Christmas is over, but now everyone is busy gearing up for New Year celebrations.  How coincidental that President’s Choice the store brand of Loblaws/Superstore/Extra Foods is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year!  The Holiday Edition of the Insider’s Report featured over 145 new items, and favourites brought back from past offerings.  A glimpse of their holiday offerings can be found at www.welovetheholidaystoo.ca.  Far more than a store brand, President’s Choice brings gourmet-style offerings to every consumer at affordable pricing.

We noticed the vast selection of new, tempting items on our recent visits to the Extra Foods, and brought home some of the HUGE, delicious Sicilian style pizzas.  2.5 lbs. of pizza, $6.99, tasty toppings – it was hard to go wrong.  We’re fiercely dedicated to our Extra Foods, picking up groceries AND clothing there on a regular basis.  If we weren’t already loyal shoppers, the wonderful selection of holiday treats and tidbits available from President’s Choice this winter would be enough to win us over.  Seriously, if you don’t shop at the Superstore/Loblaws/Extra Foods – you should check them out for your New Years celebration needs.

Not only have we been sampling their new products on our regular grocery trips, but we also received the opportunity to try some of their delectable new treats for ourselves.  Let me quickly share my thoughts with you over the next two days so that you can rush out and grab some while there’s still planning time left for your party!  Hang on to your hat – there’s a number of yummy descriptions here, and I want to share them all before time runs out for pre-party grocery shopping!

In an unusual mingling of flavours, the Fig & Black Olive Tapenade represents an entirely Italian offering from President’s Choice worldwide hunt for choice products.  Sweet figs, black olives, onions, brown sugar , balsamic vinegar, roasted garlic and extra virgin olive oil are combined to create a sweet, tangy, savoury blend of flavours.  I can imagine this on crispy Italian bread as an up-town alternative to bruschetta, on crackers or as an unusual dip.  I don’t normally go for olives of any kind, but this spread was surprisingly palatable.  Brand new for the 2008 winter season, these gourmet tapenade’s are also available in Roasted Red Pepper, Artichoke & Asiago and Black Olive for $3.99 each.

My husband adores crunchy, toffee treat bars and now President’s Choice has a sophisticated, chocolate coated sponge toffee treat that didn’t last long at our house.  Drizzled in white chocolate the Milk Chocolate Covered Sponge Toffee is respectable enough to serve on fancy crystal or to offer as a hostess gift.  These $4.99 treatsare brought over from England and are also available in White Chocolate Covered Sponge Toffee with Milk Chocolate Drizzles.

Another festive, international offering hails from Sweden.  Those of us blessed to have an Ikea within travelling distance (the minority of Canadians) may be familiar with the lingonberry sauce they serve with meatballs in their restaurants.  If you’re new to the sauce, the tiny lingonberry is similar to a wild cranberry – intensely flavourful and cooked in a sweetened sauce to serve with meat.  Originally introduced by PC in 1984, Canadians clamoured for this sauce to return to shelves in an online survey.  We’ve been without this tangy, full-flavoured sauce for too long!  Dish it up on ice cream, pancakes, yogurt, poultry or the traditional meatballs.  Coming all the way from Sweden, you can’t beat the price at $2.99/jar.

A new offering for the year, Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels with Sea Salt offer a complex melding of flavours.  While visiting Italy, the President’s Choice team stumbled upon salted chocolates as the trendy gift for the holidays.  Building upon this concept, PC coated rich, kettle-cooked caramel with dark chocolate and topped this confection with a sprinkling of PC’s gourmet, chunky Sicilia Coarse Sea Salts.  Now, this might be one just for the ladies.  My husband picks the salt off, and my step-father shares his thoughts.  My mother and sister LOVE the salty and sweet combination, and for me – the flavour of the caramel itself is somewhat overwhelming (it’s a far darker, richer caramel than I’m accustomed to).  Why don’t you give it a try at $5.99/box and see what you think of this unique blend of flavours?

The last one for today sadly didn’t survive it’s sub-zero shipping experience.  However, I’m going to pick up a bottle the next time I’m shopping in town.  If you’re like me, breastfeeding or pregnant for the past six years, it might have been awhile since you’ve tasted champagne on New Year’s.  President’s Choice has an affordable solution – real wines that have been de-alcoholized after fermentation.  Smells like sparkling wine, tastes like sparkling wine, with an alcohol percentage of onl 0.3% for the Blanc (white) and 0.05% for the Rose and a price of $6.99/bottle, well – it’s a date!  Bring on the bubbly!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to get the low-down on a few more choice selections from President’s Choice – the only Canadian store brand that offers international, gourmet quality treats at pricing we can all afford.