Category Archives: New Products

Three New Things to Try In the New Year

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Momofuku instant noodles that cook in 4 minutes, which I garnished with fresh green onions.
Momofuku instant noodles that cook in 4 minutes, which I garnished with fresh green onions.

Momofuku Noodles and Chili Crunch

After reading that the initial release of Momofuku Noodles sold out in a flash, then had a wait list of tens of thousands of folks, well, I had to buy some when an ad popped up in my social media feed that they had been restocked. Because, yes, I am that kind of person.

Plus, when the irrepressible chef of the Momofuku restaurant empire, David Chang, develops a product, your curiosity can’t help but be stoked.

The instant noodles were initially available on the Momofuku online store, but are gone now until future restocking. However, they are still available at Target for about $9.49 for a bundle of 5 packets.

They come in three varieties: Spicy Soy Noodles, Soy & Scallion Noodles, and Tingly Chili Wavy Noodles.

I purchased the Soy & Scallion Noodles. Each packet of the wheat noodles serves one at 320 calories total. And they couldn’t be easier of faster to make. Just boil them in water for 4 minutes, drain, then stir in the seasoning packet plus freeze-dried scallions.

The noodle packages.
The noodle packages.

The curly, white, modestly wide noodles are very supple and bouncy, nearly akin to fresh noodles but with slightly more sturdiness. The seasoning packet is soy sauce-based and added a savory, homey taste.

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What I’ve Been Drinking of Late, Part 15

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Deep, dark ruby and slightly fizzy in the glass, this Lambrusco is made for celebrations.
Deep, dark ruby and slightly fizzy in the glass, this Lambrusco is made for celebrations.

Lot 841 Cameron Hughes Reggio Emilia Lambrusco

A red wine that you drink chilled? Yes, indeed, that’s the case with Lot 841 Cameron Hughes Reggio Emilia Lambrusco ($15).

Lambrusco is an ancient Northern Italian grape dating back to the time of the Etruscans. It can be cloying, but thankfully this sample bottle leans drier yet with still ripe jammy fruitiness. Deep, dark ruby in the glass with a touch of viscosity on the palate, the wine is mildly fizzy, too.

It sports notes of candied raspberries, cranberries, black tea, and almost grape lollipop. It is an easy-drinking red wine with mild tannins that would be ideal for folks who normally shy away from reds. It’s almost like a more rugged, heftier Beaujolais Nouveau.

Find it on the Cameron Hughes site.

Cheers: Serving Cornish game hens, pheasant or porchetta for the holidays? This would pair well and please many palates.

Steenberg Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

For fun, delicious and affordable alternative to Champagne for New Year’s Eve, look to South Africa’s zippy Steenberg Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc ($16).

A lively tasting way to usher in a new year.
A lively tasting way to usher in a new year.

With the fragrance of melon and citrus, this is like summer in a bottle.

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More Scrumptious Gifts

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Stash Tea's holiday "Christmas in Paris'' is elegant and evocative.
Stash Tea’s holiday “Christmas in Paris” is elegant and evocative.

Stash Tea’s 2021 Limited-Edition Holiday Flavors

When the weather turns blustery, a hot cup of tea really hits the spot, especially when it’s a brew with a special holiday flavor.

Oregon’s Stash Tea has got you covered, whether you want to treat yourself or gift friends or family. Choose from half a dozen flavors made especially for this festive season: Christmas in Paris, Licorice Spice, Holiday Chai, Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, and White Christmas.

Choose from black, white, and herbal tea blends, either in convenient tea bags or loose leaf. I had a chance to try samples recently.

“Christmas in Paris”is an herbal blend with big hits of cocoa, lavender and peppermint, that makes you imagine sitting at a cafe on the Champs-Elysees enjoying this elegant tea. The “Holiday Chai” black tea will warm you up thoroughly with its cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and Jamaican rum flavor. And the “Christmas Eve” herbal tea with orange, cinnamon and clove is just the ticket for sipping in pajamas as you slide the last presents under the tree in anticipation of the next morning.

Six flavors of holiday Stash Teas to celebrate the season.
Six flavors of holiday Stash Teas to celebrate the season.

A box of 18 tea bags is $3.95. A Holiday Sampler Trio of three boxes of different teas is $12.95, while a Six-Flavor Seasonal Teas Gift Box is $24.95. The loose leaf starts at $8.75 (depending on the variety) for 100 grams.

Oryx Desert Salts From South Africa

You can now find a taste of the remote Kalahari Desert in South Africa at Whole Foods stores near you.

Oryx Desert Salts are harvested from underground streams running through ancient rock formations 280 million years old, then sun-dried. The salt is organic and unprocessed, with naturally occurring minerals including magnesium, zinc and potassium.

Oryx Desert Salts, regular (right) and smoked (left).
Oryx Desert Salts, regular (right) and smoked (left).

I had a chance to try samples of the regular salt and the smoked version. The crystals are more compact and crunchy than, say, lighter, fluffier, moist Maldon Sea Salt. They’re also larger in size than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

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Scrumptious Holiday Gifts

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A fresh-baked batch of madeleines made with and finished with Adagio Teas Whipped Cinnamon Honey.
A fresh-baked batch of madeleines made with and finished with Adagio Teas Whipped Cinnamon Honey. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Flavored Whipped Honeys From Adagio

Add a unique punch of sweetness to a cup of tea or favorite baking recipes with Adagio Teas’ flavored whipped honeys in Cinnamon, Chocolate or Matcha.

I had a chance to try samples recently of these thick, spreadable honeys. The Matcha is sweet with a slightly astringent and grassy note that lingers. The Chocolate is quite floral from the honey, which dominates, with the chocolate, itself, more a background player. Ooh, the Cinnamon is like a Red Hot, spicy on the palate with a pronounced cinnamon warmth.

The Matcha is a fun way to sweeten a matcha latte. The Chocolate can be drizzled over pancakes, waffles or marble pound cake. The cinnamon is delicious in any black tea. Or heavenly in a batch of these Honey Madeleines by Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming. The cinnamon taste in the madeleines will end up fairly subtle unless you add more oomph with a pinch or two of ground cinnamon to the batter. For a final touch, enjoy the warm madeleines dribbled with more of the Cinnamon Whipped Honey.

Thick and spreadable, whipped flavored honeys.
Thick and spreadable, whipped flavored honeys. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

A 4-ounce jar of any of the flavors is $10; a 12-ounce jar is $19.

Onsuri Extra-Virgin Olive Oils From Jordan

When you think of quality extra-virgin olive oils, the countries of Spain, Italy, and Greece readily spring to mind, along with the Golden State of California.

But Ziad Bilbeisi wants you to get to know olive oil from his native Jordan.

Starting from scratch in a desolate, high-desert area of his native Jordan, he has created the largest family-owned olive estate in that country that includes a state-of-the-art, solar-powered boutique olive oil company, Onsuri.

Onsuri's Discovery Set includes four small bottles of different extra-virgin olive oils.
Onsuri’s Discovery Set includes four small bottles of different extra-virgin olive oils. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

All the olive oils are graded “extra-premium,” a distinction few olive oils in the world have, according to Bilbeisi. It means they contain less than a 0.3 percent level of unstable fatty acids, and are extremely high in polyphenol compounds, which are powerful antioxidants.

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New Mole Sauces From Chef Susana Trilling

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Big, beefy ribs get a big hit of spiciness and earthiness from ¡Ya Oaxaca! Mole Rojo.
Big, beefy ribs get a big hit of spiciness and earthiness from ¡Ya Oaxaca! Mole Rojo.

Mexican moles can be an intimidating and time-consuming affair to make from scratch at home, what with upwards of 40 ingredients that need to be prepared and cooked for hours.

But that laborious process can be bypassed easily with new ready-made jarred moles from an impeccable source.

¡Ya Oaxaca! moles are by Chef Susana Trilling, a renowned expert and ambassador for Oaxacan cooking. She started cooking at age 10 alongside her grandmother, a chef from Tampico, Mexico, who ran a small cafe in San Antonio, TX. In 1999, she founded her Seasons of My Heart Cooking School on her ranch in Oaxaca, and has since taught countless lessons both in-person and online.

Her children have inherited her culinary passions. Son Kaelin Ulrich Trilling is the chef de cuisine at Thomas Keller’s La Calenda in Yountville. He’s also involved in ¡Ya Oaxaca! moles, along with his brother Jesse Ulrich Trilling, who is the company’s head of operations, and his half-brother Azul Couzens, who is in charge of marketing, sales and distributions.

Acclaimed chef and cooking teacher Susana Trilling has teamed with her sons on this new mole sauce venture.
Acclaimed chef and cooking teacher Susana Trilling has teamed with her sons on this new mole sauce venture.

The moles, sold in shelf-stable 12-ounce jars, come in three varieties: Mole Rojo, Mole Coloradito, and Mole Negro. They are based on recipes handed down for generations.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples. The ¡Ya Oaxaca! web site includes recipes online, while the jar labels are printed with recommendations for what types of protein or vegetables best go with each mole.

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