Robert Rothschild Southwestern Dip

This dip is so versatile–use it with meat, crackers, whatever you want. Currently, it is flavoring my leftover chicken that has lost its spice. The taste has a bit of a kick to it but its not too overwhelming. Nice creamy texture as well. I also recommend the artichoke dip.

Price: $7.99

Where: specialty food shops, online gourmet stores

Rating:

Hummus Battle: No Contest. Sabra Hummus=Far Superior.

I am a converted woman. Once you go Sabra, you can’t go back. I used to be satisfied with Athenos or Tribe. They had several flavors and tasted good with pita bread. But, that was before I knew what I was missing. Sabra hummus is creamy amazingness. It is everything a hummus should be. It comes in several flavors, and although I have only tasted the hummus with pine nuts, I plan to sample all varieties.

Before completely abandoning other hummus brands, I decided to attempt Fantastic Always Natural Orginal Hummus mix. Basically, you add water and stir. Don’t bother though, it was a bit clumpy and I threw the whole thing out after two tastes.

Here’s the breakdown:

Athenos Hummus:

Tribe Hummus:

Fantastic Always Natural Hummus:

Sabra Hummus:

Price: $3.99

Where: several mainstream grocers, speciality stores, www.sabra.com (there are hummus sculptures of famous politicians in the press release section!)

Buy it now. You will not regret it.

It’s Fall! Thus Time for Apple Butter + Apple Cider

I finally woke up early enough to go to the Waverly Farmers’ Market (I live in Baltimore) on Saturday and was really excited to buy some apple cider. Reid’s Orchard Cider (Ortanna, PA) is great–sweet without being too sweet and very refreshing. Also at the Market are several products from Lewis’ Orchard (Cavetown, MD). I had previously bought their apple butter at a local specialty store and saw several other varieties at the market, such as pumpkin butter and pear butter. Once again, I have no complaints. Good stuff.

Price: apple cider-$3 for half gallon, apple butter-$3.99 (at the specialty store)

Where: Waverly Farmers’ Market, 32nd Street and Barcalay

Ratings: for both

-Carey

Wing Time Mild Buffalo Sauce

Maybe it was just because I hadn’t had buffalo sauce recently, but throughout my meal, I was making sighs and moans of delight (good thing I was dining alone…). There is absolutely nothing wrong with this sauce: the mild still has a great sharp flavor, but not sharp enough to make you sweat (though I do recommend water).

Price: $4.99

Where: I bought it at Superfresh, www.wingtime.com

Rating:

-Carey

Real Torino Vodka Sauce

I tried the vodka sauce in two capacities, first with a pasta/shrimp/scallop ensemble and second with some plain ole tortellini. The first meal I enjoyed and found the sauce to be a nice complement to the pasta and seafood. But, when served just with tortellini, it fails to add that much extra to the already plain dish. In short, the vodka sauce can certainly be used, but make sure that your dish already has enough flavor without the sauce. It can supplement the tiny additional taste your dish needs, but it is not enough to save your dish from another boring dinner.

Price: $3.99

Where: some supermarkets, specialty food stores, www.pasta.com

Rating:

-Carey

Christopher Ranch Pesto

There are several important aspects to a good pesto beyond the flavor quality. The texture and consistency must also be considered. I need a chunky pesto; I don’t want it creamy like an alfredo sauce or thin like a tomato sauce. So, in that aspect, Christopher Ranch Pesto delivers. I saw and tasted the bits of cheese and pine nuts. The only place that the pesto fell short was in the aftertaste. I wanted a bigger kick, something that would make this pesto just as good as the kind I could get in a decent Italian restaurant. But, alas, it was just another brand of canned pesto, which although good and quite the nice compliment to my pasta and shrimp, was nothing out of the ordinary.

Price: $3.99

Where: Specialty supermarkets or www.garlicworld.com

Rating:

-Carey

Stonewall Kitchen Pineapple Rum Raisin Sauce

I chose Stonewall Kitchen’s Pineapple Rum Raisin Sauce because I was curious about the particular combination of flavors. My taste buds were not disappointed when hit with the sweet mix although they would have been overwhelmed with too much. After reading the back of the jar, I realized that I had been using the sauce as a dip.  Stonewall recommends Pineapple Rum Raisin as a complement to certain meats, as opposed to its own dip.  That being said, the sweetness of the sauce was a good complement to the saltiness of the crackers I used, but was just too sweet to be enjoyed in any large quantity. As a dip, the Pineapple Rum Raisin was just so-so.

Price: $6.89

Where:  I found this product at a local farm market, but it can also be ordered online at www.stonewallkitchen.com.

Rating:

-Elizabeth