Picard party!

For a long time, I've been wanting to have Picard party. And no, I'm not talking about Jean-Luc Picard ala Star Trek. I'm a nerd, but not THAT big of a nerd. I'm talking about Picard, the highly-popular chain of French stores specializing in frozen foods.

It seems as though in the states, anything frozen is generally deemed as either junk-food or something you turn to when there's absolutely nothing to eat. Americans (or at least Californians) generally hold up their noses to most things in the freezer chest. We can thank frozen pizzas and Hungry Man TV dinners for that. Well the French have it dialed when it comes to flash-freezing. At Picard they sell all sorts of frozen foods ranging from meats and vegetables, to baked goods, and full meals including appetizers, mains, and desserts. Its quite impressive, even if you just pop in for a look.

So back to my point. I want to have a Picard party where everyone brings something from Picard! However, since my friends are all busy, and no one ever seems to want to come over for dinner (I can't imagine why), I've resorted to the Picard Initative. Since I'm no longer documenting new and interesting baked goods on a weekly basis, I figure I might as well venture into Picard once a week and test out something from their freezers.

So this week I picked up some veggies, ha gao dumplings, calamari rings, and this raspberry-strawberry marshmallow dessert thing to try. I admit, the dessert was picked up on a whim because of valentines day and clever marketing. Everything looked good in the pictures, of course.





The true test came with thawing and preparation. The ha gao were steamed, and actually came out very good! They were a bit pricey, but then again so is everything in this country.



After being nuked in the microwave for a few minutes, the veggies came out looking wilted and wrinkly like a senior citizen. They were still tasty though. The calamari rings were cooked in the oven for 15 minutes until crispy. I was actually craving onion rings, but it sufficed.





The starter and mains were actually good. I guess I'm surprised because I don't expect much out of frozen food. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the dessert. I'm not sure if I didn't thaw it properly (the box said four hours in the fridge, but I left it outside for two), or if it just wasn't a good dessert. I'm not a big fan of marshmallow and almond cake, and the only saving grace was the filling. Even the pink chocolate decor tasted weird.