Roasted Raspberry Chipotle, Ham and Muenster Muffin Panini (and a Giveaway)

The most stressful part of my day is the hour between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m.

It begins when my alarm goes off and NPR kicks in with the weather, traffic and national and local news (in that order). After listening to those four things, I reset the alarm, get out of bed and wake Dudette. Hubby gets up as well and usually heads out to his computer or to fix himself some breakfast.

After an all-too-brief cuddle with Dudette, I shoo her off to her room to get dressed (after we discuss whether pants or shorts are the appropriate attire for the day weatherwise). I, myself, dress and scurry into the kitchen.

The first order of the day is to get the coffee brewing. Even though I won’t pour a cup until everyone is out of the house, there something about the sound of the coffee streaming into the pot and the aroma that fills the kitchen that just makes me happy.

The next order of business is Hubby’s lunch. He’s an easy one because he enjoys leftovers, something that neither Dudette or I care for. At one point after he had started his new job, I told my beloved that I planned on buying him an insulated lunch box. He looked at me blankly for a minute, then finally found his voice.

“You’re kidding, right? Dude; I’m in a fantasy football league.” So, instead of placing neatly packing containers of food,  lovingly wrapped cake or other sweets and bottles of Gatorade or sweet tea in a handsome, insulated lunch box, I throw everything in a plastic grocery bag and plunk it on the table for him to grab on his way out the door.

By this time, Dudette’s made her way to the kitchen and as I’m kissing Hubby good-bye, I’m pulling out a bowl for cereal or a plate upon which to coat a toasted English muffin with peanut butter. While she eats, I make a final pass through her book bag, making sure any due books, homework and other necessities have made their way back in it.

I quiz her on spelling words and remind her of the things she needs to be concentrating; things that don’t have names like Bryson or Lucas. While she eats and I talk, I fix her lunch. I randomly choose a lunch box; this day it’s Scooby Doo.

When she’s finished, there’s face washing to be done, teeth brushing to accomplish and hair to be pulled back into the obligatory ponytail.

At 7:30, the school car pool arrives. Final hugs and kisses are exchanged, a flurry of bag grabbing is done and Dudette skips out the door and to the full mini-van to start her school day.

Now that my two big deadlines are met, I wander back inside, head for the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee. I clean up the ravages that two hastily eaten breakfasts have left behind, put away the remains from lunch-making, then head for my office to begin my own day, a day that will consist of web site edits for clients, writing and other tasks.

Come noon-time, I know that Hubby will be enjoying last night’s pot roast. Dudette will be munching on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (grape jelly, of course).

Me? I’m the lucky one. I get to create a sandwich for myself, thanks to Fischer & Wieser.

The Process
Who? You asked that, didn’t you. Fischer & Wieser. When this company contacted me about their products, I didn’t have a clue who they were. Generally, I don’t agree to sample products because of the chance we won’t like them.

In this case, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. All it took was the title of the sauce to sell me. Roasted Raspberry Chipotle. It makes you swoon, doesn’t it. How could I say no?

Because I love you guys, I wanted to test this product fully, so I did so in two ways. You may recall that I get together with a group of people every Sunday night. A captive audience. Just what I needed for this sauce.

I kept it simple. If the sauce was good, it should be able to stand on its own. So, I unwrapped a package of cream cheese, arranged it on a plate, poured the Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce on it and added a basket of crackers alongside.   It was a hit. A huge and glorious hit. The adults loved the flavor of the sauce and it was delicious with the cream cheese (I can only imagine how good it would be with baked Brie).

Test number two was my lunch today. A simple panini using an English muffin, a home made whole-grain mustard and mayonnaise sauce, thinly shaved deli ham, slices of soft Muenster, and a drizzle of Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce to finish it off.

The Verdict
Fischer & Wieser’s sauce pairs beautifully with ham and was delicious in the panini. I’m a huge fan of chipotle flavor and love the heat it gives to food. In fact, the sauce was so good that halfway through eating the sandwich, I poured a little in a bowl and dipped the sandwich in with each bite.

But don’t take my word on it, try it yourself. Fischer & Wieser wants to send you a bottle and is letting me host a giveaway in order to choose the person to whom they’ll send it.

Roasted Raspberry Chipotle, Ham and Muenster Muffin Panini
from Taking On Magazines

4 English muffins, split
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
Thinly sliced deli ham
4 slices Muenster cheese
Fischer & Wieser’s Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Combine the mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl Slather the bottom half of each English muffin with 2 teaspoons worth of the mayonnaise combination.

Pile the ham on the bottom muffin half and lay the slice of cheese on the ham. Pour a generous dollop of Fischer & Wieser’s Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce on the cheese and top the sandwich with the other English Muffin half.

Grill the sandwich in a panini press (a George Foreman grill work wonderfully too) and serve.

The Giveaway
First, you need to leave a comment. Just one. You can tell me how you’d use the sauce. You can tell me what your morning routine is. Let me know if your husband uses a lunch box or believes in the brown bag man theory. Just leave me a comment.

Second, I’ll be announcing the giveaway on facebook. Share the announcement on your facebook page and you can leave another comment, which is a second entry, letting me know you did so. Two easy entries for a chance to win a bottle of an amazingly delicious sauce.

Just so you know, you should read up on the Giveaway Guidelines for Taking On Magazines.

Comments (entries) will be accepted from now until Sunday, October 7 at 7 a.m., EST. As you know, that’s when I do The Sunday Sip, so that’s when I’ll announce the winner. Finally, this giveaway is open to folks living in the U.S. only.