I’m just back from my first “destination wedding”. I’d always thought I’d get asked to one on a beach or in a vineyard, so I was a little let down to discover that that my first destination wedding was going to be in Birmingham. Well here’s the deal, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. This wedding took place on a gorgeous evening in a sunlit field, behind a beautiful old farmhouse, with happy people, dancing children, and lots of family who don’t often get together. It would have looked like a Ralph Lauren photo shoot, except some of us were over 35. There was champagne and shrimp and a cake with plenty of icing (a bad cake can ruin a perfectly good wedding for me). I’m so glad I got to go with my mother and my sister, but now I’m home with no excuse to postpone pepper jelly making any longer.
In fact, I feel guilty for not getting it done before I left, so I’ve got one big one master recipe for pepper jelly and five little ones for using it. Of course there are so many things to do with pepper jelly that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to let your imagination run wild!
Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh hot peppers
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 pouch pectin (I used Certo)
sterilized jelly jars (This recipe makes about six 8 oz jars)
Directions
Chop bell pepper and hot pepper in a food processor until finely minced.
Combine pepper mixture, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a
rolling boil. Remove from heat and add pectin. Return to a boil. Boil one minute and remove from heat.
Pour (carefully!) into jars. I tried to make those little fabric toppers for my jars but it made them look sad and homeless. I think the color of the jelly is so pretty they just need labels!
Five Recipes Using Pepper Jelly!
I’m not listing ingredient amounts because it’s easy to make these dishes for one or ten by just adjusting what you use; for example, one chicken breast per person in the Easy Stir Fry and as many veggies as you like!
Kicked Up Monte Cristo: Mix equal parts of mayo and pepper jelly, spread evenly over two slices of bread, layer ham or turkey with Swiss cheese. Dip finished sandwich into lightly beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, and brown in melted butter in a skillet.
Easy Stir-Fry: In a skillet, sauté chicken slices in canola oil, add a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies, or your own mix of fresh chopped veggies (grocery salad bar anyone?) season with teriyaki sauce and stir in pepper jelly until melted.
Drunken Salmon: Stir together equal parts of Jack Daniels, honey, melted butter and pepper jelly. Spread over salmon, and bake or grill until done.
Spicy Turkey Burgers: Mix together ground turkey, melted butter, dried sage, and pepper jelly, season generously with Montreal Steak Seasoning, and throw on the grill.
Pepper Jelly Vinegrette: Put olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard and pepper jelly in a jar. A little finely diced garlic makes it even better. Shake it up and enjoy on your favorite salad.
