Caramel Fudge Hot Chocolate (@CostaCoffee) [By @Cinabar]

It was so hard to go into Costa and see the Christmas menu is back and not order the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. It is a favourite drink of mine, but as a good food and drink blogger I felt I had to try one of the new drinks. This year although the Black Forest hot chocolate is available the other seasonal hot chocolate drink is Caramel Fudge Hot Chocolate.
I ordered two of the drinks, one for myself and one for my mum and watched barista make the drinks. It started with a couple of pumps of syrup, then the regular hot chocolate mix on top. The topping was very pretty though. He dusted the drink with some cocoa with edible gold sparkle in it. Then he very carefully balanced a disc of chocolate lattice on top, the holes in the lattice showing off the gold base powder. By the time I got back to the table and was ready to have the drink I realised that the chocolate lattice had turned glossy as it melted and was easy scoop off and eat with the spoon.
The drink itself was a bit odd for me. Not bad by any means, but the syrup made the drink so very buttery, that it tasted a bit rich. My mum was enjoying her drink and pointed out that fudge was made with butter and sugar so it matched the description. True enough I guess, but it all tasted too strong for me. I found it too sweet and the buttery edge was, well weird if I’m honest. My mum said she’d have it again, so it seems a bit marmitey,
Have you tried it? What did you think? My next drink in Costa is definitely going to be the Black Forest Hot Chocolate!

By Cinabar

New Beef Fillet Steak & Chargrilled Veg Pitta (@NandosUK) [By @Cinabar]

So I went to Nandos, a restaurant famed for its chicken, and had steak. I don't even mean a chicken steak, I mean a full on beef fillet steak, served in a pitta. Obviously my intention when I went into to Nandos was to have some of their chicken but there was a neat "New" label next to this dish and I found myself ordering it. It just seemed such an odd concept having a different meat in a chicken restaurant. I guess I felt like one of those people who go to Indian restaurants and order chicken and chips.
The steak is seasoned with the usual options of spice levels, so I opted for my usual Medium heat. It comes with chargrilled veggies served in a pitta, and I chose peri-peri chips and coleslaw to accompany it.
When it arrived it looked like quite a decent sized piece of meat, and there was plenty of veggies like chargrilled red peppers in the bread. These were actually in a base of tomato sauce that did make eating the Pitta a little bit more difficult, as it leaked some of the tomato while I was working my way through it and I ended up needing serviettes to keep my fingers clean.
Although I was ordered Medium heat (my usual) it did feel hotter than that, and had a stronger tingle and burn. Perhaps there was some extra heat mixed in with the veggies or maybe the chef was a little more heavy handed with the spice pot. I could still pick up on the meaty flavour of the beef though, and I have to say it did work nicely with the Nandos spices. The veggies added a nice mix of texture and the peppers and tomato taste worked well with the meat. The steak itself was soft and a good quality piece of meat, which meant it was easy to eat in the pitta bread. I recommend the coleslaw to cool the mouth if the heat is too hot for you too.
The New Beef Fillet Steak & Chargrilled Veg also has the option to be served in a Wrap instead of a Pitta and I think I might try this next time as I suspect it would hold the sauce better and avoid the sticky fingers I ended up with. I would happily go back to Nandos and order the beef again, it works well and is a nice addition to their menu. Nice to see the chicken experts doing something different.

By Cinabar

Waitrose Frozen Croissants & Pains Au Chocolat [by @NLi10]

They say that the smell of freshly baked bread is one of the best ways to impress prospective buyers.  Our house has a tendency to smell of cats (or at least their food and leavings) so I popped some of these onto the Ocado order to both serve as a nice weekend breakfast and fragrance provider.

As you can see - they are frozen (like the ones you get from the in store bakeries are before they arrive) and to my surprise you get 10 in a bag. That seemed like a lot, but I popped them on the tray and they looked tiny!

I even put 4 on the tray and took the photo and closed the oven before I chickened out and redid it with another one of each kind.

Turns out they expand pretty nicely and are normal sized after all! I think I had the oven a little high as the bottoms were a little dark and they had puffed up more than I'd expected.

They were indeed of in-store quality, and I wouldn't be shocked if there are cafe owners that are using these or similar to impress their customers.  The pastry is flaky but still moist in the centre and the chocolate was of a good quality, and not too dark. I was surprised that the mix wasn't as buttery as I'd expected, but if you had these with jam and butter then you could easily tweak this to your preference.

These are worth waking up a little bit earlier to make (or in our case getting up due to a kitten sitting on your head and popping these in once they have been fed). I may even sneak down early one work morning and put these in so that I can go out in the cold having had a warm continental breakfast.

Foster’s Rocks Spiced Rum (Tesco) [By @SpectreUK]

In my late teens I became a part time barman for a few years during my studies. I remember just how popular Foster’s was compared to any other lagers the pub had to offer. I had to change far too many heavy barrels! Anyway, I don’t really drink that much lager myself due to the fact that I can find them quite gassy, which is not so attractive in polite company. Having said that I’m drinking this Foster’s Rocks Spiced Rum on my own in bed whilst I write this blog (although I’m not sure what that says about me), so I can belch to my heart’s content! Served in a 440ml can this 4.5% volume Foster’s Rocks is flavoured with Spiced Rum. There is a Classic Rum flavour out too, but I thought I’d try the spiced first, as I like my rum with an extra kick.

There was a strong spicy rum smell on opening the can, which had just been retrieved from Cinabar’s cavernous new super cold fridge. I say that because you could probably heat your dinner in the last fridge. The blonde lager bubbled cheerfully into my beer mug as I poured it. On first taste this Foster’s Rocks Spiced Rum has a rich lightly spiced sweet rum flavour that complemented the lager sitting behind it instead of overpowering it completely. Rather like a happy couple with the spicy sweet maiden in front and the beefcake sitting behind her with his arms around her on a pleasure ride at a funfair on cold November night. Perfect for watching fireworks outside, this warming Foster’s Rocks Spiced Rum was not a bit gassy and oozed with lager sophistication. I look forward to the rest of the four pack and will have to pick up some of the Classic Rum to try next.

By Spectre

Winter Berries and Prosecco Fizz and Sparkle Crisps (Marks and Spencer) [by @cinabar]

These new crisps from Marks and Spencer are quite something. I've written so many crisps reviews over the years of blogging here, but these still stand out as having a special kind of innovation. These crisps made me smile on so many levels.
Ok the flavour is Winter Berries and Prosecco sparkling wine, flavoured crisps. For that genuine element to the flavour they are made with real, albeit dried, Prosecco. The winter berries come from black currant juice also added to the ingredients.

Before I come to what these taste like I have to start with what they look like. The sparkle element come from edible gold stars dotted around the crisps, but they also have pink dust from the seasoning. They look so pretty and seasonal which is a lovely touch. Not sure I've ever seen such pretty crisps before, but Marks and Spencer get a big thumbs up, especially for the season of indulgence.
The crisps are fairly thickly cut, they are firmer and crispier than a standard crips, but the texture is still nice and not too sharp. These crisps have another magic added ingredient to the texture, which is the innovation that made me smile, they are representing a sparkling wine and these crisps actually fizz on the tongue. Genius, when Marks and Spencer say Fizz they actually mean at it! This is achieved in practical terms by adding baking soda to the ingredients but the result is so very clever. Whoever thought of it, I salute you.
The taste is spot on too, then hint of wine and slightly sour tinge work perfectly balanced by a delicate hint of blackberry. The flavour is a joy to eat, wine works,well on crisps its fruity, and fresh flavour enhances the crisps in ways that make you wonder why you ever bought salt and vinegar.
These crisps manage to mix up middle class fun, novelty and a clever flavour combination to make these ultimate sharing bag of crisps for Christmas. They will look stunning in a bowl, with their added glitter and the fizz and the flavour will have people talking. Listen up crisps firms, the game has been raised, this is how you innovate.

By Cinabar