The Feisty Foodie » Product Reviews

Product Review: Bertolli Cheese Tortelloni in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Feisty Foodie — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:15:20 +0000

I’m really big on trying foods that I think I don’t like – something that I’ve eaten in the past and perhaps not been too thrilled with how it tasted, or just didn’t appreciate as much as other people seemed to – trying them again after a decent amount of time has passed, just to give them a fair shake. I do this quite a bit, giving a few years between each try of a food… although some things, like olives, I kept trying a few times a month because they are just, by nature, something I should like! Errr, anyway…

Basically, a while back, I bought a bag of cheese tortelloni in a tomato cream sauce, because I don’t tend to like filled pastas (ravioli, agnolotti, and of course, tortelloni). It was a long time ago; frozen pasta plus I was just never in the mood for trying tortelloni again. Ah well. It got a lil freezer burn, yes.

It cooked down fine enough after the freezer burn melted away.

Not too bad looking, right?

And the cheese innards. Verdict? I think this was fine, but I still don’t like tortelloni. Not their fault – and yes, I’ve had housemade, super fancy pants tortellini/tortelloni at restaurants, from nice places, and I still don’t like it all that much. So please no comments on how I just have to try “good” tortellini/tortelloni – I don’t think I like it! But feel free to recommend places for me to try and what I should order!

Do you guys re-try foods that you previously didn’t like? Have you found yourself changing your mind about anything at all? Anything that you just keep trying but never like? Share in the comments please!

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Post tags: frozen pasta, Ready to Cook

PopChips!

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:15:26 +0000

After my recent slightly negative review of PopChips, a representative of PopChips actually emailed me to ask if they could send me a ‘care package’ to change my mind about PopChips. I was surprised because I didn’t think I was that negative about them – I just happened to have tried a flavor I didn’t like – but PopChips are expensive, and I wasn’t going to turn them down – not on my poor college student budget!

I wasn’t quite sure what a care package was, but it arrived a few days later, I found out: a chip clip (to keep your half-eaten bags of chips fresh, but… I don’t have those… lol), a a booklet of coupons (free bags, buy one get one free, and $1 off), a promo flyer explaining the concept behind PopChips, and a really nice note from the PopChip representative… and…

Six individual size bags of PopChips in different flavors for me to try! Original, barbeque, sea salt & vinegar, salt & pepper, cheddar and sour cream & onion all for the taking. I actually ate these slowly, savoring, bringing them to school to round out my ‘lunches’. I just love the crunch on these – airy but substantially crunchy, yummy. I did have favorites – original is fine, but I like flavors; salt & pepper was good, some bites pepperier than others; sea salt & vinegar was excellent for those who like vinegar potato chips – these are even slightly more sour than I’ve had in the past; barbeque was good, solidly so; but cheddar, and sour cream & onion - those two were meant for me. Mmm, good. I’ve already been back and bought more of the sour cream & onion chips, now I have to hunt out the cheddar ones… nom nom nom

Yvo says: Thanks to the good people over at PopChips, I now know what my flavor is – which was my previous lament – cheddar and/or sour cream & onion! I will definitely be picking up more of these – they are great to munch on, and only 100ish calories per small bag. I love having them with me for dinner while I’m at school, I feel healthy and the crunch is fabulous!
recommended

Yes, I received the entire package above for free, but per usual, I am under no obligation to blog positively about this, nor to even blog about it at all. Expressed is my opinion on a product I’ve had experience with in the past, who decided to send me some samples after reading my slightly negative previous post. I still don’t like the parmesan garlic flavor… now to find some cheddar PopChips so I can use my coupons!

Product Review: Cheez Doodles Crunch Jalapeno Cheddar

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:15:58 +0000

In case you didn’t already know, I really like chips. I really like Cheez Doodles (preferred over Cheetos). I like crunchy, salty snacks over chocolate or candy. So when I saw these in a local small store by me, I got really excited because I’d never seen them before, and sometimes you want something to punch things up a bit. My primary concern was if these might be too spicy for me, since I’m a spice-wuss, and Trader Joe’s wasabi-cheese-crunchy-things that are like Cheez Doodles are really too spicy for me.

Nope! These had a nice kick, but still pretty mild. In fact, I would say it was just there enough that I could taste a kick and feel the jalapeno nose tickle, but I didn’t break a sweat or even think ‘hey, these are spicy!’ – so they were pretty awesome.

I’d totally get these again in a heartbeat, when I want something different from my normal plain Cheez Doodles.

Product Review: Pop Chips

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:15:05 +0000

I picked up a bag of PopChips recently. I’d had them once before in a goodie bag and really liked it, though I can’t recall what flavor that was. The texture was just on key – super crunchy and awesome.

Unfortunately, this flavor fell flat for me. It had these weird sharp notes that didn’t jibe with my impression of the awesome that parmesan and garlic paired together should be. Texturally, still awesome. This flavor? Not so much.

Yvo says: If this product weren’t so prohibitively expensive ($1 or more for a small, small bag), I would love to try every single flavor. I actually have a lot of trouble finding it, also, so I guess that plan will have to wait until I see them everywhere, and then I will dive face first into figuring out which flavor is I favor. I know there is one out there, waiting, just for me!
recommended though I didn’t like parmesan garlic flavor

Product Review: Bordeaux

Feisty Foodie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:30:41 +0000

I asked my sister if she wanted me to bring anything beyond what we’d already discussed for one of our many holiday meals.

“Yes,” she said. “Wine if you have… a nice white or red.”

Clearly, FeistySis just doesn’t know me that well; despite not knowing much about wine (which I’ve mentioned here a few times, and actually isn’t entirely true; I’m definitely more than an amateur but nowhere near an oenophile), I have a never-empty-usually-close-to-full wine rack. I grabbed the two latest additions – a white AND a red – to the ‘collection’ (not really a collection, it’s all for drinking in the immediate future) and headed over.

And yes, I snapped these photos in her backyard.

I’d actually just been sent these two bottles on behalf of the “Life Goes Better with Bordeaux” campaign, meant to bring Bordeaux back to regular everyday drinking status.

Clarendelle – (Bordeaux, White) 2006 – $19.95 – citrus-y, slightly tropical fruit notes; delicate.
Chateau Larose-Trintaudon (Haut Medoc) 2004 – $17.99 – cherry tones with a mild profile that would also go well with delicate flavors.

(You’ll see what we ate with these wines in a few weeks when I post about our holiday meal[s], promise!)

Check out www.enjoybordeaux.com for cool suggestions/recommendations for Bordeaux pairings, and a really cool section called Le Wine Buff: 24/7 dedicated online sommelier service, with a live video chat every night to answer all your wine questions. Pretty nifty, right?

Happy drinking!