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Taste Test Tuesday — What is “Sugar Bread”? (Nephew in charge)

By KariV on July 2, 2013 in Taste Test Tuesday

Surprise! I’m back with a Taste Test Tuesday. Normally, I only publish these taste tests every other week and this is not the regular week. However, my 5-year-old nephew said he had a good idea for a taste test and he wanted to conduct this taste test!

So, of course, I agreed! I mean, how can you say no to this face:

When I asked him what the taste test was, he said “Sugar Bread!” and he needed:

Bread
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Bowls for mixing (preferably bright colored, plastic bowls – hey, these are not my rules, that’s exactly what he specified!)

We had cinnamon bread and so that is what we used. G gave me some detailed instructions for the preparation, and I hope I can accurately report them back to you. 🙂

First, you put white sugar in one bowl and brown sugar in the other bowl.
Second, break up the bread into bite size pieces in each bowl.
Third, mix together thoroughly (it’s ok to use your hands)

And there you have it! Sugar Bread! (Yes, G came up with this recipe all by himself.)

Once the Sugar Bread was made, G assembled the taste test panel. All the judges told him which one they liked the best. When the taste test was over, I asked G which Sugar Bread was the winner.

And he looked at me and said, “I like them both!” (only instead of the “t” sound he uses an “s” sound…so it was: “I like them bose!”) So there you have it, both delicious. And a very unique recipe developed by a 5-year-old!

Which one would YOU declare the winner?

I hope you enjoyed this special edition Taste Test Tuesday. Stay tuned for our next taste test: Sweet Pork (Cafe Rio Style)…and our recipes DON’T use any soda. See you then!

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Taste Test Tuesday — Chocolate Cereal

By KariV on June 25, 2013 in Taste Test Tuesday

When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to have sugar cereals often. They were a special treat for me and my siblings and I’d love to get CEREAL for my birthday or Christmas when I was young! (now I prefer gift cards, just in case you were wondering)

So now that I’m an adult, I love to have cereal as a snack every now and again. And most of the time I crave a chocolate cereal. So that is how this taste test was born. I knew that we MUST find the best Chocolate sugar cereal out there, and with the help of all my judges (which included both adults AND kids this time…a first in the history of Taste Test Tuesdays) I think we found a winner!

When I was doing research for this taste test, I was surprised at the number of chocolate cereals out there! There were so many, that I included all that I could without adding any generic brands this time. And I just had to put my foot down on one possible contender:

I just couldn’t see myself saying “Oh, I am really craving some Fiber One” (chocolate or otherwise)! So, sorry all you Fiber One fans out there, this one was NOT included in the taste test!
But seriously, has anyone tried these? Are they any good?

So here are the REAL contenders for this taste test:

1) Cocoa Krispies
2) Chocolate Frosted Flakes
3) Chocolate Cheerios
4) Chocolate Chex
5) Double-Chocolate Krave
6) Cocoa Pebbles
7) Chocolatey Crunch
8) Good Morenings
9) Chocolate Lucky Charms
10) Cocoa Puffs

Wow, that’s a bunch of great chocolatey options! Have you tried all these? I have to admit, I hadn’t tried the majority of these so I knew this was going to be an eye-opening taste test.

My sister predicted the winner from the adults taste test panel would be CHOCOLATE CHEERIOS. She said it was chocolately enough without being too sweet. Guess what, sis? It placed in the top 5, but NOT first place!

We had to conduct this taste test in multiple panel meetings because there were so many cups of cereal!

Now to declare the winners in each category:

The adult taste test panel found that they enjoyed the Cheerios, but the top five cereals in order were….(drum roll, please)

Interestingly enough, the top five for KIDS were nearly the same:

That Post Good Morenings is interesting…it had cinnamon mixed in with the chocolate and tasted a little like mini churro bites! Personally, I’m not sure I could eat an entire bowl of it, but it was pretty good. Many kids picked this as their favorite.

Now to declare the WINNER:

Congratulations, Chocolate Frosted Flakes! It had the best chocolatey taste and it made delicious chocolate milk. (followed closely by Cocoa Puffs)

I’m very much in agreement with the winner…it’s been a favorite of mine for a long time. And it remained my favorite after this taste test.

THE LEAST FAVORITE:

Now, I must mention that KRAVE made it to the list of top 5 for the kids because if you are a 5 or 6 year old little boy, apparently this is the BEST cereal ever!! It was voted #1 by boys in that age bracket (only). For all others, kids and adults included, it was the LEAST FAVORITE and some had even very STRONG adverse reactions to this cereal. Most didn’t eat more than one or two bites of it.

I have lots of this box left, but I’m glad my nephew Garrett will take care of that for me! 🙂

A special thanks to all the judges, both kids and adults! I couldn’t do this without you. I hope you enjoy the extra cereal I sent home with you!

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Taste Test Tuesday — Chips for dipping

By KariV on June 11, 2013 in Favorite Things, Taste Test Tuesday

It’s Taste Test Tuesday! I love this day. And today I am reporting on our taste test for TORTILLA CHIPS.

Here are the Tortilla Chip Contestants:

1) Santitas
2) Food Club
3) Doritos
4) Mission
5) Tostitos

This was a “blind” taste test. I numbered the bowls for each brand of chips #1-5. Then all the judges took one (or more) of the chips in each numbered bowl.

When I first tried all the chips, I liked them all. But we had some judges who are true “chip conneseuirs” and took this taste test VERY seriously. You may be just like me and not really care about a dipping chip…but many judges INSISTED that there is a big difference in chips and that you’ll be much happier with a truly delicious chip.

In fact, my sister and brother-in-law had already done some chip research for me and told me to make sure to include a couple brands of chips in this particular taste test. (Thanks Wendi & Kevin!)

We started out just trying the chips alone, then added homemade salsa to the mix. And most of the judges agreed on the TOP TWO chips. Care to make any guesses?

Here are the WINNERS:

First, Santitas and
Second, Tostitos!

Interestingly enough, these two chips are very similar AND they are both made by Frito-Lay in Texas! I was actually happy to learn that Santitas chips are very similar to Tostitos, but they cost much less (see the bag: $2 only!)
(Note: Doritos are also made by Frito-Lay, but they are only available in a yellow corn chip; Most judges liked the white corn chips better).

I always like to include a generic brand (ie: inexpensive) for each taste test. In this case, our generic brand did not fare so well.
Last place: Food Club & Mission. Judges reported that Food Club chips were “bland” and “boring.” They reported that Mission chips were “too thick” and “too crunchy/tough.”

{A BIG thanks to all the judges for this taste test!}

So, dear readers, let me know what are YOUR favorite tortilla chips. And comment if you have any suggestions for future taste tests you’d like to see.

Until next time…

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Taste Test Tuesday — Chocolate Molten Lava Cake Recipe (versus Mini Chocolate Souffles)

By KariV on May 28, 2013 in Dessert, Recipes, Taste Test Tuesday, Valentines

This Taste Test Tuesday was very exciting and quite close! In fact, both of these recipes are SO delicious, that I would recommend trying them both out for yourself! Last week, I posted the Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffle with Chocolate Sauce recipe. And today, I will review both contestants for you and share the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake recipe. Does this sound delicious or what?!

I can hardly wait! First, let me share with you this delicious little Molten Lava Cake recipe. I got it from my daughter, Amber, and she made it as one of her goals last summer. She was working on her recipe book (getting ready to leave the nest…which I was not happy about). But I WAS happy about her sharing her delicious recipes with me, including this gem of a chocolate dream recipe. 🙂

I call these the darlings of all mini cakes…I mean, just look at that cute little cake! It’s adorable with it’s crown of whipped cream and sprinkle of powdered sugar. I added a strawberry, too, since it was competing with those little Chocolate Souffles and needed to be on a “level” playing field.

If you were to compare the ease of whipping these Lava Cakes up versus making up the Mini Chocolate Souffles, I’d say the Lava Cakes win. All you have to do is melt a little butter with the chocolate (in the microwave!), add the powdered sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour and Voila! You’ve got your batter all ready to put into the oven. Then you just cook them up for 12-13 minutes, pull them out and invert onto a little plate. Easy. (Note: I let them cool for about a minute before inverting them onto the plate)

If you add the whipped cream too early, it melts a little down the sides, but these Molten Lava Cakes are BEST when eaten warm and fresh out of the oven!

Doesn’t that still look so yummy!? I really don’t mind that dripping whipped cream. Just let me at it!

The insides of the cake are all gooey and molten. So smooth and chocolatey. Wow.

These little darlings are delicious with whipped cream and/or ice cream! Yep, you can put a scoop of ice cream right on the top and sort of let it melt down into the cake. So. Good.

But before you make these yourself, a little note of WARNING: do not overbake these. Really. It is easy to do (not that I would know), and it RUINS these cakes! They become dense and spongy and not delicious. Seriously. It’s bad. The last batch I only cooked for just over 11 minutes to make sure the inside was still melted and yummy. You will know these are just about done when the sides of them look cooked (like cake) and the insides are still a little soft, but not jiggly. Every oven is a little different, so you’re gonna have to test this out for your oven.

Ok, so here’s the recipe. Are you going to try this one?

**RECIPE HERE

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Now, with all that delicious description done, I must now announce the winner of the taste test! I didn’t forget. But I must remind you that BOTH of these recipes are so good, and the winner only barely edged out over the other.

They both have a delicious chocolately flavor. They both have melty amazing centers. They both are just exactly the right size. They both are perfect for a special occasion dessert.

But the winner was the one with a little sugar coating on the outside, and an amazing ganache center. It won out a little bit because the cake part was delicious, but then pushed over the top with an addition of the melted chocolate to make it so smooth and so decadent…(my mouth waters a little). And the winner is still delicious the next day…it can be refrigerated and then warmed up again and it tastes just as good as the first day!

I guess the extra effort for the chocolate souffle really did shine in this competition! Congratulations to the Mini Chocolate Souffles with Chocolate Sauce. While I still love the Chocolate Molten Lava cakes, I love these more (and the other judges agree). Try the recipe here and see if YOU agree.

Until next time, enjoy every bite!

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Taste Test Tuesday– Chocolate Souffle vs. Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

By KariV on May 21, 2013 in Dessert, Favorite Things, Holidays, Inspiration, Recipes, Taste Test Tuesday, Valentines

It’s a great day. Not only is it Taste Test Tuesday, but my Dad is here for a visit! I knew that there needed to be CHOCOLATE for him. And he agreed to be a taste test panelist. (I may have gotten my love for taste tests partially from my Dad…we have been doing taste tests at home ever since I was a kid!)

So this is a special edition of Taste Test Tuesday. The taste test results will be posted next week, but today I am sharing the recipe for “Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffles with Sauce.” Oh. My. Goodness. These little souffles are amazing. I got this recipe a couple years ago from my co-worker, Aubrey. (Hi, Aubrey!) And I’ve made them only a few times for special occasions, but these are some of the easiest and BEST Chocolate Souffles I have ever eaten!

I’m going to challenge these homemade Souffles to a taste test versus homemade Chocolate Molten Lava Cake! (I’ll share this recipe next week.) The Chocolate Molten Lava Cake is a favorite recipe of my daughter, Amber. (Hi, Amber!) They are both amazing recipes that I honestly don’t know which one will be crowned the winner!

I will have some more pictures and results for you next week. Until then, try this Chocolate Souffle Recipe. You’ll either be glad you did, or you’ll be cursing me for sharing such a tempting dessert that you crave weekly! 🙂

Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffles with Sauce

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Chef’s Note:

This recipe may look intimidating, but it is rather simple, with just a few ingredients. And it is Foolproof. The first time I made it (for Valentine’s Day a couple years ago), I left the vanilla out of the souffles, so I added it to the chocolate sauce instead. They still came out delicious…proof: my husband ate TWO of them!

I like to serve mine with a little whipped cream and a strawberry on top, but if you’re a chocolate purist then you can certainly leave this part out!

Tip:

To help get the soufflé dishes out of the oven easily, bake them on a cookie sheet and then simply lift the cookie sheet out of the oven.

You may have noticed that one of the choices I categorized this under was “Inspiration”…if you are in need of a little inspiration, I’m convinced that these souffles will do the trick. Chocolate can be very inspirational, right?! 😉

I can’t wait to post the results. Until then, Enjoy every bite!

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