Category Archives: Judgement Time

Bake Off: Tollhouse vs. Pillsbury Cookie Dough

There is not a crumb of doubt when it comes to the fact that scratch-made chocolate chip cookies are worlds better than any store-bought cookie dough. However, there are times when you don’t have the time or ingredients to bake from scratch. Also, a lot of people just don’t like full-on baking. It’s not everybody’s thing. Well, if you insist on buying the premade dough from the grocery store, then you should at the very least buy the tastiest kind you can. So, who makes better chocolate chip cookie dough: Tollhouse or Pillsbury?

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Judgement Time: IHOP’s Holiday Hotcakes

I. Love. Pancakes.

Doesn’t everybody? I know there has been an ongoing waffles vs. pancakes debate, but for me, pancakes will always take the cake. They’re fluffy, floppy, fun, and delicious. Nothing gives me such child-like glee as to inundate a stack of these golden cakes in rich maple syrup then stick my fork straight through the fluffy interior. Pancakes and syrup may be a simple thing, but MAN, are they good!

You can imagine how a place like IHOP might just be heaven for me. True, I have often contemplated moving in and spending the rest of my life in a pancake utopia where all of my maple syrup-covered dreams come true. I decided to go to college instead, but if the whole “higher education” thing doesn’t work out, at least I’ve got that as a back up plan.

When I heard IHOP had released a line of new Holiday Hotcakes, I HOPPED right on over (I’m sorry, I had to). It was once of those situations that, from the moment I learned of the Holiday Hotcakes’ existence, it consumed my every waking thought. I counted down the hours until I may go to IHOP and try some for myself.

Now, The Holiday Hotcakes come in three flavors: Pumpkin Praline (which consists of pumpkin pancakes topped with caramel sauce and candied pecans), Eggnog (regular pancakes layered with an eggnog-flavored cream and topped with butter rum sauce), and White Chocolate Chip Mint (regular pancakes with white chocolate chips and topped with peppermint pieces). I tried the first two, as I’m not a huge fan of mint (sorry mint-lovers).

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Judgement Time: Olive Garden’s Stuffed Rigatoni

I love Olive Garden. I don’t care if it’s not “authentic” Italian or if it’s laden with calories; it’s delicious. But I am very unfortunate, my little cookies, because my closest Olive Garden is 45 minutes away (no DQ, no Cheesecake Factory, no Wegman’s…how does anyone live here???). Luckily, when I make my monthly trek to the Wegman’s in Syracuse, I also make it a point to have a nice lunch with my mother. Where did we graze after we ventured to Weggie’s last weekend?

Olive Garden, of course!

You see, I just had to get to the Garden to try their new Cheese-Stuffed Rigatoni. They have 2 varieties: rigatoni with grilled chicken and a roasted garlic alfredo sauce or with sausage and a tomato-alfredo, plus an extra layer of melted cheese. I opted for the second, minus the sausage of course.

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Judgment Time: Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cereal

There are two types of people in this world: the ones who acknowledge cereal’s existence but choose to pursue other breakfast endeavors, and the ones who are devoted cereal fanatics. They can’t get enough of the sugary stuff and they don’t limit cereal to just breakfast.

Guess which one I am.

I LOVE CEREAL. I’ll scream it from the mountain tops and declare my love in the check-out line at the grocery store. I am obsessed. There are just so many different kinds to love and the stuff is good at any time of day. I’ve eaten it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack. It’s always awesome.

Naturally, I’m always checking out the new cereals that hit the shelves. Sure, I’ve got my tried & true favorites that I can always count on (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Rice Krispie Treats Cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats, Lucky Charms, Count Chocula, etc.). But I’m always open to adding a fresh favorite to the collection. Which brings us, my little cookies, to Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cereal.

I was very excited when I first saw this. I love cereal (duh) and I also love nuts. Anything that addresses both of those needs is an automatic win.

As I poured the cereal into the patiently awaiting bowl, I experienced that lovely jingling sound produced by the scattering of the crisp flakes. Immediately, I took note of their resemblance to Frosted Flakes (a solid cereal, for sure). It’s quite possible that since both cereals are made by Kellogg’s, they are, in fact, the same flakes but with different coatings.

I tried this cereal two ways: once with almond milk and once with regular milk. Both ways were fantastically delicious, although I must express my love for the almond milk. If you’ve never tried it, it’s completely delicious and the unsweetened kind has ridiculously less calories than regular milk. The nutty almond flavor of the milk perfectly complimented the nut & honey taste in the cereal. It amplified the deliciousness.

The cereal was wonderfully crisp and crunchy, even after sitting in the milk for a while. It achieved that perfect balance of absorbing the moisture of the milk while still retaining some crunch factor. My only complaint is that the nut bits were so teeny tiny that they weren’t even noticeable. I would’ve preferred bigger pieces or perhaps sliced almonds.

The honey part of the cereal was delightfully sweet. It was like Honey Bunches of Oats but with even more honey flavor. If only I could combine the sweet flakes of Crunchy Nut with the yummy oats in Honey Bunches. Then I would have the ultimate super cereal.

For now, plain ol’ Crunchy Nut will do. Sweet & crunchtastic, this cereal is cereaously awesome (get it?). I definitely recommend it to cereal lovers all over.

Overall Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Have you tried Crunchy Nut? What did you think?

Judgement Time: Wegman’s Tiramisu

You know what’s awesome?

Tiramisu.

You know what else is awesome?

Wegman’s.

If you’ve never experienced either, then you haven’t experienced life itself. Tiramisu is one fantastic, heavenly dessert. Its layered structure, consisting of sweet, fluffy cream and espresso-soaked ladyfingers is only bettered by a dusting of cocoa powder or sprinkling of chocolate shavings. It is creamy, dreamy, and decadent, but also light and heavenly. But could Wegman’s do it right?

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Judgement Time: Chesterfield’s Restaurant

For my birthday dinner on Monday, my family and I decided to check out Chesterfield’s in Utica, NY. They offer a decent-sized menu, which you can view here, with mostly Italian options (although I wouldn’t classify this as an Italian restaurant). The pasta dishes were what intrigued me in the first place. There seemed to be some tasty vegetarian options.

Atmosphere & Location: Chesterfield’s location in downtown Utica on a rather seedy street is far from welcoming. It’s more of a turn-off. The restaurant was dark-lit, which I personally don’t like, but some people may like that kind of “mood lighting.” I did, however, enjoy the decor. It was simple and modern. The restaurant was broken up into different rooms, which is nice if you’re like me and don’t love huge crowds of people. The separation of the restaurant allowed for a more intimate feel and I didn’t have to worry about people staring at me all night. Atmosphere Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Service: Our waitress was very nice and accommodating. My only complaint was the wait. It took a little bit longer to receive our appetizers than I would have liked which wouldn’t have been a huge deal had the rest of our meal come at a reasonable time. It took much too long to receive our entrees, especially since the restaurant was dead that night. There was no excuse for it and it was very frustrating. We were hungry! Service Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5.

Food: For appetizers, we ordered the “Famous” Bean Dip and the Chesterfield Mozzarella. Also included with the meal was a complimentary loaf of bread (with marinara sauce for dipping) and salad. For my entree, I ordered the Homemade Hats Baked with Alfredo Sauce. Continue reading →

Judgement Time: Extra Dessert Delights Gum (Apple Pie)

Dessert & gum all in one?

Extra Gum has rolled out a new line of chewing gum designed to taste like a variety of popular desserts. Their latest flavor, Apple Pie, struck me as the most interesting. Anyone can make a stick of gum taste like apples. But could they make it taste like pie?

Remember that scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory where Willy has created a gum that consists of a full three-course meal? That’s kind of what this gum reminded me of. I had expected it to merely taste like apples, but this gum really tasted like apple pie.

It was wild. I could taste the warm spices that are typically used in an apple pie: cinnamon and maybe even nutmeg. I could pick out the flavor of a  crust. A crust in gum, how is that possible? And, correct me if I’m wrong, but I might’ve even tasted the slightest hint of vanilla ice cream.

It’s times like these when I remember that I’m living in 2011. We’re in a futuristic day and age where all the functions of a computer can be held in the palm of your hand and gum tastes like real food. This dessert gum really is one step away from Wonka’s three-course meal. And, as an added bonus, the flavor stuck around pretty long. Not bad, Extra. Not bad.

In conclusion, I’d recommend this gum to anyone with a sweet tooth, especially people who are dieting and need to satisfy their cravings for dessert.

So, how did Extra score?

5 stars out of 5

Feel free to check out the gum and let me know how Extra scores in your book!