Day 292 - Pecan Pralines

I am not sure if these are pecan prah-lines or pray-lines.  I think it depends on where you are from.  But however you say it, if you want them you can find them in a little plastic container at Trader Joe’s.

13 Oz container of Pecan Pralines

These are much more PRALINE than pecan.  They have tons of heavy praline coating over pecan halves.  They taste good but are a little too sweet for my taste.  We have been munching them on their own as snacks as opposed to putting them on a salad or something.  Maybe on a salad they would taste better because the savory of the salad would off-set some of the sweet of the praline. 

I went to New Orleans for a conference this summer and ate pralines there and these pecans DO taste like the ones that are so popular in that part of the country.  The following photos have nothing at all to do with Trader Joe's and everything to do with New Orleans :) :

Cafe du Monde - beignets and coffee is a must

Art on gate in Nola

Street musician

Street art - New Orleans is full of it!

jambalaya and greens at a restaurant called The Praline Connection (which is, of course, where I got pralines!)

Back to the review:  David agrees with me that these Pecan Pralines are a bit SWEET and rich, but that they do taste “authentic”.  He has not problem with the “construction” of these (whatever that means…).  He says the pecans themselves were good (but agrees with me that the taste of the actual pecan is smothered out by the taste of the praline).  He thinks I may be right that they might be better on a salad.

I think you can see here how much of the praline coating is on the nuts.  If you like SWEET, you will like these.

I recommend Trader Joe’s sells a tub of these that is HALF the size for HALF the price, cuz at the rate we are getting through these sugary sweet things they are going to be in our cupboard for an eternity. They are good, you just can't eat too many of them at a time.

Pretty big tub o' sweet

Price – $5.49

Rating – 3.5

Day 93 -Baby Spinach and Greens (salad)

The other night an elderly woman and I stood at the pre-made salad section of Trader Joe’s, staring.  Neither of us could choose which salad to put in our cart.  “Tough decision, huh?” I asked.  “It sure is…” was her reply.

I went for this one – Baby Spinach and Greens.  And I will confess, I chose it more for the bleu cheese I could see sitting on top than for the spinach.  I LIKE spinach, but sometimes I prefer it cooked. 

Here's the salad - see the bleu cheese and candied pecans?  Those are the BEST parts!

But this salad was quite good!  The spinach was fresh and crunchy, the candied pecans were divine, and the bleu cheese topped everything off well.  (Note – I do not know why this is called baby spinach AND greens – I think the spinach was the only GREEN in there…  Maybe I missed something.)

Pluses – quick, easy lunch.  Just throw it in a bag, add a napkin, fork, and drink and you are out the door!  Healthy, tasty, not crazy expensive.  Candied pecans rocked and cranberries were a nice touch.

Cons – the bleu cheese was one huge HUNK and it was all globbed together.  Would it kill them to bust it up a bit and crumble it on?  Also, the raspberry vinaigrette dressing was a wee bit too sweet. 

Overall – a good salad from the many to choose from at Trader Joe’s.  I wonder what the other lady ended up picking.

Price - $3.99

Rating – 4