Obsession Tuesday...Rooty tooty Root Beer!

I must confess that I don't drink much in the way of soda.  I prefer sparkling water with a dash of this or that.  But I've always had a soft spot for Root Beer.  In the head to head battle of A&W vs Barqes vs Mug...Barqes wins hands down.  I mean people...it's got bite.  Plus how can you not enjoy a beverage with sassafras...just saying it makes me smile.

But in the death match of Barqes vs my new found obsession...bite or no bite, Barqes doesn't hold a candle to Fizzy Izzy.

I recently discovered this little gem through my local bar serving many a fine wine from Crown Valley Winery.  And who would of thunk it, but this little place also happens to brew one hell of a root beer.  Perhaps even more perplexing is the fact that they also have a tiger sanctuary on the premises called Crown Ridge which plays host to a Siberian/Bengal tiger mix named...you guessed it...Izzy.

Izzy was rescued from a carnival in Chicago when he was about 4 1/2 months old and now spends his days relaxing in his pool and devouring between 8 to 12 pounds of raw meat a day.  He's featured on the front of the bottle looking rather majestic as tigers are want to do.

And people...this root beer...I mean really...amahhhhzing! It's smooth and creamy with just enough herbaciousness to keep you coming back for more.  With the satisfying pop of the cap it's almost the exact perfect thing to crack open on a really hot summer day.  There are definite notes of vanilla, the tiniest hint of cinnamon, and if I had to go out on a limb I'd say there's honey lingering in there too.

I happened to drink about six of these puppies over the course of 48 hours and now am remise to say Fizzy Izzy is tres difficult to find in your local market.  But have no fear the good people at Crown Valley have made it easy to purchase online...here.  Try it...you can thank me later!

Obsession Tuesday...Confectionary Edition!

Remember this (my Nutella obsession)?  Well what happens when you combine it with a wafer cookie and wrap it in two different kinds of chocolate...you get:

Magic!  Of Course!

I picked this little puppy up in the food section of World Market (which I am coincidentally also obsessed with).  The Bueno is brought to us by the good people of Kinder-Schokolade the German offspring of the Italian company Ferrero, you may know them for such gems as the ever popular Ferrero Rocher, my one true love Nutella, and...randomly...Tic Tacs.

I was, however, wholly unaware that anything quite this devine existed.

Mmmm...hazelnutty goodness

Each package comes with two sticks which is truly, in my humble opinion, about four sticks too few, but you know how those Europeans can be so figure conscious (oh fore-shame).

The Kinder-Schokolade website describes the Bueno as:

"Kinder BUENO is a fine composition from airy waffle and tender milk hazelnut cream - of two different kinds chocolate wraps. A pleasure experience seeming easy uniquely arises from it."


Which is a spectacularly botched German to English translation and kind of only makes me love them more.  It also comes in a white chocolate variety and has a tag line of "a little bit of what you fancy" I mean come on...how can you not love this thing?

World Market had several other Kinder products, so naturally my interest was piqued and I had to do some "research" (wikipedia and vendor website stalking).

For starters the Ferrero company is pretty kick-ass.  They seem to really give a hoot about their employees and even have a social initiative aimed at helping the health and education for children in all their factories' surrounding areas.

Secondly they also make something called the Kinder Joy:

A yummy treat...AND...a the beloved French comic figures Asterix and Obelix...yes please!

From what I gather from various descriptions it's egg shaped plastic that is internally divided into two halves.  One half contains two soft creamy layers one milk chocolate layer and one white chocolate layer.  The packaging contains a spoon which you use to scoop out said chocolate layers.  But the fun doesn't end there! Nestled ever so delicately in these chocolate layers are two round chocolate covered wafers that are filled with the same hazelnut creme found in the Kinder Bueno (I'm thinking something similar to the Ferrero Rocher). And just when you think this puppy couldn't get more exciting, you open the second half of the egg to find...wait for it...A TOY (score!).  Sadly in my vast amounts of "research" I discovered that the Kinder Joy has been banned in the United States...some bullocks about food safety and not mixing non-edibles with edibles.  Well for crying out loud why don't you just take away my birthday and Christmas while you're at it.

So my friends...very long story short if any of you loyal readers are planning on jumping the pond soon I'd be ever so delighted if you smuggled back a Kinder Joy...heck I'd settle for just about anything Ferrero or Kinder-Schokolade tells me to eat.

Obsession Tuesday...Amaretto, it's not just for drinkin' anymore

I love a good cocktail and I must say I have grown particularly fond of anything containing this:

Disaronno on the rocks

I really can't get enough of it.  I love it on the rocks (ps check out those ice cubes pictured above...perfect huh?  You can find the trays on the link to your left) I love it with Ginger Ale, I love it in my coffee, as a Toasted Almond cocktail.  I'm sure it has much to do with my not so secret obsession with all things Italian.  Regardless it's a pretty rockin' liqueur.  

Amaretto comes from the Italian word "amaro" meaning bitter.  The history is a little fuzzy but, Disaronno (which has been around since 1592 with an unchanged formula...that's pretty impressive folks) claims to have been born of a lustful relationship between artist and muse.  

In 1525 Bernardino Luini was commisioned to paint a Saronno church with frescoes.  The church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary so naturally he needed a model.  She was a young widowed innkeeper who apparently had a thing for painters (can you blame her?).  She wanted to give him a gift of gratitude and affection but was flat broke with her husband six feet under and all.  So she did what any industrious Saranno woman would do and created a liqueur that has since been enjoyed for centuries.  The original recipe involved apricot kernels steeping in Brandy, and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Amaretto also makes a pretty steller addition to this amaaaaahhhhzing syrup:

Ciabatta Italian Toast with Amaretto Cream Syrup

It's incredibly easy to make and has a homemade element that could even jazz up Bisquick (gag) pancakes...if you're into that sort of thing.  

Amaretto Cream Syrup

What you'll need:

1 C. Water

1 C. packed brown sugar (I prefer dark)

2 Tbl. Amaretto

2 Tbl. whipping cream

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

What to do:

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Boil until the syrup reduces to 1 cup, around 10 minutes.  

Turn heat down to medium and add Amaretto.  Simply heat through (we are just burning off the alcohol folks...I suppose you could skip this step if you prefer a little breakfast buzz...and really who doesn't) about 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and whisk in cream and cinnamon.  

Keep the syrup warm over low heat until read to serve.  

Syrup can be made ahead.  Cool, cover, and refrigerate.  Reheat before serving.  

Obsession Tuesday...What's in a Name?

Ok so the good people of England could have perhaps thought through the naming of today's obsession a bit better...

I mean "Lemon Curd"...come on.  It sounds disgusting, off-putting even, enough to have you fleeing from your grocer's aisle at the very thought of it.  But lemon curd is oh so delicious and just a bit misunderstood.

For those of you terrified by the idea, allow me to enlighten you:

Lemon curd is actually a cousin of jam but generally made with a citrus fruit of some sort and gently cooked with eggs to make an intensely flavored spread.  It's often used on breakfast bread products and is an essential ingredient in any lemon-meringue pie worth its salt.

I prefer lemon curd made with the addition of butter as it is a bit creamier and not as intensely zippy as those spreads made without.  It's also incredibly easy to make yourself and you have the added bonus of knowing its not chalked full of preservatives and weird artificial flavorings.

This is my go to recipe for lemon curd and it can easily be altered with just about any other citrus juice you desire.  Try a little drizzle over vanilla ice cream with raspberries on a hot July day...you can thank me later.

Lemon Curd

What you'll need:

4 fluid oz. Lemon juice
6 1/2 oz. Granulated sugar
1 oz. Cornstarch
2 tsp. Lemon zest
2 to 3 eggs, fresh, whole
6 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature

What to do:


Combine the lemon juice, 3 oz. of the sugar, the cornstarch, and the zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Place the eggs and remaining sugar in a bowl.  Mix well without aerating (that means no vigorous whisking folks, give the biceps a rest).

Temper* the eggs and remaining sugar with one quarter of the boiling juice.  Add the remaining juice and return to the stove.

Bring the mixture to a boil while whisking vigorously (oh biceps).  Continue mixing and boil for one minute.

Remove mixture from the heat and chill over an ice bath until the mixture reaches 120 F.

Add the butter in five parts, stirring well with a spatula after each addition.

Once butter is fully incorporated into the mixture place in lidded vessel (to prevent a skin from forming on top) and refrigerate.

This recipe yields a 1 lb. 6 oz. of lemon curd, that seems like a tremendous amount if you intend only to use it as a spread, so jar it up and share the wealth.  Otherwise it's a perfect amount for pie or tart filling.

*Ok a note on tempering; this is to prevent the eggs from curdling (I know, seems counterintuitive given the name of the recipe, but trust me you don't want chunks of scrambled eggs floating about in your otherwise perfectly delectable spread).  You'll need to slowly incorporate one quarter of the boiling juice into the rest of the egg and sugar mixture relatively slowly while whisking (ok now put those biceps into it!).  Then you'll be able to add the egg and sugar mixture into the rest of the hot mixture without ruining the overall texture of the product.

Obsession Tuesday!

It's Obsession Tuesday folks, the wonderful day of the week when I share a food related item that has me in a tizzy.  This week's item is often overlooked as simply an ingredient in a dip or topping on a salad, but it is so much more.  In fact, all by its lonesome it makes a wonderful snack.

I am conclusively, all together, heart and soul, obsessed with avocados.  They happen to be relatively inexpensive this time of year (my local market has had them 10/$10 for 2 weeks running) and are oh so delicious in the obligatory game day guacamole.  Being somewhat of a food purist (no fuss for me) I prefer to eat them like this:

Just a simple drizzle of olive oil, a few good grinds of cracked black pepper, sea salt, and a wedge of lemon to add a little zing. 

It's absolutely delicious and one of my all time favorite snacks.  I've been known to add a crusty piece of bread and a good hunk of cheese and call it a lunch.  Try it, you can thank me later.

And now a few little known facts about the mighty avocado:

The word avocado comes from the Aztec word for testicles due to their shape and the fact that they grow in pairs.  

It's also referred to as the alligator pear, which makes perfect sense when you consider the shape and that bumpy skin.



The avocado is a very successful cash crop for California where 95% of the United States avocado harvest occurs.

Like the banana it matures on the tree but ripens off the tree (bonus points, this is known as a climacteric fruit)

These little gems have 60% more potassium than bananas and are a source of heart healthy fats.

So eat up folks, the Governator will thank you!

It's Obsession Tuesday

I am food OBSESSED...this should not surprise anyone.  For the last three years I've risen every morning craving a spicy tuna handroll from here http://www.chibarstl.com/ (if you are ever in the area do not pass go, do not collect your $200, head straight here!)  Maybe it's the Scorpio in me, but I find myself getting wrapped around the axel about the most banal foodstuff.  Throw in a new product...and yowzah, I'm sold!  So every Tuesday I'll happily be sharing what I'm obsessed with in the world today, mostly food related, with perhaps a few extras thrown in for good measure.  And so without further ado I present to you:

What, you've never heard of Archer Farms?  Well allow me to enlighten you young jedi.  Archer Farms is a private label food brand brought to you by Target.  I had the pleasure of visiting a Target Megastore in Saint Paul, Minnesota over a friend's wedding weekend, and you would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  My husband was mortally embarrassed to be seen with me, squealing down the aisles, skipping and clapping like a 13 year old girl afflicted with Bieber fever.  People they sell everything here...you can buy a toothbrush, motor oil, and a porterhouse (yes they have a meat counter).  Now I know this sounds an awful lot like a Super Wal-mart, and truthfully it is, but it's Target people...is there really anything to argue about in this case.  But I digress.  Even if you aren't lucky enough to have one of these shopping meccas in your area, chances are your local Target is stocked with plenty of Archer Farms bounty, and much of the brand is worth a shot (skip the Macaroni and Cheese flavored potato chips, big disappointment) particularly the Sweet Cajun Trail Mix.  In fact Archer Farms has many an intriguing trail mix blend, but if you want a sure bet, go with this flavor combo.  You can't go wrong, it has butter toffee peanuts, spicy peanuts, toasted corn, honey sesame sticks, Cajun sesame sticks, and almonds!  It's the most remarkable combination of salty and sweet, and I'm warning you now, it's mucho addictivo!  I bought the biggest jar they had and nearly scarfed my body weight down in one setting...so don't say you haven't been warned when your significant other finds you in a food coma on the couch with little bits of toasted corn peppering your chest.