Jam and Spread Recipes & Ideas

The versatile South Indian condiment is ready in 15 minutes.

The ultimate sauce to wake up tired boneless, skinless chicken breasts is also the easiest to make.

Crostata is a favorite dessert of our family. It’s a simple and basic but extremely flavorful dessert consumed in Italy and the region of Puglia, with the specific coastal town of Vieste being the town that inspired this particular dessert. My in-laws were born in Vieste and my mother in-law makes this dessert every few months (while my wife tends to make it every few weeks) and it’s always a popular choice amongst guests for various family gatherings.

It's the best thing you can do this weekend.

Cranberries are not just for Thanksgiving jelly and sauce; homemade cranberry jam is wonderful on toast or a sandwich too. This is an easy homemade jam recipe that will keep in the fridge for at least two weeks. It’s smoother, sweeter and and thicker than cranberry sauce. We ate it on bread with peanut butter and used it in a pastry for Thanksgiving. It’s tart and sweet with traditional aromas of cinnamon and orange.

This weekend we were treated to a special dirty martini from our favorite pickle joint in town, Rick’s Picks. Just in time. In an effort to get you ready for summer, we’re going to kick off a week of original cocktail recipes, and we begin with a bang: it’s Pickletini time.This weekend we held a little book party here in the office for the launch of Maxwell’s new book.

At the beginning of the summer, when we were still picking out plants and herbs for our container garden and dreaming of August’s tomatoes, we thought some pepper plants might be a fun change of pace from the usual choices — who wouldn’t love fresh pico de gallo or sliced fresh banana peppers at the height of summer’s heat?

There are lots of ways to heat up your drinks, from fresh cracked peppercorns to wasabi and my personal fave — freshly grated horseradish. Add the endless array of fresh peppers (habañeros, serranos, thai bird chilies, etc.) and the even wider variety of hot sauces out there, and you’re choices are endless. Flavored and infused spirits are in the spice game, too, from vodka to tequila.

I love making various dips and spreads to keep on hand for whenever I want a snack. Humus is simple to whip up but lately I’ve been into beans. This spread, which comes from famed chef Alfred Portale of the Gotham Bar and Grill, is a unique take on a classic white bean dip. The white truffle oil really elevates the humble beans to a whole new level.

Earlier this week, we shared pictures of fresh shell beans at the farmers’ market. Rattlesnake beans in particular caught our eye with their colorful, twisty pods. We brought some home, shelled them, and were delighted to find purple and brown striped and speckled seeds (above). Given our love of farmers’ market sandwiches, we cooked them into a hearty shell bean and sage spread for toasty bread.

We modeled this dish after something similar we’ve seen ready-made at Whole Foods. It couldn’t be simpler, and you can buy half the ingredients in one trip to the olive bar at the grocery store.Here’s what you do: Pick up a block of fresh feta cheese. Then head to the olive bar and fill a container with a mixture of black and green olives, plus whatever else looks good to you.

We recently harvested and dried a bunch of pink pepper and have been playing with ways to savor this delicately sweet, spicy, and almost citrusy berry. Here are two bright and festive appetizer recipes that pair pink peppercorns with thyme: a warm, creamy goat cheese spread, and zesty marinated olives.For a quick yet elegant baguette or crostini spread, we drizzled fresh goat cheese with honey, pink pepper, and thyme and baked it until soft and bubbly.

It’s funny that when I look back on life, from the cupcakes I’d bring into school for birthdays to the ice cream my family ate on that summer vacation to the time where my parents and my brother ate lobster while wearing giant plastic bibs, I often seen things in terms of food. Like Christmas.

We get a lot of recipe inspiration from restaurant dishes. One recent meal inspired not only a recipe, but a serving idea, as well. We tried a trio of dips at Chickpea, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Chicago, and the one that really got our attention was a zucchini, mint and yogurt spread called Koosa ma Laban. But we were also quite taken with all the wonderful colors in the restaurant’s decor and serving plates.

It’s funny how we can maintain that we don’t like a certain food, even as evidence mounts to the contrary. Me, I’ve had a lifelong aversion to eggplant. So when a couple of fat ones appeared in our CSA box, I automatically filled with dread. What on earth would I do with these ghastly vegetables (err, fruits)?

Fajitas taste best when the meat and veggies come straight off the grill, no question. But don’t let that stop you when it comes to getting your fajita fix. I make this recipe entirely on the stovetop, where the spicy chicken picks up a touch of char from the grill pan and the peppers cook until they are completely tender. Add a dollop of creamy black bean spread and we have dinner.

At the end of a long day or work week, we’re all in need of a little escape. While we’d always like to be whisked away to Bermuda or a luxurious spa, a more ordinary night finds us at home, snuggled up with a good book. It’s a simple pleasure, but one of the best, especially with a little treat to keep us company. Want to meet our latest favorite book-reading snack? Homemade hazelnut chocolate spread, with real dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts.

You probably know pesto as a bright herb- and olive oil-laden sauce that gets tossed with pasta, swirled in bread, and topped on pizza. This version, which boasts a more subtle flavor and a light texture, is nothing like traditional pesto yet right in line with it — all at the same time. This whipped pesto takes a departure from the traditional herb pesto and instead pulls much of its flavor from its main ingredient: fresh stalks of asparagus.

As the weather gets warmer, I like to do everything I can with cucumbers — including using up the peel. Like any good Southerner, I often make marinated cucumbers, or “refrigerator pickles.” This quick mix of thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers, vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili flakes is a fail-proof and delicious side salad, but it always leaves me with a heaping pile of peels I hate to throw away.

Au revoir, Paris! Ann Mah takes us off the tourist path on a culinary tour of France’s favorite regional foods. This herb-flecked farmer’s cheese is a classic recipe from Lyon, which is considered the gastronomic capital of France. Cervelle de canut translates literally to “silk-weaver’s brains.

What do pancakes, puppies, and pillows have in common? Fluff! Nine out of 10 pancake connoisseurs (aka, my friends) agree that fluffiness is the most desirable trait in pancake prep (and puppies and pillows, too). The tenth guy said “soft,” but he’s never been one for words. There are a few tried-and-true ways to achieve ultimate pancake fluff, one of them being Chef Clayton Miller’s tip to incorporate three whipped egg whites for soufflé-like cakes.

When I set out to make rhubarb curd, I imagined a jar full of shockingly pink spread to dollop on toast, scones, and ice cream. As it turns out, my eggs were so deep yellow in color that the final result looked more like traditional lemon than rhubarb. A bit disappointing, yes, but the flavor was so lovely that I quickly rebounded from this minor misfortune.

Ridiculously creamy, light-bodied lemon curd that comes from a high-speed blender seems too good to be true, right? Since this custard-like curd is usually cooked slowly and gently on the stove to avoid the risk of curdling, you’d think so. But it’s not too good to be true! And the results are more lush and dreamy than you may have ever thought possible. Here’s how to make your dream a reality. I am the first to tell you I was skeptical.

Last winter we started a little love affair with lemon curdWe were hoping this tangerine curd would turn out bright orange, and it did not. We’re realizing that the color of curd comes largely from the egg yolks rather than the citrus juice. Also, because we weren’t being as fastidious in our stirring as we should have been, a tiny bit of yolk got scrambled and we had to strain our curd before adding the butter, losing the flecks of zest that would have given it more color.

Lemon curd is one of those things that I always like to have in my refrigerator. It has saved me more than once when I’ve had to rustle up a last minute dessert or had an unexpected guest stop by at tea time. I love how lemon curd is tart (at least the way I make it!) and yet rich and smooth. Honestly, I could just eat spoonfuls of it straight from the jar! Classically, lemon curd is served with tea, where it is spread on scones, biscuits, and shortbread.

Try this Hungarian twist on classic kugel this year.

Nandita Godbole of Atlanta, Georgia, is originally from India, and she wanted to create her own version of Thanksgiving for her family. No matter the menu, this cranberry-cherry chutney is always on the table.

We’re talking about local apples this week, and we couldn’t let the week pass without a mention of crab apples. Crab apples are the wild, cherry-sized fruit clustered on trees all over our neighborhood this time of year. The trees are prized for their hardiness and gorgeous flowers, but the fruit usually goes to waste. Have you ever tasted a raw crab apple? So sour it will make your mouth pucker and your eyes squeeze up!

This is tofu like you've never seen it before.

Savor the best of summer with this simple recipe.

Slow-cooker fruit butter is a simple solution for preserving large quantities of fruit without any canning equipment or heating up the stove.

You'll get one perfect jar of jam and a new weekly ritual.

Last spring, I attended a party at which the dessert was an enormous tray of ripe, local strawberries. The berries were artfully arranged around a jar of honey from nearby hives. And though the berries were plenty sweet all on their own, our host encouraged us to dip the strawberries in the honey before taking a bite. The combination of strawberries and honey was a revelation. Within minutes, I started imagining a strawberry preserve sweetened with honey.

This recipe began as a way to use up a big bunch of sweet Texas onions and a handful of fresh thyme, cooking them down into a thick, sweet and savory jam that we intended to throw in the freezer for some future use. But after slathering a spoonful onto homemade bread, we were hooked and the jam never quite made it into the freezer…We have been relishing the jam on crackers and bread – by itself or with a bit of tangy goat cheese that perfectly complements the onions and herbs.

How lucky am I to be on vacation a few miles away from a small roadside grove of wild plum trees? A friend who was in Northern California a few weeks ago tipped me off to the secret spot and it was our first — and now a daily — destination. The first crop came home in our in-flight dog carrier with a few extra slung in the skirt of my daughter’s dress.

Every now and then a recipe comes along that just about slaps you in the face it’s so good. (Bonus points when it’s lightning fast and incredibly easy.) That’s what happened when I first sampled this Mission fig jam. My mind was completely blown! This recipe for Mission fig jam is considered a “quick jam” because it uses dried fruit as opposed to fresh, and it doesn’t go through the traditional canning process.

The simple art of small-batch jams is something to celebrate and share. It’s like saying, “Hey, I have all this delicious, ripe fruit that I am going to whip up, and you — lucky recipient — are so special to me that I am going to share all this goodness and love with you.” When words alone can’t send the message strong enough, say it with jam!

I am a lousy jam maker. It’s something I’ve become comfortable with after numerous seasons of buying different canning books and thinking the problem was rooted in the fact that I hadn’t found proper instruction. Then I bought cute jars thinking I needed an aesthetic nudge. Turns out neither are true.

Making bacon jam is the greatest gift you can give to your future self.

The heaviest, most awkwardly wrapped and cautiously placed gift under my Christmas tree this year was a bowl full of homegrown Meyer lemons. While here in New York we’re fully ensconced in cellared vegetable season (turnips! beets! potatoes!) my family in California is kicking off citrus season, so I was lucky to have some beautiful Meyers brought straight from Los Angeles.

When the herb garden starts going crazy, or you just couldn’t control yourself at the market and ended up bringing home way more herbage than you needed for that one little recipe, it’s time to make herb butter. Keep it in the fridge and slather it on grilled fish, poultry, or red meat, veggies like corn on the cob, or put a nice pat of it on your favorite piping hot bread.

This is how you enjoy the taste of fresh summer peaches all year long.

To answer Elizabeth’s question, here in California we are blissfully deep in the middle of strawberry season. My Mystery Box provider has been bringing in flats of dead ripe organic strawberries for over a month now and I usually cannot resist an extra pint or two.But when we got hit with an unseasonable heat wave here last week, I knew I had to do something with them right away, since I usually don’t refrigerate my strawberries.

Earlier this week, we mentioned our newfound love of muhammaraOriginated in Syria, muhammara is a great addition to our usual rotation of hummus, tzatziki and baba ghanoush – particularly when friends stop by – and its bright color and flavors make it a standout. It also has great versatility. Eat it with pita, crudité, grilled meats or vegetables, on a sandwich – the possibilities are endless.And it couldn’t be simpler to make.

Home cooks have to be a careful when it comes to a cookbook written by a restaurant chef. There often can be a disconnect between what it takes to get restaurant food onto our home tables when we don’t have exotic ingredients flown to our doors and a dozen employees to prep them, not to mention years of professional training and the extraordinarily high btu’s of a huge, multi-burner professional stove.

There’s nothing like the briny crunch of a cocktail onion to complement a Gibson’s bracing coolness (in fact, garnished any other way, the drink would just be called a MartiniWe had a bag of raw pearl onions in the pantry, leftover from another recipe, and decided to try whipping up a batch for ourselves.