Sweet Peach Tea Jam

What do you do when someone sends you fabulous barbecue sauce? Mine is made by Jay Ducote, who you may recognize as a runner-up on Season 11 of the reality show Food Network Star. The man's from Louisiana, and his barbecue sauce is spicy and full of sass.

Of course I tasted the sauce in a lot of ways. Grilled chicken slathered with the stuff is great, by the way, truly great. Meatloaf sandwiches with BBQ-mayo got thumbs-up from my hubby. But what could I do to bring that BBQ taste to something non-traditional?

There I was, sipping peach iced tea, nibbling the last BBQ chicken leg, and suddenly the idea arrived - what about a BBQ-peach tea jam? It would be a little sweet, a little spicy, and have all the flavors of summer. What would a jam be like? Or if I didn't put in extra fruit, would it be a jelly?

I call it jam, and it's fabulous. It's dark and thick, with a texture like apple butter. You can't call this stuff a jelly, it's just too robust and opaque for that. And the taste - wow! It goes well with any sharp cheese, with pork from chops to roast to cold ham. Make a sandwich with ham, sharp aged Cheddar, thin slivers of apple, and this jam, and your tastebuds will sing to you.

This makes a quite small batch of jam: you'll most likely end up with 2 8-ounce jars (seal these) and about half a jar (stick that in the refrigerator and use it first!) You'll find that a small batch goes together amazingly quickly.

Sweet Peach Tea Jam
by Maurita Plouff blogging at Get the Good Stuff!
Makes 2 8-ounce jars, plus a bit extra

1 cup peach iced tea (I used Snapple)
1 cup Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 Tablespoons powdered pectin
1 cup sugar

Prepare the jars:
First, prepare 3 8-ounce jars. They need to be super clean, so if you have a dishwasher with a "sterilize" cycle use that, otherwise, put clean jars in a pot of hot water, making sure to cover the jars by 2 inches. Bring the water to a big rolling boil, and keep it boiling for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Carefully take the jars from the hot water, and set them upside down on a clean kitchen towel. Cover the pot of hot water, you'll need it again.

Make the jam:
Now for the jam itself: Combine the peach tea, BBQ sauce, lemon juice, and pectin in 2 quart pot, and set it over high heat. Bring this mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring often. A full boil is so strong that you can't make the bubbles go away no matter how much you stir.

Add all the sugar at once, stirring to dissolve it. Return the pot to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.

Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving one-half inch space at the top. You'll probably have 2 full jars and one partway filled. Wipe off the jar rims and put on lids. Screw on bands finger tight. Set aside the partly filled jar to cool; this one will go into the refrigerator. The others will be sealed in a waterbath process.

Seal the jars:
Carefully lower the closed jars back into the pot of hot water, and bring the pot back to a full boil. Boil the filled jars for 10 minutes (set a timer!) Remove the jars and let stand on that folded kitchen towel again. As the jars cool, you'll hear a cheerful ping! sound when the lids snap into a seal.

That's it! Your sealed jars will keep in a cool dark cupboard for 6-9 months, but I predict you'll eat it all up long before that.

Savory Chicken & Goat Cheese Tart

Whether you’re making sweet or savory tarts, there are so many delicious options to enjoy. And, when my kids are home for family dinner on Sunday, this is often their request. Tarts are relatively easy to make, but much easier when you have a couple of extra hands around, as we often do during our family dinners. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Savory Chicken & Goat Cheese Tart
by Lori Churchill
Serves 6

Pastry Dough - Adapted from my mom’s Savory Pastry Dough Recipe:

1 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour
1 cup quinoa flour
1 cup unsalted butter - cold
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons - ice water

Filling:

1 red onion - medium
2-3 Tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 tomato - medium
2 chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons Better Than Bouillon - Chicken Paste
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 Tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 Tablespoons goat cheese
Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard
6 tart pans - 4.5 inches wide by 3.75 inches deep

Begin by adding your dry ingredients to a food processor and quickly pulse a couple of times to mix together. Pour approximately 1 cup of water in another bowl, add ice and allow to chill. Cut butter into 1/2-inch pats, then quarters. Butter should be kept cold until use and handled as little as possible. Add butter to flour mixture in food processor and pulse until it’s about the consistency of very course bread crumbs. Add 1/4 cup water plus 2 Tablespoons and gently pulse until dough comes together. Utah is a very dry climate, so depending on where you live, you may not need the additional 2 Tablespoons of water. Divide dough into 6 even pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten like a small disc, then chill for at least 30 minutes.

Slice onion into 1/4-inch rings, then slice rings in half. Slowly caramelize in butter, adding salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices. You’ll need one slice for each tart. Place them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle with salt to draw the juices out. Set aside for 30 to 45 minutes or while your chicken breasts are slowly cooking.

Place chicken breast in a sauce pan and add just enough water to cover by about an inch. Add chicken bouillon paste, parsley, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook slowly until chicken is easily shredded with a fork. Remove from sauce pan, let cool then shred chicken and add 1/2 cup of Jay D’s Molasses Mustard, mix well.  Divide the chicken filling into six equal portions and set aside. Save the remaining broth for small pot of soup later in the week.

Assemble Tarts:

Brush each tart pan with butter. One by one, roll out the individual dough rounds to 2 inches larger than the base of your tart pan. Place each dough round in a tart pan, making sure not to handle the dough too much. Once all six tart pans have the dough in them, brush the bottom area of the dough with 1 teaspoon of Jay D’s Molasses Mustard Sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of caramelized onions, 1 slice of tomato, one portion of shredded chicken, and 1 tablespoon of goat cheese crumbled over the top. Fold the sides of the dough over the filling, making five folded edges. Add a sprinkle of pepper.

Place the tarts on a cookie sheet in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Then place on a cooling rack until you can easily remove the tarts from their pan.

Enjoy!

Molasses Mustard BBQ Cookies

They say there are only three types of cookies and that the rest are only variations. Okay, by 'they' I mean my husband.

He believes in: chocolate chip, peanut butter and molasses cookies. So when we came across Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard it seemed a no-brainer to use it to make a perfect molasses cookie.

Molasses Mustard BBQ Cookies
by T.S. Lamb
Modified from Grandma's Molasses Crinkle Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup softened shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 Tablespoons Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup white sugar

Mix the shortening, brown sugar, egg, molasses and molasses mustard.

Stir in flour.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients, up through white sugar.

Cover mixture and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Heat oven to 375°F.

Roll dough into melon ball size balls. Roll in white sugar and place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on how crisp of a cookie you like.

Enjoy!

Shish Kebabs with Beef Marinade

With barbecue season in full swing. Jay D's barbecue sauce is a welcome addition to barbecue season. This marinade will make the cheapest cuts tender. You will want to make a double batch of the sauce, as one batch was not enough to marinade and serve with the cooked kebabs

Shish Kebabs with Beef Marinade
by Nancy Follwell
Recipe adapted from my mom

1 pound steak cubes (I used top round)
1 yellow pepper, large chunks
1 yellow onion, large chunks
10 shish kebab skewers

Soak skewers in cold water while making the marinade (recipe follows). Drain the beef cubes from the marinade and alternate beef, peppers and onions on the skewers.. Before placing on the grill, baste both sides with more marinade. Grill kebabs until done to your liking. Serve kebabs with warmed Steak Marinade.

Steak Marinade

1/2 cup Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons oil

Make double batch of marinade. Add ingredients to a small pot and heat to boiling. Let cool to warm and pour over the meat (do not pour the boiling Steak Marinade over the beef or it will cook the meat).  Let rest for several hours, overnight is best. Drain meat and add remaining marinade to a small pot, heat and serve with the cooked kebabs.

Pulled Pork and Peach Quesadillas with Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard

As soon as I tasted Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard I though of Sid's smoked butt and Ruston peaches. I'm not sure if the weather has delayed the peach crop or if my memory of peaches in June is crazy. I drove through Ruston last weekend just hoping to see peaches for sale, no such luck. The ones I found in my favorite grocery store were still just fine. This recipe was really done to my taste and can be adjusted as you like. I'm keeping my eyes open for Ruston peaches and ordering some more of Jay's sauces. My boys are all thrilled because they had all been threatened if they touched them before I got my recipe done.

I started with a pork butt Sid smoked overnight. He rubbed it down with his favorite rub and smoked it 14 hours at 250°F. I reserved one pound to use for this recipe.

Pulled Pork and Peach Quesadillas with Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard
by Melissa Cook

1 pound of pulled pork
1 1/2 peach, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard - 1/3 cup plus 3 Tablespoons and 3 teaspoons, divided
6 corn tortillas
1 cup Cojita cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup Crema Mexicana
Purple onion, diced small
Cilantro
Lime wedges

While the smoker is still warm, toss the peach slices in 3 Tablespoons of Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard. Place them in the smoker for 20 minutes. Shred the pork and toss it in 1/3 cup of the Molasses Mustard. Once the peaches are warm, dice them and add them to the pork. Mix 1/3 cup Crema Mexican and 3 teaspoons of the Molasses Mustard. Reserve to garnish.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and place a corn tortilla in it. Sprinkle a layer of Cojita cheese on the tortilla, place the peach and pork mixture over it and top it with a second corn tortilla. Once the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla becomes golden brown, flip the quesadilla and cook until cheese is melted and both sides are golden brown.

Cut in triangles and garnish with Crema, cilantro and purple onions.

Molasses Mustard Crab/Shrimp Balls

I absolutely love seafood. My ultimate favorite is crab. When I tasted Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard while making another recipe, I thought it would add another level to the sweetness of the crab. And it certainly did! This mustard sauce is one of the most versatile items that I have ever tasted. I highly recommend you go to Jays website and order a bottle or two. The recipe I have listed below is for an appetizer portion which can easily be doubled.

Molasses Mustard Crab/Shrimp Balls
by Traci
Adapted from Ritz Crab Balls with Sriracha Aioli by Snack Works

6 Ritz crackers crushed
1 egg beaten
1 Tablespoon melted butter, cooled
2 green onion, chopped with some of the greens
3 Tablespoons Jay D's Louisiana Molasses Mustard
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
3 large shrimp, chopped
Salt to taste
1/2 pound crabmeat (patted dry)
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

In a mixing bowl add all of the ingredients except for the crab and plain breadcrumbs. Mix together until well combined. Gently mix in your crabmeat trying not to break it up too much. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. You can leave it in longer if needed.

About 20 minutes before you are ready to cook these add oil in a large skillet and start heating over med low heat.

On a small plate pour your plain bread crumbs. Start shaping into bite sized balls and roll in the plain bread crumbs. Set aside and finish rolling all your mixture. Add a few at a time into the skillet and cook until nice and golden brown on all sides. You don't want to overcrowd them. Remove and allow to drain. Finish all of your batches. This would be great with a remolade or even just cocktail sauce. Or make a dipping sauce using the Louisiana Molasses Mustard Hmmmmm another recipe?