Trader Joe’s yea/nay/meh 2019

I didn’t know they also made almonds like that. I used to love the Thai Lime and Chili cashews. They had a nice little kick to them.

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Yeah I was surprised at the spice level - I have a high spice tolerance so they are great for me.

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FlavCity with Bobby Parrish from the Chicago area:

What To Buy At Trader Joe’s This Fall…Including All Things PUMPKIN!

The Chili Onion Crunch is at about the 14:00 mark.

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I just got a huge-leafed begonia at the orchid stand, silvery-coated leaves. I have no idea what variety it is, looks a little like the Begonia ‘Lalomie’ on Logees site, with more wavy, rounded leaves. I know what you mean about the crowd around the front door, but sometimes you can get some really neat stuff cheaply there.

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Tried the latkes from the frozen section, 10-12 minutes in the toaster oven, a little dab of sour cream.
Or apple sauce, not too bad. Next time I would salt them a little when I turned them.

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YAY: Everything Ciabatta Rolls. My go-to hamburger buns (if I don’t have time to go to Acme) are TJ’s Brioche Buns, but they didn’t have them the other day…they did, however, have this new item. Good texture, neither too tough nor too soft (my one criticism of the brioche buns is that they’re soft enough to have structural integrity issues with hamburgers), and the everything topping is a nice addition. Would definitely buy again.

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I really like their zhoug, which is hot on its own, and even better paired with the discontinued Calabrian chile paste.

The spicy chile onion crisp sauce, as people mention above, is nothing like laoganma, more like a spicier take on Lipton onion soup mix.

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November Cheese of the Month: Beemster Royaal Grand Cru. I posted about this last December, and by that time it was already gone. Excellent 12-month Gouda, IMO much more complex and flavorful than the Beemster Black Label (20-month) that they sell at Costco. Very caramelly w/crystals – a bit like Old Amsterdam, but I think it’s much better. I suggest that you get it while it’s still there – it only came in today, and my store didn’t have that much of it.

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NAY+ to the fresh Cape Gooseberries, about which I know nada, and neither did the stock clerk, so he let me taste one. The label said they were sweet, tangy, and tropical, grown in Colombia. It reminded me of an unripe grape. So nay, tastewise, but the half-inch diameter golden spheres WOULD be attractive as a platter garnish or in a Thanksgiving cornucopia…

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YEA for the frozen One Potato Two Potato casserole, being sampled while I shopped. A little cheese and mushroom fancy up cubed white and sweet potatoes. I’ll note the ingredients, as a DIY version should be easy.

YEA for Pumpkin Joe-Joes cookies. Solid pumpkin flavor, not overly sweet even though cane sugar is the first ingredient.
??? For a new item the small jar of truffle sauce. I don’t know how I’ll use it, but bought an extra for the assortment of TJ’s items that I send every holiday season to a friend who no longer lives near a TJ’s. I looked at the new jarred truffle powder, but the first and probably main ingredient is carob powder, truffle coming in last.

Perennial YEA for the Brussels sprouts stalks, up 50¢ this year, to $3.99, but still a value. I’ll roast the huge ones, steam the small ones and the stalk.

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YEA for Alpenhorn, Cheese of the Month, imported from Switzerland. No holes, very nutty, similar to gruyere. I haven’t tried yet, but suspect it melts well.

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In previous years, the Wellington style turkey en croute has been sold out, but this week i got the last one on the shelf. I’d appreciate input from anyone who has had it before. Are the baking instructions correct, and how did you like it?

YEA!: Blue cheese-stuffed Halkidiki olives are back! I got into a discussion with the checker about these–he saw them in my cart and said “Dude, these are SO GOOD!” He mentioned that they had almost sold out yesterday. Get them while you can!

YEA!: for another returning item, the Scalloped Cracker Trio. 3 sleeves of crackers in the box: 1 rosemary, 1 roasted garlic, and one red pepper. I really like the texture of these, crisp and a little flaky, and the flavors are quite nice.

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We grow Cape gooseberries in our yard (they are originally from South Africa), and if they’ve been properly ripened they should be sweet but not super sweet. TJ’s doesn’t always store their produce so well, so it doesn’t surprise me that your batch may have looked ripe but in fact wasn’t. Sorry about that.

Is that like Robusto? I love that.

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Same here but I toss the stalk into compost - I didn’t even think of trying to steam it…but I will now. Thanks for the tip.

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It’s a bit like Robusto. This is closer in flavor to straight Gouda, where Robusto is kind of a Gouda/Swiss mix. In terms of flavor intensity, they’re probably similar. Hope that helps.

Actually, now that I think about it, Robusto is more like a Swiss/Parm mix.
(I sure wish HO had a longer edit window.)

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To me it’s parmesan, gouda, a smidge of swiss and those awesome crystals. It’s one of my favorite cheeses to use.