the other day
i was at a very large crafts store
and it was packed
lines around the store to check out
stuff was strewn everywhere
no one seemed happy
it wasn't black friday
or
trickle down tuesday
it was 5 in the afternoon
on a regular day
i thought to myself
this is why i don't shop
at christmas-time
long lines
no parking
people on edge
thankfully
i have friends and family
who appreciate
gifts from my kitchen
each year
i put together hampers
full of homemade goodies
this margarita marmalade was inspired by
a basket of clementines
and bottle of tequila
nestled side by side
among the clutter
of thankgiving past
it would be lovely on a warm crumpet
or freshly baked scone
4 limes
12 clementines
2/3 cup tequila
5-6 cups sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup contreau
1 pouch sure-jell pectin
thinly clementines with skin on and place in bowl. supreme the limes over the same bowl and discard the pith and skin. add sugar and tequila. let sit 8 hours or overnight. pour into heavy saucepan and add the salt and contreau. bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes. add the pectin and boil for 1 full minute. place in sterilized jars and put through canning process for 10 minutes. if you have never canned before--please do your research on how to can jams and jellies * the amount of sugar should be adjusted according to how sweet your fruit is. the marmalade is meant to be slightly bitter..but you need the sugar to assist in setting it up.
you may notice in my photo that i thinly sliced the limes and threw them in rather than supreming them. it wasn't a great idea. while it looks pretty, the limes really don't soften up like the clementines and they are more like candy than confit (not a good thing).