Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

As a Tastemaker for Foodbuzz, we got to try the newest SoyJoy Baked Whole Soy & Fruit Bar.  It’s Blueberry, one of our favorite flavors – Good start.  And we generally appreciate a tasty and healthy breakfast bar.  It was our first time (4 of us) trying a SoyJoy product.  Unwrapped we all like how they look — Baked, fruity, easy to eat and toasted.  After that we dueled over their taste.  Two liked their flavor and texture and the other two found them a little too dense to finish and more bland than anticipated.  Overall, no one here considers them bad, one might buy them, and Holly the Dog was hoping to catch a bite.  Thanks SoyJoy and Foodbuzz.  It’s always fun to try new high quality products.

* Bars have 0 Grams Trans Fat, No Hydrogenated Oils, 140 Calories, B Vitamins, etc.  Go to SoyJoy for the rest.

The post title is inspired by The Naked Gun, since we love Leslie Nielsen, and by our recent numerous Cheese & Wine parties.  Here we finally summarize our favorites and the consensus is unanimous.  For our slew of parties, we purchased (6) different Cheeses from Trader Joe’s.  They have an excellent selection.  Before the first party, we tested the Cheese to spare guests from potential scary flavors, which is highly recommended and turned out to be necessary, since we quickly ruled out the TJ Morbier (France).  It tasted awful, thus we replaced it with another.  It’s a better party when all tastes good.

And the winners are… (1) Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (Italy), (2) Blue Catello (France), (3) Italian Truffle Cheese (Italy), (4) Gouda Cheese With Olive Oil (USA), (5) Kiwi Swiss Cheese (New Zealand), and (6) Smoked Cheese (Holland).  All are Cow’s Milk Cheeses.  The first three listed are definitely worth buying again — Everyone particularly loved the Toscano Cheese With Black Pepper (back row right).  And the Italian Truffle Cheese deserves a special mention too, as it includes actual Truffle pieces throughout (front row left).

Our final Cheese & Wine Par-tay included a few Mezzetta products that went well with the Cheese and other accompaniments.  We dipped Olive Bread in the Pesto Sauce and the Roasted Red Peppers and Pepperoncinis were a compliment to all.  Thanks Mezzetta — We’ve enjoyed many of your fine products over the years and the arrival of the (3) above surely came at the right time.  We liked the Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio had with all, but have no elaboration on ‘em.  They sufficed.

Note: What makes a Party a Par-tay is your own personal Wine opener.  Thanks T.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!  We’re most likely going to celebrate with a Cadillac Margarita and our favorite Chicken Taco at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant & Bar.  It’s a hard decision, since there are countless Mexican restaurants to choose from in Orange County.  If you’re looking for somewhere to go, OC Foodies.com has compiled a list of “What’s Happening on Cinco De Mayo” to help observe it.  Honoring this holiday generally entails eating Mexican food and (possibly) drinking heavily.  And hope we don’t need to tell you not to drive afterwards.  Salud!

One of our longstanding favorite restaurants in Costa Mesa is Maggiano’s Little Italy.  It’s even better now that it has taken over the former Corner Bakery portion of the restaurant and built a much needed Bar and wait area.  It was way too small before and Maggiano’s gets busy.  Without reservations last Friday, we almost waited an hour and a half.  You can make reservations on their website or directly through Open Table – It’s highly recommended.

During this visit, dare I say that I had the best tasting appetizer in my life?!  It’s quite a statement, but Maggiano’s Grilled Steak Bruschetta is amazing.  It’s made with a Gorgonzola Fondue that’s topped with slices of Steak, Red Onions, Spiced Walnuts and Fresh Spinach.  The combination is superb and the Steak is tender.  This appetizer in on their “Eat A Dish for Make-A-Wish” special menu, whereas when you order from it Maggiano’s makes a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in your honor.  It’s truly a win-win situation.

We also enjoyed the Chicken & Spinach Manicotti (above) and the Italian Boneless Short Ribs (below) that’s served with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chard, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Garlic Herb Cheese & Couscous.  Both were terrific at the restaurant and for leftovers.  The portion sizes are always generous, which is another thing we love about Maggiano’s.

And had to have the Dessert Sampler too — All that you see is baked in house.  What a treat!

Note: Click HERE to view more dishes enjoyed at Maggiano’s Little Italy.

After some growing pains this weekend, Nibbles of Tidbits is ready, willing and able to post new stuff.  After several lovely conversations with Network Solutions, we’re now set to roll.  Thanks for your patience – We’ve got a lot to report.

* Photo is from Happy Hour at Bayside Restaurant.

My Dad’s favorite things… Rainbow Trout he caught in Bishop during opening weekend and Budweiser – He should be their spokesperson.  We’ve bought him many an 18 Pack over the years for Father’s Day.  Beer and lottery tickets, but no cigarettes, ha.  He likes his “Bud” and we like the BBQ’d Trout.

Nibbles of Tidbits was recently invited by the California Avocado Commission to attend a gourmet, interactive lunch and cooking demonstration with chef partners Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of the Too Hot Tamales.  Since I was unable to attend, but didn’t want to miss it, Nibbles of T sent its resident Guest Blogger, Bonnie of Bonnie Joy Designs.  She always provides an interesting angle to a story and was excited to receive a personally signed copy of Cooking With Too Hot Tamales (below). 

Ahhhh – Those Avocados were Awesome!

Avocado advocates Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (a.k.a. The Too Hot Tamales) along with the California Avocado Commission hosted a rousing, festive Food Blogger-only event ahead of Cinco de Mayo at their downtown L.A. restaurant, Ciudad, last Saturday. The afternoon began with a surprise. Actually, it was the “interactive” portion of the show, which turned out to be a “Top Chef” style competition featuring the Food Bloggers themselves as the chefs along with California Avocados, and a very long table full of potential accoutrements.

The Food Bloggers were given only seconds to pair up (I assume none of the Bloggers had ever met one another before, which made what came next even more amazing), then they were given just 3 minutes to flesh out (pardon the pun) their best recipe for guacamole. Then they got a mere 5 minutes (yes, there was a timer!) to execute their dish and 2 more minutes to give it a definitive name. I can report that the Food Bloggers took this competition very seriously, even if it was all in fun.

And I don’t think I need to tell you who the judges were… But what I can tell you is that even they were impressed at how well all 10 recipes turned out. Bravo! (Sorry Susan, that’s actually not a plug for the network you are on as one of the final “Top Chef Masters” on May 5th…or… maybe it is). I think I got to sample all ten dishes, and they really were all tasty and creative, so everyone was a winner.

The next hour featured the Too Hot Tamales doing what they do best – whipping up a four course meal with each one featuring avocados as the core ingredient. If you want to see poetry in motion, then you need to experience Susan and her long-time business partner Mary Sue as they whirled and twirled their way through a menu that included a Crispy Avocado Taco, an incredible salad with fried (yes, fried) capers, Chicken and Avocado Chilaquiles and for dessert, Avocado and Mango Slices with a Creamy Yogurt Dressing. They even managed to blend an Avocado and Orange “Liquado” to drink. Needless to say, each dish was a masterpiece.

Ciudad Executive Chef Jeremy Tummel and Jan DeLyser from the California Avocado Commission also joined in the fun that happened at this invitation only event. If you came away from this afternoon hungry, then you did not attend the same event that I did. The attention to detail was impeccable – from the beginning Margarita to the personalized cookbooks at the end – and was well appreciated by the interior designer in me.

I now have a fresh appreciation for a fruit that is locally grown and nutritionally packed. So be sure to add Avocados to your daily diet, and not just on special occasions or on Cinco de Mayo!

Thanks Bonnie.  I love Avocados too and my parents eat ‘em almost daily.  It looks like I missed a pretty cool event, but I’m happy to have the exciting report and photos.

Note:  Bonnie bought a new camera for this event — As I write this, it’s in the process of being returned.  We like what was captured, but weren’t happy with the graininess of the photos.  What’s posted here is the best of the worst.  Click on the Blogger links above to view better photos.