31 December 2019

Pepero - Peanut and Pretzel Golden Crunch (B&M) By @Cinabar

Pepero - Peanut and Pretzel Golden Crunch

I have to say I am loving our new branch of B&M which has opened in our the local town centre. It is quite big and has an exciting range of confectionary and biscuits which is always worth a wander around and I always seem to find something different each time I pop in. Perfect for Foodstuff finds. This time I saw these Pepero - Peanut and Pretzel Golden Crunch biscuits, they are stick biscuits similar to our UK version of Mikado or the more usually imported Pocky biscuits. These ones originate from Korea. They are covered in a peanut coating which looks quite generous, weirdly the back of the box refers to this as a “vegetable cream” but something may have been lost in translation.

Pepero - Peanut and Pretzel Golden Crunch


I opened up the box and had a look at a couple of the sticks. They do look nice, there is a pretzel stick with plenty of nutty coating. I liked the flavour too, the saltiness from the pretzel worked nice with the peanuts and it gave them a lovely mix of sweet and salty. The coating is creamy which helps them mellow out too. These are easy eating biscuits that are just a bit different. It has been a while since I last wrote about Pocky style biscuits and I will have to keep my eyes out for more flavours as this has been a nice reminder as to how nice they are.
I’m eating these with a hot chocolate of New Year’s Eve - and just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Pepero - Peanut and Pretzel Golden Crunch

30 December 2019

Kit Kat - A Taste Of Delicious Coconut (B&M) By @Cinabar

Kit Kat - A Taste Of Delicious Coconut

I was cutting through our branch of B&M to avoid walking around the shops when I noticed a strange bit of commotion on one of the end aisles in the confectionary section. People were taking pictures of these Kit Kats. They are pretty and there is something a bit special about a ten finger bar but the odd thing was I didn’t see anyone buying them, which is weird. They took a photo and left. IS there a completion I don’t know about? I dodged between mobile phone snappers and picked up one of each of the three new flavours. First up I’m starting with this; Kit Kat - A Taste Of Delicious Coconut.

Kit Kat - A Taste Of Delicious Coconut

I know taking photos of the packet is fun, but look what I found inside the wrapper an absolutely adorable marbled bar, it is quite something. It is impressive in size but also in look. I thought it was a delight, the aroma of chocolate coconut was also filling my nostrils.
The bar consists of 10 fingers all with a marker in the middle so perfect for sharing, or portion control if you are keeping it for yourself. The inside consist of the usual layers of wafer, but breaking the first piece increases the coconut scent. The flavour is amazing. I know coconut can be a Marmite flavour but I love the stuff and can’t work out how anyone could dislike this bar. It is sweet creamy, has lots of milk chocolate flavour and this wonderful sweet coconut running through it. There is no texture from the coconut just the creamy flavour. It was well balanced and so very tasty. I will have to go back for more. If you are in B&M taking a photo, go to the next step and try one - you won’t be disappointed.

Kit Kat - A Taste Of Delicious Coconut

29 December 2019

Poundland Roundup - Twin Peaks 2020 and weird skittles (@NLi10) #TwinPeaks

Since 2017 I have sought out and reviewed a new version of the Poundland Toblerone they call Twin Peaks every year.  First it was normal, then white and this year I'd expected to review a dark version but - well - they kind went overboard!


So -  to summarise - Cookies & Cream, Dark, Popping Candy, Honeycomb Crisp AND Fruit & Nut are all new to the range this year.  This is a landmark in the Poundland confectionery aisle.

I bought Fruit & Nut for my Dad (he approved) and popping candy for me - presuming due to the wrapper colour that it would be white choc.


This was not the case.  Luckily the Yorkie style Poundland milk choc is great so the bar is perfectly good.  The little explosions mingle with the existing almond and nougat (which again I'd just assumed they'd leave out) and work really well.  Not overwhelmingly childish like regular exploding candy, not just ordinary chocolate.  A win.

If I hadn't been acutely aware that everyone gets a snack blogger food for Christmas I'd have stocked up on more.  Maybe I'll head back before next Christmas.


Also on offer were some Skittles that were new-to-me, Skittles Dips and Skittles Winter Fruits (not pictured as I gave those away - and I suspect now she knows of their existence Cinabar will be getting those).

These dips are basically yogurt coated raisins, but with the normal skittles inside instead of the horrible raisins.


I thought it'd be too weird but it makes them a lot less acidic and actually enables you to eat more of them than usual.  This is probably a bad thing.

The Poundland I visited was very busy due to Christmas so I rushed in and out, but I was pleasantly surprised to find so many exciting things to eat a few of and then donate to the snack table.

28 December 2019

Tunnel Brewery Antler Ale (Attingham Park) By @SpectreUK

Tunnel Brewery Antler Ale

So there I was with my head deep inside my cavernous beer fridge looking for something that sounded wintery. This Antler Ale practically jumped out at me. We haven't been to Charlecote House and Park for many years, and I didn't realise that this Antler Ale had originated from around that area. We spent a really lovely day there seeing the deer in the park, the house with its rooms and kitchens, and also the brewery, and the stagecoach collection. Reading the label of the bottle of this Antler Ale reminded me of the day out that we spent there, and the fact that we should probably go there again sometime.

This Antler Ale from the Turrel Brewery, in Warwickshire, was described on the label as being a copper Red Ale, smelling of sweet orange and berries, with a fruity finish. On opening the 330ml bottle of this 5% volume ale, there was definitely a sweet amber malt aroma packed full of fruitiness from the hops. Antler Ale is a little like smelling a fruit cake ready for a winter dessert. On taste the sweet malts jump to the fore in the initial flavour, followed closely by the fruity lightly bitter hops that smooth out into the aftertaste. This Antler Ale is like drinking a malty fruit cake. It could be classed as a pudding beer it's so fruity. Certainly one to be enjoyed on its own after a heavy meal, or washing down what's left of the Christmas cake or some mince pies! Yum!

27 December 2019

Festive Burger Boxmeal (KFC) By @Cinabar

Festive Burger Boxmeal (KFC)

I couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to try out his year’s version of the KFC Festive Burger. They haven’t budged on the chicken element, well it is in their name, but they have taken steps to recreate the Christmas dinner in the humble chicken burger format.

Festive Burger Boxmeal (KFC)

I ordered this burger as part of the KFC Festive Burger Boxmeal and had myself a side of bake beans, apparently sprouts were not on offer. The burger was in a pleasingly decorated box complete with a sleigh and a chicken in a scarf. Inside the box looked a dangerously loaded burger.

Festive Burger Boxmeal (KFC)

It is sitting on a stuffing flavoured mayonnaise and had a huge dollop of precariously balanced cranberry sauce. I looked down at my white top and crossed my fingers on its behalf. At least there were handy wipes for my skin! I suppose one question is why is there the inclusion of cheese as it isn’t a Christmas dinner food, but as I love cheese I was ok with this.
The mayonnaise is the ingredient that shone with this burger, it had a lovely sage herby flavour and gave it the feel of a roast dinner. The cranberry added a nice sweetness and the chicken worked well too, even with its crispy coating and cheese slice. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. My t-shirt survived the dangerous sauces too, so that was a Christmas miracle.
Definitely worth getting your hands on this while you still can, lovely Christmas flavours and a nice wholesome chicken burger with a twist. It will be a year before it appears on the menu again. :-(

26 December 2019

Weissbeer and Tea - Christmas Style (@NLi10)

Merry Christmas & a Happy Unboxing Day!

Just before Christmas I went to Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market and got my self a lovely Weissbeer to drink at 11:30 am as I wondered around the shops.  I got a lot of very judgemental looks - not only because I was in the only person who dared to wander around with the big beer in the shopping areas, but it was a little early in the day.


Fortunately I spotted that they did an alcohol free Weissbeer so I'd chosen that - and got to do a bonus review of this new experience!  It was odd, it certainly had the right flavour and alcohol feeling of the real thing, but none of the boozy effects.  My brain wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't alcoholic though so I did need the loo for most of the bus journey home!

So why did I cap off my Christmas shopping with a giant beer?

For the commemorative glass tankard of course!


I've no idea which were this year's designs and which were glasses that had been passed around for ages, but I figured as it was scratch free and pretty enough I'd keep the one I was given instead of risking a swap for a clean one.  And I road-tested it with one of my Christmas calendar teas.

As suspected - a full pint of Apple & Cinnamon tea was a little weak from a Pukka tea bag (they are great quality, but not quite as mighty as required) so I'll have to switch to my Tea-Pigs ones, or...


Use the T-Bird to make some lovely loose leaf stuff.  It does look like he's doing a Penn & Teller water escape!

I do love a pint of green tea when the weather is cold.  I think it's my equivalent of a nice glass of wine.  And while I do drink the odd beer these days I do think that there is nothing better for sitting working or watching the TV.

This is the Liverpool Tea Company's green blend.  Finally I have a big mug to put it in at work.


And it kind of looks like a weak British larger when it's been left to brew for a while!


The final prizes in the advent calendar were better than most of the daily offerings.  The Nomo bar is very similar chocolate but at least a decent size.  As expected the giant cube is hollow which makes for a great cat toy.  Lindt Santa isn't their biggest size but is more than generous.  The Monty Scoffles aren't that exciting compared to the rest of the things, but are great for Christmas Day as you can share them with guests!


The cardboard Cat calendar really surpassed my expectations.  While it'll probably get samey every year - compared to the £10 food calendars this actually offered a lot of entertainment and is a nice Christmas ornament even if you put it all up on one day next year.

So here's to 2020 and the inevitable healthy detox reviews!

25 December 2019

Hatherwood Winter Special Beer (Lidl) By @SpectreUK


"Merry Christmas!" I've been saying it over and over all morning to people at the gym. Okay, so the gym is closed today (Christmas Day) and Boxing Day, but I'm writing this on Christmas Eve because I have had the longest and toughest session at the gym I've had so far. I've increased quite a few of my repetitions on my upper and lower body weights, as well as my mat exercises over the last few months, and now I can even jog for a few minutes, and also swim faster and for longer. So my strength and general fitness has improved greatly as I've lost more and more weight.

I seem to doze quite a bit in the afternoons though, which isn't anything new I suppose, as I used to doze off in my teens on my first job and haven't changed much in any work or university environment. During my knee operation recovery at least I'm lying in a bed sleeping in the afternoons, rather than dozing off in a long boring meeting about something or other. I completed my really long gym session so I could have a huge piece of Christmas cake after my lunch. I know… I'm calorie counting and won't let myself have beer unless I've been to the gym… but it is Christmas, and we all have to enjoy ourselves at least a little bit!

The label of this 5% volume Winter Special Ale, from the Hatherwood Beer Company, states it has toffee malts and fruitiness that are balanced by a spicy peppery bitterness. That sounds pretty innovative to me. On opening the beer I could smell the faint toastiness (I know that's not a word, but I'm a blogger, so whatever…) of brown malt before I poured the deep dark brown ale into my waiting beer glass. I could also smell the sweet toffee and the spices as I poured. On taste this was a complex craft beer indeed. There was a sweetness from the brown malt which immediately mixed with the warming spices, then there really was a peppery bitterness from the hops, even if I didn't believe the description on the label. The sweet toffee malt pounced on the peppery bitterness before it overpowered my tastebuds, leaving me with a lip-smacking, lip-licking aftertaste that pretty much raised the glass by itself to my lips again and again after every mouthful. Winter Special is truly a moreish warming spicy toffee sweet ale to enjoy at any time of the year, let alone during the Christmas holidays!

On the back of the bottle it states that this Winter Special Ale is supposed to be "a heart-warming ale to melt away your winter blues." Many people are badly off any time, anywhere, and it can feel worse this time of year, for instance it could be financially, homelessness, illness and or loneliness. I've had a tough year myself and I am very lucky indeed to have a few people around me that care about me and support me. It would have been almost impossible without them. I hope you'll join me and raise your glass to people's troubles throughout the world, and maybe think of them as well as your own troubles, if you having any, and at the same time raise your glass to those who love and care for you too!

Merry Christmas to everyone, and many many cheers to you all! ;-)

24 December 2019

Christmas Rainbow Cake (M&S) By @Cinabar


We ordered the most amazing Christmas cake this year. The cake isn’t a traditional fruit cake, it is the fantastic looking Christmas Rainbow Cake which we picked up from Marks and Spencer. We spotted it in a catalogue and when I went to collect it I was surprised to find it taller than I realised. It is a vanilla sponge with layer of butter cream, topped with a very pretty Christmas tree scene made of icing. The side of the cake is covered in red and white hundred and thousands which, once the box opened seemed to escape everywhere. Oh well!


This cake is the proper centre piece, and everyone just thought it looked superb. Once cut of course there was more magic when the Christmas themed layers were revealed. Stunning. We plated up and popped some back into the box for another day. It is a big cake with a lot of servings, so the indulgence gets to continue another day.
The cake is divine, moist vanilla sponge, sweet creamy butter cream layers. It had nice texture from the hundreds and thousands, it was a delight to eat and quite the conversation point. This is the perfect cake for Christmas Eve, naughty but I assure you Santa I’ve been nice.
Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all have been good and are enjoying the indulgent season too waiting for Santa to visit. Have a good one everyone.

23 December 2019

Deluxe Ruby Chocolate (Lidl) By @Cinabar

Deluxe Ruby Chocolate (Lidl)

I had a recent visit with work to an office I don’t usually go to. Opposite the building was a large branch of Lidl so at lunchtime I had a little exploration. I ended up buying more than intended and even got teased on my return to the office. I had said I was just looking and I didn’t need anything but I ended up returning with a huge bag full of things. Seriously though who doesn’t need Christmas patterned kitchen paper in their life?
In amongst the bag of random items I didn’t know I needed was this bar of Deluxe Ruby Chocolate. This bar is made using Ruby Cocoa Beans which is a luxury cocoa, although Kit Kat have already made a bar with it, of course.

Deluxe Ruby Chocolate (Lidl)

Inside the pack the bar is a lovely shade of pink, not too bright, but the bar looks very smart. The pink is from the cocoa beans there aren’t any colourings in the recipe. Ruby Cocoa beans are naturally pink and as a base for chocolate make something different from the usual white, milk or dark chocolate offerings. The flavour is different too. This chocolate bar has a fruity background flavour that is sharp and berry like. The taste feels like it almost is going to be a raspberry yoghurt, and then the chocolate tones kick in just before that develops. It makes is a sweet but sour mix that works rather well. It is a mature flavour, but the chocolate has a thick melt and still feels really soothing.
If you want to try out the current trend of Ruby Cocoa chocolate this bar is an excellent example, it has a zingy flavour that is very palatable but also very different. Definitely one to hand out as a taster to Christmas visitors if you want to impress.

Deluxe Ruby Chocolate (Lidl)



22 December 2019

Advent Pile Round-up 16th to 22nd Dec 2019 (@NLi10)

If you want more of the same - part 1 is here, and part 2 is here!

I've been recording the advent calendar contents here on top of the non-food cat calendar.


16th Dec sees a licorice and cinnamon tea, another cookie truffle and the usual ball and vegan choc additions.  Today's cardboard was a Christmas pudding which isn't what I expected the cats to be after!


17th has ball and disc, with a plain truffle and one of the more Christmassy teas - wild apple and cinnamon.  I made this for one of the other reviews and maybe the bag wasn't quite strong enough to go for a full pint.  Nice though.  Today's cat calendar addition was the lovely owl who is safely in the tree.


18th sees one of the startled tortoise shell cats and the welcome return of the pistachio monty.  The tea is the skinny matcha tea that I had last year, nice but not going to cause weightloss magically.  Also ball & disc.


19th is another hidden cat with the orange truffle, mini bar and disc.  The tumeric teas were interesting enough last year that I'm quite happy to try this one a second time.  Especially as it gets colder.


20th Dec is a candle to put in the tree.  With around 12 cardboard cats this is madness. Hazelnut monty, ball and disc.  The tea is a new one I think and sounds quite exciting.


21st Dec sees more pistachio (yay!) and a nice festive Chai tea (and a tiny cardboard present).  Ball and disc present as usual.


22nd I put the cat in facing the opposite direction to recomended as it'd certainly prefer to be by the fire.  The blackcurrant infusion looks like a nice one - again they thought about the winter suitability.  Red ball hiding at the back, blue disk at the front.  Orange Monty always welcome as it's quite possibly my favourite (although the cookie and pistachio ones are ace too).

I'll hide the last 2/3 days in my boxing day review.

Merry Christmas to all!

21 December 2019

Borough Market Wet Hop IPA Beer (@Boroughmarket) By @SpectreUK


I'm feeling privileged to have been sent a can of this Borough Wet Hop IPA. It was produced by the Beak Brewery with wet hops grown within the Borough Market's Market Hall. Borough Wet Hop IPA is this year's limited edition, so for them to send me a can to drink and write about blows my mind. I know I've been a beer blogger for around ten years now, and this feels like a fitting way to celebrate that, but still an honour is felt. So thank you. Gosh, I hope I like it…

I want to start with a big shout out to all the people who work very hard indeed and also everyone who visits the Borough Market, as well as all markets across the globe. For many years now they have had trying times. So I want to wish them all from the bottom of my heart a very safe and Merry Christmas, and also a Happy New Year!

This is the first year that aluminium cans have been used as packaging by the Borough Market instead of bottles for sustainability purposes. On opening the 4.3% volume Borough Wet Hop IPA, I immediately smelt the unusual herbal hoppy aroma. Especially moving a little too close to the can I gained a little froth on my nose. This deep golden India Pale Ale has a strong herbal hoppy aroma followed by the sweetness from the malts. On taste there is a rich and biting bitterness from the wet hops, which is smoothed by the sweetness of the pale malt and possibly crystal malt into the aftertaste. Gosh, I wish they had sent me some more cans of this. Merry Christmas and as Oliver Twist said; "er… please, Sir, can I have some more?"

20 December 2019

Nestle Snack Erdnuss (B&M) By @Cinabar

Nestle Snack Erdnuss (B&M) By @Cinabar

These intriguing bars were spotted in B&M, in the confectionary isle. I picked them up because I hadn’t seen them before and the packaging was a pleasing bright yellow. They are from a big make too from Nestle, but not one I’ve seen in the UK before. They also seemed to be a combination of some of my favourite ingredients; chocolate and peanut (which is erdnuss in German). These are a multipack of import bars of chocolate from Germany, which is why the wafer content too shouldn’t have come as a surprise, it is popular in Europe.

Nestle Snack Erdnuss (B&M) By @Cinabar

Inside the multipack are three individually wrapped bars and they looked rather chunky in proportions. They were light though in weight. Got to love the wafer. The bars look fab out of the wrapper, large and appetising and you can see plenty of nuts under the layer of chocolate. I love texture and the layers of wafer gave these a crispy light feel but the nuts and chocolate gave it a stronger crunch too. The were enjoyable to munch on. There were lots of nuts and the flavour was lovely and rich and worked well with the chocolate. The combination of nuts and chocolate was spot on, and I would have the Nestle Snack Erdnuss bars as a got to bar if it was more widely available. For now I’m just happy that these are around as an import bar proving chocolate peanut goodness.

Nestle Snack Erdnuss (B&M) By @Cinabar

19 December 2019

Work Christmas Food from Waitrose - plus a chocolate teapot (@NLi10)

Oh Heston, you are such a merry japester! There are a lot of really, really cool items in the Waitrose Christmas range but none more brilliantly extravagant than this one.


The chocolate teapot is the proverbial useless item.  I'm personally hoping that there is a special sealant inside so this an actually be used, but with ice-tea I guess it'd be fine.


It looks absolutely exquisite - and the fact that it comes with tea-leaves and sugar is a lovely touch.  At £20 its just too much to justify though and we left it on the shelf.  I'm hoping to get one in the Waitrose online sales (me and everyone else I suspect) - that or the Avocado!


We didn't buy this - but I did get to distribute a massive tower of choc.  Probably more than £20 worth, but may go a little further!


What I did buy for work was these amazing bread loops.  Again, at £2 a little expensive, but my goodness so worth it!  The olives were great too having a little more pepper and a little stronger marinade than your traditional ones.


This little tree of profiteroles was only £5 from Iceland! We even had spare ones left over - you get 60!  If you want something to keep a young teen busy while you sort the plates out then it's also a fun project (please get them to wash their hands!)


As this was all yesterday, today I was firmly on leftovers with these Lidl wraps and Waitrose Pretzels.  I could just eat salty bread for the entire festive period!

18 December 2019

Cadbury’s Boost Protein bar (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK


So I finally went to see the surgeon who fixed my knee yesterday. He patted me on the back (so to speak) for all the hard work I've done in the gym to regain most of the muscles around my knee, and also for losing roughly three and a half stone since January. Then came the bad news. He said that because of the damage to the bones inside my knee I will have to keep my weight down and keep up with the exercises in order to maintain the muscles in my knee, then and only then would the likelihood of a replacement knee in twenty years time be low. That's good as I don't want to have further surgery and a bionic knee or whatever, but the hard work I've put in so far continues for the rest of my life. So rather than a completely fixed knee and back to work and play, it'll be exercise, a good healthy balanced diet, and also work and play. Many or all of us should probably be doing such a balance, but we all know that work generally tries to take over from everything else…

Anyway, the good balanced diet continues with calorie counting as well as exercise. I usually allow myself crisps and a mini malt loaf with my lunch after the gym, both of which I like very much indeed. It's important to like what you're eating even if some of it, like the crisps, aren't so healthy. Though without the naughty snack food and a little booze now and then, I might as well just blow my head off! So you can imagine I'm a little miffed at having to drop both crisps and malt loaf to try and shoulder the calories that come with this Cadbury's Boost Protein bar, especially when the surgeon tells me that maintaining the muscles is key now, rather than growing them. However a high protein diet as well as a mostly balanced diet with it has got me this far. I still need to fix my muscles after I've been to the gym, so the protein yoghurts and other protein packed foods help with that.

So this Cadbury's Boost Protein bar has layers of Cadbury's Milk Chocolate, which is my favourite chocolate, as well as Cadbury's Caramel, which is my favourite caramel and also protein crisps within it. I don't know whether I like protein crisps, but I guess I'm just about to find out… On unwrapping I found the bar is also covered with Cadbury's Milk Chocolate, so this just gets better and better. However you may need good teeth to eat this bar as biting into it was pretty tough. The protein crisps seem to be wrapped in a gooey Cadbury's Caramel underneath the covering of Cadbury's Milk Chocolate. Both the Cadbury's Milk Chocolate and Cadbury's Caramel in the bar are two of my favourite things - did I already mention that? These in my opinion are two of the greatest flavours on Earth. However and most unfortunately neither flavour could seem to mask the slightly weird taste of the protein crisps, which tasted slightly chemically orientated. Try as they might and they almost succeeded they didn't mask the chemical flavour. Both Cadbury's Milk Chocolate and Cadbury's Caramel flavours were there to start with, unfortunately the chemical flavour was dominant into the aftertaste. This made for a slightly unpleasant after-flavour in my mouth, which convinced me to stick with my potato crisps and malt loaf with my usual protein packed yoghurt to finish!

Information on the wrapper;
There are 249 calories in the 49g bar, with 13g of fat, 17g of sugars and 0.11g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.

17 December 2019

McVities Digestives Twists - Chocolate Chip and Coconut (Lidl) By @Cinabar

McVities Digestives Twists - Chocolate Chip and Coconut

This is a new range of biscuits from McVities which are a “twist” on their usual flavours. This particular packet of biscuits are Digestives with a twist of Coconut and Chocolate Chips.
I really like coconut but I have discovered that it is a bit of a Marmite flavour, some people really hate it. Almost to comical levels. I think coconut is a very mild and remarkably inoffensive flavour but it turns out the dislike is from the texture not the taste so much. That crispiness from desiccated coconut seems to upset people to such an extend that a supermarket own brand tin of chocolates had a rogue coconut chocolate in an unexpected colour wrapper and one of my work colleagues behaved like she has been poisoned.
This is relevant to these biscuits because there texture is lovely and light but has that crispy texture of desiccated coconut mixed in. I enjoyed the texture, I liked the crunchy feel that was mixed in but I’m aware this can upset some people. I don’t get it, I love texture so found these extra nice.
The flavour was good too, there was the wholesome flavour of the digestive biscuits, which went well with the sweetness from the chocolate chips and the creaminess off the coconut. They were very much subtle on the flavour and easy eating and I loved them. I felt the laid back flavours meant these were still digestive through and through, and were just enhanced by a little chocolate and coconut.
What are your feelings in coconut? Would the texture of it put you off these biscuits?

McVities Digestives Twists - Chocolate Chip and Coconut

16 December 2019

Festive Turkey Dinner Pizza (Papa Johns) By @Cinabar

Festive Turkey Dinner Pizza (Papa Johns)

Nothing quite says Christmas like Brussels sprouts on a pizza. Ok this may not be my first choice for a meal on the big day, but as seasonal takeaway treat I couldn’t wait to try it out. It is a nice idea for a pizza with its roast dinner topping.
The Festive Pizza from Papa Johns consist of a pizza base topped with a gravy base topped with turkey meatballs, veggies (including Brussels sprouts), mozzarella and a cranberry drizzle. Once you’ve accepted this is a roast dinner on a pizza the ingredient that doesn’t really fit is the mozzarella, but this is a pizza after all and to me that means it needs cheese.
So I guess the question is, did it work? It actually did, even with the mozzarella. The pizza is very meaty and the turkey meatballs were soft, tasty and rich in flavour. The gravy base was lovely and meaty and the cranberry drizzle added a lovely sweetness. The Brussels sprouts were not really noticeable as they were chopped small, which is a shame. They could have made more of a feature out of it. The carrots however were genius, they added a nice bit of firm texture and really added to the Christmas dinner feel to the meal. They sent through the usual garlic pizza dip, which normally I love to eat on the crusts, but this time I had them plain as it didn’t really fit with the pizza. The mozzarella did work though as a pizza topping and I felt it gave it the feel pizza a more ordinal feel given the very untraditional topping.

Festive Turkey Dinner Pizza (Papa Johns)