I received an exquisite package in the mail from
Bertolli Foods last week.
Wrapped in red and gilt-gold, I discovered a gift card inviting me to purchase
Bertolli frozen meals. Accompanying this was a wine aerator (I had never used one before) and a beautifully wrapped envelope with recipes developed by Rocco
Dispirito which could accompany my meal. The meal was to coincide with the unveiling of
Bertolli's webisodes:
Into the Heart of Italy. The trailer was to make its debut during
Desperate Housewives on Sunday eve. As someone who:
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a. does not watch TV
b. does not cook frozen meals
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- this was an intriguing opportunity. Because it was Sunday dinner, I felt I had to make some sort of effort. I put out
Asiago cheese with Sicilian olives and
Caprese roses.
With the gift card, I purchased 3 skillet meals: Italian Sausage & Rigatoni, Chicken Parmigiana &
Penne and Shrimp Scampi & Linguine. My college-aged children and my daughter's boyfriend were invited to partake of the festivities. With their time constraints and less expendable income, they are more likely to purchase a frozen meal than I.
`
The
Chicken Parmigiana with Penne (pictured above) had mixed results. All loved the sauce, the
penne came out
al dente but the Chicken Parmigiana was soft and soggy. My daughter who is fussy about textures did not eat it. My husband, son and the boyfriend wolfed theirs down.
Having non-shrimp eaters at the table, only three of us tried the
Shrimp Scamp with Linguine. It was probably the least favorite. My husband and son did finish theirs. I wasn't wild about the shrimp - too translucent (it was cooked), too mushy and I felt the very strong garlic sauce overpowered the shrimp. I like my shrimp simply broiled, baked or grilled with cooked garlic. I feel cream sauces overwhelm the
shrimp. So some of this is personal taste.
`
The garlic remained raw during the cooking process. There were large chunks of garlic that overwhelmed
everyone's sense of smell and taste. After a few bites, my husband and son started putting the slices aside.
The
Italian Sausage and Rigatoni was the hit of the evening. The 20-somethings at the table all declared that it would be a grand meal to have in the freezer. The rigatoni was
al dente (which surprised me - I thought it would be softer). The sauce was a savory blend of herbs with the taste of the sausage. The sausage was firm. Not overpowering with enough spice to please all.
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My husband and son ate hungrily and happily - stopping in-between bites to assure me that although this was very good, my from-scratch meals were better.
Hmmm. I wondered.
We did a taster's menu - 2 or three meals on each plate. The presentation of
al dente pasta, vegetables and meat was pleasing.
I was astounded that a frozen pasta dinner could yield
al dente pasta - which it did in all three results. The portions of meat, chicken and fish were generous.
I found the meals for $8.39 at the local grocers. (I checked three grocery stores and the prices did not vary). The meals serve 2. All thought it a reasonable price. The rule of thumb for fast food is that your meal should be under $5.00. And this was much better than fast food. Cooked in a skillet for nine minutes, it was also faster than fast food!
`
We have
since learned that Target sells these meals for $6.60 and that was the deal-breaker for the 20-somethings. They would definitely keep the sausage-rigatoni skillet meal in the freezer for an easy, flavorful meal. All were predisposed to trying other
Bertolli meals.
We rounded out the meals with some arugula topped with
fricos and settled down to watch
Desperate Housewives and catch the trailer to
Into the Heart of Italy.
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Bertolli Frozen Meals is getting ready to launch a new series of
webisodes titled "
Into the Heart of Italy: Six Adventures, Three Celebrities, One Mission. To Unlock the Secrets of Italian Passion for Food and Life." This one-of-a-kind online series will feature celebrity chef Rocco
Dispirito and actors Marisa
Tomei and Dan
Cortese as they explore the food and culture of Italy.
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I guarantee you that the video will have you saving your pennies for a trip to Italy.
`
I want to thank
Bertolli for giving me the
opportunity to try their meals. I am not someone who buys frozen meals and was pleasantly surprised. And while I will continue to cook my pasta dinners from scratch, there will be a frozen meal in the freezer for my busy children. With the gift card and aerator, I also received suggested wine pairings (also on their website) and
recipes developed by Chef Rocco
DiSpirito: Jump Asparagus with Oyster Mushrooms and Fresh
Pecorino Cheese, Chocolate Cake with Armagnac Ice Cream. I will definitely keep those close!
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The wine aerator opened up new possibilities. We have always scrambled when busy to make sure our red wines had time to breathe before serving. As we uncorked the Chianti and poured it into the aerator, the bouquet of the wine was instantly released. The aerator does indeed allow the wine to breathe without prep time. I will use it again and again.
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I have fallen in love with the
Bertolli website. With its suggestions on how to use
their products, wine pairings and recipes, they
provide a wealth of information. My children want to try
Bertolli's lasagne ("but we know it won't be as good as yours, Mom.") What? Me worry?
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And while there will now be a Bertolli meal in my freezer, I still won't watch TV.
What do you need to do? It's simple - for four days, I will be airing a webisode of Bertolli's Into the Heart of Italy. You simply watch the webisode and then leave a comment telling me:
