caramelized onion jam.  yes, that's right.  caramelized. onion. jam.  this recipe literally changed my life.  serve on bread, in a salad, with pasta, on a burger or a steak, with chicken... heck, i bet someone has even made a caramelized onion ice cream!  

sweet with a hint of salt and the richness of olive oil, i promise your life will be changed... unless you don't like onions.  then your life will just be the same.  oh well!

CARAMELIZED ONION JAM
Yield: 12 servings of 2 tbsp each
Nutrition: 121 calories, 10 carbs per serving 

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs white or yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
Sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat.   Add onions and cover, stirring occasionally until translucent (15 minutes).  Add chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until onions are caramelized (30 minutes).  Season with sea salt and let cool completely.  Store in a jar for up to two weeks, refrigerated... if it lasts that long.

SOURCE
Shutterbean via Whole Living Magazine

i love rillettes.  first served to me in southern france in the summer of 2000, at first i didn't quite know what do to with these oh-so-tasty bits of shredded pork.  it was my second trip abroad, and i was discovering the home of my then-best-friend laetitia who had just finished a year studying at my high school in central indiana.  

laetitia's dad jokingly relays the story that, on the second or third day of being served rillettes for breakfast, i creatively chose to spread them on a buttery croissant.   folks, you just. don't. do that.  

avoid my cultural faux pas and serve these on sliced french baguette for breakfast or as an appetizer to lunch or dinner.  for the record, i prefer baguettes from panera.   irresistable.

bon appetit!

RILLETTES DE PORCS
Yield: 24 servings of 2 tbsp each (makes three half-pint jars)
Nutrition: 216 calories, 0 carbs per serving

INGREDIENTS
1 pound pork shoulder
1 pound pork belly
2 pounds leaf lard
18g salt
10g white pepper
7g quatre epices 
For the quatre epices:
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

DIRECTIONS
Cut the meat into 1/2 inch squares.  Melt the leaf lard.  Season with salt, pepper, quatre epices.  Add the meat to the leaf lard and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring often with a wooden spoon.

Drain the fat.  Use a potato masher to crush the meat and place it back in the pan.  Cook the meat again for just a few minutes, adjusting the seasoning if necessary.

Put the warm rillettes in glass jars and let cool.  Keep in a cool and dry place without any light, up to six months.  Enjoy at room temperature on sliced baguette.

SOURCE
A FRENCHMAN!  Merci beaucoup to my friend Cecile's husband, Sebastien.