bon appetit's rhubarb and raspberry jam

once again, it was another washed out weekend here in greensboro and once again, it was another early morning rise for delana and i. it really should be a crime to have to wake up at 3:45 in the morning on a sunday morning. sunday's are meant to sleep in right? i think so. i also think this message needs to be passed on to starbucks....wishful thinking. it's fun but that's all it is, is wishful. so what to do when life gives you rainy days and early mornings? complain? i just did that. so yes you can do that and you can also make jam. jam is what i did yesterday and boy did it turn out gooood.

my inspiration came out of Bon Appetit's March 2008 issue (pg.121?not sure but it sounds right.) i've been wanting to try it since the magazine made its way through my mail slot but have not been able to since the grocery stores around me didn't seem to realize that it was rhubarb season up until this past weekend. so behind the times. the first supermarket i came across that carried these elusive, red stalks had them at a whopping $6 a pound. my cash flow was not as great as my desire to make this jam. i continued on through the produce section, grabbing the stuff i actually needed. once done, delana and i made a stop at the Fresh Market to pick up some almonds since this location carries them in bulk at a much fairer price than the vacuum sealed packs found at our first stop. this second stop satisfied much more than our need for almonds, it also provided us with rhubarb for a $3 a pound. six dollars vs. three dollars? the latter makes for a much happier checking account balance. this along with the half jar of raspberry preserves i had in the fridge, some sugar and water and i was on way to rhubarb and raspberry jam minus the roly polys. i did make profiteroles from gourmet's march issue but i'll post about those later. i guess i too am a little behind on my recipe trials but better late than never. if you too are waiting to try this recipe out don't wait too long because it's definitely something that you're going to want ot have waiting for you in your 'fridge. i had some this morning spread over some toast with a side of oatmeal. delicious.

Bon Appetit's Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam
March 2008 issue

1/2 pound fresh rhubarb, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup raspberry jam



Combine rhubarb, sugar, and 1 tablespoon water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Cover; cook until rhubarb softens to thick pulp, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Mix in jam; cool. do ahead Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill.

heidi swanson's mega scones

Friday I found myself itching to try something new, I wanted to do a little experimentation in the kitchen. i had spent some time during the earlier part of the week just browsing through the countless number of food blogs out there and decided that I wanted to try and make something different, I wanted to try my hand at baking. i'm not a baker, i've tried but my list of successes is quite short. in my browsing, i came across heidi swanson's recipe, over at 101 cookbooks,for these raspberry mega scones that not only looked quite good but also quite do-able and that's what i wanted. the recipe wasn't fussy and the amount of ingredients needed was minimal. perfect. i went with her recipe as a base and made just a few modificiations to suit what i had on hand. Here's my version:





Ingredients:

• 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tbs free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter (2 oz), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/3 c sugar
• 5 oz whole milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 3 oz or 6 tbs cherry preserves

What to do:

start by pre-heating your oven to 375 and lining a cookie sheet with either some parchment paper or a silpat if you have one. if you go with the parchment paper, spray it with some non-stick spray to ensure that the scone doesn't stick to it and possibly tear or break.that's it for the prep work, onto the baking part.

combine your dry ingredients- the flour, baking powder and salt- in a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor. cut your butter into the mix using a pastry blender or take the old fashioned path and use 2 knives. if you have your food processor handy, then just pulse the butter into the mix until it starts to look like small pebbles as shown in one of the picture's above. time for the sugar and a little more pulse action. pulse,pulse. done. onto the milk, lemon zest and vanilla extract. pulse,pulse,pulse. your mixture's coming alive. exciting isn't it? once your done pulsing, take your semi-living mix and lay it onto your lined cooking sheet. i went with heidi's instructions and rolled it out into a 9" square that was 1/2" thick. simple enough. time to dress up the mix with a preserve of your choice. like i said, i went with chunky cherry preserves. i'd bet apricot would be good, even blackberry and quite possibly mango. just go with whatever sounds good to you, mix and match if you wish. when finished, bring the left side over to the middle and then repeat with the right side. at this point, you can either do an egg wash, or brush it with some melted butter and sprinkle it with some sugar,i would try raw or even brown. i just brushed it with some butter this time but i'll definitely try adding the sugar next time.

time for the oven. how long before you can have a piece? 18 minutes. mmmm.

once out, you can wrap it and it'll last i'd say 3 days. you can have it for breakfast or even dessert. heat it up and top if off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. if you take this route, you can maybe heat some more of the preserves and drizzle it over the ice cream. good stuff i think. enjoy.

• question: what do you think your choice preserve(s) would be?
• what other additions would you make to this recipe?
• favorite breakfast treat?
• favorite pastry?
• favorite all around indulgence?

pimiento cheese

until i came to north carolina or "north cackalackee" as it's called by the people who are from here, i had never ever ever heard of pimento cheese. i had heard of pimiento which is just spanish for pepper and of course i had heard of cheese but never the 2 words paired together. i knew the 2 tasted good but i never how good they could taste when combined with a little bit of mayonnaise. here's my take on the southern treat, slightly scaled down with the use of light mayonnaise and 2% shredded cheese.

ingredients:

• 3/4 c light mayonnaise - i'd recommend hellman's
• 2c shredded cheddar cheese- i used Kraft 2% but Cracker Barrel's 2% is also quite good if you're looking to keep this light.
• 1/4 jar of roasted red peppers, minced
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• generous grinds of black pepper

in a large bowl, mix all your ingredients and stir to combine. can be served immediately or stored covered in the refrigerator. Serve as a dip or use as a spread on your favorite sandwich or burger.

looking to compare recipes? here are some links for more ideas:

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