Announcing the Hotties Recipe Contest Winner!

Folks, the competition was fierce. Our mouths were on fire as we tested and tasted the recipe submissions from all the Hotties lovers out there. After much deliberation and countless gulps of water, we have a winner. Drumroll, please…

Grand Prize Winner of a year’s supply of Rick’s Picks is…

CLAIRE BISCHOFF!!! She is definitely hot for Hotties, submitting not one, not two, but THREE recipes that cover an entire meal from appetizer to dessert. Wow-za! Complete with some beautiful pics. Congrats Claire! Your efforts will be rewarded by some pickled goodness coming your way today.

Big thanks to all our fans who participated in the Hotties Recipe Contest. Stay tuned for more recipe contests in the future!

Here are Claire’s THREE winning recipes below as well as her sweet note:

I used to live in Brooklyn for a short while, so am very familiar with Rick’s Picks.  When I heard there was a recipe contest with the new Hottie’s brand I jumped on the chance to win pickles for a year.  Unfortunately Rick’s Picks are not available in Montana, so to get them for a year for free, yes please. I had my friend ship me a jar and mulled over what would be the winning recipe.  I started talking to some coworkers (I work at a local bakery), and we all started brainstorming.  We came up with some great recipes, but decided we needed to test them out on some people to see if they thought they were great as well.  I run an underground restaurant, so we thought the perfect setting would be to do a themed pickle dinner to try them out.
The menu was a spicy pickle martini, a pickle deviled egg, spicy pulled pork sandwich with fried Hotties and spicy Asian slaw, and a chocolate pickle cupcake with candied pickle.  The event was a success!  There was not a dish they didn’t love, including the cupcake!  Attached are our recipes as well as pictures of the dishes and the event itself. Thanks for your consideration!

Sarah Mohrmann
Claire Bishcoff
Sarah Gregson

Chicken Satay with Hottie Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce

6 cloves garlic                                                                    

½ onion                                                                                               

1 T lemon zest                                                                  

½ t minced ginger                                                           

½ T cilantro                                                                        

¼ T cumin                                                                            1 t Rick’s Picks Hottie juice

¼ t coriander                                                                      ½ c. chunky peanut butter

2 dried chilies                                                                     1 ½ c. coconut milk

4 Rick’s Picks Hotties                                                       2 T fish sauce

¼ t nutmeg                                                                         1 T sugar

¼ t cinnamon

Roast garlic until soft. Sauté with onion in saucepan. Toast chilies. Add chilies and rest of ingredients. Cook until heated through. Puree in blender or with an immersion blender.  

Chicken Skewers

½ cup coconut milk

¼ cup soy sauce

2 T cilantro

¼ cup Rick’s Picks Hottie Juice

1 T Sriracha

2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine ingredients and pour over chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish. Let sit overnight. Slice chicken into strips. Skewer chicken onto soaked wooden skewers and grill until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Serve with room temperature peanut sauce.

 

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Deep Fried Hotties and Spicy Slaw

BBQ Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onions

4 cloves garlic

2 1/2 c. tomato sauce

3/4  cup water

1/4 t. chili powder

1/2 T. red pepper flakes

3/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup Rick’s Picks Hottie juice

2 T Worcestershire

1 1/2 chipotles in adobo

¼ cup brown sugar

1 T honey

White pepper-To Taste

Salt-To Taste

2 lbs. Pork roast

Small dice the onions and sauté with garlic in olive oil until they are translucent. Add remaining ingredients. Combine and heat through. Blend with immersion blender. 

Add ¾ of the BBQ sauce to a slow cooker with the pork roast. Turn on Low and let simmer for 8-12 hours, occasionally pulling meat apart and adding more sauce if needed.

Deep Fried Hotties

1 qt. Canola oil

32 Rick’s Picks Hottie slices

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups cornmeal

1T Kosher salt

Heat Oil to 375˚ F. Pat Pickles slices dry. Mix cornmeal and salt. Dip pickles in buttermilk then cornmeal mixture, repeat. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Spicy Slaw

½ cup Vegetable oil

¼ cup Rice vinegar

2 T Sesame oil

1 ½ T Fresh ginger

2 t. Soy sauce

2 T. Rick’s Picks Hottie Juice

1 T Sriracha

6 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage

6 Green onions cut on a diagonal

6 oz. Snow peas thinly sliced

1 lg. Red bell pepper thinly sliced

½ cup Toasted peanuts

Whisk together first 7 ingredients.  Toss with vegetables until coated. Top with crushed peanuts. Season with salt and pepper. Cut 8 ciabatta rolls in half. Broil until lightly toasted. Top with a generous portion of pulled pork and 4 to 5 deep fried Hotties. Serve with Spicy Slaw on side.

 

Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes with Candied Hotties

1 cup Butter

1 ½ cups Sugar

3 Eggs

1 t. Vanilla

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 t. Baking  Powder

1 t. Soda

¼ t. Salt

½ cup Cocoa powder

1 cup Rick’s Picks Hottie Juice

12 oz Rick’s Picks Hotties- patted dry and chopped fine

Cream butter and sugar until combined and light in color.  Add eggs and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together. Add alternately to butter mixture with Hottie Juice. Stir in pickles. Fill paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350˚F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes clean.

Spicy Ganache

4 oz. Heavy cream

4 oz. Dark Chocolate

1 t. Sriracha

Heat heavy cream in a saucepan until it just starts to boil. Take off heat and add chocolate and Sriracha. Let sit 2 minutes and whisk together.

Candied Pickles

24 Ricks Pick’s Hottie slices

8 oz. Sugar

8 oz. Water

Extra water for blanching

Combine sugar and first quantity of water and bring to a simmer.  Boil about 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Add pickle slices and boil for three minutes. Transfer to simmering sugar water. Keep at a simmer and let pickles cook for two hours, let drain on a cooling rack. Dip cupcakes in warm ganache and top with a candied pickle slice.