Here's a helpful link for newbies on processing jams and jellies. Note it does mention half-pint or pint jars. Like others, I don't can in pints because jams and jellies don't get consumed that quickly. I also can get bored with a jam and like smaller jars so I can have more than one kind open. Depending upon who you're gifting the jam to, 8 oz. may be more than adequate, or a selection of 8 oz. jars. My personal preference is the 12 oz. Those make a very pretty presentation for gifting. I agree that the suggestion of providing a barbecue sauce or baste is a great one. Alternatively you could give a jar of jam and dry mix in a jar for muffins as Ken suggested or for a jam cake. Jam can also be swirled into a frosting. Cream cheese might be especially good because there's the contrast of the tangy and sweet. For those who imbibe, a compatible liqueur could always be added instead of water to thin then the sauce could be gently warmed and served over ice cream or pound cake. Oh, and there's rugelach or other filled cookies. Actually, a stiffer jam can work quite well for those. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Processing Jams and Jellies

1.__________________________________________________________ CREAMY ROQUEFORT DRESSING Posted by: MQmoi (My Page) on Mon, Nov 18, 02 at 11:28 Here's one of my favorite salad dressings from Bon Appit. If you do not have sherry wine vinegar, make your own from 3 parts apple cider vinegar to 2 parts dry sherry. CREAMY ROQUEFORT DRESSING 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 large shallot, minced, 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar, 1 large garlic clove, minced, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese, 3 tablespoons whipping cream 2.__________________________________________________________ Mediterranean Vinaigrette Posted by: MQmoi (My Page) on Wed, Nov 20, 02 at 20:28 Posters sometime ask for basic vinaigrette recipes. Here are my favorites. Mediterranean Vinaigrette 3 T. red wine vinegar, 2 cloves garlic, peeled, 2 t. sugar, 1 t. dijon mustard, Salt to taste (1/2 t. or so), Fresh ground black pepper, 2/3 extra virgin olive oil Place all the ingredients in a blender EXCEPT the olive oil. Blend until smooth. Add the oil and blend until it is mixed well. It should be opaque. Shake the dressing if it separates before using. 3._________________________________________________________ Greek Vinaigrette Posted by: MQmoi (My Page) on Wed, Nov 20, 02 at 20:28 Greek Vinaigrette 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (about one large lemon), 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 t. dried oregano, Salt to taste (about 1/2 t.), Fresh ground black pepper I mix this by hand with a wire whisk. 4.__________________________________________________________ Honey Lemon Dressing Posted by: MQmoi (My Page) on Wed, Nov 20, 02 at 20:28 I like this with fresh spinach and fruit salad. Honey Lemon Dressing 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice, 2-3 t. honey, Fresh ground black pepper, I mix this by hand with a wire whisk in a small bowl. 5.__________________________________________________________ ZESTY FRENCH DRESSING Posted by: Sharon_fl ) on Sun, Dec 8, 02 at 23:36 The 2 dressings I am posting, are treasured family recipes. Both my mom & I were cooks for 30+ years-both having owned our own restaurants and I also had a big nightclub. Along with other eateries we worked in over the years-I'm proud to say they are still being made & served in 3 counties in PA! I have given the LARGE quantity amounts for a reason (you can cut recipe in half). With the holidays coming-you might want to start a tradition that I have done since 1968--I buy the little jelly jars & give a jar of each of these to my neighbors and also to guests of my annual Xmas party. A pair of these-(presented in a small foil Xmas bag with festive ribbon) to folks on your list-will be appreciated. My people even give me back the jars after they're gone-assuring them of more the next year! LOL! Any questions-email me. ZESTY FRENCH DRESSING ************************* 8 small cans tomato soup, - 6 cups sugar, 6 cups CIDER vinegar, 3 cups of salad oil, 3 cups Lemon juice, 2 bottles (5 oz each) worchestershire sauce, 2 Tbs. each..salt and pepper, 2-3 Tbs. fresh chopped garlic, ** Put in deep pot to mix, using a whisk to blend well, after adding each ingredient. Pour into a jug(s)-filling 3/4 full and ADD...1 whole onion. Refridgerate for at least 2-3 days before using. Of course-the onion is just to flavor the dressing in the big jug! Ahead of time..you can go to any restaurant & ask for their empty gallon jugs (like their mayonaise comes in). Use these to store dressings in, until time to portion in jelly jars. Keeps 2 months under refridgeration. 6.__________________________________________________________ SHARON"S SWEET & SOUR BACON DRESSING Posted by: Sharon_fl ) on Sun, Dec 8, 02 at 23:36 ************************************** (makes 1 and 1/2 gallons) 2lbs. bacon, fried crisp-SAVE grease!' 12 eggs (beaten with spoon)' 11 cups sugar' 1 TBS salt' In a DEEP, HEAVY pot..put eggs & beat with a spoon, until broken up well. Add about 2/3 of the grease from the bacon, to the pot. Mix the sugar & salt into the eggs, until well blended. THEN ADD: ************** 2 cups flour' 3Tbs and 1 tsp. dry mustard' * Mix until well blended THEN ADD: ************** 5 cups cider vinegar' 10 cups warm water' *MIX WELL, using whisk! Heat on medium, and still frequently, but NOT constantly, since constant stirring loses heat & takes mixture longer to thicken! This will take around 20-30 minutes to thicken. You DON'T want it real thick-more like a medium thick gravy, as mixture will thicken more as it cools. If it does get away from you & gets too thick? Add HOT water- a little at a time-immediately-not after it cools! *When done-add 3Tbs of margarine or butter to the hot dressing & blend in. **This is best served warm (nuke for 30 seconds). ***Great on Spinach Salads, lettuce salad, Baked Potatoes or green beans. 7.__________________________________________________________ Fresh Onion Dressing Posted by: MQmoi (My Page) on Sun, Mar 2, 03 at 22:02 Since I have a few dressings in the FAQ and one person tried it and liked it, I'd like to add this one. Those casseroles would be good to add too. We often have requests for them. Hint. Hint. :) _____________________________ This is delicious. It uses one whole sliced thin onion, so the onion is like another ingredient for a green leafy salad (with grape tomatoes). We had it twice this week. It is from the Trellis Cookbook. I want to try it sometime on a Salad Nicoise. Fresh Onion Dressing 6 T. apple cider vinegar, 3 T. fresh lemon juice, 4 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard, ½ t. salt, ¼ t. black pepper, 1 ½ c. olive oil, 1 small onion sliced thin (I used a mandolin), 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, ½ T. minced garlic, 2 anchovies, minced (I omitted) In a stainless steel bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously until all the oil has been incorporated. Add the onion, basil, thyme, garlic, and anchovies and combine thoroughly. Cover with film wrap and refrigerate until needed. Chefs Touch: For this dressing, you may use a mixture of herbs such as marjoram, oregano and parsley, in addition to basil land thyme. It is better to use only ONE fresh herb, however, should only one be available, rather than to add dried herbs. The dressing is quite assertive when first prepared. I would suggest making it from 4 to 24 hours before serving. The flavors will mingle and mellow. May be kept covered and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. 8._________________________________________________________ Sausage And Rosemary Sauce Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Tue, Apr 22, 03 at 11:53 Patty, You can add this one to the FAQ file. Ann Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Adapted from: Robert Alda's 99 Ways to Cook Pasta Sausage And Rosemary Sauce ========================== 4 to 6 Italian Sausage, hot or sweet, or combination Olive oil 2 shallots, 3 ounces of Mortadella, 1/2 cup dry white wine, 1 tablespoon dried or fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon dried basil, 2 to 4 cans tomatoes (depending on number of sausages) . Par boil sausage for 2 to 4 minutes. Mince Mortedella and shallots in food processor. Heat in oil in large pot and add mortadella and shallots. Remove casings from sausage and mince in processor and add to pot. Cook until meat starts to brown on the bottom. Add the rosemary and basil and the wine. Simmer until wine has evaporated. Puree tomatoes but leave some texture and add to pot. Simmer for at least 1 hour. Remove any fat that surfaces. Serve over fusilli or Conchiglioni (shell) shaped pasta, to pick up the little bits of sausage. Options: I have made this without the Mortadella and it works. When I don't have good Italian Sausage I make this same dish using ground pork and season it as if it were sausage. Saute the pork and season with the shallots, couple of cloves of garlic, hot red pepper flakes, grind some fennel(optional) with the rosemary and basil, and then follow the above directions. (Tastes almost identical) Servings: 6

Reporting back--I decided to use a melon baller instead of cutting the jelly into cubes, then sprinkled the fruit with chia seeds and skipped the walnuts. The mint leaves were all frozen, so I used celery leaves: I used the leftovers of the cranberry jelly, mixed with pineapple juice, to glaze the ham. It was delicious! My impressions of canned cranberry jelly: It was very bland, compared to my homemade relish, but the tart and sweet fruit gave the salad enough punch. It was very refreshing with the baked ham. I wouldn't eat the jelly alone, but the texture is perfect if you want to spread it on a sandwich, which I don't. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is my Cranberry Relish Recipe For A Crowd, for lovemrmewey: 4 12oz packages fresh cranberries, rinsed 1 tsp minced candied ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger 3 cups sugar (I short each cup by a couple of tablespoons) 4 6oz packages of gelatin--any red or orange--I use red raspberry 2 20oz cans crushed pineapple, drained (reserve liquid) 4 11oz-15oz cans mandarin oranges, drained (reserve liquid) 2 tart apples, finely chopped zest of one orange, or 2Tbs OJ concentrate Make gelatin using the reserved liquid from the pineapple and mandarin oranges, with enough water added to complete the instructions. Chill until almost set--thick but not solid. While gelatin is chilling, cook 3 packages of the cranberries with 3 cups water and sugar. Cool. Grind the cooked cranberries with the remaining uncooked cranberries. I use a blender for this step. Cranberries can be cooked the night before and allowed to cool overnight in fridge. Mix the almost set gelatin, cranberry mixture, drained fruit, and orange zest. Chill until set. Keeps well for several days, and can be frozen. OT, here's a pic of my Christmas Eve cheese fish, requested by my grandson. Brother and SIL brought shrimp, so 10yr old GS had fun telling everyone 'Merry Fishmas'. Diabetic cherry Christmas pie for my father:

As an interesting aside Cranberry sauce is with mint jelly a left over from the days when people routinely ate fruit pastes and jellies of all sorts with their meat. I also just follow the package directions with a little less sugar, cranberries want to jell and a lot of sugar to make the reaction isn't necessary, and then I run the resultant popped mush through a sieve or one of the various doohickies that I have for removing seeds and skins, put it back in the pot with the sugar and cook to jelling stage. it sets up beautifully and I use a nice mold for a pretty shape as people did in the good old days when any table had multiple shaped jellies. The taste is definitely superior to canned but if tradition is why you have it on the table sliced carefully to match the rings on the can then that isn't as important is it?