Vosges Serenades With Red Fire Chocolate Caramel Toffee

I was delighted that on my most recent birthday I received a package of Vosges Red Fire Chocolate Caramel Toffee from my boss (thanks, Sam!). Even better, it was one of the items I had wanted to try for awhile now but just hadn't gotten around to. The toffee comes in a small bowl-shaped hard cardboard container which is decorated with a quartet of Mariachi guys in action. Inside this box is a generous amount of the Red Fire Toffee, large pieces which are comprised of sweet butter toffee, infused with ancho and chipotle chilies and Ceylon cinnamon, and dipped in dark chocolate. The entire piece is then topped with a generous portion of Red Fire Pecans. Now if you're thinking, "oh, Red Fire, too hot," it is not. Of course my idea of "hot" is probably not the same as yours because I'm used to really spicy food but these are hot in a sense that it complements the caramel toffee perfectly. Like all Vosges products, they are meant to be savored when you are eating them and the boxes always instruct you how to get the most out of the product. I'd rather not close my eyes as I eat my Vosges (which they suggest) and I'm not sure that I'm sophisticated enough to recognize all the ingredients as they pass over my tongue. However I will admit that I don't think there is another company that puts as much style, detail and quality into their products as Vosges does. Another winner for the Haut-Chocolat company.

Topps' Amazing Technicolor Wazoo Candy

I'd read about this crazy candy bar, Wazoo, on some blogs. I set out to find this baby blue-colored candy in 7-11 (no luck) and then some other random shops that had candy sections where I also came up empty. Then I realized, where has my mind been? The mecca of all things not healthy for you will surely have it. That's right, Economy Candy. So I set out for a walk to the Rivington Street joint and what do I find? Not only the Blue Razz Wazoo but sister bar, Wild Berriez Wazoo. Now, I've tried some weird-looking products in my lifetime but these bars might take first place. My initial thought was that they look like something a child made with Play-Doh. Blue Razz is baby blue with layers of dark pink and a darker blue, while Wild Berriez is lavender purple with pink and yellow layers. Each 1.6 ounce bar is topped with colorful and tangy crunchies which I swear I am still finding all over my living room floor. The label states that the "crunchy candy topping" is made in Thailand. Do we not have sprinkles in the States? I did not expect to enjoy these bars but they are fruity and tasty and somehow not sickeningly sweet. I will give the candy creators at Topps credit for coming up with something very different but it might be too out there for most. If you can get over the explosion of color it's worth a try.

Feelin' Good About The Blueberry Pomegranate G2

On a recent visit to my local Kmart, I did my usual search through the aisles in the beverage section for new flavors routine. I've heard that Gatorade was releasing a Blueberry Pomegranate flavor under it's G2 arm and lo and behold, there it was. Totally psyched, I grabbed a couple of bottles and headed home. I like when companies experiment with interesting flavors. I love G2 Grape and Fruit Punch too, but let's face it, they're not all that exciting. With Blueberry Pomegranate, now we're talking. Besides having the illusion of "healthiness," it tastes darn good. The beverage is refreshingly fruity, although I don't know if it's reminiscent of blueberry or pomegranate. All I know is that it's a winner. I went back to Kmart today and much to my horror, the 32 ounce bottles of my new favorite G2 was SOLD OUT! However they also carried the 8-pack of 20 ounces of the blueberry pomegranate so I opted for that over the smaller 8=pack of the 12 ounces. It turned out to be a good bargain as it rang up for $5.50 despite the sticker stating that it would cost me over $8.00. I'm hoping that this G2 flavor will find it's way to the outlets that are a bit closer to my apartment. Fortunately the "Big K" is on the way home from work for me so I'll just have to make some G2 pitstops in the meantime.

Pick Up Stix Courtesy Of Pringles

Pringles, the ubiquitous creator of the beautifully stacked potato chips in the tall and short containers, has come out with Baked Wheat Stix. When I purchased these Stix I thought they were actually pretzel sticks but they are lightly flavored crisp cracker sticks. (I wasn't thinking at the time of purchase that a vanilla-flavored pretzel might not actually taste good but nonetheless this still was not enough to discourage me from picking the product up.) Each package include 10 packs of Stix, each less than 100 calories, according to the copy on the front of the box. Since I was looking for something light this seemed to fit the bill. I chose the vanilla-flavored Stix and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. There's a decent amount in each bag and the taste of the vanilla is not overpowering at all. The Stix themselves have a nice size to them both in width and height. These Stix would be an excellent on-the-go snack too, and kids would probably love them. Stix also are available in Crunchy Wheat, Pizza, and Honey Butter, the latter two of which I will definitely be trying soon. Looks like I'll be playing pick-up-sticks again, only this time with my snacks.

http://www.pringles.com

This Much Is True: Pistachio Crisps Are Addictive

Pistachio is not a commonly used nut and except for ice cream and Italian cookies I can't really think of another food that uses this green seed. So when I saw the television commercial for TrueNorth's Pistachio Nut Crisps I was very interested in tracking this snack down. It took me awhile though as I couldn't find one grocery store that stocked it. Finally I found them in Rite Aid, of all places, in their "food" aisle. Ironic, I thought, as Frito-Lay (of Cheetos, Doritos and Tostitos fame) is attempting to present their TrueNorth line as a healthier snack. I also thought the name TrueNorth sounded more like an insurance company but regardless, I wanted to give these snacks a try. I thought there was a better than even chance that these would be delicious but let me just say that they are way better than that. They are super-addictive and it is very difficult to stop eating them until the bag is finished. Even better, they're 100 percent natural and contain five grams of protein per serving. I suppose it's not a great idea to eat the entire bag in one sitting but you could do worse. I'm going to try the other flavors and varieties which are no doubt also amazing: Nut Clusters (Roasted Peanut, Toasted Almond, Pecan-Almond-Peanut); Nut Crisps (Almond, Peanut); and Whole Nuts (Pecan-Almond-Walnut-Pistachio). Go nuts if you want!

http://www.truenorthsnacks.com/

Paradise Found: Häagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark Ice Cream

Better late than never, I finally tracked down the Peppermint Bark ice cream by Häagen-Dazs. I have reason to believe that this dessert may very well be the most perfect ice cream one can ever taste. Assuming you're a fan of peppermint, it simply just doesn't get any better. This ice cream combines white chocolate ice cream and white and dark chocolate pieces of peppermint bark and honestly it is just amazing. I thought that Hä-Dazs' Green Tea ice cream was the best I've ever tried but this is even better. Maybe it's fortunate for me that this limited edition flavor has just ended its run because it would not be good for my cholesterol. If you are lucky and still want to try it, you may very well find it in the grocery store (I found the Green Tea for quite some time after it had supposedly went to Ice Cream Heaven). Give yourself one more taste of the holidays before it's too late.

Yummy Thomas' Holiday Muffins

I'm a sucker for just about anything cranberry. In fact I'm the designated cranberry sauce cook for my family's Thanksgiving feast (no canned jiggly maroon thingy for us). Heck, I've even slathered on cranberry body lotion. Around Thanksgiving, there's always "limited edition" items on the grocers' shelves and this year I found Thomas' Cranberry English Muffins. Festively packaged these muffins are downright delicious with each muffin bursting with lots of berries (boy, that sounds like a commercial!). I don't know about you but I love having cranberries in the "nooks and crannies" (tm) of my breakfast. Since they aren't around all that long I've bought a few packages and stored them in my freezer. If you're interested you can check out Thomas' store locator for this product until both this link and product disappear until next year.

thomas.gwbakeries.com/product.cfm/upc/4812125609

Snacking In 3D: Wingers Has Zing

I like to visit stores like CVS, Rite Aid and Duane Reade to aimlessly browse for products. In fact Rite Aid is right next store to where I do my laundry, so oftentimes I'll go there "just for fun," despite the fact that I know they never have anything new to look at. However the one area of those stores that are really fun to shop in are the food and beverage aisles. Would you like to try Rite Aid brand Pitted Prunes or Chunky Soup? Perhaps you'd like three cases of sugary, caffeine-laden soda for 10 bucks? Anyhow over at Duane Reade, the last few times I've been to that ubiquitous chain I've noticed the colorful bags of some sort of snacks called Wingers. I finally took the plunge and grabbed a number 5 bag off the shelf, something called Wingers Fiery Buffalo Bleu. I figured they'd just be chips but I was surprised to find that each snack is actually in the shape of a puffy light "chicken wing," sort of like a hollow Cheez Doodle. These 5ers definitely have some kick to them and they are reminiscent of buffalo wings and blue cheese. I'm not giving up my actual wings for these but as a snack they are pretty good. An added bonus is that these snacks are actually not terrible for you, healthwise. According to the package, the Wingers contain 60% less fat than potato chips, low fat, all-natural, and no trans fat (maybe I won't feel as guilty then if I'm having them with several beers). Other Wingers flavors include (from mild to hot, respectively) 1 No Bull Barbecue, 2 Honey Mustard Horsepower, 3 Nacho Chilichanga, and 4 Caribbean Zing. Turns out the 5 I chose is the hottest of the bunch but that was just a coincidence. I give an A+ for the "3D" design of each snack. The only place I've seen these sold is Duane Reade but I'm sure they'll be popping up all over the place soon. Get some for the rest of the NFL season!

www.buffalonickelfoods.com

On The Lookout For Häagen-Dazs' Peppermint Bark

One way you can tell the holidays are coming is when you start seeing peppermint bark candies for sale. I was in Macy's this weekend and saw peppermint bark popcorn and peppermint bark chocolates. Finally this evening, I saw an ad in Gourmet magazine for Peppermint Bark, a new limited edition iced cream by Häagen-Dazs. As soon as I can track this down I will review this intriguing dessert.

They're Tiny, Delicious & Portable. They're picklePAKS!

I am a huge fan of pickles and pickled products. Whenever I'm in Whole Foods I make sure to pick up a container of Guss' Pickles (or whoever is using that name at the moment). I eat pickles like I would cookies or ice cream. During my last trip to the grocery store I noticed this package holding four pudding container-style cups of Mt. Olive pickles. My first thought was, how adorable are these pickles and why didn't someone think of this before? I've been bringing my Kosher Dill Petites with me each day this week to enjoy along with my tuna fish and I have to say that not only are these teeny pickles delicious, but they also extremely CUTE! And it's not often one can say their food is, well, charming. I almost feel guilty eating them which could be because I checked out Mt. Olive's site and they have pickle characters named Vinessa, Dill B. Thrill, Dotty Dill, and Vinnie D. Joker, and I hope these tiny pickles I've been eating aren't related to them. There's plenty of pickles in each container and perhaps I'm a weirdo but I also drink the brine, which is quite tasty. Mt Olive also makes a picklePAK containing Sweet Petite pickles which I'm on the hunt for. I'm going to stock up on these for not only taking to work for lunch, but for snacking as well. Hopefully they'll add to the line (garlic and sour pickles, please!) but for now I'm enjoying my tiny green pickled snack.

www.picklepak.com