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Butternut Squash Butter does not contain any butter, or even dairy. In fact, it's pure roasted Butternut, a dash of cinnamon, a squeeze of orange, and a drizzle of real Maple Syrup. Doesn't that already sound so darn good?
It's also very addictive and you'll find yourself spreading it on a biscuit, a crostini or stirring it into a bowl of rice and then sneaking a spoonful of it just for the joy of eating it plain (yeah, I did.) 
There are jams, jellies, conserves and preserves and there are also butters. Fruit butters are usually made with apples, pears, peaches and sometimes pumpkins.
The butters are less sweet than jams or jellies. Butters are made by heating up the fruit (or vegetable), pushing it through a sieve or using a blender to puree the pulp, then cooking it with a bit of sweet and sometimes citrus on a fairly high heat and quickly until it is thick and spreadable. There should be no left-over liquid, and stirring is important so it doesn't burn. It takes very little time, and it keeps in the refrigerator for a couple weeks at least.
I think it's called a "butter" because of the smooth, buttery feel in your mouth. If you've ever had Apple Butter you know about the full flavor of pure apple that it gives to just a simple slice of toast, or how it brings an extra zing to a peanut butter sandwich or a bran muffin. This Butternut Butter is like that, but with the warm, cozy, earthy taste of roasted Butternut Squash.
Besides a biscuit or scone topper, this wintery colored spread is also an easy Bruschetta appetizer. Swirl it on top of crostini, add a dollop of goat cheese, sprinkle on crispy bacon and toast on Medium. I ate a plate of these before my friends arrived and I had to make another plate (shhh, don't tell them.)
RECIPE: Butternut Squash Butter
1/2 Butternut Squash (Roasted, seeds removed and pulp scooped out)
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Juice of 1/2 Orange
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
pinch of salt
1) In a saucepan, heat and stir the pulp from the roasted Butternut Squash with all the other ingredients, just until combined and very warm.
2) Carefully, pour all into a blender and puree until smooth, then return to saucepan.
3) Heat and stir the puree on Med. for about 10-15 minutes. Most of the liquid should be gone and the mixture will mound into a smooth spreadable consistency.
4) Taste a cooled portion and adjust seasoning to your desire.
5) Allow to cool, then store in a clean container in the refrigerator. It will last for a couple weeks.
I've been trying this Butternut Squash Butter in so many different things: Stirred into Quinoa, added to the center of cornbread muffins, and mixed into a chicken salad.
If you think of other ways or try them, please add it to the comments here or on the ShowFood Chef Facebook page (HERE.) Thanks for stopping by~
There is so much to love about this Roasted Red Pepper Jelly. It's just so versatile. It's sweet, like you'd expect from a jelly, but it also has a kick of spice, a tweak of tang and the earthiness of roasted bell peppers. And, just look at that color. 
Those sexy red velvet belles, comfortable and proud in every size and shape, come with their very own flirty curl top. They have a very seductive nature, which fits in well with the theme for today's Lets Lunch bunch (my online virtual lunch buddies.)
This month's theme is Seduction and it just happens to fall on the date of 11/11/11. How powerful, passionate and perfect is that?
Blue Cheese Meat Balls
kissed with warm
Roasted Red Pepper Spicy Jelly
I roasted these fresh peppers in the oven on a sheet pan at 400F for about 20 minutes. 
I covered them in plastic wrap, individually, for about 10 minutes. After that, I opened them up, seeded, chopped and pureed them in a blender.
Sometimes these multi-lobed beauties are under-rated considering they contains tons of vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber. The red bell pepper does not contain the same ingredients as hot peppers, in fact it's usually a bit sweet and crunchy and blends well with many other vegetables, or just with a simple garnish.
A luscious spoonful of Roasted Red Pepper Jelly (which is spiced up a bit with red pepper flakes) gives a nice little kick to a toasted goat cheese covered crostini, garnished with black sesame seeds. 
It makes a nice ruby accompaniment to chicken and can give a regular hamburger a reputation among your friends. Served with eggs, the whole plate looks like a party.
Don't forget to check out these Lets Lunch Bunch Seduction themes:
Mina Kahn - Smokin' Seafood Soup (and a new book!)
Joe Yonan - Sword Fish Stew for Seduction
His With Hers - Seduce me Apple Cider Donuts
Hapa Mama - Spaghetti for Adults Only
Monday Morning Cooking Club - Seduction Food - Pavlova
Spicebox Travels - Way To A Man's Heart Stew
RECIPE: Roasted Red Pepper Jelly
1 1/2 cups (about 3-4 ) Roasted Peppers Puree
1 cup White Vinegar
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 cups Sugar
1 Pkt. liquid fruit pectin (3 oz.)
1) In a large deep pot: Heat Roasted Pepper Puree, vinegars, red pepper flakes and sugar over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
2) Increase heat and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.
3) Add pectin, bring to a boil, stirring for only 1 minute and remove from heat.
4) Pour into sterilized jars 1/4 inch from the top, and seal. Boil in hot water bath for 10 minutes, remove and let cool for 24 hours. You may also pour into sterilized jars, seal, allow to cool and keep in refrigerator for several weeks, or freezer for several months.
Here's to the magic of 11.11.11 until the next 100 years~
I did it. I did it, again. I joined another monthly challenge. But who can blame me with this one? It's the brain child of Tigress Can Jam and every month we will be hot water canning or jamming a pre-chosen ingredient. To kick off 2010, the ingredient is CITRUS. Since I've made a lot of marmalade, and because I'm possessed with wanting to push my own envelope I chose to try something new. And let's face it; wine? Even if the jelly didn't work I could have a blast drinking the leftovers! However: the jelly not only worked, it's so unusual and tummy warming without being too sweet - I've eaten it by the spoonful.
ORANGE & PINOT NOIR JELLY
I grew up watching my Grandmother can and jam, but as a kid didn't pay much attention to the how, just the rewards. The impressions that stayed are: boiling water making the windows steam over in the kitchen, jars and jars sitting on muslin (lining the table, window sills and counters), sugar bags with cups inside for easy access, lemons squeezed by her farm hands until nothing remained but dry yellow shells, the smell of hot fruit and the music of the lids as they pinged to an air-tight hug. Canning and jamming is a time honored tradition that is centuries old and yet has returned to be a truly hip and happening culinary art form.
If you haven't tried making jam yet, it might be because you've fallen for the fear tactics, as the famous and talented sugar artist, June Taylor, explained in a workshop I took with her in Berkley, CA last year. 
June Taylor Jams and Preserved Fruits are famously delicious. If you ever have the chance to take a workshop with her, you'll find her to be generous with her vast knowledge, completely passionate about her craft and inspiring. (After two of her seasonal workshops, I started selling my own creations.)
As June expressed: Some where in the 1950's American home cooks were convinced (mostly by the expanding "convenience food" processing companies) that it was a waste of time for people to cook at home when they could buy it, zap it, or reheat it in a few minutes. The idea of actually PRESERVING it yourself was old fashion and could kill you if not done by a large corporation. It created a generation of folks who felt embarrassed to actually cook or preserve daily food.
Thankfully, we are rediscovering how important fresh seasonal food is for our families and our communities, and how easy and modern it is to extend our seasons and talents by creating our own jars of treats and savories. Instead of eating those tasteless dollar jars of "almost fruit" jams; Learn the easy basics, and like anything else; you CAN make your own.
RECIPE: ORANGE & PINOT NOIR JELLY
(adapted from Mes Confitures, by the world reknown Christine Ferber, and using skills and techniques taught by June Taylor)
6 Large Oranges (making about 2 cups juice)
Zest from those oranges
5 Granny Smith Apples
6 cups Sugar
1 cup Pinot Noir
1 lemon (juiced)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. ground clove
1 tsp. ground cardamom
Cut apples into quarters, cover with water and boil for about 20-30 minutes.
Pour soft apples and the juice through a cheesecloth or jam bag and press on the bag to get all the juice. Let the juice sit in the refrigerator over night so the sediment can settle. The next day, filter again through cheese cloth and save juice.
Zest the Oranges and boil them in water to cover for 10 minutes, drain and save. Then, squeeze juice from Oranges and filter through a cheesecloth, saving the seeds and pulp in the cheesecloth.
In a large pan, preferably a preserving pan, add the orange juice, the juice from one lemon, the apple juice, the zest, cinnamon stick, cardamon, cloves, sugar, and the tied-up cheese cloth full of seeds and orange pulp.
Bring this to a boil, skim, and keep boiling for about 12 minutes while stirring now and then. Remove the cheese cloth and cinnamon stick. Pour in the Pinot Noir and continue boiling until the temp reaches about 220F.
[Or check for your set using this method: Keep a small plate in the freezer. When checking the set, spoon a small bit onto the cold plate and if it has a "shoulder" to it (a bit of a rise), or you can drag a finger through the mixture leaving a clear path, you're good to go for a loose gell. Remove the preserving pan from the heat while you check this.
Pour your jelly into prepared jars, place them in readied water bath, boil for 10 minutes, carefully remove and wait to hear the song-of-pings when the tops close tight on your success.
This jelly is amazing on toast and muffins or bread, but also adds quite a zing to cheeses and meats.
Hope you'll try this; and let me know so I can admire you.
Quote from my adorable daughter: "I didn't think I'd like this, I don't like marmalade and seeing the zest made me think ewww, but it's not marmalade it's just really delicious jelly and I can taste the wine and it doesn't have that "way too sweet" thing going on. I love it! "
Butternut Squash Butter does not contain any butter, or even dairy. In fact, it's pure roasted Butternut, a dash of cinnamon, a squeeze of orange, and a drizzle of real Maple Syrup. Doesn't that already sound so darn good?
It's also very addictive and you'll find yourself spreading it on a biscuit, a crostini or stirring it into a bowl of rice and then sneaking a spoonful of it just for the joy of eating it plain (yeah, I did.) 
There are jams, jellies, conserves and preserves and there are also butters. Fruit butters are usually made with apples, pears, peaches and sometimes pumpkins.
I think it's called a "butter" because of the smooth, buttery feel in your mouth. If you've ever had Apple Butter you know about the full flavor of pure apple that it gives to just a simple slice of toast, or how it brings an extra zing to a peanut butter sandwich or a bran muffin. This Butternut Butter is like that, but with the warm, cozy, earthy taste of roasted Butternut Squash.
Besides a biscuit or scone topper, this wintery colored spread is also an easy Bruschetta appetizer. Swirl it on top of crostini, add a dollop of goat cheese, sprinkle on crispy bacon and toast on Medium. I ate a plate of these before my friends arrived and I had to make another plate (shhh, don't tell them.)
