Day 303 - Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach Gratin

The package of this dish says “An ideal vegetarian entrée and excellent side dish”.  For truth in advertising, I think they need to delete the words “ideal” and “excellent”.

This is a seasonal product, so if you want it go to your local Trader Joe’s NOW and get it, because they won’t have it for very long.  And not to worry, you will not have to fight us over it…

I THOUGHT it looked super tasty...

I followed the conventional oven heating directions and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees.  The end result was a dinner that was extremely boring with almost no taste.  We cut the Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach Gratin in half and ate it as if it were a non-meat lasagna (as it is described on the back of the package).  It would be BETTER if you served this as a side dish with something else that had a good flavor that this was just trying to “play off of” instead of eating THIS as a meal. 

David agreed that it was “kind of bland.  Sort of “Midwestern” in its palate, no strong flavors.  But it is kind of “comfort foody” in its pasta-ness and the cheesiness.  When you hit a patch of vegetables those are nice (the squash a bit less interesting taste-wise). “

I should have listened to David, who was less than thrilled when I put this product in our shopping cart.

I would describe this as HOSPITAL FOOD.  The texture is soft and mushy and the taste is bland.  This is a dish I would expect someone with a hairnet to serve to me.

Host/Hostess tip:  I do not recommend that you put this out with your Thanksgiving meal and try to pass it off as something you cooked yourself.  

Maybe it is just cuz I have eaten it and know what it tastes like, but now that I look at this
photo of it on a plate it even LOOKS dull...

Trader Joe’s has a lot of seasonal products. When I saw this one I thought it looked good, so I wanted to get it and review it early while they still had it so you would have time to go get it.  But I was wrong, wrong, wrong.  My bad.  Don’t bother.  Buy OTHER seasonal products, but not this piece of crap. 

David says, “It miiiight be to your taste if you don’t like spicy or flavorful foods…”.  Sigh.  That David, always trying to put a good spin on things.  I say – IF YOU ENJOY EATING IN THE HOSPITAL, THEN GET THIS, PUT A PAJAMA SHIRT ON BACKWARD SO YOUR BUM HANGS OUT, LAY IN YOUR BED, AND EAT IT.  THIS IS YOUR DISH.

David had a perfect line for this product:  “If you want to make the argument that you don’t have to give up taste in order to eat vegetarian, this is not your dish.”

BAM!

Oh sure, it is a flyer item.  It is also overpriced and dull.

Price – $4.99 (way too expensive for this product IMHO)

Rating – 2.25