Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce

Pantry and Fridge

This recipe has multiple uses. It works as a sweet and spicy dipping sauce for shrimp toast and crabmeat puffs, but it also works well as a condiment to be served alongside egg rolls and spring rolls. For a unique and unusual treat, toss a few tablespoons of this sauce with fried popcorn shrimp, fried crawfish tails, or fried calamari.

Ingredients

1 /4 cup red chili pepper flakes

1 cup water

1 large red bell pepper, seeds removed

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 /2 cup rice vinegar

1 cup white wine vinegar

3 /4 cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Bring one cup of water to a boil in a small sauce pot. Stir in chili flakes and simmer five minutes. Strain flakes, set aside, and discard water.

Place red bell pepper and garlic in a small stainless steel sauce pot with vinegars and simmer 5-6 minutes. Allow mixture to cool slightly, then puree in a blender. Return pureed mixture to the stainless steel pot and add sugar and corn syrup Bring the mixture back to a simmer.

Dissolve corn starch in the water and blend into the red pepper mixture. Once it returns to a simmer, remove from heat. Stir in the red pepper flakes and chill.

May be made one week in advance.

Yield: 3 cups

Recent Recipes

Amalfi Lemon Cake

There's a particular kind of sunshine that only shows up in citrus form, and this Amalfi Lemon Cake has it in spades. Bright, moist, and unapologetically lemony, it walks the line between a proper dessert and something you'd be just as happy eating with your coffee on a Tuesday morning. The glaze soaks into the crumb while the cake's still warm, so every bite carries that little pucker of acidity balanced against real sweetness. It's simple enough for a weeknight and pretty enough for company.

Pecan Crusted Redfish

There's a certain kind of Southern kitchen wisdom that says you can't improve on a fresh Gulf redfish — and for the most part, that's true. But every now and then a dish comes along that doesn't so much improve the fish as it does pay proper respect to it, and this pecan-crusted redfish is one of those. It's a dish that works just as well for a Tuesday supper as it does for a table full of guests you're trying to impress — which, if you ask me, is the mark of a truly great recipe. Serve it simple, with rice or grits and something green on the side, and let the fish do the talking.

Stuffed Pork

Robert St. John's Stuffed Pork is an elegant centerpiece dish that takes a braised pork loin and layers it with Black Forest ham and melted Fontina cheese for a result that's as impressive to look at as it is to eat. The pork is seared, slow-roasted in chicken stock, and then sliced accordion-style so each cut fans open to hold the savory fillings before going back into the oven to meld together. A silky pan sauce made from the reduced braising liquid and heavy cream ties it all together, making this one of those recipes that feels restaurant-worthy without being out of reach.

RobertStJohn.com