Hot Pepper Jelly

I had never tried hot pepper jelly until my mother-in-law Judie served it at a party. She put out a block of cream cheese and poured the hot pepper jelly over it. I spread the combination on a cracker, took a bite and I was hooked. After that I made sure to buy hot pepper jelly whenever we visited. Until one day I found a source closer to home. But now I don't even need to leave the house (if you don't count shopping for the peppers). And the great thing about making it myself is that I can control the heat and leave out the food coloring. Sweet. (And spicy.)

HOT PEPPER JELLY

Yield: 3 pints

2/3 cup* roughly chopped hot peppers (such as habanero, jalapeño or serrano)

1 red or green bell pepper

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

6 cups sugar

1 (6 oz.) box Sure-Jell Certo liquid fruit pectin (2 packets)

*Keep in mind that not all hot peppers are created equal. In fact, the small habaneros are much hotter than the larger jalapenos. So please adjust the amount to taste.

1.      Roughly chop all the peppers (you can leave in the seeds from the hot peppers if you like your jelly extra hot). Use gloves and keep your fingers away from your eyes when you chop hot peppers.

2.      Place the hot peppers and bell pepper in a blender with both the vinegars. Blend well and pour into a medium pot.

3.      Add sugar and mix well. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

4.      Remove from heat, strain through sieve and return to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

5.      Remove from heat; add the liquid fruit pectin and quickly stir.

6.      Immediately pour into 6 half-pint jars (or 3 pint jars) and seal.

adapted from food.com, submitted by Jellyqueen 

I didn't measure, I just used 2 habaneros and 2 jalapeños.
I wanted to use only habaneros, so the color would be a more
vibrant orange/red, but there were only 2 left at the store.
Oh well. In the end, the green didn't take away from the
color all that much. I think it still came out looking decent.
If you want your jelly to come out green, obviously you
should use only green peppers.

I'm a little wimpy, so I removed the ribs and seeds.
This was just the right amount of heat for me. I'm
sure plenty of you out there can handle it much hotter.

hot peppers with red bell pepper and vinegars

after blending well in food processor

mixing in evaporated cane sugar

boiling for 1 minute

straining

You can skip this step if you like the bits of pepper in your jam.

strained mixture back in pot

boiling for 5 minutes

adding the liquid fruit pectin

You can add some red or green food coloring along with
the pectin if you want the color more vibrant. I didn't add
any (I don't really need my jelly to be visible from space).

mixed and ready to jar

ladling into a jar

I used 4 half-pint jars and 1 full-pint jar.

I don't know anything about real canning, so I used the hot
water bath method: Place jars in a large pot with a rack on
the bottom. Cover jars with 1-2 inches of water and boil for
5 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

I didn't have a rack that fit my pan, so I put little
metal cups under my jars to keep them off the bottom.
It worked. I didn't need to seal the large jar (that's
already open and in play in our refrigerator).

hot pepper jelly close up

on a cracker with cream cheese (do this)

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Roman Style Chicken

I was looking up some general facts about Rome on the computer (you know, a typical Wednesday night). Most have to do with history, art, religion, and architecture (no mention of chicken). But even if Julius Caesar wasn't munching on a plate of these while he watched gladiators battling it out at the Coliseum, I'll bet he would have, if someone had been so kind as to offer. Something tells me he would have appreciated the bold, fresh flavors.

ROMAN-STYLE CHICKEN

Yield: 6 servings

8 chicken thighs or breasts, with bones (with or without skin)

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1 teaspoon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

3 oz. prosciutto, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons capers

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1.      Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2.      Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

3.      If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

barely adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

browning the chicken

chicken browned

yellow and red peppers

sliced peppers

prosciutto

oregano and thyme

peppers and prosciutto in the pan

adding the garlic

adding the tomatoes, wine and herbs

adding back the chicken (chicken stock added)

chicken cooked...adding the capers and parsley

mixed and ready

Only I thought it was a little liquidy, so I removed the chicken
and cooked the sauce for another 20 minutes or so to reduce it.
If I'd been serving it over pasta or rice, I might not have
bothered (that's one reason I didn't change it on the recipe).

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Caramel-Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel

I'm just going to say it, I think Valentine's Day is bullshit. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of love and expressing your feelings. I just don't believe you have to do it on February 14th. If you ask me, it's forced and meaningless. If I'm not feeling the love the rest of the year, don't jam it down my throat on V-Day. But that doesn't mean you can't make some luscious homemade candy for your loved ones. Or heart shaped cookies or cupcakes or chocolate molton lava cake. Because let's face it, food is love. I know it's wrong and I should see a shrink, but it's true. At least for those of us who have big passion for food (I can't really relate to people who don't, although I envy them when my pants don't fit).

CARAMEL-CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WITH FLEUR DE SEL

Makes about 32

20 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (divided)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1.      Place 8 oz. of the chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.

2.      Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

3.      Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

4.      Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Place remaining 12 oz. chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115° F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

from Bon Appétit, January 2004

melting the chocolate (I used Callebaut)

Do I need to say use good chocolate? Because obviously,
the better the chocolate, the better your truffles will be.

sugar and water

brushing the side of the pan

caramelized

adding the cream

The caramelized sugar will most likely seize up on you
and be lumpy. Just keep stirring and it will melt into
the cream and become smooth.

adding fleur de sel to the melted chococlate

mixing in the caramel mixture

caramel-chocolate mixed

I let mine chill overnight and it was rock solid, so I took it
out of the fridge for a while before I started rolling my truffles.

chocolate ball

That was the first one. By the time I was finished, both
my hands were completely covered in chocolate (along
with the table, phone, camera and most of the kitchen).

rolling in cocoa

covered in cocoa

And if you just don't have it in you to melt
more chocolate and dip, you can stop right here.

But I melted...

...and dipped

...and sprinkled

It was worth it.

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