It is that time of year... Littleflower reminded me to start this discussion again. Please feel free to share holiday or seasonal items at TJ's that you recommend (and/or use YAY, MEH, NAY, for additional seasonal/holiday items).
Thanks!
In case you want past discussions...
2013--http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/9188...
2012--http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8704...
Do you have the link to the thread from last year so perhaps I know what to be on the lookout for?
YAY - Mixed wild mushroom medley. I pick up at least 3 every time I visit now before they disappear
oh good, i bought some yesterday, but haven't opened the bag. they looked good, and i liked the idea of that combination.
well, i opened my bag and tried them. for me, a HUGE "meh" -- not much flavor and....i'm not sure what i'd use them for.
intend to return them.
I guess we all have our own tastes. I like them alot. Sorry they didn't work for you.
MEH for the Gingerbread Molasses Ready to Bake Cookies (refrigerator section). Tasty but in my opinion the ginger/clove spices were pretty overwhelming. I sprinkled them with sugar, a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of sea salt to try to balance the flavor out and thought that helped quite a bit. May finish the rest but most likely will not be a repurchase for me.
Oh shoot - I bought them today. The checkout clerk raved about them, too. [She also said 'Pumpkin is OVER in this store.' They've sold out of many items already.
The cookies weren't bad at all, they were just a bit too strongly spiced for my pallette.
Please do give these a try and come back here to give a review! I am curious to see what you and others think of the cookies.
I got those last year and made mini-tart shells with them buy rolling them into balls, rolling the balls in sugar and then pressing them into little mini muffin tins with a deep depression in the center. Once they were done I filled it with lemon curd.
Great idea! I was thinking of perhaps frosting each cookie with cream cheese frosting, to somewhat temper the "spice"yness. :-) I am sure the lemon curd that you filled them with complemented the gingerbread flavor well!
That is a terrific idea! Thank you -
Littleflower, we liked the cookies, but we both really like strong gingerbread flavors. More importantly, our guest liked them a lot, and left with several.
I did overbake them a bit. I'll go to the lower end of the suggested time when we buy them again [unlike many other TJ frozen baked goods, which usually need more time, at least for me!] - and I did like the package suggestion to roll them in sugar.
Thanks for starting this thread! I think it's a great idea!
Puff pastry is back in the freezer case in nyc, I remember it was popular with CHrs last year...
Not in yet, but when I was in there 3 or 4 days ago, the checker told me they'd be getting in the Celtic Cheese Collection again soon. That was the one with the Welsh, Irish and Scottish cheeses bundled together. Of course, that came up because I was buying a block of the Welsh Collier's (could be misspelling that) at the time. That was one of my favorites from the pack.
And next time I visit, I'll have to see if they have Panettone in yet. Mmmm....
I have never had panettone--perhaps it would be good and easy to take to a party. My family usually also says..
-- YAY to the chocolate drizzle star cookies (not to be confused with the dripped shortbread stars.. which are eh).
--YAY to the Edel-Marzipanstollen from years past. (Although the ones at World Market are even better! But if you don't like driving around, go for this.)
Not that they are out yet, but I appreciate the heads-up on the Panettone.
I think that I recall their pannetone being pretty tasty - I have heard that it makes for an excellent french toast (Giada has a good recipe for it).
I second the meh on the dark chocolate dipped shortbread stars - they didn't impress me enough to want to buy them again.
were those stars with the hard and annoying sprinkles? yeah, i didn't care for them at all.
But keep an eye out for the other circular star "Drizzle star cookies" are good. They are bigger in a package with a clear cover and stacked upright in a box.
The good ones....!
http://www.amazon.com/Trader-Joes-Cho...
No sign yet of the "good" star cookies in the horizontal package. I look for them each week, but so far they have every other star cookie (dark chocolate with sprinkles and the minty chcolate stars) but no luck yet on the drizzle star cookies. I hope they come back in this year!
You had asked above about the pannetone - it is now back in stock.
YES! Those were the ones I think they were in a light blue box, and I bought them because everyone was raving about the star cookies - maybe they were talking about the chocolate drizzle ones that GraceW likes.
I've never tasted a panettone I could stand. Dry, flavorless, half-assed fruitcake. Typical fruitcakes are bad, but they're better than panettone, IMO.
Yeah, I'm with you. I get no excitement from panettone.
me too, it always tastes like a mouthful of nothing
Maybe I will just buy my family the Stollen then.. not that it is incredible, because liking Stollen is an acquired-taste/appreciation, but Stollen is tradition in my house.
Panettone isn't meant to be like fruitcake---it is a bread. Put a little butter on it and have it with a cup of coffee, for breakfast. Think of it as raisin bread.
This is what I always do with it (and I make sure to add some Grand Marnier or DiSaronno - some liqueur to give it a little kick). I think I could tell just from the smell/feel of the panettone that I wouldn't like it just plain. Every one I've gotten smells and feels slightly stale and very dry, which makes for very nice bread pudding!
That trio of cheeses was great. Look forward to that returning, so thanks for the heads up!
Fried onions are back, unfortunately :/
As well as other holiday dinner items-condensed mushroom soup, stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, mashed potato mix
Not good? Or too good?
I've never tried these. Are the onions long enough that I could use them for spider legs? I'm going to try my hand at duplicating the kale/spinach bits (how hard could it be?) and want to make spiders out of them for my grandsons' annual "Halloween Fun at Nannie's" (I'm Nannie). I've been thinking I'd make my own onion ring legs but if I could use these instead, it would be one less job on my list.
SMALL YAY - Turkey Gravy (boxed - shelf stable): I would use this in a pinch if time was tight, good taste (a *tad* bit salty tasting) but if you have an extra 5-10 minutes I prefer this easy recipe that I have made a few times before using:
YAY + for the boxed Turkey Broth!
Make a roux with Kerrygold Unsalted Butter and flour. Add in turkey broth, stir, and wait for it to reduce and thicken. As it is reducing add turkey drippings if you have any but it tastes good without it if you don't, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (gives good depth of flavor), a few turns of the pan with white wine, and salt and pepper to taste.
FYI - The collection of flavored olive oils (hot pepper, basil, and lemon) as well as the trio of roasted nut oils (hazelnut, pistachio, and walnut) are back on the shelves. I thought it was worth mentioning because these sets went quickly last year and once they are gone not sure if they plan on reordering them.
Thanks littleflower! Would love to hear reports on both from those who bought them for themselves.
I hoping to get the nut oils again this year, just finished up the last of the pistachio a few weeks ago. They really are nice on salads.
The flavored olive oils, I'm going to skip. I used the basil but only half of the pepper and lemon ones.
Nay - Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil (non-organic)
Pleasant enough, but unremarkable when compared to the California Estate and Kalamata. Most damning was the almost complete lack of peppery cough inducing phenols which the other two offer in spades.
http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oi...
Yay+ Trio of Roasted Nut Oils
Picked up two sets yesterday. Cracked the walnut and it was superb on arugula, mixed baby kale, and spring mix topped with lentils, walnuts, mandarin orange segments, and lemon pepper.
If the pistachio and hazelnut are as good I'm seriously considering grabbing a third set.
No flavored olive oils yet but keen to try them.
Did you actually not care for the lemon and pepper ones Russ or did you just not get around to finishing them?
I really liked the flavored oils. Great for mixing up vinaigrettes at the last minute, especially the lemon one (mixed with the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar and a little fresh mint). The Basil I also used on things like roasted chicken, and the red pepper one was a great shortcut when stir-frying, or for anything I wanted to add a little bite to. If they had the lemon one as a stand-alone I would snatch it up in an instant. I look forward to trying the nut oils this year!
I am crossing my fingers that they also bring back the spice collection (I think it was a 4 pack set) this holiday season. I missed out on buying it this past time around and really would love to add that set to the rest of my spices!
If you're talking about the African spice blends that come in a stack of four tins, I bought a pack last week... I'd never heard of two of the mixes, so I just had to get it to try them out, and they're great!
I think that may be it - I looked at my store this past week but it wasn't anyone to be found in the spices section. Just to be sure, would you mind telling me what the four spices are in the tin set that you bought?
Let me get the jars... I know two off the top of my head - Rash al Hanout and Sumac. The other two were unknowns, and they are Pilpelchuma, which has a major kick to it - I put it into roasted chicken and veggies today and they were really good but also HOT, and Zhoug (less fiery and good for grilling)... They weren't with the other spices, they were in the 'seasonal' end cap display.
I've seen the flavored olive oils the past couple of times I've been in, but my local stores don't have the nut oils yet, and I definitely will be buying them again this year when I see them.
New product - set of three Sicilian olive oils. Would make a good gift for the olive oil connesseur.
While I'm at it, a few other gift type items that I spotted in the new section were a set of three flavored honeys (one was orange blossom), a set of two Stonewall Kitchen jars - pretty sure they were jams, a big tin of gourmet Virginia peanuts, and a 20 pk. of multi-flavored k-cups.
I LOVE the oils. I use them on grilled french bread.
Is the pumpkin coffee still available? I won't be near a TJ's until November 7th. Nearest TJ's are 2 or 3 hours away.
YAY-Cranberry Goat Cheese log. I don't even like cheese.. and yet, this is incredible.
YAY-Pumpkin Croutons. My beau ate the box in a day... I think that means approval.
This cheese log is brilliant. Always reliably delicious and great for parties.
I bought both the cranberry and apple goat cheese logs today. I'd had the apple one before (YAY) and I've had a cranberry version from Fresh Market at twice the TJ's price, so I'm hoping the TJ's one is just as good. I'm guessing it will be. :-)
just as a heads-up, the apple one is a bit sweet, so pair it accordingly with a suitable cracker. I think they did samples on a graham-type cracker, but I think a regular fairly plain cracker would work too.
Every time I go, I look for the Kringle. Finally, two weeks ago, they had it, but it was pumpkin. : (
Almond arrived in Michigan late last week.
Had my first Kringle (almond) last night, I might have to keep this one just for myself.....I already Have them portioned out and in the freezer...did anyone else enter the free Kringle sweepstakes:)
Nay to the crab and langostino rangoons. They're not a new product, but they are seasonal and this is the first time I've tried them. They're just kind of fishy and bland, and though you can see a bit of cream cheese in them, it's not detectable in the flavor.
I've never returned anything to Trader Joe's before, but for $5.99/box these are going back.
Hey all - does anyone know if the Danish Pancakes (aebelskivers sp?) are a seasonal item or do they carry them year round?
Saw lots of holiday products starting to roll in when I went to TJs today - appetizers, Almond Kringle, Celtic Cheese Trio, and the refrigerated cornbread stuffing, corn pudding, scalloped potatoes, and some brussel sprouts gratin that I nearly bought to eat by myself, tonight (I resisted them all, though!)
More of the holiday sweets seem to be rolling in. There's a "dark chocolate tasting odyssey," which I gather isn't new this year based on an employee's comment, though I don't know if the flavors are all the same as in the past. Seven 2-oz bars of 70% chocolate for $9.99 - the black sea salt caramel they have in 3.5-oz bars, plus coconut caramel, coffee and cocoa nib, almond ginger, orange hibiscus, chili and cinnamon, and salt and pepper potato chip. I bought it but will wait and break into them gradually.
Dark chocolate-covered triple-ginger cookies - I think I've bought these before but forgot that I wasn't wowed by them. I love chocolate and ginger together and the triple-ginger cookies are great, but I find the coating on these too thick, so the chocolate overwhelms the ginger flavor.
I saw those, along with the chocolate-coated peppermint Jo-Jos (which I found too rich when I got them a few years ago), and my favorite, the dark chocolate stars.
The dark chocolate stars - are they the smaller ones with the sprinkles in the blue box, or the larger ones that come say around 8-10 in a horizontal see-through plastic wrapped packaging?
BTW, since I am writing already about the stars, thank you for the info on the danish pancakes (usually I just say "thank you" using the recommend heart button)!
I've heard that the Chocolate Covered Jo-Jos are especially good when frozen which may temper their richness a bit. Having no self control whatsoever when it comes to sweets, "too rich" is an asset as it means I might, maybe, possibly, by some small chance stop at just one.
Yeah, I doubt it too.
I've tried two of the bars in the chocolate odyssey, as yet.
YAY: Almond ginger. The inclusions are in tiny bits (similar to the toffee pecan/walnut bar) and are well distributed. I love that the candied ginger has a good ginger bite.
NAY: Salt and pepper potato chip. Similarly well-distributed tiny bits, the salt and pepper (and especially the salt) are completely overwhelming, so much so that I can barely taste the chocolate. I won't be eating any more of this one.
Posted my NAY on the chocolate flight in the monthly thread. Only a couple were enjoyable to me and I found a good number entirely inedible.
I wouldn't buy this again. Only the almond ginger and coffee and cocoa nib really worked for me in terms of flavorings. The caramel with black sea salt is all right (have had the bar before), the coconut caramel meh (not wild about coconut in sweets), the other flavorings meh to yuck (salt and pepper potato chips), and I agree the chocolate's not great.
The pesto sun dried tomato Torta is back. I didn't get a chance to try it last year but have heard it's good.
Hello Everyone,
I love the Mint Choc Chip cupcakes(super moist with sweet thick minty icing) and the chocolate covered Peppermint Marshmallows(fluffy minty goodness). Not the healthiest options, but hey it's the Holiday season.
The Candy Cane Green Tea is back! I bought one of the last two boxes that they had left.
Three new items that I spotted in the new items section - Jalapeño Cranberry Sauce, Gluten Free Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, and Popcorn Chips (I want to say they contained quinoa but not 100% sure).
Also spotted a Porchetta Roast in the prepared foods section (almost bought it but at $8.99/pd. and an already overflowing list decided to hold off) and Sweet Potato Biscuits in the frozen section that I do not recall hearing about last year.
SMALL YAY - Garlic & Butter Mashed Potatoes: Okay, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to buy these last week and give them a try. My "small yay" takes in consideration that we are talking about BOXED potatoes here. I have tried other boxed mashed potatoes in the past and these were slightly better tasting and do not contain a lot of junky ingredients that the others do.
If you decide to try these, do not follow the pkg. instructions or they will come out like glue (linguafood found this out when they were giving out a sample of it). These need more water, milk, and butter - eyeball it at the end and add more of each until you reach the consistency that you like.
I may buy these again and use them as a quick weeknight side dish, but for the love of all things DO NOT think of serving these for your Thanksgiving/Holiday meal unless you at least give them a test run (they come two in a pack). On this board, I doubt anyone would anyways considering your good tastes! :-)
Just got the FF and saw pecan pie ice cream. Any opinions on that or the fresh turkeys? Thanks.
I had the pecan pie ice cream last year and thought it was pretty good, with authentic-tasting pecan pie goop and bits of pecans and crust mixed in. It doesn't look as appealing in reality as it does on the carton, though what does? It's fairly rich and I need coffee or milk with it.
I wouldn't serve it WITH pecan pie, though. Whipped cream is best for that.
Overall, I prefer the egg nog ice cream because I had rather have ice cream without chunks of anything in it, in general.
If they made a turtle ice cream with similar ingredients plus chocolate, I might be swayed.
TJ's ice cream is mostly camouflaged Double Rainbow, by the way.
I also had the pecan pie ice cream last year. I thought it was very good (enough that I bought another one after I had finished the first). It was a bit sparse on the mix ins though.
Any sightings on the peppermint bark covered pretzel chips? I need to eat as many as possible over the next six weeks.
The Peppermint Pretzel Slims were back in at my TJ's store in Virginia last week. Just like I did last year, I bought six bags to last me well into next year.
THANK you! Now I have to go buy as many as I can, to hide in my bunker with the boxes of turkey gravy.
You're welcome, and for anyone else interested in the Peppermint Pretzel Slims I would buy them ASAP, because the past two years they were one of the first items to sell out quickly at my store.
I am not sure if you are near a WHF, but they have a yogurt-covered version (with peppermint crushed on it too).
these were amazingly good. finished the entire bag on my ride home from TJs. not normally a fan of white chocolate but i loved these!
Big Yay for the fresh, hand-made Tamales.
Supposedly seasonal-only around the holidays, and this has been the case per my experience. A TJ's employee told me they wouldn't be surprised if they disappeared soon. I take that with a grain of salt though as it isn't even Thanksgiving yet.
Last year when I tried them for the first time around Christmas they were in a larger bag of ten tamales, and this year it is only SIX, not ten tamales per bag. $6.99/bag this time.
Located with the fresh prepared foods, salads 'n stuff.
I thought they were really good last year so I bought two bags this time. There were three different filling choices, two with either beef or chicken fillings, and one vegetarian, IIRC. After getting them home I foil-wrapped pairs for freezing so I'll have some for later because that's a lot of tamales to eat within just a few days before they spoil. Of course I had to taste-test with a little Sriracha (Huy Fong, not TJs). Love these things. Yay.
YAY here too! My TJ's just opened last October and I never found these (or a few other things I don't recall now) last year. I went for other things a few days ago but saw these so had to buy them while they were there. We had them for dinner tonight (we had the pork & the chicken) and they were a lot better than I expected (I don't tend to like a lot of prepared foods from anywhere). I'm going back to buy more to freeze before they're gone. It's me, my husband & our 14 year old son. We each had 2 (1 of each) and enjoyed them. We'll likely have the rest for lunch one day this weekend.
I was told today at my store that the tamales were no longer just seasonal - that they could get them year round. Haven't tried them yet, but I'm looking forward to it!
No kidding?! I hope that turns out to be true.
Are you sure they meant the refridgerated ones? I haven't looked recently but TJs usually has frozen tamales sold two per pkg
I bought four more bags today to wrap the individual tamales in pairs and freeze. Just in case the rumors of year-'round availability aren't true.
I did ask an employee who was taking inventory (looked official, with clip board in-hand) if they were now going to be year-'round and she said no, they were a temporary seasonal item to the best of her knowledge and she hadn't heard differently.
We know the employees don't always know...... it's just the way it is. I practiced "better safe than sorry," well, because.
I also posted some of these on the November thread... however, I realized many are seasonal products--so I should post them here too:
YAY-Assorted Cupcake Chocolates.. These are tiny little chocolates in the shape of cupcakes. (The November 2014 thread has the picture.) I thought they were a little too rich for me... but my book-group emptied the box of 9 in 2 minutes.
YAY-Dark chocolate Caramellos. I think that is what they were called--they were caramels+marshmallow on top, all covered in dark chocolate). The book group also took these down. I had one--and I don't think I could have another.. also too rich for me.
NAY-Iced Cranberry scone cookies. Dry.
MEH-new Macarons des Fetes. I prefer the vanilla and chocolate ones. These flavors somehow just didn't seem deep enough.
YAY-Peppermint Slims. I really didn't get why people were obsessed with these... but then I tried one. I will never buy these again--too good--and not to mention, I don't believe the nutrition-stats.. 140 calories for 4.. 35 calories per pretzel.. I doubt that.
YAY & NAY-Almond Kringle. Others liked this in my group, but I just couldn't take how greasy it was
Finally, there were tons of new/returning seasonal sweets above the frozen cases.. peppermint cremes, the flight of chocolate bars, the European cookie tin, etc.
--I have used the European cookie tin as a hostess gift or white-elephant prize/gift, and it is always appreciated.
What kind of cookies are included in the European cookie tin - sounds like it could be a great gift. Are they mostly shortbreads?
If it is the same as in years past, it is lots of variations of little shortbread-type cookies, many with chocolate (assorted milk and dark). It is a big tin, with maybe a dozen different types, several of each in a sectioned insert, of which there are two layered in the tin.
Gluten free peppermint joe joes! So far, these make me very happy.
I'm shaking my head at those raves about the boxed turkey gravy. MAYBE it would be acceptable to stretch out some drippings/fond but on its own, it's a big NAY for me. I bought two boxes based on the CH enthusiasm, thinking to use it when I've made chicken breasts without any sauce. I accidentally bought a rotisserie turkey breast (hot, steamy containers and I thought I was getting the $4.99 sale on whole chicken at the new Wegman's) so I used some of the TJ gravy with it. Barely any flavor - just brown liquid thinner than Hershey's syrup. The remainder will go into the next pot of soup and the unopened box is going back. This product reinforces, for me, the disparities between people's palates and cooking proficiencies.
I'm returning an unopened box as well. Based on the raves I also bought two boxes and was underwhelmed and my gravy standards are pretty low
I don't think it is bad at all but it isn't a must-have for me. I'll certainly use it during the week to refresh leftover chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. but I see no need to hoard it.
YAY - Belgian Truffles: They were sampling these when I went and enjoyed the milk and white chocolate truffles (I believe each box contains milk, dark and white chocolate truffles). I almost picked up a box but already have some boxed chocolates at home so decided to pass on them for now.
HUGE YAY - Fully Cooked Hams with a Brown Sugar Glaze Packet (meat section, quarter and half hams available): Our family gets these every year and they are delicious. Free of all of the chemicals and additives that other hams usually contain, we buy one to eat and one to freeze for future use. The hams generally get a chorus of yays on here (you can choose to use the glaze in the packet that comes with it or use your own), so if you are thinking of having both turkey and ham you may want to try one out!
Hams and turkeys are now available on the shelves.
I almost bought one of those hams today. There are only 2 of us though and it seemed like a lot of food. I still may get one on my next trip and freeze part of it. Do they offer them until Christmas?
I got 3 almond kringle (YAY!!).
They had samples of the seasonal sipping chocolate today (YAY - I bought some)
They also had samples of the rice pilaf with roasted veg. That wasn't amazing, but YAY enough that I bought some. It's in the reg. section with Thanksgiving sides. I only point that out because I couldn't find it and had to ask.
I am fairly certain that the hams are sold from Thanksgiving until Christmas, but you may want to ask just to be sure.
They offer a quarter of a ham that sounds great for two people and you can freeze the tasty leftovers. What I do is freeze portions of 2 slices in small freezer bags, which is perfect if I just want to thaw some out to add to an omelet.
BTW, be sure to freeze any leftovers within 2-3 days after you warm it up. Our family found this out the hard way the first year that we bought one and had to throw quite a bit out!
Thanks! the qtrs still looked big to me, but I didn't actually check how many lbs they were. That's a good idea to portion it out before freezing. I think I'll get one next time and do that. Am curious too re: Grey's question on saltiness (below).
In other news, I was VERY excited to discover a few minutes ago that I HAD bought the mini choc covered star cookies! I stood there for a long time trying to remember which star cookies were "the good ones" (per this thread) and I thought I ended up not buying any. But I did! And btw, they were a definite YAY! (ya, I broke into them LOL). I also got the chocomallow cookies (or whatever they are called). Haven't tried them yet. ….It kills me that i am buying all of these store bought cookies. I am a baker!! LOL
What useful info
Can anyone who has had both the TJ and Honeybaked hams comment on the saltiness of the TJ as compared to the Honeybaked?
http://www.honeybakedforyou.com/nutri...
According to the Honeybaked Ham website, a 3 oz. portion of honeybaked ham with glaze contains 860 mg. of sodium.
If you call up your local TJ's, I am sure that they would be more than happy to check on the sodium content of their hams per serving. I personally do not find their hams overly salty, but I do realize the subjectiveness of the subject regarding sodium! I know this doesn't exactly answer your question but hope it helps somewhat! :-)
Thanks! I'll check the TJ label next time I'm there.
Thank you. 215mg/oz (I assume you meant mg, not g) is lower than Honeybaked. I like Honeybaked but a couple of times had other brands of spiral-sliced which tasted too salty for me. So I'll give TJ's ham a try for Xmas.
I've had both and thought TJ's ham was much better tasting.
Ha! I've had both and thought Honeybaked was FAR better (albeit saltier). I think I may have gotten a dud from TJs though. It was not something I'd ever buy again.
One thing also to keep in consideration for those who care about nitrites is Honeybaked hams contain sodium nitrites while TJ's hams do not (except those naturally occurring). That is what drew us to try TJ's spiral cut hams and we have thoroughly enjoyed each one we have purchased. Hope our luck continues with the two our family just bought!
Reporting back. Had one of the TJs spiral cut hams for Christmas and liked it very much. We all agreed it was better than Honeybaked ham (which we usually get). Much moister and much less salty.
Sprinkled just a little bit of the sugar/spices on the outside of the ham (maybe 1/3 of the package). It had a strong clove scent and I was worried about it being "too much" based on others' opinions.
We let it come to room temp still wrapped it its plastic for about 6 hrs, removed the plastic, sprinkled on the sugar/spices and then heated for about 15 mins in a 350 oven. Perfect! Would definitely buy one again.
Glad that you enjoyed the ham as much as we do. They are available only twice a year, Easter and Thanksgiving-Christmas. We stock up two at a time to last us throughout the year!
Regarding the TJ's ham in discussion, if it is the "Spiral Sliced, Uncured" ham in the silver or gold foil (depending on size) within a black net bag, labeled as nitrate/nitrite free, then yes, and Yay.
The silver foil is the 1/4 ham and the gold is the 1/2 ham.
I started buying this last year, and as soon as I get one home I do portion it into small freezer packs for later use. I have never tried to warm one up to serve as a whole ham and/or apply the included seasoning packet for a drizzle/glaze, although I imagine that would be nice for those looking for that kind of presentation.
IMO this is really great ham. I don't even like ham that much but I like this ham. Not very salty compared to most.
Somewhat seasonal from my observations..... Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter..... although I think I've seen them occasionally at random times. I always want some of this in my freezer.
This sounds great, but the ham they were sampling ham last week (I don't know if it was the spiral sliced) had an overwhelming flavor of cloves. Is the one you're describing like that?
I can attest that the spiral cut ham itself has no flavor of clove (I am not a fan of cloves). You may have picked up that flavor in the glaze, which comes in a separate packet from the ham. I only put a very light coating of the glaze on (it is pretty strong), but the ham itself is so good you really don't even need it or you can apply your own.
Hope this helps!!
YAY YAY YAY !!! - Almond Kringle!
If you like pastries and you haven't tried this then you need to - you won't be disappointed! It reminds me of the Sara Lee frozen Butter Struesel Coffee Cake that I remember my mom buying when I was younger but 10x better. Buttery heavenly piece of delight.
Kind of preferred a small slice (thanks greygarious for the diagram you showed us for what size each slice should be) without the glaze, which easily comes off when still frozen - that way nothing interferes with the deliciousness of the buttery pastry layers.
$7.99 is a steal for one of these!
They were $1 less last year, but I am happy to buy one at almost any price! I diligently cut mine into 18 pieces, which should be 160 calories each. Not too bad. Take little nibbles and savor them....
The roving product pusher was giving out samples today and, yes, it's very tasty. I tasted and carried on, but my sample-sucker auntie threw one in her cart and somehow it ended up in my freezer awaiting portioning per grey's diagram.
Definitely a steal-as they can be ordered direct from OH and they cost double before factoring in the shipping- I just wish that TJ's would carry some of the fruit filled ones during the year-would love to try either raspberry or apricot!
I probably overlooked someone else's post, but a big YAY for the chocolate truffles in the red box. Very nice.
Krispy Kringle - Despite the naysayers I tried putting a slice under the broiler. 5 minutes crisped it up very nicely. Glaze bubbles then gets a nice crunch as soon as it cools to eating temp and it definitely helped the damp/wet quality we found unappealing.
I saw the seasonal Fondue last night. And I picked up the Himalayan Salt with Truffles that Chowhounders raved about in the November thread.
Thanks for the heads up! The fondue makes a great, fast dinner.
There are two - tub and and a taller thinner package, which is everyone a fan of?
Truffle Salt is gone already at our store. So regretting I only picked up two now having never tried it before.
I've been intrigued by all the talk of truffle salt and stopped by my local TJ's Wednesday to see if it was still in stock.
No sign of it. :-(
So I went to the front desk and asked if it was already gone for the season and the helpful helper assured me there should still be some on the shelf, but when we trotted back to the spices he confirmed what I already knew...no truffle salt to be found.
He went back to his computer and then told me they would have more in on Fri.
Guess where I'm going Friday. LOL
edit: this was at the original TJ's in Pasadena, for SoCal Hounds. Just don't buy it all before I get there!
My TJs had a Cookie Butter cheesecake - I didn't buy though, as I felt sure it would kill me.
The man and I have birthdays right around the corner (exactly a week apart so we celebrate in the middle,) and I think that will be our birthday treat this year since we aren't cake fans.
Mine did too - guess it is cookie butter everything this year!! :-) I wanted to wait for a review here first, but may have to give this one a try since it sounds intriguing.
The one that I *really* can't wait to try, and had to pry my hands from it to avoid adding it to my basket because I am already pastry/croissant overloaded here now, is the Cranberry Walnut Croissant Ring - frozen, next to all of their other heavenly croissants, and I assume is made by the same manufacturer. Sounds yum.
Yay! The Weisella cookies are back.
Also bought the huge (gorgeous) tin of Amaretti Virginia - these were a nay for me - the flavors were uninspired, the cookies needed more almond punch, and the number of cookies in the tin for $10 was uninspiring. But the tin is gorgeous.
Just a heads up, I stopped by the store today and both the turkey apple cranberry sausage and the turkey broth were completely gone, and most likely not coming back this year. I know especially with the turkey broth, you may want to call your store and have them hold you some if they have any left. Kicking myself now for not buying more boxes of it when I had the chance.
The Nashua store had things yesterday that the Burlington MA one did not have a couple of weeks ago, among them, in the bakery section, a chocolate babka, which I bought as a Seinfeld nod, and tall round red canisters of butterscotch shortbread wreaths. I've noticed that the three TJ's in my orbit vary a bit in inventory.
I goofed - the shortbread canisters are not round, they are squares with rounded edges. The cookie itself is nothing memorable - MEH.
so, NOW you tell, after i've already bought a can...sigh.. ;)
As we have all witnessed here on this board, one person's "MEH" could easily be another one's "YAY"!
Now "NAY'S" are another story - the likelihood of another person enjoying a product that someone feels so strongly against that they nay it is not obviously as good. I tend to stay away from trying products that get nays on here.
Since you already bought it, I hope that you decide to try them and give your opinion!
I think it depends on WHY it is a "nay" and what else they have to say about it. That's why just nay, meh, or yay is not very helpful.
For instance, pumpkin anything gets at best a meh from me, yet the vast majority of people love the pumpkin stuff.
Someone gave the mushroom lasagna a "nay" and for the exact same reasons they didn't like it (too rich), I enjoyed it and have bought it again!
Exactly, I bought the organic Spanish olive oil based on the nays from those who thought it lacked phenols; it was just what I was looking for.
Sorry! I did a massive Costco/TJ shop. With bad knees and unreliable heart rhythm, getting everything up 12 stairs into the house is a multi-day process, with nonperishables staying behind until a day or two later. So the cookies camped out in the car until today, when it began to snow, making it necessary to lug the rest in before the sloped walkway got treacherous. Thereafter, I collapsed into a chair with a cup of the Harvest Blend tea (YAY, as last year), and one of the cookies. IMO $6 is a bit steep for 24 half-ounce shortbread cookies. I bought two canisters so the other one will be part of the mail carrier's holiday
gift. Good shape for the mailbox, at least!
my food travels into the house in stages, too. extra items seem to jump into my cart, so i have to find space for them before they can enter my house. so... they get to drive around for a bit. such well-travelled nonperishables! and, i was only pulling your leg, though with your bad knees, i'll refrain from doing so in the future! :D
I take it back. The canister contains two sleeves of 12. I opened the second sleeve today and like its contents. There is coarse sugar sprinkled atop the cookies. I'm pretty sure the cookies in the first sleeve didn't have that.
New to me: The coffee sampler of four ground coffees that include Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread, Peppermint Mocha, and Wintry Blend (cinnamon, clove, etc..) Each container is 2.75 ounces. Have not tried them yet but I love being able to sample a number of different coffee flavors, not committing to a bigger container. Would work as a nice, low-key gift for any coffee drinker.
As long as you know said coffee drinker enjoys flavored coffees. (Personally, I can't stand them.)
I picked this up to sample their different flavors before going in on a big container. So far I'm very glad I got the sampler, as I'm really not a fan of the Gingerbread or Pumpkin Spice. I have yet to try the Peppermint Mocha. The Wintry Blend is by far my favorite, I've loved it for years.
Haven't tried it yet and have too many sweets in-house already,but grabbed a (frozen) cranberry/walnut ring that proofs overnight and then has to be baked- pulls apart into 12 individual rings. I'm assuming it will be seasonal so I grabbed one before they are gone, was actually looking to get one last kringle- they had none so hope this is good
WOW!! That sounds fabulous! It's in the frozen section right?
--Dommy!
Had the cranberry/walnut ring for Thanksgiving breakfast. I started letting it rise as soon as I got home as our house is none too warm this time of year. I'm glad I did this because after 24 hours it was nice and puffy.
This took way longer than expected to cook but then this happens a lot to me with TJs stuff and my oven so no surprise there. We really enjoyed it and there were leftovers for a late night snack. Hope I can snag another one. If not I will console myself with the almond croissants or maybe that kringle.
frozen section in a box about the size of a pie, they actually call it a a cranberry/walnut croissant ring $7.99 in a brown box under their own label.There were only a few in the store,so I doubt it will be around long (or be easy to find).
pork belly-in kansas
A huge yay for me dont know if it's new or not but wish I would have bought more,cant go back since it' a 230 mile trip for me better than anything I've had in the finer restaurants or that I could fix at home also bought the porchetta pork roast which remains untried,any feed back on that??
Yes. Check out the Nov. II TJ post for my report on the porchetta.
thanks for the comeback, I went to your old blogs but cant find out what you have said on the porchetta,anyhow I'm not going to throw it out not at almost $ 23.00 I'll just stick it in the freezer for now.
Below was shoo bee doo's response regarding the porchetta from 11/23:
"The porchetta wasn't bad. Quite tasty. Not too salty. I did have to add a small bit of salt. Nice gelatinous covering an juice that melted nicely in a sauce pan. Good spicing and texture in most places. The areas around the fat were strangely spongy, but I cut that off.
I come from northern Minnesota where the Italian immigrant made great porketta. So I do feel I'm somewhat of an expert."
Thanks, Little Flower. I'm afraid I hadn't noticed the price. Wow!
I agree with your surprise at the price, it was the reason why I held back on purchasing the porchetta until I heard some reviews on it. I know there isn't much of a price difference but didn't hesitate to try last year's fully cooked pork loin chops at $18.00, but for spme reason because this broke the $20.00 threshold I wasn't as likely to buy it without it seeing a review on it first.
The porchetta in St Paul does not cost $23.00. It costs $8.99.
The sign does say $8.99, but that is per pound. The cheapest porchetta that I could find at my store was $21.00.
I went through so something similar last year, when they were selling the bone-in frenched cut fully cooked pork loin chops (a huge yay, miss those this year!). It wasn't until I got home and looked at my receipt did it say $18.00 at $7.99/pd, which was okay by me and after tasting it, totally worth it for the flavor and convenience.
YAY!! I picked one up today! They had quite a few in Culver City...
--Dommy!
peppermint hot chocolate. cute green tin and the flavor was pretty good. i prefer cocoa and hot chocolate without flavorings, as a relaxing drink. the peppermint gave it a nice zip which is counterproductive to what i want. :)
This thread's getting on a bit... but I bought a bunch of Trader Joe's 'Thanksgiving' stuff and last night we had a ham with the chicken sausage dressing (yum), some of TJs jarred cranberry sauce (yum, and I like the fact that it's not in a can so we can use a spoon and keep the rest in the fridge till we want it), and I used half a box of TJs condensed mushroom soup to make a casserole.
Has anyone tried the Cookies Beyond the Pail? I tried the biscotto cookie collection last year and they were on the whole on the MEH side of YAY - only half of the cookies I remember liking (the jam filled ones).
i think they're pretty good. not as good as homemade, but much better than the average store-bought cookie. i'll be buying them again.
I like the biscotto/Italian cookie collection better than the pail.
littleflower-
Off the subject, but... I found some Italian cookies (tins) at tj maxx/homegoods made by a company in California called cookies con amore.Apparently they are sold at some whole food stores. They also make some gluten free (if this appeals to you). I thought they were truly excellent- went back 2 days later and grabbed another (larger) tin. Definitely not cheap ,but at TJ Maxx ,I thought a good value. Btw, I'm on east coast so they must have distributed widely thru homegoods. Also found this link.http://cookiesconamore.com
How wonderful, thank you! I believe that we have a TJ Maxx not too far away, and these would be a perfect gift for my father for Christmas since he loves any food authentic to Italy!
I clicked on the link and noticed that they also sold Pizzelles - last year Costco had delicious Pizzelle cookies, not sure if they still do but they were fantastic and at a great price.
Regarding Italian biscotti at TJ's my father is a huge fan of the almond ones. YAY.
I'm sure that ordering direct would definitely give a bigger choice. I find tj maxx "salts" their stores- items like this (if they get them) are usually small quantities and hard to find. The first tin did have several biscotti- not being a coffee drinker (I tend to think the 2 go together),I don't eat biscotti often (and definitely not a good judge of them) but I did think they were good
I bought these too! I was actually quite surprised at how good they were. I even liked the biscotti, although like you I am not a coffee drinker. Went back to Homegoods to buy more, but there were no more.
Unfortunately, I thought the TJ's assortment of Italian cookies were seriously lacking by comparison.
HUGE YAY - Wintry Blend Coffee: They were sampling this at my store, and love how it is only lightly spiced with "wintry spices". Medium/Dark Roast - it is rare to find a spiced coffee that accents the flavor of the coffee rather than overwhelming it.
YAY/MEH - Mini Peppermint Waffle Cookies: Tasted like more of a candy than a cookie to me. The waffle cookie was just a carrier for the chocolate and peppermint coating, you can't really taste it. Having said that though, I can see this being a good thing to bring to a gathering as a candy/dessert item. I just was looking for more of a cookie - kind of wish now that I had tried the Cookies Beyond the Pail instead!
The Ginger Brew in the cork top bottles are back. A favorite if you're a fan of ginger ale with a big kick.
Copying this over from the December thread:
BIG BIG YAY: Crunchy amaretti (in a cardboard box with a plastic window, not the soft amaretti Virginia in a large square light-green tin). I don't know if these are actually Lazzaroni repackaged - the packaging is different (different kind of paper, only one cookie per paper twist instead, and each is in a plastic wrapper - but I think so. They are the same style, made from apricot kernels not almonds, very crunchy/crumbly with little bits of pearled sugar on top. and they look and taste identical, have identical ingredients, and I think the nutrition facts look the same (I already took them from the box and recycled it). These get the Big Big Yay because of the price. They are, to my taste, too sweet unless dunked in coffee or tea, but I have a lot of dessert recipes that incorporate them that I usually only make on special occasions because they're so damn expensive. Last time I bought a box at a locall specialty store, it was about $12. The TJ's are $2.99 for 5.2 oz. These are seasonal, and I will be buying a bunch and hoarding. They should keep well thanks to their texture and being wrapped in plastic.
ETA: based on the box design, it's now clear the amaretti are Del Chiostro, a brand I haven't seen in local stores before: http://www.souschef.co.uk/amaretti-de...
Another "Yay!" here for the amaretti. I got those based on your recommendation and agree, they have a nice flavor and texture. I could do without the sprinkles on top, though!
I bought two boxes of the crunchy Amaretti cookies (all that was left) and two tins of the Amaretti Virginia tonight. YAY+ for both! There are 4 flavors in each can of the soft Amarettis - chocolate, coffee, raspberry and chocolate rum. Each cookie is individually wrapped in both paper and plastic so hopefully they should stay fresh.
these were very sweet & will take your rec to dunk them in the future. thanks!
Huge yay to the Jingle Jangle mix, which is chocolate covered caramel corn, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered joe joes, chocolate candies, and chocolate covered pretzels. Basically if you like chocolate, get this.
Meh to the triple tiered chocolates. The chocolate is good quality, but it kind of pales in comparison to some of TJ's other chocolate items, especially at this time of year. I'm also not a huge fan of white chocolate, so that also adds to the meh rating.
Yes, I love that tea! I stock up and get about 6 boxes to last me through the year. On chilly nights, a cup of Candy Cane green tea hits the spot and warms you up. I'm still working on the boxes from last year. I will have to remember to get some more next time I'm at Trader Joe's.
I'm definitely buying a few more boxes next week. I love Tazo's refresh tea but this is even better.
If you can't find the Candy Cane, it is incredibly close to the Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane decaf. green tea. The "Lemur" blue box tea is close enough to the Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet tea that I cannot tell a difference. I stock up on the TJ and CS teas in December to get me through the year, since both brands consider these to be seasonal.
Where are the Trader Joe holiday cutout butter cookies with natural colored sugar sprinkles?
Different places in different stores. In my store all the holiday cookies are over the frozen fruits and desserts by the checkout line so you have to pass by them. It's hard to find some of my usual stuff right now because they have moved it all around to accommodate the holiday items.
Unfortunately, it is hard to find any employee in my store who knows where anything is or even who is familiar with what I am looking for.
I haven't seen those cutout butter cookies, the drizzled star cookies in the horizontal plastic see-through packaging, nor the Dark Chocolate after dinner mint squares that I love which they have carried the past couple of years during the holidays.
Has anyone tried the porchetta?
Sliced Raclette - I forgot about this seasonal item and was quite excited to spot it on the shelf today
Thanks to those who mentioned the spiral ham. I got the smallest one I could find, 4 pounds. I plan to have it at room temp and for sandwiches and split pea soup. Since it was mentioned that the glaze is strong on clove, I plan to use it not as a glaze but as a sauce. I'll add cider, cream, sauteed leeks, truffle oil, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Maybe mustard and sultanas (if it's not overly sweet already).
When I was at my TJs tonight I overheard that the Candy Cane Jo-Jos are dunzo.
SMALL YAY - Iced Cranberry Orange Scone Cookies: Just got around to opening these up, and thought they were good but one or two at a time with tea is enough for me because the icing was a tad sweet for me.
YAY +/MEH - Eggnog Ice Cream, YAY + when combined with milk to make a milkshake, but when eating the ice cream by itself in a dish one scoop was enough for me. It isn't the type of ice cream where you can eat a whole pint of it in one sitting!
Our TJs seems to be pretty much devoid of the holiday/seasonal stuff now, although I did manage to score a couple of the last bags of peppermint thins! Yay!
I am a relative TJ's newbie, so have a question... I was pretty enthralled with both the pumpination and holiday gold rushes. Are there any other big seasonal item times during the year (winter/spring/other holidays)?
HUGE YAY easily! - Set of 3 Extra Moisturizing Hand Creams: Unlike some hand creams, these blend right into your skin without leaving a film of residue behind and they smell amazing (a very light and natural scent). Love that one of the creams contains Argan Oil, which is supposed to be one of the best oils for your skin. I forget the price for this set, but it is quite a deal and definitely worth purchasing again next year during the holidays.
I reviewed the Ginger Spice Cake on the December YAY/MEH/NAY page, but thought it was worth mentioning here as well (for those who may only look at this page next year for holiday seasonal product reviews and ideas) that it was a definite YAY, and will also purchase this again next year.
There was much discussion of this last year, when they first appeared, but the set of shea butter hand creams is almost certainly L'Occitane, which sells their 1-oz tubes for $12 *each*.
FWIW, for the 20+ winters I delivered mail in New England, Ken Ag Udder Cream saved my hands. I first discovered it at Agway but it's available online. Way cheaper than beauty products, it looks and smells just like Crest toothpaste. It is non-greasy but does contain wax, so if you apply too much it will leave a residue for a few moments, until your warmth melts the wax as you continue to rub it in. I used to buy a big jar every few years, and shared it with my co-workers. Bag Balm is similar and better-known, but it's greasy. The KenAg is fantastic.
After all those raves about the hand creams here I nabbed some this year but I don't love them. They work ok but the smell is too strong and perfume-y for me (and my co-workers, smelling me from across the room, agree).
I find the smell to be rather strong, too. I can't use it before bed or my hands smell too much and it bothers my sleep. But it really is great for moisturizing so I try to just use it during the day.
Put on latex gloves if using the cream overnight. It also helps with absorption. Before I discovered udder cream, my hands would crack and bleed from ice and cold metal. Mom, a manicurist, told me to slather on vaseline, then put on cotton gloves (latex were not sold retail back then). By morning, the cracks were no longer painful and my hands were soft.
LOL Bax, as you could see from above I thought quite the opposite! :-) I do agree that they are scented but personally loved how to me it didn't smell perfume-y in the flowery sense (scents too, haha). In fact, I find myself wanting to smell my hands often during the day because I think they smell so good!
This is why I have grown to appreciate this board, to get varying opinions on their items.
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