Food and Beverage Reviews

I am happy to provide food and beverage reviews . Please CLICK HERE for details on submitting a product for review. I also provide a copy of my review to amazon.com if applicable. Disclosure and legal information on reviews and Katherines Corner in general can be found HERE

ALLERGY! Please see my review page for details

Shagri La Organic Luxury Tea Collection Review-
Available at http://shangrilaicedtea.com
$75
When you think of the name Shangri La it may conjure up visions of utopia or an earthly paradise. Maybe even a permanent happy place. Now imagine finding this bliss within a cup of tea.
A beautiful box of organic teas arrived the other day. I slipped it out of its pretty card board box and discovered a beautiful box inside. The moment I opened it I could smell the delicious fragrance of all of the teas inside. Nine different organic teas resting beautifully in their little divided sections. 81 silky pyramid sachets in all, with flavors of decadent coconut chocolate, chamomile mint, tropical orange green tea and more.

I steeped my tea pouch in my cup and greeted the day with a delicious fruity blend of organic black tea and currents. Shangri La teas are wonderful hot or cold. Imagine bringing out this lovely tea presentation to your guests, or having them in your lounge at work, or in the breakfast area of a bed and breakfast. These award winning teas deserve high praise. Shangri La is truly a befitting name for this bliss in a teacup.

I liked this product so much it is a prize in an upcoming giveaway here at Katherines Corner
Shangri La tea offers free shipping on orders over $50. They recently introduced chocolate infused with flavorful teas. There are several lovely tea gift options available for any occasion, or give yourself the gift of health with their wonderful selection of teas. Sure to please even the pickiest tea connoisseur .

Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes Review

Available at their official website and fine stores everywhere

No matter how well you cook, a recipe is only as good as its ingredients. There are a lot of sun dried tomatoes to choose from at the market. Finding the one that adds the perfect touch to your recipe can be a matter of trial and error.  Previously I had tried several brands and never really found one I liked. Today I am reviewing the Julienne Cut Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil with Italian Herbs by Bella Sun Luci . They are a product of Mooney Farms.

I created a new recipe and added the sun dried tomatoes as the crowning touch to my baked eggs asparagus. They have a wonderful taste and unlike other sun dried tomatoes they do not overwhelm the palate and are the perfect complement to the recipe. Bottled in pure olive oil they are so tasty you can eat them straight from the jar! They are definitely on the top of my list.

They come in a variety of flavors and are reasonably priced. I look forward to trying the others in their product line. I also love their Tomato Pesto with Pine Nuts perfect for rigatoni!  I encourage you to visit their website. Where they have gift baskets and Chef Richard, “Richie”,Hirshen shares delicious recipes.

These sun dried tomatoes get my highest rating. They are now my must have sun dried tomatoes.

Tasty Bite Review

Available at many markets and at their official website

Writing a review for food items is often a bit difficult as we all have such different likes and dislikes. So instead of telling you all about the delicious flavors and varity of recipes.I also want to emphasis the convenience of these products. In and out of the microwave oven in 90 seconds or less.  Toss one in your lunch box, have it for a quick snack or a nice side dish. They have a variety of flavors and types of rice and noodle products that will surely make a fan of you. They take great pride in providing a variety of special diet dishes too. Kosher, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free. We tried several flavors and recipes from Indian to Asian inspired. We did have a favorite, the Channa Masala, Chickpeas slow simmered with onions, tomatoes and spices. A terrific entree. You can find a variety of recipes and meals ideas at their website too.

Sharis Berries Review

Available at  berries. com

Prices vary

The kind folks at Sharis Berris, makers of delicious baked goods, dipped strawberries, goodie filled gift baskets and divine chocolates, generously provided me with their Sugar Free Sweets and Savories gift basket for review. Their popular gift basket is now sugar free and includes.  Pistachios, Corn Nuts, Roasted Salted Almonds, Roasted Salted Cashews, Mixed Nuts ,Sugar Free Gummi Bears, Sugar Free Chocolate Almonds, Sugar Free Taffy, Sugar Free Jelly Beans and Sugar Free Caramel Taffy Swirls

This lovely snack basket arrived promptly, tied with a bow and securely packaged. Product inside was just as pictured. Each snack sized bag was filled to the top with delicious goodies. I am now officially addicted to their sugar free cinnamon bears. Their nuts were fresh and lightly salted, so in my words, perfect. Each jelly bean was individually wrapped, how wonderful is that! It’s like a little bite sized gift. Everything was absolutely filled with fresh flavor and the lovely fabric lined basket is now holding things in my pantry. Whether you buy a gift for yourself or someone else I believe you will be delighted with your purchase from Sharis Berries. Check out all of the goodies and gift baskets available for any occasion at their official website.

Please note the only reason this review receives four stars instead of five is that they use sorbitol and malitol as sweeteners. If they used sucralose it would be a shining five star rating.

Fannie May Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Review

Available at  http://www.fanniemay.com/

My box of Fannie May Chocolate Dipped Strawberries arrived well packaged and cold (thanks to the gel pack they cleverly place inside every box). Every beautiful chocolate dipped berry perfectly placed in the lovely red box they arrived in. The presentation was absolutely beautiful. Inside were (4) Pixie® Berries: dipped in a divine mix of caramel infused real milk chocolate and covered with crunchy pecans. (4) Trinidad® Berries: dipped in deliciously creamy, real milk chocolate and covered with golden toasted coconut. (4) Mint Meltaway Berries: dipped in luxuriously creamy, mint-infused real white and milk chocolate . I was happy to share them at our Thanksgiving get together. Our grandchildren had eyes as big as saucers when they saw the big plump chocolate dipped strawberries. I heard squeals of delight…but then a little moaning.  Unfortunately some of the berries weren’t ripe yet. Although they ate every bit of chocolate off of them. Some of the strawberries just weren’t sweet.   That was disappointing. However, at least half of them were ripe!

About Fannie May Berries

Fannie May Berries can be ordered and in the customers’ home within 24 hours and includes large, luscious berries that are hand dipped in 100% rich, smooth, Fannie May chocolate. Fannie May Berries includes hand crafted indulgent flavor combinations including Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Caramel, Pink & White Champagne, Toasted Coconut & White Chocolate (Trinidad©), Milk Chocolate Caramel & Nuts (Pixies©) and Holiday flavors—Dark Chocolate Gingerbread, Candy Cane and Eggnog. 

About Fannie May Chocolates

For nearly a century, Fannie May Chocolates has been bringing you the finest gourmet chocolates, fudge, and candies that have kept us as your favorite traditional chocolate store. Since the first Fannie May chocolate store opened in 1920 Chicago, we have been developing decadent chocolates, using only the premium of ingredients. Our rich chocolate recipes remain unchanged since the day we premiered them. Even when ingredients were scarce, Fannie May Chocolates kept its original recipes and refused to compromise the gourmet milk chocolate and dark chocolate tastes that put us at the top of the chocolate charts. We guarantee a high standard of excellence with all of our gourmet chocolates. We also stand behind our 100% satisfaction guarantee to ensure that the most delicious and high quality of gourmet milk chocolate, gourmet dark chocolate, and gourmet fudge gifts are being sold. In May of 2006 Fannie May joined the 1-800-Flowers.com family of brands. For more than 30 years, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. – “Your Florist of Choice®” – has been providing customers around the world with the freshest flowers and finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections and plush stuffed animals perfect for every occasion.

 Proflowers  Mothers Day Gift Basket Cheese Lovers Review

Available at Pro Flowers.com

Prices vary

A gourmet gift made for cheese lovers! This is wonderful for gift giving. Filled with cheeses, crackers, nuts and tea too and it is all nicely tied together with a bow on a solid wood cutting board complete with hot mustard, some Wisconsin sausage and a cheese spreader too. All you need is an appetite and this gift is ready for you. It arrived safely and promptly and was securely wrapped. Everything inside was fresh and flavorful. My husband loved the spicy mustard. I will use the cutting board and cheese spreader often now that all of the goodies have been eaten. Proflowers has a wonderful selection of gifts other than flowers. I encourage you to visit their website for other great gift ideas for Mother’s day or any day.