More with Marmalade

Orange Marmalade... I used to love it on toasted, buttered rye bread. Still do but I always seem to forget to prepare it for breakfast. Sometimes that marmalade jar hides far back on my top shelf in the fridge, always getting pushed back by the coffee, margarine, and intermittent yogurt.

Just this past year I have come across two recipes that use it in a dressing or sauce. Both have blown me over. The latest recipe came from Food and Wine's feature of some top tasty (but lower calorie) Bobby Flay dressings. Smokey Orange Vinaigrette seemed to find it's way onto everything I ate the last two days... steak, salad, fish, grilled vegetables. Yesterday I marinated tilapia in the vinaigrette and then pan-fried it. Served it with an arugula, cherry tomato, pine nut, parmesan shavings salad, all dressed with the vinaigrette.

Smokey Orange Vinaigrette

Whisk together 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 2 1/2 Tbs marmalade, 1 Tbs water, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 small minced shallot. Then whisk in 1/4 cup EV olive oil, 1 Tbs minced parsley (or basil or mint). Season with salt and pepper. Store in fridge.

I had just the bare minimum of marmalade left in this jar, so I simply mixed everything into it, put the lid on and gave it a good shake. Now with my dressing all gone, this white jar has been officially un-labeled and designated as my go-to jar for the new dressings I will be trying this week. (Thanks Bobby for the inspiration)