Category Archives: Condiments & Sauces

June 30, 2014 · 8:00 am

Robert Rothschild Farms Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Sauce

IMG_0878This post is overdue because Robert Rothschild Farms Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Sauce is way too good not to share.  My brother told me how much his family enjoyed it over ice cream, and while we completely agreed, I kept waiting for a great recipe inspiration that would really do it justice.  It finally came to me — cream puffs topped with Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Sauce.  That should work!

I started with a cream puff recipe from my vintage Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  “New” is relative in this case, as this was my first cookbook and has been my go-to resource for cooking basics for many years.  The recipe is easy, but you need to be patient and beat the batter long enough to insure it will puff when baked.

Cream Puffs

  • 1/2 cup butter (the recipe says “or margarine”, but no)
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (always King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour in our house)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs

Melt butter in 1 cup boiling water.  Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously.  Cook and store until mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate.  Remove from heat; cool slightly.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each until smooth.  Drop by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 400° until golden brown and puffy, about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven; split.  Cool on rack.  Makes 10.

I always use my mom’s vanilla custard recipe for the cream filling.

DSC00973

To assemble the cream puffs, heat the Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt sauce in the microwave.  Place the bottom of a cream puff on a plate and fill with about 2 tablespoons of custard.  Place the top of the cream puff on the custard, and drizzle with the chocolate sauce.

I wasn’t surprised at the delighted response to the cream puffs.  The chocolate sauce took them from good to great, with its dark chocolate, creamy caramel and salty bite.  If you have followed our blog for any amount of time, you know my affinity for sweet and salty foods, so this is really easy to love.

Cream puff with Chocolate caramel sea salt sauce

We already knew the Rothschild Family does savory sauces well, because their horseradish sauce has earned a reserved space in our refrigerator door.  The Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Sauce also posted a win in the dessert category at our house!

Where to buy Robert Rothschild Farms Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Sauce

    • Buy from the artisan
    • Buy from Amazon
    • Find a store  (Note: “Find a store” links to a list of retailers on the Company’s website, but stores may not carry all of the Company’s products. Please check with your local store to be sure they have this specific product in stock. If not, ask them to carry it!)

 

 

Pages: 1 2

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as , ,

July 8, 2013 · 8:00 am

Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce

It’s safe to say Karen and I put Tex-Mex at the top of our favorite foods list.  Barbecue could be second.  We both bootleg brisket from our hometown barbecue restaurant when we visit family.  For me, its not a big deal — just throw brisket, sauce, beans, and potato salad in an ice chest in the back of the Tahoe, arrive home about 3 hours later and enjoy.  Karen has more challenges getting her treasure back to Indiana.  Her mom sometimes has a frozen brisket ready for her to pack and take home.  The advance planning broke down once and she actually threw a hot, foil-wrapped brisket in her luggage on the way to the airport.  Can you even imagine the reaction from the TSA canine security force?  Drugs?  Explosives?  No, woof, woof! There’s beef in this suitcase!!

I have to admit to cheating on our first barbecue love in recent years because we just don’t get home often enough for our barbecue fix, and Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse BBQ Saucefrankly, it is pretty easy to cheat in Texas.  There is a barbecue place on practically every corner. Seriously.  I’ve also started dabbling in some home cooking barbecue recipes as well.  Not the slow, pit-cooked barbecue famous in Texas.  I’m more about integrating interesting barbecue sauces into my every day recipes, and an opportunity recently presented itself when a pot roast I cooked did not produce the melt-in-your-mouth result I expected.  In fact, it was so tough I considered throwing it out.  Fortunately, I had just picked up a bottle of Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse Original Barbecue Sauce, so crockpot barbecue seemed like a good rescue option.  What did I have to lose?

I shredded the roast beef and threw it into the crockpot, covered it generously with Meyer’s Original Barbecue Sauce, and cooked it on low temperature for about 3 hours.  As the beef simmered slowly in the sauce, the aroma whetted our appetites and Meyer’s definitely saved the day.  The sauce had the expected spicy kick, but it wasn’t uncomfortably hot.  The sweet balance was just about right, too.  Best of all, the tough as cowhide roast beef was now deliciously tender barbecue on a bun, served along with German Potato Salad made by my grandmother’s family recipe.  Happiness all around!

IMG_0540

Since the roast beef rescue, we brushed Meyer’s Original Barbecue Sauce on burgers while they grilled, and had some awesome spicy barbecue cheeseburgers.  We will be repeating that often during this grilling season.

The Meyer family began their barbecue dynasty in the late 1800’s with Harry Meyer making sausage from his German family’s recipe for friends and family.  His son, R.G. Meyer carried on the tradition and founded Meyer’s Sausage Company in 1949.  Another two generations later, great-grandsons Gregg and Gary Meyer preside over “Cue-topia”, a meaty empire of ribs, brisket, sausage, smoked turkey, and more available for online ordering.  They also offer tempting sauces, rubs and marinades for barbecue DIYers.   Check out their great barbecue combos, including a Texas BBQ Cookout package for $135 that feeds 20 people.  Do the math on that deal, then add bonus points because you aren’t the one standing over the hot smoker for hours!

Meyer’s savory products are promoted on the website with a heaping side dish of sassy; these Texas guys definitely have a sense of humor as evidenced by their toll-free number:  1.800.MRS.OINK.  I laughed my way through the entire website.  Stop by Cue-topia online and prepare for your mouth to water! We are planning a trip to Austin in a couple of months, and we will definitely be traveling about a half-hour east to Elgin to experience Cue-topia in person.

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as , ,

June 3, 2013 · 8:00 am

TexaFrance Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

If you tune into any of the kitchen competition or restaurant “rescue”  television shows, you know the role of the sous chef.  Second in command to the chef, the sous helps supervise the prep and line cooks, and fills in for the executive chef on his or her day off.  How great would it be to have a sous chef in your kitchen?  What if you could walk into the kitchen and find all the ingredients prepped for your evening meal?  Wouldn’t it be completely awesome to have the sous chef prepare a meal on your “night off” from cooking, instead of hitting the nearest drive-through window after a busy day?  Dream on, right?  Two chefs at TexaFrance, Inc. have come up with the next best option – fresh, small batch pestos, sauces, salsas, and condiments that get meals off to a flying start without hiring staff for your kitchen.

IMG_0525Canadian Jean Pierre Parant and Texan David Griswold joined forces to help home cooks create dishes that taste and look good with a minimum fuss.  The Austin chefs dreamed up more than 40 different products, aimed at putting a virtual sous chef in your kitchen.  We tried their Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and the “first-bite” response was a unanimous “Yum”!  Oil, parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and spices combine for a delicious flavor blend that would be great topping fish or chicken, or mixed with pasta.  We whipped up some simple and delicious appetizers using ingredients we had on hand that really showcased this tasty pesto.

Slice a small baguette into 1/2″ pieces, brush with extra virgin olive oil, and toast under the broiler until it is very light golden brown.   Add a slice of mozzarella cheese, which in our kitchen, would be Rumiano Family Certified Organic, Kosher, American Humane Certified, Non-GMO Verified Mozzarella Cheese.  (We are huge fans of this cheese, and Rumiano Family Organic Montery Jack.)  Run the bread and cheese back under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to slightly melt.  Top with TexaFrance Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, and prepare to indulge.

IMG_0498TexaFrance’s generous measure of sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan delivers a tangy, savory bite that was complemented by the creamy mozzarella.  We enjoyed our apps so much, we almost skipped the main course!

I bought TexaFrance Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto at Central Market in Dallas.  The company’s website indicates their product locator information is coming soon, so keep watching for this great pesto and check out the entire line of products!

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as

June 3, 2013 · 12:01 am

Spicy Green Beans

IMG_0434I wish I had come up with the recipe for these fantastic green beans, but I didn’t. I also wish I could remember where I saw the recipe, but it was so simple to execute, I didn’t bookmark it. So with apologies to whoever came up with this great idea, here is a quick and easy recipe using Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce you’ll want to try.

Spicy Green Beans

  • 1 pound fresh or frozen petite green beans
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Cook green beans in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 – 10 minutes.  Mix together Horseradish Sauce and dijon mustard.

Drain green beans well.  Heat oil in large skillet, add green beans, and sauté, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.   Remove from heat, and toss green beans with horseradish & mustard mixture.  Enjoy!

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as ,

March 14, 2013 · 8:00 am

Cherith Valley Gardens Homestyle Ketchup

CVG Homestyle KetchupProcessed foods with high fructose corn syrup have been on my hit list for the past few years.  The debate continues on whether there are health risks associated with HFCS, but I just don’t enjoy the super-sweet overtones they add to sauces and condiments (or anything else for that matter).  Ketchup is one food I had just about eliminated from my diet because it began tasting like tomato-flavored sugar to me.  Ugh.  Until recently, I didn’t realize our friends and food entrepreneurs, Terri and Alan Werner, had ketchup in their line-up of great Cherith Valley Gardens condiments and salsas.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from “homestyle” ketchup since I had only eaten the national brands, but I knew the best way to taste it was with a plate of crisp, lightly salted homestyle fries   The verdict?  No more HFCS-laden ketchup for me! CVG’s ketchup has a very rich tomato taste with just enough sugar to balance the heat from jalapeños and spices.   It is so good!

The ketchup is great for making easy sloppy joes, eliminating the need for much additional seasoning.  I did add a bit of chili powder because we like our joes spicy.  You can easily adapt this recipe by adding spices to suit your taste.  You can also double, triple, or otherwise multiply it to feed a small army or freeze for future meals.  That would be very easy to do in the crockpot, too.

Sloppy Joes

  • 1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 cups Cherith Valley Gardens Homestyle Ketchup

Brown ground meat with onion and green pepper in a large skillet over medium heat,  then pour off any excess grease.  Add chili powder and ketchup and mix well.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  (Note:  This will be tasty and ready to eat at the end of 20 minutes, but if time permits, I reduce to a very low heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to really blend the flavors.)

Check out our review on Cherith Valley Gardens Hot ‘n Spicy Corn Relish for the Werner Family story behind their salsas and condiments.  You can now order directly from their website and find recipes for entertaining or for simple, everyday gourmet dishes you will love.  If you move quickly, you can take advantage of their March special on Homestyle Ketchup!

1 Comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as

March 11, 2013 · 8:00 am

Savory Horseradish Chicken

Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce would have received the “Condiment of the Month” award in February if we had one.  It has been a go-to favorite for sandwiches and appetizers since we first tasted it.  It was past time to try it in a entrée, and the company’s website had a recipe that fit the bill on a busy weeknight.  It called for ingredients usually on hand, could be on the table in under an hour, and sounded pretty tasty.

Savory Horseradish Chicken

  • 1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce
  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 Tbsp butter, melted

Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and parsley.  Brush chicken with horseradish sauce and roll in breadcrumb mixture.  Place chicken in greased 15″ x 10″ baking dish and drizzle with melted butter.  Bake at 400 ° for 15-20 minutes, or until done.

IMG_0355I reduced the recipe to serve two and we thought it was really, really good.  The bread crumb and parmesan crust was deliciously crunchy.  The horseradish sauce did double duty by sealing in moisture and adding that very distinctive tang.  The baking process mellowed the heat of the horseradish a bit, so I think this chicken would probably  be suitable for a family meal.  A quick rice pilaf and garlic sautéed green beans rounded out the plate.  I’ll be replenishing our supply of Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce very soon!

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces, Entrées

Tagged as ,

February 18, 2013 · 8:00 am

Catching Up

Are you sometimes at the intersection of “want to” and “have to”, and “have to” is the road you must take?  That has been our path for the past couple of weeks.  While new, interesting gourmet foods have beckoned at every turn, more pressing issues have presented themselves.  However, in spite of having too much to do with too little time, there were moments where artisan foods could not have fit into our lives more perfectly.

Grandad's GravyWe were so happy to find Grandad’s Gravy on the shelves of our local Dallas area grocer, Market Street.  It made a great lasagna for a weekend family dinner, then when the work week got crazy hectic, we had some pretty delicious “rerun” meals.  I’m determined to try it in a skillet lasagna recipe that will be tasty, yet quick enough for weeknight preparation.  Allen is definitely all in for that program, as lasagna is his favorite Italian dish.  If your local grocer doesn’t carry Grandad’s Gravy, you can order it online.

A family member was diagnosed with Celiac’s disease (gluten intolerance) last week, which reminded me of Mary’s Gone Crackers, and her great line of sweet and savory gluten-free treats.  Care package in the works!

DSC00837

We made a trip East Texas over the weekend to visit family, and I got to spend a couple of hours with my BFF, Karen, while she was in town DSC01490visiting her parents.  Yea!  Unfortunately, in our haste to leave home and get on the road, I forgot to pack her “Tex-Mex Package” , so I need to mail the Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa, the Mateo’s Gourmet Red Enchilada Sauce, and the Primizie New Mexican Chimayo Chile & Lime Crispbreads I had bought for her.  I was thrilled to find Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa at a market in East Texas, so I introduced my extended family to the only salsa we ever have in our refrigerator!

We have continuously followed RoRo’s Baking Company’s efforts to raise $35,000 for their new facility.  Their Kickstarter project is a win/win.  Send RoRo’s delicious Cinn-A-Rolls to the troops in Afghanistan for only $10, or savor some delicious Cinn-A-Rolls or Dinn-A-Rolls for yourself, while at the same time you help a fledgling artisan business expand.   You will not have to fulfill your pledge unless RoRo’s fund-raising goal is achieved.  Time is short for RoRo’s to make their February 28th deadline, so don’t delay!

Here’s hoping the new week will bring more time for savoring good foods, catching up with good friends, and delighting in precious family time.

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces, Crackers, Chips & Snacks, Food for Thought, Salsas & Relishes

February 6, 2013 · 8:00 am

Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce

Bob and Sara Rothschild left the San Francisco Bay area in 1976, moved their family to Urbana, Ohio, and began farming raspberries.  After several years of success with their pick-your-own raspberry operation, they decided to make raspberry preserves with excess berries.  That simple decision led to a specialty food business producing dips, spreads, mustards, sauces, preserves, condiments and sweet toppings.  The Rothschilds focus on “open and serve” foods that add easy elegance to home cooking.  That is my kind of gourmet food!

Someone aptly nicknamed horseradish “white heat” for its ultra-hot flavor.  Although I’m a fan of spicy foods and condiments, plain horseradish is a little too much for me.  I prefer horseradish sauce as a complement to beef or chicken, and as a tasty spread for sandwiches.  We picked up Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce at Central Market.  I sampled it straight from the jar, and loved the creamy texture and taste.

I put the “open and serve” concept to the test with about the easiest snack you can imagine.  The idea came from the 34° Crisps website and it was a smashing success.  Try this at home soon!

Beef with Horseradish Sauce

  • 34° Cracked Pepper Crispbreads
  • Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce
  • Thinly sliced leftover or deli roast beef
  • Red onion, thinly sliced

Spread crispbreads with horseradish sauce.  Top with roast beef and onion.

DSC01496

It was really hard to stop eating these little gems.  They will definitely be in appetizer rotation at our house.  Easy and delicious — genius!

Robert Rothschild Farm has plenty of tempting  gourmet products.  Balsamic Caramelized Onion Spread just might be the next one on my list.

Leave a comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as ,

January 25, 2013 · 8:00 am

S&F Lemon Dill Sauce

Given a choice between salmon and almost any other fish, I will almost always choose any other fish.  It isn’t that I don’t like salmon; there are just so many other fish I like more.  Salmon demands spices with backbone.  Mild seasonings will be no match for the robust flavor  of salmon.  The person who first combined lemon and dill must have shouted, “Eureka”!   These flavors complement each other so well, and what they can do for seafood, particularly salmon, is pretty amazing.  S&F Lemon Dill Sauce makes it easy to create a classic salmon entrée.

S&F Lemon Dill Oven Roasted Salmonlemon dill salmon

  • 4 6-oz salmon filets
  • 4 tablespoons S&F Lemon Dill Sauce
  • 4 teaspoons panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
  • Melted butter, just to moisten

Pat the salmon filets dry and lightly score an X-pattern in each filet.  Brush the Lemon Dill Sauce over each filet and refrigerate for one hour in a greased baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 400°.  Mix panko and butter in a small skillet and toast until slightly brown.  Add the parsley flakes to the toasted bread crumbs and spread evenly over the filets.  Bake filets for 8-12 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Gourmet food producers are usually a great source for recipes.  After all, they are going to choose recipes that best showcase their products!  This salmon recipe from the Schlotterbeck & Foss website is an example.  The lemon dill sauce was tangy and tasty, while the toasted bread crumbs added a really nice crunch to the fish.  Although salmon isn’t my favorite fish, this recipe was very enjoyable!

Augustus Schlotterbeck and Charles Foss began their Portland, Maine apothecary shop in 1866.  They branched out to patented medicines, then flavoring extracts.  Today, S&F produces more than thirty sauces, condiments, dressings and dessert toppings.  The company prides itself on successfully blending new with old.  Their production facility is in a historic building, but it is filled with modern equipment and stainless steel.  Although much of the production process is controlled by computers, S&F’s sauces are made in small batches to insure handcrafted flavor.  Their sauces and condiments contain only natural ingredients, and organic ones where possible.  S&F Chef Sauces can help turn your everyday dishes into gourmet meals!

1 Comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces, Seafood

Tagged as ,

January 15, 2013 · 8:00 am

Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

My husband is not always as excited as I am about trying new foods, but several years ago he mentioned more than once that he thought our menu selections had really gotten into a rut.  I had to admit he was absolutely right, and took that as my cue to really start experimenting in the kitchen.  For one complete year, I did not prepare the same entrée twice.  I kept a calendar, searched recipe books, and had a great time cooking up new dishes.  Of course, we had leftovers at times, and we still ate out (probably too much), so it wasn’t as if I made 365 different entrées, but there were a lot of new foods.  Allen is now a pretty good sport about seeing new foods almost constantly, but I know he sometimes misses a regular rotation of his favorite comfort foods.  When he picked up a jar of Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce on our last visit to Central Market, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.  If he has a single comfort food, it would have to be peanut butter, and the chocolate and peanut butter combo is one of his favorites.  So into the cart went the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce.

Chocolate Peanut Butter SauceAllen generously offered to taste the sauce first – straight from the jar.  It was obvious from his facial expression that we had a winner.  The sauce is decadently thick and creamy, and warms to a smooth, rich consistency in under a minute in the microwave.  Of course, we served it with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.  It was a real treat, with a nice blend of chocolate and peanut butter flavors.  I have a feeling this delicious sauce has already earned a permanent place in our refrigerator.

Stonewall Kitchen is one of the most prolific gourmet food producers around.  Their products range from jams and jellies to baking mixes with a wide variety in between.  The company began in 1991 with Jonathan King and Jim Stott selling homemade jams at farmers’ markets in Maine.  It was only a short time before their fruit stand sales model morphed into a thriving wholesale business.  As the company grew and the product line expanded, the pair’s mission remained constant:  to produce the highest quality foods, pleasing to the eye and palate.  Their website has a real general store feel with specialty foods, kitchen tools and electronics, tableware, home decor and gifts.  Stonewall Kitchen products are also widely available in upscale markets and specialty stores.

1 Comment

Filed under Condiments & Sauces

Tagged as