Jams and jellies (wait, did anyone get my obscure “80’s musical reference in the title of this blog post?)  where was I…OH YES!! Jams and jellies are pantry staples in my kitchen. They are great in desserts like thumbprint cookies or between layers of cake but I also like to use them in savory dishes.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to get a bushel of ripe peaches and I made peach/rosemary jam for my first canning project. It was a beautiful thing. One night I needed an hors d’oeuvre  for a casual party and the peach/rosemary jam was the perfect answer. I roasted chicken wing sections with a little salt and pepper and at the end of cooking I coated the wings with the jam and broiled them for a few minutes just to get a bit of char on  them. They were a huge hit; guests were licking the sweet sticky jam from their fingers ( I guess I should have given them napkins…oh well, hindsight is 20/20).

I needed a quick solution for dinner  the other night and I needed to cook some chicken drumsticks I had in the fridge.   I remembered that delicious party dish, but unfortunately I was out of the homemade peach/rosemary jam.  I did , however, have some store bought apricot jam that I bought at a half price sale a few weeks before. I roasted the chicken drumsticks just as I did the chicken wings, but I sprinkled a bit of dried rosemary on them along with the salt and pepper. Delicious, easy and pretty darn quick.

Peach, guava and apricot jams go really well with turkey, pork and cheese;  for beef dishes blueberry and blackberry jams would make great sauces with red wine reduction and pan juices.