Guest Post: Foodie Swap

As part of the Foodie Penpal swap I got to send Dan a box of goodies from Norfolk. Here's his post about the experience.

First of all let me thank Jess for hijacking her blog, being blogless and this being my first foodie penpal contact I’m hesitant to start up a blog as I don’t feel I can commit my time to maintaining something on a weekly basis (unless the blog was exclusively about LoLcats, bikes and on account of having a four year old daughter, iCarly).

Jess’s package came through this morning and I was very pleasantly surprised with what I received, all exclusively products made in Norfolk.

First off I received an epic bar of Rocky Road Gnaw (made in Gnorfolk according to the packet). I’m saving this bad boy for a rainy day, it looks too good just to fritter away on anything but a Ghost/Beaches/Dirty Dancing marathon.

Next up was the delicious Norfolk Garden Rose Hip Extra Jelly Preserve. This was an amazing surprise, not normally a massive fan of Jam or Preserves the taste and consistency is amazing, sweet but with a freshness at the back, in some ways reminding me of when you bite into a toffee apple. I paired this up with a very crumbly Wensleydale on a Carr’s water biscuit and the combination was fantastic.

Finally in an already fantastic package was a bottle of pure evil called Inferno, a Smokey Naga Chilli Sauce. Needless to say this sauce is HOT, that said once the heat dissipates it gives way to a brilliant flavor profile of tomato, smokey chipotle and BBQ sauce.

Taking the Inferno for a spin I opted for my favorite brunch of Scrambled Eggs on Toast with smoked salmon, but instead of the compulsory Tabasco I opted to caramelize my smoked salmon in a small amount of the sauce, needless to say this is how I’ll be making scrambled eggs from now on.

Somewhat spicier than the standard I normally make the Inferno complemented the Eggs and toast really well, with an initial heat quickly toned down by the creaminess of the eggs as well as the other piquant flavors from the sauce elevating the butter (tip: always put too much butter in your scrambled eggs – your palate will thankyou for it!).

All that’s left for me to say sincere thanks to Jess for the package and I hope one day I can return the favor!