Bissinger's Blueberry Acai Gummy Pandas

Who says candy is bad for you?

Bissinger's Gummy Pandas claim to contain antioxidant packed blueberries and acai fruit-- judging by the taste they probably do. This is the first fruit candy I have ever had that actually really tastes like the fruit they are supposed to be, not some made up version of how a chemist thinks a fruit should taste.

A healthy alternative to the average gummy bear, Bissinger's pandas are "made with organic sweetners" (sugar) and come portion controlled in 100 calorie packs (and really need to be, seriously).

Find these and my other favorite flavors (Goji Guava and Pink Grapefruit) in the Bissinger's online store.

(Courtesy of Lee's care package.)

Bouchon Bakery Pumpkin Macaron

Bouchon Bakery produces the largest double sandwich style Macarons in New York City (I posted the photo above for scale). Tasty and lovely to look at, but they had yet to produce a "favorite" for me. That is until they put out their Pumpkin Macaron!

A spicy, just perfectly sweetened pumpkin filling sandwiched between two perfectly done crispy, chewy almond shells-- A pumpkin pie cookie, or pumpkin moon pie.

Pictured here with a pistachio macaron.

Visit Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center at Columbus circle or see them online.
(Special thanks to the Lil'sister for this pre-thanksgiving gift.)

Cranberry Marmalade (A Thanksgiving special!)

Since Thanksgiving (my FAVORITE!) is in a few days, I thought I'd throw in a recipe share, and I even did a little still life of the fresh ingredients for you =). I promise you'll never be happy with that canned stuff again... Enjoy!

Alice's Cranberry Marmalade

2 cups fresh cranberries (½ a 12oz bag)

¾ cup of sugar

¾ cup of water

1 large orange

3 fresh pineapple spears or ½ cup of chunks

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

ground cinnamon to taste

¼ cup pine nuts

Yield almost a quart. (can be doubled)

Prep:

Measure water into a 2qt sauce pan and zest whole orange into water.

Cut orange in half. Peel pith (the white part) off ½ orange and mince. Set other half aside (or eat it, we won’t be using this half).

Mince pineapple.

Cook:

Dissolve sugar over medium heat in water with orange zest. Bring to a rolling boil. Add cranberries, minced orange and nutmeg. Simmer, stirring frequently, until cranberries begin to pop open. Fold in minced pineapple, pine nuts and cinnamon, sample for sweetness, if too tart, add sugar to taste. Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Cool before serving.

I like to make this a day or two ahead to allow the flavors to meld together. I hope you love it as much as I do! (Cranberry Marmalade is also delicious on toast and scones and in those post Thanksgiving ham and turkey sandwiches... And it can be canned and given away as gifts.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

4505 Chicharrones

Oh- EM- Gee... So amazing they could turn a vegetarian. The fluffiest melt in your mouth pork rinds ever. They have a hint of sugar which amps up the saltiness just right, just like kettle corn from the fair.

Hauled all the way from San Fran by my dear friend Lee. They don't ship their Chicharrones but they do ship their hotdogs (*sobs*). Visit them: 4505 Meats

Spam Flavoured Macadamia Nuts

Yep. Great inaugural post, eh?

Well you can thank Lil'Sister's good friend Jaymes for bestowing them upon us.

And, yes, they do taste Spam-y. You have to either lick the Spam coating first or suck on them for a second to get a good taste though.