Product Review: Crisco Olive Oils

 

As part as the Food Buzz Taste Maker program, I received 3 bottles of crisco olive oils. I received a light tasting oil which was good for frying or baking, a pure olive oil which is great for marinating or sautéing and my favorite, extra virgin olive oil which is perfect for dipping bread. I really enjoyed each of them but my favorite was the extra virgin. I combined it with some garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar. It went perfect with the crust bread I served it will.

Each of the olive oils have a great taste that has complimented everything I’ve done with it. It is definitely worth giving a try.

Product Review: Godiva Ground Coffee

As part of the Food Buzx, Tastemaker program, I was sent two free limited addtion flavors of Godiva coffee. We all know Godiva for the wonderful tasting chocolate and now they're getting into the coffee biz as well. I can't find any information on whether they are fair trade certified or not. It doesn't say so on either bag and since this product is so new, I'm having a hard time finding any information on the internet. This could be just an oversight, but as some one who looks for such a label on her coffee, as do a lot of people I know, it could be a negative aspect to their marketing.

The first flavor I tried was Caramel Pecan Bark. The bag says: "Rich, smooth caramel and toasted pecans with a creamy Godiva milk chocolate finish." This is a medium roast coffee and while it tastes alright, I certainly do not get any hints of caramel, chocolate or even a nuttiness to it. It does however, smell incredible.

The second flavor was Pumpkin Spice and the bag boasts "Warm pumpkin flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg and sweet vanilla cream notes. Again this is a medium roast. The smell, once again, is incredible. It does smell just a freshly baked pumpkin pie. I get the sweetness of the pumpkin and the smell of the nutmeg just permeates the are. The sad part? The taste of this one was lacking too. There was an almost bitterness to this coffee. I do get a taste of the nutmeg, but between that and the bitterness, it over powers everything else.

Bottom line, would I buy this for myself? Probably not :(                        

Birds Eye Voila Frozen Meals and A Gift For You!

Chicken Alfredo

As part of FoodBuzz.com’s Taste Makers program, I was selected to try out Birds Eye Voila Frozen Meals. I picked up a few different bags and tried them out. They were actually pretty yummy! They were super quick to make, taking about 15 minutes and it prepared a balanced meal. The family size bag is perfect for us and my kids loved the fact that they’re veggies had a “sauce” on them too. I do think they could use a bit more flavor as the Cheesy Chicken was a touch bland. We also tried the Alfredo chicken and that one was good. There are several more varieties on the market to choose from too. I checked out the ingredient list and it seemed okay. There were a few ingredients I could have lived without, like hydronated oils, but for busy nights, I could see myself pulling a bag out of the freezer.
Oh and guess what?!?! Birds eye has given me a special gift to share with all of you! To the first 5 readers to leave a comment on this post, I’m going to give 5 buy one get one free coupons for Birds Eye Voila!!! Yes I said 5 BOGO coupons! How cool is that? Just leave me a comment with your email and I’ll send you an email asking where I should send your coupons! Happy eating!

Product Review: Proud Piggy BBQ Sauce

Shorty after doing my very first review for POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, I was contacted by a real southern gentleman. Seth, from Southern Staple Foods wanted me to try out his Proud Piggy BBQ Sauce. How could I resist??? I love me some BBQ and I'm a firm believer that if it comes from the south it has to be good! So he sent me a bottle and I have to admit I was a little confused. Where was the thick dark red that you slathered on ribs, that I loved so much? Then of course, I slapped my fore head! This is Carolina style BBQ sauce, meaning it's a heavy vinegar based, very liquid sauce. I gave it a wiff and the smell of vinegar and spices filled my senses. So out to the store I went, to grab some ribs. Baby back ribs are by far my favorite thing to BBQ in the world! Normally I cook them in the oven with honey, mustard and various spices before grilling them and slathering on the thick dark red BBQ sauce of choice, but this time I let them cook in the Proud Piggy sauce and then grilled them just long enough for the flavor to soak in. The ribs were nice a juicy. They sucked up the vinegary sauce and had the nice tang you'd expect from such a sauce. There was also a subtle sweetness to them which I enjoyed very much. All in all it was a very good sauce, plus I have plenty left to do some pulled pork sandwiches with. Ya know the kind where you pile hot juicy pork on a bun and top it off with the cold vinegary crunch of coleslaw.... My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Oh and I bet I could use the Proud Piggy sauce in my coleslaw too!

I definitely suggest you head on over and visit Seth's site and try out some Proud Piggy BBQ Sauce for yourself!

Product Review: POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice

A few weeks ago I was contacted by someone from POM Wonderful. They had come across the site and thought I might be interested in trying they're 100% Pomegranate Juice. Let me tell you how excited I was! Never in a million years did I think that when I started this site last year that people would want ME to try their stuff! So I sent her a reply with my address and about a week or so later the UPS man shows up with an entire CASE of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice.
I have to say I was a tad nervous about trying it. I had never had a pomegranate before because of being told how tart it was, plus I wasn't sure what I could actually do with a pomegranate. My husband and I both opened up a bottle and took a sip. WOW! This stuff was really good. It almost tasted like cranberry juice but without that lip puckering tartness that cranberry juice tends to have. So I take a look at the ingredients, thinking they must have put some sort of sugar in it, but I was happily wrong! The only ingredient in the juice was the juice!
So besides the fact that it tastes pretty darn good and has no sugar in it, pomegranate juice is also full of secret powers! You know what I'm talking about! Those antioxidants that everyone is always talking about these days. In fact it has more antioxidant power then red wine, grape juice and green tea!! There have been several published studies showing that POM Wonderful's pomegranate juice has great effects on cardiovascular and prostate health. You can find out more about the great effects of of POM Wonderful's juice by visiting pomwonderful.com.

Now besides just drinking the tasty juice, I made a couple things with it. First I made pomegranate molasses, which is nothing more then the juice and a bit of sugar that has been reduced down to make a thick syrup. It's used in a of greek and middle eastern cooking. To make it all you need is 2 cup of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice and 1/4 cup of sugar. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar has dissolved, the reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer for about an hour or until you have about 1/2 cup left and it has become thick and syrupy.
Then I made some BBQ Sauce by taking the half cup of pomegranate molasses that I had just made and combining it with the following:
1 (6oz can) tomato paste
1/2 onion, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 c cider vinegar
2 tbs honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
Water

Whisk it all together, adding in water if you like a thinner consistency sauce. Bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat so that the sauce is just barely simmering and let cook 5-10 minutes so that the garlic and onion has a chance to cook through. Let cool before storing in the fridge for at least 24 hours before you use it. This allows the flavors to come together.

I used the bbq sauce on some grilled pork steaks the other night and it was incredible! There is a hint of spice from the pepper and a slight tartness that compliments each other very well!

Product Reviews

POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
Proud Piggy BBQ Sauce

If you or your company would like to have a product featured here you can contact me at goddessofcooking@zitomedia.net or send the product to 
Goddess of Cooking, 
Po Box 28, 
Genesee Pa 16923
Please include the following:
The name of your product and where the consumer and purchase it, (ie: website, store, etc).
It doesn't matter if you're a big company or just starting out, I would be happy to try and review your product and post it on the site. Once I post the review, I will send you an email with the site address so that you can post it on your own website if you choose. I look forward to hearing from you!