Key Lime Pie

Full disclosure from the get-go:  I am not a key lime pie kinda girl.  I don’t know why, as far as I know key lime pie never did nuttin’ to me to make me hate it, but for some reason it is just not on my list of favorite desserts.  So I am recusing myself from reviewing it (that wouldn’t be fair, would it, to average my number in, since I know from the get-go I am not going to rave about it…).

We tried this key lime pie at our local Trader Joe’s one time when they were tasting it.  I thought it was good as far as key lime pie goes (see paragraph above…) but David really liked it.  Sadly, it is just the 2 of us at home, so unless it is a product we both like, it normally doesn’t get bought (which is the reason I forego okra and David foregoes lamb…). 

David hit the jackpot when my sisters came to visit us in Florida, though, cuz it turns out they like key lime pie!  And while I was out of town on a work trip and he was in Orlando picking them up from the airport, they swung by Trader Joe’s Winter Park and got a bunch of goodies, including one of these pies.  They “prepared” it by just taking it out of the freezer for a bit.  I would say that is easy peasey key lime squeezy! 

Oops - I forgot to snap a photo before the pie had basically been devoured...

 Here are the reviews:

Annette (my middle sister):  When I asked, “Annette, what do you think??” she replied, “I think I would like to have another piece, please!!  It is absolutely delicious.  It is probably the first time I’ve ever had key lime pie.  I love it!  The graham cracker crust is sooo yummy.  It is delicious!   Just when it gets a little too sour, that graham cracker crust kicks in. I give it a solid 5 stars.”

Two thumbs up from Annette!!!  :)

David:  “I agree with Annette.  I think it is a GREAT version of key lime pie!  It is sweet, it is tangy, it is sassy (editor’s note:  he likes his key lime pie like he likes his women…).  It is set up and laid out perfectly by the graham cracker crust.  It is a great balance – a great double act – at work.  I don’t usually go for key lime pie or lemon meringue (its down-market cousin…).  I agree with Annette – I give it a 5.”

The intrepid team of reviewers!!!  

Sherry (my oldest sister):  (When we started reviewing this pie I asked Sherry if she had tasted it yet so that she could form an opinion to review it.  She had to confess that she had indeed been eating a little bit of it every morning before going off to the beach for her solo walks!!  Sneaky sister!)  “I have always loved key lime pie, but I only get it when I am in Florida, where key limes are from.  I never really ate it until I lived in Florida.  I think this Trader Joe’s version is very good.  It is tart, it is a little sweet, it is not messy to eat.  I would give it a 5, but I like key lime pies.”

Bonus photos:  We worked hard to get a good JUMPING photo of all 3 sisters on the beach.  These are what I consider 2 very funny outtakes.  In photo one, Sherry is sailing in the air, eyes closed in concentration.  Me?  I am smiling ear to ear and am actually off the ground!  Annette??  Oh, she is in the middle - CRACKING UP.  Annette, you can't JUMP if you are LAUGHING!!

And here in outtake #2, again, the oldest and youngest sisters have followed instruction and jumped together.  Sherry is somber again, perhaps she cannot smile and jump at the same time...  And Annette, the middle child, looks like she is squeezing every muscle she has (including her eye muscles) to get off the ground.

Honestly, there are much better jumping photos of the sisters, but these 2 crack me up.  :)

There you have it, folks.  This pie gets a solid 5!!  You should definitely get one to enjoy on a hot summer day.

Price:  $5.49

Rating:  5

BONUS PHOTO - CHECK THIS ONE OUT!  Annette is getting some serious AIR!  Sherry, too!  I, meanwhile, have my feet firmly planted on the ground...  #TimingIsEverythingInLife

La Granja Cava Brut

We bought a bottle of this La Granja Cava Brut at the Winter Park, Florida Trader Joe’s to drink for New Year’s Eve 2016 – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

David, already excited and we have not even popped the cork!

I picked it out because we really like another La Granja wine so this one caught my eye (oh my goodness, I don’t think I have reviewed the other one we like!!  Shame on me – add that to my increasingly long “to do” list…).  Anyway, I figured if La Granja makes one really good wine, maybe this one would be equally tasty.

We do not usually buy sparkling wines, but since it was NEW YEAR’S, I figured we should follow tradition.  Don’t wanna screw up the whole year just by drinking the wrong thing at the stroke of midnight, ya know???  Instead of champagne, we went with this.

Pop this in the fridge and wait until New Year's Eve....

First off – the label is ADORABLE.  David says, “It looks like a duck (with blue feathers) that has just exploded!” (In all honesty, he made that observation after he had already drunk a bit of the wine…).  We served it chilled with an omelet, hashbrowns, eggplant, and broccoli. 

Adorable exploding blue duck.  Or goose...  

Here is my take:  sparkling wines and champagnes are usually not my favorite, but this is very good!  It is not too dry and not too sweet.  It is not so bubbly that it “hurts your mouth”.  It is just a nice taste with a bit of fizz.  I like it!  it is good for a special occasion.  I give this a 4.5.

David’s opinion:  This actually has a fair bit of fizz – it is in the champagne zone.  Most “good champagne”, which I tend not to like, has lots of bubbles and very little taste.  It tries to be “ethereal” that way.  But this one has a lot of TASTE, and I like that in a wine.  So sue me – I like a little taste in my wine!  J  Susan is right on all accounts: the bubble-age is correct for us, the flavor quotient is fine (nicely balanced between brut and sweet), and so if you hate champagne, you will love this!  Champagne is so over-rated!  But if you would like a sparkling wine, have a sparkling wine!  I give this a 4. 

CHEERS! (And yes, I know the glass is the wrong shape for a sparkling wine.  Hey, we are rule-breakers!)

We both agreed that this is a good choice to drink for a special occasion and that it would be nice to drink while sitting outside on a hot summer night.  We drank it in FLORIDA, so while it was warm, it was not HOT and we were not sitting outside, we were sitting INSIDE on a sofa (watching Anderson Cooper giggle at Kathy Griffin on CNN).

Significantly cheaper than other "fancy" wines, but just as tasty (in our opinions)

I also want to tell let you in on a little New Year’s Eve tradition that we have: at the stroke of midnight (when the ball drops in Times Square), we each eat 12 grapes.  It is a tradition from Spain, and they say if you eat 12 green grapes at midnight and finish them within one minute, you will get 12 wishes in the New Year.  MY take on it is if you eat 12 grapes (either green or red, I don’t police the color) and finish them within one minute, you will have a good new year!!  (Cuz why limit the goodness to 12 wishes, right??)  It is a very fun tradition and I recommend you try it!  It makes me giggle every year (which makes gulping the grapes harder, but I haven’t choked on any yet (knock on wood).

Here you see my patented TWO HANDED GRAPE EATING technique.
I do not want to take any chances of not finishing all 12 grapes in one minute, folks!

And let me tell you about ONE MORE THING while we are here – look at my new shopping bag!  Isn’t it fabulous??  I ordered it online at http://emilymcdowell.com/ . I had seen some cool pins that she was selling and when I went to get one for my big sister Sherry (I got her the one that says “Kicked Cancer’s Ass”, it was a hit) I saw this shopping bag and, well, I had to have it.  I carried to Trader Joe’s last night (and secretly was disappointed that people didn’t notice it and chuckle). 

My new Emily McDowell tote bag!  You need one!  Website listed above

But back to La Granja Cava Brut:  if you are not normally a champagne drinker, but you want to pretend like something is “fancy” and therefore calls for bubbles, grab a bottle of this.  It will do the trick.

Price:  $6.99

Rating: 4.25