Editor's Choice: Snikiddy

It seems that we've been getting loads of candy in the office recently. Not that I'm complaining; I have a bigger sweet tooth than Willy Wonka. But after a while, the guilt starts to set in. In the midst of developing a plan to abolish my sweet tooth, we received a bag of Snikiddy Baked Fries. After one salty bite, I could care less about the remaining truffles patiently awaiting consumption at my desk.

Snikiddy's mission to create all-natural products makes the company stand out in a world chock-full of snack goods. The Baked Fries are gluten- and wheat-free, made without preservatives and corn syrup and have 50-percent less fat than regular potato chips. We received the Sea Salt and Barbecue flavors, but Snikiddy offers several others, including Original, Classic Ketchup, Southwest Cheddar, Bold Buffalo and more. In addition, the company also sells a line of cheese puffs with flavors like Grilled Cheese and Mac 'n Cheese.

The salty, crisp fries have a crunch more similar to potato chips than French fries. I was happy to know that my hand wasn't covered in grease after just a few bites. Best of all, my 3 p.m. snack didn't leave me with a sugar rush. Snikiddy products may sound more like an after-school snack, but trust us when we say they appeal to the salt-loving adults in all of us.

—Melody

Editors Choice: Kari's Malva Pudding

Pudding, for many, is one of those comfort foods. For me, it brings memories of a surprise treat at the end of a family dinner; later memories include banana pudding at a favorite local restaurant or bread pudding with rum sauce in New Orleans.

So I was immediately interested when we got an e-mail talking about a pudding cake that originated in South-Africa, Kari’s Malva Pudding (www.malvapudding.com). It is made from a Dutch recipe. The more intriguing part, however, was the celebrity of its fans, which include Oprah, Nelson Mandela and Henry Kissinger.

A few days later, the pudding cakes arrived. After thawing, it’s recommended that you heat it up a bit, so that’s what we did. The pudding is rich and dense, more like a cake than a pudding. Heating it in the microwave really brings out the caramel flavor and the little bit of sweetness from the recipe’s apricot jam.

To add to the delight, a chocolate flavor was recently added to the line. Again the pudding cake is dense, yet moist. The rich chocolate taste blends wonderfully with the caramel and is accented with the fresh apricot taste. Another flavorful choice.

I could see it topped with raspberries or as suggested, with ice cream. In the winter, the warm pudding would make the perfect ending to any meal or a dessert treat with friends.

For retailers, Malva Pudding comes in a round container and can be kept in the freezer. It would make a fine addition to your dessert section and then, of course, there is that story to tell.

Barbara

The April Issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor is Now Available

Dear GGD Reader,

Welcome to the April digital issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Magazine.


This Month's Featured Content:
• Paper Power
• Season Greetings
• Paw Prints
• Baby Lookbook
• Top it Off
• Honeysuckle

• Calendar

New Feature:
Now Viewable on Ipads

Please Note:
GGD Digital requires NO special downloads or applications to view in its entirety.

Please click HERE to begin reading now!

We hope you enjoy this issue and all future digital issues of GGD. Feel free to contact us with your thoughts and feedback at gwnplus@talcott.com.

Sincerely,
The GGD Team

Editor's Choice: French Food Connection

The French Food Connection rolled into Chicago yesterday, the first stop of a three-city tour bringing French confections, cheeses and other treats to people in the food industry. The tour stops in Las Vegas on April 13 and San Francisco on April 15.

The Fancy Food editors attended the show and we left with full tummies and a lot of great new products to share with you. Below are a couple of our favorites:

• French Cheese Club’s Crème de Chaource
Crème de Chaource, a new product from Didier Lincet, is both versatile and delicious. The creamy, mild cheese is light and can be used to replace cream or butter in sauces. It can be mixed with pasta, spread between slices of bread for grilled cheese, and more. It also makes a great fondue.

• Mag’m’s Macarons
Hailed by some foodies as the “new cupcake,” macarons are a delicate French confection. Not to be confused with the sweet coconut clusters, macarons are made with almonds, sugar and egg whites and feature a crisp shell with smooth filling. Mag’m offers the delicacies frozen, so it’s possible to have French flavors any time of day. We liked the raspberry and coconut passion fruit flavors.

• Le Manoir des Abeilles’ Lavender Honey
Le Manoir’s honey is entirely unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. Raw and unpasteurized, the honey is creamy and packs great flavor. Le Manoir also offers flower, acacia and chestnut tree flavors, but the lavender really stands out.

• Chocmod USA’s fruit pates
Chocmod has been selling truffles in the U.S. for 20 years. While the truffles are undeniably tasty, we’re still thinking about the fruit pates. Jelly-like squares coated in sugar, the pates come in apricot and blackberry. The blackberry tastes like you just popped a fresh berry in your mouth.

Editor's Choice: Vanille Patisserie

I love all things French. After all, this is a country where the fashion is couture, the men are romantic and the food is decadent. What I don't love is not having the money to consistently vacation there. However, thanks to the delicious desserts from Vanille Patisserie — my favorite part of France is within walking distance.

Husband and wife duo, Dimitri and Keli Fayard have two outposts of the gourmet French pastry shop in Chicago to accommodate downtown residents and their Lincoln Park counterparts. The pair is dedicated to maintaining classic French techniques and authenticity. In fact, Dimitri was born in L’isle Arne, France and he’s a member of the elite Academie Culinaire de France. However, despite a concerned dedication to traditional technique, the couple offers a variety of contemporary and surprising flavor profiles to please any palate.

As a huge fan of macarons, the beautifully petite cookie sandwiches were the first things I sampled. Vanille Patisserie offers 15 different macaron flavors per season. They create everything from classics (such as chocolate, raspberry and vanilla bean) to floral flavors (with tastes of rose and lavender) and even sinful delicacies (welcome chocolate hazelnut and peanut butter & jelly). I must shamefully admit that I sampled my fair share and was equally drawn to the refreshing lightness of their lemon macaron and the delicate nuttiness of their pistachio flavor. Everyone knows the secret to truly fabulous macarons is a crisp exterior juxtaposition with a chewy interior. Few pastry wizards can achieve this feat of culinary, textural magic. But, Vanille Patisserie did so with ease. Moreover, the buttercream, ganache or fruit paste fillings weren’t overly sweet or overpowering. In short, these macarons were au-dela parfaite.

Chances are, if you have as big a sweet tooth as mine, you won’t be able to stop at macarons alone. Vanille Patisserie offers an assortment of petit fours, entremets, tarts and croissants perfect for the wedding sweets table or gift baskets. They offer bon bons, truffles, candies and cookies wholesale for service related industries such as hotels, restaurants and gourmet markets. Visit their website, vanillepatisserie.com, for more information. And by all means, s’il vous plait profiter.

~Cathryn