Merry Christmas

Glad Yuletidings everyone, it's finally here. The day we have all (maybe not all but certainly a majority) been waiting for. The day when we forget all our issues and grievances with each other and get along. The cynic in me would like to question why humanity needs a special day in order to unite. However I usher him out the living room for at least today. Pretty sure that makes me both a miserable person and a hypocrite not sure which is worse.

Anyway yes it's Christmas and I truly wish everyone an amazing day. Even if it is only a day I hope you get what you want even if it's just a break. If you don't celebrate Christmas well then I wish you a Merry day in general and hope you have a great time.

So it's the last day of my advent challenge what could I possibly be reviewing? Well I still have a bag full of Christmas themed stuff so the possibilities are vast and I'll be doing festive products for a while I fear. But not today, no festive sweets will be reviewed. Today I will review Christmas Lunch after all what else would be appropriate?

Now this won't be a specific review of any one lunch I've had, firstly as every lunch is a massive effort on whomever is cooking and they always do an amazing job. Secondly the last lunch I had wasn't in too recent memory and as of writing I haven't had this years. So instead I will review the idea of Christmas Lunch in general!

I was going to go through traditional items you would find on your plate and talk about them, but that doesn't seem like such a cool plan now. So instead I'll wing it and type as I think. This is probably not a great idea but lets see what happens! Every meal consists of those traditional staples, love o hate the you've got to have them. That's especially true of the polarizing Parsnips and Sprouts. Why these two veg separate us as a species baffles me, it's as bad as the marmite vs vegimite vs neither argument. Yet even the most ardent of haters will on this special occasion humor the idea of eating them. Even if it is just to chew them then spit them out. Myself I love them both although a few years ago I hated them.

There always meat unless your a vegetarian, the old traditional meat was of course Goose, at one point because it was a cheap and plentiful bird so even poor families had a special meat. Ironically now it is a bird with the highest price an barely anyone has it. To me it has to be turkey although not many others agree. Usually the go to meat now is either chicken or pork.

The highlight for many is the infamous "pigs in blankets" a weird combination of bacon wrapped around sausage (so meat with more meat) that people go crazy for. Why do we only feel like we can eat these at Christmas yet mourn their passing so much. Surely if we did away with their time constrants we would all be happier as a species. A quick shout out now for the potatoes who should be roasted till they re burnt to a near crisp but not blackened.

But what makes Christmas lunch really special is sharing it with family and friends. Yes by the end of the night you'll be sick of them (and indeed divorce rates are highest around January as people realize they can't stand each other in large doses), but for a few hours we sit round a table and talk. We talk without the distractions we often have like TV or walls. We joke, we share stories, we pull a few crackers and wear the silly hats and generally enjoy each others company. However we must spare a thought for those who don't have the opportunity of friends and family, those alone or without Christmas. We should remember how lucky we are even if it's just for today and tomorrow.

Not wanting to end on a sombre thought I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Thank You for reading my post today and any other day you may have. It means a lot to me that you would take time out of your day for me. I have a big announcement coming in a week on New Years day about the future of this blog. Until then I'l keep posting when I can and hopefully get through all my festive items finally.

Overall have a great day and hope the build up was worth the pay off.

Score
Christmas dinner 9 out of 11

Found
On the plate in front of you on the 25th of December

Final Thoughts
Have a wondrous day

Frantic Festivities!

Well I hope that like me by now you have Christmas pretty much wrapped up! Sorry about that pun but I have just literally finished my wrapping and quite proud of the parcels beneath the tree. I know it seems like I've left it to the last minute but have no fear I spread my workload over the last week. Meaning no rushing and panicking at the last minute, in theory.

In reality I was having to frantically finish a few of them due to running out of paper and doing a mad dash down town before they shut. Seems I wasn't the only one too as I had a hard time finding any suitable paper. Luckily I found a few Disney themed rolls that were just about gender neutral enough to do for everyone. But at least now it's done and I can relax indoors and take shelter until the boxing day sales are well underway. Much safer especially when you factor in the town shaking weather we had last night.

Festive feces... I mean faces, festive faces

Now I am safely inside I can curl up eat some treats and tell you about them. I have a fair few too. We have biscuits, chocolates, bread and pies. I know a hectic post for you today, but it is the festive season and I thought I'd make the effort. So without further ado the first item is a McVitie's festive face. The reason for this is that on returning I was in desperate need for Tea and therefore a biscuit too. I wasn't expecting much from these if I'm honest, really I only bought them because they scared/amused me. They are pretty much BN's (if you remember those!) I think but with the shape of a jammy dodger. Basically a double copycat and fiend then. They taste like the old BN biscuits too, the biscuit base and lid is a vanilla tasting rich tea type affair and the jam and cream taste sweet and chewy. They aren't bad just a bit boring, to me at least. Let's face it the only reason people liked the BN biscuits was because of the advert and the chocolate version. These have neither and their expressions are terrifying!

This will forever haunt my dreams!

Next American chocolate with a Reeces snowman and Christmas tree and a Butter fingers coin. The tree and snowman are the same as the Pumpkin version I reviewed for Halloween. Delicious Reeces milk chocolate covering a beautiful peanut butter paste. A perfect mix of sweet and salty as always. The Snowman is a beast too, I had expected him to be like a hollow Easter egg but no it is all chocolate and paste no air at all. By the time I finish this I'll be so full I won't have room for turkey. Seriously though this thing weighs 141 grams and is nice to see dedication from a company. The Butterfinger coin achieves a similar balance but the milk chocolate isn't quite so sweet. The peanut in this is also small crispy flakes of peanut paste that creates the effect similar to a chocolate bar with cereal pieces like crunch. But with a great nutty taste to it.

All looking rather... cool

Now we visit Italy in the form of a traditional festive treat called Pannetone. Which is a fruity bread similar to Brioche or a hot cross bun. As I bit into it I found it a bit hard and dry but this soon changed as I began to detect the fruit that was mixed in. The taste as I say is very similar to other fruit breads with orange seeming to be the dominant flavour. The combination of fruit peel and raisins gives it a nice texture mix. It goes really nicely with some tea and coated in butter.

Lastly as you can see this has been a long post, it has been a bit of work for me and I now need something to fortify my nerves. Which calls for alcohol and in particular a festive liquor, Brandy. Thankfully MrKipling was kind enough to oblige in these deep fill Brandy mince pies. Now as I have mentioned I'm not a fan of mince pies, especially when they arn't homemade. But these are different enough to peak my interest. They arn't too bad but still suffer from the soft waxy pastry problem that mass produced pies have. Aside from that though they taste pretty good. The Brandy isn't too sharp and the filling isn't too sweet. The flvours mix to some extent not amazingly however.

Overall it's been a hectic day and a hectic challenge. With one final post before completion I'll be glad when I ca stop eating tinsel!

Score
Festive Faces - 4 out of 11
Reeces - 9 out of 11 plus 1 for effort
Butterfingerz - 8 out of 11
Brandy Mince pie - 6 out of 11

Found 
Festive faces in Poundland
Reeces and Butterfingerz in American import stor (although the snowman was Tesco)
Brandy mince pies in Sainsburys

Final Thoughts
I'm so full of merriment it hurts, damn yuletide!

Curious Christmas combination

I know what you’re wondering, what could possibly have STOLLEN my attention today? Well I have a plethora of pleasantries for pursuing. I know that alliteration there was so good right, it really took the CAKE. Okay I’m going to stop with the terrible hint puns before you think me a right PUDDING. I must be driving you NUTS.

                

Definitely stopping after that one as in all honesty the one the nuts pun refers to isn’t too nut centric. Moving swiftly on for we have a few to get through today I’ll begin with the Stollen. Probably the most traditional of the four as not only is it festive but it is also German. As I have talked about before Germany is where most of our holiday hang ups originate from. Surely that makes this cake about as festive as you can get.

Thankfully it was only a small slice

 It’s an odd one too the cakes themselves are an amalgamation of soft pastry, fruit and marzipan. An odd combination that actually tastes rather nice, and like this one if made well creates an interesting cooling sensation in the mouth befitting of the season. The pastry is soft and moist and melts nicely on the tongue. The marzipan tastes of sweetened almonds and gives the pastry a nice sugary kick. Then the fruit and spice mixture brings the usual festive tastes that are ever present on our tongues right now. Altogether it creates a great Christmas treat that in my opinion I nicer than what we have adopted.

               

 Over here in England we have Christmas cake, not as fun to say and nowhere near as nice to eat. A combination of fruit, suit and breadcrumbs creating an often dry fruit cake base topped with marzipan and the royal icing. I’m really not a fan, usually when presented with these cakes I tend to eat the icing and marzipan and little else. I find it too dry and dull for my likings. To me, cake has to be sweet, moist and mostly chocolate. The version I tried is from Costa and whilst quite nice and more importantly very small still had the dryness and lack of interesting flavours for me.

                

Puddings in disguise

Next we have a deceiver in our midst for this may look like the traditional festive pud topped with sauce and holly, but take a closer look and that holly looks a bit too perfect. Another give away is that it is clearly made from Rice Krispys and chocolate. It’s a cool little thing I saw in local bakery and had to try, after all it is festively themed. However when I got home I was a little worried. The Krispys were falling off a rapid rate and they seemed a bit dull in colour. I realized that the chocolate in the mixture may have been lacking in aid of a batch bake. Undeterred however I tried a chunk and was pleasantly surprised. The cereal at first tasted a bit stale, but that was to be expected. The surprise was how the chocolate mixture tasted rather chocolaty and quite buttery. The combination worked well and tasted of sweet chocolate butter. I can tell you it didn’t last much longer and crumbled away to nothing.

                

With these Raffaellos I am really being spoiled

Lastly we have some snowball like Ferrero Roche’s, or rather their white chocolate coconut brother Raffaello. I never really eat Ferrero Roche’s that much; they aren’t the sort of thing you buy when you want a quick chocolate fix. I also don’t get invited to many Ambassador Balls and so don’t see many of the pyramid offerings of them either. Yet the fact that these versions only appear this time of year made me eager to buy a box just to try. Am I glad I did? Yes, Yes I am. These taste great with a crispy coconut outside a creamy nutty inside and a whole Almond all offered in one hit. They taste very luxurious without being too rich and filling as the regular ones have in the past. These have a great coconut and milky chocolate taste that ends with a great nutty crunch.

                

Overall I love most of today’s products except ironically the one we hold dearest to our hearts in this country. I say we adopt more German traditions and take on the Stollen.

Score

Christmas Stollen -  8 out of 11

Christmas cake - 4 out of 11

Rice Krispy pudding - 6 out of 11

Raffaelo - 9 out of 11

Final Thoughts

Only eight more days left, I can't believe it!

Holland & Barret mincemeat Flapjack

Wow, day fifteen already. I can’t quite believe it if I’m honest, only ten days left now until the big nights finally upon us. All this build up and excitement leading to a single day. Problem is once you pass that day all you have left are the remnants. Quite literally on Boxing Day, the day we now observe basically for the purposes of eating leftovers and not feeling lazy. At one time Boxing day was a time to leave a festive tip for your post or milk man. Now who even has a milkman? And the postman’s always late anyway.

Still another day brings another festive item in line with my advent challenge. I’m doing well so far and despite a rather hectic schedule (that doesn’t mean I have a social life, believe me) I have posted each and every day. Today of course is no different and I have two traditional treats for you today, well not amazingly traditional. Not at all really apart from the fact that contain festive iconology (fancy word right?), really I just like the phrase traditional treats.

Why would he need a wand, he has teeth

First up we have something that doesn’t exactly pop into one’s mind when I think yuletide and that’s a jelly lolly pop. These things are great for seasonal holidays however as you can pretty much put any form of icing on top and deem it appropriate. This time in light of the holiday they have chosen a stocking and Polar bear motif. Polar bear seems to be an odd choice, odder still is he seems to have a fairy wand. Truly this embodies the spirit of the season perfectly, No I’m not buying it either.

It has a nice solid jelly texture to it with a nice dusting of sugar; the icing is rock solid royal icing and definitely has teeth shattering potential. The jelly tastes really nice actually, which is a nice change from the usual quality of the bargain jelly pops you get near the counters. Even more surprising is when you consider there is no sign of a company name on the product. It has a nice sweet strawberry taste to it that tastes rather fruity. The icing of course just tastes of sugar but really its only purpose is to differentiate the product from the Easter version that comes out next week. Possibly a Triceratops with some kind of diving rod, if this one’s decoration is anything to go by.

Doesn't look it but it is nice

 Next up we have a festive flapjack from Holland and Barret. Again flapjack isn’t really what I picture this time of year. But like the jelly pop you can pretty much add anything to a flapjack to make it current.  Quite a good unintentional pun was made there when you consider this bar has currents in it. Basically it is a normal oaty flapjack with some mincemeat added for Xmas measures.
That isn’t to say it’s not nice, it is and indeed since finding these I’ve taken advantage of the stores two for one mix and match policy while these are around. The flapjack has a soft and crumbly texture to it. Maybe a bit too sticky but that’s thanks to the syrup. Which is needed as it makes it taste beautiful, honestly these melt in your mouth first with the taste of a mince pie and then with a syrupy aftertaste. There is a nice dusting of icing sugar on top too, invoking a sense of snow… or dandruff.  

Overall both of these products whilst not exactly quintessential for Christmas are a nice little passing attraction.

Score
Polar bear jelly pop - 7 out of 11
Mincemeat Flapjack - 9 out of 11

Found
Polar bear pop came from Superdrug and the Mincemeat Flapjack can be found in Holland and Barrets

Final Thoughts
Why were the company too ashamed to put the name on it?

Joy's Ginger buns and Frangipan Mince Pies

Wow, is it already the sixth of December? We are over a fifth of the way there to festive family fun. Goes so quickly, it won’t be long until the second of January when we emerge bleary eyed and amazed we have to wait another year. It is odd after months and months of build-up often Christmas is gone after just a week.

Months of panic buying, panic preparing and panic baking. If you do it right though, it is definitely worth the hassle. Christmas creates some magical moments if you let it, especially when baking’s involved. There’s nothing quite like settling round the TV with “the folks” and enjoying a warmed mince pie. Roaring fire in the corner, bellies so full already that you can’t actually move. Yet somehow there’s definitely room for that warm pie and indeed I will have some brandy butter.

Look a candle!

That’s a lovely image to have in your head to power you through the last few weeks. In reality by the evening everyone’s fed up of each other, the kids want to play with prezzies, adults want to just sleep and Grandmas just done or said something unpleasant. But you know what keeps its special nature that homemade mince pie, you know unless it’s Mr Kiplings.

Why do I present these pictures for you? Well todays review is a little different and a little special too. I have two items for you that were homemade with love. Made by my wonderful Girlfriends mum, who is eagerly getting into the festive mood and baking up a storm. Except that last week we had a ground almond stock emergency and had to do some extra scouting to track the blighters down. In celebration of our success she baked thank you ginger buns (which I love) and Frangipane Mince Pies, which I have never tried but was more than a little intrigued.

His happiness was not to last...

Now I know, in context can I be completely impartial in this review you ask. Well not really I guess for one both my Girlfriend and her mum could possibly read this. However I will attempt to review them as I do with any item given to me and try to remain impartial. Not that I think it will be a problem the ginger buns especially are always good (don’t get me started on the crumbles!)

So first up ginger buns, that’s what they are called and essentially what they are. You may know them as fairy cakes or mini cupcakes depending on your vocabulary. Either way these are slightly more special than usual by featuring an icing topping with a miniature gingerbread man for added love. The cakes themselves taste as great as ever, with a light fluffy texture and a subtly sweet butter taste. Then you come across a small piece of stem ginger and get an intense fiery kick that adds even more excitement.

He met an unfortunate "accident"

I will admit I took more pleasure in slowly consuming the gingerbread man limb for limb than I’d like to admit. Then again that’s where the fun is, poor guy by the end he was barely a bow tie! Then I moved on to a pie, a new concept for me this one. I’m use to my mince pies being topped by more pastry, which if I have to admit I’m not found of due to the fact that I get a bit board by pie crust. So these seem like an awesome idea, instead of the usual pastry on top, is a layer of marzipan and then flaked almonds.

Tasted amazing, totally unbiased... honest

The result tastes great with the combination of buttery pastry, mince pie filling and almond topped marzipan is great! They somehow all hit you at once in a lovely blend and yet also are unique enough that you can pick out each layer. I’m not sure what parts my favourite but I’m going to hedge my bets and say the top layer, it tastes sweetly of almond and has the flaked nuts on top for added crunch and texture. I don’t know why shops don’t sell these; Mr Kipling does about five types of mince pie but all pretty much the same.

Overall these were amazing, but then again they were bound to be. No, not because I’m biased, but because they were homemade and that made them special.

Score

Ginger Bun - 8 out of 11

Frangipan Mince Pie - 9 out of 11

Found

A tupperware box presented to me.

Final Thoughts

What should I bake in return?

Reece's Peanut butter cups minis and miniatures.

               Is big really better? Surely quantity is preferable to size too? Okay before you readers get the wrong impression I should perhaps explain. After all you might get the wrong end of the stick.

           

I am of course talking about sweets as usual, what else could I possibly be talking about? Honestly get your minds out the gutter people. No, I'm talking about two miniature versions of full size favorites of mine. These items are mini Reece’s pieces cups in both milk and white chocolate varieties.

          

  I can't tell you how excited I was when I found these, other than saying I may have let out a little squeal. However it was a very manly man squeal I can assure you. This was immediately followed by me practically throwing them in the basket and skipping to the checkout. See how manly that is. Before we look at the source of most of my excitement (the white chocolate cups) I will first look at the milk chocolate. I'm attempting some kind of buildup.

            

Sometimes, for some reason when companies change the size of their products they somehow change the taste. Usually it has detrimental effect. Perhaps the use of usually is a bit of a spoiler about my feelings towards these products. Indeed these are great, perhaps better than the usual Reece’s peanut cups.

           

Maybe because it’s more compact thus making the flavor seems more intense. For they are. When I popped one into my mouth I find these to be much stronger in flavour. It still maintains the usual sweet milky and fudge-like chocolate that tastes amazing especially when combined with the peanut paste. They definitely taste better to me than the usual cups; clearly a difference in displacement makes a real difference. Perhaps because you’re taking in the full experience at once that makes it better.

           

Now on to the White chocolate caps, these have two added bonuses before we even get to the taste test. (Not that there is any competition here, they are after all brothers... or sisters, siblings basically) The first benefit is that they are slightly bigger than the others, yes I'm a hypocrite and secondly they come in friggin foil and paper cups!

            

Right at this point I'm going to draw your attention to my post where I talk about expectations. That’s what I thought when I took my first bite into these babies. It has the same almost sickly sweet white chocolate as usual cups and the regular bitty peanut paste. Yet somehow it didn't taste as good as my favorite big cup variety. Then I took a bigger bite, and boy was I wrong. The shift in size has allowed for a slightly larger block of nutty goodness and creates a more intense flavor hit.

          

  Overall bigger is definitely not better as both of these products show. So yeah, don't judge on size people. 

Score

Milk cup - 7 out of 11

white cup - 9 out of 11

Found

Milk cup found in Tesco and White cups found in ASDA.

Final Thoughts

I think I've been rather contradictory in today's post sorry, blame excitement.

Ringtons Gingersnaps

It's one of those reviews again, by that I mean a biscuit review. Don't be put off by that line' 
after rereading that I've realized it sounds a bit negative. I more meant that I do quite lot of these 
reviews. Mainly because biscuit are a big part of my day (wow I have an exciting life) and if I'm 
honest something I look forward to in my day.

Free Teas always tantalizing

Each day just as I'm flagging that cup of coffee and sweet treat give me the boost I need to 
carry me through. Today the choice is even better as the biscuit I have, here to try was a FREE 
SAMPLE!!! Picture the scene, I'm fighting my way through the hordes of Christmas shoppers. 
Feeling scared, claustrophobic and generally in need of some personal space. Then as I walk past 
someone I had just perceived to be 'some guy' I found a bag thrust toward me.

Funny how sometimes you don't realize something magical has happened until your too far to 
give proper thanks. For it turns out that 'some guy' was actually my savour and the bag contained 
the magical happening. Two free samples, a heavenly combination of a new tea brand and a 
gingersnap biscuit. Did he know when he handed me this bag how appropriate it was? Two of my 
favourite essentials (for they are indeed) in one coveniant carrier. So when today as I dropped my 
pick me up was completely Gratis!

They have the look of the biscuits you get in hotel rooms... good ones

These both come from a company called Ringtons, after a quick check of their website I can 
assume that these guys kind of know teatime. This gives me reassurance in the likely outcome of 
these products. After all if they choose to specialise in my favourite time of the day I need to know 
that experience falls to experts. Not only that but the biscuits in question are Gingersnaps, lets 
face it this blog has a bit of a record with gingery goodness. These are mainly due to my exacting 
standards but hey it's a personal issue to work through.

The tea itself is Assam and smells amazingly potent which is a great sign of a strong brew. In my 
opinion for my enjoyment the tea mus have strength. It needs to knock some sense into me, and 
believe me that takes some power. Unfortunately I can't review these today because of lacking in 
the kettle department. But I can still try the biscuit with a compulsory cup of Starbucks.
As I open the pack I'm immediately hit by a powerful ginger aroma one that sends me chills of 
anticipation at the prospect of finally having a taste fiery enough for me. I bite down and so seems 
does it. This thing is certainly solid, great crunch and an intensely ginger taste that improves if left 
on the tongue.

Certainly looks as solid as it feels!

I try dunking it in my coffee and try the biscuit as nature intended. Warm, softened and infused 
with bitter back coffee. The result creates a great combination where the sweetness of my treat 
blends with the bitterness of the coffee. Ringtons have this combination nailed. The sting in this 
tail is this, however, it would seem for more supplies I'm going to need to order directly from 
them. Something I don't like doing, complications right?

Score
9 out of 11

Found
In an awesome most importantly free sample bag

Final Thoughts
I may have to go shopping more often!

Toffee Time Troubles

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot. If your English this phrase will be a clear sign of something for you, that Autumn is well and truly upon us. You know as if the Christmas stock banaza that begins in June hasn't already given you clues.If your American I don't know what your reminder is perhaps giant inflatables floating past your window or every product incorporating pumpkin.

Apples wrapped in anything, another tradition

Well what ever your idea of what it means to be Autumnal, I have a couple of appropriate products today ready for review. Both of these products are traditional firework night treats here in Britain, toffee. To those who don't know fireworks night is when we celebrate a man who failed to kill our king and government, I don't know why everyone views us British as a cynical bunch. I understand how we choose to celebrate with fireworks, there is a clear link there to the attempt to blow up Parliament. Not quite sure why Toffees traditional candy for the day though, surely it should be popping candy.

Anyway so today's item is a British tradition and tomorrow I'l do some American traditions for Autumn, see I'm not biased. The toffee in question is rather special too and comes from my recent trip to Cumbria, where I found a shop called 'The Toffee Shop' in Penrith (know your product well I guess). According to the tourist information this was the place to go for toffee treats. Disappointingly the shop only does two types of toffee and three types of fudge. Although by the signs of the fudge samplers I had I was in for a treat.

It's all in the name

The first type is your typical treacle toffee, handmade on the premises they proudly proclaim. I'm not a big fan of treacle but when in Penrith do as the... Penrithians do? I found the chunks to be very sweet and very hard. Exactly what you want in toffee really, it had a great bite and it didn't take too long to soften enough to be chewed. The taste was very much treacle but it managed to be the right level of sweetness throughout and I saw why these guys were experts in their craft.

They don't really look appetizing, but they are!

The next piece was some of their butter toffee and this is when their love of toffee clearly lies. Again these chunks are pretty solid and my dentist was on hand ready to fix breakages. The taste was amazing at first I got a kick of sugar. This was soon complimented by a creamy, salty butter taste that created a sublime combination. Again it's no wonder these guys have a name for themselves, even if it is rather product restricting.

Overall these were nice, although the fudges they make were to me much nicer. I did buy rather a lot of fudge to keep me stocked if I'm honest. See you tomorrow for Pumpkins galore!
Score
Treacle Toffee- 6 out of 11
Butter Toffee- 9 out of 11

Found
The Toffee Shop, Penrith

Final Thoughts
Hope everyone's celebrations went off with a bang over the weekend!

I let down my hair!!!

Guess where today's item comes from. Go on bet you can't think. Where's the last place you would expect to find me one of the most unsophisticated people around. Someone who shuns refinery in favour of the quick and the sweet.Times up!

Now you better sit down for this one, I was at the ballet! Or rather the ballet came to my town and I went along for a gander. Now normally I wouldn't be too fussed about dancing and a prancing but a few reasons struck a cord. Firstly my girlfriend (insert amazing here) wanted to go, secondly the show was a darkish telling of Rapunzel. But finally because a trip to any theater brings an interval and that means Ice-cream. All three of these meant I was looking forward to today and the possibilities ahead.

The hair aspect is an odd thing to focus on as it didn't feature much.

The show was really cool, believe me I only go to the theater for comedy shows usually and have never seen anything to do with dancing in my life. But the dark and haunting soundtrack, coupled with the earthy tones was amazing and the all important interval became less important and quick to come around. I can strongly recommend the Lorent Ballet's telling of the Rapunzel fairy tale tour dates can be found Here.

I don't quite know when toffees considered old... or English

Before the ensuing ques and hordes of show seekers descended upon the trays of ice cream I flew to be ahead of the curve. On offer before me wasn't just the trio of Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate I had expected. No also there was Mint Choc Chip (not a fan sorry), Honey and Ginger (tempting). But there literally the last pot was the one for me Minghella's Old English Toffee. I snatched this up without even thinking of where the spoon was or if it was included. To be honest in the state of excitement I was in I would have shoveled with my palms like a meercat.

I quickly popped the lid and found the spoon within. Now the problem occurred for my ice cream routine tells me to wait for the second half and for the ice cream to melt before digging in. This is very difficult as you can imagine. I stared longingly at a beautifully beige frozen dessert with rather large looking chunks of burnt toffee. The wait seemed unbearable. Then the curtains rose the lights went down and the ballet and binging begun.

They look and feel really fancy!

The ice cream was great a lovely sweet and almost salty tasting ice cream. Really good quality no wonder the outside packaging boasted of it's heritage. The little pieces of toffee worked great adding crunch and bursts of toffee that I love. The only drawback was that the second half was shorter than the first and was over in what felt like ten minutes.

Overall I had an amazing night, show was great and the ice cream wasn't bad either. Now you weren't expecting me to say that ever. were you?

Score
Ice-cream - 9 out of 11

Found
Local Theater in those cool ice-cream tray things the users have.

Final Thoughts
I feel so manly after this post, well kinda, well not at all actually. But I'm loving it!!!

I fly High with the Bird's and Elephants!!!

 You know what really sucks about holidays? The last day, not only have you got to pack up everything but you need to travel to get home too. Every time is the same too no matter how much extra space you leave to compensate you still don’t have enough case room for all your souvenirs. Then there’s the weather, usually it’s either the best day all week the sun bearing down on you as you struggle with the cases. Or worse it’s pouring with rain and reflects your already dull and damp mood. (In scriptwriting this is called pathetic fallacy.)

As you may be able to guess my holiday is over, the cars packed and physically I’m ready to leave. Mentally I won’t to stay and the thoughts of the six hour car journey do nothing to sweeten my mood. Thankfully we are stopping over at relatives at the half way point to give ourselves a bit of a break. Let me tell you after sitting in the cramped car for so long that stop over will feel like another mini holiday!

Going to miss this scenary

I also have the thoughts of the home cooked meal we have to look forward to when we arrive as well, something we’ve missed out on recently. Don’t get me wrong the food was but it wasn’t exactly prepared with TLC. No, most of the time it was plainly obvious the only warmth coming from the food was an aftereffect of the radiation waves. Nothing can beat a good home cooked meal, unless it comes served with a certain pastry from the famous local Bakery.

The local baker in question is Bird’s bakery, a name spoken with the highest esteem and usually followed by a sigh of fond memories. Their products often form the benchmark for anything similar, with two products especially that cause instant salivation. These two are their sausages; I have yet to find a banger that even comes close to beating them. Then in the dessert corner their Elephant’s foot cake (not as grotesque or illegal as it sounds!)

Even the boxes look elegant, simple yet amazing

Today’s review is of said Elephant’s foot, I’ll try for something more than “Oh God Yes!!!” I’ll begin by describing it, essentially it is a big round éclair yet it’s so much more. A dome of beautifully delicate puff pastry severed in two and filled with home-made fresh whipped cream. Somehow this cream is both sweet and light in a way no other whipped cream I’ve ever tasted is. The dome is then covered in a generous layer of thick and gooey milk chocolate that’s set to fudge like consistency. In all its perfection on a plate, to be served alone as any compliment would be an insult.

I love to savour these obviously, and when such care has been taken to craft such treat I’ve developed a certain ritual. I start with the bottom half topped with the cream. Then once that’s been finished and every speck of creams gone I start on the top, working my way around the edge in a spiral like motion to the epicentre of chocolate. This may sound extreme but it make these bad boys last.

Take it in while it lasts, which won't be for long!

The pastry is light and airy that you barely feel any weight on the fork; it carries a very subtle taste that’s never stale. When mixed with the cream a light sugary taste is added that somehow doesn’t feel any heavier than without it. A delicately milky cream taste is the aftertaste once the sugars gone. It’s somehow deliciously creamy without being sickly sweet or making you feel guilty for indulging.

The top half is slightly thinner and yet made heavier by the chocolate. It’s thick and fudgy to the point where a knife is more suited to cutting it than the edge of a fork. Tasting milky and very chocolaty it melts in your mouth perfectly leaving the pastry behind with a chocolate hint to it. Whilst I do separate the layers like an insane person, if taken all in at once is just as good. As all the layers complement each other perfectly and never feels like you’re eating too much like most éclairs do. To me though all at once leaves it all over too soon and you can’t quite appreciate the different tastes on offer.

Overall not much else I can say except “Oh God Yes!!”

Score

9 out of 11

Found

Bird's bakery

Final Thought's

Their pig's are fed on the cakes they don't sell is what I've been told.

New Nestle Wonka Nice Cream

It must have been fate, or destiny, a great combination of them both perhaps? Nope I’m not talking about how I met my beautiful girlfriend that was much more wondrous (she says she reads my blog!) I’m talking about the amazing coincidence that occurred and how I finally found the new Nestle Wonka bars!

The coincidence is that last night I watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and that today I found these bars on sale! Not only that the shop in question was one I’d never entered but passed when on the bus and today I thought I’ll walk home. See and believe in fate readers because this truly shows it in action.  Since hearing about their announcement I have been scouting any and all shops I pass in the vague chance they may have early stock. After a few weeks I won’t lie my morale was low. Hence why I watched the film to cheer me up and give me hope and clearly it gave something.

Look at it and bask in it's glory.

I thought considering that Kev’s snack reviews have reviewed the Millionaires Shortbread variety here that I’d review the Chocolate Nice Cream today. So without further ado and with much excitement I’m off. Firstly the packaging is pretty bold and invokes the Wonka-esque style we can imagine coming from the book/film. It describes the bar as “Smooth vanilla cream topped with chocolate sauce”. Worryingly this description seems both rather reserved and similar sounding to Wall’s recent non-ice cream chocolate offerings that have been out over the summer. Indeed if any chocolate is more fitting of the Wonka name it’s surely the madcap Aardvark soup mixes Cadbury are concocting.

However new chocolate based on a great book is not to be sniffed at. Great link there to me describing how it smells. Upon opening I took a sniff and found a rather unexciting chocolate aroma. Not nasty, just not exciting. Don’t know what I was expecting really after all this is the real world not something from Roald Dahl’s terrifying mind. This comes from the mind of PR people and marketers, a much more dull and depressing place (no offence!) I was impressed with the decorative image on each chunk, a bowl of ice cream with a flake in the shape of a Wonka W. Quite an impressive attention to detail and definitely wins some brownie points for style.

Really well moulded and quite impressive

I took a nibble of the corner, sampling the outside chocolate layer and a good helping of the cream filling. Both have a great texture that melts immediately on the tongue. With a velvety smooth taste up to the usual good standard of Nestle milk chocolate. A bit plainer than usual but perhaps this is to avoid it becoming sickly when you add the chocolate sauce.  The initial Cocoa taste fades into the vanilla cream which whilst not strong is present enough to distinguish itself. Again it’s just right and not to sweet and compliments the chocolate well. However it isn’t exactly new with these alone as it tastes and looks very similar to the Magnum bites I mentioned from Wall’s.

My next bite incorporated the unique selling point or USP if you’re in “the business” (Which I’m not as you can tell, not sure if there is a “business” in this case either.) By the USP I mean the chocolate sauce topping. It looks amazingly dark and gooey, although it makes me think it could make it sickly. It’s the sort of sauce you’ pile on your ice cream as a kid before throwing up because of said piling. I could wait no further and took a bite before it hypnotized me further.

Sorry about poor quality I was excited!!!

When all three layers are put together they work fantastically. A real chocolate impact is made with the top layers which covers the vanilla. But these fade away, though not too quickly into vanilla. The Vanilla also serves to take the edge off the sweetness I think and stop it from becoming the sickly mess I’d feared. I attempted to try the sauce on its own and scooped some out with difficulty (It’s not sparse just a bit mixed in.) It tasted like the toppings I remember but the good quality ones not the cheap offerings I had at many kids’ parties.

Overall I think this is a good idea and about time we had a return of actual Wonka chocolate bars (The last batch out at the same time of the film to tie in where really good but limited.) Whilst perhaps the flavours on offer aren’t as exciting as their fictional counterparts, they are a sign of possibilities. Nestle have pulled the plug on Wonka chocolate prior to this and I hope history can be broken this time. Imagine what they could add to this line especially considering how popular the Marvellous Creations line is at the moment. We could see some Wimple scrumpet chocolate although that could possibly be considered cannibalism.

Score

9 out of 11

Found

For 60p in local convenience store, worryingly plastered with Daily Mail propaganda.

Final Thoughts
Not sure I'd actually want to try something thought up by Roald Dahl it would be terrifying!!!

Not Quite Breaking and Entering, But Just As Bad

Would you go into somebody else’s house, take a look around judge their furnishings and then leave without leaving a note? Well I certainly wouldn’t!  Ok if I’m honest I would, but wouldn’t we all especially if there’s something interesting to look at. I think I’ve lost my point here. Basically I was going to say you should at least tell the person you’ve been right? So if you’ve taken the time to read my blog why not post a comment or even follow while you’re here?

Right enough blatant self-promotion on to reviewing something sweet and crunchy! Today I have a pack of Goobers I’ve been meaning to talk about. They are pretty damn good, fun to say, fun to eat and they make me think of Spongebob Squarepants. What’s not to love?

Not exactly going to win a beauty pageant 

I don’t remember what drew me to these, I’d like to say destiny but can’t help but feel that’s a tad too dramatic. Don’t think it was the packaging, poor things don’t exactly stand out if I’m honest. There is no smile enhanced mascot beaming at you, trying to hypnotize your child into pleading for them. No flashy “random” gimmicks or swanky typeface. No instead they just state plainly what they are chocolate coated nuts. After yesterday I think that comes as quite a breath of fresh air, simple honesty.

One thing that did stand out is the little boastful comment in the corner assuring that every serving contains 5 grams of protein. While this doesn’t sound as exciting as say, being able to play with them before eating. It does mean you can sit there smugly eating these knowing there could be some benefit to your gluttony. I’m not going to dwell on that idea as it either makes me sound rather petty or rather simple minded.

Pretty much how I feel when I eat them, Definitely a Goofy Goober

So moving on swiftly to the taste test, what I like to call my suck and crunch review style.  So as always, let’s start with suck. When you pop one of these into your mouth the sweet creamy chocolate immediately melts on your tongue. Its Nestle chocolate at its finest, there is something special about Nestle milk chocolate. It tastes amazing when it’s coating something like nuts or wafers, yet in slab form like a Yorkie bar it doesn’t. Perhaps it’s just me but there’s something about Yorkies that doesn’t work, too big and heavy. Bet some of you are chuckling right now about the irony that I don’t like Yorkies which are for real “men”. Well to you people I say shut up, and then I run and hide till I cry myself to sleep.

Anyway getting away from any breakdowns I may be having (I’m a manly man dammit) once the chocolate layer is gone you’re left with the roasted peanut. Now I do like to savour my sweets but even I’m not patient enough to erode a nut with my saliva. So I crunch down and yet more great flavours come out and combine perfectly with the chocolate that lingers. Wow, just wow these taste great to me.

I am not a Goofy Goomba however, sorry Goomby!

It seems a shame to have to even crunch just one of these, but crunch I must for you guys. As I thought if just chewed away you miss out on the point of these sweets. All mixed together the nut comes out strongest and you barely catch a taste of fleeting chocolate. No clearly these are meant to be savoured. Much like Flipz they work best when you melt the sweet chocolate and crunch the remaining savoury to fully appreciate the contrast in both flavour and texture. Clearly designed for me and a small bag can last quite a long time.

I don’t understand why Nestle haven’t launched this product over here in the UK. There is certainly a market for them, every supermarket stocks their own brand of chocolate or yoghurt coated nut/fruit. My only guess is that they don’t have the same health appeal that those trail mix type bags have and they don’t really appeal to kids either. There could still be a market in between however with health conscious parents getting little Timmy these to ensure he gets his protein.

Overall I’m in love with these Goobers, They are clearly meant for savourers like me, someone who is quite happy to take their time with each individual piece to fully enjoy them. Someone who may read blogs. perhaps they favourite or follow those blogs. Perhaps even tweet a link after they enjoyed a particular article. Ok I’ll stop now.

Score

9 out of 11

Found

Local Sweet shop that sells American candy

Final Thoughts 

I think I go off on some rather odd tangents sometimes.

Weekend wonder time!!!

So the weekend cometh, and to celebrate it’s off to the cinema. Now class other than sticky floors what does this mean? Yep, sweets and this leads me to today’s review. Now I may seem like a sucker in all things to do with money (especially if you read yesterday’s post.) but I can make clever decisions with money sometimes. After forking out the price of a few tickets I feel reluctant to pay over the odds for the cinema sweets, which are cheaper round the corner. Added to this, the shop round said corner does American sweets as well as cheaper chocs.

No nonsense packaging?

Now my plan fails however as I step foot into the shop and immediately spend much more than I would have in in said cinema. I do get that naughty secretive sensation of bringing outside food into their establishment (fight the power). So after much searching my sweet choice for the film was a pack of milk chocolate Flipz. I've had the white fudge Flipz before and was hooked, but in the interest of a varied life I went for these.

Then the hard part began, getting all the way back to the cinema without picking at these tasty morsels. Well dear readers I did it, I stayed strong and the pack stayed fresh until the moment I met my seat. Unfortunately due to excessive adverts and previews my two serving pack was a uno serving by the time the opening credits began playing. This is a good sign in some ways that I made the right choice.

Someone needs to show me where to find these peanut butter variety like now!!!

Now to the chocolate (are they chocolate? Are they pretzels? Are they chetzels? Does it matter?), and to my usual technique of suck & crunch. So when sucking on these you get the outside milk chocolate first, a good quality creamy chocolate if a bit dull. This is until you hit the outside of the pretzel and the hint of salt gives the chocolate a kick that makes me pay attention. The combination of sweet and salt is great and one that I’m beginning to love more often, with the popularity of salted caramel at the moment.  Now a dilemma, pretzel reacts to mouth moisture as bread in that it loses its structural integrity leaving mush behind. I preserve and the mush did taste good and the savoury contrasts well with the sweetness.

When crunched these lose something, the different layers can’t be appreciated and instead the experience is a mix of fleeting chocolate. In this the pretzel flavours strongest and overpowers the rest a bit more than I’d like. Therefore the perfect technique when dealing with this tricky conundrum is to suck them till the chocolates gone then crunch away at the pretzel. Overall I preferred the white fudge variety of these and I guess I’ll have to buy more of them to review for this blog (woe is me). Never the less these are excellent, but be warned they are very moreish!

Score

9 out of 11

Found

Sweet kingdom in lakeside shopping center.

Final thoughts

Why are these called Flipz, although Chetzels would probably cause as much confusion. Why must life be so complex?