Tasty Tomato Jam

February is apparently the month for pizza making. Seemed like every time I checked my reader, someone had posted something about pizza. With a month’s worth of inspiration, I had pizza on the brain, so we made pizzas on Sunday night. And they were good, but I don’t really want to talk about pizzas, per se. Instead I’m going to talk about tomato jam, which is what we used instead of traditional pizza sauce.



I’ve had versions that are overly sweet and didn’t care much for them. In my opinion, the perfect tomato jam is both sweet and sour. I can’t recall ever seeing tomato jam in stores (although I’ve never really looked). Luckily, it’s not difficult to make but does require about an hour's time (mostly passive). But it’s time well spent because this stuff is delicious.

Tomato Jam with Sun-dried Tomatoes
Makes about 2 cups

• 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 to 5 tbs sugar, to taste
  
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 to 3 tbs red wine vinegar
• ½ cup water
• ½ to 1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• 3 or 4 sprigs thyme (optional)

In a medium pot, sauté the sun-dried tomatoes with the shallot and garlic over medium-low heat until the shallot is soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Sun-dried tomatoes burn pretty easily, so don’t crank up the heat and stir it occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients and bring it up to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer covered for ½ hour. Remove the lid and turn up the heat a little to get the liquid to evaporate off faster. Cook until the mixture reaches the consistency of jam. Store in a clean, airtight container in the fridge for up to 1week. This is also perfect for canning, if you are experienced with that sort of thing.

I like to use this jam for pizza, on top of poached or over-medium eggs, in turkey or roast beef sandwiches, on crostini with a slice of hard sheep’s milk cheese, on the side served with grilled or roasted meats…the possibilities are endless!

Someone Call 911!

I was going to do a post about Thanksgiving, but after nearly taking off every finger on my left hand*, I need to keep this brief. Typing is slow going as it is and an extra strong mojito is about to catch up with me. So I apologize in advance for any and all spelling and grammatical mistakes or if there are sentences that just plain don't make sense.

What can I say about Thanksgiving..? I’m going to use a frozen organic turkey because I’m testing the idea that frozen turkeys taste better than fresh. I know it sounds unbelievable, but there's a whole debate out there. I will say the best turkey I ever had was frozen (and brined) but that was years ago, and I've yet to experience a turkey worth remembering, whether fresh or frozen.

I’ll also be making creamed spinach, corn muffins and cranberry chutney, the inspiration for which I found in a new (and cool) local food magazine called MIX. I made the chutney in advance and put it in the freezer. That’ll be one less thing to worry about on Turkey Day.

Cranberry Chutney
adapted from MIX Magazine

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbs neutral oil, such as canola or grape seed
• 1 tbs mustard oil (or 1 tsp mustard seeds, finely ground)
• ½ cup minced onion
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1-2 jalapenos (or more to taste), split lengthwise
• ½ tbs grated ginger
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ to 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 12oz bag fresh cranberries
• salt to taste (about ½ to 1 tsp)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, fry the onions, cinnamon stick and jalapenos in the hot oils until the onions start to brown. Add the ginger and cook for about another minute or two. Add the ground spices and turn to mix well. Fry for 30 seconds to a minute. Add the cranberries, sugar and vinegar. Allow to come to a boil and the cranberries start to pop. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the cranberries are soft. Take off the lid and turn up the heat a little to drive off some of the moisture until it becomes the consistency you like. Add salt to taste.


*Here’s what happened: I was going to make a mojito to enjoy with our dinner (Mexican food), but the glass shaker shattered. The cuts were pretty deep and it took about 15 minutes for the bleeding to stop. Have you every tried to compress 3 fingers at once while holding your hand over your head? It’s harder than it sounds.