Happy Memorial Day!

This year my family had a lot going on, so we weren’t able to get together for a Memorial Day celebration. Instead, I made a little spread for my immediate family to enjoy.

I made:

• Grilled Hotdogs
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Grilled Zucchini Coins
• A Mini Veggie Pizza
• Strawberry-Lime Smoothies
• And these Sliders

 I originally pinned this slider recipe because these are supposed to be almost identical to White Castle burgers, and I have to say, these are pretty darn close. (I have actually used this slider recipe twice before.)

If you want your burgers to taste just like White Castle’s I suggest using a potato roll for the bun, Velveeta singles for the cheese, and only using diced white onions, a pickle, and ketchup for the garnish. (Like the burger to the right.)

The burger to the left uses a whole grain slider bun from Wegman’s. This was my first time tying these buns and I am not too happy with their overall flavor or texture. They are a little dry and have a strong wheat flavor to them that overpowers the burger. I think I’ll stick to potato rolls in the future, but this recipe is definitely a winner.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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I had to grab a quick dinner before we made the 2 hour drive back to Jersey, so I headed into DC’s Chinatown for a bite to eat.

I decided to get an order of General Tso’s with some dumplings, but this restaurant actually offered a “lite” version which I have never seen before. I was curious, so I gave it a try.

The wontons were the doughiest that I have ever had. The filling was very minimal, and although the filling I did taste was quite nice, it was barely there. I felt like I was just eating fried noodles. This was not a good start to the meal.

Next up was the General Tso’s, it wasn’t fried and it looked really delicious. When I took a bite, the chicken had a really nice flavor and texture, but the sauce was lack-luster. I had asked for it to be spicy, but it was VERY sweet. Almost sickeningly so. I had to pile it onto white rice to balance out all the sweet sauce.

Overall, I find Chinese food to follow the same rules as pizza. You never really have a BAD pizza. The pizza might not be good, but it is never really inedible. So while this was not an amazing dinner, it filled me up and did it’s job. Would I eat there again? Probably not.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Even MORE Chocorooms!

My other Chocoroom flavor reviews:

• Original (Chocolate)
• Caramel
  
• Strawberry
• Purple Sweet Potato
• Macadamia
  

This is the last box of Chocorooms I have in my stash. 

The packaging for this flavor is very vibrant. The combinations of red-violet and green are stunning. I think this is meant to be a fall flavor and design, but I’m not sure. (The Purple Sweet Potato was definitely a fall release with an obvious fall color scheme.) The box is smaller and thinner than the Macadamia version I reviewed a few days ago, so it’s more like the original Chocoroom box than any of the specialty flavors I have had.

Inside, the chocolates are smaller and not individually wrapped. For this flavor, the little chocolate mushroom cap is sunny yellow with a plain biscuit “stump.”

I was kind of surprised by the smell. These don’t smell like a sweet potato at all. In fact, these smell more like a flavored/specialty coffee to me than any sweet potato I’ve ever had.

When I ate one, it confirmed that these weren’t quite sweet potato. While there is a sweet fruity/vegetable taste, these are really more like a mild flavored coffee than anything else. Maybe sweet potatoes are roasted differently in Asia? Even though these don’t taste like a sweet potato, they are pretty yummy.

So far I don’t think any of the specialty Chocorooms I have had tasted like what they were supposed to. If you like mild flavored coffee, you might enjoy this version (my mother does), but my favorite so far is still the Macadamia.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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It’s restaurant week in Collingswood! If any of you are New Jersey locals, you must know about Collingswood and it’s restaurants. For restaurant week, participating locations make a special menu for the event (usually 3-4 courses) and list it at a reasonable price.

Today my boyfriend and I stopped at Akira for a late lunch. I have actually eaten here before, but the restaurant week menu had a few things I wanted to check out. 

I ordered:

• Avocado Salad -Avocado on mixed green salad served with healthy ginger
• Sexy Jalapeño - Tempura Jalapeño stuffed with Spicy Tuna, Seaweed Salad & cream cheese served with spicy mango sauce
• Sushi Dinner - Tuna, Salmon, Fluke, Striped Bass,Yellowtail, Shrimp, White Tuna with a Spicy Tuna Roll
• Gelato Hearts

Although I am not a huge fan of avocado, I really enjoyed this salad. It’s a basic green salad,  typical of most sushi or hibachi restaurants, topped with avocado, ginger dressing and mango sauce. The only thing I would have changed would be a little less mango sauce. It was incredibly sweet and really overpowered everything else. I would rather have a touch of mango and more ginger dressing.

My second course was the sexy jalapeno. It’s like sushi jalapeno poppers! As I ate, each pepper had more seeds than the last. (If you didn’t know, the heat is in the seeds and veins of the pepper.) After my third pepper I was dying for more water. I already went through the glass at the table and had to grab the water bottle from my purse to refill my glass! I am not sure if this was intentional, possibly part of the eating experience, or accidental. Either way these were yummy, just very spicy. (Make sure you have water nearby.)

After a few glasses of water, I moved on to the sushi dinner platter. It was a decent array of sushi and presented very nicely. The tuna was my favorite, but the entire platter was enjoyable. (Although I didn’t try every piece. I traded one piece of sushi to my boyfriend in exchange for another tuna roll.)

When it came to the desserts, I was really hoping to have their heart-shaped crème brûlée, but they ran out. I had the heat-shaped gelato instead. Most sushi shops and hibachis around here do not make their own desserts, so I wasn’t surprised when I got my little confection-coated heart of “gelato.” While the presentation was lovely, the actual “gelato” heart was lack luster. The outside is a thick, hard, waxy coating. Inside was a creamy ice cream, that I think was strawberry… the flavor was a bit difficult to place.

Overall the meal itself was pretty nice, but if I were able to do it again I would opt for a different dessert.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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It’s restaurant week in Collingswood! If any of you are New Jersey locals, you must know about Collingswood and it’s restaurants. For restaurant week, participating locations make a special menu for the event (usually 3-4 courses) and list it at a reasonable price. This is a great way to try something new. I have been looking forward to this for a while, and tonight my boyfriend and I ate at That’s Amore. 

I had never been to this restaurant before, but I had heard very good things. I felt like their restaurant week menu was the best menu available. I was able to get a lovely 4 course meal for $35.00. (You also get a voucher for $10.00 off for a return visit)

I ordered:

• Grilled Caesar Salad with Pancetta Chips and Parmigiano Shavings
• Olive Oil Crostini with Artichoke & Olive Tapenade
• Grilled Citrus Scottish Salmon over Mascarpone Risotto
• Zabaglione Cream over Drunken Strawberries

My Salad was presented in a beautiful and interesting way, which was very enjoyable and easy to eat. The star of this dish was definitely the salty pancetta. All of the flavors worked very well together, but that pancetta was to die for.

For my second course I chose the crostini with olive tapenade, It was savory and intense, especially with that drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I LOVE balsamic vinegar and this one was sweet and thick. (It must be a good age.) It was a very nice touch, especially with the salty olives.

My main course of salmon was well cooked and presented. The salmon had nice texture, but it practically melted in my mouth. It was delicious, especially when mixed with the creamy risotto. Also, this sauce made me into an asparagus eater. I normally NEVER touch the stuff, but it was delicious in this sweet and tangy sauce.

Now for my favorite part of any meal, dessert. A combination of strawberries, rum, and cream. What is not to like? If I had any complaint at all it would be to double the size of this dessert. I wanted even more!

This restaurant had a lovely atmosphere, and delicious food. The floor-plan makes you feel warm and cozy and the decor was colorful and textured. (I really loved the light fixtures and the logo for the restaurant.) The staff were very attentive and the owner also visited our table. If you’re in the area, I definitely recommend visiting That’s Amore. (Especially this week for Restaurant Week.)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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White Chocolate Carrot Cake m&m’s - Walmart : Somerdale, NJ 

I first heard about these on Candy Blog (One of my favorite foodie sites!)  My boyfriend and I love carrot cake, how could we pass this up? It turns out…these were hard to find. This flavor is Walmart exclusive and only one Walmart within 50 miles of my home carried them. (I called 3 different stores and drove to 2. One sold out but still listed them as in stock and the other did have them but they were hidden behind other candy boxes.)

After a decent journey, I finally found them. I hope they were worth the trouble.

The bag is a creamy peach-color with lighter, wiggly, lines in the background. I really like the color of this bag because it’s different from all the Easter pastels most candies are using right now. (Baby blues, purples and pinks.) There is a cute little slice of carrot cake on the front and the green m&m mascot is wearing some cute bunny ears. Overall I like the look of this bag, it isn’t too cluttered, or obnoxiously festive, and everything is cohesive. 

Inside, the m&ms are a bit bigger and more irregularly shaped than the usual milk chocolate variety, but that is typical for these specialty flavors. For this carrot cake flavor the candies are creamy pastel colors: orange, green, and a creamy peach. They smell like cream cheese frosting and carrot cake spices…these smell pretty accurate!

At first I can taste the white chocolate, but quickly the carrot cake spices start coming through. These taste amazing! It’s almost like a carrot cake version of Irish potatoes (because they are very sweet). The creamy white chocolate has sweet vanilla notes that remind me of cream cheese icing that usually tops a carrot cake, and Mars hit the spice levels right on the head.

These are delicious alone, but I think these would be great in oatmeal cookies. Or maybe even in a trail mix with raisins and nuts. (That sounds really good!) If you like carrot cake, try and find a bag of these at your local Walmart. (They might be a little hard to find though.)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Here is what I received from my boyfriend this Valentine’s Day, a bunch of yummy food to review! (Thank you~!)

• Strawberry Peeps dipped in milk chocolate
• Choco Baby (reviewed here)
• Meiji Apollo (reviewed here)
• Cherry m&m’s
• Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish crackers
• Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar
• All Natural Potato Chip chocolate bar
• Brownie Brittle (not pictured)

I want to review most of the valentine’s themed stuff before February is over. So, new posts on the way!

I am still working on putting together prize packs for a give away. I didn’t receive too many responses, so I am not sure what prizes to put together… please see THIS POST for details and send me a message letting me know your preference. Once I figure out what I’ll give away, I’ll pick a time to start things off.

Have an awesome, food filled, day!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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One of my favorite holiday candies. Just as cute as conversation hearts, but MUCH tastier. I love Gobstoppers, and this is my favorite version of them.

The design for the bag is pretty bright and obnoxious, which is typical for Wonka candies. The design easily catches the eyes of kids, but I think a lot of adults would pass on these. (Which is a shame!)

If you’ve never had a Gobstopper, it’s a candy that was created in the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (It was also featured in both versions of the film.) In the book/film there is a candy, with the same name, that lasts forever. It won’t ever get any smaller or lose it’s flavor as you suck on it. The Gobstoppers that we actually have in our stores today are small jawbreakers with several candy coated layers. Each layer has it’s own distinct flavor and there is a sweet-tart-like center. 

Since these “heartbreakers” are holiday themed, they do not come in the typical gobstopper flavors. This bag contains:

• Yellow - lemon->strawberry->center
• Pink - strawberry->cherry->center
• Red- cherry->lemon->center
• Orange- orange->lemon->center
• Purple- grape->strawberry->center

The flavors are sweet and mild, but some are stronger than others. I think the lemon is the strongest of the bunch and grape i the weakest, but they all blend nicely together.

I love this candy because is tastes great, looks adorable, and fits perfectly in your mouth. I have them in candy bowls all over my house because they look so festive and my friends all seem to love the taste. If your looking to replace conversation hearts in your Valentine’s Day goodie bags, I strongly recommend these.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Beverage Haul - SunSeng Market : Pennsauken, NJ

There is a new Asian grocery near my town, so I decided to go and check it out. 

The Sunseng market was HUGE. The grocery selection was fantastic, but their sweets and snacks were lacking. I did find that they have a great selection of beverages. So I grabbed a bunch.

Here is a haul photo, reviews will go up later this month. I still have a decent stockpile of stuff to review in the meantime.

(Not pictured is a HUGE bucket of strawberry popping boba and instant strawberry milk tea.)

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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