Piedmont Provisions Sichuan Pear Marmalade
We're big fans of Heather Russell and the wonderful combinations she dreams up for the small batch preserves, jams and shrubs of Piedmont Provisions of Athens. Her Sichuan Pear Marmalade is just one delicious example. Tiny cubes of diced pear and bits of lemon rind are suspended in a thick syrup flavored with a combination of Sichuan peppercorns and pink peppercorns. The result is a marmalade with a tiny little kick. It's so good you'll just want to eat it by the spoonful out of the jar, but it's perfect for a cheese board to accompany strongly flavored cheeses like an aged Cheddar or blue. Or use it as a glaze for grilled chicken or pork.
$14 per 9-ounce jar. Available at these Saturday morning farmers markets - Green Market at Piedmont Park, Freedom Farmers Market and Peachtree Road Farmers Market - and on Sundays at the Grant Park Farmers Market. Also online at http://piedmontprovisions.com.
Emily G’s Cranberry Port
Jennifer Burns of Emily G’s has been stirring up all natural jams and sauces made with seasonal, local ingredients since 2008. Starting her business with just four flavors, she now offers more than 18. We are hoarding the last few spoonsful in the jar of Pear Honey in our refrigerator because we learned there may not be any more this year. It’s one of her customers’ favorite seasonal flavors but the pear harvest this year has been poor and there’s no Pear Honey available right now. But there are consolations like this year’s holiday flavors of Cranberry Port, Apple Pie and Santa Jam (pomegranate). We tried the Cranberry Port and found it delicious. Just open the jar and the aroma of deep, rich port comes wafting towards you. It’s on the tart side, so no tons of sugar to mask the flavor of the fruit. We thought it was delicious on toast with cream cheese and on their website you’ll find a recipe for roast chicken with cranberry glaze.
$8.50 per 10-ounce jar. Available at The Beehive, 1250 Caroline Street, Atlanta, Lucy’s Market, 56 E. Andrews Drive, Atlanta, and at http://emilygs.com.
Short Stack Edition “Pears”
Short Stack publications are small-format books focused on a single topic. From the first one with its concentration on eggs to number 29 with everything you want to know about pears, each edition is authored by someone particularly enamored of their topic. “Pears” is the work of Andrea Slonecker out of Portland, Oregon. Inside the colorful little book, you’ll find recipes for everything from an appetizer of Pear, Bacon and Cornmeal Fritters to Chocolate Pear Pie with Burnt Marshmallows. We tried the Roasted Pears and Parsnips with Hazelnut-Rosemary Relish (substituting our delicious Georgia pecans). This week we’re off to the market for pears to bake into the Whole-Pear Half-Pound Cake. In November, they’ll publish Dorie Greenspan’s edition on butter, number 30 in the series.
$14. Available at Cook’s Warehouse and Star Provisions as well as http://shortstackeditions.com.
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