Jar Jar Jinx - or Et tu Mother Nature?

As promised, here’s the final pictures of the Dinner in a Jar project. Of course, Mother Nature decided to spit on my whole planned evening. We were rained out of the Shakespeare in the park event where I had intended to debut my nifty little picnic idea. But, dang it, people were going to eat out of those jars if I had to sit on them. Cause it was a darned good idea. And it really worked out well. Here’s how it went down in the end:

The cornbread was baked in the jars using Paula Deen’s Corny Cornbread recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/corny-cornbread-recipe2/index.html), dropping the temperature 25 degrees for cooking in glass, and giving the inside a good shot of non-stick spray. I put about an inch of batter in the bottom of each half pint jar and wiggled it a bit to get it smoothed out, and put them on a cookie sheet to bake. The recipe said 30 minutes, and since my jars were smaller than a baking pan I figured on 20 minutes. But it actually took about 35. And this cornbread is so moist, it held up for another 15 minutes in the oven on warm without drying out.

For the stew, T used this recipe from the Santa Fe School of Cooking (http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/Recipes/Green_Chile_Stew/index.html), or at least as close as she’s able to follow any recipe. That girl is an inveterate fiddler when it comes to cooking. I asked for this recipe because when it comes to green chile, I’m vehemently anti-tomato. And I really don’t care who knows my food segregationist leanings. Beef stew with tomatoes, yes. Green chile stew with tomatoes, no today, no tomorrow, no forever. I also asked her to use some cornstarch to thicken the juice a little. On its own, the thinner broth from the recipe would be fine. But in a layered dish, I though it needed a touch more structural integrity. And we used pork butt in stead of beef.

Then final touch was T’s cauliflower mash. It’s a trade secret, but I know that there’s roasted cauliflower, a little potato and milk. Truly delightful.

The jars came out of the oven, and we layered in a dipper of stew, a good serving spoon of the mash, then a drizzle of the stew broth on top. Then the lids went on, a wipe of the jar, and into the cozies they went. I found bright bandanas at Wal-Mart to use as napkins, and rubber banded one to the top of each jar, for extra insulation. They were actually quite cute in the end. Unfortunately, because of the show being cancelled, I didn’t get a full field test of the entire idea. So I don’t know if it would have held up as far as temperature and transportation. But I can say – delicious. The final product ended up being like the most amazing tamale you ever had in your entire life. I could have eaten 2. I didn’t. But I could have. And the little jars not only looked sweet, but the cozies made them easy to hold, and there was this lovely warmth that seeped out from the cotton that would warm your hands on a fall night under the stars. Or at least I imagine it would. If the weather would have cooperated and it wasn’t piddling with rain and ruining my night . . . aaaaaahhhhhggg! Mother Nature, I shake my fist at you!

Anyway. This was full-on Martha Stewart action, y'all. And overall, well worth the trouble. And since all the accessories (jars, cozies, bandanas) are reusable, the next time it will be a piece of cake to pull it all together. Plus, it ends up being not only cute as hell, but more eco-friendly than plastic bowls and paper napkins. If I do say so myself – success.