Blue Cheese Pear Gastrique

This sauce started with a simple gastrique sauce, simply caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar.  For me, I prefer to use honey rather than sugar to make my caramel, it is much healthier and most important, more flavorful.  For a lot of my cooking I prefer to use cider vinegar, I feel it has the best flavor that pairs with most ingredients.

Begin the recipe with by peeling and removing the core and cutting it into large pieces.  Cook the pears in a pot on medium heat until the water comes out and the sugars start to caramelize.  Deglaze with a little water to remove the sugars beginning to caramelize on the bottom of the pot.  Once it is fully cooked, add the bleu cheese and stir until it is melted then puree.

Begin to cook the honey with the fennel seeds until it begins to smell a bit burnt and deglaze with the cider vinegar. Remove from the heat and carefully add the pear puree and stir until it is completely mixed.  Heat again and simmer for a few minutes to make sure the caramel has completely melted into the sauce.

You can base the recipe on your own tastes, whether you love the taste of blue cheese or pear more.

 

Poblano Mango Relish

Recently we received a case of Europa Chicken Mango Brats to use for a special.  We just happened to have a few pounds of poblano peppers left from a party, so I decided to put together a relish to go with the brat theme.  To play off of the mango flavor I added mango puree, micro cilantro and lime juice.  The dish really came together quickly with its simplicity.  The only thing left was to figure out what to serve it with…we needed a side dish to compliment the flavors.  For the side dish, I decided to make chips out of purple fingerling potatoes tossed with a squirt of lime juice and chili salt.

The relish would be good on any sweet brat or sausage.  You can also slap the spread on or in a burger.  I also took all of these ingredients and made a flatbread out of it with a little bacon jam and jack cheese. As for most spreads and sauces, they are much more versatile than people think.

Poblano Mango Relish Recipe

1 quart poblano peppers

2 quarts red onion, diced

¼ cup sugar

1 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ cup fresh lime juice

½ cup mango puree

Begin by roasting the peppers over an open fire or in the oven until the skin becomes black.

Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and steam for 10 minutes.  After the 10 minutes, take out the peppers and use a knife to remove the skin, seeds and stem.  Dice the peppers and sauté with the onions until tender.

 

Add the sugar and cook until caramelized, then deglaze with the vinegar and simmer for a couple minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until a jam like consistency.

Remove from pan and cool.  Store the relish and use as a jam or jelly.  Enjoy!

 

Heirloom Tomato Jam

Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years.  They are classified in four categories: family heirlooms, commercial heirlooms, mystery heirlooms and created heirlooms. These are grown for many reasons, such as historical interest, access to wider varieties, and by people who wish to save seeds from year to year.  Their taste is widely perceived to be better than modern tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes have a shorter shelf life and are less disease resistant than most commercial tomatoes. They also lack a genetic mutation that gives tomatoes an appealing uniform red color which sacrifices the fruit’s sweet taste.

Within the last year I have taken a greater interest in pickling and canning, which has driven me to spend more time making jams and chutneys.  This recipe is one of my favorite jam recipes with a nice heat.

Start out by washing and removing the stems of the tomatoes.  If using large tomatoes, dice them roughly to the size of a garlic clove.  Place the tomatoes in the bottom of a medium sized pot and begin to heat up the pot to just below medium heat.

Layer the rest of your ingredients and begin to stir until they are all combined completely.  Let the ingredients simmer together.  Check and stir the jam every 10 minutes until it begins to thicken.  As the mixture gets thick you will need to stir more frequently so not to burn the bottom.

Once the jam is to the thickness you desire (depending on what you are planning on using it for), blend half of the jam either in a stationary blender or with a stick blender.  Remove the pot from the heat and taste.  Season with extra salt or vinegar to find the exact flavor you love.

      

Place the jam into pre-boiled glass canning jars and top with the lid.  Set jars in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes then remove and let cool on counter.  After an hour, place in refrigerator and cool completely.  Check to make sure once it has cooled the top of the jar has suctioned down and canned properly.

Finally, serve on a burger, toast and cheese or however you would like.  Have fun and enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Jam Recipe

5 pounds heirloom tomatoes (roughly chopped) – in my opinion, I believe that heirloom tomatoes have the best flavor when in season

2 small yellow onions, diced

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 lemons juiced

1 green apple, finely diced

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3/4 teaspoon cumin

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 dried or fresh chilie of your choice (destemed and deseeded)

 

Stone Fruit Saffron and Raspberry Jam

Stone Fruit Saffron and Raspberry Jam,

Making your own jam and jelly is very simple and easy to make with the flavors that you love.  I took my simple jam recipe and added saffron and raspberry to make a more complex and flavorful spread.

First start by washing and removing the pits from the fruit, then start simmering them with sugar, lemon juice, saffron, and raspberries.

Cook until the fruit is tender then remove from the heat.  Let it cool to room temperature.
Puree the mixture until smooth and strain through a fine meshed strainer.  Bring the mixture (in a clean pot) to a boil and cook until it reaches 215 degrees.  Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until the jam is reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Cool the jam and can in jars and use as you desire.

I love to spread the jam over potato cakes for breakfast with a fried egg or even simply over a piece of toast to have as a quick snack.
It is very easy to modify this recipe by subbing in your favorite fruits and your favorite seasonings.  Enjoy the experimenting and be sure let me know what you create from this base recipe – I would love to hear about it!

Ingredients:
12 cups stone fruit
1 ½ cups sugar
1 lemon juiced
1 tablespoon saffron
1 pint raspberry

 

Guinness Glaze Syrup

Guinness is my favorite beer so whenever I get the chance to cook with it, mostly around St. Patricks’ day, I jump on it. This is a recipe I pull out every year.

The glaze is very simple and can be used in several applications. Just think of it as a simple syrup but using the Guinness instead of water. Start with equal parts by volume of Guinness and sugar, so 1 quart of Guinness and 1 quart of sugar. Combine the two in a pot and warm over medium heat.

Whisk as it warms to dissolve the sugar evenly then allow to simmer until the syrup thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Once the syrup is finished, cool and store in an airtight container.

The glaze tastes great as a dipping sauce with olive oil for fresh bread and is also a great sauce for sweet baby back ribs. I also like to use it as a sauce on an Irish Car Bomb Sunday.

Whatever you decide to use it with, just make sure you save half of the six pack for yourself.