Sweet! - Bread and Butter Pickles

Pickling began 4000 years ago using cucumbers and I'm sure it was a laborious process back then. But, fast forward to 2013 and eating pickles is as easy as walking into ALDI and slapping down $1.29. So today, my dear readers, warm up your flux capacitors because I take you Back To The Future with Great Gherkins Mildly Sweet Bread and Butter Chips!

They're GREAT! It says so.

I've rediscovered pickled foods and I'm pretty happy about it. There's seems to be an upswing in local restaurants pickling stuff. If you're a loyal reader or more likely, a friend or relative I've strong armed into reading this blog, you probably know we live in Atlanta. Downtown, in the city limits, Atlanta. And downtown has had an explosion of great restaurants lately, all trying to be hip and jump on the latest thing which I think is pickling, among other things. I mean, for God's sake, there's five cupcake shops within two miles of my house. Soooooo, two years ago. But there's great stuff too, which Anthony Bourdain proved in a recent episode of The Layover. Anyway, local restaurants have taken up pickling everything in sight and it's been pretty delicious. I'm not sure what they do to that okra at West Egg, but it is delicious! And if you haven't been to West Egg, you should go.

Okay now that I'm done shamelessly promoting eating in Atlanta, on with the review.

Spreadable, Not Edible - Spreadable Cheddar & Horseradish Cheese

Processed cheese is a wonder of human ingenuity. Is there anything better than spray cheese? Kraft American Slices? Cheese balls? Velveeta? No, even the invention of the wheel pales in comparison to being able to spread, melt or wrangle cheese onto or into anything you please. So of course when I saw spreadable cheese at ALDI I was delighted. Ladies and gentlemen, today I give you - Specially Selected Gourmet Spreadable Cheese Cheddar & Horseradish.

Robust!

In an earlier review, the Lady enjoyed the Garlic and Herb variety of this product. I have high hopes for Cheddar and Horseradish so let's get right to it. 

 

Clancy's Holiday Spectacular -- Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Here's one of the things I like about ALDI. They stock up for every single holiday imaginable and then, like a week after, they slash the already cheap prices. So since it was two weeks after Christmas, you know it was with a pretty huge amount of joy in my heart that I purchased today's item. Don't put away that garland just yet, it's time for Clancy's Pretzels - Milk Chocolate Caramel with White Chocolate Drizzle.

Clancy Got Festive!

Our ALDI has a section with the weekly oddities like walkers, gas powered generators, elliptical machines, etc. and then one aisle over it has the Island of Misfit Items. Things that aren't normally stocked and didn't sell in the week or two after they were in the weekly flyer end up shipwrecked here. This is where the sweet spot is for super cheap stuff and that's exactly where I found these. To be honest, I have no idea how much these were. They were the only box I saw and I didn't see a price tag - sidebar - doesn't ALDI have the best price labels? Everything (almost) is always sitting underneath a bright yellow price card that's hung above it - nice job ALDI!

Cooking With ALDI - Cheesy Pinto Bean Dip

Did you know there's a whole section of ALDI's website filled with recipes? Yeah I know, endless possibilities! So guess what? Welcome to a new blog segment - Cooking With ALDI - where we take a recipe from the ALDI website and make it using ALDI products...or as many ALDI products as we can find. Let's face it, one of the reasons we love ALDI is product turn over, but that's going to make following a recipe an adventure. So on with the first adventure - Cheesy Pinto Bean Dip.

 Let's get this party started!

There's got to be some rules, right?

1. Use the specific ALDI products listed in the recipe whenever available.
2. If the product in the recipe is not available, substitute with a suitable ALDI product.
3. If rules 1 and 2 can not be followed, purchase item from another grocer OR if the item is deemed not integral to the recipe, leave out altogether.

That's it, let's see how we did.
 
I couldn't find Benita Shredded Quesadilla Cheese which is denoted in the recipe as a specialty item that may not be available. Correct! I also didn't find Benita Diced Green Chiles or green onions. I substituted Happy Farms Pepper Jack for the cheese, Casa Mamita Tomatoes and Green Chiles (a Rotel knock-off) for the chiles and left out the green onions altogether. Also, I didn't find Stonemill Essentials Taco Seasoning so I used Casa Mamita Taco Seasoning in it's place, but it's 1 oz instead of the 1.25 oz called for in the recipe. I don't think it made a difference.

O Canada! -- Maple Leaf Cream Cookies

The list of Canadian things that are amazing is relatively lengthy. There's universal healthcare, hockey, hard rock power trios, Tim Horton's and Dudley Do-Right, just to name a few. Which reminds me - if you live in or travel to Chicago, stop by Do-Rite Donuts - although they aren't Canadian, they're amazing too. Anyway, another amazing thing is maple syrup. It's delicious. I mean, where would the humble pancake be without it? This week I saw maple cookies at the local ALDI and decided to give them a try. Ladies and Gentlemen, hang on to your tuques, I give you - Benton's Best Maple Leaf Cream Cookies!

*Dipping Syrup Not Included