I think by now I’ve firmly established on this blog the extent to which I love Trader Joe’s.
I love the products, I love the prices, I love the people. I pretty much love everything about it.
There’s one thing that I do not love, though.
I do not love that I can go in there in search of 3 or 4 items and come out with a full basket of food. Sometimes I feel like I have no control over my arms as they start swiping full shelves of food into my basket like a one-man version of Supermarket Sweep.
Case in point, my trip to TJ’s yesterday included yet another item that I will undoubtedly eat way too much of and need to buy every week:
I’ve been having this strange craving for baba ghanoush (I sort of blame Emily for that), but I haven’t actually gotten my act together enough to roast a whole eggplant to make it.
So clearly, when I found this baba ghanoush-like spread, I needed to buy it. And if any of you are food purists, I realize that this is pretty different than baba ghanoush. But do you see me complaining when European people think that all American food is comprised of McDonald’s hamburgers?*
*I totally do complain about this but that’s neither here nor there.
This dip contains fefferoni peppers in addition to the eggplant and garlic. At first I thought the label said “pepperoni” and I got really excited. I come to find out that the ingredient it contains is actually “fefferoni peppers”, which are apparently chili peppers common in Mediterranean cuisine.
And then I decided that I need to come up with a pepperoni dip in the very near future.
I dug in without looking at the ingredient list (I’m a rebel without a cause, I know), and the first flavor I tasted was tomato. Which was strange, because it’s not advertised as a tomato-y spread.
Sure enough, one of the first ingredients is tomato.
Ordinarily, this might scare me away, being as I’m not a huge fan of the tomatoes, but I was feeling dangerous last night and decide to eat some more.
Especially with some crackers, this stuff is good.
I’m thinking of ways that I can incorporate it into dishes instead of just as a snack.
I bet it would be a really good replacement for marinara for my non-marinara loving friends (and by “non-marinara loving friends”, I mean me).
I’ll get back to you on that one.
I gotta go back to face planting into a jar of dip.
I never said moderation came easily to me.
It’s like salsa to me. I just can’t stop at a couple chips. Ever.
Can anyone?
Yum.
Have you had TJ’s red pepper spread? It’s genius. It’s even more genius when you pair it with TJ’s corn salsa. Don’t ask, just do.
I love Trader Joes so much. I’m so sad we don’t have them here. My bank account is grateful, but not me. 🙂
Yum!!! Now I need that. 🙂
I bet it would be delish on a pizza!
Agreed- I think I’ll be trying it on a naan pizza very soon.
i’ve had that too, but I wasn’t a huge fan. It was like a too-exotic version of salsa, which is just supposed to be mexican, you know? I can say that the red pepper spread (which also has garlic and eggplant) is my absolute favorite TJs item, hands down. You won’t regret that. I have made it myself, but for like$3, I’ll buy it when I can. Which I can’t often. So I make it. Make sense? I’ll shut up now.
sooo good. I got some as my little TJ’s gift pack from Steph at http://www.TheCookieBattle.com and I’m in crazy hoarder lady mode with it now. Not much left but each tablespoon I use is only for the most delicious of causes. Like over steamed veggies…uhhh yes.
That dip looks super tasty!
Funny story – and you may not believe me – you know that restaurant I mentioned eh….last week…that had the pizza with pork belly? There’s a possibility they have a dish of chicken with pepperoni sauce on the menu. So it’s not pepperoni dip, but it’s pretty close. And entirely amazing. I *think* these are signs telling you that you need to visit DC in the near future…
Oh man, I need the name of that restaurant!
Looks like I have another item to add to my TJ’s list. Good thing I go once a week.
Also, have you seen that they switched the La Granja over to screw top? I thought that was pretty exciting.
Really? Ours was always screw top! Oh, regional differences… 🙂
I really love this spread, I recently discovered it myself and have been trying to figure out a way to use it. I actually considered trying it as a marinade for chicken and seeing how that works out…but it definitely is delicious! Trader Joe’s is the love of my life.
You and me both, sister.
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