#105: Charcoal Peanuts

I just had to try these. When I saw Charcoal Peanuts listed on the web exclusive list of 15 extra Tastes to Try in 2007 I had no idea what they were. Now that I have ordered them and tasted them, I still don't know what they are!

About the size of a large olive, charcoal peanuts are black and airy. Inside is a peanut, but it is wrapped in the crunchy black coating. At first taste you only notice the peanut and don't get the point for the black coating, but a slight sweetness is noticed once you finish eating it. For some reason it reminds me of the black sand beaches in Hawaii. They are not Hawaiian however, they are from Japan. They are available at Grateful Palate for $9.95 and you get about twenty in the package.

Since I know I won't make all 100 of Food & Wine's Tastes to Try, I am borrowing some from this web list to try and make it closer to 100. One of the neatest things about trying to hit all 100 is finding unique food like these.

#96: Peperoni Cruschi

I received these dried Italian peppers from Zingermans several weeks ago but have not been quite sure what to do with them. I never would have thought to order them on my own, but it is my foodie duty to check them out since they are listed as #96 Peperoni Cruschi on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try.

Very mild chiles from the Massimo family in Basilicato are dried in the sun for a few weeks, fried in a bit of the farm’s own olive oil, then salted. The result is a sweet, smoky, salty, crispy sensation that’s quite habit forming.

I love roasted peppers, especially covered in olive oil and salt. But these are dried and I was not quite sure what to expect. I am told then can be eaten straight, maybe as part of an antipasti platter. And indeed I did try them this way. Honestly, they are just okay. They have some crunch, which is nice, but I don't really associate crunch with roasted peppers. As you can probably tell, I much prefer regular roasted peppers over these. And they should not even be compared because they are not even the same thing. But I just love roasted, oily and salty peppers so much . . .

My love of roasted peppers aside, these Peperoni Cruschi are a good way to add a unique bit of pepper flavor to food. I crunched them up and sprinkled them over some pasta. The flavor isn't over powering and it added an interesting texture to the dish. So they do have their unique place in the foodie world. But at $19 for about 15 small peppers and a $10 shipping charge, I will not be ordering them again.

#95: Piparras (Peppers from Spain)

Ingredients: Piparras, vinegar, salt, citric acid, ascorbic acid.
100% natural containing no preservatives or artificial flavors.
On my quest to taste as many food as possible on Food & Wine Magazine's 100 Tastes to try in 2007, I found myself ordering Spanish Matiz Piparras from Casa Oliver for $6.50 a jar. Piparras are a traditional long green pepper from the Basque Country of Spain. They are noted by Food & Wine as a food that is only recently available in the United States.

Kate at Kate in the Kitchen was the first to taste these peppers. She ate them with rustic bread and sprinkled them with olive oil and salt. She liked them but I was a bit skeptical since she described them as having a vinegary taste.

I had the jar sitting in my cabinet for about a week because I hadn't decided how I wanted to try them. I know it needed more than bread for me because I only like sweet peppers that way. Casa Oliver says "they make a wonderful accompaniment to Bonito tuna and smoked fish." So last night I finally grabbed them to add to my leftover red snapper. Before I mixed it into the salsa I ate one raw. NOT my thing! There is nothing about that pepper that I liked to eat it alone. It was nice mixed in with the sweetness of the fruit in my salsa because it added a different flavor.

So tonight I went all out and tried them again. This time I took six out of the jar, covered them with Greek Olive Oil and lots of salt. I had the same reaction with the first one I ate - ick! The flavor is just overpowering. But by the time I got to the third one, they weren't so jarring anymore and by the time I got to my sixth one I decided I liked them. My mouth just needed to warm up to them. And they are a bit spicy, it just doesn't hit you until you have a few.

There is one thing I think they would be perfect for. Hotdogs! Chicago-style hotdogs are served up on a poppy seed bun topped with mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt (and NO ketchup). Piparras taste almost exactly like those "sport peppers" except without the immediate heat.

#4: Biolea Organic Olive Oil, Imported from Greece

Sometimes I question all the different types of olive oil out there. When a recipe calls for extra-virgin olive oil, what difference does it make where it comes from? I usually use a high quality Italian olive oil. But after doing a little bit of research online I find out that there is an entire foodie universe dedicated to olive oils.

For me, I only can really taste the difference when I am eating something simple that shows off the taste of the oil. When adding it to recipes, I have a hard time noticing any difference. I am not a big fan of dipping oils. After a visit to Napa Valley in California several years ago I got into some dried herbs that you add to the olive oils for dipping. They are really great. But that phase passed and now I usually only dip bread in oil when in an Italian restaurant and the oil is piled with freshly grated cheese.

My favorite food to eat with olive oil is tomatoes. I absolutely love sliced tomatoes with olive oil and salt. Sometimes I add balsamic vinegar. When I'm ambitious I add fresh basil and fresh mozzerella to make a Caprese Salad. Lately, I have been eating more of a greek salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and feta cheese.

I purchased Biolea Organic Olive Oil since it was the brand suggested as #4 Greek Olive Oil on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try in 2007. It cost $30 and I ordered it from Kaliroi Imports. The Food & Wine taste-testers gave this organic olive oil high marks. Biolea olive oil is made with olives grown at the Astrikas Estate in Crete. Only their olives are used and it is not blended with olives from anywhere else which makes it stand apart from several other olive oils on the market.

Like Kristen at Dine and Dish, I tasted this Greek olive oil in a variety of ways. The very first was to dip my finger into the bottle as soon as I opened it. But as I mentioned above, I don't really get into plain olive oil. The smell is amazing though it it is quite different from the Italian and Spanish olive oils I had right next to it for comparison. Next, I dunked a few pieces of bread into each of the three oils and tasted it that way. The Spanish was the lightest, barely with an olive flavor. The Italian was the strongest as the olive flavor hit you right away. And the Greek olive oil was in the middle. At first it has a very light taste and the olive flavor comes through subtly, but you definately get the olive taste at the end. It seemed to have the most sophisticated taste of the three.

I had to taste it with some tomatoes to really get the full effect. I made Tula's Country-Style Greek Salad. I'm not sure what it was, but using the Greek olive oil instead of the Italian olive oil that I used last time really made this already awesome salad absolutely amazing. The olives, feta and Greek olive oil blended together perfectly. I also used the Biolea olive oil when making the Eggplant Ricotta Bake. In this dish the olive oil is used to brush on the eggplant slices before roasting. I tasted the roasted eggplant before I put the entire dish together and it was really nice. So I can see a high quality olive oil also being used when roasting vegetables. But when I took a bite of the finished lasagna, there were so many complex tastes I could not pick out the olive oil. So this confirms my theory about not using the super-expensive olive oil in recipes with a bunch of strong ingredients.

The Smart Egg

I can't decided if this is neat or strange. According to the UK's Times Online, the self-timing egg will become available in Britain this autumn. There are marks made with heat-sensitive invisible ink stamped on the egg shell. The stamps turn black as the egg heats, letting you know that your egg is soft, medium or hard-boiled.

A spokeswoman for Lion Quality Eggs, the service’s quality assurance scheme, said: “We had a lot of inquiries. We said OK, this is a big issue — people can’t even boil an egg.”

I will admit it. I am one of those people who doesn't know how to boil an egg. I use eggs mostly for baking. I can hard boil them if I must, but I only do that at Easter if I'm feeling nostalgic and I look up instructions online each time. My grand-mother used to make me soft boiled eggs when I was little, and I did like them, but I never make them now. I usually make my eggs sunny-side up (which I have perfected by the way). No recipes every call for soft-boiled eggs so why should I know how to cook them? I don't know how to microwave a hot dog either because cook them in boiling water on the rare occasion that I want to make one. So this novel idea of an egg (or a hot dog) that will tell me when it is done seems kind of fun to me.

What do you guys think? If something like this becomes available in the US (or wherever you live) will you buy them? I can see myself buying them once just so I can check it out. I supposed I will have to soft boil an egg then. . .

#97: A Spoonful of Honey

"The only reason for being a bee is to make honey.
And the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it."

Winnie the Pooh

Did anyone know that the bees from Africa make honey? When I think of African Bees I think of Killer Bees. One too many late night movies I suppose. Well, I'm glad they do because Zambezi Organic Forest Honey is really something special.

Hidden in a lush forest at the source of the mighty Zambezi River lives a special honeybee that feeds only on flowering trees. Gathered using sustainable methods, our traditional beekeepers help to preserve the forest as well as the bees.

I do not know much about honey and I am certainly no honey connoisseur. I purchase a bottle of honey from the local grocery store from time to time, mostly when it is called for in a recipe. When I have it in the house I sometimes add it to tea. The only reason I bought this special honey is because it is part of my project to taste each item on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try for this year. #97 on the list is African Honey. Zambezie Honey was the recommended honey from Food & Wine.

I used this honey when I made Corn Bread with Scallions. However the honey flavor was not very noticeable in that recipe. So to really try it, I had to be like Winnie the Pooh and just stick my paw in a take a taste. It is so good! Ever since I have been having a finger full each night, straight out of the jar.

Honey has become all the rage lately. It is coming is all sorts of flavors and from all parts of the world. In fact, I just ordered some Lavender Honey from Spain at Tienda.com earlier today. Zambezie honey is made in Africa. I purchased this 16-ounce jar online from Zambezie's website for $9.95.

Zambezie Organic Forest Honey honey has so many things going for it. It's organic so it comes from pure sources. The bees live wild in the forests near the Zambezi River of Africa. Since the bees are in their natural habitat, they do not feed on anything except their natural diet of wild flowers. Their website describes the taste: "You first discern a pleasant woodsy aroma, with hints of toasted caramel. The taste is slightly spicy, with subtle tangs of red currant. The warm amber hue is reminiscent of sunrise over the African forest." Doesn't that just sound delicious? I'm not the only one who thinks so . . . Kate from Kate in the Kitchen also gave it a positive review.

Have any of you tried or heard of any other interesting honey's lately? Also, does anyone have any creative uses for honey?

Biodynamic Wine: A Tasty Trend

I learned about something new with this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday theme: Biodynamic Wine. What is it? The best description is listed by Jack from Fork & Bottle who select the theme and is is hosting this month's event. But for the sake of simplicity, I'll define it as wine made from sustainable organic ingredients.

Biodynamics are not that easy to come by. I searched several online retailers, looking for organic and biodymanic wine but could not find any. Luckily, I stumbled upon an article that Food & Wine published in July, 2006 about biodynamic wine becoming the next trend. I searched the internet for the 12 wines recommended by F&W, not having much luck. I settled up on the 2003 Tandem Porter-Bass Vineyards Chardonnay ($48) which I ordered direct from Tandem Winery.

Tandem owners Greg La Follette and Greg Bjornstad source grapes from a host of great vineyards for their wines. Among them is the tiny Porter-Bass property in California's Russian River Valley, where biodynamic farming and miniscule yields help intensify the flavors of the grapes, as this vibrant, quince-flavored Chardonnay shows.

I chose the Chardonnay because it is currently my favorite wine. I seem to enjoy a nice cold glass of Chardonnay more often now that I live down here in Florida. I use to drink more red when I lived up north.

Jack stated that Biodynamic Wine always tends to have a pure fruitiness and I whole-heartedly agree. There was nothing oakey about this Chardonnay at all. I am not much of a wine-taster and do not usually have any luck picking out the specific flavors used in wines. Below is a description from the Gang of Pour:

This has a nose of spring flowers, white peach, mandarin, hay, mineral and limestone. It really reminds of a drinking a first rate Chablis. It offers a full viscous palate of ripe pear and Seville orange, concluding with a streak of harmonious lime acidity.

I shared this bottle with my friend Julie and her husband Jason. Jason is a wine drinker and Julie is not. We all liked it, even Julie. It is light and fruity. I will say that I had just brushed my teeth before I went over to their home and my first few sips were bitter because of it. I had to eat something to clear my palate! But once I did I was in pure heaven for two whole glasses.

Too bad more wineries are not producing biodynamic wine. People are getting more and more interested in pure products so I could see these wines becoming quite popular. And wine is something very interesting to be "organic" since so many different flavors can be incorporated to make a unique wine.

#76: Crispy Pineapples, Apples and Apricots

"real fruit, real taste, nothing else!"
I went digging for a midnight snack last night. I wanted something somewhat light so I tried the Crispy Apricots I received earlier that day from Crispy Green. My package from them included the 6-pack of Crispy Apricots and 6-pack of Crispy Pineapples that I ordered. It also included one package of the Crispy Apples that they provided as a free sample (unlike Kate at Kate in the Kitchen who received 2 free samples!). These Fruit Chips are really dehydrated fruit. I found them because they were listed as #76 on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try.

My first taste of the Crispy Apricots was a bit disappointing. The natural apricot flavor is there for sure, but I felt a bit tricked when eating these. They are crispy and LOVE crunchy snacks but there is no follow through. The fruit disintegrates on your tongue and I finished them feeling unsatisfied.

This morning I tried the Crispy Pineapples and I like them 10x better. They are somehow more fulfilling than the apricot. And pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. I became more excited about this product because the Crispy Pineapples are definitely something I would bring to work as a snack when I'm in a "healthy eating" mood. And since I am attempting to taste everything on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try, I tried the Crispy Apples next.

I really enjoyed the Crispy Apples. I think they are my favorite of the three I tried. They somehow keep the apple consistency after you chew them and they do not disintegrate as easily as the apricots. It may be that I am more familiar with apple being "crispy" because there are so many other apple flavored products out there.

Overall, I think these would be really good for someone who likes to bike or hike or camp alot. They are very tasty and would be a really great snack to throw in your backpack. They are as healthy as fresh fruit because all the nutritional value is retained in the freeze-drying process. I suppose anyone on the go alot would appreciate these, I however would rather have a granola bar or something else as a snack.

note* Each package of crispy fruit is 1 Weight Watchers point. Actually, you can have two packages and it still counts as only 1 point.

#15: Salty, Sugary, Crunchy. . . Popcorn!

I knew Aspen Kettle Corn was the first thing I wanted to order when I saw it listed as #15 on Food & Wine Magazine's 100 Tastes to Try in 2007. I love popcorn and it seemed more comfortable and familiar to me than other items on the list. I placed my order on a Sunday evening and received my popcorn the following Thursday. It arrived via U.S. Priority Mail. Their website mentions a two-bag minimum but somehow it allowed me to order only one. I wasn't paying attention, I thought I would get two. I wish I ordered six. Each bag is $6.00 and the shipping to Florida cost $7.50. And it is very, very much worth the price. I could smell it while I was carrying the box into my house and my mouth started watering while I was opening up my other mail.

Be warned if you try this: it is ADDICTING. You will CRAVE this. I couldn't stop eating it when I "tasted" it before dinner. And then I went at it again after dinner. Between those two sittings I ate half the bag. Just me, by myself. Well, my little parrot snuck a few kernels out of the bag and he loved it too. And of course I had to toss a few down to the dogs, but that only totalled about a handful. The rest was all me and I enjoyed every piggy bite of it. This is so good I'm going to be ordering it for my friends as housewarming presents and maybe place a few orders next Christmas.

Kristen over at Dine and Dish is spot on as she describes the back and forth between sweet and salty which you will experience. My first impression was that it reminded me of carmel corn. Very, very light and fresh carmel corn. And then the salt hit me and it reminded me of really good hot air popped popcorn. It is not greasy at all. And there is barely any corn syrup on it, just enough to give a nice, subtle sweetness. So it is still really healthy. There is no nutritional information on the package so I am not positive, but I think it is a pretty safe snack. I'd say it's great for the dieters out there to get a sweet fix in a healthy way, but I know there is no possible way to enforce any type of portion control because it's just too damn good.

So what are you waiting for? Go order some. Now. SOMEONE in your life has to like popcorn (if not you) and you will impress anyone you get this for. I know I'm going to be placing another order very soon.

Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try in 2007

An amazing foodie-list has been published. Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try in '07 can be found in the January, 2007 issue Food and Wine Magazine. This list describes all the new foods and wines to be on the lookout for in 2007 as well as suggested restaurants where you can find unique menu items.

My eyes kept opening wider and wider as I read some of the tasty foods! Things like Maple Flakes, a Veal-muenster Burger, Malt-ball Cake have me drooling. There are some recipes listed for some interesting original creations such as Dan Dan Noodles, Bacon Baklava, Pea and Mint Risotto, and Feta Cheesecake & Wine-Poached Dates. I am really looking forward to trying some of these.

Other observations: I guess Greek food is going to be very popular. Coming from Chicago, I have had alot of great meals in Greektown so I am familiar with most things. Microbreweries will start prodcing their products in aluminum cans. You have to travel far to eat a great meal in a fabulous restaurant.

Actually, that's the part of this list that bothers me. I don't like that they list restaurants. Not everyone can get to Melbourne for Australian wagyu rib eyes or visit Hong Kong to try scallop roe with roasted-potato ice cream. But with the use of the internet, people can find othe rare items on the list such as Aspen Kettle Corn, African spices, and Wild Artichokes.

A few upcoming cookbooks were also mentioned which I have already added to my wish list at Amazon.com. The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop seems like it will have a lot of good recipes. Fellow food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen was also highlighted. Many know from her popular Chocolate and Zucchini blog.

In order to keep track of all these fun samplings, I made the Food & Wine's "100 Tastes to Try in 2007" list at the Lists of Bests website. I have alot of fun at that site playing with all of the lists. Now you can too!