Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Foie Gras and Swiss Maid Fudge?

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It all started on Twitter. Seems like everything starts on Twitter these days. That is what I get for joining in the foodie scene on there. So the conversation may have gone like this:

@janis_tester: I hate chocolate

@SwissMaidFudge: I bet you would love our fudge (or something like that)

@janis_tester: Maybe (I doubt that I said that because I am a wise guy that doesn't give in that easily but I don't remember what I did say)

Next thing I know the amazingly nice people at Swiss Maid Fudge emailed me and challenged me. I can't pass up a good challenge (poor Dr. Food gets roped in every time) So, the challenge was to do a Fudge Pairing. They kindly sent me the flavors of fudge of my choice and I could do anything I wanted with it. It could be drinks, or appetizers or anything. I can't ever let it be simple so I chose appetizers. Poor Dr Food would wake up in the middle of the night grumbling..."I think that cherry fudge would go with escargot" There there Dr. Food. Go back to sleep and don't worry so much. So we gathered a list of victims. We knew that these people could handle anything that came their way (well not really but I was desperate).


We would start off with a Manhattan. Get them a little tipsy and they will go along with the rest of the ride. This wasn't any Manhattan. This Manhattan had Swiss Maid Cherry Fudge paired with it. Our guest loved it. What wasn't to love. They may have asked for seconds. I may have asked for thirds (I was a bit nervous about what was to come).

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Ouch, that shot is a little blurry. I think that was the 2nd or 3rd Manhattan. I swear I was just doing it to get to the Cherry Fudge and cherry.

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Ok, so here we have Waffle sticks (no, I didn't make the waffles but I could have) stuffed with Swiss Maid Maple Fudge. We topped it off with a piece of maple smoked Vermont bacon. I was heartbroken that we didn't have any of our homemade bacon left.

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Here it is. I pine for you bacon.

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This did fine.

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After these puppies came out of the oven the fudge was very soft but not runny. The taste of the Maple fudge with the maple cured bacon and the waffle (not homemade...shutup) was perfect. So there were smiles all around. I had confidence that 2 for 2 were well received. I decided it was now time for the Jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese and dark fudge to make its debut.

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This is before it went on the grill.

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Let me tell you that this is one of the best things I have had in a long time. It was the winner hands down. It wasn't the end of the tasting but it was going to be a hard one to beat.

So for the appetizers out of the Swiss Maid Fudge this was the last item that we made. This was the most costly and the most time consuming and I had my hopes up high for it. The Foie Gras mousse was adapted from Micah Killough's Foie Gras Mousse recipe.

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I might have liked it a lot because it had Armagac in it. I never told you how much I love Aramagac.

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It also was cooked sous vide (which usually makes me cringe but I was being a good sport).

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Dr. Food being the Dr. and all rigged up a "sous vide thingy". I think he almost lost it when I moved the bottle (I am sorry I am a little OCD about things in their own place) and the probe fell hitting the metal. "I am sorry honey, you love me for my brilliant sense of humor"

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I got a little nervous when the gazilliondollarapound foie gras turned out like this...

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I marched along like a good soldier.

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Gelatin was added so I knew that it would firm up. However it was ugly, hence the need to blur the foie gras and focus on the beautiful Peanut Butter Swirl Swiss Maid Fudge.

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I softened the fudge for a few seconds in the microwave so that it was spreadable. I then put the mousse and the fudge on white bread and trimmed off the crust. Yay! Fudge and Foie Gras.

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All I can say is YUM! They were devoured and my guest loved em. Out of all of these creations I would have to say that the clear winner this round for the Swiss Maid Fudge Pairing was the Jalapeno Fudge Poppers.

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So, there was a break and we had dinner.

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I had already gotten all the components together ahead of time. Mis en place (SEE I know the fancy words but I feel like a fool using them)

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Here are the leftovers of Paella. (Sissy, this is why I will never be a "Famous" blogger. I drink too much sangria and forget to take pictures)

Yay. Dessert time!

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We had an assortment of the fabulous Swiss Maid Fudge. Did it stop there? No, that is too obvious.

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We made Dreamcycle Fudge Sushi! By WE, I mean Dr. Food. He is the sushi roller in our family.

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Once again the Good Dr. Food rigged up a sushi corner to cool off the sweet rice.

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This sushi was good but it got a bit melty because we made it ahead of time.

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Last but not least there was Swiss Maid Rocky Road Fudge Stuffed Strawberries with a Balsamic reduction. Obvious but had to be done.

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Thank you Swiss Maid Fudge. You made a Fudge lover out of me in the end. I would also like to say thanks to old friends and new friends for being brave enough to trust me. People that didn't know me were safe in their ignorance of the weird things I am capable of but the old friends should have known. In the end our stomachs were happy.

Swiss Maid Fudge
P.O. Box 450
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin 53965
608.254.7771 phone
608.254.4859 fax

11 comments :

  1. Wow, a fudgy Odyssey! You are fabulously creative. And I'll take one of those maple bacon fudge thingies, yes, please, thank you.

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  2. My wife and I had a great time. Everything turned out delicious. I would eat (or drink) all of them again. In fact that night I think I did.

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  3. Loved having you guys.  We will have to all get together again soon.

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  4. You really did some amazingly creative things with the fudge. I am WAY impressed. It's funny. I've mentioned that I hate chocolate and ended up having Hotel Chocolat contact me. They send me chocolate and I make chocolate goods (but I still don't like it). 

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  5. The Poppers sound great -- and I'm with you on "not" being a famous blogger. Sangria is far more fun!

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  6. You and Dr. Food..what can I say?? I wish I lived closer to you..like not 3000 miles away or I'd have come gladly and let you experiment on me. I love that you are a wise guy as I am that way too and have been known to give sharp terse answers to people offering me samples of stuff I don't like at the market, you are a lucky duck to get that fudge..maybe I should lie and say I hate fudge. Brilliant post as always!

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  7. Everything looks so delicious! The waffles with Swiss Maid maple fudge and bacon look amazing...I must try those!!

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  8. That is out of control! I never would have thought of those combinations. Wish I could be your guinea pig!

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  9. How over the top is this?  The Swiss Maid Fudge people must love you to bits.  When I read the title of this post I have to admit that I thought, "ugh," but after reading it all I started thinking, "yum."  What a great time. 

    The sous vide and rice cooler are cute. 

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  10. I about had a heart attack when I read "I hate chocolate"...

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  11. This gets the original post of the decade award. This is what happens when the right people stick to their guns and be themselves!

    Jason

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