Cioppino Seafood Stew

This stew is found in the frozen section along with the other seafood products. It is hearty, rich, and packed with delicious seafood bites including shrimp, mussels, Alaskan cod and baby scallops.
To my surprise all of the seafood was raw. I was happy about this because I got to feel like I was really cooking and not just re-heating. The tomato sauce was tangy and acidic with hints of garlic and pepper, which tasted so great with the seafood.
Here's the deal. The directions tell you to heat the sauce until boiling, then add the seafood and let simmer. I followed the directions (that's my job) but I had a feeling that some of the seafood would be over-cooked because they were not all the same size and shrimp cooks VERY quickly. I was right.
My advice is to let the sauce boil, add the cod first, then after a few minutes add the mussels and scallops. Then with about 3 minutes to go, add the shrimp. This will insure that everything will be cooked to perfection and nothing will be rubbery.
Even though some of my sea creatures were a little over-cooked everything was still delicious.
The mussels were my favorite. They were chewy (in a good way) and tender at the same time. And there were a lot of them.
The scallops were tiny bites of ocean flavor and not gritty. (I HATE gritty scallops)
The cod chunks were huge and flaky. No wimpy fish bits here.
The shrimp was a bit chewy (over-cooked) but still pretty tasty.




Treat yourself to this stew on a cold day and serve it with a crusty bread (slathered in butter) to soak up the delicious sauce.








My Rating * * * *

Gateau Concorde

Attention all chocolate junkies. This chocolate creation translation is "harmony cake" and I should say so. Found in the frozen aisle (if it's not sold out) this cake is filled with layers of chocolate meringue alternating with chocolate mousse. 

The meringue is crunchy and melts in your mouth, while the mousse is rich as can be with that dark chocolate silky smooth texture. The mousse part of this cake is more on the fudge side, not quite as light as you would expect a mousse to be, but I suppose I'll let that slide. Let me tell you though, this thing is decadent and RICH. I gave my boyfriend two slices because the cake is sort of small and he has a huge sweet tooth. He could barely finish one slice. The servings per container is 4 but you can easily satisfy 8 people (one meringue top per person). I let the cake sit at room temp for an hour and then we indulged. Although I couldn't fall asleep due to the sugar and caffeine surging through my veins, I would still recommend this Gateau for any occasion. (just don't consume after 11pm. woops)   

My Rating * * * * 

Bibimbap Bowl

I have to be honest, I didn't expect to like this at all, as I'm not a big fan of this Korean dish. I thought the meat would be bouncy and dry, the carrots rubbery and watery, and everything else bland. On that note I can't say I was overwhelmed with a flavor sensation but my prejudice wasn't completely accurate.
The beef was full of flavor and moist. It was marinated in a soy based sauce and was a little sweet as well. Also, it wasn't bouncy at all (could be because I got a good batch though)
My only complaint about the meat is that I only got four measly pieces of it. Give me more meat people.
The carrots were as expected; rubbery and watery. And WAY too many of them. (cause they're an inexpensive filler)
The soy bean sprout and egg was pretty good. It had a nice crunch which added texture.
The spinach just made me feel good about eating something green.

Too much rice. Again rice would be another cheap filler but come on, quit skimping on the goods. 

This bowl comes with a packet of spicy chili sauce (about 2 tablespoons) which you can pour on after you've nuked your Bibimbap (I laugh every time I attempt to say that word)
I tested the sauce and my mouth was set on fire. I didn't think I would add any but after a few bland bites I decided to add about 1 teaspoon. That little teaspoon ignited my bowl with heat and chili powder flavor but I wasn't complaining.

Best advice if you get this bowl; take out some carrots and maybe some rice. Pour as much or as little sauce as you can handle. And mix everything together, that way you won't realize that one thing is better than the other. Bibimbap out.

My Rating * * *