Category: Product Reviews (Page 11 of 19)

      Roni Sue who?

      December 7, 2011 /

      So this past weekend, my wife was traveling on business to New York City, and when she had told me en route home that she picked me up something, I didn’t think much of it at the time other than it was nice she was thinking of me. But then when she arrived home and handed me a bag with 1) BeerCorn (beer caramel corn) and 2) chocolate covered bacon, it was like the holidays had arrived early.

      The place she picked these items up from was a booth at a street fair, from a vendor called Roni-Sue’s Chocolates. The bacon is really good, but, well, how can chocolate covered bacon not be? But the BeerCorn blew me away. It’s beer and pretzel caramel corn with candied mustard seeds. So not only is the caramel corn itself delicious, but throw in the malty aftertaste of beer and the faint taste of mustard, and it’s like a ballpark exploded in your mouth.

      Thankfully you can order this stuff online, and there are also items that are intriguing, like maple/bacon lollipops, chile/lime lollipops, truffles, BeerCrunch & bacon buttercrunch, and chocolate covered pretzels. But maybe the best part is that everything from Roni Sue is handmade and all natural. So yeah, it tastes amazing and there are no weird artificial ingredients. What more could you ask for? Except more!

      Chefs and Restaurants, Healthy, Ingredients, Product Reviews

      Product review: Doritos Fiery Fusion

      November 11, 2011 /

      Last year I reviewed the Doritos Burn flavored super-spicy tortilla chips on the Bullz-Eye blog. I haven’t seen those lately, but yesterday I was stopped in my tracks (as Mrs. Mikey will attest, snack foods have this effect on me) by a new flavor of Doritos–Fiery Fusion “Sizzlin’ Cayenne & Cheese” chips. Just like the Burn chips, these are wicked spicy–not wimpy spicy like many snack foods tend to be. And while there is a distinct cayenne pepper zing and tangy flavor, these chips have even more taste with a bold cheesy flavor courtesy of buttermilk, cheddar and sour cream solids. That’s the technical term, but it tastes like Nacho Cheese Doritos that are, well, wicked spicy. And overall, they are also wicked delicious. So if you see these chips in the store this weekend, grab a bag or two and don’t forget to buy extra beverages to wash them down with.

      Grocery stores, Product Reviews, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

      Cheez-It chicken

      November 9, 2011 /

      Like most guys, I have an affinity for cheese crackers, and in particular I’ve always been partial to Cheez-It brand crackers. And for some reason, I haven’t been able to look at a box of them lately without thinking that I need to use them in recipes. So I just figured this past weekend that I was going to do it. So I made fried chicken breast cutlets with crushed Cheez-Its as the breading. Do you think that sounds good? Yeah, me too, but they came out even better than I had anticipated. Here is how to do it…..

      Gather a pound or two of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and flatten them slightly with a mallet unless they are already on the thin side. Put a couple of tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil in a nonstick pan and set over low heat. Meanwhile, set up a station of plate-shallow bowl-plate leading up to the pan. Take about 2 cups of Cheez-Its and run them through a food processor until you have the consistency of bread crumbs. Put some flour on the first plate, crack two eggs in the shallow bowl and whisk together, and put the Cheez-It crumbs on the other plate. Season each station with salt and pepper. Then dip each chicken breast into the flour, egg and then crumbs before placing in the heated pan. Raise heat to medium and cook chicken about five minutes per side or until crispy on the outside and cooked through and no longer pink in the middle. Depending on how many you are making, it might be better to cook them in batches. Serve as is or with ranch dressing for dipping.

      Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Ingredients, Product Reviews, Recipes

      Perky Jerky in prime time

      November 2, 2011 /

      Last year, we reviewed a product called Perky Jerky on the Bullz-Eye blog and then this past January, the company sent us the new Turkey Perky Jerky which was reviewed here on Mikey’s Kitchen. So last night I was watching Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and as she was talking about the “Best New Thing in the World” and promo-ed it by saying that the best new thing was going to be caffeinated meat, I knew right away what she meant–Perky Jerky.

      Since many of you probably began searching for this product after watching Rachel try to re-create it by stirring Red Bull with a Slim Jim, and then pouring Red Bull into a bowl of jerky like milk on cereal, I thought it might be appropriate to plug the product again. And it’s especially appropriate because Brian Levin, the founder of Perky Jerky, is running the NYC Marathon this weekend dressed up in a coat made of Perky Jerky packages. Now that’s marketing. But having Rachel pimping his product couldn’t have hurt either.

      Anyway, go check this stuff out–it’s tasty and it works!

      Food TV, Healthy, Product Reviews

      Product review: CASCAL fermented soda

      October 27, 2011 /

      On the surface, it sounds kind of funny and maybe not too appetizing–“fermented soda.” And maybe when you realize that CASCAL is a product endorsed by Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame, you might think you’re about to taste something strange. Then again, what do you think wine is? Basically fermented grape juice, right? And it’s also worth noting that there are no odd things in this beverage like, oh I don’t know, Mediterranean bug juice or bull testicle extract. They are basically sodas with fruit flavors, but with a couple of twists. For one, some of the fruits are fermented, giving it a half-sour, on its way to being alcohol flavor; and also there are some flower flavors such as rose and magnolia.

      The taste? They are actually really delicious and refreshing. I’m a big fan of flavored, unsweetened seltzer, and since these are not as sweet as soda or even fruit juice infused seltzers, it’s refreshing without coating your mouth with sugar. The brightness of the fermented aspect is nice too without being over the top. My favorites were the Bright Citrus–with flavors of lemongrass, tangerine and pineapple; and the Berry Cassis, with black currant, tangerine and lemon. I wasn’t as crazy about the Ripe Rouge. The cherry and chocolate flavors in that one were nice but were overpowered by the rose flavoring. The same goes for the magnolia in Crisp White, which took over the pear and apricot tastes.

      Zimmern offers advice on which flavors go best with which fare–such as Crisp White going well with egg dishes; and Ripe Rouge a nice complement to barbecued ribs. Thankfully, he doesn’t suggest pairing any of them with some of the weird things he eats on the show. So go try CASCAL in confidence if you are intrigued, and I know you are. The stuff is really interesting and for the most part, mighty tasty.

      Grocery stores, Healthy, Product Reviews, Your Kitchen

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