Dinner ala Kraft

I am on the email list for Kraft. Most of the recipes they sent me today sounded really good. But then I came across this in the middle of the email:



I thought at first Kraft meant you should make a casserole from Capri Sun, apples and macaroni [I must be really exhausted from final exams]. That aside, who would find that to be a filling dinner ? If cooking dinner is that much trouble, wouldn't it make more sense just to eat at a restaurant ?

Baja CA and Tropical Starburst

Thank you to Irish, Llana and Sarah for the reviews.

Starburst Baja fruit chew flavors: Limon, Strawberry Watermelon, Baja Dragonfruit, and Aztec Punch.

Starburst Tropical fruit chew flavors: Mango Melon, Pina Colada, Royal Berry Punch and Strawberry Banana.

Here is what my classmates and I thought of the candies:

- My opinion = The limon tasted so-so; the flavor was comparable to those green lollipops banks give out. The baja dragonfruit tasted like a mix of lemon and blue-raspberry Bubble Yum. I liked that one very much. The royal berry punch was terrible. It had an odd, cheap, heavy grape taste.

- Llana = "The orange one [mango melon] was tangy. The purple one [royal berry punch] was the best one. The second best one was the strawberry banana."

- Sarah = "I had the yellow one [pina colada]. It tasted like bananas."

- Irish = "They all tasted the same to me. I just really like them all !"

Recipes from the trial run

My group from culinary class did a trial run on Wednesday of the food we'll be serving at our final presentation dinner in 2 weeks. Our event has a jazz theme. I will post the pictures of the food and our table set up soon. The food was absolutely
out of this world : D Here is what we made:

Salad

A little bit of heavy whipping cream and white pepper made the dressing even better.

Cajun spiced chicken

Creole Meuniere Sauce

The sweetness of the creole sauce is a perfect match for the spice of the chicken.

Bourbon Street New York Strip Steak

American–style red beans and rice

Our next batch will have andouille sausage in it.

Bananas Foster

The dessert was heavenly. I normally think bananas are too gross to eat, but in this dessert they tasted amazing : D Ask my team members how many times I said this morning, "*sigh* I want another Bananas Foster."

Sources:

Warm Nut Encrusted Goat Cheese Salad with Bacon Lardons, Emeril Lagasse, 2003 Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Bistro Cooking, Food Network

Cajun Spiced Chicken, Submitted by: Jennifer Owen, AllRecipes

Pecan-crusted Trout with Creole Meuniere Sauce and Brabant Potatoes, Emeril Lagasse, 2003, Emeril LiveEpisode: In a Nutshell, Food Network

Bourbon Street New York Strip Steak, Submitted by: Mark Daniel, AllRecipes

American-Style Red Beans and Rice, Submitted by: LAURENB222, AllRecipes

Bananas Foster II, Submitted by: BUTTERMEBREAD, AllRecipes

Strawberry Chiffon Mousse

Thank you to Belinda for this recipe


10-MINUTE STRAWBERRY CHIFFON MOUSSE

1/2 cup (2 ounces) sliced almonds
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy cream, very cold
2 cups (16 ounces) strawberries, washed, hulled,
and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4 tablespoons rock sugar or 12 sugar cubes

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the sliced almonds on an unbuttered cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until golden-brown. Cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks and gently fold the strawberries and sugar into it. (Do not over mix the cream, or it will get too watery.) Sprinkle the browned almond slices over the top and serve immediately.

Source: Rocky and Judi's Recipe Pages, 10 Minute Strawberry Chiffon Mousse, Personal.palouse.net,

Spicy Crispy Beef

Thank you to Richelle's group for this recipe

Source: AllRecipes, Spicy Crispy Beef, Submitted by: Brent

Savory Grilled Country-Style Pork Ribs

My project group made those tonight. They came out nice : D

Sources:
"RIB-STICKERS: Fire up the grill -- from Korean short ribs to Southern favorites, it's time for barbecue," Tara Duggan, Chronicle Staff Writer, May 25, 2005,SF Gate, Home of the San Francisco Chronicle

Savory Grilled Country-Style Pork Ribs, From "Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook," by Ray Lampe (St. Martin's Griffin, 302 pages)

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

White chocolate raspberry truffle
"White chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirl and chocolate fudge truffles"

The raspberry swirls were just the right amount of sweetness, without leaving an artificial chemical taste. The fudge pieces were absolutely decadent and worth the calories ; ) The ice cream itself, however, does not taste of white chocolate. Stone Cold Creamery's white chocolate ice cream should have been used in this product to make it perfect.

Bailey's Irish Cream

My heavens, y'all. This one is off the charts good. My roommate had a pint of this in the freezer, so of course I had to go and find out for myself how it tasted. [No, I didn't dip into her ice cream]. This is a must buy for anyone who loves Bailey's and ice cream.

Yoplait Whips, Part 3

This is the last batch of the yogurt:
-Light and Fluffy Texture:Key Lime Pie Flavored: Note that there's no lime listed with the ingredients. This sort of tastes like that whipped cream, marshmallow, and lime dish you find at buffet salad bars.
- Chocolate Mousse Style: Chocolate Raspberry
- Light and Fluffy Texture: Lemon Meringue

These three were all extremely better than the chocolate mint yogurt. I would definitely buy these three flavors again.

Yoplait Whips, Part 2

After the debacle that was Chocolate Mint Mousse, I gave Yoplait Whips another chance. Today's yogurt cup was "Light and Fluffy Texture: Peaches 'N' Cream Flavored." It definitely tastes better than the mint mousse. Just one gripe, though: The yogurt is peach colored and has a chunky ["whipped"] look to it. Chunky substance + peach color = not appetizing. I just can't get past what it resembled : X I'll have to stick with the normal peach yogurt.

Fettuccine Recipe

My project group made this in culinary class the other day [No, we're not culinary majors]. It was so rich and creamy. *starry eyes*

Source: Fettuccine Pasta with Prosciutto, Peas, and a Cream Sauce, Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Food Network, 2004

Nexxt Cafe, Miami Beach, Florida

Nexxt Cafe
700 Lincoln Rd
Miami Beach, FL 33139-2814
Phone: (305) 532-6643

Thank you to Aldo for this review

"If you want to sit outside in Lincoln Road Mall and enjoy a delicious place to eat lunch or dinner, this is the place to be at. Great staff of people that know their menu, too. The food is tasty and delicious. The portions are usually HUGE, more like for 4 people. Killer meat loaf, spicy chicken strips with a mountain of mashed potatoes and ahi tuna appetizer, pizza, burgers, all is yummy here. Overall, Nexxt Cafe is worth trying."

Yoplait Whips

I am normally a big fan of Yoplait products. I love chocolate, too. So I was pleased to find Yoplait's new line of Whips at Winn-Dixie. I didn't pay much attention to what I had picked up; all I noticed on the label was "Chocolate Mousse Style."

I ate the yogurt with my lunch this afternoon. My first reaction was "Eh, this has an odd kick to it...." Then I noticed the container said "Chocolate Mousse Style: Chocolate Mint." I really enjoy mint and chocolate together, but Yoplait did a poor job pairing the two flavors together. I never would have guessed that was supposed to be mint flavored yogurt : P

I have five more flavors of Whips in the fridge. Hopefully those will not be as awful as the chocolate mint : /

Two thumbs down for Yoplait Whips [Chocolate Mousse Style: Chocolate Mint]

Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate

I bought a bar of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate on the trip back to Miami on Sunday. My first impression, after eating 4 squares, was that it did not taste any better or worse than the other dark chocolate bar by Hershey's. But the Dr. Pepper I was drinking probably masked the flavor difference.

I had two more squares of the bar today. I can really taste the difference between the older version and the Special version now. The Special bar left an unpleasant grainy taste, similar to that of poor quality powdered cocoa mixes. Hershey's lists it on their website as "The Dark Chocolate For Milk Chocolate Lovers," whatever that means.

Two thumbs down for Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate.