The pumpkins are coming the pumpkins are coming!

Pumpkin season is literally right around the corner.  Already my news feed is filling up with pictures of actual and rumored pumpkin spice flavored items new (and sometimes not new) for this year.  This only means one thing...I really have to get cracking on my annual pumpkin party details!

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that big of a fan of pumpkin.  I don't like pumpkin pie, or anything overly pumpkin flavor.  Which is odd because I love butternut squash and I think they taste pretty similar.  Maybe it's a texture issue.  ANYWAY, what I do LOVE about pumpkin spice season is the fact that we are at that tail end of summer and ready to make our way into fall.  I absolutely adore fall and everything that comes along with it and I love pumpkins (as in the gourds not as in eating them).  I have pumpkin items out all year long...I mean, they're cute and orange!  DUH!

So, back to pumpkin spice... my awesome husband got me a new screen for my laptop so hopefully that'll get fixed sometime this weekend and I won't have to blog at odd times in places I probably shouldn't be blogging and will get cracking with items past and present that have to do with pumpkin including last year's oreos, DQ blizzard (which comes back out 8/31, btw), pasta sauces, cookies, m&ms and what ever else I can remember.  I will be on the look out for the new stuff for this year and report back!  In the meantime, here's a pumpkin teaser from last year just to tide you over ;)

Lays New York Reuben

Two down...two to go.

Let's talk about Reubens.  Have you all had one?  I hope so!  I have to admit I like them, but it's not my "go to" sandwich by any means.  And, then, there's that whole pastrami vs. corned beef debate.  Personally I like both but would pick pastrami over corned beef for this sandwich.  If you are unfamiliar with a Reuben, it is a sandwich made with either thinly (hopefully) sliced pastrami or corned beef, Russian dressing, sauerkraut and swiss cheese grilled on rye bread.  In many cases, the meat to mouth ratio is about four to one, so you better hope you don't dislocate your jaw trying to eat the darn thing.

When all four flavors came out, this flavor intrigued me the most even though it sort of disgusted me at the same time.  I've had chicken flavored chips and let's just say those shouldn't exist.  So, I didn't really think pastrami chips would go over too well, but that morbid curiosity really clouded my judgement when I debated whether or not to try them.  Of course I tried them who was I trying to kid?

So, per usual, I opened the bag and took a nice deep breath of chip air.  You know that face that kids make when you ask them if they want broccoli?  Yeah, I made the same face.  All I smelled was sauerkraut.  That's it...nothing else.  The vinegary smell literally burned my nose and I had to turn away.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love vinegar but this wasn't appealing at all!  I actually didn't even really want to try them, but I did.

It is my theory that it takes at minimum two tries but ideally three tries to make your final decision on whether you like it or not.  Sometimes the initial flavor shock is a huge turn off but you learn to like it as you try it again.  This was not the case for me.  I was turned off from the get go and continued all the way to the third and final chip.  I did not get "Reuben" going to my brain.  I got "freshly opened can of sauerkraut" to my brain and nothing else.  I like sauerkraut but not as a chip and I really felt the pastrami, cheese, dressing and rye aspect was missing or if it was there it was just being over powered.  One of my friends, however, was delighted by these chips and said they tasted just like a Reuben to her.  Maybe my taste buds aren't equipped to handle something so sour and get the undertones at the same time.

Final score: * one star for originality but I wouldn't buy these again.

Please note:  This is not my photo, just a general one found on google.

West Coast Truffle Fries

Good tasty morning!  I figured I would continue with the Lays potato chip flavors that are out now and looking for your votes.  There are four in total, and yes I've tried them all!

Today brings you to my second favorite of this particular bunch...the West Coast Truffle Fries flavor.  Have you ever had truffle fries?  If not, you need to find them.  Now!  Go ahead, I'll wait...

Like routine, I started off with shoving my head in the opened bag to take a whiff before diving in to try these beauties.  The scent is enough to entice you to try them, for sure.  These chips have a unique flavor and one that those of us who have had the pleasure of eating actual truffle fries will recognize.  Although, while I think the flavor of these is unique, I also think that the flavor is light.  Meaning it's not a huge, bold flavor like the biscuits and gravy.  Let's see how many more times I can say flavor...flavor flavor flavor.  Anyway, I immediately get hit of truffle oil when I eat these.  Then that mixture of light cheese and garlic yumminess follows.  Like I said, these are a light chip so don't expect a firework display in your mouth, but sit back and savor the goodness that is truffle fries!

I enjoyed these very much and it is my opinion that these are a great chip to pair with something more on the bolder side OR a chip that you would be okay layering with other flavors such as a dip of some sort.  I actually dipped these straight into plain sour cream last night and enjoyed them that way.  I would definitely buy these again if they won and were available going forward.  I actually might even like these better if they were on a baked chip vs. the waffle chips.  Blasphemy, I know!

Final rating: *** Three stars - only because I think they could have coated the chip a little more to give it a little more flavor instead of just a hint of it.

Biscuits and Gravy Lays Potato Chips

I thought I would start off with something currently on the market (and currently shoving in my face hole) before I hit some of the products I've tried over the recent years.  At first glance, I made that icky face all 2 year olds know how to do so well.  BUT, as addicted as I am to LTO (limited time only) flavors, of course, I had to try them.

Let me preface by saying that I generally do love biscuits and gravy which is odd because I don't like sausage.  But, for whatever reason, the combo of flavors with the gravy and the buttermilk biscuits and the poached eggs I just need to have on top of it works for me.  Knowing that, and being picky about the gravy, I didn't have very high hopes for this chip.  So I opened the bag and did what any other sane person would do...shove my entire head in the bag to take a deep sniff.  Smell is very important!  It is one of the main reasons why we taste things the way we do.  At any rate, I was pleasantly surprised with the smell.  It actually smelled like how it was supposed to.  So I got all giddy and proceeded to try one.  Holy cow!  Not only does it smell like how it's supposed to, it actually tasted like biscuits and gravy!  Go figure!  I'm so used to seasonal flavors falling short of what they are supposed to taste like, I was genuinely shocked!  I proceeded to eat several more and enjoyed them more and more as I was eating them.  One happy girl right here!

So, what does it taste like?  What it's supposed to taste like!  For those of you who have never had biscuits and gravy for breakfast, fresh buttermilk biscuits drowning in a white sausage gravy and by sausage I mean of the breakfast kind not of the sweet kind.  You don't get the buttery, flaky biscuit taste with the chips, but you do get that creamy, black pepper, fennel flavor you do with the real thing.  There is a bit of a spunk to these because of the black pepper, but I wouldn't say they were hot (for those of my friends who can't tolerate spice).  It doesn't engulf your mouth in flames but you will get a bit of a tingle in the back of your throat.

Final rating:  **** 4 stars

Just a little introduction...  My name is Tammy and I'm addicted to flavor.  Limited time only flavor that is!  I don't know what it is about them but oreos, chips, cookies, seasonal flavors, etc. I HAVE.TO.HAVE.THEM!  Luckily I have a few select friends who share my craziness for trying the lastest and greatest (or more often than not, nasty) or at least the allow me to carry on like a fool about it.  So, I decided to start a blog simply to keep my mind busy instead of being on the time suck called Facebook and because we've tried so many we are starting to forget which ones we've tried and liked or disliked.  I will go back to the ghosts of flavors past as well to make some posts until the new ones come out.  Feel free to visit my other blogs...Anxiously Living Life and Run Crazy Purple.  Both have been neglected but I do get on there from time to time to spill my guts.  I'm off to Dallas tomorrow until Saturday so expect the first real post sometime next week!

~Tammy