TRADER’S: “With its rectangular shape, deep, crispy-edged crust, and golden underside, Detroit-style pizza has been wowing pizza fans and converting thin crust devotees since 1946. Believe it or not, the original Detroit-style pie was said to have been baked in steel pans originally used for auto parts!Trader Joe’s Detroit Style Uncured Pepperoni Pizza is decidedly not assembled in auto part pans, it is packaged in a rectangular, oven-friendly pan that’s sprinkled with cheese prior to pizza assembly. This crucial step delivers the golden, crispy-on-the-underside and pillowy-on-the-inside crust that’s characteristic of a Detroit Style pie.“
If you are looking to try Trader Joe’s (new) DETROIT STYLE UNCURED PEPPERONI PIZZA all I can say is GOOD LUCK! Frequently Sells Out – Most of the time I went looking to buy it all I found was an empty shelf.
I have a feeling this is due to social media; At the moment, this is HOT item. I guess each store gets a certain amount per day and whatever they get, sells out pretty fast.
When this happens I always wonder? Is it really that good or is it just Hype? When I finally saw it, I didn’t hesitate for a second and grabbed one! Here’s my honest review.
First I should say as a native “Noo Yawkah” pizza lover of our (classic) thin crust pizzas, I’ve never been a fan of thick crusts. And as you can see, the crust here is pretty thick. But you know what? Tasting this Trader Joe’s pizza I can tell you it is quite tasty.
My wife and I both enjoyed eating it, despite the amount of crust. I never had a Detroit pizza in my life so I can’t judge how accurate Trader Joe’s version is. But I do know that this was pretty damn tasty, folks!
Yes it is pretty dough-y, But overall tasty. All the elements were good. The tomato sauce is nice, thick and flavorful, very tomatoey, It matched perfectly with the nice amount of cheese.
The star of the show is of course that pepperoni. The uncured pepperoni on this is EXCELLENT. There was no pool of grease you see usually see on pepperoni pizzas. Nor did it shrink up into the cups like some pepperoni does. Is it very spicy? Nope. This uncured pepperoni is pretty mild.
What I’ve learned with this pizza is how to make this as good as possible. The main point being, make sure to get it well baked. See the last pic for how it looked when we ate it (i made some veggies for a side)
TIPS: The package says bake in the included oven safe paper pan for 23-25 minutes at 425. I say you can/should adjust their instructions.
I did not use their pan. I put it on a sheet pan as I thought metal will give it a better bake. After all a real one is baked in a steel pan, right?
I suggest it needs more time to get really well baked which is what it should be. After 25 minutes I tried it and decided it still needed another 5-7 minutes or so baking. I added a squirt of olive oil on the bottom to give the crust some help. The oil will help brown and crisp the bottom. Figure at least 30 minutes, and check it and adjust as needed. Also let your oven get very pre-heated, at temp for a good 10 minutes before you put in the pan.
I could have even brushed on some oil on the edges/sides. It looks a little dry as you can see; but this iis easily fixed with some evoo
I added my normal seasoning I like; slivered garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper….
My wife thought the two of us should eat the whole thing. I said that’s too much, let’s eat 2/3 of it and leave some. She fought me bitterly and snuck in a few bites of the “leftovers”. As you see, I made our meal a bit healthier with some veggies!
Not a bad deal at about $8 bucks for a pizza that can feed 2 or 3 people.
Would you say this looks like Trader Joe’s wants to get in on the this whole popular “drizzling” trend with olive oil in a squeeze bottle? Are you thinking this looks like the popular “Graza Sizzle” oil? Trader Joe’s is appropriately enough calling their EVOO oil in a squeeze bottle, “Main Squeeze”. As usual for Trader Joe’s this is a pretty budget friendly item.
MAIN SQUEEZE is a blend of Mediterranean olive oils from three counties: Tunisia, Spain, and Italy. Its “packed in Italy”.
They are selling this 750 ml (25.4 oz) bottle for about eleven bucks – which is cheaper than some of the other oils they sell as many come in a smaller 500ml bottle, like the EVOO from California for example. $10.99 is a fairly good deal for a 750 ml bottle. Graza brand oil sells now for about $17 at Target for this same 750 ml size bottle. I don’t have any of the Graza oil at home now one so can’t directly compare them. That one is from one place (Spain).
They say this: “Imported from the Mediterranean, it’s a golden, grassy, and pleasantly peppery cold-pressed Olive Oil, ideal for everything from light sautés to dipping bread, and it’s contained within a consummately convenient Squeeze bottle topped with an adjustable spout. The squeezable design is perfect for drizzling over roasted veggies, burrata, or soups. It’s also versatile enough for dipping bread, making pesto, or general pan-frying and sautéing. “
I tried this Main Squeeze Oil and pretty much liked the taste. Yes, it does have “a golden, grassy, and pleasantly peppery taste with a mild kick on it’s aftertaste”.
One thing I don’t like? The nozzle. It’s not great. Hard to grip for a start. I found it tricky to open and close. It is very narrow, so hard to grip, and turn to open and close. It should be wider. I found I needed to grab it with something (towel, etc) to get a firm grip.
The nozzle also had a tendency to get gunked easily. I had to wipe it often as it got gunky after about two uses.
Now do I think the oil is as good as their best EVOO oils (the Sicilian and California ones)? No I would say just a bit under those two excellent oils, however they are more expensive. Those both cost more than this.
So is TJ’s MAIN SQUEEZE is worth trying if you want to try the whole “drizzle” experience. Its of course cheaper than Graza Sizzle EVOO. This says it is “$13.85/quart”.
Like all extra virgin oils keep it in a cool dark cupboard if at all possible to stay as fresh as possible.
$10.99 (750 ml)
“Packed in Italy; Oil from Tunisia, Spain and Italy”
“Give your pet the very best. Skin on salmon that has been cut into snack friendly pieces and freeze dried with absolutely nothing added along the way”
Ingredients: SALMON. Thats it!
A treat has 48.5% protein and 41% fat. Each treat is about 5-6 calories.
Naturally both of my guest reviewers fish loving cats Aspen and Kuro went crazy for these and gave them a big thumbs up. Or paws up
“FOOD TOPPER” – You can even use these when you have a pet who is sick or off their feed and not interested in food. Or if you have switched food / brands and they don’t like the new one, which is common. Or you just want to add to your pet’s diet. Crush these up and sprinkle it over the food. I have done this especially for a sick cat and the aroma usually works to get them to eat.
In any case your cat or dog will probably love these. You will no doubt be saying something like “No, you only get one for now”
Not cheap of course. Its pure salmon. $5.49 for a small bag (just 1.5 oz) but as it’s freeze dried that might have started as a pound of fresh salmon?
Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s “Calabrian Chili Tomato Dumpling Soup”
This soup is really TERRIFIC. Taste-wise I was impressed at just how good this is. It’s really a great tasting tomato soup, full of flavor and just a bit creamy. This tastes like a wonderful homemade tomato soup you (or your Grandma) made.
A bit creamy and full of tomato flavor with great spice additions. Lip smacking yummy. Surprisingly good for something out of a jar. But you will get a great tomato soup.
A jar of this can make a super easy weeknight meal. So I recommend this as a great thing to have in the pantry. It should feed two with a few other things (salad.. bread….a veg)
One review I found on Insta says: “i love it so much. my husband & i think it’s one of the best tomato soups we’ve ever had ~ & we make homemade tomato soup, so that’s saying something! perfect amount of warmth/heat from the chiles”
Ok there is one thing. Dumplings?! Based on the name, you would expect that you would find dumplings, no? Guess what? I didn’t really see any dumplings in the whole jar of soup. I just found a few fingernail size pieces of something I assume used to be a dumpling.
Not just my jar either. I saw another reviewer complaining about how she found no dumplings in this to speak of, also just a few little bits. So just a heads up. The name says Dumplings but its pretty much dumpling free (or they just fall apart).
But you know what? I didn’t care too much as it’s it was so tasty, that really compensated for this one element which I can more or less fix – If you really want something in the soup do what I did. Add some cooked pasta.
Here’s what I did to make up for the missing dumplings. I just boiled up a bit of pasta till al dente. Drained it, then tossed the cooked pasta into the soup. I used a small handful of TJ’s Macaroni.
Sure you don’t have to to bother doing this, the soup is fine on it’s own. Don’t just throw in dried pasta as that may soak up quite a bit of soup. Pre-cook some pasta separately.
Which pasta that would work? Any small shaped pasta. Orzo, macaroni, fusilli, bowties. What about GNOCCHI? Why not?
While of course “spicy” is very personal, to both my wife and I who were reviewing this, we thought this was just a little bit spicy. Certainly not roof on fire spicy. In fact I could easily see one adding a small dab of TJ’s superb ITALIAN BOMBA sauce made with those same Calabrian Chilis, if you wanted this a bit spicier.
Ingredients include tomato paste, “dumplings”, and heavy cream, carrots, vinegar, honey plus spices.
In spite of almost no dumplings found, a super yummy all over a tasty tomato soup to have in your pantry!
“Cookies and Cream ice cream sandwiched between rich chocolate chunk cookies”
I like the original version of these: “Vanilla Ice cream sandwiched between Chocolate Chip cookies.
My neighbor tried this newer version: Cookies N Cream which are a new flavor riff on the original Sublime Ice Cream Sandwich (Chocolate Chip cookies around vanilla ice cream rolled in chocolate chips).
My neighbor wasn’t crazy about these Cookies and Cream sandwiches after she tried one. So she offered the rest of them to me. My wife and I tried them and we understood why our neighbor wasn’t crazy about this flavor. First off – Way, way too sweet. What I call “kid level” sweetness. Way too sweet from the two (similar) sweet things going on, both the cookie and the ice cream. IMO this flavor doesnt’ work. They have pretty sweet cookies and cream ice cream inside – outside a sweet gooey chocolate outer cookies. As soon as you chew this you are kind of making “cookies and cream” anyway. So the effect is double Cookies And Cream, and its a bit too much for me. My wife wouldn’t eat more than a bite.
Whereas when if this had vanilla ice cream, then there would be a contrast between the outer dark chocolate gooey cookie and the inside of the ice cream sandwich.
The original version of these is better with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies and rolled in chocolate chips. There you get more distinct flavors and textures.
Not too mention the soft outside cookie of the sandwich just kind of melted in my fingers as I ate it. It was messy to eat. My call is get the original one which is good. This one is a Miss for me. I think I would like it if it had vanilla ice cream in the middle. Then as you bite it you would get cookies and cream.
Get the original flavor, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, which is wonderful.
Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Mochi, Ice Cream wrapped in a layer of sweet chewy mochi (sticky rice).
Here’s what they say about it: “Each bite starts with the sweet, tooth-sinking sensations of the outer Mochi layer, which quickly gives way to the rich, full-flavored, and buttery-sweet Salted Caramel ice cream within.”
Here’s my honest review. Basically, I love most anything made with Mochi (sticky rice). I love that chewy texture. I’ve really liked most of the Trader Joe’s mochi ice cream combos they have come out with. I think one in particular is a knockout: the BLACK SESAME MOCHI ICE CREAM. I find that one to just be terrific and a bit of an unusual flavor, we don’t see too often in the U.S.
The Green Tea mochi ice cream is also good as well as the Strawberry flavor and the Mango…. So they quite a few flavors of these mochi ice creams. I think with now this Salted Caramel one, they have or had six flavor combos.
This new new Salted Caramel flavor got some buzz on the internet about how great it was. So I wanted to try it and see how it stacks up against all the other ones. Here’s my honest review.
I have to measure it against the other ones. I thought it was OK however I wasn’t terribly impressed with the salted caramel flavor, which lets face it, unlike say a fruit flavor, is a bit harder to compare to the real thing. I mean you know instantly if mango mochi tastes like mango. I think its harder for “salted caramel” which is the natural flavor combo of caramelized sugar plua butter with a bit of salt).
I wanted a second opinion, so I asked my wife to taste it too. She basically had the same reaction and said it was “just OK”. So we both found it just ok. We didn’t think the salted caramel mochi was as good as some of the other flavors, especially say compared to the (great) black sesame mochi, which we both loved as well as many of the fruit ones, like mango.
The outside wrapper is brown and pretty sticky. Usually the wrappers made from white sticky rice look white. So I assume there must be caramel in that as well as the ice cream as per the ingredients on the label. the combo of the white salted caramel ice cream inside and the brown mochi wrapper are a bit Meh and Underwhelming where as I really like many of the fruit ones (mango) and the standout (black sesame) And by the way, I do not see “butter” in the ingredient list. But I do see “miso” listed (??) which I imagine is part of the “salted” flavor?
So I didn’t hate this but I didn’t love it either. Again its OK but I would not buy this again. I would way prefer to buy my favorite, Black Sesame version, which if you havent tried it, I would recommend. Or Mango. Maybe Green Tea.
Of course this is IMHO. Some on Instagram do give this new flavor, high praise reviews of its a “must try”, “addictive” “gotta have it” – so your call.
As per TJ’s let all mochi ice cream treats defrost a bit before eating them to get the full flavor and texture profiles.
These ready to cook meatballs from Trader Joe’s are a fairly recent item, sold fresh in the meat section. I wanted to try them for while and finally got around to trying these.
Now it’s $9.99. Yes it went up as beef prices have skyrocketed. Still not a terrible deal. There are 12 meatballs in the package which is (24 oz or 1 1/2 lbs) Trader Joe’s has this to say about them:
“…Our supplier’s recipe starts with a base of tender, ground 100% Angus Beef, to which they add a bit of panko breadcrumbs…along with onion and garlic purée, a blend of aromatic herbs like basil and oregano, as well as grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses”
Cooking: The box has instructions for cooking the meatballs in the oven (at 400 for 15-20 minutes) as well as for Air Fryer (at 400 for 10-15 mins)
I find it funny they don’t say anything about what I would call the traditional grandma method to cook meatballs: Brown them then simmer in a pot of tomato sauce. You can just put them into the sauce without browning, which is the way my mom used to make meatballs.
Its a little more work and mess to brown them, but I do like the flavor you get with browning. Plus you can get that tasty “fond” left in the bottom of the pan which will add a lot of flavor once you deglaze that and add that into your meat sauce.
Sauce: As you choose. You could use TJ’s very decent $1.99 jar of tomato basil MARINARA sauce (24 oz). Or for a bigger batch use two jars. Again, I would suggest the traditional browning and simmer method but thats your call if you want to bake these or Air Fry them and add sauce later depending on how you are serving the meatballs.
To cook them I did it the traditional Grandma way: browning them in olive oil on all sides, deglaze the pan, and then simmered in sauce for 15-29 minutes or so. We served them in the classic way of: Spaghetti and Meatballs. These are great for that of course.
If you want something really special for your sauce you could level up and use that $5 jar of TJ’s superb CARO SUGO sauce!
We used it to make “Spaghetti and Meatballs” for dinner, eat about 3 meatballs each and had enough left for another meal for later in the week out of the one package.
REVIEW: I would say these were pretty good. Of course I could not compare these to “Grandma’s homemade meatballs” but these were not bad at all. These were pretty tasty served up as spaghetti and meatballs. Flavor wise we did think they could have used a bit more of everything (garlic, seasonings, cheese…) Now I do make meatballs from scratch, which are great, but honestly I have not made meatballs in a LONG TIME! So I would call these the next best thing to home made and pretty easy. They had a good meatball texture, being neither too soft nor too firm. You can fix these up easily for more flavor.
FIXING THEM UP: You can easily improve these by adding a few things such as, Dried Herbs, Garlic. Cheese… I wish these had way more cheese but you can fix that by grating on a ton of Pecorino or Parmesan when you serve them. Fresh basil would be a knockout punch. The sauce you serve them with will help of course.
These would work for making “meat sauce” (break them up). Use them for making Heros or Subs like in the picture (Meatball Sub). Or match with any kind of pasta. I read somewhere that someone even used these to make “Italian Wedding Soup” (he made them into smaller meatballs). So get creative. Overall, pretty tasty even if they will not fool Grandma. Naturally you could do a few things to the uncooked meatballs. Reform them into either even smaller meatballs. Or bigger. Take make these about 1 and a half size. Or go the other direction : use these for a Meat Sauce, Ragu or Bolognese style sauce using either jarred sauce or making your own.
$9.99 (24 oz / 12 meatballs) – (I think they used to be $8 when they came out a year or so back?)
You could spend about $13 total to make a spaghetti and meatball dinner which would easily feed 4 people. Using these 12 beef meatballs, a pound of spaghetti, plus a jar of marinara . That works out to about $3 bucks per person which is not terrible for a super tasty meal. Meatball subs? Maybe a few bucks more for the hero rolls.
“MEDIUM ROAST – With notes of milk chocolate and stone fruits”
100% Arabica. Whole Beans. Organic.
NEW ITEM
“You’re likely familiar with our rotating roster of limited-edition Small Lot Coffees—carefully sourced, single-origin offerings that tend to be available only in small quantities, and only for a short time.”
This is not a Small Lot however Trader Joe’s says this coffee captures the spirit of their Small Lot coffees. They managed to find enough supply to have this on a regular basis. Trader Joe’s has this new coffee from Chiapas, Mexico.
This is an excellent coffee.
Chiapas is the southern most part of Mexico and has the Sierra Madre mountains. These beans are grown high up there between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. This coffee is “grown by a collective of nearly 2,000 small farmers.”
“… thanks to our longstanding relationships with some exceptional growers, we’ve been able to secure a supply of Trader Joe’s Organic Mexico Chiapas Whole Bean Coffee large enough to offer every day. It captures the spirit of our Small Lot releases—high-quality, single-origin craftsmanship—only this time, it’s here to stay.”
I really really liked this. High quality indeed. These beans smelled great upon opening the bag. Ground up fresh the coffee smells even better.
ROAST – You can never count on when TJ’s says Light or Medium. This bag says “Medium Roast”. However to me it’s clearly darker than Medium. I might say a dark medium or a light dark roast? As you can see the beans are just a tiny bit shiny. Whatever they call it the roast is perfect for these beans.
This made a wonderfully flavorful cup of coffee, which they describe as “with notes of milk chocolate and stone fruit”. I made it in my MOKA POT. I even got a bit of crema. It should work for any brewing method. Delicious.
I would not mind having another bag at all. This coffee is a keeper!
I’ve thought about posting something like this for awhile, instead of a review. The issue: Wasting money. Wasting food. Argh !!! I’m sure you are with me. I just hate discovering produce wasn’t used fast enough and is basically garbage now. I hate to throw out food. I’m sure you feel the same. With everything costing more and more, frankly now it seems more important than ever.
We all know all too well, the horrible feeling of looking in a bag of greens or something only to find something black and melted and looking like it’s ready for the garbage. Some things go faster than other. Pre-washed soft little greens for one.
Say washed, ready to eat Mixed Greens at Trader Joe’s. I’ve found those really don’t last long. Great for 3, 4 days. They go bad pretty fast. Faster than almost anything else I buy at Trader Joe’s as the little mixed lettuces are very delicate. After four days, I will usually find a few rotten pieces deep in the middle.
So how do you keep your veggies and stuff from going bad for as long as possible?
Every vegetable and package presents a different challenge. A lot of stuff at Trader Joe’s is packaged in plastic. Most? Way too much plastic and of course Plastic doesn’t “breathe”. Moisture is both the friend and enemy with veggies. Just enough is good to keep them as fresh as possible. But if no air, it will rot faster.
My so called hack is a mix of air (holes) and paper towels to try to regulate the moisture in the bag.
AIR FLOW. What I usually do is I make holes if there aren’t any already. Even if there are (bagged carrots for example) I may add some more holes. What I do is a combination of things to regulate the moisture. Sometimes adding a paper towel in the bag to absorb moisture (and provide it slowly). On occasion both the two together, poking lots of holes and a paper towel in the bag. It’s tricky as you don’t want stuff to dry up, but not have too much moisture either.
For example take that bag of ARUGULA – which I buy frequently. The first thing I do before I put the bag in the fridge is take a sharp pointy knife – and STAB IT all over to make a lot of holes. Seriously stab it. Not two or three holes. I stab the bag maybe 10 times on each side. A lot of little holes to make it more breathable. I might slit open the bag and put a paper towel in along the side.
Mixed greens? Air holes and paper towels in the bag. Close up with a clothes pin or similar.
GREEN ONIONS – Same thing. Air holes all over.
Once you open a bag, which I usually do with scissors, i use clips or clothes pins to seal shut.
With green onions, sometimes I will remove them all from the bag and wrap a paper towel around the bottom which is barely moistened with a few drops of water to keep those root ends moist. A wonderful Cantonese chef I watch alot of cooking videos of, recommends standing green onions upright in the fridge, in a plastic bag with the roots wrapped in barely moist paper towels. That does work but I usually have them horizontal.
What about say a package of PERSIAN CUCUMBERS? They have cardboard on the bottom which is breathable, so better. The plastic wrapping them, I pierce all over and make (more) air holes. Keep loosely covered.
What about Trader Joe’s plastic square boxes of parsley or cilantro? I stab the plastic box like crazy to make holes in them and take a paper towel and wrap up the whole bunch of parsley in the paper towel. Maybe add a few drops of water to keep it moist – barely. Freshen every few days.
Another thing I do, is when things start to look no longer perfect is I will cook the greens when they get past prime time (a bit not garbage). Lets say I have half a bag of arugula left over, It looks a little past it’s prime but not too bad. Not great for a salad but not ready to toss in the garbage. So I cook it. I remove any really bad leaves, give it a quick rinse, and toss it in a pan with oil and garlic. Sauté it for a few minutes till wilted. Arugula is great to cook with too. Or if I’m cooking something, throw it in at the end for 1 minute or so till its wilted / cooked.
I really like this very versatile dressing. Sold in the refrigerated section near salad stuff. Sure this a “salad dressing” but it is also more than that.
Trader Joe’s has this to say about it: “When is a salad dressing more than a salad dressing? How about when it’s also a great dip, condiment, marinade, sauce…”
Salad dressing, a marinade, a glaze, a condiment, even a dipping sauce for your dumplings!
It can be used for all those and maybe more. This is really versatile and useful to have in your fridge. It is of course peanut-y and a typical Asian style mix of sweet and savory. We tried it as a salad dressing. Very yummy. After we poured some over mixed lettuce and arugula my wife said “I think this would also be great on noodles“… Yes! Toss some into your noodles. Or grilled chicken (use for a marinade and a glaze). Or Salmon. Or Shrimp. Or Baked Tofu. Or an omelet. A dipping sauce for dumplings. Cole slaw. Grilled vegetables…. you name it.
It is a bit sweet (from agave syrup) and of course very peanut-y. Has the tiniest amount of spice listed as the last ingredient but I can’t really detect any level of “spicy” here. If you want that, just add your favorite spicy stuff. You can even top with some crushed peanuts (this is smooth) for added texture. I really like this!
You will find it good on or with so many things. The cousin of this, also very good is TJ’s TOASTED SESAME DRESSING.
It lists 120 Cal per 2 tbls
$3.99 bottle (12 oz)
Great with chicken. Marinate some boneless breast or thighs in a bit of this sauce for 1/2 hour. Grill or broil them. Brush on some sauce in the last minute cooking to get a wonderful glaze. Serve with more sauce.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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