Blackberry Chipotle Freezer Jam

My cousin sometimes lets us come raid the blackberry bush at their farm when they've got a surplus.  I was itching to make some freezer jam, but didn't want to make plain ol' regular boring blackberry jam.  No...I wanted to do something INTERESTING.

...in retrospect, I really should have split the batch, and been boring with half and then played with the other half, because now I have 6 pints of INTERESTING jam when I would occasionally really like some regular ol' blackberry freezer jam.  But not to worry. I'll share the recipe for both, so you can learn from my mistakes.

INGREDIENTS (makes 4 jars):
4 cups crushed blackberries (you can use a potato masher or pastry cutter, but I'd shy away from a food processor, otherwise you'll end up with puree. A few pulses with a stick blender might work well.)
4 Tbsp Instant (no cook) pectin (or one 1.35 oz packet)
1.5 cups  Sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS: 

Combine the pectin and the sugar and mix well, then add the lemon juice and the blackberries, and stir well until fully incorporated.  At this point, if you're making straight up regular blackberry jam, you can go ahead and divvy these into half-pint jars.  Let sit at room temp for 30 minutes, at which point it should be soft-set. Then you can put one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer for later.

However, if you want to ramp things up a bit, then add the following to the mix:

1/4 tsp Chipotle powder (per jar)
1/4 tsp Cumin (per jar)
1/4 tsp Cinnamon (per jar)
1/4 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
a pinch of smoked salt (per jar)

I'm providing these as "per jar" ratios so that if you want, you can make a full batch of the base, and then make the Chipotle version in one or two of the jars.  Just make sure you label them appropriately! 

The Chipotle version is pretty versatile. It makes a great grilled cheese (like this one), or you can put it in a Crockpot with a pork tenderloin for a delicious dinner. And of course it goes great on a biscuit.

World's Best Grilled Cheese

Well...at least that's my humble opinion.

I was packing myself a lunch for work when this sandwich occurred to me.  We had some cinnamon swirl bread that needed to be used up--apparently I wasn't going through it fast enough just with breakfast nomming.  And then I saw the pepper jelly, and had an A-HA moment.

Sweet sauce?  Sweet bread!  Makes sense!

INGREDIENTS:
2 slices cinnamon swirl bread
2 slices Swiss cheese (provolone or pepper jack would also go really nicely)
2 oz deli-sliced chicken (I like the Rotisserie Seasoned from Oscar Meyer)
1 Tbsp Tabasco pepper jelly
1/2 Tbsp light mayo (NOT Miracle Whip)

DIRECTIONS:
Slather the mayo on to one side of each of the slices of bread.  You're using this instead of butter for frying.  Just...trust me.  Seriously.

Place one slice of bread in the skillet, mayo-side down, then add cheese, pepper jelly, chicken, the other slice of cheese, and the other piece of bread (mayo-side up).  Flip once golden (about 3-4 minutes), and cook until the other side matches. (Note: my second side always seems to cook faster than the first--anyone else notice this?)

Let rest briefly so that the cheese can bond with it's fellow sandwich-mates, and then cut in half (if you desire. I won't force you.  I like triangles myself).  Serve with a side of...well, whatever! Maybe chips and a pickle, maybe just a variety of veggies.  It's totally up to you.

The end result is a sweet, salty, slightly spicy, crispy sandwich that will having you wishing you'd made two.

NutriFacts:
Calories: 399
Fat: 14.3 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Carbs: 45.8 g
Sodium: 1253 mg
Protein: 16.1g

Bacon Gouda Grit Fritters & Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce

So last week I shared a recipe for grits & grillades.  Well, when I made that...I made a lot of extra grits.  Why? Because it was Potluck Time at work!  We try to do these quarterly (which, really, it's probably a good thing they're not more frequent otherwise we'd all have some serious health issues), and they're usually somewhat themed.  This one was "Spring Cleaning"--as in, what can you throw together from what's in your fridge/pantry that needs to be used up?

I'll admit...I chose this theme explicitly so I could make this recipe, because it requires cold grits as the base.  I've had this recipe in my Pinterest for-ev-er, so it's really a two-fer...I would need to make some OTHER recipe that involved grits, and then use the leftover grits to make these fritters, and then BAM--two blog posts.

Delicious, delicious gluttony. 

Also--the original recipe calls for pan-frying these.  But I did the first four as a test batch fried and burnt the crap out of my arms...plus they were trying to fall apart a little bit, so I figured the less I had to move them around, the better. I opted to oven-fry them instead (also easier since I prepped them the night before, but actually cooked them AT work right before the potluck so they'd be hot). And, you know, a little healthier too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quick-cooking grits
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda
• 1 diced green onion
• 6 slices low sodium bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 large eggs + 1/4 cup water
• 1.5 cup Panko crumbs
• 1.5 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• Misto olive oil spray
• ½ cup Red Pepper Jelly
• 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Cook grits & broth according to package instructions.  Then add the cajun seasoning, gouda, green onion, and bacon and mix well.  Lightly grease a 8x8 pan and then pour the grit mixture in and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

When ready to prep your fritters, create a work station--in one bowl, combine the egg (beaten) and water, and the panko+breadcrumbs in a second bowl.  Then grab your grits and roll into small balls (I opted to create all my fritter-balls first, THEN batter them to streamline things).  

Roll each ball in the egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs and place on a greased cookie sheet.  If you're not cooking right away, you can freeze these to help keep the breading crisp.

To oven-fry, preheat your oven to 425F, then spray the tops of the fritters with olive oil (this helps them to crisp up and brown).  Bake for 15 minutes, then flip, and bake for 15 more minutes.

While they're baking, you can make the dipping sauce.  In a small bowl, combine the pepper jelly, mustard, and vinegar, and microwave for about 20-30 seconds until smooth.

Serve the fritters while warm (seriously--they're no where near as good when cold or even room temp) with the pepper jelly sauce.  

Adventures in Pepper Jelly: aka Smoked Pineapple Jalapeno Refrigerator Jam

As I mentioned in my last post, we were recently bestowed with an ENORMOUS stockpile of jalapenos & banana peppers.  I decided, "hey, I've never made pepper jelly before, and I have a Cajun food blog--I think it's about time!"

And so began my adventure.  Let's just state for the record--I have little to no jelly-making experience. I've made some cranberry-pineapple refrigerator jam which turned out pretty well, but in general, my homemade jam experience primarily involves magical childhood memories of enjoying strawberry freezer jam made by my Nana over warm Amish-made sourdough bread.  So...mostly I just have experience with EATING a lot of fridge & freezer jam.

As with most cooking adventures, I started on Pinterest.  The first recipe I tried resulted in an absolutely beautiful product that tasted lovely...but was the consistency of roof tar.  I couldn't even clean out the jar to try & reuse it.  *sniff* So sad.  

Lesson learned: Not all pectins are the same.  I have a jar of INSTANT pectin SPECIFICALLY for making fridge & freezer jam, meaning it's not intended to go through the boiling process.  I'm sure if you try this recipe with the RIGHT pectin, it would be fabulous.  

So for Attempt #2, I went straight to the Ball Website to find a pepper jelly recipe for my type of pectin.  And I did!  We decided to tweak this just a little bit: instead of green peppers & canned chilis, we went with our fresh jalapenos, and we grilled the pineapple & jalapenos first to add an extra layer of flavor.  

Lesson learned:  You are not as bad@ss as you think you are.  Remove at least SOME of the seeds before you puree.  We ended up having to puree more pineapple and add in a bunch of pineapple juice in order to bring this down to an edible level--and even then it was really ONLY tolerable with cream cheese to kill the capsacin.

THIS is exactly why I only make one jar of things, rather than a whole batch.

So...we made ONE MORE BATCH, using all our lessons and tinkering, and THAT'S what I present to you today.  

(Served over cream cheese for our most recent work potluck luncheon.)

INGREDIENTS (per 8oz [pint] jar):
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp INSTANT Pectin (for fridge/freezer jams)
About 8 oz of pineapple slices (we did use canned for our last batch and it still tasted fine)
3 jalapenos, seeds & ribs removed (you can leave the seeds in one if you like heat)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2-1 tsp Liquid Smoke (optional, to taste)
Pineapple Juice (as needed--grilling removes some of the moisture so you may need to add a little juice to get a full jar)

DIRECTIONS:
Have a clean, sterilized pint jar ready (as always, we used EasyClean, but you can also use your dishwasher or any of the other sterilization methods)
Grill your pineapple rings & jalapenos until they have a light char.
Stir the sugar and pectin together in a medium bowl, set aside.
Add your pineapple, jalapenos, lime juice, and Liquid Smoke to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Then pour the mixture into the bowl with the sugar/pectin and stir for 3 minutes.  Taste & decide if you want to add more of the Liquid Smoke (a little goes a LONG way, but we think it ups the smoky flavor from the grill).

Transfer the jelly into your pint jar, and add a little pineapple juice if you need in order to get a full jar, and mix well.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to thicken.  You can keep it in the fridge for about a month or in the freezer for a year.

The Loozy-Anna Dawg: Andouille w/Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly

We’ve been doing some “market research” as of late, testing out different recipes for possible use at the shop.  Because we’re more than just ice cream.  We have sandwiches and hot dogs and smoothies as well.

I’m not really sure where the inspiration for this came from…I think I was just trying to think of something “different” that would go well on an andouille link, but not require a huge heap of extra product on our part.  A “jambalaya dog” or a “red beans” dog both sound fantastic and I have no doubt they’d be completely deelish… but it would also require us (i.e. ME) to find the time to cook up batches at home for them to use at the shop, because we don’t have a stove top at the ice cream parlor.

And then, I had an epiphany.

If you’ve ever been to a party in the south, you’ve probably seen this included in the spread:

A true classic.  No Southern party is complete without a brick of cream cheese smothered in Tabasco pepper jelly (or homemade pepper jelly, if you’re that advanced).  I thought it was completely weird and looked disgusting when I first moved to Louisiana.

And then…I tried it.  And probably ate half of it all myself.  I was completely hooked.  I’m not usually huge on cream cheese, but in this combination, there’s no better pairing.  The sweet-hot bite of the pepper jelly is balanced perfectly by the silky smoothness of the cream cheese.  Add the crisp, salty crackers, and you’re just in heaven.

So…why not try it on a hot dog? But of course, not a regular hot dog.  No.  That’s just silly. We need an andouille link to make this properly.

Ingredients:

Johnsonville Andouille New Orleans Style Sausage links (or more authentic andouille links if you can get them, but I like the Johnsonville since they’re close in size to a regular hot dog & have good flavor)

Hot Dog buns

Light Cream Cheese (about 2 teaspoons per sausage)

Tabasco pepper jelly (or other brand if you can’t find Tabasco, but the Tabasco texture is much more smooth & less “jelly-like”… compare the photo of the dip to the photo of the dog—I had to use Reese’s brand for this demo because I couldn’t find Tabasco brand) – also about 2 tsp per sausage

 

Directions:

Grill the andouille links for a nice smoky flavor, and toast the buns if you have the option.

Scoop a couple tablespoons of cream cheese into a ziploc bag and squeeze down into one corner of the bag; then snip off the corner to use it as a piping bag.  Do the same for the jelly.

Drizzle the cream cheese & the jelly across the sausage link.

Devour.

 

I was pretty impressed with this concoction.  The flavor on the Johnsonville sausage is really wonderful; a good amount of spice without being overkill.  And the cream cheese & jelly combo, mixed with the saltiness of the sausage made a really wonderful combination.  My husband who is a spicy-food-fanatic, thought it wasn’t quite spicy enough, but I thought it was about perfect for most taste buds—however, if you have a hot food freak in your house, you could always throw a few jalapeno slices on there as well for more heat (and a pretty color combo to boot).

 

Serve with a side of Zapp’s chips, or a nice salad.

 

NutriFacts (per dawg):

Calories 412.5

  Total Fat 24.9 g

  Saturated Fat 9.1 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Cholesterol 55.6 mg

  Sodium 1,018.8 mg

  Potassium 0.0 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 33.0 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g

  Sugars 13.3 g

  Protein 13.8 g