time a year and walk away from a pumpkin product I’ve never tried before.  Strolling down the frozen food aisle at Global Foods, I spotted a captivating custard loaded with slices of my favorite orange gourd julienned on top.  It didn’t take me long to get it home and see if it was up to snuff.  Here’s the rundown:

S&P out of Thailand makes this interesting custard that is conveniently packed in a plastic, square microwavable tray allowing for a quick and easy meal as the box displays.  I popped this Asian dish into the microwave and followed the directions to heat the dish.  As it nuked, it smelled absolutely divine.  I couldn’t wait to pull off the plastic and as soon as I did, steam escaped carrying the sweet eggy aroma with it directly into my nostrils.  After letting it cool for a minute, I plunged my fork into the gelatinous mass of pumpkin custard, and shoveled the first bite into my mouth.  It was sweet, with a hint of pumpkin without the spices we are used to when eating a dessert of this nature.  The texture was fabulous as it melted and rolled around my tongue before making its descent into my stomach.  I quickly consumed the rest of the custard eyeing my empty plate looking for more.

Forget Dierbergs and Schnucks and start shopping at these local treasures like Global Foods.  This is the type of place you could easily spend hours discovering foods that you never thought existed.  This is my first post on this international grocery store, but I’ll guarantee you that it won’t be the last.  There’s just way too much in there that I have to let you know about.  If you just don’t care about making shopping an adventure, then maybe this isn’t the blog Fork U.