Friday, October 9, 2009

ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE Yorkshire Pudding recipe AND a GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

(Note)... I just reread this post prior to putting it up for all the world to see. I have come close to this line in the past. If you are a guy who writes a cooking blog, it is hard not to. But I don't think I really stepped over it before. Today, I not only came within a toe's length of the line, I did a curtsy and skipped over that line... Ladies, gentlemen and BuffaloDick, I now present the gayest thing I have ever written (not that there is anything wrong with that). So in tribute to my great buddy Jim (who happens to be gay), I am changing my site colors from green to fuchsia (if the page is green, you need to visit every day to get the total rhythm that is my blog). OK guys, soften up them wrists and read on...

Someone thinks I can do credit to their product. Last week, the good people at FISCHER & WIESER contacted me because they had read a recipe I made. That Raspberry ChipotlePork Loin with a Bacon Lattice...And oh yeah, a thin layer of provolone thing I am so proud of. They offered to send off a bottle of their signature sauce, Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE to try. OK, in fairness, here's a disclaimer... You and I both know what the deal was to be... Freebies in exchange for mentions on the blog. I understand that there are a few lawyer types out there that are not money grubbing whores. I came to terms with myself long ago. I am a money grubbing whore (or freebie whore if you will) I was happy to accept whatever freebies i could get in exchange of an HONEST review. I agreed to give it a shot and see what would happen.

I got my package yesterday!

But look, there's more... Not only did I get a bottle of said Chipotle sauce, but the good folks at Fischer and Wieser sent extras... lots of extras!

I am not sure if I had ever been so happy in my entire life... Wait, there was at least one other time... The time I met Bernadette Peters, got a photo of us together (that's me in the photo, in the groovy 70's vest (it was the 90's though), complete with the gold chains popular back in the 70's (still was the 90's). Then, during a trip to NYC, I got to see Ms. Peters play MAMA Rose in GYPSY. I waited at the stage door and got my precious photo of groovy Dave and the divine Bernadette autographed (as well as the CD of the show). I was glad I had dark pants that night, as i think I peed just a little. But I digress... the good folks at Fischer and Wieser sent not only the agreed upon sauce, but also...
A bottle of the Pastilla Chile Finishing Sauce, Some Jalapeno Peach Preserves...
AND

Some Red Hot Jalapeno Jelly, some mild Green Jalapeno Jelly and some Sweet Onion Garlic marmalade. It's no autographed Bernadette Peters photo and CD... But it sure is close.

But the good news... no, after testing this stuff, the GREAT news is that they sent a second bottle (actually more, but we will get to the more part later) of their signature sauce, Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE to give away. FREE FREE FREE (just the bottle of sauce, sorry, BuffaloDick, you can not win my signed Bernadette Peters photo)... No postage charge, handling fee or cost at all (maybe a little effort, but we will get to that soon)... Details about the contest at the bottom of the post. For now, let me tell you about my night...

First, I wanted to share my booty with the lovely and hard working MRS. My Year on the Grill when she came home from her inconvenient day job. I will blog about this recipe with the story and another give away contest on my sister blog... no, that doesn't sound right.. I will blog about this on my BROTHER blog, HAPPILY MARRIED MEN WHO COOK BLOG (that you can reach by clicking HERE). Don't you love the presentation n my beloved Ramekins?

But for this blog, I present...
Raspberry Chipoltle
YORKSHIRE PUDDING!

OK, here's a brief history of Yorkshire pudding... It originated in England (somewhere around Yorkshire I am guessing), during the times of Charles Dickens and "A Christmas Carol". A true Yorkshire Pudding is made from the drippings of a roast, best served with roast beef and gravy. Picture if you will, poor hard working Mrs. Bob Crotchet (wife of the clerk to Ebeneezer Scrooge) preparing the Christmas meal. All the family is coming, and she can only afford a small portion of meat. Mrs. Crotchet came up with the idea of saving the drippings from the roast, making gravy from some, but also making a wonderful pudding flavored with the drippings. Mrs. Crotchet, in a world that did not eat the massive amounts of meat we do now, would extend that meat taste with a meat flavored pudding. Despite the name, traditionally, this is served either before the meat arrives at the table, or with it. It is not a dessert. But i like it for breakfast sometimes. True Yorkshire pudding is not made that often anymore. It is a shame, as it tastes great, is easy to make and easily adaptable with all the flavored infused oils out there...

Here's what I did...

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees... yeap, 500 hot degrees...

Assemble the ingredients...

1 egg per serving (this was me and my own Mrs. Crotchet so I used 2 eggs).
1/4 cup Buttermilk per serving (again, 1/2 cup for me and the Mrs.),
1/2 cup of flower (1/4 cup per serving - thought I would mix it up a little to see if you are paying attention).
A dash of salt
1 tablespoon of Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE per serving... I used 2 tablespoons for this.

Notice that I gave the instructions for 1 person or 2. But, you are smart people. works with 4 eggs, 8 people or more. I have seen HUGE pots of Yorkshire pudding. Works equally well for lots of people.

Beat the eggs

Add the buttermilk and keep beating

add the flower about 1/3rd at a time, mix well so there are no lumps.

Set this aside (or in the fridge if you are taking a while. Like Kahn said, It is a dish best (prepared) cold.

OK, decide what you want your pudding to look like. It works equally well in a wide, oblong, narrow, short, tall pan. It will expand (pictures later), so you just want to pick something that will leave about an inch empty when you start cooking...

pour 2 tablespoons of Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE (one TBS per egg) into a greased vessel. I like the looks of a pudding that comes out of this thick glass. WARNING... You cook at high temps. You will stain your glass.

Put the glass in the microwave (oh yeah, should have mentioned microwave safe dish) set on high for 1 and a half minutes. The sauce will start to bubble. That is OK, you want this SMOKING HOT when it meets the eggs. If you look close, you can see the glass in there.

Tried to get a shot of the glass in the microwave... It's there, trust me.

Look, here's a photo of it smoking hot (still bubbles and look at the shot of the smoke... I am getting better taking a few photos).

Then pour the egg batter straight on top of the bubbling sauce. I always spray a little of the non-stick canola oil spray before adding the egg.


And 17 minutes later, look what I did...

Which came first, the chicken dishes or the egg recipe?

BTW, I always cook these either on top of tin foil or in a roasting pan so that if you don't get that pretty expansion look like I did here, you will get an overflowing glop (usually means you did not have the sauce hot enough before you poured the egg in, or you didn't preheat your oven hot enough). The glop will spill out and smoke and burn in the bottom of your oven.

If you greased the sides of the glass, it slides out pretty. And notice how it centers nicely over the chicken plate.

There is usually a little hot goo left in the bottom of the glass. Go ahead and pour what you can onto the center of the pudding. But avoid the hard burnt stuff at the very bottom.

OK, a Yorkshire pudding taste AMAZING! More thick custard than pudding, but a little bit of bread look too. But this stuff, with the added taste of the sweet raspberry, paired with just a little bite of chipotle is really something special. It is INCREDIBLE...

And now, we are close to the contest, but i want to share my impressions of the Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE. Like I said, i would give an honest impression.

First, it cooked great in the recipe I made, and in the simple cheese spread I made (that I will post in that brother blog, HAPPILY MARRIED MEN WHO COOK BLOG (that you can reach by clicking HERE). Cooked or served "as is", both dishes were VERY tasty and I loved em.

I have seen (and used) raspberry Chipotle sauce (marinade) once before. ALLEGRO made a Raspberry Chipotle MARINADE. I say made, because recently, I have noticed my local underpriced grocery store does not carry it any more. i went to their website, and discovered it is not included in their product line. I am not sure if it is possible to be found again. But, I snapped up the last bottle I found, and had some left that I could compare with. So, here they are side by side...

OK, first comparison is not fair, but here goes... the Allegro is much thinner than the meatier looking Fischer and Wieser. One is a marinade, and one is a sauce, so of course it is thinner. In a side by side taste, the Allegro is MUCH spicier than the sweeter Fischer & Wieser. Their sauce has a chipotle taste, but it is subtle. The long talked about delicate tongue of my wife does not like the Allegro straight from the bottle. Cooking with it is OK, but she would never eat the cheese dip above if I made it with the Allegro instead. She gobbled the dip down and in fact we ended up making a little more before dinner was ready. That dip is terrific, and you could serve it up at any Christmas dinner party you are asked to bring a side dish for. But you will have to read about the dip on my brother blog, HAPPILY MARRIED MEN WHO COOK BLOG (that you can reach by clicking HERE). I don't want to get into good, bad or better. They are different.

I do think the Fischer and Wieser product is more visually appealing. Deeper in color, and lots of bits of raspberry.

So, here's my bottom line...

I LOVED THIS. I will use this again. And really, isn't that the best thing we can honestly say about any product! I can't wait to try this on some ribs for my wife, or use the jellies as a glaze for a Pork loin (tonight's meal).

OK... contest time...

I want everybody to get a bottle of this, but I only have one to give away here (and another on my brother blog.... yadda yadda yadda that you can reach by clicking HERE.). But rather than a random number, I am going to make you work a bit...

First, head over to their terrific website... http://www.jelly.com/index.php Cut and paste that into your browser, or click HERE.

Next, spend some time there... Look at all their products. Their jellies, pie fillings, appetizers and gifts. Notice that they offer free shipping with orders of $95 or more. At least consider doing a little Christmas shopping (just email me, I will provide an address to send gifts my way. I was especially drawn to the beer mustard)

Take a look at their recipe pages... Doesn't the Smokey Mesquite Mustard Grilled Chicken sound perfect!

Find their blog page. Did you read about all the free products they shipped to a serviceman in Iraq. Doesn't this sound like a company you should give a little of your money to?

Finally, take a look at their "about us" page. I am a sucker for these stories. Two guys built up a family business, and now, Today, The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce® is the number one specialty condiment sold in Texas.

OK, once you look over those 4 pages, you can answer these questions four...

1.) What was your favorite product they sell?
2.) What was the tastiest sounding recipe?
3.) What was an interesting blog post topic?
4.) Tell me something interesting about their history.

That's it, 5 minutes looking them over and you may have your Christmas shopping done. Drop me a comment, answer those questions (that showed you at least looked em over), and then I will enter you in the random number drawing for a bottle of their signature sauce, Fischer and Wieser, handcrafted one jar at a time, THE ORIGINAL ROASTED RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE to give away. FREE FREE FREE.

Contest ends at midnight, October 16, 2009

And here's my note about my integrity. This is my first product freebie sample I have received. I agreed to blog about this prior to receiving it. I did indeed cook the above items myself. I posted my honest opinion. Fortunately I think this is terrific stuff. Had I not, I could have politely pointed something out that I liked... I dated a girl once that had nothing going for her, except all her tattoos were spelled correctly, or the bottle was shaped conveniently or the top came off easily... something polite, true, but not really an endorsement. Instead, I give this product the best endorsement possible... I loved it, the two dishes I made were exactly as I hoped, and I would certainly use this again (even if I have to pay for it). See, Pal, I haven't quite sunk to the money grubbing whore lawyer stage yet ;)

And just so you think I have abandoned the grill... Here's a couple of Yorkshire puddings i was going to post about that I did indeed cook on the grill

Set your grill up for direct heat, get the chamber as hot as possible, use some type of heat diffuser so that the very bottom of the cups do not burn, and it works like an oven just fine.

So I am counting these as a grilling recipe... Don't you judge me

15 comments:

  1. Another great post!

    1.) What was your favorite product they sell?

    I have actually picked two: Asian Wasabi Plum Dipping Sauce and the Spicy coriander and Lime Dressing.
    Both sound like interesting and delicious combos

    2.) What was the tastiest sounding recipe?

    Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce (but I bet it's HOT)

    3.) What was an interesting blog post topic?

    Touching base with Major Cleaton. Very cool that they send products to our troops. They get a big gold star for that.

    4.) Tell me something interesting about their history.

    First of all, any farm/orchard equipment should be green in color. They show good taste and judgement for riding on that John Deere.

    I thought it was interesting that they say they were first to put a Chipolte Pepper Product into the hands of home cooks. Thank you Fischer and Weiser for that!

    I've seen Mom's Tomato Basil Soup in Whole Foods. I've always wanted to buy it and try it out. Next time I'm in the store, you know I'll pick one up.

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  2. I'll have to try and come back for all that, but just wanted to say pretty popovers!

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  3. I haven't sunk to the money grubbing whore lawyer stage either... and that may be my problem!

    You snagged a bunch of great products. I'll be attempting my own raspberry chipotle experiment thingie tomorrow... wish me luck!

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  4. Nice commercial... Neat to get free stuff!

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  5. You are so funny!!!! I had a good laugh every few lines ... congrats on getting noticed ;) Ah, it was a matter of time anyway! You have a great blog, so keep goin' ... I wish I could take part in this giveaway :(

    PS: Your latest comment on my blog - the thing about "visiting your money" - LOL!

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  6. What an epic post! Isn't it wonderful when you receive stuff like this?

    As for your Yorkshire puds - beautiful! I grew on up that stuff (mom made it weekly to go with our Sunday roast) and it's soooooo gooooood and brings back great memories for me!

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  7. I love it! You have the best post,great reading! You scored big! I can't wait to try the Yorkshire pudding out!

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  8. I've always wanted to try Yorkshire pudding--this sounds really interesting. Thanks for the post!

    Also--just thought I'd let you know I may have solved my grill issues. Seems the problem is simple: not enough charcoal, not a hot enough fire.

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  9. That Yorkshire Pudding looks insane!! Awesome products you got to try :D

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  10. My favorite product they sell is: Queso Starter!

    The tastiest sounding recipe (to me) is Mom's Sausage and Pepper Hoagie!!

    An interesting blog post topic was Touching Base with Major Cleaton. I really loved that blog post actually!

    AND their entire history is so very interesting. I love stories like their story.

    PS Can I send my husband to you for some schooling on cooking for his wife! I would actually love some of that Yorkshire Pudding! My only chances are I make it for myself? You send me some? My husband learns how to make it for me!!

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  11. Okay- here goes:

    History: Fischer & Wieser opened in June of 1969 for its first season.

    Post: The one with Major Cleaton's letter to them
    Favorite recipe: Grilled pork tenderloin with roasted raspberry chipolte sauce

    I want to win the roasted raspeberry chipolte sauce so I can make that recipe!

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  12. The Yorkshire pudding looks great... a great post... thanks

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  13. First of all, your Yorkshire pudding looked fantastic! I'd have to say the product that looked most tasty to me on the Fischer & Wieser website was the Sweet Onion & Garlic Marmalade. The tastiest recipe? The Sausage Wraps with Brathaus Beer Mustard given the Oktoberfest season we're in. The most interesting post I saw was the San Antonio Urban Connection Children Tour F&W Facilities. What a great idea! And as far as something interesting about their history...given my heritage is German all the way, I love the fact that they're German immigrants.

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  14. That has to be the weirdest way of making Yorkshire Puddings I've ever seen.. The one in the glass almost resembled one, but what's wrong with the traditional English way of making them? Mix together plain flour, 2 eggs & enough milk to make a thick batter ... put a baking tin (you could use cupcake tins or a square roasting tin) with a little oil into a hot oven until it smokes & then pour the batter in to about 1cm.. put it back in the oven until it has risen & browned. They should be light & crispy with a slightly heavier base ... Delicious served with meat & vegetables or my favourite with a little sugar & lemon juice. Enjoy!

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  15. P.S. It is essentially a pancake batter but made with less milk..... They are still baked often in the UK.

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