Food Holiday: National Ice Cream Soda Day

When I think of ice cream sodas, my first thoughts go to a root beer float.  Then my next thoughts go to my grandparents’ home, where I remember occasionally having floats in fruit flavors like orange & grape.  I also remember going out and getting an ice cream soda once when I was a kid and the server told me I could choose any flavor ice cream & any flavor soda.  I chose 7Up with vanilla and boy was I disappointed…give me some flavor!

Here’s some inspiration and nostalgia for you in honor of National Ice Cream Soda Day (June 30).

Soda Jerk

Source: cdn.theatlantic.com via Paulette on Pinterest

Red, White, & Blue Ice Cream Soda Shooters

Source: blogs.babble.com via Joan on Pinterest

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Float

Source: vegan.sheknows.com via Bonnie on Pinterest

Soda Floats Four Ways

Source: theinclinedplane.com via Lydia on Pinterest

Bacon Soda Float (Interesting…didn’t even know bacon soda existed.)

Source: bacontoday.com via Jes on Pinterest

Firecracker Float

Source: tasteofhome.com via Cynthia on Pinterest

Set up your own Ice Cream Soda Bar

Source: celebrationsathomeblog.com via Serena on Pinterest

Pineapple Ice Cream Float

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Dee on Pinterest

Retro 7Up Ice Cream Float Ad

Source: icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com via Scott on Pinterest

Classic Coke Float

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via La Toya on Pinterest

Butterbeer Float

Source: ezrapoundcake.com via Pat on Pinterest

Eat Out Boise Review: Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill

After a busy day of moving my sister into her new house in the Boise, Idaho area, take-out pizza sounded really good!  She & her husband love Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill, so we placed an order for pick up.

My brother-in-law’s description of their BBQ Chicken Pizza made my mouth water.  It is topped with BBQ chicken, black beans, tomato, red onions, corn, cilantro, & gouda cheese.  The sauce on the pizza was quite sweet and tomato-y.  I was expecting a barbecue sauce on the pizza, but I think they must use their regular pizza sauce on it with the barbecue sauce being used just on the chicken.  Whatever it was, I liked it.  I loved the addition of the black beans, corn, & cilantro to the pizza.  Most barbecue chicken pizzas I’ve had have not had those toppings, but they sure add a lot to the flavor and texture of the pizza. 

The second pizza we ordered was The Ultimate, a traditional combination pizza with sausage, pepperoni, ham, black olives, green peppers, onions, & mushrooms.  It had a fresh taste with lots of onions and green peppers that were still slightly crunchy.  I liked it, but highly preferred the BBQ Chicken one.

The crusts on both were traditional hand-tossed crusts that were pretty good:  chewy, without being overly so and not greasy.  Both pizzas had a generous amount of toppings with good flavors.  I would love to go back for their BBQ Chicken Pizza, and to try some other specialty pizzas:  Primavera (I love broccoli on a pizza…why don’t more restaurants serve it up?), Curried Chicken, & Favorite Sun (a pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, pine nuts, & smoked gouda). 

Smoky Mountain Pizzeria also has salads, burgers, & pasta in addition to pizza.  They have several eat-in locations, all of which are in Idaho except for their Sandy, Utah location.  Since we had take-out, I don’t know how the eat-in experience is.  Anyone have any feedback on that?  A gluten-free menu is available, in addition to a catering menu. 

Entrée Price:  $$
Average Fork Rating:  3.2
Mr. Diner:  3
Mrs. Diner:  4
Amazing Diner:  3
Sweet Diner:  2
Little Diner:  4

Giveaway: Beanfields Snacks

Have you tried bean chips yet?  Beanfields makes five different flavors of bean & rice chips, and we got to try them all! 

If you haven’t tried them yet, it may seem like an odd idea:  a tortilla chip made from beans?  But it works.  They have a nice, crisp texture just slightly different from corn tortilla chip.  They do have a different flavor, a richer flavor that does have a hint of beans to it. 

Some of the great things about Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips:

• Gluten-free
• 4 grams of fiber & 4 grams of complete protein in every 1 oz. serving
• Nacho flavor is vegan & has won three “best of show” awards (VegNews, New Hope Media, and Natural Solutions Magazine)
• Beans & rice used in Beanfields Snacks are grown in the US.
• Low-sodium option (Naturally Unsalted flavor)

These are all well and good, but if they don’t taste good, I’m not going to be snacking on them.  The great thing is that they are good.  On their own, we really liked the Nacho, Pico de Gallo, and Sea Salt & Pepper varieties.  Nacho was actually the most popular flavor in our house, so I can see why it won so many awards.  If you like Dorito’s, definitely give these a try!  My favorite was the Sea Salt & Pepper because I  love the kick from the pepper.  The Pico de Gallo isn’t very spicy, but has a good salsa-type flavor and isn’t as heavily seasoned as the Nacho flavor.

The Sea Salt and Naturally Unsalted varieties are plainer and would be great with hummus, guacamole, salsa, or other dips.  I prefer the flavor brought out with the sea salt, but Naturally Unsalted is a great choice for those limiting their salt intake. 

Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips are sold in 6 oz. & 1.5 oz. bags that retail for $2.99-$3.99 and $1.19-$1.49, respectively.  You can purchase them in Beanfields’ online store, at Amazon, or find a store that sells them near you with their locator tool.  In my area, they are sold at Sunflower Market and Good Earth.

Nacho Average Fork Rating:  4.3 Mrs. Diner:  4 Amazing Diner:  4 Sweet Diner:  5	Pico de Gallo Average Fork Rating:  3.7 Mrs. Diner:  4 Amazing Diner:  3 Sweet Diner:  4	Sea Salt & Pepper Average Fork Rating:  4 Mrs. Diner:  5 Amazing Diner:  4 Sweet Diner:  3
Sea Salt Average Fork Rating:  2.3 Mrs. Diner:  3 Amazing Diner:  2 Sweet Diner:  2	Naturally Unsalted Average Fork Rating:  2.3 Mrs. Diner:  3 Amazing Diner:  2 Sweet Diner:  2

Now, for you, my dear readers, Beanfields has offered six 6-oz. packages of chips for one of you to win! 

To Enter: Leave a comment with the flavor of Beanfields you’d most like to try.  Additional entries are available for liking Beanfields on Facebook & subscribing to Rate the Plate Utah. Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

Giveaway Closes: 12:01 am EST on Monday, July 2, 2012. Winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond. You must be at least 18 years old and have a US address.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Complimentary products were provided for this review & giveaway, however all opinions are our own honest review.

Eat In Recipe: Key Lime Cupcakes

There’s a huge place in my heart for fruity cupcakes, especially ones with citrus.  We all loved the Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes from a few months ago and I’m excited to try an Orange Cupcake (or Creamsicle) recipe and a Raspberry Lemonade one.  One of my favorites from the bakery has been a Key Lime cupcake, so this recipe was a no-brainer for me to try. 

The cake is quite light and has a good balance of sweet and tart.  The lime zest-enhanced cream cheese frosting is a great compliment to the cake.  This is a great, cool, and light cake recipe…perfect for summer! 

Key Lime Cupcakes from My Madison Bistro
1 ¾ c. cake flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 ¼ c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
2 ½ T. key lime juice
1 T. key lime zest
1 drop green food coloring paste
¾ c. buttermilk (room temperature)

Icing:
1 stick (1/2 c.) cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature), cut into 8 pieces
2 ¼ c. powdered sugar, sifted
1 T. key lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
3. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low until it’s softened. Add the sugar and increase the speed to medium. Beat until fluffy, about four minutes. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime juice, zest, and food coloring and beat until mixed. (It will look curdled.)
4. Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix on low until just combined. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese icing.

Icing:

1. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low until it’s softened a bit. Increase speed to medium and add the cream cheese one piece at a time. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar until combined. Beat in zest.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes.

Average Fork Rating:  3.6
Mr. Diner:  4
Mrs. Diner:  4
Amazing Diner:  3
Sweet Diner:  4
Little Diner:  3

Eat Out Review: Wheeler’s Drive-In

We were down in Sanpete County for Memorial Day and got hungry.  There aren’t a lot of choices, but we were planning to stop at the Dairy Freez in Mt. Pleasant for a burger & shakes.  When we got there, we discovered there was a 30 minute wait and we had hungry kids, so we headed to the next stop along the road:  Wheeler’s Drive-In. 

Wheeler’s has burger joint fare:  burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes, etc.  We placed our order at the counter and then it was delivered to our table.  Service was friendly and took a reasonable amount of time.

I got a 1/4 lb. cheeseburger.  It was pretty average with a Thousand Island-type sauce and sesame seed bun.  Unfortunately, it was just lukewarm and not very flavorful; the meat seemed like a frozen patty you’d buy premade at the store and cook over the grill.  Also, the cheese was not melted.  Maybe there are some people who like their cheese unmelted on their burger, but I wanted it melted. 

Mr. Diner & Amazing Diner got the foot-long hot dog, which was split and warmed on the grill.  The dogs were very average; nothing special. 

Sweet Diner & Little Diner both got corn dogs, which were scorching hot and crispy on the outside, but the breading was soggy on the inside.  After a couple bites, neither kid wanted to finish their corndog.

We ordered french fries and onion rings on the side.  Both were served with a couple small containers of fry sauce.  The french fries were pretty average.  The onion rings were battered and sliced thickly, which I love.  However, there were many that were still clumped together when they were fried, and those were difficult to eat and fell apart when you bit into them. 

Wheeler’s was a bit disappointing and we wished we had waited the 30 minutes for the Dairy Freez instead. 

Entrée Price:  $
Average Fork Rating:  2.2
Mr. Diner:  2
Mrs. Diner:  2
Amazing Diner:  3
Sweet Diner:  2
Little Diner:  2

Eat In Recipe: Man-Pleasing Chicken

Interesting recipe name, huh?  And I’m not entirely sure that is what it’s called.  I ran into this recipe on Pinterest.  It’s from a blog called Witty in the City.  She titled the post “Man-Pleasing Chicken”, but said her husband said it should be called “So Good it Can’t Be Described, Explosion on Your Taste Buds Chicken.”  Since the recipe itself doesn’t have a title, I’m not sure what it’s called.  But “Man-Pleasing Chicken” is a nice, short title, so that’s what I’m calling it.  Anyway…

Gave this recipe a shot.  It’s easy, moist, and flavorful; however, it didn’t please my man.  Actually it wasn’t a huge hit with anyone.  I think it was because the 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard is pretty overpowering.  I really like Dijon mustard, but definitely thought this dish would be better with maybe 1/4 c. mustard instead.  Loved the fresh rosemary in the dish, but I couldn’t really taste the maple syrup.  If you’re a big Dijon mustard fan, definitely give this a try.

Man-Pleasing Chicken from Witty in the City
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approximately 6 thighs)
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 T. rice wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste
fresh rosemary, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 450ºF.
2. Mix together Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and rice wine vinegar.
3. Put chicken thighs into a foil-lined, oven-proof baking dish. Salt and pepper the thighs. Pour the maple mustard mixture over the chicken, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated.
4. Bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce halfway through.
5. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon extra sauce & sprinkle fresh rosemary over the top.

Notes:  Trim the thighs of as much fat as possible.  I used real maple syrup.  For the rice wine vinegar, I substituted rice vinegar.  Another good substitute is red wine vinegar if you don’t have rice wine vinegar on hand.

Average Fork Rating:  2.4
Mr. Diner:  2
Mrs. Diner:  3
Amazing Diner:  2
Sweet Diner:  3
Little Diner:  2

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Denise C., who won last week’s First Anniversary giveaway for $10 in Paypal cash!  Thanks for all our faithful readers over the last year!  To all our new readers, welcome!  If you missed the list of our top-rated restaurants, recipes, & food reviews, make sure you check it out!

The Ultimate Chocolate Education at Tony Caputo’s

Chocolate!  The word alone excites me.  Last week I had the amazing opportunity of attending an Introduction to Fine Chocolate event led by Matt Caputo at Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli in Salt Lake City.  I knew I would come away from the event with a greater understanding & appreciation for chocolate, but that was just the tip of the iceberg! 

Photo of Matt Caputo from newspapergrl.

Matt Caputo, the resident chocolate expert at Caputo’s, has a deep knowledge and enthusiastic passion for fine chocolate.  He has taught and trained himself through years of study, visits, and tasting lots and lots of chocolate (he regularly consumes 1/4 to 1 lb. of chocolate a day).  He was also named Utah’s Best Food and Wine Educator by Salt Lake Magazine for 2011, so if you want to learn about good food, he’s your man. 

I learned more about chocolate that night than I thought I’d ever know…and that was just the beginner’s class!  Here’s a few random chocolate facts I thought I’d pass along (and go check out Caputo’s infographic to learn more):

• 99% of people identify vanilla as chocolate because so much “grocery store” chocolate uses low-quality cocoa beans and relies on sugar and vanilla for flavor.
• Cocoa beans were once used as a monetary unit. 
• Chocolate consumed as a drink until the 1800’s, when methods were finally developed to make it into an edible solid form.
• Chocolate was originally reserved only for the elite because of the expensive processing; “grocery store chocolate” is a cheaper way to make chocolate accessible to everyone.

I loved being educated in fine chocolate, but the best part of the night was the tasting!  A couple tips we were given on tasting chocolate:

• Let it melt all over your tongue & don’t swallow before it melts!
• Inhale through your mouth & exhale through your nose.

We got to taste seven different chocolate bars.  My favorites?

• Domori Arriba ($4.99) – a very silky, fruity bar with hints of under-ripe banana.  Beans are grown in Ecuador & the bar is from Italy.  This bar is credited with Matt Caputo’s obsession with chocolate. 
• Amano Dos Rios ($6.99) – a bar with hints of many flavors including freeze-dried blueberry, clove, and lavender.  The beans are from the Domican Republic, but this bar is from Orem, Utah!  Amano Chocolates has only been around for about three years, but they have won more awards than any other American chocolatier.  In addition to Caputo’s, you can find these at Harmon’s & Whole Foods.
• Amedei Chuao ($14.50) – a sophisticated, more complex “symphony of flavors.”  This bar is considered the “best of the best” by many.  The beans are from Venezuela and the bar is from Italy.  This bar has won the Academy of Chocolate’s Best Bean to Bar gold medal several times. 

We were also treated to some drinking chocolate, the labor-intensive Kouign Amann pastry, and the incredibly rich “Black-Out Cake”.  The drinking chocolate was warm and rich with some spice to it.  The Kouign Amann was incredible with it’s flaky layers (similar to a croissant); sweet, crisp & caramelly crust; and a touch of Amedei Chuao chocolate ganache.  It’s a three-day process to make them and at $4.99, they are worth every penny.  The chocolate “Black-Out Cake” is a new chocolate cake at Caputo’s, made with Amano Dos Rios chocolate.  It was incredibly rich and had the same interesting flavors as the bar I sampled.  It costs $6.99 for a slice (larger than the sample pictured) and is unlike any other chocolate cake I’ve had before. 

This was my first visit to Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli, and I know it will not be my last!  I was incredibly impressed with both the personal passion behind that Matt Caputo exhibited and the level of care that Caputo’s puts forth to bring the best of the best to its customers.  The Market carries the largest selection of fine chocolate in the country (over 400 kinds) plus aisles and aisles of amazing cheeses, meats, olives, preserves, and more.  Remember the amazing Fat Toad Caramel from Vermont we posted about last year?  Caputo’s carries two varieties. 

Caputo’s sent me home with a box of fine chocolate bars to sample at home…and a discount to share with my readers!  You don’t have to live in Utah to take advantage of this, either, since it is a discount on purchases from Caputo’s new chocolate website!  (They have a fantastic new website with online shopping and a blog.)  With any $25 chocolate purchase, you will get $15 worth of chocolate free.  When you place your order, just mention in the comments of your order that you heard about the discount from the blogger’s fine chocolate event here on my blog. 

If you are interested in learning more about chocolate and educating your palate on the pleasures of fine chocolate, you can sign up for one of Caputo’s classes on their website.  If not, just stop by and sample on your own!

Eat In Recipe: Loaded Baked Potato Dip

How do you like your baked potatoes?  Mr. Diner likes his with lots of butter, but nothing else.  I love mine loaded with everything on them:  sour cream, bacon, cheese, green onions, chili, broccoli…a little of everything. 

I discovered this Loaded Baked Potato Dip on the fantastic blog Brown-Eyed Baker.  It isn’t quite as loaded as my dream baked potato, but it sure has all the main elements of a loaded baked potato:  sour cream, bacon, green onions, & cheese.  Where’s the potato, you say?  In the chip, of course! 

The only downsides to this dip are 1) that it’s pretty thick & my Ruffles chips kept breaking in it, and 2) that it’s heavy on the calories (that’s why I took it to an activity to spread the calories around).  Anyone know if they make extra-thick & sturdy Ruffles potato chips?

Loaded Baked Potato Dip from Brown-Eyed Baker
16 oz. sour cream
16 slices (12-oz. package) bacon, cooked and crumbled
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 c.)
1/3 c. thinly sliced scallions or chives

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving to allow flavors to meld together. Garnish with extra shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, and chopped chives. Serve with your favorite potato chips or pretzel crisps. Dip can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes:  I used light sour cream & low-sodium bacon and it still turned out great.  I also like to chop my bacon into little slices before cooking it when I need crumbled bacon. 

Average Fork Rating:  4
Mrs. Diner:  4

Eat Out Review: Yogurtland…Plus a Discount & Giveaway!

The summer is heating up and it is definitely the season for frozen treats.  I love stopping in for some kind of cold sweet something after an activity with my kids or with the whole family on a summer’s evening.  That’s what summer’s for, right? 

Yogurtland is one of those awesome places where you get to serve up a frozen yogurt creation of your own making!  You get some little sample cups, try out all the flavors (and in my case, I literally mean all the flavors) to your heart’s content, then fill up your bowl with any and all of your favorite frozen yogurts and toppings.  Pay is by the ounce.

I got to go to the Orem location yesterday for a Utah Blogger’s Meet-up and tried so many flavors.  They have a couple new flavors Blue Lychee Bliss (a tart flavor with lychee & blueberry) & Almond Midnight Mocha (double dark chocolate, almond, & mocha).  I gave the Blue Lychee bliss a try, and it was indeed tart.  I always think the “tart” flavors taste more like regular yogurt, with  the sweet flavors tasting more like ice cream.  Just my opinion (like everything on this blog, right?)  I usually go more for the sweet flavors.

On this visit my favorite yogurt flavors were Oatmeal Cookies, Pistachio and Pecans & Pralines (swirled together), and Toasted Coconut.  There weren’t any I didn’t like, though. 

The toppings are incredible with candy, fruit, nuts, syrups, and unique little things like sweet mochi bits (chewy, sweet little rice cakes) and boba balls (see the pink-colored balls on my yogurt?  They were fruity bursts of joy).  My favorites were the fruit and little cheesecake bites. 

(By the way, it is hard to describe mochi & boba…if you haven’t had them, just try them sometime…maybe at Yogurtland so you can try just a couple & see if you like them.  They’re not as strange as they sound.) 

I also loved that they had plenty of seating and a self-serve water stand with pretty strawberries floating in it.  Ice cream and frozen yogurt always make me thirsty.

You must go try Yogurtland this summer!  And to help you out, Yogurtland (Orem, Utah location only) is offering a special discount & giveaway!

To enter the giveaway, go to the Yogurtland Orem Facebook page today through June 30th, like their page, and enter to win a summer's worth of free yogurt ($100 gift card) for use at the Orem location only.

While you’re waiting to win your free summer’s worth of yogurt, print the Utah Bloggers exclusive coupon above & take it to the Orem Yogurtland to get a free kid’s yogurt with purchase of another yogurt.  Valid 11 am – 4 pm.  Expires July 14, 2012.  Great for that outing with your kids or a playdate outing with your best mommy friend. 

Price: $
Average Fork Rating: 4
Mrs. Diner: 4

A complimentary yogurt was provided for this post, but all views expressed in this post are our own honest opinions.

Review: LittleVittles.com

A new food site has just popped up that I wanted to tell you about.  It’s called Little Vittles, and it’s a site where you can buy & sell homemade food items!  It’s a bit like etsy, but is exclusively for food. 

I registered (really easy & free) and started checking out the site.  There isn’t a large selection of items available – yet – because it’s so new, but they had a great-looking salsa, a Jalapeno Blueberry Pie (unique, huh?), candy sushi, maple syrup, baked goods, strawberry preserves, and more. 

Buyers and sellers sign up for accounts.  Sellers post their items, the wholesale price, shipping cost, and other information.  LittleVittles adds a little bit more than 50% upcharge on each item (part of that goes to help children in need) and lists it at its retail price.  Items must be homemade, packaged well for shipping, and “prepared in a clean, safe environment”.

LittleVittles sets up a store for each seller where they can post as many items as they like.  They can link to their store, pin it on Pinterest, etc.  They can even participate in the affiliate program, where they earn money for referring new buyers.

Buyers browse the selection, order, & pay by credit card.  Sellers then get money added to their account instantly when they ship their product and can transfer money to their bank account at any point.  Check out the whole process in the video below.

Once you’ve tried out your delicious goodie, you can rate it, too.  As a buyer, I think it’s really helpful to have reviews of items so I can what other people think of it before I commit.

I haven’t bought or sold anything, but it seems to be a pretty easy, straight-forward process.  And for us Utahns, guess what?  It’s based right here in Salem, Utah!  I love the story behind “Operation Little Vittles”.  This video brought little tears to my eyes.

If you want to add some of your awesome goodies to the selection or buy something great that someone else has made, go ahead and sign up for Little Vittles and try it out…it’s free! 

This sponsorship is brought to you by LittleVittles.com who we have partnered with for this promotion, but all opinions are our own honest review.

We Have a Winner…and Save on Coconut Oil!

Congratulations to Kamilah Berry, who won the quart of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

If you didn’t win and are interested in buying Tropical Traditions coconut oil, take a look at these two items on sale right now. 

Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 1 quart	The product we reviewed & had as our giveaway prize is on sale for $29.50 (regularly $40.00).
Pure Coconut Oil - 16 oz. - 2 pints - BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!	These jars are on sale for half price through June 14!  They are $12.50 for the two (regularly 25.00 for two).  This coconut oil is still great, but doesn’t have as much coconut flavor because they are processed differently.

This post contains referral and affiliate links.