Grown Up Balsamic Pepper Fig Roast Beef Sandwich + Giveaway

This post is being sponsored by Orchard Choice fig spreads featuring their Balsamic Pepper Fig Spread. I was sent out their Fig Spread Variety 4-Pack and their Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice Mission Figlets (8 oz. Bag) to review. Both products are available on their website plus see below about an amazing giveaway they are offering TKW Family members!  While this is a compensated post, all comments and opinions are 100% my own.

So let’s talk figs.  Ever had one?  Figs are unique and appearance and flavor. They are a soft pear-shaped fruit with sweet dark flesh and many small seeds, eaten fresh or dried. I love them both fresh and dried but I’ll be honest I had never had fig spread.  I just never thought of making it or had ever seen it in the store.  So when I was contacted by these good folks to review these spreads I jumped at the opportunity.  Now when I received my box of goodies I sat there in awe!  I didn’t know where to start!

In the box were 4 luscious jars of spread and a bag of their adorable (and scrumptious) figlets!

♥ California Orange Fig Spread – Summer’s best figs laced with a tangy twist of orange create a fruit spread ripe for pairing with cheeses, topping toasts, and brightening desserts.
♥ Organic Mission Fig Spread – Sweet, earthy and bursting with fig flavor, our simple blend of summer’s best organic Mission figs pairs well with cheese, perks up yogurt, and tops toast in style.
♥ Balsamic Pepper Fig Spread – It’s love at first bite when sweet figs join sassy balsamic vinegar and spicy black pepper. Brighten up cheese trays, garnish grilled meats… the possibilities are endless.
♥ Port Wine Spread – Imagine sweet, luscious figs drenched in port and you have the makings of our elegant fruit spread. From appetizers to desserts, enjoy the possibilities.

As I sat there my tummy rumbled and I literally was like a little kid on Easter morning trying to figure out which piece of chocolate to eat first.  I sat there with my mind racing with the varieties in front of me.  “Oh I could make this with that!  OHHHHHHH YES!  That would be awesome with that!” and so forth but I found I kept going back to the Balsamic Pepper one.  I think honestly it’s because I originally was craving my Italian Pot Roast that I had made the day before.  I had made some ciabatta buns earlier that morning and this image of the sandwich you see before you I could not get out of my head. It just spoke to me! It was as if the God’s of food knew I needed this fig spread in my life!

Now truth be told I didn’t even try the spread before I started to make my sandwich.  Why?  Did you ever just know something was going to work well together?  Like you know peanut butter goes with jelly, mashed potatoes get butter, bacon goes with well… anything.  Well I knew that their Balsamic Pepper spread would go with this. It just made sense. So I sliced up some onions and got them cooking down in a pan to get all caramelized and awesome. If I had had mushrooms I would have added them too, to the mix but I didn’t have any on hand.  Next time for sure they will go on!

As the onions were cooking up I grabbed the roast from the fridge and sliced up a few thick slices as I knew I wanted to warm that up to add to the sandwich.  As I stood there watching the onions cook down I then opened up the jar and took a whiff.  Mmmm it smelled heavenly!  I could smell the natural sweetness along with the pepper and balsamic in it.  I knew it was so going to rock this sandwich!

I then sliced up my bun in half and slathered on some softened butter as I wanted to broil it up so get all nice and crusty on the inside while the outside of the sandwich remained soft.  It’s a dual-texture approach you get to making a really great sandwich. PLUS by broiling up the inside you create a more sturdy structure for whatever you put inside. There is nothing I hate worse than being presented a mouth-watering sandwich only to bite into it and have it fall totally apart.  But by broiling it this way you are left a soft shell with a crispy center that holds all of your goodies inside.  Pretty smart huh?  Gotta love an engineer folks!

Once the onions were all caramelized I pulled them out of the pan, threw the roast beef in just to warm it up a bit.  As it was warming up in the pan I realized I needed one more ingredient to round out the grown up roast beef sandwich.  It was missing that one element to marry the flavors all together. Into the fridge my head went to poke around for that one last thing.  Well it didn’t take me long as I always first go to my cheese drawer (yes to those of you that are new to the TKW site, I have an entire drawer of cheeses in my fridge).  There on top was a 3lb wedge of Asiago (I heart ♥ Asiago!).  That puppy came out of the fridge and I got to slicing some for the sandwiches (and for me to snack on!). Side note… the cheese spread with some of this balsamic pepper spread.. HEAVENLY!

Anyway since my missing ingredient was ready to be used, I popped the bottoms of the buns under the broiler – yes just the bottoms for now. They needed to be broiled and crisped up first before I put the meat and other ingredients on as I knew I was popping it all back under the broiler to get the cheese all melty.  If I didn’t the sandwich bottom would have gotten all soggy and as we all know, soggy bottoms are a no no… in sandwiches and in life.  LOL

Once the beef was warmed up next came the assembling. First came some of the balsamic pepper spread, next the warmed beef and then the cheese.  At the same time I added the buttered tops to the pan as well.  See where I am going with this and why I waited to broil them now instead of earlier?  If I broiled them earlier they would have been cold and hard by now and like I said… cold.  For this sandwich you wanted it all warm and toasty.  Kinda like why I love snuggling up to Mr. Fantabulous in the winter.. he’s all warm and toasty.  Plus the fact that he’s super sexy and I’m married to that Italian stud. I heart ♥ him too, even more than Asiago cheese!  LOL

A few minutes under the broiler and it was ready to do the final assembly and more important… I could EAT that image that was haunting me in my head!  Lastly I put on the onions and spread out some more of the balsamic pepper spread on top (I put some on the top of the broiled bun and another dollop on top of the onions). Why? It’s THAT GOOD!!!

Folks there are very few times in my life where I’m speechless (trust me, ask Mr. Fantabulous) but this sandwich… it had me at a loss for words.  It literally transcends you into a place of total food utopia!  Any other sandwich you’ve ever had in your life that you thought was the best… forget it!  THIS is seriously the best roast beef sandwich I have ever EVER had!  This spread is EPIC and I am hoarding it!  It’s incredible!!!  You NEED to order some today!

But wait you could also just enter my giveaway for a chance to win your very own so you can make this amazing sandwich for yourself then write me back to thank me for introducing you to such awesomeness! However let’s get to the recipe first! Oh one last thing about this sandwich… I made one every day for a week as I loved it that much!

Grown Up Balsamic Pepper Fig Roast Beef Sandwich + Giveaway

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4.8 from 6 reviews

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• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

Ingredients

• 4 Ciabatta Buns sliced in half lengthways
• 5 tablespoon butter, unsalted and softened and divided
• 8 tablespoon Orchard Choice Balsamic Pepper Fig Spread plus extra if you want a dollop on top
• 12 ounces cooked Italian Style Pot Roast or any other roast beef sliced into 1/4” pieces * see note
• 8 ounces sliced Asiago
• 8 tablespoon caramelized onions

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven broiler.
2. On a baking sheet place the bottoms of the ciabiatta buns. Set the tops aside for now.
3. Evenly spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each bottom.
4. Place in the broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
5. While the bottoms are broiling, spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each top. You’ll have 1 tablespoon remaining.
6. Remove from the oven and set aside.
7. Spread 1 tablespoon of Orchard Choice Balsamic Pepper Fig Spread on the bottom while still warmed.
8. In a large skillet place the remaining butter over medium heat.
9. When the butter is foaming add in the slices of beef and caramelized onions.
10. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side or until warmed through.
11. Remove the pan from the heat.
12. Evenly divide the meat on top of the bottom of the buns.
13. Place the Asiago on top of the meat.
14. Place the tops of the buns on the pan, buttered side up.
15. Return to the broiler and broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the tops of the buns are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
16. Remove from the oven and assemble.
17. Place some caramelized onions on top of each bun and then the remaining Orchard Choice Balsamic Pepper Fig Spread (1 tablespoon each).
18. Place the tops back on and enjoy!

Notes

For the roast beef, use actual roast beef and not the deli meats. You want thicker slices of real roast beef. Trust me, it makes a world of difference!

Now the giveaway!  Orchard Choice fig spreads are helping “Spread the Love” with where one lucky winner will receive a 4-pack of Orchard Choice California Fig Spreads and a bag of figlets.   Open to US residents only, and no PO boxes. 4-pack variety of spreads and bag of figlets. (Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery).

To enter leave a comment on how you would use these amazing spreads in a dish.

Don’t forget to also do the following:
♥ – Like The Kitchen Whisperer on Facebook
♥ – Like Valley Fig on Facebook
♥ – Like Tweet about this giveaway using this link tagging both  @tkwhisperer and @valleyfig with #spreadthelove hashtag

You can also check them out here:

http://www.pinterest.com/valleyfig/
http://instagram.com/valleyfig

Disclosure: The giveaway is open until Saturday, February 28, 2015 EST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. intercontinental residents. When commenting, be sure to include a valid email address however do not post your email in your comment. 1 winner will be chosen randomly and announced on this post. We will email the winner and if the winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck! This is a sponsored giveaway from Valley Fig Growers, and The Kitchen Whisperer, LLC but our opinions are our own. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation.  Facebook and Twitter are in no way associated with this giveaway.  By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone.  I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.

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