Too much time on my hands? Perhaps. I was bored at lunchtime and I didn't want a third day of Italian pasta leftovers, so I thought I'd make myself a cheese souffle. I used a mix of cheddar and parmesan and I had an odd hankering to drizzle some strawberry jam over the finished product. Mostly because I also made strawberry jam today. I won't bother with the souffle recipe, as I've previously given a link, but really, it's not even necessary. Make a bechamel with a 1/2 teaspoon of butter, add a tablespoon of flour and cook, add some milk, add some cheese, season it, blend in two egg yolks. Meanwhile, beat two egg whites till they form firm peaks and fold the two mixtures together.
A few days ago I bought a couple of pounds of strawberries (super cheap at Aldi's for only $1.59/lb) and used just under a pound to infuse into a bottle of vodka. Yesterday I made myself a drink from the strawberry vodka, a bit of limoncello, lemon juice and club soda. It would be perfect for summer time and hot weather.
The rest of the strawberries were sitting in the refrigerator and I was thinking I would let them go bad if I didn't use them up all at once. So I decided to make an easy jam that doesn't require pectin. The recipe I found is super easy - two cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice to every pound of strawberries. Cut up the strawberries, smoosh them up a bit, add the sugar and juice and cook to a rolling boil. Technically the temp you are aiming for is 220F. I don't currently have a cooking thermometer, so I eyeballed the process and stopped after the boiled for a good 15-20 minutes.
Once it's refrigerated, it will thicken up considerably. If you want to make bigger quantities and can for later, you can process your canning jars in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, the jam will last a decent amount of time in the fridge.
I was really craving a savory and sweet combination, so I was absorbed with the idea of drizzling the jam on my souffle. I think it worked.
I was really craving a savory and sweet combination, so I was absorbed with the idea of drizzling the jam on my souffle. I think it worked.
2 comments:
I have been known to pour strawberry syrup on my cheese omelet at IHOP :)
Exactly the same thing!
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