We're Jammin'

I have to say that this is my new favorite condiment. I first had it on a burger in New Haven after I went to see a play with my friends. I wasn't sure what to expect but was too hungry to care. I order sliders with this onion jam and some other stuff on them and I was blown away by how great it tasted. So, I decided to try and make it myself. I think I have come up with a pretty good interpretation. My favorite way to have this is on a burger with bacon and blue cheese. It is freaking delicious. So get ready to jam out with this stuff! You won't be sorry.

Sweet Onion Jam

2 sweet onions, sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
2 Tbs bacon grease
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 cup white wine (dry)
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 Cup red wine vinegar

Saute onions in bacon grease over low heat until soft and golden
Add salt, pepper and herb and continue to saute until herbs soften
Add remaining ingredients and simmer low until liquid has evaporated and mixture becomes thick and sticky. Be careful not to burn it - keep stirring, especially towards the end.
Remove bay leaves.
Let cool and store in clean jar in refrigerator.

Holiday Things

This weekend was Memorial Day so we had our annual get-together. With the sketchy weather turn out was disappointing. It will probably be the last time we do something like this since we have so much food leftover it seems like a waste of our time and money. Don't get me wrong, we had fun but it's a lot of work hosting a party. Next time we will go to somebody else's party, lol. For this party I concocted a sweet and sour crab dip that I developed based on how I like to eat crab rangoon at those Chinese buffets. I like them with sweet and sour sauce. At first people were scared of it because it looked strange but once they tried it they were gobbling it up. I served it with wheat thins but fried wontons would be good or just use it to make actual crab rangoons.

Sweet and Sour Seafood Dip
1 can crab meat
1 can tiny shrimp
1 block cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs sugar
3-4 green onions, chopped fine
1 bottle prepared sweet and sour sauce (I used LaChoy brand)

Place all the ingredients except the sweet and sour sauce in a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Beat together until combined. Place in a bowl or if your feeling fancy mold it into a shape on a plate. Pour sweet and sour sauce over the mixture and serve with crackers.

Stuff It!

My husbands' granddaughter had her first birthday last week. As usual, I was asked to make something. Stuffed mushrooms were requested. I was then told that if I made my crab stuffed mushrooms I would have to make another variety because someone had an allergy. yeah, guess what I am NOT making! I said I would make my pizza stuffed mushrooms and originally decided I would make the traditional pepperoni and a supreme version (pepperoni, sausage, peppers and onions). Well, when it cam time to make them I decided the pepperoni ones were enough and they were a hell of a lot easier to make than the supreme version. That left me with the leftover ingredients to deal with. I made stuffed peppers for dinner out of it. The husband whined about how he didn't like stuffed peppers. He has no idea how close he came to getting shanked with a fork. When all was said and done he said they were the best stuffed peppers he had ever had. Go figure! This stuffing would seriously taste good in anything. Stuff it into mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, you name it. He actually put some of the leftover stuffing in an omelet the next morning and it was pretty killer. So, go crazy with it.

Erika's Stuffing for Anything
1 pound bulk Italian Sausage
5-6 cloves garlic, crushed (we like garlic and go heavy with it)
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, grated
about a dozen pepperoni slices, chopped fine
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
salt, to taste

Brown sausage with the onions and garlic until cooked through. Add zucchini and pepperoni and continue to saute until zucchini is soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir until everything is evenly distributed and mixed together. Stuff filling inside of anything!