Ever since Sonia saw Lily Collins downing multiple Aperol Spritz beverages in Emily In Paris, she's wanted to try the trendy Italian drink. So needless to say, she was excited when she spied Aperol Aperitivo on the shelves of our nearest Trader Joe's store. She also snagged an Italian Prosecco on the same shopping trip, though neither is TJ's store brand, obviously.
The only other things you need to make an authentic Aperol Spritz are ice cubes, some seltzer water or club soda, and an orange slice. We already had those on hand, although I'm pretty sure you could find any or all of the ingredients at just about any Trader Joe's—except the booze, of course. Did you know alcohol is only sold at TJ's in 14 states?
At this point I should also note that an Italian Spritz doesn't have to be made with Aperol. There are other brands like Campari and Pronto which are popular here in the States as well as Europe. I know Joe carries Pronto, and it's a bit cheaper than the Aperol.
I can't say what a Spritz tastes like when made with those other brands, but I can tell you that an Aperol Spritz is refreshing, citrusy, and unique. The finished product is a beautiful shade of light orange, and you can smell the fruity flavors wafting from the glass. Of course, you can make it sweeter by adding more Prosecco or more citrusy by adding a bigger orange wedge or less potent by simply adding more sparkling water. I used just a tad more wine than Aperol and a fairly large splash of Polar water because I like my drinks on the fizzy side. Of course, Prosecco has some carbonation of its own but not enough to offset the stillness of the aperitivo.
By itself, the Aperol is mildly bitter and strong. It's got an orange flavor, but there are also notes of grapefruit as well as something herbal or floral. It is considered a "bitter," but I'm told that it's actually sweeter than most other popular aperitivo brands.
$26.99 for 750 mL of Aperol Aperitivo, 11% alcohol by volume, imported from Italy. $8.99 for the Martellozzo Prosecco, 10.5% ABV, also dall'Italia. Would buy both again. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for the Aperol Spritz and its constituent ingredients.
If you've been around for a while, you'll know I not only have a slight food sensitivity to mushrooms, but I really don't like their taste or texture either. And if you've been reading for a very long while, you'll remember Sonia had a very similar allergy in years past but she's mostly outgrown it. She's much more eager to take a shot at shrooms and feast on fungi these days, so she picked up this appetizer at Trader Joe's a couple months ago—which we recently rediscovered at the back of our freezer.
Considering I just straight up don't like mushrooms, I gotta say: this appetizer is oddly good. I mean, this product is case in point for why I try things that I "know" I don't like. The cheese, the buttery crust, the spice blend all help, but even the mushrooms taste nice here. There's a savory meatiness to them that I really enjoyed. Also, surprisingly, they're not very oily. Buttery? Perhaps. But not greasy or oily.
Sonia raved about this product. She inhaled 9 out of the 12 pieces in a single sitting—something quite uncharacteristic for her. It took a good half hour of her saying "Try them! You have to try them!" before I even took a single bite. She particularly enjoyed the flakiness of the breading, the creamy cheese blend, and the onion and garlic flavors underneath the mushrooms. She baked our batch in the oven, but I'm sure the air fryer would have done just as well.
$5.49 for 12 mini tarts. Sonia would buy them again in a heartbeat and I would attempt to overcome my disdain for mushrooms and eat half the package next time. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Mushroom Tartelettes nine out of ten stars. I'm still shocked at how much I liked them, so I won't contradict her on this one.
A quick internet search will reveal that Trader Joe's is just about the only place that sells "soyaki" sauce. Plenty of other folks are peddling bottles of teriyaki with sesame seeds as a primary ingredient. It seems fairly self evident that "soyaki" is a mashup of the words "soy" and "teriyaki," but if regular teriyaki has soy in it anyway, then wouldn't all teriyaki be soyaki? Seems to me that the sesame seeds are the things that make this product unique, but I guess "sesameyaki" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
Trader Joe's Soyaki is bursting with the umami flavor of soy sauce, but behind it there's a surprising amount of cane sugar sweetness along with garlic and ginger purees. You can taste sesame, vinegar, and tamari, and the whole thing is nice and savory. There are enough sesame seeds that they not only provide a bit of nuttiness to the flavor, but they add some texture, too.
My instincts would gravitate towards poultry or fish as the perfect pairings for this sauce, but I suppose steak wouldn't be out of the question. We used our soyaki as a marinade for salmon and it was scrumptious. We served it with rice and salad, and it was just perfect for dinner.
I hear it goes quite well with tofu as well, so if you're prepping a plant-based meal you're in luck because Trader Joe's Soyaki is certified vegan. It's also kosher. $3.99 for 21 oz. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Soyaki Sauce.
