Tio Pepe's Churros

I realize that most people can not order products from food service distributors, or wholesale vendors.  So you might wonder why I have labels for these sorts of items on my blog, and why I bother review, if they aren't accessible to you.  The reason?  You likely eat these products yourselves, and you just don't know it.

Iconic Signage.

Like Tio Pepe's churros.  Have you ever had a churro at a beach boardwalk, carnival, amusement park, or from a street vendor?  One that wasn't made by them?  If so, chances are fairly high it was made by Tio Pepe's.  They kinda own this market.  It probably had a sign in the corner somewhere like the one above (which I spotted on the streets of San Francisco, on a churro cart).

Tio Pepe's is part of the J & J Snack Foods lineup of brands, which also includes Super Pretzels (coming soon!), Slush Puppies, ICEE, and much, more much.  They are carried by nearly ever large food service distributor who carries churros.  I have confirmation that these are the ones sold at Disneyland.  If you really want them, they are also carried by Smart & Final.

Tio Pepe's makes only one thing: frozen churros, in a variety of sizes and flavors.

Churros.

"Tio Pepe’s authentic churros will have your taste buds going loco!"

Traditional churros are available in 3 sizes (5" mini, 10" traditional, 16" King Size), and several varieties: plain, bavarian creme filled, cinnamon sugar, double twisted, double twisted with cinnamon sugar), strawberry.  They also make 51% whole grain varieties, with more fruit filled options, like mango, guava, apple, raspberry.  They are called "Cinnamon waffle sticks" in some markets.

I don't claim to be a churro expert.  I barely even like them, to be honest, like the lackluster ones from Rubio's, which I've tried several times (although I did kinda like the one I had a Nick's Crispy Tacos).  The only churro I really recall liking before is the cream filled one from Phat Philly.  I wonder if that was from Tio Pepe's?

Anyway, these are solid classic churros.  Not fresh, not amazing, but they are what they are.

For foodservice distribution, they come frozen, plain.  Instructions to the distributor are pretty simple: bake in the oven for 4 minutes, or fry for 10-20 seconds.

Cinnamon Sugar Traditional.

"Churros are a straight donut-like Hispanic pastry. The traditional churro is rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and served with a slightly crispy exterior and warm moist center. Its lightly sweet taste is enjoyed by children and adults alike."

All the churros come plain, packaged with a cinnamon sugar packet.  The distributor has instructions to roll in the provided cinnamon sugar mix.

I had a cinnamon sugar version, and it was heated in the oven.

It was a pretty classic churro, much like you'd get at any amusement park or street vendor (probably, literally).  It was crispy, not too greasy, and well coated in cinnamon and sugar.  I liked the cinnamon and sugar.

And beyond that?  Not much to say.  It wasn't as good as a fresh one.  It wasn't as good as a fried one.  It was what it was.

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Petsi Pies, Boston

Petsi Pies is a bakery based in Somerville, MA, near Boston.  I have not visited myself, so I can't tell you much, except that they also have several cafes in nearby towns, and also serve sandwiches, soups, and other standard cafe fare.

I was introduced to Petsi Pies when visiting my Cambridge office, and a co-worker brought in a pie to an office party.

Pie Logo.

The sticker on the box with their logo caught my attention, when I came across the box sitting in the microkitchen.  It was bright, and unusual looking (I can't stop seeing a bird beak!), and then I realized there was pie within.  I had just finished lunch, with dessert, but, I couldn't resist.  I'm glad I didn't.  I was impressed.

Anyway, the company is named after the baker who started it, who has the nickname Petsi.  

The pie lineup comes in 3 sizes (5", 8", 10"), with a wide variety of fruit pies, cream pies, seasonal pies, and all the classics, along with savory pies.

I only tried the one, but I'd gladly try more.

Brown Butter Pecan Pie.

This was very good pie.

Pecan pie is a classic for me, as my mom has always made a (Karo syrup) based pecan pie that I adore.  I love pecan pie.

And this?  Better than my mom's pie, for sure.  It was sweet, but not cloyingly so, with more depth to it than just sweet.  I didn't necessarily taste brown butter, but I could tell there was more going on.  The goo layer was also more of a custard, or perhaps a caramel, than I am used to, richer, thicker, and again, more than just sweet.

The pecans were standard, pecan halves, on top of the sweet custard.

The crust was the only lackluster component.  It wasn't bad, but it didn't taste any better than a grocery store crust, not flaky, not buttery, not special.

But overall, a good pie, and I'd love to try more of their pies!

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Waffling Leftovers: Marinated Peaches

Today's waffling adventure is another rather, uh, nontraditional one.  If the concept of waffling things that aren't waffle batter is new to you, you might want to start with my master post, and then return here.

Marinated Peaches: Transformed!

Remember the time I waffled figs?  This was basically inspired by that, although rather than just starting with leftover fruit, I started with leftover marinated fruit,  originally part of a salad.  And rather than just having waffled fruit, I jazzed it up, inspired by my amazing waffled plantain sundae from the week before.

Will it Waffle: Leftover Marinated Peaches?  Yup, smoky, grilled, and totally saved them

Attempt #1: August 2017

The Original: Heirloom Tomato and Stone Fruit Salad with Burrata.

First, let's start with the original.  One of my favorite "salads".  Heirloom tomatoes and assorted stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots), drizzled with olive oil and a balsamic reduction, and topped with burrata.

Oh how I love this salad.  Think of a basic caprese, and then imagine something 100x better.  High quality assorted beautiful heirloom tomatoes, all incredibly flavorful on their own.  Never tried mixing in stone fruit?  Do it.  It works great, I promise.  Plenty of perfectly ripe, creamy burrata, obviously sooo much better than just fresh mozzarella.  Incredible balsamic drizzle.  Olive oil and salt to make all the flavors pop that much more.

Oh yes.

The Leftovers: Soggy Marinated Peaches.

But the leftovers?  Yeah.  As you can imagine, this salad has very short shelf life.  I separated out the burrata from the produce to try to make it last longer.

The next day, I salvaged all the heirloom tomatoes.  They had gotten a bit mealy from being in the fridge, but, when paired with leftover burrata (which did hold up fine), I didn't mind.  And they were even more flavorful from the balsamic, which was now not just a drizzle, but, a marinade.

The stone fruit was a mixed bag.  The plums lasted fine.  The softer fruit though got really mushy.  It just wasn't very good, even if the flavor was there.

We were going to throw it out, but, I decided that if I was going to throw it out, I might as well throw it on the waffle iron ...

Into the Waffle Iron...

So into the waffle iron the soggy slices went.  350 degrees.

They made a lot of noise at first, as all the moisture started cooking out.

Almost Done ...

Once the moisture was gone, the slices started grilling (er, waffling).  Once they had decent waffle marks, I pulled them off.

Sure, they didn't turn into a waffle, but, they did basically grill.  (I do wonder if I should have formed them into a mound and just tried to make a waffle patty out of them though ... next time!)

Waffled Marinated Peaches with Balsamic Basil Cream!

I plated them up with salted balsamic basil cream that I made while the peaches were cooking.  That sounds fancy right?  Ha.  I just mixed whipped cream with the rest of the marinade remaining in my container, and added a little fleur de sel.

The peaches were actually good.  Soft, slightly caramelized.  A bit smoky.  Totally edible in this form, and honestly, they were so mushy and off putting before waffling that they really were trash.  Waffling saves yet another item headed for the trash!

The cream was tasty too, but I found myself wanting a cold component, so I added Milk & Honey ice cream after the photo was taken.  I liked the cold ice cream with the hot fruit much better, and wished I had just plated it with the honey ice cream originally, and drizzled the balsamic reduction over it all (again, next time!).

So, overall, yes, a success.  The peaches were too soggy to really eat before, and transformed into a very tasty dessert.  I'd do this again, but, just go for ice cream.

Attempt #2: September 2017

The Original: Arugula salad, with stone fruit, burrata, and balsamic drizzle.

A few weeks later, we had another salad featuring stone fruit and burrata, this one a bit more traditional, with a base of peppery arugula.

It was great, and there was plenty leftover.  I saved a bunch of the white peaches and burrata, and tons of the balsamic marinade.

Peaches ready to waffle!

The peaches went into the iron, untreated.  350 degrees.

Grilled Peaches!

They grilled up beautifully.

The first few didn't even make it onto my waiting plate - they were hot, slightly caramelized, and totally delicious.  I also forgot to take a photo, I was too busy enjoying the amazingness.

With the rest, I made a spinach salad topped with both fresh and grilled peaches, burrata, and the balsamic drizzle (and some olive oil).  So simple, but so so good.

So, leftover marinated peaches, not only do they transform into a great dessert, they also work as a salad topper!  

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