Ham and Parmesan Sandwiches with Raspberry Jam

Things that are good to have:

1. Friends who go to Italy and bring you back giant pieces of incredible parmigiana cheese.  You know who you are, and I love you madly.

2. Jars of Stonewall Kitchen jam.  We've been over this before in previous posts, but it bears repeating.

If you have both of these things, you are halfway to a fabulous sandwich.  And while cheese that has been personally carried through Customs is the best-tasting of all, you can also get a lovely chunk of it at your local deli and it will be almost as good, and then you are still very close to the previously-mentioned fabulous sandwich.

Okay, now that we have that straight, here's what comes next.  Get a nice pile of very thin-sliced ham, and a loaf of sourdough bread.  Lately I have been sending the Southern husband to our local Panera, because let's face it, they make an AWESOME sourdough baguette, and I'm all about the path of least resistance on a Wednesday night.  Slice it on the diagonal in 1/2 inch slices (so that you get nice big slices), and brush both sides with olive oil.  Now comes one of the most critical parts of this sandwich, which is The Grilling Of The Bread.  Every summer I get completely fixated on something grill-wise (last year it was grilled buttermilk rosemary chicken and the summer before it was grilled pizza), and this summer, I am all about grilling bread.  There's something about that slightly charred grill taste that just makes my heart beat faster.  You ARE going to have that moment where you think, is this really worth turning on the grill?  Just to grill a few pieces of bread?

Trust me.  It is.

Once you have your bread all nice and crusty, you are five minutes from heaven.  Slather on some raspberry jam (or cherry, or strawberry.  Anything red is pretty much perfect.)  Layer on some thin-sliced ham, and then some parmesan that you have shaved with your handy vegetable peeler.  Hold it up to your nose and inhale deeply...sweet and salty and slightly grill-smelling, and then open wide and take a crunchy/salty/sweet bite.

My work is done here.  :)

Ham and Parmesan Sandwiches with Raspberry Jam

• Sourdough or other hearty bread, sliced 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
• Olive oil
• Raspberry jam (cherry and strawberry would also work fine!)
• Thin-sliced ham
• Parmesan cheese, shaved into thin pieces with a vegetable peeler

1. Heat grill to medium high.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil and grill on both sides until slightly charred.
2. Spread bread with jam, and then layer on ham and shaved cheese.
3. Enjoy!!

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Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

Now this is one of those recipes that has a backstory, so hunker down. A few weeks ago, we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. We had a wedding cake and great music, and many many friends and family, and it didn't rain. Thank you, Lord.

They had a wonderful time, and then they went off to Maine on a little 50th anniversary honeymoon trip. (Aren't they adorable??). And while they were there, they visited one of my favorite, favorite makers of all things delicious, the amazing Stonewall Kitchen. And they brought me back some delectable Stonewall Kitchen goodies. Including this...

I have big plans for this that involve caramelized french toast and cinnamon and berries. Stay tuned for that one. They also brought me this...

I'm considering my peach jam options. Suggestions welcome. Now brace yourself for this next one...

I don't even know what to say. I am seriously considering just hiding somewhere and eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Last but not least, this was in the Stonewall Kitchen bag...

Along with a recipe card for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. (Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!) Anyway, this scrumptious recipe calls for making a super-easy shortbread cookie crust. On top of that crust goes a classic cheesecake batter...and then comes the fun part. You take that whole jar of wild blueberry jam (and when you open it up you will see there are tons of teeny tiny whole little baby blueberries in the jam. Deep breaths.) and drop it in spoonfuls on top of the cheesecake batter. Then take a knife and swirl, swirl, swirl the jam through the batter.

Bake. Cool, counting the minutes. Cut into squares. Try not to eat all of them at once. And if you have the self-discipline to put them in the fridge to chill down for a while -- well, the only better than a blueberry cheesecake square is a cold blueberry cheesecake square.

Stonewall Kitchen, have I told you lately that I love you??

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares, from Stonewall Kitchen

Cookie Crust:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ice water

Cheesecake Filling:
• 16 ounces (2 packages) softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup blueberry jam. I highly recommend Stonewall Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Jam!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X13 inch pan.
2. Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse.
3. Add butter and process until the dough begins to form a ball, adding ice water if necessary.
4. Press dough evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.
5. While cooling, prepare filling. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended.
6. Add eggs and mix just until eggs are incorporated.
7. After crust cools for 30 minutes, pour cheesecake filling evenly over the crust.
8. Spoon Blueberry Jam randomly on top of filling and then swirl to combine.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 35-45 minutes or until center is set. Allow to cool in pan.

Click here for printable recipe

Jam Cake

A litttle while ago I made these:

Jam Sugar Cookies

and this:

Crumb Cake

And the whole house was in a blissful stupor of sugar while those were sitting on the kitchen counter. And then -- sadness! -- they were gone. I did still have about half a jar of the most awesomely scrumptious jam on earth though.

And I started thinking -- what if the jam cookies and the crumb cake got married and had a baby?

Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be THAT adorable, but it sure would taste good, right? Oh yes, right. This easy coffee cake not only has the amazing sour cherry jam in it, but also a swirl of apricot - mainly because that was what was lurking in the jam area of my fridge. You should fee free to experiment away with the jam of your choice. I made it early on a Sunday morning, and it is amazing what the aroma of baking jam cake can do in the way of getting teenagers out of their beds and dogs off of the couch. Not that dogs have any shot at jam cake. Kibble, anyone?

JAM CAKE, adapted from About.com

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/2 cup cherry jam

Topping:

1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender to make a fine crumbly mixture - or you can use a food processor.

2. Add egg and milk; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

3. Spoon batter into a generously buttered 9-inch square pan. Spoon both jams over the batter, then swirl through the batter with a knife.

4. Mix topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle evenly over batter.

5. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, until done. Cut into squares and serve while still warm.

Click here for printable recipe

Jam Sugar Cookies

So, do you ever have one of those days where everything just seems to go your way? The other day I was yearning to bake just a simple sugar cookie, and usually I have everything I need to make basic baked goods in the house. Because you never know when someone is going to remember at 9 at night that they need to bring in cupcakes for So-And-So's birthday. Not that I am pointing out anyone in particular. Who happens to live in my house. Who happens to wear mismatched Day-Glo shoelaces in her Converse sneakers. Or anything.

So I was sad to see that I had only one lonely egg in my fridge, and so instead of happily baking my own cookies, I thought I would console myself by browsing around on www.joythebaker.com -- my FAVORITE baking site -- to drown my sorrows in some of her gorgeous pictures of baked stuff.

When what should I find but a recipe for cherry jam cookies that she specifically says are to be made when you have only one egg in the house. (and when you are down to your last stick of butter, which has never ever happened to me. I think butter is like oxygen -- if you don't have huge amounts of it around at all times, it gets hard to breathe.) Well...was that a SIGN, or what?

You can make these super-simple, super-good cookies with whatever jam you have on hand. I had a jar of this from Stonewall Kitchen. Stonewall Kitchen = rocking good jams. If your local store doesn't carry them, they have a great website. Smuckers, you should be very, very afraid.

Anyway, one egg later these beautiful, scrumptious cookies were born, and they were every bit as wonderful as Joy promised. I think I am going to run out of things more often. Just not butter.

Jam Cookies, from Joy The Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup of cherry preserves, or any thick jam you have on hand

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt.
3. Beat the butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat for a minute. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes more. The mixture will be satiny. Add the milk and vanilla and beat just to combine. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled, it will even out shortly. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the jam and beat for 1 minute more. With the mixer still on low add the dry ingredients and mix only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a very thick dough.
4. Spoon the dough by the rounded teaspoonfuls into a dish of granulated sugar. Toss to coat and place on a baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the mounds.
5. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies will be only just firm, fairly pale and browned around the edges. Pull the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, the carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.
6. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Click here for printable recipe