"My Family Table, A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking" - Not Your Average Cookbook

I received My Family Table, A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, by John Besh in hardback for Christmas along with two other great, inspiring food and entertaining books. I loved all three but decided to start reading the book by Besh since he'd pulled me in with talk of family and good food.  Well, well, well....right from the start, Chef Besh got the best of this Southern Soul.  So much so, that I spent some of my "just in case" money and downloaded the book to my NOOK.  I've been reading, thinking and taking notes. I've cried a few tears and nodded my head with a "Yes!, Exactly!, Amen!" and yesterday....started cooking with John Besh.  OK, I know the crying part is a little strange but I love, love how he "gets it" - with food, uses local suppliers and more importantly, is passionate about The Family Table. At our house, the family table is about so much more than food - it's a place of comfort, great conversations happen there, knowledge is shared and lots of fun happens.  So, I hope you'll take a look at My Family Table, A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking.  Then, like me, take a look at YOUR family table and make a few memories.

Pepper Jelly Barbecue Sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion minced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 10 oz. jar red pepper jelly
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Creole mustard (grain mustard)
salt and pepper
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and cook until caramelized.  Add the garlic and tomato paste.  Stir and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the pepper jelly and vinegar.  Continue to cook and stir until the jelly is dissolved.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes, then add the mustard.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

This BBQ sauce can be used on MANY different foods like pork, chicken and beef.  I made sliders with provolone and topped them off with this rich goodness. We loved it! It's sweet, spicy and has the just the right amount of heat. I'm keeping the extra sealed in a jar in the fridge but I don't think it will last very long!